My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1018 Undercurrent
Inside the Lingxiao Palace, immortals gathered in great numbers.

It happened to be the Heavenly Court's Jiazi Court Assembly, which takes place once every sixty years. The number of immortals attending the assembly far exceeded that of previous large and small assemblies. Almost all the immortals in the Heavenly Court who were known by name and qualified to be ranked among the immortals and stand in the Lingxiao Palace were present.

Although the immortals lined up early to welcome him, the court assembly had not yet begun, and the Jade Emperor had not yet come out of the rear hall, but discussions were already taking place in the main hall.

Each immortal had a solemn expression, and while they were discussing, they would occasionally glance at the Heavenly Venerable's throne, which was close to the Jade Emperor's throne in the main hall.

During the Heavenly Court's court assembly, in addition to the Jade Emperor sitting on his throne, there were also imperial thrones set up for several highly respected deities who could rival the Jade Emperor to sit and attend the assembly.

Among them was the seat of the Creator, but at this moment the throne was empty.

Wen Rui was late for such an important court assembly. Although the Jade Emperor had not yet arrived, as a subject and celestial official, it was only proper for him to arrive early.

"Why hasn't the Celestial Venerable of Creation arrived yet? Is he not attending this court assembly?"

"Could it be that he heard rumors and knows we plan to jointly impeach him at the court meeting, which is why he's deliberately avoiding us?"

"He has eyes and ears everywhere in Heaven, it's very possible..."

"It can't be that bad. Knowing Junior Brother Wen as I do, he's incredibly eloquent and loves to argue. He wouldn't be afraid of criticism from petty people like you."

"Hmph, you're making sarcastic remarks. Aren't you the same? The mortal realm has been revived for many years, yet you haven't received a single offering of incense or prayers?"

……

Within the imperial court, undercurrents were swirling. Many deities were secretly conspiring, waiting for the opportunity of this court assembly to collectively report their dissatisfaction to the Jade Emperor.

the reason is simple.

The mortal realm has recovered from the period of demonic calamity when all living beings were nowhere to be found. Towns and cities have sprung up everywhere, and mortals have returned to normal production and life.

But so many years have passed, and the gods standing in the clouds are eagerly waiting. They clearly see the thriving population in the mortal world, but they have yet to see the incense offerings and prayers returned to the gods.

At first, the gods thought that after the great calamity, the human race would need time to recuperate and rebuild before they could gradually accumulate the resources to resume the ritual activities that existed before the disaster.

But as skyscrapers rise from the ground in the towns of the lower realm, thousands of acres of fertile land are developed, and herds of cattle and sheep graze, displaying a prosperous and thriving scene, the number of people offering incense and prayers remains pitifully small.

It was as if, after this calamity, people's views changed simultaneously, and they no longer placed gods on the altar.

After extensive investigation, Yang Ren, the Grand Duke of Jiazi, and his subordinate Grand Dukes' patrolling officials finally reported back the reason for the weakening of incense offerings and prayers.

It turns out that the Creator God was shamelessly hoarding the incense offerings and vows that belonged to all the gods!
In the past, people would pray to the Queen Mother of the West to have children, but now they can simply go to a reproductive health hospital or find an old military doctor on a roadside telephone pole.

In the past, during prolonged droughts, people would pray to the Dragon King, the Rain God, the Wind God, or the Thunder God for rain. Now, with the water conservancy facilities built and the wells and irrigation canals dug in various places, large areas of farmland can be irrigated.

In the past, long journeys relied on the arduous labor of carriages and horses, and people even had to pray to mountain and river gods for protection. Now, the iron vehicles and birds invented and built by ordinary people, along with the extensive road network, have made the ends of the earth seem as close as a stone's throw away.

In the past, when faced with epidemics, people could only pray to gods and Buddhas and use talismans to ward off evil. Now, with advanced medical technology, vaccines, and a public health system, diseases can be effectively controlled.

In today's vast mortal world, temples to gods are pitifully few. However, every school, whether it is a primary school, middle school, university, research institute, or academy of sciences, enshrines the divine position of the Creator Heavenly Venerable. Mortals attribute all the convenience they gain from using the new knowledge of the Intercepting Sect to the Creator Heavenly Venerable's contribution in promoting the teachings of the Intercepting Sect.

This touches upon the fundamental interests of the gods. Without the incense offerings and prayers of mortals, their divine positions would be rendered meaningless, their divine power would gradually weaken, and their fortunes would decline.

The gods, constrained by Wen Rui's immense power and the more than ten thousand super puppets behind him, dared not speak out in anger, and did not even dare to go to the Jade Emperor alone to complain and be the first to speak out.

After a long period of networking, they finally managed to win over a sufficient number of celestial officials. The officials agreed to take advantage of the Jiazi court assembly to jointly impeach Wen Rui and question him in person about why he had cut off the incense offerings to the gods.

"he came!"

A celestial official standing near the entrance of the Lingxiao Palace spotted Wen Rui first and whispered a warning to his colleagues. The noisy Lingxiao Palace immediately quieted down, and all the gods pretended nothing had happened, afraid that Wen Rui would see through their scheme and take precautions in advance.

But the celestial officials couldn't resist peeking at the palace gate out of the corner of their eyes.

Wen Rui slowly walked into the main hall. Unlike his usual vigorous and powerful demeanor, this time, every step he took seemed to exhaust all his strength, and he walked with a staggering and cautious gait.

It gives the impression of an old man who is frail and has only a few years left to live.

Behind Wen Rui followed a metal puppet. This puppet was not the kind of super combat puppet with extraordinary martial arts level that he had shown before, but a slender and agile servant puppet.

The puppet followed three steps behind Wen Rui, like a caregiver looking after a seriously ill elderly person, anxiously watching Wen Rui as he moved slowly, as if afraid that he might accidentally fall and kill himself.

It was only a hundred steps from the entrance of the main hall to the throne of the Heavenly Venerable. Wen Rui staggered and trembled for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before finally reaching the throne. His body went limp and he collapsed onto the throne.

He leaned weakly against the throne, his head resting on his shoulder, barely supporting his neck, and sat upright in an extremely awkward posture.

The gods in the hall witnessed the entire process and all looked puzzled, exchanging bewildered glances, completely baffled as to what had happened to Wen Rui.

"Is the Celestial Venerable of Creation ill?"

"How could that be? We are all immortals. Let alone him being the most venerable of the heavens, even the labor immortals responsible for digging the Milky Way, who spend twelve hours a day soaking in the extremely cold waters of the Milky Way to dig sand and stones, would not get sick from exhaustion."

“Retribution, it must be retribution! He must have acted against the will of Heaven, cut off the offerings to the gods, angered the heavens, and brought down divine punishment.”

"That can't be right. If you don't believe me, open your third eye and take a look. His merit and spiritual light seem even more dazzling than before. He's monopolized all our incense offerings and prayers; he's practically raking in the profits. With such monstrous merit, how could Heaven possibly punish him?"

"That's just him putting on an act, pretending to be extremely busy and exhausted, trying to gain sympathy. We won't fall for such a low-level trick!"

……

The immortals and gods began to whisper among themselves again. Wen Rui, who usually had very sharp ears, was now in a dazed and absent-minded state, as if he was too weak to pay attention to the immortals' criticisms of him.

(End of this chapter)