Zhang Kui Asks the Way in Investiture of the Gods

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In Xiqi City, King Wu Ji Fa learned that Chi had returned from Kunlun. He immediately put aside his official duties and went to the Prime Minister's residence in person.

Although the young monarch had ascended the throne, he still retained the humility and benevolence he had when he was a crown prince. At this moment, he walked hurriedly, followed only by two personal guards, without even a ceremonial retinue, which showed his anxiety.

"Prime Minister is the pillar of Xiqi, and the most important minister entrusted to me by my father on his deathbed," Ji Fa said to San Yisheng beside him as they walked. "If anything were to happen to you, Prime Minister, how could I face my father's spirit in heaven? How could I face the millions of people of Xiqi?"

San Yisheng gently comforted him, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Chi Xianchang is a Golden Immortal of the Chan Sect, with cultivation reaching the heavens. Now that he has returned from Kunlun, he must have a way to save the Prime Minister."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence.

Yang Jian was already waiting outside the door. Upon seeing Ji Fa arrive, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, my master is resting in the inner hall and has instructed me to wait here."

"General Yang, there's no need for such formalities." Ji Fa offered a helping hand and asked urgently, "Immortal Master... did he manage to save the Prime Minister?"

Yang Jian shook his head slightly: "My senior uncle hasn't explained yet, only saying that he'll discuss it in detail when His Majesty arrives."

Ji Fa's heart sank, but he didn't ask any more questions and quickly followed Yang Jian inside.

Inside the inner hall, Chi Zheng sat upright, drinking tea, his face calm and expressionless, showing neither joy nor anger. Upon seeing Ji Fa arrive, he put down his teacup, rose, and bowed, saying, "This humble Taoist greets King Wu."

"Immortal Master, please don't stand on ceremony." Ji Fa quickly returned the greeting, then asked urgently, "Immortal Master, do you have a way to rescue the Prime Minister on your journey to Kunlun?"

Chi Wei nodded confidently, "King Wu, rest assured, this humble Taoist went to the Eight Views Palace to pay homage to Grand Master Taiqing Sage and obtained a priceless treasure. Today, I will surely be able to rescue Junior Brother Ziya."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was overjoyed.

Yang Jian's third eye between his brows slightly closed, as if a stream of light flashed within it, and then a look of joy appeared on his face: "Since you say so, Uncle Master Ziya must be alright."

Nezha jumped up, his Wind-Fire Wheels spinning beneath his feet, and exclaimed excitedly, "Great! I knew it! No matter how powerful that Soul-Slaying Formation is, it can't withstand the methods of our grandmasters! Uncle-Master Ziya is saved!"

Jinzha and Muzha also showed joy on their faces and nodded repeatedly.

Ji Fa's eyes reddened, and he bowed deeply: "Immortal, your great kindness is deeply appreciated by all of us in Xiqi."

"Your Majesty, you flatter me." Chi Xu helped him up. "Junior Brother Ziya is a disciple of my Chan Sect. It is only right that I, a humble Taoist, rescue him. Please step back and rest for a while. I will calm my mind and recuperate for a moment. Tonight at midnight, I will break the Soul-Sinking Formation and retrieve Junior Brother Ziya's soul."

Upon hearing this, everyone took their leave and departed.

After everyone had left, only Chi and Yang Jian remained in the inner hall.

Yang Jian stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Uncle-Master, I have a question to ask you."

Chi glanced at him: "Speak freely."

Yang Jian said, "Master Uncle just mentioned that he sought the supreme treasure of the Supreme Saint Taiqing. I wonder what treasure it is? I did not intend to pry, but... that Soul-Sinking Formation is extremely dangerous. I want to know what it is so that I can help Master Uncle in the face of danger."

Chi remained silent for a moment, then suddenly waved his sleeve, and an invisible restriction enveloped the entire inner hall.

Yang Jian felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that this matter was of utmost importance.

"Since you've asked, I won't hide it from you." Chi slowly opened his right hand, and in his palm appeared an ancient scroll. The scroll was only about a foot long, and its entire surface was gray and dull, without any luster. If one did not look closely, one would mistake it for an ordinary painting.

"This is..." Yang Jian's pupils shrank slightly. Although he had never seen this treasure before, the faint Daoist charm flowing on the scroll made his mind tremble, and he almost knelt down.

"It is indeed the supreme treasure of our Grand Master Uncle—the Taiji Diagram," Chi said in a deep voice. "This diagram was transformed from the handle of Pangu's axe, a supreme innate treasure containing the chaotic Daoist principles from the beginning of creation. Holding it can pacify earth, water, fire, and wind, transform yin and yang and the five elements, and unravel the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao. With it in hand, that Soul-Shattering Array is nothing but a clay chicken and a tile dog."

