The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 260 - 259: The Northern Expedition of Nantang

Chapter 260: Chapter 259: The Northern Expedition of Nantang

The Li Family’s clan meeting unanimously passed the decision, and they soon summoned several major stakeholders of Nantang, including the Huang Family, Deng Family, E Family, and Su Family, as well as the forces represented by Bo Yikao.

Daji, donned in her royal robe, convened the representatives of the various Nantang factions and circulated Ji Dan’s letter among them for all to read.

After reading it, everyone was inwardly thrilled—they had been waiting impatiently for this day to come!

However, each of them remained composed, their expressions unchanged, as they collectively turned to look at Bo Yikao.

Bo Yikao’s heart was in turmoil, but he didn’t say much. Instead, he decisively stated, "I support the northward expedition."

...

The next day, Nantang transformed into a war machine as troops across the land began to mobilize.

They launched a three-pronged campaign.

One route was led by Li Jing, commanding 200,000 troops departing from Qinyang City. Deng Chanyu led 300,000 troops setting out from Three Mountains Pass; both forces embarked on simultaneous northern expeditions.

Finally, Huang Tianlu was tasked with leading 50,000 soldiers to pin down Qi Mountain. If they could take it, great, but if not, they were to ensure no one could leave or enter the area.

King Ji commanded the Su Family to remain and defend Nanchang.

Deng Chanyu’s route was much longer, but the path was relatively unobstructed, as it traversed old battlefields of Shang and Zhou from years past, offering relatively safe terrain.

Old Li’s route was closer to Chaoge, but it was fraught with challenges, with an abundance of Ji Family brothers concentrated along the way.

Both armies set out and marched swiftly.

Deng Chanyu faced virtually no resistance during her march. Nantang’s reputation was impeccable, and the local populace had suffered so much that upon hearing it was Nantang’s army, they essentially surrendered on the spot.

Old Li’s situation was even more exaggerated—aside from the Zhou clans, the majority surrendered at his army’s approach. Many even voluntarily brought provisions, tied a strip of yellow cloth around their heads, and followed Li Jing’s forces from behind.

This grew so absurd that Old Li had to personally disperse most of them, keeping only a small portion.

By now, Old Li’s mastery of battle array tactics had reached perfection. Whenever he encountered a fortified checkpoint, a single strike of Divine Thunder would suffice to make the defending commander obediently surrender.

Those who didn’t surrender immediately would find themselves bound and delivered before Old Li by nightfall—showcasing a unique ethos of: if you refuse to bow out gracefully, someone else will ensure you do.

Initially, it was expected that Deng Chanyu would reach Chaoge first due to her lighter opposition. However, Old Li proved to be faster.

In less than a month, Old Li arrived at Chaoge City once again, holding several sons of the Zhou Royal Family in his grasp.

All of this was astonishing, yet entirely reasonable.

Zhou Gongdan, who was stationed to defend Chaoge, personally exited the city to welcome Old Li inside, while the remaining Yin Shang Old People lined the streets to greet them.

The next day, Zhou Gongdan announced that the Zhou Family was relinquishing their position as the World Ruler to Nantang.

The remaining Ji Family factions outside lost their claims to legitimacy. The Zhou Dynasty, which had lasted for two months and six days—approximately eight hundred hours—was officially declared extinguished.

On her way to Chaoge, Deng Chanyu annihilated the remaining Ji Family brothers.

This Jiuzhou now belonged almost entirely to Nantang!

Within the walls of Chaoge, several Ji Family brothers knelt on the ground, glaring at Ji Dan with resentment, cursing incessantly.

"Ji Dan, you traitor! You scoundrel!"

"Ji Dan, with such despicable actions, how can you face our Zhou ancestors?"

...

Ji Dan looked coldly at his brothers, a mocking glint in his eyes.

Who was it that truly ruined the Zhou Family? Who was it that betrayed the ancestors?

Ji Dan sent one final letter persuading the last Zhou faction at Qi Mountain to surrender.

The world was now fully unified.

...

A month later, King Ji arrived in Chaoge and subsequently held a Grand Heaven-Worship Ceremony to declare to heaven and earth that the Great Tang was now the legitimate orthodoxy of the Human Clan.

