Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

The expected divine punishment did not come.

Above the nine heavens, the pure essence of the Heavenly Dao still flows quietly, without the slightest ripple.

It was as if the Investiture of the Gods had been destroyed and the true spirits on it had perished... It was just a trivial matter that could not attract the slightest attention from the Heavenly Dao.

No, it's not that we don't care.

Instead... they dared not pay attention.

Jiang Ziya suddenly realized what was happening.

He stiffly turned his neck, slowly raised his head, and looked at the figure in black robes in the air.

Kong Xuan remained standing with his hands behind his back, his expression calm and unwavering.

It was as if casually wiping away the Investiture of the Gods and annihilating countless true spirits was just a trivial matter, more common than brushing dust off one's sleeves.

Sunlight fell on him, and a faint, hazy halo appeared at the edge of his black robe.

Standing there, he seemed to be the center of this world, a supreme being who transcended all rules...

In Jiang Ziya's mind, he suddenly recalled the terrifying scene before Chuanyun Pass where Kong Xuan had attained the Dao of Hunyuan and suppressed the Four Saints with his own power.

Recalling the sky above Jin'ao Island, Kong Xuan resolutely destroyed Jieyin and shattered the twelve-petaled Golden Lotus of Merit.

Recalling the scene outside Zixiao Palace, Kong Xuan severed the selfish desires of the Heavenly Dao with a single sword strike, awakening the supreme power of the Earthly Dao and the Human Dao...

Even the selfish desires of the Heavenly Dao can be suppressed and refined at will.

He could even sever the shackles of the underground tunnel with a single sword strike.

Even humanity can be forcibly awakened, enabling the nine saints to emerge together...

Would such a being care about a list of gods?

Would they care about the so-called backlash from Heaven?

The Way of Heaven...

Do you dare to make a move against him?

Jiang Ziya's lips twitched, revealing a bitter smile that was even more hideous than crying.

He finally understood.

It's not that Kong Xuan wasn't afraid of Heaven's intervention.

Rather... Heaven itself doesn't dare to intervene!

Faced with absolute power, the so-called laws of heaven, the so-called predetermined calamities, the so-called chess game of sages... are all nothing but jokes.

Kong Xuan had already stepped out of the chessboard and become the player.

Even... the one who overturned the chessboard and rewrote the rules!

"The Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods..."

Kong Xuan finally spoke, his voice calm yet as cold as ice, freezing Jiang Ziya's last shred of hope:

That's all.

His gaze swept over the dilapidated city of Xiqi below, over Jiang Ziya who lay limp on the ground, and over the dozens of trembling remnants of the Chan Sect.

"From this day forward, there will be no more calamities of the conferment of gods in the primordial world."

"The positions of gods in the Heavenly Court shall be selected by the cycle of reincarnation on Earth and by the will of humanity, no longer subject to the control of the Heavenly Way, and no longer pawns in the grand scheme of things."

"You all..."

Kong Xuan paused, his gaze indifferent:

"If one wishes to relinquish one's cultivation and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, one may be able to preserve a wisp of one's true spirit, be reborn as a human, and enjoy the nourishment of human fortune."

"If they remain stubbornly unrepentant..."

He didn't continue.

But the fleeting chill in those calm eyes sent shivers down everyone's spines, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

Jiang Ziya slumped in the dust, speechless for a long time.

Finally, he slowly closed his eyes, and two streams of turbid tears silently slid down from the corners of his eyes.

He knew he had lost.

A crushing defeat.

From the moment Master chose to join forces with the Western Sect, plot against the Jie Sect, and push forward the Investiture of the Gods calamity... perhaps, today's ending was already destined.

No one expected that the ending would come in this way.

So thorough, so... absurd.

"Jiang Shang...accepts the order."

Jiang Ziya's voice was hoarse as he bowed deeply to the figure in the air.

Behind him, the dozens of disciples of the Chan Sect also turned ashen-faced and knelt down one after another.

They knew that the Chan Sect was finished.

The Xuanmen (Taoist sect) is finished... too.

From this day forward, the primordial world will belong to the Jie Sect, and to humanity.

It was Kong Xuan... whose word could decide the fate of the world.

Kong Xuan stopped looking at them.

He turned around, took a step, and disappeared into the sky above Qishan.

