Outside Sishui Pass, the land stretched endlessly, a vast expanse of loess, with a towering mountain only appearing after hundreds of millions of li, halting its spread.
This mountain was named Qishan. At its foot lay a city, Xiqi City.
On this day, numerous flying boats crossed the loess sky, streams of light dancing, converging tens of thousands of li outside Xiqi City.
The flying boats descended, the streams of light landed, and immortals emerged, waving their hands to raise high walls, their sleeves bringing forth vegetation. In a short time, a formidable frontier pass stood majestically on the loess plain. Behind them, streams of light continued to pour into the pass.
Inside Xiqi City, Jiang Ziya sighed, "The Shang Dynasty has finally lost its patience."
King Wen of Zhou scoffed, "Let them come. Does Xiqi still fear this mere hundred thousand troops?"
Ji Fa asked, "Then what is your plan, Father?"
"Naturally, to fight and win! Wen Zhong must underestimate me too greatly. Even if I do not act, my Xiqi has an abundance of talent, more than enough to handle them," King Wen declared. "Issue the order to meet the enemy!"
King Zhou and Daji had ordered him to consume his own son's flesh and blood. This was more agonizing than killing him outright! Even as a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, he was bound by the Human King's decree. In Chaoge, he was merely a lamb to the slaughter.
There were many Grand Unity Golden Immortals among the human race, but in reality, many of them were pseudo-Grand Unity. They possessed the combat power of Grand Unity Golden Immortals but lacked the eternal immortality of true Grand Unity.
The reason for this was that most human Grand Unity Golden Immortals borrowed the power of human destiny and the Human King's decree, forcefully bestowing upon themselves the combat prowess of Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Therefore, they could loyally obey the Human King's orders. Without the official positions granted by the Human King's decree, most of them would merely be slightly stronger Taiyi Golden Immortals.
The Marquis of Xibo, Ji Chang, was of this kind. However, he had declared himself King, and of the two hundred feudal lords of the west, over eighty recognized him as the Zhou Dynasty. In terms of territory and influence, this was far larger than the small worlds created by Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Consequently, Ji Chang still possessed the strength of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. Coupled with his mastery of the I Ching, which allowed him to gain profound insights into the Great Dao, both his realm comprehension and combat power were nearly on par with true Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Zhang Guifang sat in the great hall of the military camp and asked those around him, "How many troops have arrived?"
The person on the left replied, "Reporting to the General, over eighty thousand have arrived."
The person standing to his left was the successor of Feng Hou, a great general under Xuanyuan Huang Di, named Feng Lin.
The person to Zhang Guifang's right was a third-generation disciple of Chan School, named Qiu Yin. His master was Zhen Shui Yin, one of the twenty-eight constellations of the Jie School. Naturally, his original form was also an unusual species of earthworm that had attained Dao.
Feng Lin served as the vanguard general, Qiu Yin as a subordinate general, and Zhang Guifang was the commander-in-chief.
These ten thousand immortals, though seemingly numerous, were but a drop in the ocean for the billions of humans in the Great Shang Dynasty. Moreover, the true main force consisted of only these three Taiyi Golden Immortals.
They were unaware that they were being used as pawns by Wen Zhong to test the strength of Western Zhou.
Once the army had gathered, Zhang Guifang ordered Feng Lin to lead the charge.
As the two armies faced each other, the commander-in-chief would engage first.
Feng Lin led his troops out, ascending into the void, and scoffed, "Western Zhou rebels, I, Feng Lin, the vanguard general of the Western Expeditionary Army, have come to challenge you!"
In the Xiqi army, King Wen of Zhou glanced at Feng Lin and said, "Shu Qian, go and fight him."
Ji Shu Qian immediately responded, and led his troops out to face the enemy.
The two met with immediate animosity. One was a martial arts prodigy, the other an extraordinary cultivator. Ji Shu Qian's spear skills were incredibly refined, and he held his own even against Taiyi Golden Immortals.
Seeing that ordinary magical arts were useless against him, Feng Lin shouted, "Traitor, cease your arrogance!"
With that, he spat a black smoke from his mouth. From the smoke, a large net descended, aiming to ensnare Ji Shu Qian.
Ji Shu Qian let out a sneer, "Mere unorthodox methods!"
He then wielded his spear, and a vast spear shadow shattered the black smoke.
Just as he was about to laugh, he was shocked to discover that within the black net was a red pearl. The moment it fell, it was as heavy as Mount Tai, directly crushing Ji Shu Qian to death.
King Wen of Zhou was enraged and reached out to seize Feng Lin.
