262: Chapter 262 You can't win an argument, and you can't beat them in a fight.

Izanagi's cold sneer echoed in the hall, yet it carried a sense of powerless desolation.

"How could we just let it go?"

He repeated, his voice much lower, as if trying to convince himself.

Upon hearing this, the gods in the hall felt their spirits lift.

The hot-tempered god with a greatsword at his waist stepped forward. "Lord! Please give the order! I am willing to be the vanguard and charge into the Huaxia Divine Realm! I will have no regrets even in death!"

"Yes! Charge over there!"

"Let them know the wrath of Takamagahara!"

The crowd grew agitated again, as if they weren't the ones scared into silence just moments ago.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Izanagi let out an angry shout, containing the majesty of the God Lord, instantly suppressing all the clamor.

His icy gaze swept across the face of every god in the hall, making them bow their heads one after another.

Charge over there? With what?

Don't you have a shred of self-awareness about your own capabilities?

Fury surged in Izanagi's heart, yet he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

"The national fortune has been severed, and our divine power is declining; this is a fundamental issue," a refined god holding a scroll spoke in a heavy voice.

"Matters of the mortal realm must ultimately be compensated for from the mortal realm."

"Directly launching a divine war is the worst possible strategy."

Izanagi nodded slightly, gesturing for him to continue.

"The intention of that Huaxia Thunder Ancestor is that we must not interfere with mortal karma. But the definition of 'interfering' is very vague."

A sharp glint flashed in Omoikane's eyes.

"We won't descend directly, but we can bestow oracles, select agents in the human world, or even..."

"Secretly bestow a few divine artifacts and let them deal with that mortal named Chen You."

"As long as we do it discreetly enough and leave no traces of divine power, I presume that Thunder Ancestor won't have a reason to lash out."

As soon as these words were spoken, the gods' eyes lit up.

That's right!

We can't enter the fray ourselves, but we can find proxies!

It's like playing a game; if the main account is banned, can't we just use an alt?

"Brilliant plan!"

"Let's do it!"

"We must make that Chen You die without a place to be buried!"

The atmosphere in the hall became lively again, the scent of conspiracy replacing the previous dead silence.

A hint of approval also flashed in Izanagi's deep eyes.

This was the only feasible way for now.

Although it was humiliating, it was better than waiting for death.

As long as they could kill Chen You and reclaim the national fortune, it would be worth paying some price.

He was just about to speak and finalize the plan.

Just then—

Wong—

An indescribable Dao charm, like a spring breeze turning into rain, permeated the entire Heavenly Hall of Peace without warning.

Outside the hall, the sea of clouds churned, and thousands of divine palaces radiated light together, as if in worship, or perhaps in fear.

A warm and peaceful golden light pierced through the dome of the divine temple, slowly landing in the center of the hall.

As the light dissipated, an old man dressed in a white Daoist robe, with white hair and a youthful face, holding a fly-whisk, was looking at them with a smile.

His smile was very warm, and his eyes were very clear, like a kind old grandfather next door.

But the moment Izanagi saw him, his heart couldn't help but tighten!

"Taibai... Jinxing?"

He almost squeezed those four words out from between his teeth.

"Hehe, God Lord Izanagi, it's been many years. I trust you've been well." Taibai Jinxing flicked his fly-whisk, the smile on his face undiminished.

This familiar manner caused the gods in the hall, who had just been shouting for blood, to instantly fall silent.

Izanagi's face was ashen. He stood up, divine power surging.

"Instead of serving the Jade Emperor in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, what business brings Your Excellency to my Takamagahara?"

"Ah, the God Lord is mistaken," Taibai Jinxing said slowly.

"I heard that your side encountered some unpleasantness in the mortal realm. My Heavenly Venerable has a bit of a short temper, so his words might have been somewhat abrasive."

"His Majesty the Jade Emperor is kind-hearted and worried that the harmony between neighbors might be damaged. He specifically ordered this old Daoist to come visit and, by the way... bring some small gifts as a gesture of condolence."

The words were spoken flawlessly.

But not a single god in the hall was a fool.

Visit? Condolence?

This was clearly coming to your door after beating you up to step on your face and ask, "Does it hurt?"!

A hot-tempered Martial God could no longer restrain himself and roared, "Enough!"

"You go too far! Do you really think my Takamagahara has no one left?"

Upon hearing this, Taibai Jinxing finally turned his gaze toward him. The smile on his face remained, but a trace of indifference flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"This Divine Lord, please calm down."

He said softly, "Everything in the mortal realm has its cause and effect."

