As the saying goes, strike a snake at its vital point, and put down your blade before petting a cat.

While the Dao Sect pressured Spirit Mountain, the opposition pushed forward their scapegoat. With a single statement demanding self-verification, Zhao Gongming had directly seized these characters’ fatal weaknesses.

How could they possibly swear such an oath of self-verification?

Once verified, wouldn’t the truth be exposed?

Immediately, an elderly Daoist’s expression changed as he angrily rebuked, “Your Dao Sect, do you have no other methods besides Heaven’s Oath?”

Zhao Gongming’s expression darkened at the insult, his beautiful beard dancing as his eyes blazed with spiritual light. In his hand appeared a golden wooden whip, while twenty-four stars manifested behind him.

Simultaneously, several figures stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhao Gongming!

Golden Spirit Mother radiated brilliance in her golden dress, her delicate hand gripping the Dragon-Tiger Ruyi, with five golden lights floating behind her.

Turtle Spirit Mother held a small light-green bell in her palm, following behind her senior sister, her gaze growing sharper.

Red Essence Master gripped the Yin-Yang Mirror in reverse, wearing the Eight Trigrams Immortal Robe. His aura stretched far and long, like a wisp of cloud extending beyond the Nine Heavens.

Great Yi True Person stepped forward with hands behind his back, a precious cover suspended above his head with nine azure dragons sprawled across it, seeming as if they might come alive at any moment.

Jade Tripod True Person had a jade tripod floating above his head, cascading seven-colored light that enveloped his form, appearing like a primordial divine being descended to earth.

Yellow Dragon True Person shook his sleeves and turned to glance at his fellow sect members’ and neighboring sect’s treasures, feeling slightly…

A bit disheartened…

With just these few masters stepping forward to stand with Zhao Gongming, the Dao Sect’s imposing presence left Spirit Mountain’s cultivators speechless.

Behind them stood Grand Magister, Broad Accomplishment Master, and Many Treasures Daoist with proud bearing.

Those renowned figures and the lesser-known yet formidable cultivators from the Three Schools all seemed eager to take action…

The ripples that had just begun to form in the hearts of Spirit Mountain’s cultivators were immediately crushed.

The Dao Sect’s immortals directly proved through action — they had other methods indeed, but feared the opposition couldn’t withstand them.

“Let him swear,” one elderly Daoist said softly, while the others’ eyes filled with grief and anger.

That middle-aged Daoist trembled several times, then suddenly turned and knelt toward Spirit Mountain, instantly breaking into tears:

“Master! Oh, Master!

This disciple’s actions have brought shame to Spirit Mountain and sullied Master’s dignity!”

Meanwhile, in a corner of Spirit Mountain;

Earth Store was quietly speaking to an elderly Daoist sitting cross-legged in the tree shade. The scapegoat was currently under this elder’s control.

It seemed there existed some tacit understanding…

Within Grand Magister’s sleeve, Li Changshou used his paper avatar to transmit a warning. Immediately, a strand of profound and obscure Yin-Yang Dao rhythm rippled around Grand Magister.

Separated by hundreds of miles and a great formation, these two crossed moves once again.

That elderly Daoist, following Earth Store’s guidance, controlled the ‘soul-captured’ middle-aged Daoist who had called out to the Master after kowtowing to Spirit Mountain.

Subsequently, this middle-aged Daoist stood up and turned to face the Dao Sect’s powerful figures, his eyes full of grief and indignation.

“Zhao Gongming wronged me first! Though I spread those rumors, it was merely to vent momentarily. How could it warrant the Dao Sect making such a grand show of force?

You’re merely seizing on this pretext to suppress our Western School and boost your Dao Sect’s prestige!

How absurd!

Fine!

Today I shall fulfill your Dao Sect’s reputation! Let’s see how you repay our Western School for this karma!”

After these words, his body’s energy erupted, golden light flashing within as surrounding spiritual energy rapidly gathered — he was preparing to self-destruct!

But just as the light around him rose and before the self-destruction could reach his Primordial Spirit, a large hand appeared from nowhere, pressing onto his shoulder and instantly sealing all his immortal power.

The crowd of immortals on both sides was stunned.

Following that hand upward, they saw only an arm and a rotating Taiji diagram…

Three elderly Daoists from Spirit Mountain immediately moved to act, but as soon as they stirred, that arm had already pulled the middle-aged Daoist into the Taiji diagram!

