574: Suspicion of letting the tiger go

South Heaven Gate.

Above the sea of clouds, a massive circular platform floated.

The center of the platform was hollowed out, forming an Eight Trigrams-shaped skylight.

Around the skylight stood three figures.

One was dressed in white with crane-like hair and an aged face.

One held a pagoda in his hand, his build robust.

One stood with his arms crossed, his expression arrogant.

They were Jiang Ziya, Li Jing, and Nezha.

At this moment, all three were looking down into the Eight Trigrams skylight.

The scene displayed within was a live broadcast of the battle in the Lower Realm.

At this moment, Mo Lihong had already been split in half by the Axe of Creation, his Divine Soul shattered.

Upon seeing this, all three were incredibly astonished.

Nezha, who had previously looked impatient, now showed an excited expression, displaying a strong interest in Qin Yang.

He truly wanted to see if the Human Emperor, who had not yet returned to his position, could solo kill the Four Heavenly Kings.

However, just as he was watching with great interest, he saw Jiang Ziya launch a sneak attack and couldn't help but become enraged.

He glared sideways at Jiang Ziya and said, “Jiang Ziya, you’re useless at everything else, but you’re quite skilled at sneak attacks.”

Jiang Ziya stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sinister. “The Evil Emperor borrowed the power of the ten divine weapons, and I feared the Four Heavenly Kings might not be able to take him down, so I intervened to assist.”

“Intervened to assist?”

Nezha's face was full of disgust as he said, “If they can’t take him down, then it’s because the Four Heavenly Kings lack the skill. If you do too many sneak attacks, aren’t you afraid of damaging your Karma?”

“Nezha!”

Seeing Nezha's impolite tone, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li interjected, “The Evil Emperor is a scourge upon the world, not some heroic figure. Against such a Prodigy, no method is excessive. Furthermore, how dare you speak to Grand Duke Jiang like that?”

“Do I need you to teach me how to speak?”

Nezha's eyes narrowed, and he glared fiercely at Li Jing.

Upon meeting that gaze, Li Jing's expression tightened, and he instinctively shifted his body, revealing the pagoda in his hand.

Seeing the pagoda, Nezha could only take a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said, “When Yang Jian fought the Great Sage one-on-one back then, Lord Taishang also intervened to assist. Was the Great Sage also a Prodigy?”

Hearing the words “Great Sage,” both Jiang Ziya and Li Jing frowned.

Li Jing stroked his long beard, his expression disdainful, and said, “That mischievous monkey was inherently uncultured. Both Daoist and Buddhist factions gave him a chance, allowing him to achieve the Victorious Fighting Buddha, but in the end, he still abandoned his Buddhist Nature and rebelled against the Lower Realm. If that's not a Prodigy, what is?”

“Yes, yes, you always have a reason for everything.”

Nezha pouted, displaying an expression that suggested further words were useless.

Jiang Ziya scrutinized Nezha for a moment, a look of suspicion in his eyes, and said, “Third Prince, I advise you not to be misled and side with the Evil Emperor and his unorthodox Dao.”

Nezha's eyes widened, and he thought to himself, “I am an Innate demonic embryo to begin with. If I don't side with the Evil Emperor, should I stand on your face? If it weren't for the linglong pagoda in Li Jing's hand, I'd stab three hundred and sixty holes in you first!”

Nezha naturally wouldn't voice these words.

Everyone knew his temper was bad, but malicious intent was best not revealed too clearly.

Moreover, he now saw hope for breaking his predicament.

Mo Lihong's Hun Yuan Umbrella had been acquired by Qin Yang.

The linglong pagoda that suppressed him likely wouldn't remain in Li Jing's hands for much longer.

At this moment, he had to endure.

Endure until the time was ripe, then reclaim his true Nature.

“Oh no!”

Just as Nezha was thinking, he heard Jiang Ziya exclaim in surprise.

Nezha was startled, glancing over to see Jiang Ziya, who had been looking down at the skylight, suddenly fly backward, as if trying to avoid something.

But in the next second, intense orange flames erupted from his face.

The Qi emanating from the flames was extremely violent; even Nezha, upon seeing it, instinctively frowned, sensing that these flames were unusual.

Bang!

Jiang Ziya fell from mid-air.

Li Jing immediately flew forward to catch his body, and upon looking down, he was greatly alarmed.

He saw a terrifying, diagonally slashed wound on Jiang Ziya's aged face.

Fierce flames billowed from the wound; the orange flames were not only extremely hot but also roared as they burned, as if something was howling in rage.

