Primordial Era: A God-Level Choice, Possessing Zhao Gongming at the Start.

Chapter 372 Feint to the East, Striking West Asia, Saint Confucius

Di Xin shook his head. "Regardless of your personal motives, sir, since you have helped my Great Shang so much, you deserve my bow. Besides, the Black Bird was born to give birth to the Shang Dynasty, so you can be considered my ancestor. What's wrong with Di Xin bowing to you?"

As Di Xin's voice fell, a tremendous roar erupted over Chaoge.

The supreme river of humanity emerged, and the golden aura of humanity surged forth, creating towering waves.

Each golden wave represents a wisp of human destiny, and upon closer inspection, one can see countless imprints of human ancestors hidden within those waves.

There was Suirenshi who drilled wood to make fire, Youchaoshi who built nests from wood, Ziyishi who wore animal skins as clothing, Cangjie, the sage of literature of the human race, who preached the Tao, and Xuanyuan, the emperor of the human race, who fought a battle for the deer!

Each story, when told together, forms an immortal and magnificent chapter in the history of humankind.

Just then, in the long river of humanity, a pure and refined stream of fortune suddenly transformed into a pillar of light and rose into the distance!

In the end, not a single drop remained and fell into Kong Xuan's body.

"Snap!"

A shattering sound rang out, seemingly from within his body, yet also as if from within, breaking the bottleneck that had imprisoned Kong Xuan for countless millennia.

In an instant, the aura within Kong Xuan's body began to rise steadily.

Finally, he broke through from the Great Perfection of Quasi-Saint to the Sub-Saint, becoming a powerful being on par with the Xuan Turtle.

With their current strength, either of them could be invincible below the level of a saint.

Dealing with ordinary quasi-saints is child's play for them; they are truly exceptional players.

Upon achieving his breakthrough, Kong Xuan's aura did not leak out; instead, it remained exceptionally restrained, just like that of an ordinary person.

His eyes remained calm and composed as he accepted Di Xin's bow with equanimity.

After performing the rites, Di Xin tentatively asked, "Master Kong Xuan, would you be willing to return to the ancestral temple of my Great Shang Dynasty?"

Kong Xuan did not reply immediately after hearing this.

Returning to the ancestral temple of the Shang Dynasty is not just a simple formality!

Returning to the ancestral temple of the Great Shang Dynasty signifies that Kong Xuan's destiny is now bound to the human race.

If one prospers, all prosper; if one suffers, all suffer. Under normal circumstances, Kong Xuan would never have agreed to this.

But for some reason, Kong Xuan hesitated this time.

During the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, Kong Xuan saw many things clearly.

The lofty status of saints, the weakness and helplessness of mortals, the cruelty of war, the ruthlessness of catastrophe, and the indomitable spirit inherent in humanity.

After a dozen or so breaths, Kong Xuan said, "Alright, you may enter the ancestral temple, but this matter only involves me and has nothing to do with the Phoenix Clan. The Phoenix Clan must not be implicated in the slightest."

The Black Bird was born, descended and gave birth to the Shang Dynasty. The Black Bird is Kong Xuan, but it is not a member of the Phoenix Clan.

Di Xin nodded solemnly, "Di Xin understands."

Having successfully broken through and relieved a worry, Kong Xuan did not linger in Chaoge but returned to the Undying Volcano.

Although the war in the human realm is not yet over, given the foundation and strength of the Shang Dynasty, Kong Xuan truly does not believe that they are no match for Xiqi. He is certain to win this battle.

As for the immortals and saints, they cannot interfere because of the Dao Ancestor. There is no point in him staying in Chaoge any longer, so he might as well return to the Phoenix Clan for seclusion.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong led the elite troops of Chaoge to Tongguan, arriving in just half a month.

Upon arriving at Tongguan, they immediately summoned veteran generals such as Huang Feihu, Huang Gun, Han Rong, and Xu Fang to discuss and devise a series of ingenious plans, including the hidden tunnel in the northwest corner.

The following day, Huang Feihu led a large army to attack Lintong Pass.

In Lintong Pass, after Ji Chang's death, the morale of the army completely collapsed.

Fortunately, Ji Fa had accumulated a certain amount of prestige during the long war with the Shang Dynasty, and finally managed to control the army by relying on the connections left by Ji Chang!

