Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

"A great calamity!"

Upon hearing the word "Great Tribulation," all the disciples were shocked. The Great Tribulation of the Lich King was still fresh in their minds. They had all witnessed the earth-shattering scene and could not forget it. In particular, during the battle between the Lich King and the Demon King, Mount Buzhou was destroyed, causing the sky to collapse and the earth to sink. If it were not for the intervention of a sage, most of the prehistoric world would have been destroyed!

Daoist Duobao asked, "Master, the Lich War just ended not long ago, why is there a new calamity so soon?"

The Tongtian Sect Leader said, "This great calamity was caused by the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court was ordered to manage the prehistoric world, but the disciples of the sages were disobedient, and Haotian complained to the Dao Ancestor. This great calamity is aimed at the three sects of Xuanmen."

Everyone was startled again. Did the Tongtian Sect Leader mean that they were all in calamity?

"Haotian, you brat, you deserve to die!" A disciple of the Jie Sect cursed Haotian. Lei Ming glanced at the disciples who were cursing and saw that these disciples had heavy tribulation energy on them, and most of them were destined to face tribulation.

Upon seeing this, the Tongtian Sect Leader sighed softly. A sage's thought can illuminate ten thousand miles. Although he couldn't see clearly what was happening in the Investiture of the Gods, he could foresee the fate of the Jie Sect. Regardless of the course of the Investiture of the Gods war, the decline of the Jie Sect after the Investiture of the Gods was already a foregone conclusion.

Lei Ming also knew the outcome of the Investiture of the Gods. Thinking of the many fellow disciples in the palace who lost their freedom in the Investiture of the Gods war, Lei Ming was very unwilling.

"If you do not wish to be tainted by the calamity, then close your cave and silently recite the Yellow Court Classic to avoid the calamity," said the Tongtian Sect Leader.

The disciples of the Jie Sect were somewhat relieved upon hearing this, though some did not take Tongtian Jiaozhu's words seriously. In their view, if the three sects were to compete in strength, excluding saints, the Jie Sect would undoubtedly be number one! Not to mention that the sect had quasi-saints like Lei Ming and Daluo Jinxian like Duobao Daoren, who was only one step away from quasi-saints, the Jie Sect alone had more than ten Daluo Jinxians and dozens of Taiyi Jinxians among its disciples. Moreover, the Jie Sect was proficient in formations, making the Ren Sect and Chan Sect no match for them!

After speaking for a while, the Tongtian Sect Leader dismissed the other disciples, leaving only the core disciples behind. Looking at his disciples, he felt both gratified and worried. The Jie Sect's fortune was unstable and couldn't protect so many disciples; some of them were likely destined for the Investiture of the Gods.

"Master, is the Western Sect involved in this great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods?" Lei Ming asked.

The Master of the Heavens shook his head: "The Western Sect belongs to a side sect and is not included in the Investiture of the Gods."

Lei Ming understood. For Xuanmen disciples with weak foundations, the Investiture of the Gods might not be a bad thing. After all, the Heavenly Court was also the orthodox authority of the prehistoric world and was crucial to the fortune of Xuanmen. If the Western Sect could also Investiture the Gods, the Sage of Reception and the Daoist Zhunti would probably send a large number of disciples to the Heavenly Court.

"Master, since the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation, the time between tribulations has been getting shorter and shorter. Is this a problem with the evolution of the Heavenly Dao?" Lei Ming asked again.

The Tongtian Sect Leader was taken aback; it was clear he hadn't considered this question before. Faced with Lei Ming's question, the Tongtian Sect Leader couldn't answer. At that moment, the observant Lei Ming noticed something was off about the Tongtian Sect Leader's eyes—empty and cold—and that only lasted for a fleeting instant.

"It's the Heavenly Dao that's made its move!" Lei Ming broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn't expected that one of his questions would force the Heavenly Dao to reveal itself. And the fact that the Heavenly Dao could descend upon the Tongtian Sect Leader meant that the Heavenly Dao did indeed have a way to control saints—this was terrifying!

