The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha-Chapter 261 - 260: If Shen Gongbao dares to appear before me, I’ll slide tackle him...

Chapter 261: Chapter 260: If Shen Gongbao dares to appear before me, I’ll slide tackle him...

The endlessly dark and chaotic Demon World finally welcomed its first Demon Emperor, Shen Gongbao, after an unknown passage of time.

At this moment, whether Shen Gongbao was truly still Shen Gongbao, no one could say for certain.

He first arrived at the Demon Palace of the Arrogant Demon King Buxun. Buxun, still dressed in his Emperor Robe but without his crown, was being attended by a few seductive demonesses by his side.

Facing the sudden arrival of Shen Gongbao, Buxun’s expression tensed. The faint sense of suppression radiating from Shen Gongbao made him feel deeply uneasy. It seemed that Shen Gongbao had changed in some way, yet in another sense, remained the same.

"Shen Gongbao, the Demon Sealing is complete; there’s no longer a place for you in the Demon World."

Shen Gongbao smiled faintly.

"This Demon World was founded upon my very being—how could it possibly have no relation to me?"

Buxun’s expression shifted dramatically.

"Upon your being?"

Shen Gongbao continued to smile. Then, with a mere grasp of his hand toward Buxun, the latter, who had already recovered his Golden Immortal cultivation, instantly felt all his magic power being seized, completely unusable. The Demonic Qi within him began to rampage uncontrollably, flooding his body with a pain that was more excruciating than being sliced by a thousand blades.

"W-who... who are you really?"

Listening to Buxun’s anguished cries, Shen Gongbao replied expressionlessly, "I am Shen Gongbao."

...

The Demon World was nurtured by the Demonic Qi of the Demon Buddha’s body, rooted in the Demonic Qi of Luo Hou and the Dream Dao of Fantian.

Thus, the Demon World is a place that straddles reality and illusion. Within it, the many Demon Kings and Demon Generals rely entirely on the power of Luo Hou to cultivate, unlike the celestial gods of the Heavenly Court, who must juggle work and training simultaneously.

The cultivation speed here is far greater than that of the celestials returning to their positions in the Heavenly Court.

Harnessing his mastery of the Demonic Qi of the Demon World, Shen Gongbao quickly subdued the remaining five Demon Kings, as well as the bewitched disciples of the Western Sect.

The Jieyin Saint of the Western Sect, alarmed by the significant loss of disciples, reacted swiftly by casting a wave of Golden Light, rescuing those disciples who had not yet fully succumbed to demonic corruption.

The method proved effective, but Luo Hou still managed to abduct a portion of the disciples. It wasn’t that the Jieyin Saint couldn’t retrieve those disciples or deal with Shen Gongbao completely.

But with the Demon Buddha entwined so deeply now, he couldn’t be sure whether Buddhism could thrive again if the Demon World was struck down by his own hand.

The defection of the disciples ultimately alerted Zhunti, who had been recuperating. He knew too well his senior brother’s temperament, so he didn’t dare to retreat too deeply into seclusion.

Jieyin cared for his junior brother while pursuing his arduous cultivation, but Zhunti truly cared for the Western Sect, for he himself had painstakingly recruited its disciples from all corners.

Zhunti didn’t blame his senior brother for Luo Hou’s schemes, but the current state of the Western Sect indisputably needed improvement.

He then resorted to an old Mystic Sect technique for problem-solving, pinching his fingers together to perform calculations.

The major occurrences in the Primordial world recently unfolded clearly before his eyes. He then focused on one matter—the founding of the Great Tang Dynasty.

The more he calculated, the more he realized that this Great Tang had a unique connection to the Western Sect.

Had this been during a great calamity, he might have leapt at the chance to turn the Great Tang’s higher-ups into disciples of the Western Sect. But now, such actions would unquestionably provoke Nuwa into tossing over a Red Embroidered Ball.

In the end, he fixed his gaze on Old Li.

"This one is destined for me—none shall interfere!"

He then looked at the Golden-Light-shimmering Pagoda beside Old Li.

"Hmm, this requires further contemplation."

