The prehistoric infrastructure maniac

Chapter 164 The World Changes
Now, let's turn back to Jiang Ziya. After leaving Jiuding Iron Fork Mountain, he realized that he had no relatives left, so he went to Song Family Village outside Chaoge City to seek refuge with his sworn brother, Song Yiren.

Although forty years had passed since they parted, Song Yiren treated his sworn brother Jiang Ziya exceptionally well. He not only let him stay at his home but also arranged for him to marry an old maid.

And so, Jiang Ziya, like an old tree blossoming, got married.

Now that they have started a family, it is no longer appropriate for them to stay at Song Yiren's house all the time.

So, after hearing his wife mention this, Jiang Ziya decided to go to Chaoge City to do some small business to support his family.

What should he do? Jiang Ziya thought of the popular Xingyun Tower in Xingyun City, so he borrowed some capital from Song Yiren and prepared to open a tavern.

Jiang Ziya was quite knowledgeable. He had tasted delicacies and drunk divine wines. To satisfy his appetite, he even studied winemaking and cooking.

So after some preparation, Jiang Ziya brewed some wine himself and prepared recipes to train cooks. As expected, the business of his tavern got better and better as soon as it opened, and it even became popular in Chaoge. Even King Wu Cheng Huang Feihu and Bi Gan, who succeeded Shang Rong as prime minister, came to his tavern to drink.

Huang Feihu also particularly enjoyed drinking the wine brewed by Jiang Ziya, and even became drinking buddies with Jiang Ziya.

Jiang Ziya discovered that what he had learned in the orchards and nurseries of Jiuding Iron Fork Mountain and in Xingyun City was really useful, allowing him to thrive in Chaoge City!
However, every cloud has a silver lining. Jiang Ziya had no background, and his tavern, which made a fortune every day, naturally attracted the envy of many.
The treacherous minister Fei Zhong arranged for someone to poach his cook, forcing him to hand over the brewing recipe.
Jiang Ziya did not want to easily reveal his magical powers, so to avoid trouble, he abandoned the tavern and opened a fortune-telling shop instead.

At first, business was naturally not as good as at the tavern, and his wife inevitably complained and scolded him.

However, because Jiang Ziya was very accurate in divination, he became famous and was able to make a living by telling fortunes.

On this day, a woman in green appeared, and Jiang Ziya immediately recognized her as a demon.

Fortunately, this demon's cultivation was not deep. Jiang Ziya used the method of touching her hand to grasp her vital point and directly stated that she was a demon, causing an uproar.

Bigan, who happened to be passing by, knew that Jiang Ziya was an extraordinary person who lived in seclusion in the city and would not falsely accuse someone of being a monster. Remembering what the immortal Yun Zhongzi had said about the presence of demonic energy in the palace, he asked Jiang Ziya to take the demoness to the palace to see King Zhou.

When King Zhou heard that a very accurate fortune teller had captured a monster, he became very interested, as he had never seen a real monster before!

So, at the foot of the Star-Picking Tower, Jiang Ziya used his magic to burn the jade pipa spirit back to its original form, revealing its face in great detail. King Zhou even appointed it as a low-ranking official, allowing it to serve in the Imperial Observatory.

However, water overflows when it's full, and misfortune never comes alone. Jiang Ziya burned the Jade Pipa Spirit to death, offending the Nine-Tailed Fox; how could things possibly turn out well for him?

The nine-tailed fox bewitched King Zhou into building the Deer Terrace and even wanted Jiang Ziya to be the supervisor. How could Jiang Ziya possibly help King Zhou to commit such a tyrannical act and do something that would waste the people's resources?

Having seen through King Zhou's folly and realizing that Chaoge was not a place to stay for long, Jiang Ziya directly and vehemently criticized King Zhou. He then used his magic to escape the palace, preparing to take his wife away from this troublesome place.

He didn't want his wife to learn that he had offended King Zhou and lost his newly acquired official position, so she refused to go with him to escape for their lives.

