The Sages Discuss the Investiture of the Gods at the Purple Firmament Palace

Heaven Beyond Heaven, before the membranes of heaven and earth.

The saints appeared here almost simultaneously.

The Sage Divine Ability a sage are unparalleled in the Primordial World; going anywhere is merely a matter of a thought.

The saints exchanged glances and bowed to each other as a greeting, but they did not speak to each other. Instead, they stepped directly into the Chaos.

Since they were summoned by Dao Ancestor Hongjun, they naturally wouldn't waste time chatting here.

Unlike Haotian, who needed Hongjun's guidance to find Purple Firmament Palace.

The moment the sages stepped into the Chaos, the location of the Purple Firmament Palace, which was no longer concealed by Hongjun, appeared in their hearts.

In the next instant, all the saints appeared in front of the Purple Firmament Palace.

The gates of the Purple Firmament Palace were wide open, clearly indicating that the sages were to enter.

Unlike the miraculous events that usually occurred when Purple Firmament Palace held sermons, this time Purple Firmament Palace was just like an ordinary Daoist temple.

In the distance, on the Daoist platform, Hongjun, who looked like an ordinary old Daoist priest, was already sitting there.

"I have met Master Hongjun."

All the saints bowed together and paid their respects to Hongjun.

"Hmm!" Hongjun nodded slightly in response.

Then the saints stepped forward and sat down on the prayer mats in front of the altar, just as they had done when they listened to the teachings.

"I wonder what brings you here today, Master?"

After sitting down, Laozi, who was at the very front, was the first to speak and utter a question.

Behind him, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nüwa, Jieyin, Zhunti all looked at Hongjun upon hearing this.

They always remembered what Hongjun had said when he merged with the Heavenly Dao: "Nothing will happen except for a great calamity."

But now...

"Not long ago, Haotian visited my Purple Firmament Palace," Hongjun said softly, looking at the six sages below with a blank expression.

"Haotian came to me crying, saying that some of you lacked virtue and plotted against him, and begged me to stand up for him."

Upon hearing this statement...

The six saints below each had a different expression.

Laozi's face was calm, Yuanshi's expression was gloomy, Nüwa's smile was ambiguous, Jieyin showed sorrow, and Zhunti's face was smiling.

Hongjun on the platform saw all of this, but he made no comment and continued speaking with a blank expression.

"Yuanshi... Zhunti... do you two have anything to say?"

Upon hearing Hongjun directly name the two sages...

Both Yuanshi and Zhunti were taken aback. Yuanshi, whose face was already gloomy, became even colder, while the smile on Zhunti's face froze.

He clearly hadn't expected Hongjun to call out his name.

"Disciple is not convinced!"

"This disciple confesses his sins!"

Yuanshi and Zhunti bowed at the same time, but the words they spoke were completely different and contradictory.

The moment the words left his mouth, the two of them exchanged a surprised glance.

Yuanshi looked at Zhunti, who was confessing his guilt, with a questioning gaze. "Little brother, what's going on? Why are you confessing so easily?"

Zhunti looked at Yuanshi with utter astonishment, his gaze strangely unsettling, as if to say, "Brother, even the Dao Ancestor has personally intervened, how dare you still disobey?"

The other four Sage standing nearby had even stranger expressions.

Laozi and Jieyin were in good State of Mind, while the ones who made mistakes were their junior brothers; one was expressionless, and the other looked sorrowful.

Nüwa, on the other hand, had a look of anticipation on her face.

As for Tongtian, he almost couldn't hold back his laughter and burst out laughing right there in the Purple Firmament Palace.

On the platform, Hongjun's expression remained unchanged despite the starkly different answers from Yuanshi and Zhunti.

Neither Yuanshi's dissatisfaction nor Zhunti's confession caused Hongjun's expression to change in the slightest.

Just like the previous question, it was really just to ask if the two saints had anything to say; their thoughts were completely irrelevant.

Hongjun remained seated on the high platform, calmly continuing, "The Sage's duty is to educate the Primordial World and maintain the operation of the Primordial World Heavenly Dao."

"Sage without virtue is of no benefit whatsoever to the Primordial World."

"This scheme against the Heavenly Emperor has naturally been sensed by the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World Heavenly Dao, which has unleashed a calamity of slaughter. Soon after, Immortal Slaughter Tribulation."

"Immortal Slaughter Tribulation?"

Upon hearing Hongjun's words, the other Sage who were watching the show below could no longer remain seated.

"May I ask, teacher, what is the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation?" Nüwa asked directly.

"The Immortal Slaughter Tribulation... is the great Immeasurable Tribulation of the Primordial World!" Hongjun replied softly.

