170: Chapter 170 Who is the Chess Player and Who Holds the Game?

Before Su Daji's pretty face could flush red once more,

hearing the footsteps gradually approaching outside the tent, Su Chen took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Su Daji's waist and placed her on the kàng to one side.

He signaled that he had serious business to attend to.

Before long, an old man with a hunched figure and a sorrowful expression, dressed in tattered hemp clothes, was "invited" into the large tent by Su Chen's guards.

As soon as the old man entered the tent, he felt an invisible pressure envelop him, causing even a minor god like him to tremble with fear.

He stole a glance at Su Chen, who was seated at the head of the tent, and saw that the other man was expressionless.

Only those deep, bottomless black eyes were quietly watching him, as if they could see through all his disguises and thoughts.

"This small god... the Zhengdi Earth God, pays respects to the Great King."

The old man fell to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling.

He was not a physical entity; manifesting now had already consumed a significant amount of his incense merit.

"Earth Deity?"

"The mountain collapse during the day—was it your doing, Honorable Deity?"

The Earth Deity shuddered all over and prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to speak.

"Not speaking?"

"Very well."

"I am able to stand here today not by the Mandate of Heaven, but by the power of faith of the thousands of people beneath my feet and the unyielding spirit within my chest."

Su Chen slowly stood up, walked to the Earth Deity, and looked down at him.

The several wounds on his body did not weaken his majesty as an emperor; instead, they added a bit more bloody killing intent to his aura.

"I know you are controlled by others and cannot help yourself."

"But if you do not tell the truth today, I will tear down your temple and shatter your golden body."

"I will make you, the Earth Deity of this Region, vanish into thin air from this day forth. How does that sound?"

The plain words contained the coldest resolve.

The Earth Deity was scared out of his wits.

He could feel that this mortal king before him was by no means making empty threats.

After all, this was the master who, in a fit of rage, had almost wiped out the entire royal court.

The Zhengdi Earth God still remembered.

On the day Su Chen started the slaughter, the Earth Deity of Zhaoge had looked utterly terrified when he found him.

Although he was an Earth Deity and considered a minor immortal of a region,

his cultivation was, after all, meager.

For a powerful mortal emperor like Su Chen to kill him was truly not difficult.

"Great King, spare me! Great King, spare my life!"

To save his life, the Earth Deity could only bang his head against the ground, tears and snot flowing freely.

"This small god... this small god was also forced into a corner!"

"It was... an immortal master from above who issued a dharma decree, ordering me to secretly loosen the mountain rocks and ley lines to create signs of natural disasters, showing that Yin Shang Dynasty is without Dao and that the Mandate of Heaven is no longer with it."

"As a mere Earthly Deity, how could I dare to defy an immortal's dharma decree?"

"I could only... I could only comply!"

"From above?"

"Which immortal master? Where is the dharma decree?"

Su Chen pressed further.

"This small god's status is lowly; I do not know the immortal master's name."

"I only saw the dharma decree surrounded by golden light, its pressure as heavy as a mountain. It came from above me, likely from the Heavenly Court."

"As for the dharma decree, the immortal master took it back after casting the spell..."

The Earth Deity said, shrinking back.

Su Chen was silent for a moment before suddenly asking,

"What benefits did they promise you that would make you risk destroying Great Yin's reservoir?"

"Or rather, why are you Earthly Deities and Mountain Gods so willing to be driven to help the Zhou defeat Yin Shang Dynasty?"

Hearing this, a very complex expression appeared on the Earth Deity's face.

There was fear, struggle, and shame.

Finally, it all turned into a long sigh.

"May the Great King see clearly."

"This small god was originally unwilling."

"Yin Shang Dynasty has been established for hundreds of years and has provided much protection to the people here. Though the incense is thin, it was peaceful."

"But starting a few years ago, the Immortal Realm seemed to become unsettled."

He raised his head and said somewhat hesitantly,

"This small god's status is lowly, and my knowledge is limited."

"I only vaguely heard that something happened in the Heavenly Court, or some supreme place in the Immortal Realm."

"There seems to be a dispute of ideologies or a struggle for power among the various great powers and Golden Immortals."

"How could an ant like me know the specifics?"

"I only know that since then, many immortal grotto-heavens and various deities have received all sorts of overt or covert rumors and hints."

"One of them was... to support the Ji Clan of Western Zhou to replace Yin Shang Dynasty!"

"This is a great merit of 'following Heaven and responding to men'."

"Anyone who contributes to this matter, whether immortal, god, human, or ghost, can have their name recorded on... on a newly established 'Merit List for Overthrowing Zhou' outside the South Heaven Gate of the Heavenly Court."

The Earth Deity's voice grew lower and lower, and he smiled bitterly.

He didn't know if being so blunt would lead to a reckoning from those immortals or Su Chen in the future.

"It is said that those whose names are on the list can receive the blessing of the Heavenly Dao's providence."

"It brings immense benefits to one's cultivation, to passing tribulations, and to joining the ranks of the immortals in the future."

"There are even rumors that the day Yin Shang Dynasty is destroyed and the Zhou dynasty is established will be the time to reward everyone according to the merit book and redefine the order of the Immortal Realm..."

"Therefore, many immortals and deities who were originally neutral or even had ties with Yin Shang Dynasty,"

"whether for merit, to take a side, or for self-preservation, have secretly turned and assisted the Ji Clan in various ways to undermine Yin Shang Dynasty's providence."

"Creating natural disasters, spreading rumors, cutting off ley lines, and even... directly taking action against the loyal ministers and brave generals of Yin Shang Dynasty."

"This small god was also possessed by a moment of madness, thinking that if I could achieve some minor merit in this matter, I might be able to escape this position as an Earth Deity of a remote area and receive a proper enfeoffment as a Mountain God or River Deity."

"That is how I committed this great mistake!"

After the Earth Deity finished speaking, he was already in tears, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Great King, this small god knows my sins are heavy and does not dare to beg for mercy."

"I only ask the Great King to see that I was also coerced by others and blinded by greed."

"You also saw that I did my best to control the scale of that mountain collapse and did not dare to truly cause a massacre."

"I beg the Great King to give me a chance to atone for my crimes. I am willing to use my remaining incense and earthly qi to help the Great King stabilize the local water veins and alleviate the drought."

Inside the large tent, there was a dead silence.

Only the sound of the Earth Deity's sobbing and kowtowing, and the crackling of the candlelight, could be heard.

Su Chen stood quietly, his shadow stretched long by the candlelight. He looked at the humble, pleading Earth Deity at his feet, his eyes showing neither joy nor anger.

So that was it.

What "Mandate of Heaven is with Zhou," what "Yin Shang Dynasty is without Dao."

It was nothing more than a higher-level reshuffling of power and a struggle for interests.

Yin Shang Dynasty and he were merely conspicuous chess pieces in the game of immortals and gods, pieces that needed to be sacrificed.

Those high and mighty immortals, for the sake of so-called "merit" and "taking sides," could view millions of living beings as mere grass.

Turning their hands to summon clouds and covering them to bring rain.

How ironic.

How... tragic.

Su Chen didn't really care; as long as he could complete the investment task, he could just pat his bottom and leave.

But what about Great Yin?

What about the people of Great Yin?

What kind of bullshit world was this?

That it could allow an Earth Deity, who was supposed to protect the people,

to say something like "they are just a pile of chess pieces."

Su Chen remained silent for a long time.

The Earth Deity continued to kneel before him, trembling.

Seeing that the tyrant's expression was difficult to read and he had not moved, the deity did not dare to stand up.