Chapter 267: Hongjun's Order! The Helpless Heavenly Dao Saints! The Excited Tongtian!

Hearing in Zixiao Palace that the Qilin Clan had actually chosen to defect to Fuxi, Yuanshi could not help but feel a surge of intense dissatisfaction in his heart.

Thinking back to the time after the Dragon-Han First Tribulation, before Shiqilin fell, in order to seek the protection of the Chan Sect, he had spared no effort to transform his own body into Qilin Cliff to guard Kunlun Mountain.

That Qilin Cliff later provided an excellent place of cultivation for the disciples of the Chan Sect, and Yuanshi naturally fulfilled his promise to provide protection to the Qilin Clan.

In Yuanshi's view, the Qilin Clan should have kept this favor in their hearts and remained loyal to the Chan Sect for generations.

However, now that the Qilin Clan had abandoned the Chan Sect without a word and turned to support the reincarnation of Fuxi, this was undoubtedly a huge humiliation to Yuanshi.

As the leader of the Chan Sect, he prided himself on being a model Heavenly Dao Saint and held a prestigious position in the Great Desolation; when had he ever suffered such contempt? Yuanshi's face was gloomy, and cold light flickered in his eyes.

The other Saints who were originally discussing matters with him noticed his abnormality and could not help but be curious.

Laozi even asked, "Second Brother, what has happened?"

Yuanshi briefly explained the matter, and everyone immediately frowned as well.

They all knew in their hearts that this move by the Qilin Clan was not only a provocation against Yuanshi personally, but also support for the Human Dao forces, which was undoubtedly a major blow to the Heavenly Dao Faction.

"The Qilin Clan actually dares to betray the Heavenly Dao Faction and defect to the Human Dao Faction! They are simply courting death!" Yuanshi snorted coldly, his voice filled with anger and disdain.

He calculated in his heart that he must teach the Qilin Clan a profound lesson and let them know the price of betraying the Chan Sect.

But he also knew that relying on himself alone to confront the Human Dao side was beyond his capabilities. Therefore, he specifically brought up the Heavenly Dao Faction in his speech, attempting to get everyone in the Heavenly Dao Faction to join him in dealing with Fuxi!

The other Saints of the Heavenly Dao Faction saw through his intentions at a glance.

Naturally, they were not so easily dragged into the water by Yuanshi, so they all played dumb, pretending not to hear the subtext in Yuanshi's words.

After all, whether the Qilin Clan defected to Fuxi or to the Human Dao Faction, it did not have much impact on them; it merely weakened some of the Chan Sect's luck.

But just at this moment, Hongjun above suddenly spoke: "Since that is the case, then let this God Conferment unfold based on this."

"Hmm?"

The Saints of the Heavenly Dao Faction looked at each other in dismay.

Zhunti asked cautiously, "I wonder what Master means by this?"

Hongjun said slowly, "I imagine you should have seen it too; that Lu Yun now intends to push Fuxi to become the new Human Saint Emperor. Once he succeeds, the Human Dao side will gain another Human Emperor, and at that time, the Humanity Luck will increase significantly."

Speaking of this, everyone could not help but frown and nod.

Hongjun continued, "This is naturally something that no one wants to see. Now that the Qilin Clan has happened to betray us, why don't you each have your disciples take action to exert some pressure on the Qilin Clan? While letting them understand the consequences of betraying the Heavenly Dao Faction, it will also hinder Fuxi's Proving the Dao."

Once these words were spoken, the several Saints of the Heavenly Dao Faction were all stunned; they did not expect Hongjun to take the initiative to mention this.

Yuanshi was overjoyed and hurriedly echoed, "Dao Ancestor is wise! The Qilin Clan's betrayal of the Heavenly Dao Faction is truly an act of great rebellion. We will certainly teach the Qilin Clan a profound lesson!"

Although the other Saints were unwilling in their hearts, they did not dare to disobey the order of Hongjun Daozu, so they could only nod in agreement.

Tongtian asked directly, "What does Master wish for us to do?"

Hongjun said, "Let your disciples also participate in the so-called Honghuang Genius Competition! At that time, the winners will naturally not need to be on the Investiture of the Gods, while the losers will be on the list for God Conferment! In addition, those who make contributions to punishing the Qilin Clan can also be exempted from the Investiture of the Gods."

The several Saints clearly did not expect Hongjun to put forward such a suggestion, and they all could not help but fall into deep thought.

A flash of light crossed Yuanshi's eyes; he understood that Hongjun wanted to use the form of the competition to infiltrate the power of the Heavenly Dao Faction into the Human Dao and Earthly Dao, thereby weakening their forces.

Of course, this move was indeed somewhat effective for punishing the Qilin Clan.

