580: The Emperor's Wrist

"Heavenly Emperor, what exactly are you thinking...?"

Watching the giant phantom in the sky slowly disappear, Jiang Ziya's gaze deepened.

The Heavenly Emperor seemed... not to have taken the Human Emperor seriously?

Now, the Human Emperor was right in front of Yang Jian.

Even if separated by countless realms, Divine Might could not personally arrive.

But if the Heavenly Emperor truly wanted to suppress and kill Qin Yang, there were a myriad of ways.

Continuing to bless him with Divine Might, or casually bringing out a Magical Artifact, the effect would not be worse than his Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.

However... the Heavenly Emperor chose to let Nature take its course.

This was clearly not the attitude one would have towards a mortal enemy.

Could it be that he truly intended to allow the Human Emperor to return to his position, to let him come up and 'settle accounts'?

"Settle accounts!"

Jiang Ziya suddenly froze, a chill running down his spine, as a terrifying thought emerged in his mind.

He turned to look at the sky where the phantom had vanished, thinking, "Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor has seen through the Investiture of the Gods Chess Game?"

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans appeared on Jiang Ziya's forehead.

In the War of investiture of the gods, he had personally enfeoffed 365 righteous gods and 10 auxiliary gods.

Aside from those who achieved Immortal Ascension with their Physical Body, such as Yang Jian and Nezha, the elites of both the Chan and Jie Sects, regardless of their faction, were all listed on the investiture of the gods after the War ended.

This was actually done intentionally.

The War of investiture of the gods was a meat grinder.

The elites of both the Chan and Jie Sects were all drawn into it.

Many of them originally had the potential for Immortal Ascension and becoming a Saint, but they died in vain during the War.

Fortunately, after the War ended, those who died in battle were all enfeoffed with divine positions, resurrected, and became one of the Heavenly Gods.

On the surface, it appeared to be a reward for their merits.

In reality, the entire War of investiture of the gods was a chess game.

This War caused all these elites to pledge allegiance to the Heavenly Dao, helping the Heavenly Emperor achieve the unification of the Three Realms.

And the tool used to manage these elites was the investiture of the gods that enfeoffed divine positions.

As long as the investiture of the gods was in hand, even the most capable immortals had to obey the Heavenly Dao.

This was why Jiang Ziya enfeoffed so many gods but did not enfeoff himself.

As long as he was not on the investiture of the gods, he could remain free from the constraints of the Investiture of the Gods Chess Game.

Of course, Yang Jian, Nezha, and others were also not on the investiture of the gods.

But they achieved divine positions in the Heavenly Court through Immortal Ascension with their Physical Body; they simply hadn't been enfeoffed through the investiture of the gods.

However, as long as one possessed a divine position, one had to accept the management of the investiture of the gods; this was the deepest conspiracy within the Investiture of the Gods Chess Game.

Not only the newly enfeoffed 365 righteous gods, but even the previously existing immortals and gods were entangled in the Karma of the investiture of the gods, including the Heavenly Emperor.

As long as all the gods recognized the legitimacy of the investiture of the gods, then it possessed the highest authority.

The investiture of the gods could enfeoff mountain gods below and Great Emperors above.

Holding this list, one could command all gods and become the God of Gods.

And among all these Heavenly Gods and Buddhas, only Jiang Ziya could wield the investiture of the gods.

He had neither achieved Immortal Ascension nor been enfeoffed as a god, yet he could use the investiture of the gods to restrain all beings bound by divine positions.

Of course, the investiture of the gods was not without its weaknesses.

The legitimacy of the investiture of the gods required the collective recognition of the Three Realms.

This was why the disobedient Di Xin had to fall.

Once the Human Emperor returned to his position, he could veto the legitimacy of the investiture of the gods.

At that time, divine positions would not be recognized, and the Karma of the investiture of the gods would cease to exist.

Then, Jiang Ziya would no longer be able to use this piece of paper to become the "God of Gods."

Of course, if the Heavenly Emperor saw through the conspiracy of the investiture of the gods, he could also directly veto the Karma of the investiture of the gods.

But he would not deny his own divine position, otherwise, how could he be the Heavenly Emperor?

