The prehistoric infrastructure maniac

Chapter 167 Breaking Through Five Barriers
Chong Houhu may seem like a brave and reckless man, but he is actually a very insightful and intelligent person.

Therefore, his final choice is self-evident; wise people always consider their own interests first.

Chong Houhu, who never expected to be betrayed by his own brother, was captured alive by Chong Heihu as soon as he returned, and was taken to the Xiqi camp along with his son Chong Yingbiao.

After Chong Houhu and his son were killed, Chong Heihu naturally took control of Chongcheng and became the new Marquis of the North.

The Xiqi army was victorious, and not long after returning home, Ji Chang fell seriously ill and died. He then passed the throne to Ji Fa, who became the new ruler of the Western Zhou Dynasty, known as King Wu of Zhou.

Afterwards, the rulers and ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty worked together with one heart and became increasingly ambitious and enterprising.

In Chaoge, King Zhou was overjoyed to learn of Ji Chang's death. Although he was very dissatisfied with Ji Fa's self-proclaimed title of King Wu, he did not take the young Ji Fa seriously, thinking that the child was not worth worrying about.

However, the Nine-Tailed Fox still harbored resentment towards King Wu Cheng, Huang Feihu, and at the end of the year, when a group of court ladies came to the palace to pay homage to her, Queen Su, she found an opportunity to harm Huang Feihu.

The nine-tailed fox used a pretext to let King Zhou meet Jia, the wife of Huang Feihu. King Zhou, seeing Jia's beauty, and after drinking two cups of wine, began to speak rudely.
Unexpectedly, Lady Jia, with her fierce spirit, jumped off the Star-Picking Tower.

Later, when the Imperial Concubine of the Western Palace learned of her sister-in-law's tragic death, she came to argue with her. After a furious outburst, she tried to attack the Nine-Tailed Fox, which prompted King Zhou to intervene and throw her off the Star-Picking Tower, where she fell to her death.

After learning of the tragic deaths of his wife and sister, Huang Feihu, despite his family's generations of loyalty to the Shang Dynasty, could not resist the provocations of his brothers and decided to rebel against Chaoge.

Upon learning that Huang Feihu had rebelled and was even leading his men to challenge them outside the Meridian Gate, King Zhou was somewhat enraged and personally donned his armor to meet Huang Feihu.

Before Huang Feihu and King Zhou could exchange words, Zhou Ji and Huang Ming rushed forward, forcing Huang Feihu to take action.

After a fierce battle that forced King Zhou to retreat back to the palace, Huang Feihu quickly led his retainers and left Chaoge.

Huang Feihu and his party, who left from the west gate of Chaoge, passed through Mengjin, crossed the Yellow River, bypassed Mianchi County, and headed towards Lintong Pass, intending to rebel against the Five Passes and join Xiqi.

However, those five passes were all important checkpoints in the western part of the Shang Dynasty, so how could they be so easy to pass?

Wudang Mountain is a Taoist temple of the True Martial Emperor on the primordial land.

In the Zhenwu Palace on the mountain, Zhenwu, who was meditating in meditation, seemed to sense something and ordered the two generals, Turtle and Snake, who were guarding outside, to summon Yang Jiao, who was also cultivating on Wudang Mountain.

"Teacher!" After entering the Zhenwu Palace and bowing respectfully, Yang Jiao couldn't help but ask, "I wonder what instructions you have given me, Master?"

"King Zhou of Shang was tyrannical, killing his wife and children, persecuting loyal officials, and even coveting the wives of his ministers, forcing King Wu Cheng to rebel. The Shang dynasty's fate is sealed, and the Western Zhou will rise. King Wu Cheng and his son are capable generals who will assist you, Uncle Jiang, in overthrowing Shang. Go and help them cross the five passes to the west."

Zhenwu continued, "In addition, Huang Feihu's youngest son, Huang Tianxiang, has a master-disciple relationship with me and will be your future junior brother. You can bring him up the mountain to cultivate, so that he can contribute to the conquest of King Zhou and the conferment of the gods in the future."

"Disciple understands, I will go now," Yang Jiao replied without delay and quickly used his escape technique to leave Wudang Mountain.

As for Zhang Feng, the garrison commander of Lintong Pass, although he was a famous veteran general of the Yin Shang Dynasty, he was no match for Huang Feihu.

Zhang Feng, who had retreated in disarray back to the pass, then ordered his deputy general Xiao Yin to arrange for archers to raid the camp at night and kill Huang Feihu and his men.