When they reappeared, they were already in the thirty-third heaven, in front of the Lingxiao Palace.

The area in front of the palace was deserted, with only the remaining Heavenly Court restrictions flickering and emanating a weak aura of the Heavenly Dao.

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West, upon sensing the fall of the Four Sages and the destruction of the Investiture of the Gods, sealed off the Lingxiao Palace and hid deep within the origin of the Heavenly Dao, daring not to reveal themselves.

Kong Xuan did not force his way in.

He simply stood before the hall, his gaze calm, looking at the tightly closed hall doors.

"A Heavenly Court shall be established."

"However, one should not be a puppet of Heaven's will."

He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet it clearly penetrated the depths of the Lingxiao Palace and reached the very source of the Heavenly Dao:

"From this day forward, the divine offices of the Heavenly Court will be elected by the cycle of reincarnation on Earth, recognized by the will of humanity, and registered with the purified rules of the Heavenly Way."

"The order of the three realms should be jointly governed by the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, with each path checking and balancing the others, and no one should be supreme."

The words fell.

He raised his hand and pointed towards the void of Lingxiao Palace.

hum!

A chaotic-colored Dao pattern flew out from his fingertip and disappeared into the palace gate.

The Dao patterns flowed and evolved into the Five Elements, returning to chaos, and finally transformed into an ancient and simple chaotic mark, imprinted in the center of the lintel of the Lingxiao Palace.

The instant the mark takes shape.

The entire Heavenly Court trembled slightly.

The remaining Heavenly Dao restrictions quietly dissolved, replaced by a more balanced, peaceful, and inclusive aura of rules spreading out.

Within that aura, there was a faint sound of reincarnation, the flame of humanity, and the pure rhythm of the heavenly way.

With the three paths standing side by side, order was initially established.

Having done all this, Kong Xuan did not linger.

He turned and looked towards the primordial land, towards the nine still-glowing rays of human holy light, towards Golden Turtle Island, towards the Undying Volcano...

Finally, his gaze fell into the depths of chaos.

There, the final cause and effect still lies... and needs to be resolved.

The ruins of Zixiao Palace.

A void, a crevice.

Yangmei Daoist, holding a jade-green bamboo staff, stood quietly outside the spatial cage, his gaze calmly fixed on the five figures inside.

Hongjun Daozu sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed, his face ashen, and his breath extremely weak.

The four saints—Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti—lay horizontally, their sacred bodies broken and their true spirits dim, unable even to move.

They were like puppets stripped of all their energy and spirit, paralyzed in the cold void, awaiting their final judgment.

The moment Kong Xuan erased the Investiture of the Gods and reshaped the rules of Heaven.

Hongjun slowly opened his eyes.

Those eyes, which once merged with the Dao of Heaven and saw through the rise and fall of all ages, are now completely dim, leaving only a deathly silence and bewilderment.

"The Investiture of the Gods... is it destroyed?"

His voice was dry, as if sandpaper was being rubbed.

Master Yangmei nodded slightly:

"It's ruined."

"Is the list truly divine?"

"Extinction."

Hongjun remained silent.

After a long while, the corners of his mouth twitched, revealing a smile that was hard to tell whether it was a cry or a laugh.

"Okay...okay..."

"Nine saints in one day, may humanity prosper forever."

"The Investiture of the Gods is destroyed, and the great calamity is finally over."

"With the three paths standing side by side, order is restored..."

He muttered to himself, his voice growing softer and softer until it finally turned into a long, drawn-out sigh, as if he were being relieved.

"This primordial world... has finally... changed."

The words fell.

The void before him rippled slightly.

Kong Xuan's figure emerged from nothingness with a single step.

The black robe remained, and the black hair fluttered gently.

His gaze was calm as he swept over the five people in the cage.

"Hongjun".

Kong Xuan slowly opened his mouth:

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

Hongjun looked up and gazed at Kong Xuan.

His gaze was complex, filled with hatred, fear, resentment, and a deep weariness.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's nothing more to say."

His voice was hoarse:

"Just one question... who exactly are you?"

This problem had been troubling him for far too long.

Born in the primordial era, this being of the Phoenix Clan bloodline has a flawed origin... How did it manage to reach this point?

By what right can one disregard the rules of Heaven, by what right can one wield the power of the Great Dao, by what right can one... be above all else?