The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha-Chapter 304 - 303: Hao Tian is Missing

Immortal A: Hey hey, so you died too, huh?

Immortal B: Yeah, I was eaten by the Centipede Spirit. How did you die?

Immortal A: Ugh, I got stomped to death by some bastard who was running away!

Immortal D: Hahaha, you two really got it bad. I was blasted to death by the aftermath of Emperor Hao Tian’s attack!

Truthfully, they were all laughing through their misery. Most of them had barely started working here, and now, having managed to get out of the Investiture of the Gods, they essentially ended up in debt.

In other words, they’d just started their jobs at the Heavenly Court, hadn’t earned a dime, and were already drowning in debt—quite a bit, too.

As for refusing to pay it back?

Well, back into the Investiture of the Gods you go!

Better to live miserably than to die comfortably. Who’d willingly stay dazed and muddled in the Investiture of the Gods if they could avoid it?

Most of the immortals had made it out. The Heavenly Soldiers, not being the primary targets of the Golden Centipede, still had many survivors, but those who remained were lost in the collapsing Dream World. Whether they could ever come back was anyone’s guess.

As for Emperor Hao Tian, he was nowhere to be seen. For a while, the immortals were at a complete loss.

Instinctively, they turned their eyes to the most senior official present, Emperor Gouchen, Yin Shou.

But Yin Shou couldn’t care less about these matters. He turned and went back to his own Heaven Palace. Years of cultivation had been wasted in an instant—he was furious.

Of course, what enraged him even more was how readily Hao Tian abandoned his subordinates.

With that kind of mindset, how was he supposed to be a Heavenly Emperor?

The Thunder Department followed him as he left.

The remaining immortals looked at one another, unsure of what to do, until someone finally suggested a solution.

"Let’s go and petition the Queen Mother!"

"Yes, yes! Great idea!"

"Let’s go, let’s go—off to the Turquoise Pool!"

And so, a swarm of immortals surged toward the Turquoise Pool. To an informed observer, they were seeking the Queen Mother for guidance; to an uninformed one, it might’ve looked like they were staging a rebellion!

Not that this ragtag bunch stood a chance. The Queen Mother alone could wipe the floor with the whole lot of them.

Outside the Turquoise Pool, a female immortal guarding the entrance was startled by the sight. She ran off, shouting, "Goddess, this is bad! Goddess! Outside—there’s a whole mob of immortals attacking the Turquoise Pool!"

Inside, the Queen Mother was calmly observing a group of fairies at their embroidery.

"Such panic—where’s your composure?"

With that, the aura of the Quasi-Saint began to rise, and an invisible wave emanated from the Turquoise Pool. The disheveled gaggle of immortals, freshly reformed in body, had no resistance to this power and immediately dropped to their knees in smooth synchronization.

Their faces instantly turned pitiful, silently pleading for forgiveness.

The Queen Mother was not known for her patience. Without saying a word, she left the group of immortals kneeling outside.

Hours passed—three, four of them—until Gold Star Taibai finally showed up, having escaped the earlier disaster. Seeing his fellow officials kneeling there like a bunch of reprimanded school kids filled his heart with a strange satisfaction.

His survival had been down to sheer luck, quick reflexes, and a hefty use of his own origin energy. But looking around at everyone else, he suddenly felt pretty pleased with himself!

As a senior official of the Heavenly Court, he had at least some clout. Now, kneeling outside the Turquoise Pool, he called out loudly, "Queen Mother, Your Majesty! Emperor Hao Tian has disappeared after waging war against the Demon Emperor and battling in the Demon World. Please, Your Majesty, take charge!"

The other immortals immediately chimed in: "Please, Queen Mother, take charge!"

Inside, the Queen Mother couldn’t help feeling a headache coming on. Hao Tian had created such a mess and then just vanished. Wasn’t this outright sabotage?

But she couldn’t just not intervene. She and Hao Tian were married—not that their relationship was particularly deep. Back when they started, Lord Hong Jun had ordered them to manage the Heavenly Court and, by the way, get married.

Could they have dared to refuse?

Whether or not they loved each other, or how much, was irrelevant now. They were husband and wife. In these times, there was no such thing as divorce—only widowhood.

Although the Queen Mother typically didn’t involve herself in management, her status was on par with Hao Tian. It was now necessary for her to step up and protect this domain.

"To the Palace of the Polestar—court is in session!"

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried immense authority, ringing clearly in the ears of every immortal. Coupled with her previous display of power, it filled the immortals with a sense of reassurance.

As long as the Queen Mother is here, the Heavenly Court won’t fall apart!

Worst-case scenario? They could always copy the Great Tang below and let the Queen Mother become the Heavenly Emperor herself—it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

The immortals gathered again. The Queen Mother, dressed in golden ceremonial attire, ascended to the throne where Emperor Hao Tian normally sat. The throne had always been designed for two, but the Queen Mother had refrained from sitting there to show she wasn’t interfering, allowing Hao Tian to sit squarely in the center.

Now, with Hao Tian absent, she no longer had any reason to avoid this seat.

Flanking her were Fairy Wang Zideng and Long Ji as attendants.

Gold Star Taibai had already organized his thoughts and began explaining the Demon World situation in detail. Other immortals occasionally added supplements, and before long, the Queen Mother understood the full picture.

Hao Tian, whose Qi Fortune was linked to hers, was certainly safe—but where exactly had he gone?

"All of you, hold still while I investigate."

The immortals below gazed at the Queen Mother with eager hope. Burdened by their high debts, they were anxiously waiting for Hao Tian’s return to fulfill his promises and clear their debts!

The Queen Mother took out the Hao Tian Mirror and began searching for Hao Tian in front of the immortals. The mirror, a magical treasure belonging to Hao Tian, was one she could still wield due to their connection. As long as Hao Tian remained within the Three Realms, he should have been locatable.

But the result was... nothing.

Frowning, the Queen Mother discreetly made several calculations with one hand hidden in her sleeve while imbuing the Hao Tian Mirror with her mana using the other. She continued searching, but the outcome didn’t change.

"The Emperor engaged in battle with Luo Hou. While he himself is unharmed, he is currently lost within Chaos and unable to return anytime soon."

The room went silent. Everyone was stunned.

"Goddess, what do we do now?"

Time in Chaos didn’t flow like in the Primordial world; its passage was erratic and unpredictable. Without a Saint’s intervention anchoring Primordial time, someone might feel like they’d spent just a few days in Chaos, but tens of thousands of years could have passed outside.

In other words, no one could predict when Hao Tian would return.

The Queen Mother wasn’t particularly surprised by this. Luo Hou had once vied against the Daoist Ancestor himself; the notion that Hao Tian could eliminate him without paying a price was simply absurd.

Getting lost in Chaos was, by comparison, a fairly fortunate outcome.

But what about the Heavenly Court in the meantime?

The Heavenly Court wasn’t like a mortal dynasty; it didn’t need—or even permit—a Crown Prince to inherit the throne. As long as the Daoist Ancestor approved, Hao Tian was the eternal Heavenly Emperor.

The best solution now was for the Queen Mother to temporarily oversee the court in Hao Tian’s place. Her position was legitimate, and her strength was more than sufficient. Yet the Queen Mother hesitated.

She and Hao Tian were married and had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. She understood Hao Tian better than anyone else.

If you were to make a list of people Hao Tian feared or was wary of, she would certainly rank in the top ten.

They weren’t devoid of affection for each other—after so many years, even a pig would have developed deep feelings. But this was Hao Tian.

No one understood Hao Tian better than the Queen Mother!

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