Primordial Era: I, Tongtian, will slay all enemies!

The blood mist swirled and rolled slowly in the air, its pungent, bloody stench almost tangible, assaulting everyone's sense of smell. After a long while, the blood mist gradually dissipated.

At the very front, the man in the red robe was none other than the Styx Ancestor. His upright posture resembled a majestic mountain peak, giving people an invisible sense of oppression.

A blood-red light flashed in Styx's deep eyes, concealing endless killing intent. Behind him, a group of Asura Cult disciples stood in neat rows.

Standing beside the River Styx was Taoist Xiangxu, his expression calm, his green robe standing out incongruously in the somber atmosphere.

He looked at the couple embracing in the distance, and the moment their eyes met, they both nodded slightly.

A moment later, Styx and the others descended upon Houtu's side like a whirlwind.

That aura instantly swept over the entire Mount Sumeru, and the surrounding air was compressed, making a "whooshing" sound.

Styx stepped forward, clasped his hands together, bowed respectfully, and said, "This humble Taoist, Styx, pays respects to the Goddess Houtu. I have come with disciples of the Asura Sect to offer my assistance and share Your Majesty's burdens."

Houtu frowned slightly, her gaze deep and unfathomable. In an instant, she realized that all of this was Tongtian's arrangement, and she pondered to herself.

"Tongtian's move is indeed ingenious. By involving the Styx Ancestor, the situation of the Investiture of the Gods calamity becomes even more complicated, making things more difficult for Hongjun. However, this also strengthens the power of my Underworld!"

After pondering for a moment, Houtu spoke up: "Fellow Daoist Styx, in the Six Paths of Reincarnation in my Underworld, there is a Path of Asura. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Styx is interested in the position of Path Master?"

Ancestor Styx was overjoyed; he had been waiting for these words for a long time. In his previous conversation with Tongtian, he had already determined two paths to sainthood.

One path is to attain enlightenment through endless slaughter, while the other is to entrust one's true spirit to the Earthly Dao and become a Saint of the Earthly Dao.

Without hesitation, he replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. This humble Taoist is willing to reside in the Underworld and bring blessings to all living beings in the primordial world!"

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun's face was terribly gloomy. He never imagined that the Investiture of the Gods would develop to such an out-of-control point.

The human race, which once valued peace above all else, now frequently besieges the sacred sites of saints, and no one expected such a thing to happen.

"Sigh, where exactly did things go wrong? Even the usually cowardly Styx has openly taken sides, and the human race... sigh." Thinking to himself, he flashed and instantly disappeared from Zixiao Palace.

The next moment, Hongjun appeared on Mount Kunlun. As soon as he appeared, a powerful aura pressed down on everyone.

"Do you all think I, the Dao Ancestor, am dead? Or have you disregarded my words and dared to incite war here? Are you truly not afraid of divine retribution?!"

Upon seeing this, Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes flashed with a subtle cunning. He immediately stepped forward, respectfully bowed to Hongjun, and began to complain.

"Please, Master, see the truth! This King has shown no respect for the Sage, daring to lead his troops to besiege my Kunlun Mountain. Such a treasonous act is unforgivable. Please, Master, do justice for your disciple!"

"Master, please understand! Yuanshi's disciples, Guangchengzi and Chijingzi, have trespassed into the Human King's palace, not only attempting to assassinate the Human King but also trying to kidnap his son. We beg you, Master, to punish Yuanshi and restore justice to the human race!"

"We implore the Dao Ancestor to uphold justice for the human race. Humanity's actions were truly born of desperation. The disciple of the Primordial Sage has committed such a grave crime; if he is not punished, it will be an injustice to Heaven!"

"Nonsense! It's an honor for those two ants that our Chan Sect would even deign to look upon them. Don't be ungrateful!"

Hongjun looked at Yuanshi Tianzun with disappointment. "Yuanshi, this was indeed your fault. Di Xin, tell me, what does the human race want?"

"We urge the Primordial Sage to hand over Guangchengzi and Chijingzi to the human race so that they may deal with them according to the law. Only in this way can the anger of the human race be appeased."

Upon hearing this, Yuanshi Tianzun's expression changed, and he immediately refused, "How can the disciples of a sage be entrusted to ants like you? Even if they have made mistakes, it is up to me to deal with them; how dare you interfere!"