In times of great calamity, everyone flees for their lives. Jiang Ziya, unwilling to force anyone, handed over most of his family's wealth to his wife, left a letter of divorce, and departed Chaoge alone to travel the world in search of a wise and virtuous ruler.
After traveling around, Jiang Ziya finally went to Xiqi, a place known for its simple and honest people and peaceful life, to live in seclusion.

Unbeknownst to many, it had been seven years since King Zhou killed his wife and children.

King Zhou, who had killed Queen Jiang, was worried that Marquis Jiang Huanchu of the East would rebel. So he summoned the four marquises to the capital under a pretext, killed the two marquises of the southeast, and imprisoned Marquis Ji Chang of the West. He left only the most useless Marquis Chong Houhu of the North to help him build the Deer Terrace.

Seven years have passed, and now the eldest son of the King of Zhou, Boyi Kao, who is in charge of the affairs of Xiqi, has not been able to bear it for seven years. He is finally going to Chaoge to plead for forgiveness and hope that Ji Chang can return to his hometown.

In a private room resembling an independent pavilion in the Nebula Tower, located in Nebula City, the closest city to Xiqi, high above the nine heavens.
As Shi Mo and Huang Long dined at the jade table, they could even see the bustling Xiqi City in the distance through the window and the clouds beyond Xingyun City.

"Bo Yikao is going to Chaoge. Why do I feel a little uneasy?" Huang Long frowned, losing his appetite.

Shi Mo also had little appetite. After a brief silence, he said, "Although he can save Ji Chang on this trip to Chaoge, he will face a life-threatening ordeal and may not be able to return alive."

"You mean? King Zhou will kill him? How could that be? What reason does King Zhou have to kill him?" Huang Long's expression changed slightly.

"Do you think Yin Shou needs any reason to kill someone?" Shi Mo countered.

Upon hearing this, Huang Long paused for a moment, then frowned: "Ziwei's wisp of soul descended to the mortal realm for training, and that's it? Should we intervene?"

“Even if he doesn’t die, becoming the ruler of a new dynasty won’t mean much to him. However, if he can be deified after death, his identity as the Great Emperor of the North Pole of the Central Heaven will be truly deserved, and he can also use this to control the Investiture of the Gods,” Shi Mo said, shaking his head.

"Using the Investiture of the Gods to control the Investiture of the Gods List?" Huang Long was somewhat surprised.

“That’s right! If it weren’t for the compatibility between his destiny and the Investiture of the Gods, it wouldn’t be so easy to refine and control the Investiture of the Gods,” Shi Mo nodded and said, “Don’t worry, once he refines the Investiture of the Gods, it will no longer be a constraint on him.” “Even so, I still feel it’s a bit too sudden. Lei Zhenzi, a reincarnation of a wisp of Gouchen’s soul, hasn’t even met his elder brother yet!” Huang Long couldn’t help but say.

"By the way, how will King Zhou kill him? And why?" Huang Long asked, but Shi Mo remained silent again.

After Bo Yikao and San Yisheng, the senior official of Xiqi, arrived in Chaoge, they began to devise a plan to rescue Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo.

They first sought help from Bigan, who then introduced them to King Zhou to offer treasures as a way to atone for their sins.

Unexpectedly, the nine-tailed fox, seeing Boyi Kao's handsome appearance, harbored designs on him and asked him to teach her the zither. This teaching, however, led to trouble.
The nine-tailed fox's wanton advances were met with disdain from Boyi Kao, who was not a casual person and looked down on her. His stern refusal only enraged the nine-tailed fox.

When the treasures were presented, the spirit ape, who was good at singing, suddenly became frenzied and pounced on the nine-tailed fox. It was killed by King Zhou, and the nine-tailed fox took the opportunity to falsely accuse Boyi Kao of plotting an assassination.

King Zhou was furious and immediately ordered that Boyi Kao be thrown into the pit of scorpions.

Fortunately, Boyi Kao was eloquent and managed to get away with it.

However, seeing this tyrannical king and wicked queen, Boyi Kao was also angry. When he played the zither, he couldn't help but feel resentful. There were some satirical words in the music, which angered King Zhou again.