After all, during the Dragon-Han First Tribulation, the Qilin Clan was abandoned by the Heavenly Dao like the Dragon Clan because they had committed great killing karma. Now that the Dragon Clan had been enfeoffed by the Human Race as the Rain-Governing God Clan and had shaken off the exclusion of the Heavenly Dao, if another Qilin Clan were added, where would the face of the Heavenly Dao be?

The Heavenly Dao might not care about face, but they, the people of the Heavenly Dao Faction, had to care!

Therefore, it was also reasonable for the Dao Ancestor to want to take action against the Qilin Clan and incidentally suppress Fuxi, who was about to be propped up by Lu Yun!

Laozi and the others were also calculating in their hearts, feeling that this was indeed a good strategy.

If the disciples of the Heavenly Dao Faction could achieve excellent results in the competition, it would not only enhance the prestige of the Heavenly Dao Faction but also attract more geniuses from the Human Race and the Wu Clan to join the Heavenly Dao Faction.

Yuanshi immediately stated, "Dao Ancestor is wise. This poor Daoist will certainly follow the Dao Ancestor's order and have my disciples participate in the Honghuang Genius Competition with all their might!"

Seeing this, the other Saints also expressed their agreement one after another. They knew this was the will of Hongjun Daozu, and they could not resist. Moreover, to a certain extent, participating in the competition was indeed a good opportunity to show the strength of the Heavenly Dao Faction.

Among the crowd, only Kunpeng and Minghe frowned, somewhat resisting this plan.

Honestly speaking, if they could, they really did not want to be enemies with Lu Yun! Looking at the end of Di Jun, Taiyi, and the others, one would know what the result of being enemies with Lu Yun would be!

But now that they were in the Heavenly Dao Faction, everything was not for them to decide.

Kunpeng suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "However, Dao Ancestor, although the Genius Tournament does not restrict us people of the Heavenly Dao Faction from participating, it does restrict the age to no more than one thousand!"

Minghe also immediately echoed, "Most of our Northern Underworld Sect disciples are relatively dull; those with some strength are basically over a thousand years old. If we can only send disciples under a thousand years old to participate, I am afraid we will not be able to achieve the effect we want at all."

The other Saints could not help but frown one after another.

Although Kunpeng and Minghe were making excuses, what they said was indeed a fact. Were most of the disciples under the other Saints not also over a thousand years old?

Perhaps there were a few who were not old and had relatively strong strength, but they were a minority after all.

Facing such a problem, Hongjun was very calm and said, "No matter, they can descend to the world and reincarnate; at that time, they can just use their reincarnated bodies to participate in the Genius Tournament!"

This... the Heavenly Dao Saints looked at each other again. They also understood that Hongjun was determined to have their disciples participate in the God Conferment, so he had even thought of how to solve this problem.

But to let their disciples reincarnate... even Yuanshi, who most wanted to take revenge on the Qilin Clan, was somewhat hesitant at this moment.

Everyone looked at Yuanshi in unison.

The meaning in those eyes was naturally to let Yuanshi solve this matter! After all, if Yuanshi had not proposed to strike and retaliate against the Qilin Clan to save the face of the Heavenly Dao Faction, this situation might not have happened.

Yuanshi's face changed slightly, and he also knew that he had offended the public; if he did not handle it well, he was afraid it would be very troublesome.

Therefore, after thinking it over carefully, he cautiously said to Hongjun, "Dao Ancestor, is it a bit too risky to let our disciples reincarnate through Reincarnation? After all, to enter Reincarnation, one must disperse their cultivation; if something goes wrong, the price will not be small!"

Hongjun waved his hand and said, "No matter, you can have them deposit their cultivation on the Investiture of the Gods first. When they return from the tribulation, everything will naturally return to normal, and perhaps experiencing this reincarnation will be helpful to their cultivation."

After a slight pause, he added, "Their primordial spirits are entrusted to the Investiture of the Gods. Even if they drink Mengpo Soup and their memories disappear temporarily, once they start cultivating, their memories will naturally be recovered slowly. You need not worry about this."

Hearing this, the various Saints felt Hongjun's firm determination even more.

They also saw that if they continued to shirk, they were afraid there would be no good fruit to eat.

"We obey!"

The Saints respectfully accepted the order one after another. Hongjun was very satisfied when he saw this and let them go back to make arrangements. As Hongjun's voice fell, the various Saints stood up to bid farewell and left Zixiao Palace.

Arriving outside Zixiao Palace, the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat subtle.

The Western Two Sages Jieyin and Zhunti, as well as Minghe and Kunpeng, all cast dissatisfied gazes toward Yuanshi.

