527: The Three Sages Discuss the Investiture of the Gods!

Inside Zixiao Palace.

The Dao rhythm permeated the air, and the Chaos Qi currents were calm and waveless.

On the prayer mats, the three Saints were gathered together.

The Supreme Grand Lord sat in the center, with white hair and a white beard, pure and inactive, with nothing weighing on his mind;

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate had a dignified countenance and appeared as a middle-aged man, holding the three treasures jade ruyi scepter in his hand, with auspicious clouds and jade tassels hanging by his side, displaying an aura of magnificence;

The Tongtian Cult Leader had the qingping sword placed across his knees; he appeared as a young man, with an air of unruliness and sharp spirit between his brows;

The figure of Dao Ancestor Hongjun seemed both real and illusory, sitting high upon the cloud bed, his voice indifferent: "The Heavenly Court has vacancies, the divine positions are incomplete, the operation of the Three Realms is sluggish, and the tribulation Qi has already arisen."

Haotian sent a message to me, requesting to settle the matter of the Investiture of the Gods.

This current Great Tribulation shall be the 'Investiture of the Gods' tribulation, to complete the celestial divine positions of the Heavenly Court, perfect the order of Heaven and Earth, and also eliminate the Karma and Evil Qi accumulated by the Xuanmen.

As he spoke, a list, ancient and mysterious, emanating an aura of endless tribulation and authority, along with a wooden whip, manifested from the Void Realm and floated before the Saints.

It was precisely the investiture of the gods list and the God-Beating Whip.

"This list can be signed with the names of three hundred and sixty-five principal gods."

"Whoever has their name on the list, if they die in the tribulation, their true spirit will enter the list, be driven by the Heavenly Court, enjoy the incense of the divine path, and will find it difficult to obtain the carefree immortal Dao again."

Dao Ancestor Hongjun continued, "You three Teachings have many Disciples, and the Karma is intertwined; you should discuss this list together, sign the names, and complete the tribulation."

The Supreme Grand Lord spoke first: "I only have Xuandu under my tutelage; his character is noble and pure, his fortune is long-lasting, so he should not be on the list!"

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate spoke next: "Revered Master is wise. The order of the Heavenly Court indeed needs to be perfected."

"My Chan Teachings Disciples are all immortals with deep Foundations, long-lasting fortune, and both virtue and talent; very few have committed killing tribulations."

"They should not be on the list! Within the Xuanmen, there are still many with poor innate roots who can be on the list for the Investiture of the Gods and accumulate Karma!"

His implication was that the elite of the Chan Teachings should not be on the list; those who should be on the list were those with poor innate roots.

As for whose side had those with poor innate roots, it was self-evident.

Furthermore, the Jie Teachings was known as 'Ten Thousand Immortals Coming to Court' and had a large number of members. Picking out three hundred and sixty-five would be easy and would not damage their Foundation at all.

The Tongtian Cult Leader raised his sword-like eyebrows and snorted coldly: "Second Brother, these words are wrong! Under the Great Tribulation, all three Teachings are in the tribulation; why distinguish between us?"

"Although there are many in my Jie Teachings, they are not all people with heavy Karma."

"Moreover, those divine positions in the Heavenly Court are restrictive and laborious; for Cultivators like us, how is that different from a prison?"

"As their Revered Master, how could I send my own Disciples into that place of toil? To suffer such great hardship?"

"How to sign this list must be discussed fairly!"

His Jie Teachings was known as 'Ten Thousand Immortals Coming to Court', with countless Disciples, both good and bad mixed together. If they followed Yuanshi's intention, he feared that the Jie Teachings would have to fill the whole list.

The Tongtian Cult Leader was also a person who cared about his reputation; how could he harm his own Disciples like this? Naturally, he would not agree.

Laozi slightly opened his eyes and said slowly: "The two Junior Brothers need not argue. The matter of the Investiture of the Gods concerns the rise and fall of Luck, and also concerns the lives and Dao paths of your Disciples."

"How to sign it indeed requires caution."

"However, the Heavenly Dao has its numbers; these three hundred and sixty-five principal gods must eventually be filled by someone."

The scene fell into a stalemate.

No one wanted to let their cherished Disciples be on the list, but the divine positions had to be filled.

Yuanshi wanted to protect the elite of the Chan Teachings and let the Jie Teachings and Loose Cultivators take the blame; Tongtian believed that such things should be based on one's own ability and could not be assigned by the Revered Master to suffer and endure hardship;

Just at this moment, outside Zixiao Palace, heavenly light suddenly descended, and immortal music lingered.

A dignified and magnificent will, accompanied by the phantom of a brilliant Jade Emperor's imperial edict, pierced through the Restriction of Zixiao Palace and descended before the three Saints!