"It must be because of the Primordial Purple Qi!" Lei Ming thought to himself.

The Tongtian Sect Leader seemed to have forgotten Lei Ming's question, and Lei Ming didn't dare to bring it up again. After talking for a while, the Tongtian Sect Leader told Lei Ming and the others to go back. As they left Biyou Palace, Lei Ming looked back and suddenly noticed that the Tongtian Sect Leader's shadow looked somewhat lonely and forlorn.

"Junior Brother Lei, it's been so many years! I've missed your White Frost Tea so much!" Zhao Gongming patted Lei Ming on the shoulder and laughed. "My three sisters, how about we go to Junior Brother Lei's Li Yuan Island?"

"Great! Junior Brother Lei was always in seclusion before, so it wasn't easy to see him!" Bixiao said.

Lei Ming put aside his thoughts and smiled, "Welcome, I also wanted to discuss the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation with my senior brothers and sisters."

After leaving Zixiao Palace, the Guide Daoist and the Zhunti Daoist always had smiles on their faces. They had been planning for so many years and finally waited for the opportunity for the West to prosper!

Sages are neither elated nor saddened, taking the will of Heaven as their own. However, even sages experience sorrow and suffering. The greatest sorrow of the Daoist Guide and the Daoist Cundi was the vow they made upon attaining enlightenment. If they failed to fulfill their vows, they would not only fall from their sagehood but also face the backlash of Heaven's power. Now that the East has been granted the title of God, the West has the opportunity to seize power and achieve great prosperity. How could the two sages not be overjoyed?

Before the Investiture of the Gods even began, the two started plotting.

"Senior brother, in this great calamity, our main opponent is still the Jie Sect," said Zhunti Daoist. "The Tongtian Sect Leader possesses the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, which cannot be broken by any of the Four Sages. I believe Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun are also wary of it. This time, we will break the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation and completely crush the Jie Sect!"

The Sage of Guidance turned his prayer beads and nodded slightly: "The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation cannot exist in this world. The struggle between the Chan Sect and the Jie Sect is the most intense in the mortal realm, so we will begin our plan there."

"We cannot give up on the Underworld either!" said Daoist Zhunti. "Taiyi and the Five Ghost Emperors have joined forces to suppress Ksitigarbha, and our power in the Underworld is constantly declining. We must seize this opportunity to take it back in one fell swoop."

"The Chan Sect is our ally in this great calamity, so we shouldn't offend them for now. However, we can take action against the Five Ghost Emperors of the Jie Sect. But since the Investiture of the Gods hasn't started yet, let's wait a bit longer to avoid attracting the attention of the Jie Sect," said the Guide Daoist.

Daoist Zhunti laughed and said, "What Senior Brother says is true, but we may not necessarily need to take action to deal with the Five Ghost Emperors..."

The benevolent corpse of Daoist Zhunti, the Bodhi Patriarch, left Mount Sumeru and went to the Northern Sea. Not long after, he went to the Blood Sea. The Bodhi Patriarch's whereabouts were concealed by Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, and with the Investiture of the Gods approaching, the other saints were unaware of his whereabouts.

After hundreds of years of experience, Yang Jiao had risen to the position of General of the Yin Shang Dynasty. By chance, he encountered Kong Xuan. Although Kong Xuan didn't reveal a trace of his own aura, Yang Jiao still sensed his terrifying power. He recognized an aura in Kong Xuan similar to that of his master.

While in the mortal realm, Yang Jiao did not use his magical powers; countless battles honed his martial arts skills to perfection. Now, Yang Jiao's swordsmanship has transcended mere technique and is slowly approaching the Dao.

Guang Chengzi, having mastered the art of swordsmanship, traveled the mortal realm and happened to see Yang Jiao practicing his swordplay. In Yang Jiao, Guang Chengzi saw the purest essence of swordsmanship.

