Su Fu was envious once again. It was said that these Clouds of Celebration were formed from the noble upright qi in Pangu’s heart. It was a defensive treasure on par with the Exquisite Pagoda. Once manifested, it could ignore the attacks of any treasure or weapon and provide immunity to the damage of all godly powers and spells.
They were truly Saints. These treasures were at the very top of the Great Desolation!
Seeing that Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun had already suppressed two of the swords, Jieyin Daoist entered through the southern Lu Xian gate.
He directly revealed his original form’s protection, the twelve-grade golden lotus. On the lotus pedestal, Sarira stones radiated brilliant light, illuminating the great chiliocosm and dissolving all the sharp sword qi of the Lu Xian Sword.
At the same time, Saint Zhunti entered the sword array from the northern gate. He directly revealed his golden divine manifestation with eighteen arms and twenty-four heads.
Each arm held a Buddhist treasure. His main hand held his tool of enlightenment, the Seven-Jeweled Tree. With one swipe toward the Jue Xian Sword, he easily brushed away its sword qi.
Zhunti pressed his advantage, all eighteen arms forming seals simultaneously while he chanted western mantras, completely suppressing the Jue Xian Sword’s offensive.
At this point, all four Saints had entered the array.
However, the attacks of the four Zhu Xian swords were all blocked by the godly powers and treasures of the four Saints. Although the Zhu Xian Sword Array was still operating, the four main swords were pinned down, and their power was greatly reduced.
Grandmaster Tongtian’s expression was grim. The Qingping Sword in his hand let out a clear chime as he lunged toward the four Saints!
“Since the four swords are useless, I shall personally face you all!”
The Kui Ox stepped into the air, and the Qingping Sword transformed into ten thousand feet of green light. He actually used his own strength to attack Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti all at once!
The Great Desolation Channel exploded instantly:
**[Oh my god! These Saints are way too strong!]**
**[Once that pagoda comes out, Laozi is just taking a stroll inside! I’m so jealous, I want one!]**
**[Yuanshi Tianzun is also very strong. There’s actually celestial music coming from the clouds on his head!]**
**[There are even golden lotuses and pearls falling from the sky. It’s a bit flashy, but I like it!]**
**[Wait, did Saint Jieyin reveal his original form? He became a Saint as a twelve-grade golden lotus?]**
**[I counted Saint Zhunti’s manifestation — he actually has eighteen arms and twenty-four heads. This dharma body is too strong!]**
**[But if we’re talking about the strongest, it’s undoubtedly Grandmaster Tongtian!]**
**[Isn’t that the truth? He’s fighting four at once!]**
**[I’ve been wanting to say this since just now — Tongtian is incredible. Even with the Zhu Xian Sword Array being countered, he still dares to go head-on. His combat power is terrifying!]**
**[Laozi’s pagoda, Yuanshi’s clouds, Jieyin’s twelve-grade golden lotus, Zhunti’s eighteen-armed manifestation… How can Tongtian fight against this ganging-up lineup?]**
**[But have you noticed? Grandmaster Tongtian has held out for this long without falling behind!]**
**[The fact that four Saints have to gang up on Tongtian proves who is the strongest. I’m voting for Grandmaster Tongtian!]**
…
The four Saints each showed their godly powers, and the battle grew more intense.
Su Fu looked at the lively comments and thought that if anyone were the strongest among the Saints, it would be Laozi. He was the eldest disciple of Hongjun and the Eldest Senior Brother of the Xuanmen. Not only did he possess countless magical treasures, but he was also the Saint with the deepest understanding of the Dao.
Specifically, his godly power, One Qi into Three Pures, where three became one, was unrivaled in the Great Desolation — the number one person beneath the Heavenly Dao.
The so-called “Three Pures” meant he could instantly manifest three avatars: Shangqing, Yuqing, and Taiqing. Each avatar possessed the aura of a Saint, and their strength was nearly 99% that of the original body. This was a top-tier spell that came infinitely close to the Great Dao. Even Ancestor Hongjun had not mastered it, which showed its strength.
At this moment, as the four Saints fought together, Laozi was the main attacker.