In a flash, this middle-aged Daoist appeared before Zhao Gongming, his body and soul suppressed by five True Ocean Zhenzhus!

This change happened too quickly.

No one expected Grand Magister would so casually, right in front of the Western School’s powerful figures, simply snatch back the ‘key figure’!

As Spirit Mountain’s elderly Daoists moved to charge forward, the Dao Sect’s immortals collectively stepped forward, their pressure growing heavier, causing these elders to hesitate.

The Grand Magister spoke leisurely:

“The matter hasn’t been clarified, why rush to perish?

Detail the cause and effect of this matter, how you spread the rumors, and reveal if there were any conspirators.

Our Dao Sect will naturally mete out punishment. Whether you choose to end your life is your own decision — what karma does that have with our Dao Sect?”

That middle-aged Daoist’s eyes bulged, filled with grief and indignation.

A Spirit Mountain elder cursed: “This is Western Ox-Horse Continent, before our Master’s presence! Your Dao Sect disciples directly seizing our Western School’s person — do you have any regard for the Sage’s face?”

“Friend, don’t carelessly speak of the Sage’s face.”

Many Treasures Daoists calmly said: “We are all disciples of the Sage Lords. The face of our lords should be maintained by us disciples, not secretly engaging in despicable acts that destroy our foundation. Now that you’ve run out of schemes, you bring out the Sage’s face as your protective talisman.

Thus, is it us losing the Sage’s face, or you who has torn off your Sage Lord’s face and thrown it before us?”

That elder’s face reddened as he cursed: “Friend’s skill at sophistry is truly formidable!”

Broad Accomplishment Master spoke: “If we follow friend’s logic, then this time the West’s fabrication of rumors slandering the Dao Sect’s Severing School — wouldn’t that be losing my Uncle Master Tongtian’s face?”

“It’s merely a rumor, why bring up the Sage’s face?”

Another Spirit Mountain elder ‘stood forth’, laughing: “Today’s matter is just a private grudge between two people. The Dao Sect and our Western School were both established by the Sage Lords — why must we make things so rigid?

Why not let Friend Zhao Gongming make his own decision?”

“Tsk tsk tsk,” Great Yi True Person said leisurely, “The West is truly formidable. When we speak of reason, you talk of face; when we speak of face, you start talking about feelings.

You Western School have said all the pleasant words, so I suppose this means our Dao Sect is bullying the weak today, eh?”

That elder laughed: “This poor Daoist had no such meaning, but since friend says so…”

“Correct,” Great Yi True Person nodded slowly, interrupting the elder’s words, calmly saying: “We came today specifically to squeeze you soft persimmons. If you can’t accept it, fight; if you can, then swallow it.”

Hearing this, Li Changshou almost laughed out loud.

This Great Yi True Person was quite an interesting character.

As the verbal sparring continued, the Western School was already unable to parry, which made Li Changshou quite emotional.

The Dao Sect immortals usually appeared rather simple, as the Dao Sect had been peaceful for too long, and they didn’t need to spend effort on scheming and plotting.

Today, showing just a little verbal wit revealed the true colors of the Three Schools’ immortals.

At this moment, Zhao Gongming ignored those Western elders’ gloomy expressions and looked down at the person at his feet, withdrawing two True Ocean Zhenzhus to allow him to speak.

“Speak, how did you spread the rumors?”

That middle-aged Daoist showed an angry expression but quickly concealed it. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Gongming took out an old scroll from his sleeve and threw it onto the middle-aged Daoist’s chest.

“After the explanation, we still need to go through with the oath.”

His expression changed again. Now under the control of the Dao Sect’s powerful figures, he didn’t even have a chance to turn over.

How could he possibly swear such an oath?

Once sworn, the truth would be exposed, the Western School’s prestige would be swept away, the Sage’s face would fall a thousand fathoms, and the Western School would likely become the laughingstock of the primordial world. Then when they tried to say “you have destiny with our Western School,” they could only rely on spells to control people’s minds!

The Spirit Mountain elders collectively pondered while the Dao Sect immortals pressed forward step by step.

Zhao Gongming heard another voice transmission in his ear, naturally, Li Changshou carefully reminded him…

“Elder Brother, be careful, the Sage is likely to make an appearance.”

Almost as soon as Li Changshou’s words fell, rosy clouds filled the sky above Spirit Mountain. A sigh resonated from all directions, causing many Three Schools immortals to show surprise in their eyes.

