Page 417

……

Meanwhile, King Zhou, bewitched by Daji, who was possessed by a nine-tailed fox, grew increasingly immoral and incompetent, persecuting upright ministers one by one, causing the people to turn against him, and the Shang Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse.

It is in times of chaos that loyalty and righteousness are revealed. Bi Gan, the chief minister of the Shang Dynasty, was born with an unyielding spirit and an upright character, possessing a righteous and indomitable spirit. Long ago, Nuwa saw Bi Gan wiping away the flirtatious poem written by King Zhou on the wall in her palace. Moved by Bi Gan's loyalty and righteousness, Nuwa bestowed upon him a seven-colored aura of merit to protect his mind and spirit, making him immune to all evil and poison.

Bi Gan was a righteous man, wholeheartedly loyal to the Shang Dynasty. How could he bear to see King Zhou so disloyal? Now that Grand Tutor Wen Zhong was absent, Prime Minister Shang Rong had been murdered, and King Wu Cheng Huang Feihu only concerned himself with military affairs, the civil and military officials of the court only respected Bi Gan. Bi Gan lived up to expectations, often arguing vehemently against King Zhou for his lust for beauty. Whenever King Zhou wanted to execute Bi Gan, Bi Gan would emit a seven-colored light, making King Zhou hesitate.

Bigan had been keeping an eye on Daji's origins since Yun Zhongzi presented the Giant Sword to Daji at Zhongnan Mountain to exorcise the demon. Finally, at a banquet, he discovered Daji's nine-tailed fox demon form. After some investigation, Bigan found Daji's lair, Xuanyuan Tomb, and burned all of Daji's fox cubs and offspring to ashes, also killing the Jade Pipa Spirit and the Nine-Headed Pheasant Spirit in the process.

The next day at court, Bigan reported the matter to King Zhou, intending only to warn him, but King Zhou was amazed and paid no attention.

Seeing her children and sisters dead and wounded, Daji felt as if her lungs were being ripped out and her liver and intestines were being burned. How could she not deeply hate Bigan? But Bigan had the seven-colored merit energy protecting his mind, and Daji was helpless against it.

As the saying goes, a moment of desperation brings forth a clever idea. In her anger, Daji came up with a plan to feign illness.

On that day, news spread in the palace that Daji was seriously ill. King Zhou was extremely anxious upon receiving the news and asked the physicians how to cure Daji.

Little did he know that the physicians had already been bribed by Daji, and he said tremblingly, "Your Majesty is seriously ill, and only a person with a clever and insightful mind can cure her."

Upon hearing that Daji could be saved, King Zhou was overjoyed and asked, "How can we find the Seven-Fold Exquisite Heart?"

The physician said, "I have heard that when Bi Gan was in court, he was surrounded by a seven-colored radiance, which must be due to his clever and insightful mind!"

Poor King Zhou, little did he know he was about to destroy the Shang Dynasty. Looking at Daji lying on her sickbed, barely alive, he thought that Bigan was usually ungrateful and always offended him, so it would be good to teach him a lesson. Besides, it could also save Daji, the most beautiful and charming woman in the world. So he hurriedly urged Bigan to come to court.

Bi Gan was also restless that day. Hearing that King Zhou summoned him to court, he suspected that it was not a good thing. However, since King Zhou had summoned him, he had no choice but to go. Unexpectedly, he heard King Zhou say that he had a heart with seven exquisite features and wanted to use it to cure Daji's illness.

How could Bigan not know that this was Daji's conspiracy? But King Zhou was so foolish as to believe it. He immediately said sternly, "The heart is the root of life. If Your Majesty wants to borrow my heart, why not just kill me?"

King Zhou was trembling with fear under Bigan's angry rebuke, but he was still worried about Daji and said, "Prime Minister, you are mistaken. She is merely borrowing my heart; how can she die?"

Upon hearing this, Bigan cursed, "You foolish ruler, listening to the words of that wicked woman, have led to the ruin of the state and the extinction of all virtuous and capable men. Now you have sentenced me to have my heart ripped out. I fear that as long as Bigan lives, the state will live; as long as Bigan lives, the state will live!"

King Zhou, now in a daze, could not heed Bi Gan's words and roared in anger, "If the sovereign commands the subject to die, it is disloyal not to die. How much more so to take his heart? To slander the sovereign on stage is to betray the subject!" After saying this, he ordered his men to seize Bi Gan.

