Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 1053 - 308: Re-entering the Heavenly Court

After a brief deliberation, the surviving civil and military ministers of the Shangwu Dynasty ultimately decided to suppress such news, for if it were to spread, it would certainly unsettle the lords in various regions of the Shangwu Dynasty.

At that time, if it led to widespread chaos, it would be absolutely fatal to their reign as those in power.

Because they were the ones in power, they were well aware of the immense temptation of power and that some people would inevitably raise their swords against them, striving to wrest power from their hands.

What they didn’t anticipate was the news eventually leaked; after all, some secrets cannot be contained forever.

The news began to slowly circulate among the common folk, and it was unknown who deliberately spread it, or even more so, who caused it to spread even wider.

Eventually, everyone in the Imperial City knew that not only had the Emperor of the Shangwu Dynasty died, but so had the Crown Prince and the State Preceptor... it was as if the three highest powers of the dynasty were all gone!

The entire Imperial City of the Shangwu Dynasty immediately fell into utter chaos, for no one had expected such a turn of events. Naturally, some were thrilled by this, especially other Princes within the Shangwu Dynasty.

With the Emperor and Crown Prince dead, who would succeed them? Would one of them be chosen?

The entire Imperial City became a place of dark, surging undercurrents, an unsettling atmosphere that even ordinary citizens could sense.

But to ordinary citizens, even if they were aware of the underlying turmoil, there was nothing they could do; they were mere commoners, subject to be swept along by the storm.

Of course, as far as they were concerned, it didn’t matter who became Emperor or Crown Prince; it wasn’t their concern.

...

At the epicenter of the storm, Fan Wu, was left undisturbed, for everyone knew that a Taoist Priest named Fan Wu from Qiulong Temple was someone not to be trifled with.

Yet, as time passed, rumors about Fan Wu spread more widely, making some citizens of the Imperial City aware of what kind of person he was.

As long as you didn’t provoke him, all would be well; in fact, Fan Wu was quite affable provided he wasn’t bothered.

However, on that day, a special person arrived at the inn where Fan Wu resided. Or rather, this being was not a "person" at all, but a deity!

This deity appeared to be a youth, but the transcendent aura he exuded made everyone else in the inn dare not let their gaze fall upon him.

Many were unaware of who he was; perhaps only Fan Wu could identify the visitor as a divine being.

However, Yun Jiuqing and others could surmise his identity from the words he spoke.

"Daoist Priest Fan, would you be willing to ascend to the Heavenly Court and become an immortal?" It turned out, the deity had come with such a proposal, and he spoke it with a rather amiable tone.

"I am unwilling." Yet Fan Wu’s response was even more astounding than the deity’s appearance.

The deity child fell silent but seemed to have anticipated the answer, saying, "The Water Virtue Star Lord once said that Daoist Priest Fan would not agree to ascend to immortality, and it appears that is indeed the case. Then let me change my offer; I invite you, Daoist Priest Fan, to a gathering at the Heavenly Court, how about that?"

He paused for a moment and added before Fan Wu could refuse, "It’s related to the Trickster Immortal Venerable."

...

Having already visited the Heavenly Court once, Fan Wu had no particular longing for the so-called Heavenly Court.

However, the mention of "Trickster Immortal Venerable" by the celestial child piqued Fan Wu’s interest. He instructed Yun Jiuqing and the others to take good care of Old Blue Ox. Then he followed the celestial child on his second foray into the Heavenly Court.

This time, they didn’t enter through any sacrificial altar but were taken up on auspicious clouds driven by the celestial child.

From the celestial child’s explanation, Fan Wu learned that the Heavenly Court had invited him over because... he had clashed with the residual divine thought of the Trickster Immortal Venerable!

Upon arriving at the Heavenly Court, Fan Wu didn’t even have time to take in the surroundings when the celestial child brought him to a palace.

Inside the palace, there were many Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, among them two familiar faces— the two Deity Generals who had lost to him!

Looking around, there were more than a dozen Heavenly Soldiers and Generals in various armors, each with a "Power" attribute no less than 480 points, and all quite formidable.

"Are you... the mortal who fought with the Trickster Immortal Venerable?" The leading general among the group cast his gaze on Fan Wu, his eyebrows furrowing, "How come you have such a heavy killing aura? Are you sure you’re a mere mortal from the human world, and not some demon?"

Fan Wu didn’t care about the other’s critique; he had already experienced the arrogance of those in the Heavenly Court. He smiled and said, "Although I am not a demon, if you insist on treating me as one, then I might as well take on a part-time job and be a demon for a bit."

Fan Wu didn’t even know the other party’s name, nor was he interested in finding out.

And because of these few exchanges between the two, the atmosphere became charged with tension, as if about to erupt into conflict.

...

The celestial child who had led Fan Wu here hurried to smooth things over, hoping to diffuse the tension, he spoke up, "General Lei, please don’t misunderstand Daoist Priest Fan. The Water Virtue Star Lord himself has said that Daoist Priest Fan is the most suitable person to deal with the Trickster Immortal Venerable. Not only because he has fought with him, but also because he is the strongest being in the mortal realm."

"But no matter how strong, he’s just a mortal with a limited lifespan. The Trickster Immortal Venerable is an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon. Such beings should be dealt with by us, the Immortals of the Heavenly Court; why need the help of a worldly mortal? I simply don’t understand!" Yet General Lei was not appeased and expressed his discontent.

He glanced at Fan Wu, paused, and continued, "I hear he once barged into the Heavenly Court, killed an Immortal Official, and even injured many Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. For such a mortal with a notorious past to not be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison is one thing, but for him to now appear openly here, how preposterous?"

Having said this, he stood up, his gaze intently fixed on Fan Wu, "A righteous god from the Department of Thunder in the Heavenly Court also died at your hands, didn’t he?"

A righteous god from the Department of Thunder in the Heavenly Court? Fan Wu smiled, a smile that even bordered on insolence, "Are you talking about the Tiger Immortal Officer? Indeed, it’s true; he was the first Immortal Official of the Heavenly Court that I killed."

"How dare you! Do you realize that he was under my command?!" General Lei’s anger ignited, his beard flashing with faint lightning, "Even if he violated the Heavenly regulation, it wasn’t your place to act!"

...

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