Kunlun Mountain, Jade Void Palace.
No, there was no Jade Void Palace here anymore.
After Yuanshi Tianzun had been kicked into the turbulent currents of Chaos by Tongtian, his fate unknown, Sect Master Tongtian had shattered these Daoist grounds of the Chan Sect's Sage with a single sword strike, reducing them to dust strewn across the ground.
Now, only ruined walls remained, along with a few Chan Sect disciples who had escaped with their lives by sheer luck.
Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, and the other members of the Twelve Golden Immortals were gathered atop the ruins, covered in dust and grime.
All of them were injured, their Daoist robes torn and their expressions listless.
They gazed at the aura of defeat and destruction rising into the sky from Xiqi, then at the black column of smoke that signaled the complete burning of its provisions. Terror and bewilderment were written across every face.
"We've lost. Junior Brother Jiang has lost."
"Xiqi is finished. The great undertaking of the Investiture of the Gods is utterly finished."
"Master... where is our venerable master now?"
Clouds of sorrow and mists of misery hung over the ruins.
The sect they had taken such pride in, the Heavenly Mandate they had regarded as their guiding standard, had become an enormous joke overnight.
Just as the Chan Sect disciples sank into despair, waves of serene Buddha light suddenly shone on the western horizon.
A voice tinged with compassion rang out in their hearts.
"Fellow Daoists, why are you so despondent?"
Guangchengzi and the others looked up together.
They saw a Daoist dressed in an apricot yellow Daoist robe, his face marked by suffering, stepping out of the void. He held the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, with Western merit lotus light supporting his feet.
It was none other than Daoist