Upon hearing King Zhou's words, Bigan was immediately disheartened and murmured, "What a fine way to say that a ruler commands his subject to die, and that to not die would be disloyal. So be it, today I, Bigan, will uphold my reputation for loyalty and righteousness to repay the late emperor's kindness!"

Bi Gan drew his sword, bowed eight times before the ancestral temple of the Shang Dynasty, and wept, saying, "To all the former kings of the Shang Dynasty above, please know that the one who has brought about the downfall of the Shang Dynasty after eight hundred years is King Zhou, not my disloyalty and injustice!"

Having said this, Bigan loosened his belt and revealed his body. He then cut open his abdomen with his sword, and strangely enough, no blood flowed out. Bigan reached inside, ripped out his heart, threw it in front of King Zhou, then put his clothes back on and headed out of the palace.

When King Wu Cheng, Huang Feihu, and others heard that King Zhou had summoned Bigan, they all felt something was wrong. When they entered the court, they saw Bigan leave without saying a word, his face as pale as gold. They were all greatly shocked.

After meeting King Zhou and hearing his words about borrowing hearts, they were all moved to tears, secretly lamenting King Zhou's foolishness and fearing that the Shang Dynasty's fate was sealed. From then on, no one in the court dared to speak frankly.

Now, after leaving the palace, Bigan walked aimlessly for six or seven miles down the street, when he saw an old woman selling water spinach. This old woman was none other than Daji in disguise, who was there to take Bigan's life.

When Bigan heard someone hawking water spinach, he seemed to sense something and stopped to listen. He then asked the old woman, who was Daji in disguise, "What kind of vegetable were you selling just now?"

Daji said, "Is what I'm selling water spinach?"

Bigan then asked, "If a person has no heart, can they live?"

Daji laughed and said, "My lord, you jest. How can a person live without a heart?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bigan let out a miserable scream and collapsed to the ground, dead.

Upon seeing this, Daji's eyes flashed with the joy of revenge, and she immediately used an invisibility spell to return to the palace.

The death of Bigan destroyed the last vestiges of the Shang Dynasty's fortunes. From then on, there were no more loyal ministers in the court, and King Zhou became increasingly tyrannical.

However, after Bigan died, Nuwa sensed his passing and personally went to the underworld to have Houtu arrange for Bigan to become a judge in the underworld. Houtu also admired Bigan's loyalty and integrity, and the two women hit it off immediately, making Bigan a judge in the underworld, which can be considered a reward for good deeds.

……

Now, let's talk about Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, who was one of the four vassal lords of the Shang Dynasty. He was well-versed in the Eight Trigrams of Fuxi, and his reputation for benevolence spread far and wide. Under his rule, the two hundred vassal states were harmonious and peaceful, and the people were happy and healthy.

Ji Chang's wives and concubines bore him a total of ninety-nine children. Later, he adopted Lei Zhenzi, a disciple of Yun Zhongzi, a disciple of the Jade Purity Saint and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable of the Chan Sect, as his hundredth son. Ji Chang was a loyal and righteous man. He could not bear to see King Zhou continue down this path and ruin the Shang Dynasty. Therefore, he went to the capital to persuade King Zhou to stay away from beautiful women and revitalize the court.

How could King Zhou listen to reason? Instead, at Daji's instigation, he imprisoned Ji Chang in Youli, where he only escaped seven years later. During those seven years, Ji Chang pondered day and night, making up for the shortcomings of Fuxi's innate Bagua, which could only calculate astronomy and geography. He developed it into the acquired Bagua, historically known as the "King Wen Bagua." The "King Wen Bagua" could predict human wealth and status, which is what later generations called "fortune telling and Bazi calculation." It was truly miraculous and can be considered a contribution to future generations.

While imprisoned, Ji Chang used the "Eight Trigrams of King Wen" to divine that his Ji clan would overthrow the Shang dynasty and rule for eight hundred years. At that time, Ji Chang still favored the Shang dynasty, but was filled with anxiety. Just then, Ji Chang's eldest son, Bo Yikao, came to Chaoge to offer treasures to King Zhou in an attempt to rescue his father. King Zhou, instigated by Daji, chopped Bo Yikao into mincemeat and served it to Ji Chang. How could Ji Chang not know this? To save his life, he had no choice but to swallow Bo Yikao's flesh with tears in his eyes. After this great upheaval, Ji Chang was utterly disillusioned with King Zhou of Shang and secretly harbored rebellious intentions.