Moreover, if the Heavenly Emperor denied the investiture of the gods, would those who were enfeoffed agree?

The only way was to use the Human Emperor's hand to deny it.

In this way, the Heavenly Emperor could still claim to be a God.

But the investiture of the gods would have lost its legitimacy, and the conspiracy of the investiture of the gods would have been broken.

"It must be like this!"

"The Heavenly Emperor must be thinking this!"

Having understood everything, Jiang Ziya's face had turned ashen.

He was now certain that the Heavenly Emperor was going to make a move against him.

What pursuit of the Human Emperor?

He was simply supporting the Human Emperor!

This... was this the Heavenly Emperor's cunning?

Jiang Ziya stood rooted to the spot, cold sweat soaking his robes.

At this moment, he finally understood the true value of being the "Lord of the Three Realms"!

No!

The Human Emperor must die!

Otherwise, it would be me who dies!

Thinking this, Jiang Ziya suddenly looked up and asked the gods, "How much longer until the Heavenly Gate opens? We must quickly support Yang Jian and suppress and kill the Evil Emperor!"

"Is there still a need?"

No sooner had Jiang Ziya finished speaking than he heard Nezha's frivolous retort.

Jiang Ziya was stunned, then saw Nezha with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the Heavenly Well below, his expression extremely excited.

At the same time, the Generals of the Thunder Department and the Four Constellations above also looked at the Heavenly Well below, but their eyes were grave.

Jiang Ziya also looked towards the Heavenly Well, and a chill immediately ran down his spine.

He saw that in the Lower Realm, the hundred-zhang-tall Human Emperor Avatar was walking step by step towards the Jianmu.

And behind him was Yang Jian, whose Avatar had been destroyed and who lay sprawled on the ground.

As well as Chi You, kneeling on one knee, his power exhausted.

"The battle... is over..."

Jiang Ziya felt a sudden dizzy spell.

While he was pondering why the Heavenly Emperor would indulge the Human Emperor, the battle in the Lower Realm had already reached its conclusion.

Although Yang Jian had the Heavenly Emperor's Divine Might blessing him, he was still no match for the combined forces of the Human Emperor and Chi You, and he was defeated in a world-shattering battle.

"It's over, the Jianmu is going to be destroyed!"

Jiang Ziya suddenly looked up and said to the Generals of the Thunder Department, "Quickly find a way to stop him! If the Jianmu is destroyed, we won't be able to crusade against the Human Emperor!"

Hearing Jiang Ziya's words, the Generals of the Thunder Department and the Four Constellations all remained unresponsive.

Only Nezha laughed gleefully, "Don't rush them. If there was a way, they would have done it already."

"No! We cannot give up like this!"

Nezha's gleeful smile made Jiang Ziya somewhat lose his composure.

At this moment, he looked at all the Generals of the Thunder Department and the Four Constellations as if they were traitors.

He felt that they, like the Heavenly Emperor, were holding back their strength, wanting the Human Emperor to return to his position.

After all, once the Human Emperor returned to his position, it would not only not affect their status but also help them break free from the constraints of the investiture of the gods.

The biggest loser would only be himself!

"You are indulging the Human Emperor!"

Jiang Ziya's face was grim as he scanned the gods, gritting his teeth and saying, "If the Human Emperor returns to his position, all the efforts of the War of investiture of the gods will be in vain!"

"He's getting anxious, he's getting anxious."

Nezha first grinned, then his gaze suddenly turned fierce, and he warned with unclear meaning, "Old man Jiang, your investiture of the gods better be able to command all gods, otherwise, I'll sooner or later rip off your skull!"

"A demon embryo is indeed a demon embryo..."

Jiang Ziya's gaze darkened.

He had figured it out... it wasn't just the Heavenly Emperor who had seen through the conspiracy of the investiture of the gods... [Retired Emperors: We received suggestions from our Imperial Fathers that Jiang Ziya was not enfeoffed as a god, and the investiture of the gods cannot suppress Yang Jian. So, we specifically explain that in this book's setting, Jiang Ziya was indeed not enfeoffed (the plot was already conceived before this). However, regarding whether Yang Jian would be suppressed by the investiture of the gods, your Imperial Son has made supplementary settings.]