Primordial Era: A man at the mouth of the Guanjiang River marries the Third Holy Mother.

Since he began cultivating Taoism on Kunlun Mountain, he has been diligently fetching water, chopping wood, gathering herbs, and refining elixirs every day. He considers himself to be hardworking, but his aptitude is truly disappointing. In front of his fellow disciples from the Chan Sect, who are all Golden Immortals or Great Luo Golden Immortals, he cannot even lift his head.

Jiang Ziya had a vague and ominous premonition when his master suddenly summoned him alone today.

The main hall was completely silent.

After a long while, the grand and cold voice of the Primordial Celestial Venerable slowly resounded in the sky above the hall.

"Jiang Shang".

Jiang Ziya trembled and quickly lowered his head even further.

"Disciple is here!"

Yuanshi Tianzun looked down at the disciple he had specially taken in, his tone calm and without a trace of emotion.

"You were born with a weak fate, and it is difficult for you to achieve immortality. You can only enjoy the blessings of the mortal world."

"Now that the reign of the Shang dynasty is nearing its end, the Zhou dynasty of Xiqi is about to rise. A great calamity is about to befall heaven and earth, and even the gods are caught in the calamity. We need someone to act on behalf of heaven to bestow divine titles and take charge of the overall situation."

"You have cultivated the Tao on this mountain for forty years. Now that your time has come, it is time for you to descend the mountain to assist a wise ruler, take charge of the Investiture of the Gods on behalf of the Chan Sect, and end this calamity."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ziya was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale.

He doesn't want to go down the mountain!

He went up Kunlun Mountain in search of immortality and to become an immortal. No matter how rich and powerful one is in the mortal world, after a hundred years one will be nothing but a handful of dust.

He would rather carry water in the Jade Void Palace for the rest of his life than get involved in that life-or-death calamity!

"Master!"

Jiang Ziya suddenly raised his head and kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"This disciple is truly devoted to the Dao and diligently strives to cultivate immortality. Though I am foolish and incompetent, I wish to serve my master in the mountains. I beg my master to have mercy and not send this disciple down the mountain!"

In the void beside the main hall, several divine thoughts of the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect quietly watched this scene.

Guang Chengzi, Chi Jingzi, and the others all carried a hint of indifference in their divine senses.

In their view, Jiang Ziya's background and talent were already an immense blessing, as he could become a pawn in the imperial decree to bestow divine titles and shield the twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect from karmic calamities.

Yuanshi Tianzun frowned slightly as he looked at Jiang Ziya, who was crying and pleading, and a hint of displeasure flashed across his face.

"This is the will of Heaven; how dare you indulge in sentimentalities here?"

The tone of the Primordial Celestial Venerable turned cold, and the oppressive aura of a sage flashed through the hall, causing Jiang Ziya's blood to surge and he dared not utter another word.

"After you descend the mountain, head to the land of Xiqi, where a renowned lord will greet you."

Yuanshi Tianzun raised his right hand, and his sleeve flicked gently in the void.

Swish!

Two beams of light, radiating profound and mysterious laws of the Heavenly Dao, slowly descended from the void and hovered in front of Jiang Ziya.

On the left is a black wooden whip, three feet six and a half inches long, divided into twenty-one sections, each with four talismans, and emanating a solemn aura of heavenly gods and demons.

On the right is an ancient scroll radiating endless golden divine light, on which faintly emerge the phantom images of the divine positions of the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods!

"This is the God-Slaying Whip, which contains the Heavenly Rules and Divine Influences. All the gods listed on the Investiture of the Gods are subject to its control. With one strike, their souls are shattered."

"This is the Investiture of the Gods, a supreme treasure of Heaven, used to confer titles upon the righteous gods of the Zhou Heaven and to gather the evil energy of Heaven and Earth."

Yuanshi Tianzun looked at Jiang Ziya and said, word by word, "I entrust these two precious treasures to you. After you leave the mountain, you must do a good job of assisting Xiqi and not fail the trust I have placed in you."

Looking at the two treasures floating before him, Jiang Ziya knew that there was absolutely no way to salvage the situation.

The Emperor's decree has been issued. If he dares to refuse again, he may not even be able to leave the gates of Jade Void Palace today.

Jiang Ziya took a deep breath, his hands trembling as he respectfully accepted the God-Slaying Whip and the Investiture of the Gods.

"Disciple...receives the decree!"