Afterwards, Ji Chang bribed Fei Zhong and You Hun to escape from Youli and return to his own territory. From then on, Ji Chang recruited soldiers and trained his troops, secretly uniting with the vassal states that were dissatisfied with the Shang Dynasty, waiting for the right time to raise the banner of rebellion against the Shang.

Ji Chang, however, deduced that he was still short of a strategist, which caused him great distress.

On this day, Ji Chang dreamed that a flying bear entered his arms. Upon waking, he knew that this dream was an omen that he was destined to have a strategist, so he sent people everywhere to search for a person with the Taoist name Flying Bear.

Chapter Forty-Four: Little Sour

Now, Jiang Shang and Shen Gongbao had been disciples of the Primordial Celestial Venerable for over forty years.

Jiang Shang disliked cultivating the Dao, so he only studied military strategy and governance, and his cultivation was only at the early stage of Earth Immortal. Shen Gongbao was devoted to seeking the Dao, but unfortunately, the Chan Sect was instructed by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable that no one was willing to teach him. Instead, Shen Gongbao was sent to do errands in the prehistoric world every day. His status was even lower than that of a third-generation disciple of the Chan Sect. How could Shen Gongbao not resent it?

Fortunately, Shen Gongbao was a generous man. Having traveled extensively in the prehistoric world, he became quite familiar with and had some connections with the people of the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, including some members of the Jie Sect's unorthodox sects.

Shen Gongbao was highly talented. Relying on some introductory methods of the Jade Purity Realm that the Antarctic Immortal taught him when he first entered the sect, he explored on his own and actually reached the late stage of the Earth Immortal realm, which was much stronger than Jiang Shang.

On this day, Yuanshi summoned Jiang Shang and Shen Gongbao to his side. He first said to Jiang Shang, "You were born with a short life, and it is difficult for you to achieve immortality. You can only enjoy the blessings of the mortal world. The Shang dynasty's fate is exhausted, and the Zhou dynasty will rise. You will do my part to confer titles upon the gods and descend the mountain to assist the wise ruler. As a general and minister, your forty years of cultivation on the mountain will not have been in vain. This place is not a place for you to stay for long. You should pack up and go down the mountain as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuanshi took out a list and a whip. These two treasures were radiant and surrounded by immortal energy, which showed that they were extraordinary. Jiang Shang and Shen Gongbao were both stunned.

Yuanshi said to Jiang Shang, "These are the innate spiritual treasures, the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Slaying Whip, which will help you succeed."

How could Jiang Shang dare to refuse? He immediately accepted the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Slaying Whip, and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Although Shen Gongbao remained outwardly calm, he was filled with envy and jealousy. Yuanshi simply said to him, "You should go down the mountain too!" and then disappeared without another word.

Shen Gongbao's face was very ugly, and the way he looked at Jiang Shang had completely changed, with no trace of the friendship between them as fellow disciples.

Jiang Shang, unaware of this, carefully put away the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Slaying Whip, and then went with Shen Gongbao to pack their belongings. After descending Kunlun Mountain, Jiang Shang bid farewell to Shen Gongbao. Shen Gongbao appeared reluctant to part, but inwardly he was sneering.

After bidding farewell to Shen Gongbao, Jiang Shang first went to Songjiazhuang to find his cousin Song Yiren, and then traveled around the prehistoric world.

On this day, they arrived at the banks of the Wei River.

Jiang Shang saw some people along the way carrying their families and moving house. He hurriedly asked them why. They replied, "We are fishermen by the Wei River. We make our living by fishing. In recent years, a monster has appeared in the Wei River and has been catching and eating almost all the fish and shrimp in the river. We can no longer make a living, so we have to leave for another place!"

Jiang Shang thought to himself, "I've encountered this matter today, and I must intervene." So he headed towards the Wei River. Upon reaching the riverbank, he saw a sudden plume of black smoke rise from the water and hurtle towards him. Jiang Shang was greatly alarmed and raised his God-Slaying Whip to strike at the black smoke.

Upon seeing the God-Slaying Whip, the black smoke suddenly transformed into a human form and cried out, "Immortal Master, save me!"