Sure enough, seeing that the battle was dragging on, Laozi sighed.
“Junior Brother, you set up an array against heaven. As the head of the Xuanmen, I must stop you. Do not blame me. One Qi into Three Pures!”
*Boom!*
He gave a slight smile and his body swayed, suddenly manifesting three Daoists! The three Daoists occupied different directions, joining Laozi’s original body to surround Tongtian.
Su Fu let out a sigh. Although Grandmaster Tongtian was strong, facing four Saints plus the three avatars of the Three Pures, his defeat was certain.
The Great Desolation Channel went even wilder:
**[Holy crap! Am I seeing this right?! Three Saint clones?!]**
**[It’s over! Four against one was already bullying, but now it’s seven against one?]**
**[Tongtian is in danger!]**
**[Heavens, this is simply a lack of martial ethics!]**
**[What martial ethics are there in a battle of Saints? Winning is the only logic!]**
**[Tongtian: Laozi, you’re a sore loser!]**
**[This is literally the number one tragedy of the Great Desolation…]**
**[Grandmaster Tongtian, seriously, you’re the top in my heart from now on! Honorable in defeat!]**
**[Exactly. Being able to face the pressure of seven Saints, Grandmaster Tongtian is incredibly strong!]**
Inside the array, the numerous Saints had already begun to gang up on Grandmaster Tongtian.
“Junior Brother, admit defeat!” Yuanshi Tianzun seized an opening. The Three-Jeweled Jade Ruyi turned into a streak of light, striking toward Grandmaster Tongtian’s back.
Grandmaster Tongtian turned hurriedly, blocking with the Qingping Sword. He barely managed to withstand the blow, but it left his arm numb. He decisively realized that under the siege of so many people, he had to take down one person first!
He shifted his body, attacking toward Jieyin Daoist. Among the two Western Saints, although Jieyin was the manifestation of the twelve-grade golden lotus, his offensive methods were relatively limited.
“Break the West first!”
With a loud shout from Grandmaster Tongtian, the Kui Ox suddenly accelerated. The Qingping Sword erupted with ten thousand feet of green light, aimed directly at Jieyin Daoist.
Jieyin Daoist’s expression changed slightly. The golden lotus beneath his feet spun rapidly, and five golden lotuses appeared out of thin air, forming a barrier.
*Boom!*
The thunderous strike was blocked by the five golden lotuses, but the outermost lotus was shattered.
Right then, Laozi took the opportunity to act. With a wave of his hand, his staff appeared out of thin air, swinging fiercely toward Grandmaster Tongtian’s back!
*Thud!*
The staff landed solidly on Grandmaster Tongtian’s shoulder, making a dull sound.
Grandmaster Tongtian let out a muffled groan, his body swaying, nearly losing his grip on the Qingping Sword.
Seeing this, Zhunti Daoist fully activated his eighteen-armed golden manifestation. Taking advantage of Grandmaster Tongtian’s instability, he swung his divine pestle violently at Tongtian’s side.
‘It’s a pity I don’t have Kong Xuan to pin him down…’ Zhunti thought to himself. If he had been able to subdue the peacock earlier, he could have used the Five-Colored Divine Light to assist and affect Grandmaster Tongtian. The victory would have been decided long ago!
Just as the divine pestle was about to hit, Grandmaster Tongtian suddenly turned around and sneered, “Do you think you’re worthy?”
*Swish!*
The Qingping Sword swept across, the sword qi like a rainbow, directly cutting off three of Zhunti’s arms!
Buddhist treasures fell from the clouds. Zhunti let out a wail, and his golden manifestation instantly dimmed as he retreated in panic.
“Tongtian! You dare to harm my junior brother!” Jieyin Daoist was furious. The twelve-grade golden lotus spun crazily, and twelve golden lotuses smashed one after another toward Grandmaster Tongtian.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Grandmaster Tongtian had just heavily injured Zhunti and had not yet regained his defense. He was hit squarely by the lotuses, and his breathing hitched.
At the same time, Yuanshi Tianzun and Laozi attacked him again. Everyone struck at once, and Grandmaster Tongtian was forced back step by step, looking quite battered.
