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

Chapter 355 Jiang Ziya, the Coward

Although Chen Xuan was not yet certain that True Person Du'e was a member of the Demon Clan, one thing was certain: True Person Du'e was definitely related to the Demon Clan.

However, Chen Xuan was not worried about what the demons would do; in fact, he thought that he could make use of this True Man Du'e.

After all, Chen Xuan still needs to awaken the demonic path in the future. And to awaken the demonic path, the demon race is naturally indispensable.

It could even be said that, for Chen Xuan, no force is inherently good or evil. It's simply a matter of whether their hearts are righteous or evil.

Chen Xuan then gave Laozi a few more instructions, putting him in charge of the matter personally. After all, this matter concerned the Demon Clan, so Chen Xuan had to take it seriously.

If it can be confirmed that True Person Du'e is indeed a member of the Demon Clan, Chen Xuan will need to work on him. In the future, he can use him to release the remnant soul of Demon Ancestor Rahu.

Lao Tzu nodded repeatedly after hearing this and said he would have someone from the Western Religion thoroughly investigate the matter.

Chen Xuan hadn't expected that Laozi had already extended his reach into the Western Sect. However, recalling the original primordial trajectory, Laozi's single move of transforming barbarians into Buddhas completely stole the fortune of the two Western Saints.

Now that he could do such a thing, Chen Xuan wasn't surprised. After all, if we're talking about who among the Three Pure Ones is the most cunning, absolutely no one would dare to compete with Laozi.

After arranging everything, Chen Xuan went to Sishui Pass again. After all, only when Chen Xuan himself was in charge of the two armies on the front lines could he truly feel at ease.

After all, the Investiture of the Gods was not merely a conspiracy by Hongjun; it was also crucial to whether humanity could awaken.

Therefore, Chen Xuan naturally dared not be careless in the slightest. Otherwise, if the human path could not be awakened, Chen Xuan's plan to awaken the six paths of the primordial world would be completely impossible to complete.

After all, this is the last chance for humanity to awaken. Unlike the demonic path, which failed to awaken during the Lich War and will have other opportunities later.

When Chen Xuan returned to Sishui Pass, Zhang Guifang and Feng Lin had already led their army to Xiqi City.

Yu Ding Zhenren and Tai Yi Zhenren also led Yang Jian, Nezha, and Ao Bing to the army to oversee the two.

Logically speaking, with these five men on the front lines, Chen Xuan shouldn't have anything to worry about. After all, Yang Jian alone is almost comparable to any of the Twelve Golden Immortals.

Therefore, Chen Xuan did not rush to the front lines of the two armies, but stayed at Sishui Pass. After all, what he needed to do was strategize and plan, not to charge into battle.

After all, Chen Xuan wasn't shameless enough to act like Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun in the original Primordial Era, who brazenly bullied the weak without any regard for appearances.

Of course, Chen Xuan's reluctance to do so wasn't solely due to his seniority. The key reason was that he didn't want the Investiture of the Gods calamity to escalate into an immeasurable calamity.

Jiang Ziya also learned immediately that Zhang Guifang had led a large army to set up camp outside Xiqi City.

These past few days, Jiang Ziya has been filled with anxiety, truly worried that the Taotie he released might one day return to attack Xiqi City.

Now that Guang Chengzi is not in Xiqi, it is absolutely a pipe dream for Jiang Ziya to stop Taotie on his own.

Fortunately, there was no sign of Taotie in the past few days. Jiang Ziya's anxious heart could finally be put at ease.

But before they could feel at ease for long, Zhang Guifang's army had already reached the city walls. And at that moment, they were leading their men to provoke and insult the enemy outside the city.

The insults were incredibly vile, thoroughly exposing Jiang Ziya's past. What was most infuriating was that Zhang Guifang wasn't personally delivering the insults, nor was he having one or two people do it on his behalf; he had selected a whole thousand loud-voiced soldiers.

They were made to take turns, in groups of two hundred, day and night. This ensured that Jiang Ziya's embarrassing incident became known to everyone in Xiqi City.

Jiang Ziya knew that leaving the city would be even more humiliating than it was now, so he chose to turn a deaf ear to it all.

Little did they know, this also caused the officials of Xiqi to question Jiang Ziya. After all, how many people would believe that such a cowardly person could lead Xiqi to rise to power?
Even King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, sent people to inquire more than once, asking Jiang Ziya if he had a strategy to repel the enemy. The answer he received was only one word: wait.

Besides the pressure from King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, and the pressure from the entire court, there was another pressure that Jiang Ziya found most unbearable: his wife, Jiang Ma Shi.

Since Jiang Ziya became the prime minister of Xiqi, Jiang Mashi also transformed into the prime minister's wife.

Every day, countless powerful and noble families send their wives to curry favor with Jiang Ziya. After all, Jiang Ziya has now risen to a position second only to the emperor in the entire Western Qi.

This made Jiang Ma realize what it meant to be above others and what true nobility was. She was filled with indescribable gratitude for the man who had told her to never abandon Jiang Ziya.

However, Jiang Ziya's cowardly behavior during this period has caused rumors to spread throughout Xiqi City. Those noblewomen who used to fawn over her have stopped visiting her in the past few days.

This was something Jiang Ma Shi couldn't tolerate, after all, she had only been in power for a few days. So whenever Jiang Ma Shi saw Jiang Ziya, she would berate him for being a coward.

Jiang Ziya was so angry that he didn't even return to his residence. He went to Ji Fa's place to stay, just to get some peace and quiet.

Although Ji Fa harbored many complaints, he did not reveal them. After all, Ji Fa was exceptionally cunning.

Therefore, there are some things that Ji Fa will not talk about, but will choose to do directly. After all, only by doing it can one truly see the results.

Of course, Ji Fa did this not merely to force Jiang Ziya into battle. He also wanted to use the opportunity to weaken his opponent.

Therefore, the person who secretly left the city this time was none other than Ji Chang's fifteenth son, named Ji Shuqian.

Ji Shuqian was not only Ji Chang's son, but also a staunch supporter of Boyi Kao. He had reprimanded his second brother, Ji Fa, on more than one occasion in public, for having any thoughts of seizing the throne.

This also shows that Ji Shuqian was a reckless and impulsive man. Otherwise, how could he have said such a thing in front of Ji Fa?

So, thanks to Ji Fa's clever maneuvering, Ji Shuqian fell for the trap and immediately ordered the city gates to be opened, leading five hundred personal guards to charge out.

Upon arriving outside the city gate, he raised his spear and shouted, "Which one of you is Zhang Guifang? Come out and face your death!"

Without Zhang Guifang even needing to make a move, Feng Lin pushed off with both feet and rode his warhorse directly towards the front of the two armies.

"You are not qualified to fight my general. If you are capable, defeat me, Feng Lin, first."

As he spoke, Feng Lin raised his spiked club and brought it down directly on Ji Shuqian's head.

(End of this chapter)