Chapter 918: The Might of the Cult Leaders of the Three Religions!

Early the next morning, before the shop doors had even opened, a massive crowd could be seen already gathered outside, pressing so closely that nearly every storefront was completely gridlocked.

On this day, the moment the doors parted, everyone surged inside in a swarm; even in the early morning light, the shop was already nearing full capacity!

Owner Fang swept his gaze across the room, taking in the bustling, densely packed crowd within the immense establishment; looking out, rows of long benches were filled with cultivators and warriors, some clutching instant noodles—clearly not even having found the time for breakfast—while others had cups of cappuccino or iced black tea set upon their tables, taking leisurely sips; reflecting on when he had first arrived in this alien realm, a stranger in a strange land facing a vast and unfamiliar world, he could never have imagined that the internet cafe he started would one day reach such a grand scale.

He rested his hand on the counter, gazing out at the scenery inside the shop, and took a deep breath.

One Dao begot the three friends, and two schools divided the Qi and the Jie; on the soil of this foreign world, at some unknown point in time, the moving legends of antiquity from that land named Huaxia, where he himself had grown up, had begun to spread scroll by scroll.

Erlang Shen, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven... the three sovereigns imparting wisdom, Nüwa repairing the heavens... and even the Investiture of the Gods, where hosts of immortals met their tribulations.

Perhaps by this time, the customers in the shop had long since grown accustomed to the life and death within the dramas and the wondrous bizarreness of the legends, so no matter how unbelievable things became, they no longer lost their composure in panic as they once had.

Yet precisely because of this... a sense of awe could be seen on the faces of everyone in the shop as they watched the scenes unfold before them; what they witnessed here were mortals who had cultivated into deities and immortals, as well as divine abilities and Daoist methods never before heard of—there were Chan sect immortals acting on behalf of heaven each displaying their prowess, and Jie sect immortals who, though seemingly fierce, were profoundly bound by loyalty and affection.

These immortals possessed far more flesh and blood than the deities they had previously heard of in traditional myths and legends; they might fall and perish within this story, yet they seemed to transform into monuments, standing tall within the hearts of these viewers.

Perhaps there were doubts in their minds as to what kind of exceptionally endowed land, blessed by nature and producing outstanding souls, could ever nurture such mythical legends and such a multitude of deities and immortals.

And similarly, an emotion named reverence gradually swelled within their hearts.

Look... only this truly deserves to be called the demeanor of an immortal!

And for some unknown reason, as he looked at the crowd filling the entire shop, the emotions within Fang Qi's heart welled up like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, threatening to burst forth.

Perhaps... that was a feeling of being deeply moved.

"Owner!" Just then, a pleasant and familiar voice rang out beside Fang Qi's ear, "Ah, why are you standing here all by yourself? Aren't you going to watch the *Investiture of the Gods*?"

A small head popped up from behind the outer edge of the counter as Jiang Xiaoyue stood on her tiptoes, her large eyes fixed upon Owner Fang.

"What's that?" Owner Fang snapped back to reality, "Why did you run over here again?! Don't you have school?!"

"Today is Children's Day, so the academy gave us a holiday!" Jiang Xiaoyue said as if it were a matter of course.

"What?! You guys get a holiday for Children's Day?! No makeup classes?! No boarding?!" Owner Fang's eyes widened, "How come your academy has more and more of these random holidays?!"

Thinking back to when this owner went to school... holidays only ever grew scarcer and scarcer!

"No way, tomorrow I'm going to speak with your teachers. Why give little kids holidays every single day? Isn't it better to stay at the academy and study?!"

"Oh, come on! The teachers have all gone to watch the *Investiture of the Gods*, so how would they have time for classes?" Jiang Xiaoyue stamped her foot and said, "Isn't today the day of the update?!"

"I've made plans with Sister Su, Sister Xue'er, Old Grandpa Nalan, my big brother, and so many others to watch today's update together. Why don't you come watch with us?!"

"What's so good about that..." Before Owner Fang could even finish his sentence, he was pulled along by the young girl to watch the show.

...

"Owner, this 'Haotian Shangdi'—what exactly is his background? How is it that the moment he ordered the twelve immortal leaders to declare themselves vassals, they had to comply? And how does the creation of the Investiture List seem to be related to him too?"

