Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Li Guang obeys the order!"

As soon as the order was given, the phantom drew a bow and nocked an arrow, the string was full, and a white feather flew through the air with a whistling sound.

"puff!"

Instantly, a dull tearing sound rang out, and the arrow, along with its fletching, pierced the giant tiger's body, exploding in the swirling wind.

"Woo!"

In an instant, the intense magical impact and some indescribable targeted attack made it difficult for Lu Wu to maintain his Dharma body, and he groaned as he transformed back into his original human form.

At that moment, a white-feathered arrow pierced his shoulder blade, and golden-red blood gushed from between his fingers.

As he lost blood and his body became increasingly constricted, Lu Wu's expression grew even more grim.

But often, a wounded beast is at its most ferocious and terrifying.

Because they will launch a counterattack at all costs.

At this moment, Lu Wu, his ferocity aroused by repeated defeats, turned bloodshot with his eyes, swung his claws, and unleashed nine steel whip-like tiger tails, attempting to close the distance to his target and launch a desperate fight.

"You mere tiger, how dare you act so arrogantly before me? You overestimate yourself!"

The First Emperor slowly raised the Tai'a sword in his hand, and behind him, phantoms appeared one after another. The spirit of a million soldiers gathered together, like a black, angry dragon, was poised to move as the sword's edge drew it.

The sword of might and righteousness prioritizes killing.

What the gods and spirits of this world fear most is the bloodthirsty aura of an army, which is extremely yang and powerful.

Even the mighty Kunlun God could not withstand this formidable army capable of destroying mountains and temples, and causing even ghosts and gods to flee in terror.

The Tai'a sword pierced the sky, shattering ten thousand miles of floating clouds.

The jet-black, furious dragon formed from the essence of wolf smoke pounced on Lu Wu, who was already at his last gasp in mid-air, with lightning speed.

"when!"

At the critical moment, a piercing metallic clang came from the tip of the Tai'a sword, and the invincible sword momentum suddenly melted away like ice and snow.

Along with the menacing, pitch-black dragon roared and crumbled.

In the dense forest below, Samael quietly lowered his hand, then looked at the part that had blocked the Tai'a sword's edge, and was stunned, his face full of astonishment.

That's... a fishing rod?

At the same time, the fishing rod that collided with the Tai'a sword spun several times in the air before landing in a fair and slender hand.

"I would rather take the straightforward path than seek the crooked one; I would not set out for the brocade fish, but only to catch kings and nobles."

Amidst the sea of ​​clouds, a languid chant drifted by; the deep language, with its melodious magnetism, unconsciously inspired conviction.

Even Lu Wu and the First Emperor, who were originally at each other's throats, unknowingly stopped their fierce battle and stood silently to each other.

At that moment, amidst the churning sea of ​​clouds, a black-haired youth dressed in a dark Taoist robe, riding backwards on a strange beast with antlers like a deer, a face like a horse, hooves like a cow, and a tail like a donkey, held a fishing rod and swayed leisurely towards them.

Those slightly narrowed eyes held a half-smile.

"Tsk tsk, looks like today's harvest is plentiful, another real dragon has taken the bait..."

The playful banter immediately defused the tense atmosphere on the field.

"Grandpa!"

Lord Lu Wu looked unwilling and reminded the mysterious young man in a deep voice, trying to help him distinguish between friend and foe.

The young man on the other side, however, smiled and cupped his hands in a humble manner.

"I was unaware of the arrival of the First Emperor and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me."

"It's alright. Given your ignorance, I will let bygones be bygones."

After being flattered, the First Emperor was overjoyed and casually waved his hand to show his magnanimity.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

The young man, who seemed to be neither fish nor fowl, still smiled and bowed, but as his voice fell, he suddenly changed the subject, opened his slightly narrowed eyes, revealing deep and penetrating purple pupils, and quietly looked at the First Emperor.

"Now that the debt of rudeness towards guests has been settled, shouldn't we discuss the matter of forcibly breaking into Kunlun?"

"My words are law, and my actions are the standard. The entire land of China and the four seas have come under the rule of Qin. What is there that we cannot go to, even a small place like Kunlun?"

The First Emperor, understanding the implied meaning, suppressed his smile and arrogantly put his hands behind his back.

So, you've already gone ahead and done it, what are you going to do about it?

"In that case, we'll inevitably have to fight His Majesty."

The young man, who was neither of the four compatible types, jumped off his mount and helplessly bowed.

"There's no other way; guarding Kunlun is my duty."

"it is good!"

The First Emperor laughed heartily, raised his Tai'a sword, and his whole body was filled with fighting spirit.