However, Xiao Yin had served under Huang Feihu and received his promotion, so he couldn't bear to harm him. Instead, he opened the gate and let him pass. When Zhang Feng noticed this and went to chase after Huang Feihu, Xiao Yin hid in the shadows and shot Zhang Feng dead with an arrow.

Having released a wanted criminal and killed the commander-in-chief, Xiao Yin naturally could not stay at Lintong Pass any longer, so he took advantage of the chaos to leave Lintong Pass.

After leaving Lintong Pass, Huang Feihu and his group hurriedly arrived at Tong Pass.

Chen Tong, the garrison commander of Tongguan, was originally a general under Huang Feihu. He was almost killed by Huang Feihu for violating military orders. Now that they are enemies, how could he easily let Huang Feihu, who has fallen into the plains, go?
In the battle at the pass, Chen Tong was no match for Huang Feihu. However, the Fire Dragon Dart he had been taught by the strange man was vicious and powerful, and Huang Feihu was caught off guard and fell victim to its poison.

Fortunately, Huang Feihu's eldest son, Huang Tianhua, who was a disciple of the Qingxu Daode Zhenjun of the Yuxu lineage in Ziyang Cave of Qingfeng Mountain, arrived in time to rescue them, dealt with Chen Tong, and sent Huang Feihu and his party out of Tongguan.

Next was Chuanyun Pass. The general of Chuanyun Pass was Chen Tong's elder brother, Chen Wu. Upon learning that his brother had been killed, he was not about to let it go.
However, he knew how formidable Huang Feihu was and dared not fight him head-on. So he pretended to welcome Huang Feihu and his party into the city, planning to take advantage of their unpreparedness and burn them all to death with fire that night.

But Huang Feihu was destined to survive. That night, the spirit of his wife, Jia, appeared in his dream to warn him. Huang Feihu led his men out, killed Chen Wu, and fought his way out of Chuanyun Pass.

Beyond Chuanyun Pass lies Jiepai Pass, guarded by Huang Feihu's father, the old general Huang Gun.

Although Huang Gun was loyal to the Yin Shang dynasty, he could not overcome the bond between father and son, grandfather and grandson, and ultimately had no choice but to leave Jiepai Pass with Huang Feihu and his group.

Of the five passes, only Sishui Pass remained. The guard at Sishui Pass, Han Rong, was not particularly skilled, but his vanguard officer, Yu Hua, was a man of considerable power and influence. Yu Hua was a disciple of Yu Yuan, a third-generation disciple of the Jie Sect and a grand-disciple of the Golden Spirit Mother. Huang Feihu was merely a brave general; though he possessed some leadership talent, he was no match for Yu Hua.
Moreover, Yu Hua possessed the Soul-Slaying Banner, a magical artifact specifically designed to target the soul, which allowed him to easily capture Huang Feihu. Subsequently, Huang Feihu's brothers, generals, and his second and third sons, who were only thirteen or fourteen years old, were also captured alive by Yu Hua.

Left with no other option, Huang Gun prepared to surrender, offering his gold, silver, and valuables to Han Rong in the hope of saving his young grandson and his soldiers.

However, Huang Feihu was a traitor, so how could Han Rong dare to release his son?

In the end, the grandfather, grandson, father, son, and their generals were all put into a prison cart by Han Rong and escorted to Chaoge by Yu Hua.
However, after traveling only a few miles, Yu Hua was stopped by someone. The person who came was Yang Jiao, who was dressed in a silver robe, holding a silver spear, and had an elegant and handsome appearance.

"Who goes there? How dare you block my path? Are you looking for death?" Seeing the handsome and dashing man, Yu Hua, feeling ashamed of his own appearance, shouted coldly in displeasure while also being secretly on guard.

Judging from his appearance, he's no ordinary person! Why is he blocking the road here?
"Is the general holding the Huang family father and son hostage?" Yang Jiao asked loudly.

"So you really came to rescue them?" Yu Hua sneered inwardly, then said in a deep voice, "So what if you did? They are criminals who have rebelled against the imperial court. Do you intend to save them and become an enemy of the Yin Shang court?"

“The Shang dynasty’s fate is sealed. I see that you, General, are also a cultivator. How can you not understand the will of Heaven and still aid and abet the tyrant?” Yang Jiao said.

"Insolence! Who are you from? How dare you speak so arrogantly!" Yu Hua roared angrily.

