759: Emperor's Heart Tribulation

Seeing Lord Taishang transform into another self, the Heavenly Emperor's eyes flashed with cold light, mixed with a hint of disdain.

"Hmph! As expected of My Heart Demon, to be able to solidify into a physical form!"

"Am I a Heart Demon?"

To the side, the sneering Heavenly Emperor shook his head playfully and said, "It's still undecided which of us two is the Heart Demon."

The Heavenly Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, his majestic Phoenix eyes suddenly contracting.

He seemed to... realize something... "I suggest we remove the defenses and let Yang Jian and the others into Lingxiao Palace to rescue the Heavenly Emperor!"

"Absolutely not! Those four have defied the Heavens, violating every Heavenly Rule. If we don't stop them, where will the Heavenly Might be?"

Inside Lingxiao Palace, the stars trembled.

The clouds and mist within the palace churned like waves due to the pressure generated by the gods' dispute.

The Heavenly Emperor, hidden in the glow, was unusually quiet, letting his ministers argue, like a clay statue.

It wasn't that he didn't want his ministers to quiet down, but ever since he issued the decree to put the Eight Directions Heaven Gates on high alert and set up three trials outside, he had fallen into the inner landscape of his own Heart Demon.

At this moment, the Heavenly Emperor was confronting 'another himself,' an Incarnation of his Heart Demon.

Whoever won would be the Heavenly Emperor.

And the immortals and gods in Lingxiao Palace had also split into two factions based on the Heavenly Emperor's two thoughts—

"Since the Heavenly Court began to govern the Three Realms with the investiture of the gods, the Three Realms have been peaceful and the Six Paths tranquil. The newly ascended Human Emperor wants to tear the list; how is he different from King Zhou of Shang? If we let them invade the Heavenly Court, how can we remain unscathed?!"

Heavenly King Li, without his pagoda, raised his cloak and glared at the gods of the Thunder Department who had retreated from the Heaven Gate.

Next to him, Giant Spirit God rumbled in agreement: "If the Heavenly Emperor loses the investiture of the gods, the Three Realms will surely fall into chaos! You, quickly go guard the Heaven Gate!"

Celestial Worthy Puhua's eyes suddenly flashed with lightning, and he questioned, "Peace in the Three Realms? Do you truly not know that the investiture of the gods restricts the upper limit of our cultivation? Or is it that..."

At this point, Celestial Worthy Puhua paused for a moment, then sneered, "That's right, your Karma is insufficient, your strength lacking... If not for the benefits of the Investiture of the Gods Chess Game, how would you be qualified to obtain a divine position in the Heavenly Court?"

"You..."

Heavenly King Li was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, before becoming a god, he was a general, while Celestial Worthy Puhua was the Grand Tutor of the Yin-Shang Dynasty.

Right!

Grand Tutor of Yin-Shang!

Seizing on this point, Heavenly King Li angrily rebuked, "The Heavenly Emperor has already ordered you to guard the Heaven Gate. If you don't go, it's dereliction of duty! Or perhaps, you, the Grand Tutor of Yin-Shang, are still thinking of that demonic King Zhou and wish to restore the dynasty?"

"Li Jing! You've lost your pagoda and still won't restrain yourself. Be careful, or I'll rip your mouth off!"

Celestial Worthy Puhua opened his third eye, and behind him, the Magical Artifacts of the Thunder Department gods hummed in unison, purple lightning coiling like snakes.

Inside Lingxiao Palace, the gods argued endlessly.

Those who benefited from the Investiture of the Gods Chess Game believed that the Heavenly Emperor's control over the investiture of the gods was a matter of course.

At the same time, they also feared that if the investiture of the gods was torn apart, they would fall from their divine altars and lose their divine positions.

However, the 'Laissez-faire faction,' led by Celestial Worthy Puhua, leaned towards overthrowing the old order, hoping to use the Human Emperor's power to help themselves break free from the shackles of the investiture of the gods.

Just as the two factions argued incessantly, their power causing the stellar nebula at the dome to crack, a gentle breeze swept in.

Lord Taishang arrived, stepping on an Eight Trigrams phantom, his hair and beard imbued with Yin and Yang Qi.

He waved his sleeve, pushing back the gods who were approaching each other, almost coming to blows, and his voice boomed like a great bell: "The Heavenly Emperor is currently fighting his Heart Demon. You must not cause trouble before him."