Guang Chengzi's heart stirred; Yang Jiao possessed the aptitude to inherit his sword immortality.

One day, Yang Jiao was in his military camp when his men reported that his supplies had been robbed by a group of bandits. Yang Jiao didn't take it seriously and immediately sent troops to surround and suppress the bandits. Unexpectedly, his elite troops were no match for the bandits.

Yang Jiao immediately mustered his troops and personally led the charge. Upon seeing the bandits, he finally understood the reason. It turned out that the bandits were actually Daoist soldiers of a highly skilled master, their strength comparable to that of immortals.

"Who is this venerable being who has graced us with their presence?" Yang Jiao shouted loudly.

A burly man came down from the mountain, carrying a steel rod in his hand. He slammed the rod down on the ground, and the mountain shook.

"What do you want from me?" the burly man asked in a rough and aggressive voice.

Yang Jiao was delighted to see this man; he was truly a born war god. He was eager to win him over, and his tone became more polite.

"Fellow Daoist, Crimson Dragon Mountain is under my jurisdiction. I heard that you seized my army's supplies. May I ask why?" Yang Jiao asked.

The burly man grinned: "Take what you want. If you want your supplies back, just beat this iron rod of mine."

"Then I'll have to offend you!"

Yang Jiao drew the God-Slaying Sword from his waist. At this moment, the God-Slaying Sword's power was sealed, and apart from its hardness, it was no different from any other ordinary sword. However, the burly man could tell the extraordinary nature of the God-Slaying Sword with a single glance.

The sword flashed, bringing with it a chilling aura. The burly man's iron cudgel finally moved. With a gentle thrust, he broke Yang Jiao's sword strike.

Yang Jiao was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered. He changed his sword technique, this time his sword intent became blazing. However, the big man remained calm and easily broke through Yang Jiao's sword intent again.

Yang Jiao immediately realized that the other party was definitely a master.

Yang Jiao was not afraid. He calmed himself down and saw four sword lights flying towards the big man. There was a special connection between the sword lights, which surprised the big man.

boom!

The burly man swept his iron rod across the room, shattering four sword lights in a single strike.

Yang Jiao was truly astonished this time. He had been in the Yin Shang Dynasty for hundreds of years and had already achieved the Golden Immortal realm, reaching a very high level of understanding of the God-Slaying Sword Intent. Even a Taiyi Golden Immortal wouldn't be able to handle this move so lightly. The only explanation was that this burly man was a Daluo Golden Immortal.

Yang Jiao remained vigilant as the burly man flew away. Before leaving, a sword aura descended from the sky and landed on a nearby mountain peak. The towering peak was cleaved in two by the sword aura, leaving sword patterns on the stone wall. Yang Jiao looked at those patterns and discovered that they contained a profound sword technique.

"This..." Yang Jiao was confused.

After the burly man flew away, his figure changed, revealing himself to be Guang Chengzi. Guang Chengzi was quite regretful at this moment. He had originally valued Yang Jiao's swordsmanship talent and wanted to take him under his wing. However, after Yang Jiao unleashed the God-Slaying Sword Intent, Guang Chengzi knew his lineage. The God-Slaying Sword Intent originated from the Immortal-Slaying Sword; ordinary people couldn't see it, but it was impossible to hide from Guang Chengzi, who was deeply versed in swordsmanship.

"Among the disciples of the Jie Sect who are skilled in the Zhuxian Sword Intent are only Duobao Daoist and Leiming. I wonder which of them this boy is a disciple of?" Guang Chengzi thought to himself.

Yang Jiao spent several years studying the sword technique left behind by Guang Chengzi. This sword technique was not profound, but rather very basic. However, this basic sword technique was more important to Yang Jiao.

"So that's how it is." Yang Jiao finally understood. Combining Guang Chengzi's swordsmanship, he completely broke free from the influence of the Ruthless Great Emperor. Yang Jiao's cultivation also broke through, reaching the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.