Yang Jiao was straightforward and said directly, "I am Yang Jiao, a disciple of Zhenwu Dangmo Tianzun! The fate of the Yin Shang dynasty has run its course. This is what my teacher said. Do you think he was talking nonsense? Or do you think you understand destiny better than my teacher?"

"True Zhenwu?" Yu Hua's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but say, "Kid, are you kidding me?"

"Heh. Why would I bluff you? If you release them now, I might spare you this time. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless," Yang Jiao said with a cold smile.

"What arrogance! I'll see just how capable you are!" Yu Hua said, directly summoning the Soul-Slaying Banner.

However, almost all of Shi Mo's disciples and grand-disciples have Soul-Stabilizing Pearls made from Soul-Stabilizing Jade, a spiritual material from the underworld, to protect their primordial spirits. The higher their cultivation level, the less afraid they are of such magical treasures that target and attack the soul.

Therefore, the Soul-Slaying Banner not only failed to harm Yang Jiao, but was instead grabbed by Yang Jiao, who erased the divine soul imprint left by Yu Hua and put it away.

"What?" Yu Hua's eyes widened upon seeing this. Realizing what was happening, he gritted his teeth and roared, urging the Fiery-Eyed Beast to charge forward.

Amidst the clanging of metal, Yu Hua, who had only exchanged a dozen or so blows with Yang Jiao, was completely outmatched and was sent flying, coughing up blood, by Yang Jiao's spear.

In terms of cultivation, Yu Hua was far inferior to Yang Jiao. Knowing he was no match for him, Yu Hua hurriedly used earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) to escape after landing.

Yang Jiao was too lazy to kill him. He had already tested the other party's identity as a member of the Jie Sect during their earlier exchange. After all, they were all from the same Xuanmen sect, so it was not appropriate to kill him outright.

Moreover, Yang Jiao's main purpose was to rescue people, so he quickly released Huang Feihu and the others from the prison cart, and then led them back to Sishui Pass.

With Yang Jiao's help, Han Rong was no match for him. Yang Jiao didn't bother to kill him, and after forcing him to flee in a sorry state, he took the opportunity to seize the pass.

After resting for a night, Huang Feihu and his men gathered their retainers and left Sishui Pass, crossing Jinji Ridge towards Xiqi.
Yang Jiao escorted them to Jinji Ridge before leading Huang Tianxiang toward Wudang Mountain.

When Huang Feihu came to join them, Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya were naturally very welcoming. King Wu Ji Fa even directly appointed Huang Feihu as the Founding King Wu Cheng and ordered the construction of a royal palace for him.

Huang Feihu was deeply grateful for such a great favor, and Ji Fa also spent a fortune to buy a horse's bones.

Within the Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cave on Nine Cauldrons Iron Fork Mountain, Shi Mo sat cross-legged on a jade platform. Above his head, auspicious clouds surged with light, faintly displaying phenomena such as the transformation of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, and the evolution of the world.
"Teacher!" A graceful white figure walked in from outside; it was none other than the Ice Lotus Fairy.

Shi Mo opened his eyes and saw the Ice Lotus Fairy. Sensing the change in her aura, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Hehe, good. It seems you have found your own path and are on the verge of severing your three corpses."

"The path of the Three Corpses can only be followed by fate; it cannot be forced," Ice Lotus Fairy shook her head and said, "Master, I have come here because of the matter of Qingqiu. The Qingqiu Fox Clan has suffered a great calamity this time!"

“I already know. The battle between Wen Zhong and the Spirit King caused quite a stir,” Shi Mo nodded slightly and said, “Although this battle was started by the Yellow Dragon, it was also influenced by the Great Tribulation of the Gods. The Nine-Tailed Fox’s actions greatly weakened the Fox Clan’s fortune.”

"However, Wen Zhong committed such atrocities and slaughtered so many people. Although he won, how could he make the feudal lords submit? On the contrary, it would incite even greater bloodshed. His killings were too heavy. Even as a third-generation direct disciple of the Jie Sect, he would find it difficult to survive this great calamity, and it might even affect the fate of the entire Jie Sect. In the end, it's just that those involved are blinded by their own involvement!" Shi Mo shook his head with a sigh.

“Teacher, Bai Qingqing, the patriarch of the Qingqiu Fox Clan, hates Wen Zhong to the bone and will never let him go. But Wen Zhong is the disciple of the Golden Spirit Mother. If we continue to entangle him, I’m afraid…” Fairy Binglian couldn’t help but say.

Shi Mo said, "Can you stop her? Since we're caught in this calamity, who can escape it? Let her go!"

(End of this chapter)