The imperial edict unfurled, and the golden characters reflected in the palace:

"By the decree of the Haotian Golden Palace Jade Emperor Great Heavenly Venerate Xuanqiong Gao Shangdi:"

"The Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods is the beginning of order."

"The Heavenly Court is the hub of the Three Realms, and the divine positions are public instruments of Heaven and Earth."

"Now I decree: The signing of the investiture of the gods list shall be based on three criteria: 'the depth of Karma', 'the level of virtue and talent', and 'the needs of the operation of Heaven and Earth', to be verified fairly. One must not protect others out of selfishness, nor use power to suppress others."

"All Disciples of The Three Teachings, Loose Cultivators of the Immortal Caves, and living beings of the mortal world who die and whose Dao disappears in the Great Tribulation shall have their true spirits enter the list. They shall be invested as gods according to the three criteria!"

"Additionally, the Heavenly Court will monitor the events of the tribulation, record merits and faults, and prepare for the finalization of the Investiture of the Gods. Respect this."

Once the imperial edict appeared, the air inside Zixiao Palace nearly froze!

Haotian wants to rebel?

He actually dared to issue an edict to them; did he not know whose fist was big and whose fist was small?

Why was the Xuanmen called the orthodox sect? Why were the others all heterodox paths?

Because this was fought out by Hongjun leading his three little brothers!

Four top combat powers; if Haotian showed his head, they would hit Haotian; if Nüwa showed her head, they would hit Nüwa; if the two Western Saints showed their heads, they would hit the two Western Saints.

The most terrifying thing was that even if Haotian, Nüwa, and the two Western Saints added up, they could not beat those four, and they would still be hammered into the ground.

There was no way around this!

"Haotian is getting a bit carried away!" The Tongtian Cult Leader stood up and hung the qingping sword at his waist: "I will go to the Heavenly Court and have a good chat with him!"

"Sit down!" Hongjun said.

The Tongtian Cult Leader immediately sat down obediently.

"Discuss the investiture of the gods list together; if you are willing to sign, then sign! If you are not willing to sign, then let it be based on your own abilities!" Hongjun did not care.

To him, whether the three Disciples signed or not made no difference.

"Then let's not sign! Let's rely on our own abilities! It's just three hundred and sixty-five principal gods!" The Tongtian Cult Leader said with a light smile.

"The juniors have their own fate! Second Senior Brother, what do you think?"

"Since Junior Brother has already decided, what else is there to say!" The Primordial Heavenly Venerate said blandly: "Then let it be based on our own abilities!"

Dao Ancestor Hongjun, sitting high on the cloud bed, had not expressed an opinion from beginning to end.

Now that he saw his three Disciples had reached a decision, he spoke slowly:

"Since you have made your decision, then so be it. The investiture of the gods list and the God-Beating Whip shall remain in Zixiao Palace for now. When the Great Tribulation begins, it will naturally come to pass."

"Disperse."

As the voice fell, Hongjun's figure became increasingly illusory, and finally merged with the Chaos Qi inside Zixiao Palace.

The Supreme Grand Lord stood up, bowed to the Void Realm, a Taiji Golden Bridge rose under his feet, and his figure disappeared.

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate held the ruyi scepter and said blandly to the Tongtian Cult Leader: "Junior Brother, the Disciples' affairs will be handled by the Disciples themselves. We brothers should not lose our harmony."

After saying this, the phantom of the Nine Dragon Agarwood Chariot appeared and carried him away.

The Tongtian Cult Leader looked in the direction where Yuanshi disappeared, glanced at the floating investiture of the gods list, and nodded.

"That is naturally so. We brothers have been together for so many tens of thousands of years; how could we damage our friendship because of a little tribulation?"

He flicked his sleeves, the qingping sword returned to its sheath, and with one step, he had already returned to Biyou Palace on Jinao Island.

Haotian Golden Palace, inside Miluo Palace.

Lu Jiuyuan had just fished Venus out of the Lotus Lantern World, which had taken a great deal of effort.

The Laws of this world were strict to the point of being harsh.

"Venus, the divine positions in the Heavenly Court are currently vacant; you must help me fill them." Lu Jiuyuan said helplessly.

Venus looked at the three hundred and sixty-five divine chains on Lu Jiuyuan's body, and his face turned somewhat pale.

"Your Majesty? You want your old servant to do the work of three hundred and sixty-five principal gods alone? This old servant cannot do it!"

"It's fine, you hold it for now! I believe in your ability. Call me when you get tired! I will have Yaochi help you share the load then."

Lu Jiuyuan stood up with a smile, walked to Venus's side, tapped his shoulder lightly, and the three hundred and sixty-five divine positions were pressed onto Venus.

As the divine positions were transferred, Lu Jiuyuan instantly felt as if he had shed a whole body of shackles, and his whole person felt relaxed.