...

Having gathered his strength, Shen Gongbao didn’t act immediately but instead went to Nanchang, where Jiang Ziya and his son had retired.

Since retiring, Old Jiang’s favorite pastimes, apart from supervising his son Jiang Ming’s cultivation, included fishing—with a straight hook, no less.

Today, dressed like an ordinary old man, Old Jiang sat by the riverside fishing.

Suddenly, a large fish bit the bait. Old Jiang reacted quickly, expertly pulling the fish ashore. Yet as soon as the fish landed, it transformed into the figure of Shen Gongbao.

Old Jiang: "..."

"Junior Brother, your way of meeting up is rather unique..."

Old Jiang, now no longer even an Immortal, could sense nothing from Shen Gongbao, who had deliberately concealed his presence. The two seemed no different from their days at Kunlun Mountain, save for Jiang Ziya looking older.

Seeing Shen Gongbao, Jiang Ziya grew emotional. He had always believed that all of Shen Gongbao’s actions during the Divine Enthronement were for his sake. He sincerely said, "Junior Brother, I’m relieved you’re okay!"

But Shen Gongbao was no longer the Shen Gongbao of the past. To him, the now mortal Jiang Ziya’s emotions were completely exposed.

Shen Gongbao’s face remained unchanged, but internally, he felt bitterness? Disappointment? Relief?

In any case, his emotions were a tangled mess.

"Senior Brother, long time no see."

The two seemed to have much to talk about, yet found themselves at a loss for words.

Suddenly, Shen Gongbao burst into hearty laughter. His face bore a smile full of bitterness, but his eyes flashed with a sense of release.

This left Old Jiang utterly bewildered. "We’re both well over a hundred years old—let’s not express emotions like impulsive youngsters, alright?"

"Should I cry too, just to balance things out?"

While he hesitated, Shen Gongbao finally regained his composure. Looking solemn, he said to Jiang Ziya, "Senior Brother, I must defeat you—just once!"

With that, he turned into mist and disappeared without a trace.

Left standing there, Old Jiang was filled with question marks. "Defeat me? You never lost back when we studied spells at Kunlun!"

He also felt some worry. Could it be that his junior brother was in trouble?

Having encountered Shen Gongbao, Old Jiang lost all interest in fishing.

He paced around his home for a while before eventually seeking out Deng Chanyu, who was currently managing Nanchang City.

He told Deng Chanyu about seeing Shen Gongbao, requesting her to pass the message on to Nezha. He truly felt Shen Gongbao was acting strangely, particularly with the hint of Demonic Qi in his departing wisp of black mist.

Deng Chanyu, swamped with official duties, rolled her eyes thoughtfully.

"Taigong Jiang, I’m so busy with my work—why don’t you help me with it, and I’ll go deliver the message to Nezha?"

Jiang Ziya agreed without hesitation. If it meant helping his junior brother, doing some work was no big deal.

Deng Chanyu returned to her palace and used a special Magical Treasure to contact Nezha.

The Spirit Realm shimmered, revealing Nezha’s figure on the other side.

"Nezha! Who’s that person in black beside you?"

On the other side of the mirror, Shi Ji, who had just dodged aside, froze and looked flustered.

Nezha sighed, feeling exasperated. "Are we really doing this now? You’ve learned to check up on me?"

"That’s Shi Ji, my senior sister from Skull Mountain near Chentang Pass. She knows Old Li too, and she’s here to help me construct the Emperor Palace."

As he spoke, he waved the design plans on the desk toward the mirror.

Deng Chanyu chuckled, "Ah, I was just curious. So, about this matter..."

Deng Chanyu relayed the details of Shen Gongbao’s visit to Jiang Ziya.

Nezha furrowed his brows slightly. Defeat Jiang Ziya? In what way?

"Nezha, will this affect you in any way?"

Nezha began a quick divination while reassuring her, "Don’t worry, my queen. If Shen Gongbao dares show up in front of me, I’ll just slide tackle him..."

"Nonsense! Shen Gongbao is a spirit-born leopard, not a tiger..."

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