Yang Jian took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Uncle-Master, on obtaining this treasure. Uncle-Master Ziya is saved."

Chi put away the Taiji Diagram, but his expression was not relaxed; instead, it revealed a hint of solemnity: "Although this treasure is powerful, I am not its true owner and can only barely activate it. We must proceed with caution when entering the formation tonight."

He looked at Yang Jian with a deep gaze: "Go and wait on the city wall. If you see any unusual movements in the formation, do not act rashly. I will return after I have rescued Ziya."

Yang Jian nodded: "Disciple obeys."

He paused, then asked, "When does Master Uncle plan to perform the spell?"

Chi looked out the window. It was afternoon, and sunlight streamed through the windowpane, casting dappled shadows on the floor. He calculated for a moment and slowly said, "Tonight, around midnight."

……

It was the dead of night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Seventy miles outside Xiqi City, on the southern slope of Qishan Mountain, ten towering malevolent auras still stand majestically, like ten giant pillars supporting the sky, radiating a chilling pressure.

One of the black beams of light was particularly eerie; it was Yao Bin's "Soul-Snatching Array." Black energy surged within the array, and a chilling wind howled. Countless ghostly figures could be vaguely seen moving about within it, emitting mournful wails.

A golden light pierced the sky from the direction of Xiqi and arrived at the front of the battle in an instant.

A figure appeared. He wore a moon-white Taoist robe, held a whisk, and was surrounded by a two-colored radiance—the protective aura of the Water-Fire Edge. At this moment, his expression was calm, his eyes fixed on the churning black mist below.

"Fellow Daoist Yao Bin, this humble Daoist is Chi..." They came to visit again.

Deep within the Soul-Capturing Formation, Yao Bin sat cross-legged on an earthen platform, his hands forming hand seals to maintain the operation of the Soul-Capturing Technique.

Two of the three lamps atop the straw figure's head had gone out, but the seven ghostly lamps beneath its feet burned ever brighter, their flames a blood-red hue.

Yao Bin's face was as pale as paper. The two mouthfuls of blood he had spat out earlier had severely damaged his vitality, but at this moment his eyes were filled with madness.

"It's almost here! Soon, Jiang Shang's three souls and seven spirits will be in my hands, and Xiqi will collapse without a fight. At that time, I, Yao Bin, will deserve the greatest credit."

Just as they were feeling smug, they suddenly heard a sound coming from outside the formation.

"red "He dares to come again?!"

Yao Bin suddenly looked up, a look of shock and anger flashing in his eyes. He had clearly seen Chi flee in a disheveled state earlier, and thought that the man was too scared to come back, but he didn't expect him to come again tonight.

"Since you're courting death, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Yao Bin sneered, grabbed the peach wood sword, and in a flash, appeared in front of the formation.

Amidst the surging black mist, Yao Bin's figure emerged from the formation, surrounded by countless ghostly spirits, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace. He wielded a peach wood sword, its blade ablaze with chilling black flames, and coldly stared at the crimson figure in mid-air. .

"red "You actually dare to come again!" Yao Bin said sternly. "You were incredibly lucky to escape last time. Now that you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, I'll make sure you die and are never reincarnated."

Chi Ling stood in mid-air, looking down at Yao Bin, who was filled with murderous intent, his face as calm as still water. He spoke slowly, his voice still gentle: "Fellow Daoist, I have come here today not to fight with you. If you hand over the straw figure that binds Junior Brother Ziya's soul, I may spare your life, so that your tens of thousands of years of hard cultivation will not be in vain in a single day."

"Arrogant!"

Yao Bin laughed in fury, "You're already a sitting duck, yet you still dare to spout such nonsense. I'd like to see what makes you so insolent in front of my Soul-Shattering Formation."

After saying that, he bit his tongue hard and spat out another mouthful of blood onto the peach wood sword.

As he spat out this mouthful of blood, Yao Bin's face instantly turned ashen, his aura weakened to the extreme, and he could barely stand. But the effect was immediate—within the Soul-Sinking Array, black sand surged out like a monstrous wave, sweeping over the crimson mat.

Each grain of black sand carried a ghostly spirit, and thousands of ghostly spirits cried out in unison, their cries converging into visible ripples that distorted and deformed the space in their wake.

"Take this!" Yao Bin shouted sternly.

Seeing the black sand approaching, Chi Yan remained calm and composed. With a flick of his right hand, an ancient scroll flew out from his sleeve and hovered in front of him.

"If you remain stubbornly unenlightened, then don't blame this humble Daoist."