Jiang Ziya put away his magic weapon, stood up from the ground with a pale expression, bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to Yuanshi Tianzun, and then walked unsteadily toward the gate of Yuxu Palace.

As Jiang Ziya's departing figure was being watched, Guang Chengzi's figure slowly materialized in the void to one side of the main hall.

Guang Chengzi walked to the Nine Dragons Incense Carriage, bowed and said, "Master, Junior Brother Jiang's cultivation is weak, and the tribulations in the mortal world are extremely dangerous. If the Jie Sect secretly intervenes to stop him..."

The Primordial Celestial Venerable's eyes were half-closed, and a cold divine light flashed deep within them.

"The fortune of the Jie Sect is like oil being poured on a raging fire. Tongtian has been indulging in the rampant evil among his disciples. They are destined to be destroyed in this great calamity."

"On the Shang Dynasty side, that traitor Chen Changsheng has interfered too deeply, even secretly teaching the Human Emperor's Scripture, attempting to overturn the will of Heaven."

"Guang Chengzi, pass down the order that you and your fellow disciples secretly keep an eye on Jiang Shang. The day Xiqi raises its army will be the day our Chan Sect attacks Shang."

Guang Chengzi's expression turned solemn, and he bowed his head to accept the order: "Disciple obeys!"

The wind and snow in the Kunlun Mountains stung my face like knives.

With the heavy God-Slaying Whip and the Investiture of the Gods in his arms, Jiang Ziya slipped and slid down Qilin Cliff.

He glanced back at the misty Jade Void Palace and let out a long sigh.

After forty years of cultivating the Tao, carrying water, chopping wood, meditating and refining elixirs, he still ended up as a perfected Earth Immortal.

The words of the Primordial Celestial Venerable, "You were born with a thin fate, and it will be difficult for you to achieve immortality," were like a heavy lock, completely sealing off his path to immortality.

"To enjoy the blessings of humankind?"

Jiang Ziya patted the bundle at his waist and smiled bitterly to himself.

"To put it nicely, it's about enjoying worldly riches; to put it bluntly, isn't it just about making me a pawn to take the fall?"

Although he was not particularly bright, he had lived for decades and was quite adept at understanding human relationships and worldly affairs.

When the great calamity descended upon the world, the Golden Immortal disciples under the sage were all extremely precious, and none of them wanted to be tainted by the bloodshed of the mortal world.

If we send someone with only a smattering of knowledge to the Investiture of the Gods, and they win, it means the Chan Sect is following the will of Heaven; if they lose, Jiang Ziya will be the first unlucky guy to be wiped out.

"No, this is too murky. I can't be stupid enough to rush in."

Jiang Ziya made up his mind that he should not rush to Xiqi City to seek refuge with any enlightened ruler.

If you really run over there eagerly to recommend yourself, why would the Marquis of Xibo, Ji Chang, think highly of an old man with white hair like you?

You have to keep a straight face!

You have to make others beg you to come out of retirement!

Incidentally, he could linger by the river for a few more days to see what kind of wind was blowing in this era of great strife.

Several days later, outside Xiqi City, on the banks of the Wei River.

The water flows gurglingly, and willows sway gently on both banks.

Jiang Ziya changed into a coarse linen outfit, wore a bamboo hat, and sat cross-legged on a smooth blue stone.

He held a thin, emerald-green bamboo pole in his hand, with a straight iron needle hanging down three inches above the water's surface.

There was no bait, and no hook.

"Like an old man fishing, those who are willing will take the bait."

Jiang Ziya closed his eyes and muttered incantations, but his heart was pounding.

"According to the timeline Master spoke of, the Marquis of Xibo should be noticing the strange phenomenon soon, right? If that old bastard doesn't come, I'm afraid I'll be left here by the river drinking the northwest wind until my lifespan is exhausted."

Just as Jiang Ziya was putting on airs and acting like a great master by the Wei River.

Hundreds of millions of miles away, in Chaoge, the capital of the Shang Dynasty.

Inside the Imperial Preceptor's residence, spiritual mist rose and array formations intertwined.

In a pavilion in the backyard, Shen Gongbao was sitting with his legs crossed, munching on a spiritual fruit while listening to the secret reports from his disciples.

Now, Shen Gongbao is dressed in a black robe embroidered with gold, looking radiant. He has a jade plaque from the Great Shang Dynasty's Imperial Palace hanging at his waist, and his demeanor is many times more imposing than when he was a doormat on Kunlun Mountain.