Bo Yikao, being young and impetuous, couldn't hold back his anger and cursed, smashing his zither at the nine-tailed fox.

King Zhou was furious and ordered Bo Yikao to be thrown into the pit of scorpions.

The nine-tailed fox, however, took the initiative to deal with Boyi Kao. He had Boyi Kao's hands and feet nailed down, then chopped him into pieces and threw him into the pit of venomous snakes.

Still not satisfied, the nine-tailed fox had the cook make meat patties from Boyi Kao's flesh and send them to Ji Chang to see if he truly knew about yin and yang and fortune and misfortune.

However, no sooner had the messenger delivering the cakes left Chaoge City than the sky began to churn and the heavens and earth seemed to change color. Then, rumbling thunder filled the air, and a terrifying, oppressive atmosphere made the soldiers and civilians of Chaoge City tremble with fear.

A deep, rumbling thunderclap echoed throughout Chaoge, and the official who had just left the city was instantly reduced to ashes by a bolt of lightning.
Immediately afterward, the Star-Picking Tower and the ancestral temple of the Yin Shang dynasty were struck by heavenly lightning and set ablaze. The Nine-Tailed Fox's palace was also affected by a bolt of lightning. The lightning, containing an invisible, majestic, and violent aura, nearly caused the Nine-Tailed Fox to revert to her true form, lying on the ground trembling, her face deathly pale.
Then, dark clouds enveloped the entire city of Chaoge, plunging the sky into darkness. Amidst flashes of lightning, a torrential downpour began.
This unexpected turn of events not only filled the princes, ministers, soldiers, and civilians in Chaoge City with immense fear, but also startled some powerful cultivators in the primordial world.

When a sage is enraged, the heavens and earth change color! The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and Jieyin keenly sensed that the human race's vitality was beginning to decline after reaching its peak.

The rain lasted for three days and three nights, turning Chaoge City into a river of water. The soldiers and civilians throughout the city could even clearly hear angry dragon roars amidst the thunder and rain.

"General Huanglong (maternal grandmother), please calm down!" Pangu and Suiren were alarmed and rushed over from Phoenix Mountain.

However, the yellow dragon, which had transformed into its true form and was constantly drawing upon the power of thunder and lightning as it traversed through the wind and rain, completely ignored them.

Bolts of lightning struck down intermittently, almost all landing on the royal palace, terrifying King Zhou to the core.

If his fate hadn't been sealed, and if Huanglong hadn't known he couldn't be killed yet, those lightning bolts would probably have struck directly at the Longevity Palace where King Zhou was.

"Mother." Three days later, the Ziwei Emperor, who had been in seclusion in the Ziwei Palace of Heaven, also descended to the mortal realm and came to the sky above Chaoge.

"My son." Seeing Ziwei, the yellow dragon temporarily suppressed its anger, transformed into human form, and stepped forward to touch Ziwei's face with some tenderness.

Ziwei quickly replied, "Mother, I'm alright! That wisp of my soul has already entered the Investiture of the Gods, awaiting its future conferment as a god. Although this time in the mortal realm for trials was short, I've gained much insight. Mother's anger over me has also troubled me!"

“Mother, go back! You should go back and see Father first. I will come shortly after,” Ziwei continued to persuade.

Huanglong nodded and left. At the same time, the dark clouds and wind in the sky dispersed, and Ziwei, bathed in a purple halo, turned to look at Pangu and Suiren, who were waiting anxiously not far away.

"It's alright, you can go back now!" Ziwei's words made Pangu and the others' expressions complicated.

"That beast Yin Shou, he dares to presume to be emperor, I wish I could kill him with my own hands!" Suirenshi said through gritted teeth.

“Destiny has been decided! If my brother-in-law intervenes now, it might shake the fate of humanity and ruin the Investiture of the Gods,” Ziwei said.
"Humanity has come to where it is today with such difficulty! It was achieved through the bloodshed and sacrifice of countless ancestors. I can fully understand your feelings."

Ziwei's words made Pangu and the others' expressions even more complicated.

(End of this chapter)