Under the radiance of the Ziwei Emperor Star, Jiuzhou was about to witness the reign of a female emperor!

The ceremony was grand and spectacular.

Nuwa, Queen Mother Yaochi, Nine Heavens Xuan Nu, and Lady Houtu—all these great female deities turned their gazes toward the scene.

...

The new regime had formed, but governance posed an immense challenge; fortunately, Daji proved to be a highly competent ruler.

The first order of business was the handling of West Zhou’s defeated captives.

Zhou Gongdan remained docile, as he had been reunited with his brother Bo Yikao. Despite Bo Yikao’s ambiguous position, his presence held significant sway in Zhou Gongdan’s heart. After some negotiation,

The Zhou Family was exiled to East Lu, with Zhou Gongdan in charge of their oversight.

East Lu, having been devastated by Yin Hong and Yin Jiao, was now little more than a barren wasteland; the Zhou people would have to cultivate it themselves over time.

Daji and Deng Chanyu, as dual sovereigns, were now perpetually consumed by their duties, while Bo Yikao barely managed to sleep one or two hours a day. Even Old Li and Lady Yin were roped into the workforce.

Luckily, Old Li’s towering prestige, coupled with the local Yin Family acting as guides, ensured that Chaoge City was steadily brought under complete control.

From then on, Chaoge, Qinyang, and Nantang formed a tri-point framework, systematically expanding Great Tang’s authority and ensuring laws were enacted without obstruction.

From here on, everything depended on time. After all, decades of war had left the people unsettled, and only time could heal such wounds.

On the ground, they were busy; in the heavens, even busier.

Not only was Nezha overwhelmed with responsibilities, but so was Hao Tian.

Ku Chisai had brought Hao Tian ten thousand or so subordinates, all of them immortals from various factions. Initially struggling with political maneuvering, Hao Tian now found himself completely overwhelmed.

In the end, he resorted to using those immediately at hand to manage the remainder.

What? You all hold grudges? What? You’ve been responsible for each other’s deaths during past conflicts? So what? No choice—work together or step aside!

Unable to govern effectively, Hao Tian finally gave up: "If you want to work, work. If not, there are plenty of others who will!"

After issuing a series of haphazard assignments, the efficiency of the Heavenly Court didn’t just drop—it disappeared entirely!

Chaos ensued. The core issue lay in the overly fragmented divine authority—a task could be overseen by a Star Lord, or a Mountain God, or even other departments, yet when approached by three to four different divisions, none would take responsibility!

In the end, tasks made the rounds through departments, only to be ignored altogether.

...

Meanwhile, the Demon World was in even greater disarray, as the Six Heavenly Demon Kings staked out individual domains and engaged in mutual slaughter.

Watching the chaos, Shen Gongbao had no intention of intervening. After all, isn’t chaos what defines the Demon World?

Slowly, he made his way to an extremely hidden location at the lowest depths of the Demon World.

Golden runic seals flowed endlessly there, confining none other than the Demon Buddha, Luo Hou, who had been previously sealed by Saint Zhunti.

Seated casually on the ground, Shen Gongbao began to channel the black demonic qi from within the golden glow, absorbing it steadily.

Saint Zhunti’s seal mainly confined the Demon Buddha Luo Hou himself, but not his demonic qi. Leveraging an unknown method, Shen Gongbao started to siphon Luo Hou’s power.

As the demonic qi surged, Shen Gongbao’s demeanor underwent a gradual transformation.

Finally, he withdrew a black container that housed the stolen pure heavenly longevity energy, accumulated over countless Yuan Hui by Nanji Immortal. Shen Gongbao absorbed it bit by bit.

With the overpowering demonic qi suppressed by Zhunti’s seal, none of it escaped and was instead entirely devoured by Shen Gongbao.

As the longevity energy continued surging, Luo Hou—who should have been "dead"—was forcefully revived, with his cultivation climbing rapidly. His skin turned pale, and from a distance, he now bore an 80% resemblance to the Luo Hou avatar from the Mosquito Daoist’s homeland.

"Jiang Ziya, my dear senior brother! I, Shen Gongbao, will never lose to you!"