"However, the time for the Great Immeasurable Tribulation of the Primordial World Era has not yet arrived. Although the Heavenly Dao has sensed this and has sent down a calamity of slaughter, the scale of this calamity of Immortal Slaughter Tribulation will be far smaller than that of the Great Calamity of the Primordial World Immeasurable Tribulation."

"And they will mainly be concentrated among your disciples."

"This..."

Upon hearing Hongjun's reply...

The expressions of the Sage who had been watching the show changed slightly.

Tongtian hurriedly asked, "Teacher, is the scope of this divine murderous intent limited to all the disciples of our Sage?"

Hongjun nodded slightly.

Every single Sage present turned grim.

Even Laozi and Jieyin were no exception; one frowned, the other's face showed even more sorrow, and Tongtian's face was extremely gloomy.

Each of these three Sages, to varying degrees, possessed their own lineage or tradition.

Laozi was alright; although his lineage had spread among the Primordial World Human Race, the only disciple of the Human Teaching was Grand Mage Xuandu.

With Grand Mage Xuandu's Quasi-Sage cultivation, even facing Immeasurable Tribulation wouldn't pose a significant problem.

As for the lineage he passed down among the Human Race, Laozi felt it was a pity that he had to face calamity, but he wouldn't care too much about it.

However, the Western Sect Zhunti Jieyin and Zhunti, and the Jie Sect led by Tongtian, are different.

The Western Sect is virtually unrivaled in the entire Western world, and although it has few elite disciples, its lineage is flourishing.

He is absolutely the number one among all the saints.

Tongtian's Jie Sect was also extremely prosperous, but the number of its direct disciples and inner disciple was not large.

However, the number of outer disciples of the Jie Sect is in the tens of thousands.

Throughout the entire East Sea, there are countless disciples who have shared his teachings with him.

Once this Immeasurable Tribulation occurs, how many will survive the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation?

As for Nüwa, although she did not establish a lineage, since Hongjun said she was a disciple of all the saints, she was naturally included.

Unconsciously, the image of the Human Race came to Nüwa's mind.

As the Holy Mother of Human Race, in a sense, all Human Race in the Primordial World can be considered to belong to her lineage.

Thinking of this, how could her expression possibly be pleasant?

As for Yuanshi and Zhunti.

Their faces were extremely pale as they stared at Hongjun in disbelief.

They never imagined that their slightest scheme against Haotian would trigger such an Immortal Slaughter Tribulation.

Moreover, the calamity was concentrated on their disciples.

For a moment, all the saints fell silent.

Since all the sages were wise, naturally no one stepped forward to say that the one who had lost virtue this time was Zhunti and Yuanshi, and that the two of them should be the ones to face the calamity.

Hongjun explained it very clearly: this was Heavenly Dao's will, sensing the coming of a calamity...

Even if they argue fiercely here, focusing all their blame on Yuanshi Zhunti, they cannot change the Heavenly Dao.

Um!

All sages are wise men.

Is it the will of Heavenly Dao?

One by one, the Sage looked at the Dao Ancestor Hongjun on the Dao Platform and, without the slightest hesitation, bowed down.

"We beg the Dao Ancestor and bestow upon us a strategy to deal with the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation."

The saints bowed down, but Hongjun on the Dao Platform remained expressionless and silent, and the saints did not move either.

After a few breaths, the saints heard Hongjun sigh softly.

Although Hongjun had not yet spoken, the saints felt a sense of relief.

"Fine!"

Hongjun spoke softly, and then with a thought, an invisible power enveloped all the saints.

At this moment, even the three true Sage, Laozi, Jieyin, and Nüwa, were lifted up without any resistance.

The saints who were helped up looked at Hongjun with eager eyes, but only they themselves knew the turmoil in their hearts.

Hongjun paid no attention to the saints' thoughts. After helping them up, a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure resembling a plaque appeared before them.

"This is the Heavenly Book of Investiture of the Gods the Gods, which contains the positions of 365 Orthodox God of heaven and earth," Hongjun said softly.

"Those Investiture of the Gods will have their true spirits pulled into the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation after they perish. Their divine bodies will be reshaped, and they will become Orthodox God of the Heavenly Court, at the Heavenly Court's behest."

"Once you have filled in all 365 names on this Investiture of the Gods, this Immortal Slaughter Tribulation will be over."

After Hongjun finished speaking, he closed his eyes, clearly indicating that he wanted the sages to discuss the matter among themselves and that he would not interfere.

As the sages looked at the Investiture of the Gods of the Gods before them, even though they hadn't refined Investiture of the Gods, they could immediately discern Investiture of the Gods power.

Although Hongjun only said that those who entered the Investiture of the Gods would become Orthodox God and be at the beck and call of the Heavenly Court,... being at the beck and call is a euphemism; to put it bluntly, it is enslavement.

And...

The name of the Investiture of the Gods of the Gods was not written arbitrarily. Although the Investiture of the Gods itself is just a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, it has restrictions set up by Hongjun.