Before he finished speaking, the scroll slowly unfurled.

In an instant, five-colored rays of light illuminated the mountains and rivers, and nine-colored auspicious energy shook the heavens and the universe.

A scroll of precious map slowly unfurled in the void, containing the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, and all living things, resembling a complete world. It was none other than the Taiji Diagram, the supreme treasure of the Supreme Sage's enlightenment.

The moment the scroll unfurled, a golden bridge appeared out of nowhere, extending from the scroll and falling straight into the depths of the Soul-Snatching Array.

The golden bridge was entirely formed from primordial golden light, and its surface was covered with profound Dao patterns, each containing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth. Auspicious five-colored light descended from the bridge, completely protecting Chi's entire body.

The overwhelming black sand, upon colliding with the auspicious five-colored light, melted away like snow meeting the blazing sun. The malevolent spirits lurking within the black sand, illuminated by the auspicious light, gradually dissipated their狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious) and 怨毒 (yuandu - resentment/malice) faces, turning into wisps of green smoke that disappeared into the void—they were forcibly dispersed and returned to the world.

"What...what kind of treasure is this?"

Yao Bin stared wide-eyed at the scene in disbelief. His Netherworld Sand, a treasure he had painstakingly refined for hundreds of years, couldn't even get close to the opponent?

Chi strode across the golden bridge, proceeding unhurriedly into the formation. Wherever the golden bridge passed, the black aura, ghostly spirits, and malevolent energy within the formation all dissipated, as if subjects had met their king and dared not offer the slightest obstruction.

In a short while, Chi passed through layers of array restrictions and arrived at the earthen platform in the center of the array.

On the earthen platform, the straw figure lay quietly.

"Junior Brother Ziya!"

Chi sighed softly, reached out and grabbed the straw man, then turned to leave.

"You bastard!" "How dare they bully me using their magic weapon!"

Yao Bin's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman. He had painstakingly set up the Soul-Slaying Array, and it was about to succeed, but it was broken in such a humiliating way. How could he tolerate it?

"I will fight you to the death!"

He bit his tongue hard, spitting another mouthful of blood onto the peach wood sword. This spit of blood caused Yao Bin's aura to plummet, almost causing him to drop in cultivation level, but the effect was also terrifying…

Within the Soul-Slaying Array, a fierce wind howled, and malevolent energy surged. Countless vengeful spirits and malevolent beings poured out of the black sand, overwhelming and densely packed, almost filling the entire space within the array. These spirits were no longer in their previous mindless state; instead, their eyes were bloodshot, their bodies radiating overwhelming resentment, and they lunged menacingly at the crimson... .

Even worse, a series of teeth-grinding "crackling" sounds came from the depths of the formation. The earthen platform began to crumble, and the earth's yin energy surged out wildly, merging with the baleful energy in the formation and transforming into jet-black chains that coiled around Chi.

"Um?"

Red brows furrowed slightly. He had intended to take the straw figure and leave, for although the Tai Chi diagram was powerful, he was not its true master, and activating it consumed a great deal of magical power. If he continued to entangle himself, unforeseen circumstances might arise.

But now that Yao Bin was acting so recklessly, determined to kill him, Chi was filled with rage.

"Since you remain stubbornly ignorant, then don't blame this humble Taoist for being ruthless."

He made a hand seal, and the Tai Chi diagram shone brightly once again.

Above the golden bridge, auspicious five-colored light suddenly surged, transforming into streaks of light that shot out in all directions. The approaching ghosts, illuminated by the auspicious light, let out mournful screams and vanished into wisps of green smoke. The pitch-black chains, touched by the auspicious light, shattered inch by inch, turning into nothingness.

Even more terrifying was that within the Taiji diagram scroll, the illusory images of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and vegetation slowly rotated, emanating a chaotic Daoist aura from the very beginning of creation. Under the shroud of this aura, everything within the Soul-Sinking Formation was frozen in place—the churning black energy solidified, the fluttering spirits froze, and even Yao Bin himself remained motionless, holding his sword.

"Water and fire, combine to form a sword!"

With a soft shout, the two bells, one blue and one red, that floated around him suddenly merged, transforming into a three-foot-long sword. The sword's blade, with its alternating blue and red colors, embodied the offensive form of the Water-Fire Edge technique.

Holding a long sword, he took a step forward and slashed at Yao Bin.

The sword light shone like water, reflecting Yao Bin's terrified and desperate face.

"My life is over!"

Yao Bin roared inwardly, but he couldn't even move his eyelids. He could only watch helplessly as the long sword slashed towards his neck.

Just then, a sudden change occurred...