In the midst of the chaos, they still managed to gather a large army and engage Huang Feihu in battle.

However, the Xiqi army was exhausted, their horses were tired, they were not well fed or warmly dressed, and with millions of soldiers crammed into one city, they had not seen any encouraging victories and were listless.

In contrast, the elite troops of the Great Merchant were all full of energy, each one capable of taking on ten men, and incredibly powerful, in addition to several siege weapons developed by the Great Merchant.

So even though it was the attacking side, it was the Xiqi army that fell in droves like harvested wheat.

The two sides fought fiercely for a day and a night, one defending and the other attacking, before Huang Feihu finally retreated!

In this battle, the Shang dynasty lost more than 10,000 men, while the Xiqi dynasty lost more than 50,000 men. Moreover, the Shang dynasty, as the attacking side, had gained a significant advantage.

After a three-to-five-day rest, Huang Feihu led his army to attack the city again.

This one lasted even longer than the last one.

However, the casualties were less than the last time, with only 8,000 soldiers lost. The total casualties in Xiqi were approximately 30,000.

At Lintong Pass, in the main hall of the council, Ji Fa's face was frighteningly gloomy.

On the table, the generals remained silent; the battle situation was far too difficult!

Xiqi is now practically trapped, and it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, for them to turn the tide.

"The only option now is to retreat," Ji Fa said with difficulty, then breathed a sigh of relief.

Retreat means abandoning all the captured passes: Sishui Pass, Jiepai Pass, Chuanyun Pass, and Lintong Pass.

Each pass is as formidable as a city; abandoning four passes is equivalent to abandoning four cities. One can imagine the inner turmoil Ji Fa felt.

But if we don't retreat, how long can we hold out here?

The daily cost of food and drink was astronomical. Only by escaping back to Xiqi and relying on the resources of the Shang Dynasty could they have a chance of survival.

"Go and make the arrangements. Three days from now, before the entire army retreats, set fire to the city. We will not leave a single brick or tile of Xiqi to the Shang Dynasty."

"Yes."

The generals rose to receive their orders and then withdrew from the main hall.

Ji Fa slumped into the chair and table, exhaling a breath of stale air!

Returning to Xiqi, with the foundation laid by the Ji family over so many years, there will surely be a chance for them to rise again.

The following morning, in Tongguan, Huang Feihu noticed that morale in Lintong Pass was low and keenly sensed that a great opportunity had arrived.

Two pre-prepared teams were dispatched, one led by Xu Fang and the other by Han Rong, to feint an attack to the east while striking in the west, targeting the northwest corner of the city gate.

It was night, and a full moon hung in the sky, casting its bright light, making the ground look like it was covered with a layer of silver frost.

Both teams of guards were dressed in cloth, with sharp blades slung across their waists and cloth shoes with multi-layered soles, moving silently.

Within an hour, Xu Fang's personal guards had infiltrated the northeast corner of the city gate.

The exit of the secret passage was located inside a very inconspicuous little hill.

Push aside the large stone, and you can see the northeast corner city gate a hundred meters away.

The northeast corner gate was heavily guarded by a large number of elite soldiers.

Without hesitation, Xu Fang led her personal guards out of the secret passage.

In an instant, shouts and sounds of fighting filled the air.

The general defending the city was startled and shouted, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Soon, the sound spread throughout Lintong Pass. Bo Yikao was furious. He never expected that there would be such a hidden passage in Lintong Pass. He hurriedly led his army to annihilate it.

Meanwhile, Han Rong's personal guard quietly appeared at the tunnel entrance, several hundred meters away in the northwest corner.

Because the northwest corner gate is backed by Chuanyun Pass, it is a place for retreat. If the enemy wants to attack, they need to strike directly at the heart of the enemy's territory from the front. Therefore, there are not many guards, only about a thousand people.

Three hundred elite guards, each highly skilled, began their assassination under the cover of night!

As the first rays of sunlight refracted onto the earth, a creaking sound came from the sky.

The northwest city gate suddenly opened, and then Wen Zhong led 10,000 fully armed cavalrymen who rushed in.

In an instant, chaos erupted at Lintong Pass, with sounds of fighting, cries for help, messages, and the clashing of weapons filling the air.

(End of this chapter)