Chapter 274: The Battle of Thus line: Chen Tang Guan Guan, the Investiture Goes Awry

Thus line: Chen Tang Guan Guan.

After Nezha left, Gu Xiu ordered Ao Guang, Ju Ling Shen and the others to lead the heavenly soldiers and generals to conceal their forms and quietly lie in wait in the heavens.

Waiting for Nezha to return.

Regarding Gu Xiu's words, the few were skeptical, but pressed by his authority, they dared not question.

A few hours later, Nezha returned to Thus line: Chen Tang Guan Guan as scheduled.

Ao Guang and Ju Ling Shen, upon seeing him, immediately led a mass of darkened heavenly soldiers and generals to descend, reveal themselves, and block Nezha's path.

"Nezha, you still dare to come back!"

Ao Guang's eyes widened in fury, his dragon whiskers fluttering in the wind, his voice full of anger.

Ju Ling Shen, towering and muscular, brandishing a massive axe, roared, "Nezha, you have committed such a grave crime; today you shall not escape, submit to justice at once!"

The heavenly soldiers and generals behind them shouted in unison, their clamour immense and chilling.

Seeing the heavenly troops encircling him, Nezha's murderous intent surfaced.

"Ao Guang, you old mudskipper, today I'll let you know that if I don't want it, you can't do anything to me."

Nezha's face brimmed with arrogance, his fearless demeanor both infuriating and hateful.

Having spoken, Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels spun rapidly beneath his feet, raising a blaze of scorching flame; he surged forward like a bolt of lightning, engaging Ao Guang, Ju Ling Shen and the others.

For a moment, the clashing of weapons rang continuously in the sky, sparks scattering everywhere.

Nezha, relying on his agile body and powerful artifacts, darted left and right among the myriad heavenly troops as if in an empty realm.

"Nezha, you wicked brat, cease your arrogance!" Ao Guang showed no weakness, brandishing his Zhenhai Divine Halberd, its divine light flashing, each strike imbued with boundless fury and power,

His dragon whiskers danced wildly in the wind, his eyes fixed on Nezha, as if eager to cut him down at once.

Seeing Nezha scatter the heavenly troops, Ju Ling Shen's eyes blazed, and he bellowed, "Nezha, cease your arrogance, feel my axe!"

The fierce axe wind whistled, slashing toward Nezha.

Gu Xiu and Princess Long Ji's silhouettes were hidden within the clouds, their gazes fixed on the scene below.

Although Nezha was wounded, he possessed many artifacts; Ao Guang, Ju Ling Shen and a few others certainly could not take him down.

After watching the few clash for a while, Gu Xiu said, "The moment is ripe; it's my turn to act."

Speaking, Gu Xiu unleashed terrifying celestial power from his body, imprisoning Nezha.

In the battle, Nezha saw Ju Ling Shen swing his axe and tried to dodge.

But he found himself suddenly immobilized, as if an invisible force bound him tightly; panic flashed in his eyes as he was struck directly by Ju Ling Shen's axe.

The two great generals, seeing Gu Xiu act, flashed a ruthless glint in their eyes; their weapons gleamed coldly, and the sharp blades instantly pierced Nezha's body.

Ao Guang, seeing this, had his eyes bloodshot, his hatred burning like a raging flame.

He swung the Zhenhai Divine Halberd, thrusting toward Nezha's back with endless fury.

He roared, "Nezha, brat, return my son's life!"

Sensing the imminent danger, Nezha was terrified, tried to evade, but remained immobilized and was pierced straight through by the halberd.

Subsequently, with the two great generals and Ju Ling Shen coordinating, Ao Guang succeeded in slaying Nezha.

Gu Xiu, seeing this, moved to seal his soul, imprisoning it within the mortal body.

Then, he transmitted his voice to Ao Guang and Ju Ling Shen.

"Ao Guang, I have sealed Nezha's soul within his body; take his corpse to the heavens and deliver it to the Heavenly Court for handling."