"Let me, the Emperor, experience firsthand the extraordinary skills of you, the ancestor of all schools of thought!"

The black-haired youth bent down and looked around, his gaze sweeping across Kunlun, before speaking meaningfully.

"Fellow Daoists, please come in."

At that moment, Tamamo-no-Mae, who had just been glanced at, bristled with fury.

Old Jiang! He really is that old coffin-head!

Without a doubt, the only person who could elicit such a strong reaction from Tamamo-no-Mae was Jiang Ziya, the ancestor of all schools of thought who assisted King Wu in overthrowing King Zhou and was the one who bestowed titles upon the gods on behalf of Heaven.

Jiang Taigong, also known as Taigong Wang, was a prominent statesman and military strategist during the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties. He was the chief strategist in King Wu's conquest of the Shang dynasty. He was also the author of the ancient Chinese military treatises *Six Secret Teachings* and *Three Strategies*.

Legend has it that he served as a minor official at the end of the Shang Dynasty, but resigned due to rampant corruption and went into seclusion. He fished with a long rod, short line, straight hook, and with his back turned, until one day he met the future King Wen of Zhou by the Wei River. King Wen was attracted by his unique fishing method and became his student.

After King Wen died, King Wu ascended the throne. Taigong Wang continued to assist King Wu, helping him to overthrow the Shang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty. Taigong Wang was enfeoffed in Qi and became the ancestor of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Meanwhile, Taigong Wang was also the spokesperson for the plan of the Investiture of the Gods, who was ordered by the Primordial Heavenly Lord to ride a Qilin (a mythical creature) and carry the divine weapon, the God-Slaying Whip, and the Apricot Yellow Banner to the mountain to assist the Zhou Dynasty in replacing the Shang Dynasty.

In contrast, Daji, the demoness who was nearly killed and became the loser, was more like a pawn that was casually sacrificed in this game.

That is why, after the fall of the Shang dynasty, the fox spirit who was originally a celestial maiden did not return to Kunlun to report back.

She wants to get an explanation for herself.

Chapter Fifteen: The Crowned Fisherman

A fierce wind howled in the sky.

The First Emperor stood on a cloud, looking down at the illusory fairyland below. His gaze swept over the empty palaces and the wildly growing flowers, plants and strange beasts, and a hint of arrogance and mockery appeared in his eyes.

"The place is deserted, and Kunlun is without a master. Since you have all abandoned your duties, I shall take over the management of this blessed land of immortals!"

Immediately, Zu Long raised the Tai'a sword in his hand, sneered, and a dazzling golden pill flew out from his abdomen, growing in the wind and transforming into a colossal creature stretching for three hundred miles.

It features mountains and rivers, as well as pavilions and courtyards.

The corridor is paved with bricks, and pebbles drip water from under the eaves. The interior walls are covered with murals, depicting figures, animals, carriages, horses, plants, and, most notably, lifelike deities and monsters.

This majestic underground palace of Mount Li descends towards Kunlun with the overwhelming force of Mount Tai.

If all these celestial beings and gods have already fled and are now just empty shells, what right do they have to be worshipped by the people of the Nine Provinces?

Without any hesitation, the First Emperor smashed the Lishan Underground Palace, which contained fragments of five thousand years of Chinese civilization, into the magnificent palaces that originally belonged to the Kunlun Heavenly People.

Since the gods have vanished without a trace, there is no point in leaving them behind. I can save the world with my own hands and take their place.

From now on, I will not seek immortals or gods, but only myself!

"presumptuous!"

Seeing that the magnificent palaces of the immortals and gods were about to be crushed into dust by the royal palaces and courtyards of mortals, Lu Wu, who was in charge of guarding Kunlun, was furious. He immediately transformed into a hundred-foot-tall Dharma body and carried the Lishan underground palace, which was falling like a meteorite.

"Boom!"

A rainbow pierced the sky, a meteor fell to the ground, and the Lishan underground palace, stretching for three hundred miles, instantly bent Lu Wu, who was a hundred feet tall, over.

This is not merely a collection of rocks and pavilions; it also houses the names of many brilliant ministers and generals throughout the history of Chinese civilization.

Even if it's just a simple accumulation of quantity, the Spirit Origin weighs tens of thousands of tons.

Even if this deity used all his strength, he could only slow down the descent of the Lishan underground palace.

As for himself, his bones cracked and popped as he was crushed inch by inch into the mud.

Even with bulging veins and ruptured blood vessels, this guardian deity refused to let go, using his last ounce of strength to protect the gates of Kunlun.

