In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

After purchasing enough food, Ji Chao stayed in Yinxu and would not leave unless he needed to buy anything.

Only a small part of Yin Ruins is still above ground; most of it has been buried underground by sand and soil. Only half of the various houses are visible, and it is impossible to know what is hidden beneath these ruins. Ji Chao can only be patient and excavate Yin Ruins bit by bit, searching for the contingency plans left behind by the gods to resolve the chaos caused by alien races and spirits.

He was a disciple of the Taoist Master Siji, so he was naturally able to foresee some things.

"All I need to do is dig slowly." He used magic to dig at the soil, and although he was a powerful magician, he was covered in dirt, but he didn't find it strange at all. "I only know that fate is here, but I don't know when fate will arrive."

"Once you find it, your destiny has arrived; it's...predestined."

His eyes were serious.

If it's for the Lord, for the sake of this world, what does it matter if I dig here for the rest of my life?

Ji Chao himself never expected that his digging would last for seven years.

Even though King Zheng of Qin destroyed the Han state in 230 BC, Ji Chao was still digging in the Yin Ruins.

Ji Chao sometimes digs so much that he begins to question the meaning of life.

Where is Lao Tzu's destiny? Where is his destiny?

I've used divination techniques countless times, and they all show that Lao Tzu's destiny lies in Yin Ruins. So where did that destiny go?

At this time, Ji Chao was 29 years old. He had grown a long beard and was no longer handsome. Moreover, due to long-term labor, he had naturally developed a muscular physique.

A handsome young man was transformed into a burly, dark-skinned man within seven years.

In April of 229 BC, Ji Chao finally made a discovery.

Beneath a mansion, Ji Chao found a pit, and after examining it, he discovered that there was a large space underground.

After opening up the space, Ji Chao jumped into the deep pit.

"Ugh—sigh, this tastes disgusting."

Ji Chao frowned, waving his hand in front of his nose to dispel the strong musty smell.

With his thoughts sinking down and connecting with the thought patterns, Ji Chao snapped his fingers.

A light appeared in his hand. He held the light in front of him and probed the scene at the bottom of the pit.

but.......

The contents of the pit were human bones.

There were countless human bones, along with rusty armor and decaying weapons.

"These... these should be Shang's army, why are they dying here?"

With a sigh, Ji Chao shook his head, ignoring the worthless remains, and continued deeper into the pit.

Along the way, Ji Chao encountered not only human bones but also the bones of various other creatures, some of which he recognized and some of which he did not. They were clearly not the bones of normal creatures, but they were all rotten and worthless.

The space inside the pit was surprisingly large, and Ji Chao finally found the end of the pit after several twists and turns.

But what awaited him at the end was still a corpse.

However, this corpse was somewhat unusual.

Putting the light source aside, Ji Chao held his breath; the air here made it very difficult for him to breathe.

He knelt on one knee and brushed the dust off the corpse with his hand, only to find that the skin tissue appeared to be intact.

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“This is…” Ji Chao’s eyes narrowed.

The thought key links illuminated the entire end of the pit, and Ji Chao summoned the wind, which coiled around his hand.

Using a brush, Ji Chao dug out the thing buried in the soil.

“A person…” He looked at the thing in front of him and felt his heart pounding.

Without a doubt, what he pulled out of the deep pit was a person, but... not entirely a person.

The parts that had just emerged from the ground were the calves and a bit of the heels. The lower body structure was basically intact, but the waist and above were badly damaged. The fingers were missing, and the entire head was rotten and it was impossible to tell whose corpse it was.

Notably, beneath the missing skin, Ji Chao discovered something entirely different from what is typically human; rather than human, it's more like...

This is an ingenious mechanical figure, or rather, a robot.

“Artificial human…” Ji Chao uttered the name, a cold sweat appearing on his face.

This word was recorded in his thought key, and Ji Chao had never been able to understand its meaning until now. He suddenly realized that what was in front of him was very likely the so-called "artificial human".

Ji Chao fell into doubt.

Could the remains of this artificial human be the "destiny" that he and King Zheng of Qin had been hoping for?

"Hmm?" Looking down, Ji Chao suddenly noticed something under the android.

After some effort, Ji Chao dug out what was under the android.

"This... should also be an artificial human?" He looked at the thing with a troubled expression.

It only has a general outline of a person's appearance, while other parts are damaged.

With a sigh, Ji Chao tied the two "artificial human" corpses to his back with a rope and walked back the way he came.

In any case, these two items are probably the closest he has found to the word "mysterious" in the seven years he has been in Yinxu.

I hope you can bring me what the Lord truly desires.

He jumped onto the ground and used a rope to pull up the two android corpses. Just as Ji Chao was about to take them back to rest, he suddenly encountered a figure at the corner.