Jiang Shang was greatly puzzled. The black smoke continued, "I am the soul of Bai Jian, the general under the command of the former Emperor Xuanyuan Huangdi. I died in the Nine-Nine Annihilation Formation when I fought against Chi You of the Jiuli tribe. I suffered a tragic death, and my soul has not been at peace for thousands of years. Therefore, I have become more and more violent. I do not want to harm people, so I kill the fish and shrimp in the river to vent my hatred. Today, I feel that you have a great treasure on you, Immortal, which can purify my soul. Therefore, I have come to pay my respects!"

Jiang Shang listened with amazement. He naturally knew about the great battle between Xuanyuan and Chiyou back then, and he believed what Bai Jian said. He thought to himself: When I go to confer the gods, I need someone to supervise the construction of the Conferring God Platform. Besides, after the Conferring God Platform is built, the souls on the list will also need someone to guide them. Perhaps Bai Jian can do the job.

Jiang Shang told Bai Jian about this matter, and Bai Jian was overjoyed. How could he not accept? He naturally accepted the order and went to build the Conferred God Platform.

Inspired by Bai Jian, Jiang Shang went into seclusion on the banks of the Wei River, calling himself the Flying Bear Taoist. He fished with a straight hook in the Wei River every day, waiting for the wise king to come.

When the people along the Wei River saw that Jiang Shang had eliminated Bai Jian, who was causing trouble for the Wei River, they thought that Jiang Shang was a god descended to earth and spread the word. As a result, Jiang Shang's reputation spread wider and wider.

Meanwhile, Shen Gongbao, after parting ways with Jiang Shang, was filled with resentment, secretly thinking that the Primordial Celestial Venerable had treated him too harshly.

He and Jiang Shang became disciples at the same time, and his cultivation aptitude far surpassed Jiang Shang's. Yet, Yuanshi refused to allow any disciple of the Jade Void Palace to teach him. To make matters worse, Yuanshi treated him like a mere errand boy, while Jiang Shang spent his days reading and practicing Taoism, quite carefree. When they both left the Jade Void Palace, Jiang Shang obtained the innate spiritual treasures, the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Slaying Whip, while he received nothing.

Shen Gongbao grew angrier the more he thought about it, thinking to himself: If you are unrighteous, don't blame me for being unjust!

He secretly resolved to ruin Jiang Shang's investiture of the gods and make things difficult for Yuanshi!

After Jiang Shang's Taoist name, Flying Bear, spread throughout the prehistoric world, it also reached the ears of Ji Chang. Ji Chang personally visited Jiang Shang on the banks of the Wei River. The two hit it off immediately and felt an instant connection.

Ji Chang appointed Jiang Shang as his prime minister to oversee the overall situation.

Jiang Shang was highly capable, and in just a few years, he brought great order to Xiqi. The army was strong and the morale was high. They were just waiting for the arrival of the Grand Marshal of Xiqi to lead the campaign against King Zhou.

……

Chentang Pass.

After being taught a lesson by Ling Chi at the East Sea and thrown back to Chen Tang Pass, Nezha realized his own limitations and toned down his temper considerably. He spent his days practicing martial arts at Chen Tang Pass, hoping to one day challenge Ling Chi to a fight.

Nezha, having long been accustomed to his imposing presence at Chentang Pass, would not dare to speak of such a shameful matter. He only vaguely felt that Ling Chi was closely related to him, but being young, he was unwilling to think too much about it.

Li Jing and his wife, Lady Yin, were quite pleased to see that Nezha was no longer causing trouble, thinking that their daughter had changed her ways. Little did they know that they were celebrating too soon.

After the great battle between Emperor Xuanyuan and Chiyou, he collected copper from Shouyang Mountain to forge the Xuanyuan Sword. Later, he used the excess copper from Shouyang Mountain to forge a Zhentian Bow and a Chuanyun Arrow, which were left in Chentang Pass and became the treasures guarding the pass. However, for thousands of years, no one has been able to draw the bow.

Nezha later learned of this by chance and thought to himself: If I had such a treasure, I would definitely be able to avenge my previous humiliation.

So, on a dark and windy night, Nezha quietly stepped onto his Wind Fire Wheels and reached the Heaven-Shaking Bow.

Nezha saw that the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow were carved with dragons and phoenixes, gleaming with golden light. He was delighted and put all his strength into the bow and arrow. The bow was as full as a full moon and the arrow was as fast as a shooting star.

