While Chaoge was in such turmoil that the sky itself seemed about to be overturned, Wang Yuan's Immortal Mountain remained a tranquil haven of leisurely peace.
Except for Jiang Ziya.
Every day, Hu San Mei and the others came up with new ways to train him. He was tormented to the brink of death, suffering beyond endurance.
"Grandma, Grandma, it hurts... Please spare me..."
"Ah—don't hit my face..."
"Mom, I want to go home..."
Jiang Ziya cried so miserably that those who heard him wept, and those who saw him mourned.
Wang Yuan secretly curled his lip in disdain.
That was it?
That was it!
How could the man destined to preside over the Investiture of the Gods endure so little hardship?
Wang Yuan lay on a cushioned couch, squirming around for ages before finally finding a more comfortable position. He sipped at some delicious Immortal Apricot Juice.
So this is the man of Investiture of the Gods? I could do it too.
The only problem was that he could not cultivate.
Wang Yuan clicked his tongue disdainfully. "Look at you. You're acting like torture is cultivation."
Oh no, how had he accidentally said what was on his mind?
Jiang Ziya stopped crying and looked at him with an aggrieved, indignant expression.
"You all carry on..." Wang Yuan said with an awkward laugh, then strolled into the house with his hands behind his back.
The rattan whip in Hu Jiu Mei's hand immediately came down on Jiang Ziya.
"Why are you still looking around? Hurry up and cultivate!"
Pipa and Zhi Zhi squatted beneath a tree, cracking melon seeds as they chatted.
"Zhi Zhi, do you think Big Sister might beat him to death?"
"Probably not. He looks thick-skinned and sturdy. He should be able to take it, right?"
"Big Sister scares me now. I'm terrified she'll give me a lash like that too."
"Me too. I never realized Big Sister was this violent before."
Watching Hu Jiu Mei wield her whip in the distance, Pipa cautiously shrank her head back. Big Sister was terrifying.
Hu Jiu Mei knew nothing of her two younger sisters' private remarks. All she wanted now was to teach Jiang Ziya into immortality as quickly as possible so she could claim Wang Yuan's reward.
Time passed unnoticed in the mountains.
Half a year flashed by.
Under the unrelenting training of Hu Jiu Mei, Pipa, and Zhi Zhi, Jiang Ziya finally pulled himself together.
After undergoing inhumane Devil Training, Jiang Ziya finally shed his mortal body and became immortal on the spot.
Dark clouds churned above the Immortal Mountain. Terrifying flashes of lightning flickered within the layered clouds. His tribulation of immortality had arrived!
Wang Yuan was startled. Eh, why is it about to rain again?
Strangely, the dark clouds gathered there for ages, yet not a single bolt of lightning fell. Instead, the clouds dispersed on their own.
The imposing lightning tribulation that had been building up for so long simply fizzled out.
Jiang Ziya was bathed in golden light. Shedding his mortal flesh, he finally attained the immortal path.
Eh, that wasn't right. Where had this smell of fox musk come from?
Wang Yuan suspiciously looked at Hu Jiu Mei.
Hu Jiu Mei hurriedly explained, "Celestial Immortal, I am already a Heavenly Immortal. I can control the scent within my body and keep it from spreading. It definitely isn't me."
"Then what's going on?"
"It... it should be Jiang Ziya."
Huh? So Jiang Ziya looked all dignified and upright, but secretly...
Eh, wait, why had Jiang Ziya grown a tail?
As the golden light faded, Jiang Ziya's body was revealed.
He looked the same as before, except that three snow-white tails swayed behind him in the wind.
Confused, Wang Yuan hurriedly asked Hu Jiu Mei, "Jiujiu, what's going on?"
After hesitating for a moment, Hu Jiu Mei said, "It should be because I had him cultivate the Mount Tu Cultivation Method. After becoming immortal, he became a demon immortal. Once he shed his mortal body, his new immortal body turned into a demon form."
Huh? A human-demon?
The Primordial World was really exciting. People in the Primordial World really knew how to have fun.
Fine, fine. Demon immortal or human immortal, it did not matter as long as he had become immortal.
Wang Yuan rubbed his chin, and his thoughts involuntarily turned to his great nephew.
That guy had been at the Qi Induction Stage half a year ago, and he was still at the Qi Induction Stage now. What a useless piece of trash. Should he toss him to Hu Jiu Mei and the others for some training too?
Tongtian was sitting cross-legged in his Dao Field on Golden Turtle Island, deeply immersed in cultivation, when he suddenly sneezed several times in a row.
"Achoo—achoo—achoo—"
Tongtian opened his eyes, utterly baffled. Could a Sage catch a cold too?
It seemed he needed to visit Uncle and mooch something to strengthen his constitution.
Mm, once I finish cultivating this technique, I'll go mooch some good stuff from Uncle!
Jiang Ziya stared blankly at his hands, unable to accept it for a moment.
I... became immortal? I! Became immortal!
Jiang Ziya was so excited that tears filled his eyes.
He had spent forty wasted years under Yuanshi Tianzun and only formed a Golden Core. Yet after suffering for half a year in Senior's mountain, he had become immortal.
The immortal path he had dreamed of day and night for forty years was within easy reach here with Wang Yuan.
Jiang Ziya now firmly believed everything Wang Yuan had told him before.
Yuanshi Tianzun must have deliberately plotted against him, intentionally giving him a flawed cultivation method.
And yet he had respected Yuanshi Tianzun as if he were his own father.
Eh, wait? Why had he grown tails?
Jiang Ziya suddenly discovered in horror that three snow-white fox tails had appeared behind him.
With a thud, Jiang Ziya dropped to his knees. He crawled on his knees to Wang Yuan, hugged Wang Yuan's thigh, and burst into loud sobs.
"Senior, save me! I don't want to turn into a demon!"
Wang Yuan's face darkened. How was this guy, at his age, still like a child, crying at the slightest thing?
Hu Jiu Mei was irritated by his crying and said grumpily, "Enough, enough, stop crying. You cultivated demon arts in a human body, so you can't become a true demon. At most, you're a human-demon."
Jiang Ziya saw the light again and repeatedly said, "Human-demon is good. Human-demon is good."
Judging from that Senior's expression, human-demon did not seem like a good thing, but at least it still had the word human in it.
As long as he was still human, that was enough.
"All right, get up. Do you believe what I said now?"
Remembering what Wang Yuan had once told him, Jiang Ziya's face filled with grief and indignation.
That damned Yuanshi Tianzun had never intended to let him become immortal from the start. He had not taught him anything worthwhile. He only wanted Jiang Ziya to quickly carry out the Investiture of the Gods on Heaven's behalf and complete his scheme.
Jiang Ziya was filled with resentment. You plotted against me, so I'll betray the sect!
"Senior, I've decided. I want to leave the Clarification Sect and serve under you instead. Please accept me."
Wang Yuan hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
Was Jiujiu no longer pretty? Was Pipa no longer graceful? Or was Zhi Zhi no longer sweet?
He would have to be out of his mind to let an old man like him serve him.
"In my view, staying in the Clarification Sect would be the greatest revenge against Yuanshi Tianzun."
Jiang Ziya did not understand. "Senior, why do you say that?"
"You should become an undercover agent in the Clarification Sect. On the surface, get along well with everyone there, but secretly find ways to send them all onto the Investiture of the Gods. Once the Investiture War ends and Yuanshi Tianzun realizes what happened, the entire Clarification Sect will have only a handful of stragglers left. That would be the best revenge against Yuanshi Tianzun."
Jiang Ziya's eyes lit up. As expected of Senior!
Before you continue