"The Karma of the investiture of the gods Tribulation must be resolved today; all beings in the Three Realms cannot avoid it."

Upon seeing Laojun arrive, all the gods retreated to both sides.

Among them, the 'Laissez-faire faction' had understood the meaning in Laojun's words, and their triumph was evident.

"Indeed! This Human Emperor Tribulation is a continuation of the investiture of the gods Tribulation. The investiture of the gods appears to be a certificate of divine position, but in reality, it is a shackle that binds us!"

Lord Taishang nodded, then looked at Heavenly King Li and the 'Obstruction faction' he led, saying, "If the Human Emperor were within the Three Realms, the Heavenly Emperor could still suppress him with the investiture of the gods, but the Human Emperor is in the Outer Domain!"

"In that Outer Domain called the Myriad Realms, the Human Emperor has even taken control of the Six Paths. His cultivation will grow infinitely, while you are fixed in your divine positions, unable to advance an inch for ten thousand years."

"Not even ten thousand years, but only a thousand years, and the myriad immortals of the Heavenly Court will no longer be a match for the Human Emperor. At that time, will the Three Realms still be peaceful?"

As soon as Laojun spoke these words, all the immortals suddenly realized.

Indeed.

The investiture of the gods could govern the Three Realms

because the Heavenly Court was the ceiling of the Three Realms.

Within the Three Realms, there would be no existence that surpassed the gods and immortals.

But... if an enemy came from outside the Three Realms, how would the gods respond?

In fact, such a thing had happened before.

Wasn't the Great Sage Equal to Heaven of yesteryear 'beyond the Three Realms and not within the Five Elements'?

After only ten years of study in the Cave of Three Stars, he had the ability to defy the Heavens.

It was also that monkey's impatience; not long after he finished his studies, he noisily wanted to rebel.

If he had endured for a thousand years and then caused Havoc in Heaven, it would not have been the 'peaceful Havoc in Heaven' that the gods and immortals could control.

And the same thing was happening now.

If the Human Emperor were stopped today, and they continued to let the investiture of the gods bind themselves, living as carefree immortals.

Then, when the Human Emperor returned a thousand years later, the immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court would probably see him as a looming threat.

Therefore, to retain the investiture of the gods, the Heavenly Emperor would have to personally lead a team to thoroughly annihilate the Human Emperor.

Moreover, it would have to be a quick battle, a forced invasion.

Currently, the Heavenly Court had no time to plant the Jianmu tree to build a passage to the Heavens.

But... the current Human Emperor already had the strength to directly confront the Heavenly Soldiers.

A forced invasion could only strike the Myriad Realms, but it might not necessarily annihilate the Human Emperor.

This would instead provoke the Human Emperor to view all immortals as mortal enemies.

By then, his goal would not just be to tear the list.

That's right... this was the Human Emperor Tribulation. In the face of the Tribulation, immortals and gods would suffer either way.

The best choice was to abandon the investiture of the gods!

This would cause many immortals and gods to lose their 'divine position,' their secure livelihood.

But it would also allow truly capable immortals and gods to break through their current limits and continue to improve.

This was about breaking before establishing; the Heavenly Court's bureaucracy was already bloated and needed streamlining.

Understanding this, all the immortals and gods no longer dwelled on it, nor could they.

However, Celestial Worthy Puhua still had a question. He bowed to Lord Taishang and asked, "Since we already know the harm of the investiture of the gods, why should we still guard the Heaven Gate? Why not just let them in directly to help the Heavenly Emperor break through his Heart Demon?"

Lord Taishang, however, shook his head and explained, "Do not underestimate the power of the investiture of the gods. The investiture of the gods seems to be in the Heavenly Emperor's hands, but in reality, it is also in the hearts of all immortals and gods."

Speaking of this, he scanned the immortals and gods, enunciating each word:

"Every immortal in the Heavenly Court has a Heart Demon!"

"To dispel the Heart Demon, one must fight to the death with the Human Emperor!"

"This is a confrontation between the old order and the new order."

With that, Laojun pointed his whisk at the four figures who had already reached the South Heaven Gate outside the palace, his gaze burning: "Only the Human Emperor's 'rebellion' can force the immortals and gods to 'awaken'!"