Ao Guang looked around bewildered, intending to thank him in person, but seeing no sign of Gu Xiu, he led Nezha's corpse upward for Haotian to deal with.

Li Jing had never cared for Nezha; the disaster was Nezha's doing. Upon hearing that Nezha's corpse would be taken to the heavens for the Heavenly Emperor to decide its fate, he said nothing further.

Gu Xiu watched Ao Guang and the others carry Nezha's corpse away toward the celestial realm as the system sounded.

"Ding!"

"Task complete, congratulations, host, you have obtained a Superior Primordial Spiritual Treasure, the Yin‑Yang Union Stab!"

Hearing the task completion, Gu Xiu was pleased; after so much effort, he finally received some reward.

Princess Long Ji, standing nearby, saw Gu Xiu smile faintly, a look of understanding on his face, and furrowed her brow slightly: "Why did you just now intervene to help Ju Ling Shen slay Nezha? Taking Nezha's corpse away was also your idea, wasn't it?"

Gu Xiu shook his head: "I'm doing this for the Heavenly Court; why do you have so many questions?"

Although there were some mishaps, preventing Nezha from cutting flesh and bone, and letting Ao Guang take his corpse to the heavens, Taiyi Zhenren's plan to revive Nezha with lotus roots will not be so easy.

Princess Long Ji said, "I am who I am, the Heavenly Court is the Heavenly Court, it concerns me not."

"Say what you will, I will not accompany you further, farewell."

With those words, Gu Xiu's form vanished on the spot.

Princess Long Ji, seeing this, rode a blue phoenix and flew upward.

After Princess Long Ji departed, Gu Xiu's figure appeared atop the walls of Thus line: Chen Tang Guan Guan, where a bow lay—the Qiankun Bow, originally forged by the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan; since his time, no one has been able to draw it.

"Nezha, it was with this bow that the boy Biyun, the child of Shi Ji, was slain."

"To prevent future trouble, the bow and arrows were secured."

Gu Xiu tried to take the bow and arrows; they were indeed heavy, but to him it was nothing, and he placed them directly into the system space.

"Without the Qiankun Bow, Taiyi cannot use Nezha's hand to kill Biyun, and any scheme against Shi Ji will have to be reconsidered."

……

the Heavenly Court.

Haotian had been monitoring the events at Thus line: Chen Tang Guan Guan; after seeing Nezha flee, he found it uninteresting and stopped paying attention, returning to the Jade Pool to rest,

until Ju Ling Shen and Ao Guang ascended to the heavens to pay their respects, at which point Haotian slightly opened his eyes.

"Ju Ling Shen, you are to assist the East Sea Dragon King, go to Thus line: Chen Tang Guan Guan and demand that Nezha repay his life with his own; how is it proceeding?"

Ju Ling Shen clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the matter is progressing smoothly; Nezha has already been executed, and we are bringing his corpse up to submit for your judgment."

Haotian frowned slightly: "Since the man is already dead, why bring his corpse up? And expect me to pass judgment—do you think I have idle time?"

Then, he looked toward Ao Guang: "East Sea Dragon King, since Nezha is your enemy, this corpse will be handed over to you to handle."

The Giant Spirit God panicked, hastily explaining: "Your Majesty, we have a reason for doing this."

Ao Guang echoed: "Yes, Your Majesty, why don't we let us finish speaking first? It's not too late for Your Majesty to make a decision."

This instead piqued Haotian's curiosity; he had just been observing the situation in the lower realm, but could only see an outline, not the specific details.

"Please speak."

The Giant Spirit God and Ao Guang spoke out the words that Gu Xiu had said.

Upon hearing that, Haotian fell silent for a long while: "You say Taiyi True Person intends to use a lotus root as an incarnation to resurrect Nezha?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, so we have imprisoned Nezha's soul within the corpse, bringing it up for Your Majesty to order how to dispose of it."

Haotian thought for a moment; he had originally had no chance to make a big deal out of this, but he didn't expect the opportunity to come knocking.

"Excellent, you've done well; now it's up to me."