Could they force the Western School’s Sage to appear today?

If the opposing Sage appeared first, they could already call today a complete success — this was the era of Six Sages in the primordial world, and forcing a Sage to appear was already a great victory!

Within the rosy light, clouds condensed from thin air, assembling into a Sage’s Law Body thousands of fathoms tall.

This Law Body slowly raised its hand, and from within the clouds surged a golden light, “slowly” striking toward Zhao Gongming.

Zhao Gongming immediately moved to counter, but suddenly a figure appeared before him — Grand Magister had flashed forward, sheltering Zhao Gongming and the group of Dao Sect junior brothers and sisters behind him.

The Taiji Diagram manifested, and the Primordial Tower appeared!

Grand Magister Xuandu remained silent, divine light flickering in his eyes, Dao rhythms circling him. The Primordial Tower above his head scattered streams of primordial qi, while the Taiji Diagram in his palm grew with the wind.

When the golden light struck, within it was a treasure tree;

The treasure tree stood several fathoms tall, with few branches but abundant leaves. Seven-treasure spiritual light flickered upon it, containing primordial Grand Dao, with the Sage’s unique Dao rhythm blessing it!

This tree was called the Seven Treasures Wonderous Tree, this treasure had witnessed the Mixed Origin Dao.

In that instant, this Seven Treasures Wonderous Tree swept horizontally, its actual target being the middle-aged Daoist before Zhao Gongming.

The Taiji Diagram intercepted midway, instantly shrinking to three fathoms in diameter, yet blocking this flying treasure tree in mid-air.

One attacking, one defending, the moment these two primordial treasures connected, the aftershocks of the Grand Dao’s trembling rippled outward. A vertical shockwave swept up and down, causing spiritual energy to surge turbulently within a hundred thousand li radius.

Amid the thunderous roar, the cloud sea scattered, the earth split, and the sky retained a faint white mark stretching for tens of thousands of li…

Looking at the two treasures that had been in deadlock for a moment!

As the Taiji Diagram’s yin and yang energies gently rotated, the Seven Treasures Wonderous Tree had a moment where it was about to crash straight down to the ground!

Fortunately, another strand of Dao rhythm wrapped around the Seven Treasures Wonderous Tree, and it flashed back into the cloudy Law Body above Spirit Mountain.

Grand Magister’s expression remained unchanged, his breathing steady, his personal Dao rhythm unharmed. His left hand opened, and the Taiji Diagram returned.

“Why did Uncle Master suddenly strike? Have we somehow offended the Sage Lord’s face?”

That cloudy Law Body transmitted a strand of Dao rhythm…

“This matter today, this poor Daoist already knows. When inferior disciples cause trouble, our Western School will naturally discipline them.”

Just as Grand Magister was about to continue speaking, the paper person in his sleeve raised its hand to poke his arm…

Know when to stop — today was already a great victory.

Grand Magister maintained his composure, slipping the Heaven and Earth Ruler into his sleeve for Li Changshou to grasp, allowing direct mental communication.

As soon as Li Changshou connected, he felt Tower Lord’s somewhat crazy spiritual thought:

“Big Brother Diagram is awesome, Big Brother Diagram is awesome! That little sapling almost got snapped! Just this Seven Treasures potted plant, and they dare bring it out to lose face!”

Then came that somewhat aloof spiritual thought, difficult to distinguish as male or female:

“Little disciple has arrived, mind yourself, you’re considered an elder now.”

Tower Lord immediately quieted down, like a beautiful tower in peaceful times.

Back to business, back to business.

Grand Magister asked how to proceed next. He wanted to mock the Western School a few times — Sage Zhunti had appeared twice now, and with the experience from last time, if their side was too soft, they would only end up with a belly full of frustration.

Li Changshou already had a response prepared, and under the cover of various treasures, transmitted his thoughts word by word.

Grand Magister soon smiled confidently, looking up at the Sage’s Law Body, feeling the slightly admiring gazes of his junior brothers and sisters, and spoke loudly:

“Uncle Master, though this person’s rumor-spreading was a small matter, it nearly caused internal warfare between two schools of the Dao Sect.”

A voice transmitted from the cloudy Law Body: “This poor Daoist has already spoken, the karma here is now ended. What other dissatisfactions do you have?”

