Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 342 Jiang Ziya, you're spreading heresy again!
Upon hearing Jiang Ziya say that he was using the chariot to divine the fate of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, couldn't help but become interested. After all, he was also very skilled in divination and naturally wanted to hear Jiang Ziya's insights.

He then addressed Jiang Ziya, saying, "Please inform me of the divination results, Prime Minister: how many years will my Great Zhou Dynasty last?"

Jiang Ziya said meaningfully, "Your Majesty, this chariot represents the Great Zhou. When Your Majesty drives the chariot forward three hundred steps, it means that the Great Zhou can rule the world for three hundred years."

"Originally, this was the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but the King did not give up when the carriage could not move forward. He personally pushed the carriage forward another five hundred steps."

"This is equivalent to extending the Zhou Dynasty's national fortune by another five hundred years. All in all, the Zhou Dynasty should enjoy a national fortune of eight hundred years."

"However, in three hundred years, the Great Zhou will gradually decline. The King's descendants will only be able to barely maintain the Great Zhou. They will make all the feudal lords in the world submit to the Great Zhou as their master."

"Later, the ministers helped the king push the cart, which signified that the king's descendants were no longer able to control the world. The world had fallen into the hands of the feudal lords."

"However, the feudal lords of the land did not declare themselves kings. They still considered themselves subjects of Zhou, but they no longer paid tribute to the Zhou king."

"Until the Zhou Dynasty reached its 800th anniversary, the last Zhou king was killed by the feudal lords. The Zhou Dynasty's fortunes ended thereafter."

Upon hearing Jiang Ziya's words, King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that all of this is the will of Heaven."

"Otherwise, this dilapidated carriage wouldn't be here. If it were replaced with a good carriage, wouldn't the fate of our Great Zhou Dynasty be unbroken forever?"

"Whether it's the Xia Dynasty or the current Shang Dynasty, their combined national fortunes amount to no more than a thousand years. The Great Zhou Dynasty has enjoyed eight hundred years of prosperity, surpassing both the Xia and Shang Dynasties. What more could I ask for?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ziya nodded to King Wen, Ji Chang, "Your Majesty is indeed magnanimous, and is not distressed by knowing that the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty will end. This is enough to make me..."

Before Jiang Ziya could finish speaking, a hearty laugh echoed from the sky: "Jiang Ziya, your skill in spreading falsehoods and deceiving the masses is indeed extraordinary."

"In Chaoge City, he pretended to be exorcising demons to deceive the king. However, the king saw through his deception, and he failed to gain wealth and honor in return."

"Now you've come to Xiqi again, using the same methods to deceive Ji Chang. I never expected you would actually succeed, making Ji Chang truly believe that he can replace the Shang Dynasty and that there is such a thing as an 800-year reign."

At this moment, everyone looked up at the sky, but only saw the white clouds in the sky, and no one appeared in their sight.

Even so, the crowd couldn't help but start whispering among themselves. Some even began to believe that Jiang Ziya was just a charlatan.

Even King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, with his formidable divination skills, could not foresee the fate of a nation. Jiang Ziya, however, was merely a Daoist priest. What virtue or ability did he possess to predict the destiny of a country?

Jiang Ziya naturally knew that this voice would instantly shatter the lofty image he had just established.

So he snorted coldly and said, "Who dares to slander me here? If you have the guts, step forward. Why hide like this?"

No sooner had Jiang Ziya finished speaking than another burst of laughter echoed from mid-air. Then, a Taoist priest riding a white-browed tiger appeared in mid-air.

This caused Jiang Ziya to frown instantly, because he was familiar with the Taoist priest; it was Shen Gongbao, who had joined the Chan Sect with him.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Shen Gongbao, Jiang Ziya snorted coldly and said, "As expected of you, Shen Gongbao, you are here to slander this humble Taoist."

Shen Gongbao smiled and said, "Of course it's me, Shen Gongbao. Besides me, who else knows your secrets, Jiang Ziya?"

"You joined me at Longevity Mountain and became a disciple of the Chan Sect. After forty years of cultivation, your cultivation level is only that of a Celestial Immortal." "But my cultivation level, Shen Gongbao, has already reached the Golden Immortal realm. Logically speaking, it should be me, Shen Gongbao, who should descend the mountain to assist a wise ruler and enjoy wealth and honor."

“But you, Jiang Ziya, are despicable and shameless. Behind my master’s back, you spoke ill of me, Shen Gongbao. You even falsely accused me, Shen Gongbao, of being a reincarnation of a demon and having awakened memories of my past life.”

"My master believed your slander and expelled me from the Chan Sect in a fit of anger. Fortunately, there was a sage from the Jie Sect who knew that I, Shen Gongbao, had been wronged and took me into the Jie Sect."

"Therefore, Shen Gongbao has come here today for no other reason than to expose your hypocrisy, Jiang Ziya, in public."

As soon as Shen Gongbao uttered those words, everyone present turned their gaze to Jiang Ziya. Only King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, and his son Ji Fa remained focused on Shen Gongbao in mid-air.

They understood that Jiang Ziya's identity was merely a link. His task was to connect the Chan Sect and Xiqi.

It could even be said that this person could be Jiang Ziya, or Shen Gongbao, or even anyone designated by the Chan Sect.

Therefore, the key question is who received the designation from the sage of the Chan sect. And this person is clearly Jiang Ziya, not Shen Gongbao.

So they don't care whether Shen Gongbao is telling the truth or not. Because that's not important to them.

Although King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, and Ji Fa somewhat underestimated Jiang Ziya, the one destined to bestow the titles of gods, they were unaware that without Jiang Ziya, the investiture of the gods would not have been possible.

However, this did not affect their support for Jiang Ziya. Ji Fa directly asked Shen Gongbao, "Shen Gongbao, do you think the sage of the Chan Sect can be deceived?"

"In my opinion, it's because of your treacherous intentions that you were disliked by the sages of the Chan Sect. That's why you were expelled from the sect by the sages of the Chan Sect."

"But instead of examining your own shortcomings, you have shifted all the blame onto your master. And now you have come all this way just to tarnish your master's reputation."

"A person like you, even if you were a Primordial Golden Immortal, let alone a Golden Immortal, Xiqi wouldn't need you. Because you're not worthy."

Ji Fa's words enraged Shen Gongbao so much that he nearly fell off the cloud. He immediately took out his magic weapon, the Heaven-Opening Pearl, and hurled it at Ji Fa.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Pearl was still some distance from Ji Fa when it was blasted back by an invisible force.

Shen Gongbao even suffered a backlash as a result, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Ziya, however, had already grasped the crux of the matter. He sneered and said, "Shen Gongbao, the backlash from the human race's fortune must be quite painful, right?"

Upon hearing Jiang Ziya's words, Shen Gongbao understood the reason. He then gritted his teeth and said...

"Jiang Ziya, how dare you ask the divinely ordained wise ruler to acknowledge you as his master? Do you really believe you are qualified to be the teacher of the King of Men?"

"Hahaha, even your Chan Sect's chief disciple, Guang Chengzi, couldn't do this. What virtue or ability do you, Jiang Ziya, have to think you're better than Guang Chengzi?"

“I will just stand by and watch quietly as you become unworthy of your position and die a gruesome death.”

After saying this, Shen Gongbao urged his white-browed tiger to leave the Wei River and head towards the East Sea.

(End of this chapter)