Although they all knew that the Dao Ancestor must have had a plan in mind long ago, they still could not help but blame all this trouble on Yuanshi; after all, if it weren't for him suggesting a strike and retaliation against the Qilin Clan, the Dao Ancestor might not have made them do such things.

A cold sneer appeared on Zhunti's chubby face, and he said, "Senior Brother Yuanshi, if our disciples suffer any damage due to reincarnation, your Chan Sect must take responsibility."

Kunpeng also snorted coldly, "That's right, we are not like your Chan Sect, which has so many disciples that losing a few doesn't matter at all."

Yuanshi's expression was ugly, and although he was angry inside, he was helpless at this moment. He had to suppress his fury and replied, "Everyone, rest assured. If such a thing truly happens, I will naturally take responsibility."

However, these words of his did not satisfy the Western Two Sages, Minghe, and Kunpeng; they kept their cold faces and each turned and left.

Yuanshi watched their backs, his heart burning with rage. He turned his head to look at Tongtian, only to find that Tongtian seemed not to care about this matter at all, even wearing a faint smile on his face.

Yuanshi was immediately even more furious and questioned Tongtian, "Tongtian, I am being ostracized by them, yet you are in this state—do you still regard me as your elder brother?"

Upon hearing this, Tongtian was slightly stunned, then calmly replied, "Second Brother, why do you say that? I just feel that this matter is of no great importance. In any case, my Jie Sect disciples possess formidable strength, and I believe they will certainly stand out in that Honghuang Genius Competition. Second Brother, could it be that you don't trust your own disciples?"

Yuanshi was left speechless by Tongtian's words.

He gave a light snort and said, "I naturally trust my own disciples!"

"Then isn't that the end of it?"

Tongtian waved his hand and said, "Second Brother, if you have no other business, I will take my leave first. This matter is of great importance, and I must hurry back to make arrangements!"

Having said this, Tongtian cupped his hands and turned to leave directly.

Seeing him like this, Yuanshi could not help but feel another wave of anger, and he looked at Laozi, saying, "Eldest Brother, look at Tongtian's attitude; does he still hold me, his second brother, in his eyes?"

Laozi looked at Yuanshi's angry appearance, sighed slightly, shook his head, and said, "Second Brother, why must you be so angry? Although Tongtian speaks without restraint, what he said is not entirely without reason. Right now, we should indeed each return to prepare and deal with the upcoming Honghuang Genius Competition."

Upon hearing this, although Yuanshi was still dissatisfied, he knew that Laozi was right.

He took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and said, "Eldest Brother is absolutely right; I was too impulsive. I will go back and prepare now."

Having said this, Yuanshi Tianzun also turned and left.

Although he was dissatisfied with Tongtian in his heart, he knew that now was not the time to dwell on such things. He had to go back and prepare well to ensure that the Chan Sect disciples could achieve good results in the Honghuang Genius Competition, so as to restore the face of the Heavenly Dao Faction and also teach the Qilin Clan a profound lesson.

Laozi watched Yuanshi's departing back, sighed softly, and also turned to return to the Taiqing Sacred Realm.

After all, according to the Dao Ancestor's previous intentions, his Ren Sect would likely not be able to shirk this time either; even if there was only one disciple, Xuandu, he would have to be sent to reincarnate!

Furthermore, the foundation of his Ren Sect still rested upon the Human Race.

If he did not repay the karma owed to the Human Race early, once the Ren Sect was truly abolished in the future, his Saint position would also be affected.

Therefore, he felt that his Good Corpse might also have to undergo reincarnation.

On the other side, Tongtian returned all the way to the Shangqing Sacred Realm, the smile on his face becoming increasingly brilliant.

In Tongtian's view, this was a great opportunity for his disciples to show their faces!

Thinking of his second brother Yuanshi, who always said his disciples were a mix of good and bad, covered in fur and wearing armor, and so on—in the past, although he disliked it, there was nothing he could do. But this time, if his disciples could stand out in that Honghuang Genius Competition after reincarnation, let's see what Yuanshi could say in the future! Thinking of this, Tongtian rubbed his hands in anticipation, and even couldn't help but speed up, soon entering the Shangqing Sacred Realm.

He arrived at the main hall of Biyou Palace and directly transmitted his voice to all his disciples: "Gather all second-generation and third-generation disciples; I have something to announce!"

Duobao, Zhao Gongming, Jinling Shengmu, Sanxiao, and many other Jie Sect disciples were all somewhat puzzled after receiving the transmission, but they still quickly headed toward Biyou Palace at the first opportunity, while simultaneously notifying other disciples and followers.

Before long, Biyou Palace was bustling with people, with far more than ten thousand disciples gathered!

Tongtian scanned the disciples, nodded in satisfaction, and then began to explain today's matter in detail.

(End of this chapter)