"Dao Ancestor, as you have seen, the Primordial Sage is unwilling to negotiate peace. It is not that we are being unreasonable. Please allow the human race to resolve this among themselves."

"A sage cannot be insulted, and a sage's disciple should certainly not be entrusted to outsiders. Your Majesty, perhaps you should change your terms."

Just as Di Xin was about to speak, Nuwa stopped him and looked at Hongjun with a serious expression.

"Since Yuanshi is unwilling to hand over his disciple, then compensate with spiritual treasures: fourteen top-grade innate spiritual treasures and hundreds of acquired spiritual treasures. This should be enough to quell the anger of the human race."

These words shocked everyone present. Their eyes widened, their mouths gaped, and their faces were filled with disbelief. This request was simply outrageous.

The Primordial Celestial Lord was instantly enraged. He trembled with rage and pointed at Nuwa, shouting, "You worthless wretch! You're indulging in wishful thinking!"

Seeing this, Hongjun immediately tried to smooth things over, "One hundred acquired spiritual treasures are acceptable, but fourteen top-grade innate spiritual treasures are a bit too many. Let's compromise: seven, for the Human King, how about that?"

Di Xin looked at Nuwa, who nodded slightly. Seeing that Nuwa agreed, Di Xin said nothing more. After all, the person opposite him was a sage, and he couldn't push her too hard.

"In that case, we leave it entirely to the Dao Ancestor to decide, and our human race has no objection."

"In that case, make compensation, Yuanshi."

After saying this, Hongjun disappeared. Before leaving, he secretly transmitted his voice to Jieyin, Zhunti, and Yuanshi, saying, "When this matter is settled, come to Zixiao Palace. I will come too."

Although Yuanshi Tianzun was unwilling, he dared not disobey Hongjun's order. He glared fiercely at Nuwa and Di Xin, and then reluctantly took out seven top-grade innate spiritual treasures and hundreds of acquired spiritual treasures, handing them to Nuwa.

Having achieved his goal, Di Xin shouted, "Human warriors, retreat!"

After the order was given, the human army withdrew in an orderly manner.

After everything was over, Jieyin, Zhunti, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Laozi arrived at Zixiao Palace.

Hongjun looked at the crowd and said, "The Investiture of the Gods is fraught with too many variables. What do you all think?"

"Teacher, the variables in this great calamity are getting greater and greater, and the first variable is Tongtian. First it was our Western Sect, and now it's the Chan Sect. I'm afraid all of this is Tongtian's doing."

Zhunti was extremely dissatisfied with Tongtian's behavior, so regardless of whether it had anything to do with Tongtian, he would blame Tongtian for everything.

Yuanshi also stirred things up from the side, "Teacher, Tongtian's actions are clearly a deliberate attempt to oppose us. If we don't suppress him, the Investiture of the Gods calamity may completely spiral out of control."

"I will shield all hope of survival within the Zixiao Palace. You shall go and suppress Tongtian."

"Teacher, it's not that our Chan Sect is unwilling, but if Nuwa and Houtu were to lend a hand, the four of us might not be a match for them."

"Haven't you noticed that Tongtian hasn't appeared for quite some time?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was initially taken aback, but then became excited.

"Teacher, do you mean that Tongtian has... disappeared?"

A hint of anticipation flashed in Zhunti's eyes. If Tongtian was really gone, then dealing with the group of people on Jin'ao Island would be much easier.

"You may go. I have searched Jin'ao Island with the power of the Heavenly Dao, but I have not found any trace of Tongtian."

Yuanshi Tianzun was excited, thinking to himself, "Even if I can't suppress Tongtian, killing all those bastards on Jin'ao Island is still a gain. In this way, the disciples of the Chan Sect can be protected."

A slight upturn of his lips and a cruel smile flashed in his eyes, as if he could already see the scene of blood flowing like a river on Jin'ao Island.

Lao Tzu glanced at the appearance of Yuanshi Tianzun, sighed inwardly, and said nothing.

"Go quickly and bring back the Heavenly Suppressor!"

The four sages bowed to Hongjun and then flew towards Jin'ao Island. The three sages, except for Laozi, were all extremely excited.

After all, there are few opportunities to avenge past humiliations. It is rare for Hongjun to foresee that Tongtian might encounter misfortune, so he must seize this great opportunity.

Moreover, even without suppressing Tongtian, sending the disciples of Jin'ao Island to the Investiture of the Gods would still be a great achievement.