As Lu Wu found himself in dire straits, Taigong Wang, who was in the clouds, finally stopped hesitating, took out a bright yellow scroll from his sleeve, threw it into the air, and looked solemn.

"A million living beings are my soldiers, the gods and demons of the heavens are my generals, and the pure and righteous gods, raise an altar for me, and fight against the Ancestral Dragon!"

"Bai Jian obeys!"

In an instant, a wisp of pure energy emerged from the scroll unfurled in mid-air, transforming into a figure clad in heavy armor, waving a soul-summoning banner in mid-air.

Bai Jian was originally a general under the Yellow Emperor. A thousand years ago, he defeated Chi You and was thrown into the sea by a firearm. He was unable to escape the calamity for a thousand years and wandered the world as a soul. After the victory against King Zhou, he was appointed as the leader of the Three Realms and one of the 365 "Qingfu Zhengshen" (pure and blessed gods). He was responsible for supervising the construction of the Fengshen Platform and guiding souls into the Fengshen Platform.

A square platform was erected, and a bright yellow scroll was unfurled, with names written in tadpole script appearing and disappearing on the bright yellow silk.

Taigong Wang ascended the Investiture Platform, built of radiant patterns, facing the bright yellow scroll unfurled in mid-air. He raised his steel whip, pointing it towards the descending Lishan Underground Palace.

"May the two sons of Kua'e move mountains and remove obstacles!"

"As ordered!"

Instantly, several floating divine runes peeled off the scroll and transformed into two muscular giants who took root in the ground and continuously absorbed the power of the earth veins from all directions. They struggled to lift the falling Lishan underground palace inch by inch and pulled out Lu Wu, who was already at his last gasp, from below.

The two giant gods tried to take the Kunlun deity away from the danger, but they were overwhelmed by the immense spiritual pressure contained in the Lishan underground palace and had no spare strength to spare, so they could only struggle to hold on.

"Want to go?"

The First Emperor sneered, and with a slight press of his right hand, the underground palace of Mount Li shook and trembled, its weight increasing by hundreds or thousands of times.

At the same time, streams of mercury appeared in front of him, transforming into giant swords hundreds of feet long, slashing across the sky.

"Serving as guards of the Three Realms, welcoming the Five Emperors. Paying homage to all gods, commanding thunder and lightning."

A solemn silence reverberated, and Taigong Wang on the platform suddenly opened his eyes, his purple pupils flashing with divine light.

"Summon again, the Twenty-Four Heavenly Kings of the Thunder Department, to ward off evil and cleanse impurities—Boom!"

In an instant, twenty-four illusory figures stood tall in the sky, causing wind and thunder to churn in the heavens.

A barrage of lightning bolts, each as thick as a bucket, including dark lightning, fire lightning, thunder, rock lightning, lightning strike, flying lightning, extreme lightning, malevolent lightning, and vast lightning, rained down upon the First Emperor below, forcefully shattering the hundred-foot-long giant sword formed from mercury.

The overwhelming power of heaven and earth, crushing and overwhelming!

The God-Slaying Whip! The Investiture of the Gods!

Holy crap, it's a fully equipped Jiang Ziya!

Samael stared at the black-haired youth issuing commands on the altar, his breath hitching, and a hint of caution and doubt appeared in his eyes.

The Investiture of the Gods in Chinese mythology is somewhat similar to the Hall of Heroes.

Some of the Qi cultivators who died in the war between Shang and Zhou were recorded in the Investiture of the Gods, becoming conferred immortals and gods, reborn in flesh, obeying the Heavenly Emperor's commands, and maintaining the operation of the Three Realms.

It was this Taigong Wang who was appointed as the deity on behalf of Heaven.

This war of deification almost wiped out all the Qi cultivators scattered throughout the mountains and rivers of China, further diminishing the mystique of the Nine Provinces.

After the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the activities of immortals and gods rapidly declined and eventually disappeared.

Odin founded Valhalla to fight against the catastrophe of Ragnarok.

The War of the Gods and the Investiture of the Gods may also be related.

But why the immortals and gods disappeared in China, leading to this final state, remains unknown to Samael.

However, one thing is certain right now:

This Taigong Wang, who wielded both the God-Slaying Whip and the Investiture of the Gods, clearly knew some deeper secrets.

Tsk tsk, with the God-Slaying Whip and the Investiture of the Gods, no wonder that tiger head is so respectful to this fisherman.

This spirit origin level is at least that of a Grand Caster.

An Eastern magician who holds the Investiture of the Gods and can command countless immortals and gods seems absurd, and perhaps even the highest rank is not enough to judge him.