Many hot-tempered Severing School immortals wanted to directly refute but were secretly restrained by Many Treasures Daoist’s aura.

Grand Magister smiled: “Now that the Sage has appeared, by reason we should withdraw. We juniors naturally dare not offend the Sage Lord’s face.

However, today’s matter concerns our Dao Sect’s foundational standing. If we leave like this, how should we handle it when others spread rumors and cause trouble in the future?”

Sage Zhunti spoke again:

“From today forward, Spirit Mountain will be closed for a thousand years. Without this poor Daoist’s command, the disciples may not leave at will.”

The Spirit Mountain elders collectively lowered their heads in acknowledgment.

Many Dao Sect immortals carefully pondered these words, quickly discovering the issue.

Did this mean that with a Sage’s command, they could leave at will?

Many Treasures Daoist took out a jade talisman, and in front of the crowd of immortals, lightly tapped it several times, asking:

“Spirit Fang, is Master in the palace?

Oh, he is? No need to disturb Master yet, if something happens to me here, just let Master know.

Yes… yes yes, I’m at Spirit Mountain, my disciple and Junior Brother Gongming were bullied… the Western Sage Lord has already appeared, might not be able to return…”

The jade talisman trembled slightly, transmitting several sounds of acknowledgment.

Then, Many Treasures Daoists put away the jade talisman, and stepped forward to stand with Grand Magister, gazing at the Sage’s Law Body on the horizon.

Many Treasures spoke softly: “Elder Brother Xuandu, shall we fight the Western School today?”

“We must not be discourteous to the Sage Lord,” Grand Magister scolded with a stern face, “Respecting the Western Sages is respecting our three teachers. Sages transcend the mundane world and are omnipotent, their face above all else.”

Many Treasures smiled: “Elder Brother, you misunderstand. I meant to spar with these friends, how dare I raise a hand against the Sage Lord?

The West was originally a pure blessed land, who knows why it has accumulated so much filth, burdening the Sage Lord’s face.

Perhaps the Sage Lord would even thank us for doing this.”

As the Severing School’s Senior Brother’s words fell, the Severing School immortals collectively looked toward Sage Zhunti’s Law Body. The Western School elders’ expressions flickered between light and dark, immediately preparing to engage in the next wave of confrontation.

Another sigh resonated…

Then Sage Zhunti spoke slowly:

“The Dao Sect was originally greatly prosperous, why mock our Western School?

Today’s karma shall end along with this inferior disciple’s disappearance, and Zhao Gongming’s karma with our Western School shall be written off.”

As Sage’s words fell, the middle-aged Daoist before Zhao Gongming, along with that precious ‘scroll’, actually collapsed into powder and scattered!

Li Changshou’s dao heart trembled.

This Sage had directly influenced the Dao of Karma!

Sage Zhunti spoke again: “How about it?”

Grand Magister showed contemplation, then quickly made a Daoist salute to the Sage’s Law Body:

“Since it is so, we naturally must respect Uncle Master’s decree.”

Many Treasures Daoists looked at those Spirit Mountain elders and sighed: “To require your own Sage Lord to personally intervene, don’t you all feel anxious?”

After speaking, Many Treasures also made a Daoist salute to Sage Zhunti’s Law Body, saying:

“The karma is settled, we shouldn’t overstay our welcome.”

Broad Accomplishment Master stepped forward at the right moment, speaking loudly: “May Uncle Master understand clearly, my Master often says that in accepting disciples, one must observe their character and examine their background.

As commonly said, the Dao is not lightly transmitted, methods are not casually bestowed.

Don’t let a few disciples of improper character taint the Western School’s reputation.

Today’s karma is settled, we shall take our leave.”

Thereupon, the immortals of both the Enlightenment and Severing Schools made Daoist salutes to the Sage’s Law Body, then turned and departed proudly on clouds.

Grand Magister, Many Treasures, and Broad Accomplishment Master remained a moment longer. After Zhao Gongming and the others had safely withdrawn, they again made Daoist salutes to Sage Zhunti’s Law Body and vanished.

As they left, Many Treasures Daoist’s exclamations spread throughout heaven and earth.

“The Sage’s face is a treasure that disciples would protect with their lives.

These Western School disciples, each unwilling to speak more than a few words, who knows what use the Sage Lord has in accepting them.”

“Mind your words, mind your words,” Broad Accomplishment Master cautioned twice.

The final sound transmitted was only Grand Magister’s soft laugh.