"Your Heavenly God used divine power to control mortals, which was already a violation of taboos. My Heavenly Venerable's action was to set things right and maintain the laws of the Heavenly Dao."

"How is it that in your mouth, it has become our fault instead?"

"You!" The Martial God trembled with rage but was unable to refute.

Gods not directly interfering with mortal karma was an ironclad rule etched into the underlying laws of the world.

Amaterasu's intervention was already in the wrong.

They couldn't win the argument, and they couldn't win the fight.

Izanagi took a deep breath, suppressing the rising fury in his heart.

He stared intently at Taibai Jinxing. "Enough with these high-sounding words! What exactly do you want?"

"God Lord, don't be in a hurry."

Taibai Jinxing chuckled, reached into his sleeve, and slowly pulled something out.

"I said I came to deliver gifts."

All the gods held their breath, staring fixedly at his movements.

Was it some world-destroying treasure? Used to intimidate them?

In the next second, under the stunned, blank, and incredulous gazes of all the Japanese gods.

From the sleeve of his seemingly ordinary Daoist robe, Taibai Jinxing slowly...

Dragged out a metal creation with a strange shape.

This thing had tough lines, a complex structure, and a pedal at the bottom.

With a "clang," it landed on the ground.

This object was precisely a crystallization of the Industrial Revolution—a sewing machine.

"This is..."

Izanagi was a bit dazed, not reacting for a moment.

"This is a supreme treasure bestowed by His Majesty the Jade Emperor out of pity for your damaged national fortune and the dwindling faith of your people."

Taibai Jinxing stroked the cold metal casing of the sewing machine and introduced it with a solemn expression:

"This object is called the 'Merit Loom'."

"Merit... Loom?" The gods looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Taibai Jinxing explained solemnly, "The Heavenly Dao is perfectly just; where there is loss, there must be gain. Although your national fortune has been cut down, the foundation still remains."

"As long as you repent sincerely and work diligently, you can make up for the deficit and reshape your faith."

He pointed to the steel needle on the sewing machine, his tone solemn.

"Look, every stitch and thread can eliminate past karmic obstacles."

He then pointed to the pedal below.

"Look again, every step and press can reshape your future Dao heart."

"You only need to be down-to-earth and work hard every day. Within ten thousand years, Takamagahara will surely regain its former glory."

Taibai Jinxing spoke with such sincerity, as if he were truly concerned about the future of Takamagahara.

Inside the Heavenly Hall of Peace, there was a deathly silence.

At first, the gods hadn't reacted.

But as Taibai Jinxing's words echoed in their minds, an indescribable sense of absurdity and extreme humiliation erupted from the bottom of every god's heart like a volcano!

This was no "Merit Loom"!

This was clearly asking them, these high and mighty gods, to be like mortal prisoners, treading a sewing machine for "reform through labor"!

This was an insult!

Pfft—

That hot-tempered Martial God was actually so angry that he spat out a mouthful of golden divine blood!

"Bakayaro!!"

His eyes were bloodshot as he drew the greatsword from his waist, divine power surging as he prepared to charge and fight for his life.

However, just as he took a step, a hand firmly pressed down on his shoulder.

It was Izanagi.

At this moment, Izanagi's face was no longer ashen, but a calm that was almost like dead ash.

He stared fixedly at Taibai Jinxing, his gaze as if he wanted to swallow the other man whole.

"Taibai Jinxing, is this... your attitude?"

The smile on Taibai Jinxing's face finally faded a bit.

He looked directly into Izanagi's eyes, his tone flat.

"This isn't our attitude; it's the 'rules'."

"That Chen You, in the name of the huaxia civilization, is carrying out a reckoning. This is a civilizational karma that we find inconvenient to interfere with."

"Divine Lord Amaterasu's intervention broke the rules. The Nine Heavens Responsive Thunder Ancestor's action was to 'correct the error'."

"And my arrival today to present this 'Merit Loom' is for 'punishment'."

He paused, his voice becoming increasingly ethereal yet also increasingly chilling.

"One last reminder."

"That mortal is not someone you can afford to provoke."

"Everyone, take care of yourselves."

As the words fell, Taibai Jinxing's figure turned into dots of golden light and dissipated in the hall.

Only a cold sewing machine was left, standing quietly in the center of the Heavenly Hall of Peace.

Izanagi slowly released his grip on the Martial God.

The hot-tempered Martial God stomped his foot. "This is too infuriating!"

"He only gave us one; it's not even enough for us to share!"

"..."

Izanagi closed his eyes, tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle, and two lines of golden divine tears silently slid down from the corners of his eyes.