Chapter 81: The Sage’s Conspiracy!

Beyond the Thirty-third Heaven.

Amidst a realm of primordial chaos, a golden palace stood majestically atop Mount Kunlun.

This was Jade Void Palace, the sanctuary where the Primordial Lord of Heaven cultivated his Dao.

It was also the birthplace of the entire Sect of Elucidation.

The Primordial Lord of Heaven, his white hair unbound, sat cross-legged upon a meditation mat. He slowly opened his eyes, a hint of puzzlement flickering within them.

“Summon Ziya to me,” the Primordial Lord said indifferently.

“Yes, Lord,” came the respectful reply of the crane-attendant from outside.

Not long after, an old man, appearing of similar age to the Lord himself, entered Jade Void Palace and bowed deeply. “Disciple Jiang Ziya greets Master.”

From his lofty seat, the Primordial Lord looked down at Jiang Ziya with a detached expression and asked casually, “How long have you been cultivating on Kunlun?”

“Master, it has been one thousand four hundred and seventy-six years,” Jiang Ziya answered truthfully.

“And now, what is your cultivation realm?”

The Primordial Lord could, of course, discern Jiang Ziya’s realm at a glance, but he chose to ask anyway, as if to assert his authority.

“Disciple is ashamed. I have only just reached the consummation of the Golden Immortal stage.”

“Your aptitude is acceptable. I grant you the realm of Grand Luo Golden Immortal. Prepare to descend the mountain.” The Primordial Lord spoke without emotion.

With a gentle wave of his hand, an ineffable aura surged toward Jiang Ziya.

Immediately, a warm current flooded Jiang Ziya’s body. The bottleneck that had resisted him for centuries was suddenly broken through!

Jiang Ziya’s heart surged with emotion—so this was the majesty of a Sage!

“Thank you, Master!”

“Do you know why I send you down the mountain?” the Primordial Lord asked coolly.

“To destroy the Great Shang? To aid Xiqi?” Jiang Ziya replied uncertainly.

The Primordial Lord nodded. “The fate of Great Shang is exhausted. Even without your descent, its fall is but a matter of time. I send you merely to hasten its demise.”

“But the king of Shang is, after all, the Human Sovereign. I fear there are means I cannot withstand,” Jiang Ziya admitted hesitantly.

Since ancient times, the power of the Human Sovereign had inspired awe. As a disciple of the Primordial Lord on Kunlun, Jiang Ziya understood this deeply. He also knew that humanity had once been the greatest of all races under heaven.

Yet he did not know why their fortunes had declined; on Kunlun, only a handful knew such secrets—and those certainly did not include Jiang Ziya, who ranked low among the disciples.

“Rest assured. The Human Sovereigns of recent generations are not as terrifying as you imagine. Though I do not know how the present king has broken the Sage’s shackles, one thing is certain,” said the Primordial Lord.

“The king of Shang’s cultivation will not surpass Golden Immortal. Go down the mountain without concern.”

“After the fall of Great Shang, humanity will no longer require a Human Sovereign.”

Jiang Ziya’s heart clenched, and he asked in a trembling voice, “Master, do you mean—?”

“Do not overthink. In any case, humanity cannot be annihilated. What I mean is that henceforth, there will be no more Human Sovereign fate under heaven,” explained the Primordial Lord.

With that, he produced a scroll from his sleeve, tossing it to Jiang Ziya, who caught it and looked on with some confusion.

“This is the Investiture of the Gods. After you destroy Great Shang, gather the fate of the Human Sovereign into it. Then you may use it to confer divine titles and pardons.”

Once the Human Sovereign’s fate dissipated, they could rest easy.

The Primordial Lord knew well that the ancient sovereigns were trapped at the bottom of the Abyss of Heaven; thus, he dared not annihilate the human race. If humanity were to perish, those sovereigns would have no reason to remain imprisoned.

If it came to a desperate final struggle, it would only bring chaos.

His urgency stemmed from the alarming sign: he had noticed that the fate of Great Shang was showing signs of resurgence.

This was unacceptable. If the Human Sovereign had not broken his shackles, it would not be so concerning, but now, without the shackles and with fate on their side, the destiny of Great Shang was impossible to foresee.

If the king of Shang led his people to rise again, all their centuries of scheming would be for naught.

They had labored so long to weaken the Human Sovereign’s power, keeping those ancient sovereigns trapped below, and thus maintain their control over humanity.

They could not endure another cataclysm like the wars of old.

“I understand, Master. But I alone cannot overturn the realm of Great Shang,” Jiang Ziya said, doubting his own strength.

“Do not worry. The Sect of Elucidation has laid many plans over the years. Among the third-generation disciples are such talents as Yang Jian and Nezha; they will aid you in your campaign.”

“Others will descend the mountain in due course. Go without concern.”

“I also grant you the steed known as the Four-Unlike and the primordial treasure, the God-Beating Whip.”

As soon as he finished, a strange beast and a divine whip appeared before Jiang Ziya.

“Thank you, Master. Your disciple takes his leave.” Jiang Ziya gratefully accepted the gifts and withdrew.

Watching him depart, a trace of gravity flickered in the Primordial Lord’s eyes. He could not allow humanity to return to their ancient glory.

In those days, even Sages such as they were hard-pressed to lift their heads.

All the more so for those races without Sages among them.

The Primordial Lord was a being born of primordial chaos. Though he took human form, he did not consider himself of the human race. In his heart, he always believed himself to be of a higher order.

When once oppressed by humanity, he had suffered a deep sense of humiliation.

Now, with the Human Sovereign trapped in the Abyss of Heaven, it was the perfect moment to suppress humanity.

Even so, the Sages dared only proceed gradually; to go too far would risk a backlash from humanity, which was no trivial matter.

What the Primordial Lord intended, after the investiture, was to use the divine offices to draw in human faith.

Once humanity’s faith had a destination, there would be no place for a Human Sovereign.

It was both a hidden scheme and an open strategy.

Were they destroying humanity? No—they would rule over humans from the heavens, just as the Human Sovereign once did, perhaps even offering protection.

They would earn humanity’s gratitude, and then, little by little, thin the spiritual energy of the world until it vanished.

In this way, humanity would be left with no power to resist.

It must be said, this was indeed the most effective method to subdue them.

The ancient sovereigns would continue to guard the Abyss, and humanity would pose no further threat.

Human faith was a terrifying force. The Primordial Lord had witnessed with his own eyes as humanity, following their sovereigns, had risen from primitive savagery to dominance over all.

No innate race had ever expected that such a frail people would one day inspire fear in all others.

So fearful, in fact, that all other races had schemed ceaselessly to destroy them.

“Only Tongtian may prove troublesome,” the Primordial Lord murmured.

It seemed that Tongtian did not agree with his plan. Advocate of universal teaching, Tongtian believed that all beings should be treated as equals.

Thus, his Sect of Interception accepted all manner of furred and horned creatures, while a leopard demon like Shen Gongbao was but a marginalized figure in the Sect of Elucidation.

The Primordial Lord recalled that this unregistered disciple had some talent.

He laughed at himself—why think suddenly of this beast-turned-disciple?

That very day, Jiang Ziya mounted the Four-Unlike, took up the God-Beating Whip, and descended Mount Kunlun.

With him went a leopard demon, scorned and disregarded by all on Kunlun.