Even saints, if they wanted to have their names written down, could only write down names related to their Karmic Luck, such as their disciples or grand-disciples.

Looking at the Investiture of the Gods the Gods before them, the sages exchanged glances. Their expressions were somewhat better than before, but...

Various thoughts arose in the minds of each Sage.

"My only disciple is Xuandu, and he shouldn't be on the list," Laozi said first, his meaning quite clear.

This Investiture of the Gods... you guys come and Laozi it, I'm not participating!

Although Laozi's meaning is concise and clear, the sages could not refute it.

After all, Laozi only had one disciple, Xuandu, whether from Human Path perspective or from the perspective of potential future retaliation from Laozi.

They obviously couldn't force Laozi to include Xuandu in the Investiture of the Gods the Laozi.

Following Laozi, Nüwa also spoke up.

"I have no lineage in this Primordial World, and besides my mount, I have no other disciples. I am powerless to change this Investiture of the Gods."

Like Laozi, Nüwa was straightforward and direct.

And similarly, the saints had nothing to say.

After all, Nüwa was right; they didn't have any disciples, so who should they write down?

After Laozi and Nüwa spoke, the other Sage did not continue to speak.

After all, they were all disciples of a Daoist lineage, and they couldn't possibly use such an excuse to refuse.

Jieyin wanted to exonerate the Western Sect from this matter, but... when he thought that Zhunti was one of the causes of this incident, Jieyin couldn't bring himself to say it.

Besides, it's not his place to speak on this matter.

After a moment of Zhunti, Zhunti calmly stepped forward and wrote dozens of names on the Investiture of the Gods.

The sages were all somewhat stunned by what they saw.

But...

They had never heard of any of the names that Zhunti had written on the Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods.

However, with his Sage Divine Ability was able to Zhunti identify all the people Zhunti had written down.

Then...

All the saints stared at Zhunti in utter bewilderment.

Among the dozens of names written on the Investiture of the Gods by Zhunti, the highest cultivation level was only Heavenly Immortal, while most of them were even at the Earth Immortal level.

Um!

That's right.

These Heavenly Immortal Earth Immortal are all disciples of Zhunti, or rather, the entire Western Sect is entirely Jieyin disciples of Zhunti.

If Zhunti were willing, he could have countless mortal disciples.

This is an advantage that no other Sage possesses.

As the sages watched Zhunti's Zhunti strokes, signing names one by one onto the Investiture of the Gods, suddenly...

The saints felt that Zhunti was getting the divine position for Zhunti.

After all, although these deities of heaven and earth are subject to the command of the Heavenly Court, they are still Orthodox God with lifespans like those of Golden Immortal, living as long as heaven itself.

These Heavenly Immortal, both Earth Immortal, would be overjoyed to have such a fortuitous opportunity.

Moreover, Zhunti Zhunti's posture, he could easily handle the entire Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods by himself, and he would accept ten or even a hundred more without hesitation.

But...

This scene.

Even Hongjun on the Dao Platform couldn't stand it anymore.

This is the Investiture of the Gods, which bestows titles upon the Orthodox God of heaven and earth, not a list of freeloaders.

Hongjun opened his eyes, and with a thought, Zhunti, who was writing happily and enthusiastically, suddenly stopped and couldn't move.

However, Zhunti's name, which was written on the Investiture of the Gods, disappeared one after another.

"The Investiture of the Gods bestows titles upon the Orthodox God of heaven and earth; those with shallow blessings and weak foundations have no chance of being enshrined there."

After saying this, Hongjun closed his eyes again.

The power that had bound Zhunti also disappeared. Looking at the completely wiped-out Investiture of the Gods, a hint of regret appeared in Zhunti's eyes.

Then...

He turned around, looking at the saints with a sorrowful expression, and said, "Fellow Daoists, as you have all seen, it's not that I don't want to sign the Investiture of the Gods."

"It is truly our Western Sect who are disappointing; each and every one of them has a weak foundation and shallow blessings, and is unworthy of this Investiture of the Gods!"

As he spoke, Zhunti shook his head, as if he was very disappointed that he had not been able to sign the Investiture of the Gods.

Of course... it's also possible that they didn't manage to get it for free, which is really disappointing.

Looking at Zhunti's appearance.

Leaving aside the other Sage, even Jieyin looked at his junior brother with a sense of helplessness, and a very strange thought welled up in his mind.

"Perhaps one day, when my junior brother completely abandons all pretense of shame, that will be the time for him to sever his Three Corpses and attain enlightenment."

The moment that thought appeared, it was immediately shattered by the Jieyin and expelled from his mind.

The thought of shamelessly severing the Three Corpses is terrifying, even for someone with the State of Mind of Jieyin.

It's better if this kind of thing doesn't happen.