It turns out that the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow were forged by the Human Emperor Xuanyuan from the copper of Shouyang Mountain. They had already reached the level of acquired spiritual treasures and possessed profound spirituality, so ordinary people naturally could not draw them. However, Nezha's previous incarnation was the Spirit Pearl by Nuwa's side. For thousands of years, he had enjoyed many incense offerings and sacrifices from the human race along with Nuwa. Moreover, with the chaos about to rise, the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow had reached the time to recognize their master. As a favorite of Nuwa, Nezha was naturally able to draw the Heaven-Shaking Bow.

The arrow pierced the clouds with a long whistle, streaking across the night sky like a golden light, before flying back a moment later.

Nezha saw a trace of blood on the arrow that pierced the clouds. Although she was puzzled, she didn't think much of it. However, this arrow alerted her father, Li Jing.

Seeing that the arrow that had been dormant for a thousand years had been shot out, Li Jing hurriedly led his men up to check, and then learned that the arrow had actually been shot out by his own little witch.

Because of Nezha's origins, Li Jing had never gotten along well with her, but Nezha was still his daughter after all. In recent years, he had seen Nezha's temperament improve, and now she had even drawn the Heaven-Shaking Bow personally made by the Human Emperor Xuanyuan. He was also happy, stroking his beard and thinking to himself, "A tiger daughter from a military family."

He then ordered the soldiers to put the Heaven-Shaking Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrow back in their original places, and to bestow them upon Nezha should there be a great battle in the future.

But not now. Nezha harbors deep resentment towards me. Who knows what trouble this little witch will cause once she gets the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow? If things go wrong, I might lose my life, and then I'm doomed.

Seeing that Li Jing had brought so many people, Nezha couldn't very well forcibly take it, so he let Li Jing do as he pleased with the Heaven-Shaking Bow. But he made up his mind that next time when no one was around, he would secretly take the Heaven-Shaking Bow and go to the God of Cookery to settle accounts with Ling Chi.

Nezha was unaware that his arrow had just brought about disaster.

……

Fifty li outside Chen Tang Pass lies a sacred mountain called Skull Mountain. Within its White Bone Cave dwells a stubborn rock that has become a spirit, calling itself Shi Ji. It is one of the few wandering immortals in the world, now at the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal realm. Later, by chance, it obtained the acquired spiritual treasure, the Tai'a Sword. The Tai'a Sword, like the Juque Sword wielded by Yun Zhongzi of the Chan Sect, is one of two sharp swords primarily used for killing and warfare in the mortal realm.

That evening, Shi Ji was meditating when she saw a golden light fly in from outside Chen Tang Pass. Then she saw her seated Bi Yun Boy pierced through by a bullet and die a violent death.

Shi Ji was furious. She knew that the golden light was from the Cloud Piercing Arrow of Chen Tang Pass. The next morning, she took the Tai'a Sword and came to Chen Tang Pass, wanting to avenge her disciple.

Although Li Jing was an upright man, this was an accidental injury, and he was unwilling to hand over Nezha in exchange for his life. Shi Ji, relying on the power of her sword, was not about to agree. She threatened that if Li Jing did not hand over the murderer of Biyun Tongzi, she would massacre Chen Tang Pass.

Li Jing had once studied under the Chan Sect's Randeng disciple and later served as the general of Chentang Pass. He naturally had a temper, and the two got into a fight over a disagreement.

Li Jing was only a late-stage Earth Immortal, so how could he be a match for Shi Ji? He was defeated by Shi Ji in just a few moves, and his soldiers panicked and rushed to find Nezha.

Nezha was preparing to steal the Heaven-Shaking Bow when he heard what the soldier said. He thought to himself: Although my father wanted to kill me when I was born, it was just a misunderstanding. Later, my father realized that he was wrong and made amends to me in every way. Now that my father is in trouble, I must go and save him.

Thinking of this, he didn't bother to retrieve the Heaven-Shaking Bow and went with the soldiers to Shiji.

Seeing Li Jing beaten black and blue by Shi Ji, and hearing Shi Ji threaten to massacre the people of Chen Tang Pass, Nezha flew into a rage and said, "Shi Ji, every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. If you have a problem, come to me, Nezha. What does this have to do with my family and the people of Chen Tang Pass?"

When Shi Ji saw that the one who killed her disciple was a young girl, she coldly said, "You little brat, spouting nonsense, I will surely capture you later to avenge my disciple!"

Nezha was furious and hurled the Universe Ring at Shiji.