"Whoa—!"

Despite being a large, dark-skinned man, he was startled by the sudden appearance of a figure.

"Who goes there?" he shouted.

"Don't panic!"

"...It is I."

The figure of Daoist Siji stood in front of Ji Chao.

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Chapter 759 Foresight and Acceptance

"Master, Master!?" Ji Chao looked at the gaunt Taoist priest in front of him in surprise and stood up. "What are you doing here?"

Master Siji stroked his beard and smiled: "Why are you here? That's why I'm here."

“So, that means…” Ji Chao’s face twitched.

"Yes, I calculated the time and place, so I came." Master Siji looked at his disciple, whose appearance had changed drastically, and didn't mistake him for someone else. Instead, he smiled at Ji Chao and said, "Disciple, you must have also calculated something to come here, right?"

"...I've been digging here for seven years, Master." Ji Chao felt extremely wronged. "I've been digging for seven years, and then you came right after I dug it out... I..."

He was on the verge of tears: "Master, why didn't you tell me sooner? I...I..."

"Alas. You mustn't think like that, my disciple." Daoist Siji waved his hand and patted Ji Chao's broad shoulder. "Everything in the world has its own destiny. If you hadn't almost dug up the entire Yin Ruins here, how could you have discovered the real thing?"

"Everything has already been arranged by fate. If you hadn't arrived seven years earlier, I would have been facing nothing but a wasteland when I came here at this time. I would have been unable to discover the vitality left for us and for the Central Plains."

"...It seems so." Ji Chao pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded, exhaling a breath of stale air, his mind clear. "Disciple has learned a lot."

"It's alright, my disciple. You should know that nothing exists outside of destiny. I have been immersed in this path for many years and have already understood everything. For example, you have already dug out an 'artificial human' at the bottom of Yin Ruins, haven't you? Come, take it out and let me see it." Daoist Siji had an expression of complete control and was extremely confident.

Ji Chao's large, calloused hand reached towards the back of his head.

“But Master… I dug up two.”

"......What?"

......

Siji Daoren sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at the two "artificial human corpses" lying in front of him with an inscrutable expression.

His expression seemed to be one of disappointment and contemplation, but it ultimately turned into a sigh of regret.

"I can't believe I even made a mistake. Looks like I'm really nearing my limit..."

"However, since two of them have appeared, it means that this may be the will of Heaven."

"However, there's something strange..."

Master Siji looked at the more severely damaged remains, his expression grave.

"Master, what's wrong?" Ji Chao sat cross-legged opposite Siji Daoren.

"This thing is less like the 'remains of an android' and more like... something that 'just happens to be this shape', only with some of the same properties as an android."

“This… is indeed a bit strange. They look very similar, but they give off completely different vibes.” Ji Chao nodded in deep agreement.

Because he studied under the Taoist priest Siji, he learned many magic tricks from the mind key patterns, but he was most skilled in the art of deduction. It was precisely because of this that he was exceptionally perceptive of aura.

The two sets of remains gave him completely different feelings.

"But there's no need to worry about it so much. Although it was beyond my expectations, man proposes, God disposes. Since you brought it up from the bottom of Yin Ruins, it means that this thing is indeed the key to the contingency plan, the 'destined object'." Daoist Siji smiled, completely recovering from his loss of composure, showing no disappointment and displaying a carefree attitude.

"But Master, what exactly are you here for?" Ji Chao asked, his expression still showing some doubt.

After a brief silence, Daoist Siji tilted his head and smiled at his disciple: "This is the matter ordained by Heaven, nothing more."

“Ji Chao, when I took you as my disciple, I said that I was merely your guide, and your hands were what I truly sought. Today, I have come to the end of the Shang dynasty, to the corpse of Yin, only to settle this karmic debt, and also to settle… my own fate.”

"...Master, what do you mean by that?" Ji Chao suddenly sensed something was wrong.

“It’s very simple.” Daoist Siji smiled. “I have inherited the thought key pattern, so naturally I must do my utmost for the Central Plains and for this land. This is an inescapable responsibility for every person in the Central Plains.”

"Decades ago, I foresaw my own death, and what I want to do is not to use my immortal technique to avoid death and prolong life to escape it."

He held up one finger, speaking of his own death, yet showed no fear.

"Master...you..." Ji Chao was somewhat moved, his face filled with disbelief. He slightly shifted his body and knelt on the ground.

“There is no need to grieve for this old man, my good disciple.” Daoist Siji smiled. “My lifespan has long been nearing its end. To be able to leave hope for the Central Plains in the final moments of this short life is a fortunate thing.”

"You have to believe that everything has been arranged by God. All we have to do is know it and then accept it."

"I foresaw my own death, and I accepted my own death."

"That's all."