In the Primordial World, inside the Biyou Palace on Mount Jinao in the East China Sea, the Leader of Tongtian—one of the Three Pure Ones—had two clear tears well from his tightly closed eyes, which evaporated into nothingness almost instantly. Immediately afterward, Tongtian opened his eyes wide, blazing with fury. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "Fine, very fine! As expected of brothers, you certainly know how to strike where it hurts."
As it turned out, Tongtian was actually a wisp of primordial spirit that had split off from the Leader of Tongtian inside the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array, undergoing endless reincarnations in the hope of passing down the legacy of Jiejiao. Yet reality had defied all plans. The connection was completely severed later inside the Zixiao Palace, and this wisp of primordial spirit, unable to crack the mystery of the womb through countless cycles of reincarnation, ultimately perished together with its enemies. Instead, driven by the resonance between the Heavenly Dao of the two worlds, it traced the source all the way back, flowing upstream along the long river of time to a time before the Conferment of Gods, where it merged with its original body. This endowed Tongtian with an extra portion of his origin essence while simultaneously bringing back memories of later generations. Thus arose Tongtian's tears and wrath.
At this moment in the Primordial World, the Lich tribulation had just concluded. The Dao Ancestor had ordered his attendants, Haotian and Yaochi, to take charge of the Heavenly Court and become its lords. The entire Primordial World had entered a period of recuperation, and all factions were developing at a rapid pace. Having experienced the reigns of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the human race had evolved from primitive cavemen through tribal societies into a feudal civilization. Relying on their sheer numbers, they spread across the Primordial World, gradually taking on the appearance of the protagonists of the world. The Human Sect remained as it was—a single-line transmission. The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao shook the Primordial World with their prestige, while Jiejiao boasted a myriad of immortals coming to court, its prominence unmatched by any other. Aside from these, all other forces retreated into seclusion, fading from the public eye.
Backed by the Saints, members of the Three Sects acted without any scruples throughout the Primordial World. The disciples of Chanjiao were arrogant, looking down upon everyone else and considering their own insight superior. The disciples of Jiejiao, on the other hand, were a mixed bag, comprising both evil practitioners and genuine cultivators of the Dao in equal measure.
Yet no flower blooms for a hundred days, and nothing remains at its zenith forever. When Heaven unleashes its murderous intent, the stars shift their positions; when Earth unleashes its murderous intent, dragons and serpents rise from the land; when humanity unleashes its murderous intent, heaven and earth are turned upside down. Tribulation Qi was brewing between heaven and earth, and a new calamity was gathering momentum.
After a long while, Tongtian opened his eyes and looked around, feeling as though lifetimes had passed. Gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar Biyou Palace, Tongtian smiled. "Have I been granted a fresh start? I never expected to have a chance to do this over. This time, I will have a proper reckoning with all of you. My good brothers—so you were simply meant to be sold out. How laughable. After countless years of mutual support following the creation of the world, we still couldn't outweigh outsiders and our respective traditions."
Having reviewed those memories, Tongtian felt a bone-deep hatred toward Chanjiao, the Human Sect, and the Western Teachings. However, he also came to understand that his own Jiejiao practiced the principle of teaching without discrimination, taking in a massive influx of remnants from the Demon race. Many of these individuals were murderers and arsonists who had committed every conceivable evil, and some even fed upon the human race. These very people were the root cause of Jiejiao's eventual decline. In the past, he had paid no attention to such matters, naively believing that once they entered Jiejiao, they would diligently practice the Shangqing Immortal Dharma to wash away their malevolent karma. He had never imagined that this would instead make them feel they had an even greater backing, emboldening them to act with reckless abandon. Moreover, influenced by his own temperament, Jiejiao disciples were fiercely protective of their own—if one was in trouble, support would come from all eight directions. This unfortunate dynamic was precisely why, during the Conferment of Gods, his disciples went off like the gourd-doll brothers trying to save their grandfather, marching to their deaths one after another without return. Coupled with the fact that he used the four Immortal-Slaying Swords and the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array to suppress the sect's Qi fortune—and though both were supreme primordial treasures, they were fundamentally instruments of slaughter, causing the sect's Qi fortune to constantly drain away—defeat had been inevitable.
After reviewing these memories, Tongtian summarized several key points for himself: First, and most importantly, refuse to sign the Conferment of Gods list. Second, search for treasures to suppress Jiejiao's Qi fortune. Third, weed out the dross and expel the disciples who were ruining Jiejiao's Qi fortune and reputation, or send them onto the Conferment of Gods list. Fourth, stop letting disciples shut themselves inside their cave dwellings to quietly recite the Huangting Scripture. Instead, he would actively make arrangements and participate in events, shifting away from passive defense to seek out opportunities for active offense.
"Wuyunxian," Tongtian called out.
"This disciple is here. What instructions does Teacher have?" A stalwart figure materialized. It was none of the Seven Attendant Immortals, but Wuyunxian himself. (Wuyunxian was the chief of the Seven Attendant Immortals, the incarnation of a golden-bearded giant turtle. He possessed long whiskers and a dark face, wore a black Daoist robe tied with a silk sash, and wielded a precious sword alongside his magic treasure, the Hunyuan Hammer. When the Leader of Tongtian set up the Myriad Immortals Formation, Wuyunxian guarded the Taiji Formation alongside the Qiushou Immortal, obeying his teacher's command to take the vanguard. Winning the opening battle, he successively defeated the duo of Guangchengzi and Chijingzi, chasing Guangchengzi to his wits' end without giving the Heaven-Sealing Stamp any room to perform. Later, he was subdued by Zunti, after which he instructed Boy Shuihuo to fish him away to the Western Eight-Treasure Pond using the Six-Pure Bamboo.)
Looking at this disciple of his, Tongtian felt his resolve to fight against the great tribulation grow even firmer; he must never allow this group of lovely disciples to suffer disaster.
Feeling rather uneasy under Tongtian's gaze, Wuyunxian could not help asking, "Teacher, do you have any instructions?"
Slowly snapping out of his thoughts, Tongtian smiled and said, "Wuyunxian, strike the Immortal-Gathering Bell. Your teacher shall expound upon the Dao for ten thousand years, starting three thousand years from now."
Hearing this, Wuyunxian's face lit out with joy, and he respectfully replied, "Yes, Teacher!" With that, he hurried away.
Shortly after, nine bell tolls rang out, echoing across the entire Primordial World. The announcement of the Leader of Tongtian expounding the Dao in three thousand years resounded within the minds of all Jiejiao disciples.
For a moment, the entire Primordial World was sent into an uproar. Nine rings of the bell meant that every single disciple of Jiejiao was required to return to Jinao Island to attend the teachings—this was a grand opportunity and supreme fortune.
Beams of escaping light shot up into the sky from all corners of heaven and earth, flying toward the East China Sea. In some places, these trails of light merged into a continuous expanse, displaying the magnificent spectacle of a myriad of immortals coming to court.