“Hmph, so this is all the skill you have?” Jieyin sneered. “You even dared to set up something like the Zhu Xian Array? How arrogant!”
Being humiliated like this, Grandmaster Tongtian was filled with rage. “You are bullying me with numbers! Do you even have the right to talk about me?!”
Seeing this scene, Su Fu sighed.
She hadn’t expected that even though she had picked up the Sea-Fixing Beads in advance, Grandmaster Tongtian would still suffer this humiliation. In the original version of the Investiture of the Gods, it was Ran Deng who used the Sea-Fixing Beads to sneak attack and humiliate Grandmaster Tongtian, but now it had been replaced by Jieyin Daoist.
While the four Saints were keeping Grandmaster Tongtian pinned down, Guangchengzi and the others had already taken the opportunity to rush to the four gates and take down the four swords: Zhu Xian, Lu Xian, Xian Xian, and Jue Xian.
In an instant, the heavens collapsed and the earth split. Sword qi scattered everywhere, and the Zhu Xian Sword Array was thus dismantled.
Grandmaster Tongtian stood upon the Kui Ox’s back, his long hair disheveled, looking completely disarrayed.
He glared at Yuanshi Tianzun and Laozi, his voice hoarse:
“Yuanshi! Laozi! You actually joined forces with the Western Sect to bully my Sect of Interception!”
“Even more shamelessly, you ganged up on me, helping outsiders bully your own fellow disciple!”
“Senior brothers, you have simply gone too far!”
Yuanshi Tianzun’s face remained unchanged. “It was you, Junior Brother, who first went against heaven’s mandate.”
“Heaven’s mandate? Hahahaha!” Grandmaster Tongtian suddenly laughed wildly, his laughter filled with grief and indignation. “So this so-called heaven’s mandate means that everyone who ends up on the Investiture of the Gods must be from my Sect of Interception?”
“In that case, why talk about the three sects setting the Investiture of the Gods together? You might as well have just picked my Sect of Interception directly!”
He shouted in anger, “I only hate that my regret comes too late!”
“I hate that I was too sentimental and righteous! Too observant of the rules! Too trusting in the so-called heaven’s mandate!”
“Now that you have won, you can hold high the banner of heaven’s will. One day, if I win, I shall naturally rewrite everything!”
He pointed his Qingping Sword at the four Saints. “I shall remember the humiliation of today! I shall pay it back a hundredfold in the future!”
“If I do not avenge this, I swear I am not a person!”
After saying that, he slapped the Kui Ox and transformed into a streak of green light, disappearing into the distance.
He did not return to Biyou Palace. Instead, he built a thatched hut on Zizhi Cliff and worked day and night to refine a single object: the Six-Soul Banner.
Having broken the Zhu Xian Array, Yuanshi Tianzun was in a great mood. However, he still maintained the air of one following the orthodox heaven’s mandate and spoke to the gathered immortals:
“This was brought about by Tongtian acting against heaven. He brought this disaster upon himself.”
“As Saints, we follow the will of heaven and should naturally protect the order of the Great Desolation.”
“For now, the four swords of the Zhu Xian shall be temporarily kept by my Chan Sect. Once the matter of the Investiture of the Gods is settled, they shall naturally be returned.”
Hearing this, Chesia spoke to Su Fu puffing her cheeks out in anger, “Wait until the Investiture of the Gods is finished? The Sect of Interception will probably have been wiped out by them by then!”
“What ‘returned’?”
“That’s just a pure excuse!”
“Su Fu, hurry up and take them away!”
Su Fu said, “Eventually.”
Of course. Now that Grandmaster Tongtian had left in anger, the next time he appeared, it would be for the Ten-Thousand Immortal Array. At that time, all ten thousand immortals of the Sect of Interception would come forth, and the four Saints would join forces again to surround them. They would fight until the heavens collapsed and the earth split, even prompting Ancestor Hongjun himself to intervene and mediate.
The Investiture of the Gods War was thus entering its final stages.
In the distance, Grandmaster Tongtian had already ridden the Kui Ox away, a streak of green light vanishing on the horizon.