“Who is it?”

Li Jing suddenly looked up, scanning his surroundings, and sternly shouted, “What Prodigy dares to severely injure an immortal god at the South Heaven Gate!”

“It's the Evil Emperor! Ah ah ah ah!!!”

In Li Jing's arms, Jiang Ziya covered his face and wailed, in extreme pain.

Hearing this, Li Jing was startled and said, “The Evil Emperor? How can he injure someone across the Myriad Realms!?”

“I don’t know!”

Jiang Ziya said in agony, “He must have used some evil spell to lock onto me through the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife!”

“Such a thing exists?”

Li Jing's eyes were grave, and a look of fear appeared on his face as he instinctively glanced at Nezha.

Clearly, the Evil Emperor, from across the Myriad Realms, had already broken free of control, just like that mischievous monkey back then!

He hadn't even returned to the position of Human Emperor yet, and he was already injuring a Heavenly Court immortal god from across the Myriad Realms.

If he truly became the Human Emperor, he would probably be even more troublesome than that mischievous monkey or Nezha!

The more Li Jing thought about it, the more alarmed he became, and he said, “Grand Duke Jiang! We must kill the Evil Emperor here. If he returns to his position as Human Emperor, the consequences will be endless!”

“Indeed!”

Jiang Ziya's face was already covered by flames,

but his sinister and ruthless gaze could still be seen through them.

He shouted towards the skylight, “Yang Jian! Quickly blast the Evil Emperor to death!”

The next moment, Yang Jian's voice came from the Eight Trigrams skylight: “Oh? You're not concerned about Jianmu anymore?”

“Don't worry about Jianmu!”

In his fury, Jiang Ziya's crane-like hair danced, and his face, hidden in the flames, was distorted with a ferocious expression as he roared, “Planting Jianmu was originally to lead Heavenly Soldiers to the Lower Realm and rule the heavens. If you kill the Evil Emperor now, the Myriad Realms will be without a demonic leader, and sooner or later, they will fall under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court!”

“So, does what you say count? Don’t cause problems and then blame me again,” Yang Jian’s voice drifted over, slow and with a lazy, drawn-out feel.

Nezha, listening from the side,

couldn't help but let a smile curl at the corner of his mouth.

He naturally knew that Yang Jian was just stalling.

As long as the Four Heavenly Kings weren't dead, he definitely wouldn't act.

However, with Yang Jian's question, Jiang Ziya fell silent, only screaming and wailing as if the flames had driven him mad.

But Nezha knew that this old man didn't want to respond to Yang Jian.

If Jianmu were destroyed, the crime of dereliction of duty would be considerable.

In fact, the Luck of the Human Emperor could not be severed.

If Di Xin was killed, there was still Qin Yang.

If Qin Yang was killed, there would be Chu Yang, Ye Yang, Xiao Yang... As long as the Human Race was not extinguished, the Human Emperor's Luck would surely condense again, giving birth to new Human Emperor candidates.

To prevent this, the Heavenly Court had to make all Human Race emperors their Heavenly Sons.

Only in this way could the Heavenly Court suppress and seize the Luck of the Human Race, solidifying their rule.

Therefore, Jianmu could not have any mishaps.

Jiang Ziya, that old sly fox, would certainly not bear this responsibility.

“Hmph, I knew it.”

Seeing Jiang Ziya not respond, Yang Jian let out a light, cold snort, “Let the Four Heavenly Kings die then. Without someone to vouch for me, I will not leave Jianmu by half a step.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ziya was enraged to the point of madness and roared, “Yang Jian! I suspect you of abetting a tiger!”

“Grand Duke Jiang, don't make false accusations. Do you have evidence?” Yang Jian said calmly.

“Evidence? Hahahaha!”

Jiang Ziya laughed in his fury and said, “Not fighting when you should is evidence! I think you are dissatisfied with the Heavenly Court and are still seeking justice for your mischievous monkey brother, aren't you!”

“So what?” Yang Jian said lightly, “If you don't like it, go to the Lingxiao Palace and file a complaint.”

Jiang Ziya angrily said, “Good! I will go to see Emperor Hao right now. The God-Beating Whip is merciless, don't you regret it!”

“Go quickly, run,” Yang Jian's voice remained calm.

Just as the two were at loggerheads, a deep, resonant voice, like an ancient bell, rang out.

[No need, I've arrived.]

As the voice faded, Nezha was suddenly stunned. He looked up and saw the sky ablaze with brilliant light, faintly revealing a colossal phantom.