However, Feng Lin turned and retreated into the army camp, stepping over Shu Qian's corpse.
Ji Shu Qian's soul drifted towards the Investiture of the Gods platform. This time, there was no opening of the other shore flower in the heavens beyond the heavens.
Zhang Guifang's army taunted outside Xiqi City for a long time, yet no immortal within Xiqi City could do anything.
This continued until Taiyi Zhenren ordered Nezha to descend to aid them.
Yu Ding Zhenren ordered Yang Jian to descend to aid them.
With these two, the peak combatants among the third-generation disciples of Chan School, Feng Lin and Qiu Yin were successively defeated.
Zhang Guifang's expedition was stalled.
At this moment, several Daoists arrived from the Great Shang army.
Zhang Guifang, who was in great anxiety, was overjoyed to hear that three Taiyi Immortals had arrived from outside the pass. He personally went out to greet them.
He saw two men and one woman, three immortals with extraordinary bearing.
Zhang Guifang smiled and said, "Thank you, three fellow Daoists, for coming to assist. May I ask from where you hail?"
The upright man at the front laughed heartily and said, "The three of us are disciples of Fuyu Mountain. I am Yu Fan, this is my junior brother Yun Yao and junior sister Ban Nuo."
Zhang Guifang was taken aback, then overjoyed.
"So, you three are actually disciples of the Sage of All Beings. I apologize for my disrespect!"
Compared to the disciples of other Sages, disciples of the Sage of All Beings rarely walked the world, making them a rare sight.
Yun Yao smiled and said, "We are honored by the General's reception. We have been ordered by our Shishu to come and lend you a hand!"
Zhang Guifang politely asked, "Then which senior is it?"
Ban Nuo's expression was tinged with reverence, "Above Chaoge."
Zhang Guifang's heart trembled, and he felt a sense of reassurance. It seemed he was not a forgotten pawn, unheeded!
With the aid of the three Fuyu Mountain disciples, Zhang Guifang ordered both armies to move out the next day and challenge Xiqi.
Jiang Ziya led his men to meet them and shouted, "Zhang Guifang, after your recent defeat, why do you come to taunt us again? Are you seeking further humiliation?"
Zhang Guifang was not angered and shouted back, "That is because I was unaware of Xiqi's treachery in finding reinforcements! Today, we shall compete again!"
At this moment, Yu Fan glanced at Yun Yao, who immediately stepped forward and said, "I, Yun Yao, have come to challenge you."
Jiang Ziya looked him over. Seeing his extraordinary bearing, he asked, "Fellow Daoist, from where do you hail? How can you defy the will of heaven? King Zhou's tyranny has alienated all hearts. It is the destined fate of our Great Zhou to replace him. I hope you will not persist in your error!"
Yun Yao chuckled lightly and said, "My master is Old Ancestor Bai Fu. I have descended the mountain precisely on his orders to assist Shang and defeat Zhou!"
Just then, Nezha, who was standing nearby, jumped out and said, "Since you wish to aid the wicked, let me test your mettle!"
With that, he waved his hand, and the Qiankun Ring flew into the sky, transforming into boundless golden radiance that struck towards Yun Yao.
Yun Yao smiled leisurely and said, "Then I shall be so bold!" He took out an item from his sleeve, which was a treasured mirror. The moment its light shone, the boundless golden radiance instantly lost its luster, and the Qiankun Ring retreated.
Nezha let out a cold snort, and the Hun Tian Ling unfurled, thrashing about the void like a giant python ravaging the sky.
Yun Yao smiled and said, "Coincidentally, I also possess a treasure named the Seven-Colored Xuan Tian Ling!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the void, and a seven-colored ribbon differentiated into seven strands. Their rainbow light shimmered, obscuring east and west, intertwining with the red Hun Tian Ling and actually suppressing it.
Nezha was enraged. Pounding on his Wind Fire Wheels and holding his Fire-Tipped Spear, he flashed before Yun Yao, intending to defeat him through sheer physical strength.
Unexpectedly, a strange, blood-red flower bloomed within Yun Yao's heterochromatic eyes. Nezha froze the moment he looked, unable to move.
"Luosheng Eyes!"
Someone cried out in shock.
"Luosheng Eyes? Fuyu Mountain? He is a disciple of a Sage!"
The scattered immortals immediately closed their eyes. They were filled with immense dread at the notoriety of the Luosheng Eyes.
Jiang Ziya's heart sank. Had the Sage of All Beings also entered the fray?
On Kunlun Mountain, Randeng, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards Chaoge.
Above Chaoge, Kong Xuan meditated, ignoring all else.