"Owner, tell me... this Nine-Bends Yellow River Array is so powerful, how is it supposed to be broken when the time comes?"

Jiang Xiaoyue was like a curious baby, asking about everything under the sun along the way.

The enchantress Ningbi, Fairy Qingyun, and others were also discussing animatedly: "This array is profound, yet it aligns perfectly with our level of cultivation. Could we perhaps learn a thing or two from it...?"

It had been a long time since Owner Fang had led a TV series sightseeing tour group, so the number of customers joining the sightseeing this time was extraordinarily large.

From the Immortal Heritage Continent in the east to the Orc Kingdom and Elf Kingdom in the west... familiar players and customers from nearly everywhere converged.

They stood right upon that battlefield where Xiqi confronted Yin Shang, braving the rolling clouds of dust from the field as they gazed from afar at that grand array, which resembled the true nine bends of the Yellow River, its turbid waves eroding the sky.

And at this moment, Jiang Ziya could be seen welcoming them with burning incense as dense, auspicious smoke spread everywhere, when suddenly a poetic song descended from the heavens, singing: "Since chaos began, virtue has been a wonder, relying entirely on profound truths to establish profound mysteries; Taiji produces the two forces and the four imagery, heaven opened at the hour of Zi, left to its own devices. With Earth at Chou and Man at Yin, I hold the teachings, using the two volumes of the Yellow Court to deliver the bewildered masses...

The Yellow Turban Barbarians listen to the imperial decree, as rolling incense smoke accompanies the host of immortals. The true patriarch who propagates the Daoist laws, Yuanshi Tianzun departs from the Jade Pool."

"This is...!?"

"Yuanshi Tianzun!?"

Immediately following that, the guidance of incense rose once more as a rich, exotic fragrance filled the red clouds, and the cry of a deer could be heard in the sky, with Yuanshi saying: "The Daoist elder brother of the Bajing Palace arrives."

Truly it was said: "The primal chaos rent apart the black and yellow scenery, and once again the five elements were governed among mortals; delivering Xuanyuan to ascend to the white day, applying laws at the Han Gate, the Dao remains ever bright."

That figure descended riding a blue ox.

"This is actually... the Grand Patriarch Master of the Bajing Palace...!?"

"Laozi has come too?!"

To think they would see two patriarch-level figures arrive before the Nine-Bends Yellow River Array?!

"Incredible... does this array require the patriarchs to come in person just to break it?!"

For a moment, everyone's perception of the Three Fairies' cultivation was entirely changed from before.

This single array had actually alarmed two patriarchs into descending?!

At this moment, everyone knew that whether it resulted in success or failure hereafter, to lose would still be a glorious defeat!

"What a pity that such immense cultivation should turn to naught in a single morning," Gu Tingyun, Nalan Hongwu, and the others also sighed with emotion.

Sure enough, when Qiongxiao saw Laozi enter the array to observe, she unleashed the Golden Dragon Scissors; the scissors rose into the air, snapping and folding like shears, head crossing head and tail crossing tail as they crashed down. Laozi, upon the back of his ox, saw the Golden Dragon Scissors falling, and simply met them with his sleeve; the scissors fell like a mustard seed into the vast ocean, producing absolutely no reaction.

Directly afterward, with a casual wave of his hand, he confiscated both the Primordial Golden Bushel and the Golden Dragon Scissors.

Qiongxiao came charging forward with her sword, and Yuanshi commanded the White Crane Boy to sacrifice the Ruyi of Three Precious Jades into the air; it struck Qiongxiao squarely on the crown, shattering her celestial spirit, and a single soul departed for the Investiture Platform.

Bixiao used a flying sword to strike at Yuanshi Tianzun, but the White Crane Boy knocked the flying sword down into the dust with a single strike of his Ruyi; Yuanshi took a box from his sleeve, opened the lid, and tossed it into the air: it encased Bixiao along with her horse inside, and within moments she dissolved into bloody water, a single soul departing for the Investiture Platform.

At this moment, the capabilities of the two patriarchs were finally realized.

"These two patriarchs are actually this strong?!" Everyone knew the two patriarchs were powerful, but absolutely no one expected them to be powerful to such an extent!

To think that in their eyes, the Three Fairies, who were capable of laying down such a terrifying Nine-Bends Yellow River Array, were directly crushed!