However, the only way Deng Jiugong could dangle a reward before Kong Xuan was with an official post.
As for Deng Jiugong himself, he didn't really care about the position of Grand Tutor in Great Shang.
After Grand Tutor Wen's death, the post of Grand Tutor in Chaoge had been left vacant. Emperor Xin had previously promoted Deng Jiugong from General of Sanshan Pass to Marshal of Cheng Tang.
Earlier, in order to get him to take Xiqi, Emperor Xin had even promised him the position of Grand Tutor.
Perhaps the original Deng Jiugong would have valued that position, but the Deng Jiugong of now had no interest in it.
Only strength could give him a chance of surviving the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation.
Emperor Xin had dangled a reward before the original Deng Jiugong, and Deng Jiugong was now dangling one before Kong Xuan.
Although neither he nor Kong Xuan cared much for the reward, dangling it before him still represented a kind of trust.
"Rest assured, Marshal. With me here, the camp will be perfectly safe!"
Kong Xuan said.
"Good. I'm completely at ease leaving the camp's affairs in your hands!"
After saying this, Deng Jiugong walked straight out of the camp.
His destination was to go treasure hunting.
The system had rewarded him with a Treasure Map earlier, and he was eager to find out what kind of treasure he might discover.
In the royal palace of Chaoge!
Emperor Xin sat on the throne in Nine Chambers Hall, reading the military report Deng Jiugong had sent to him at top speed.
A moment later, Emperor Xin praised him again and again.
"Excellent! Very good! No wonder my Great Shang has had nine generations of loyal heroes. Deng Jiugong won this battle brilliantly!"
Emperor Xin was thrilled.
Even when Grand Tutor Wen was alive, he had never fought such a brilliant battle.
Especially after Huang Feihu's defection, Great Shang's strength had been severely weakened.
On top of that, Grand Tutor Wen had fallen not long ago, and Great Shang's fortune had plummeted even further.
Now, Deng Jiugong had given Emperor Xin hope.
"Your Majesty, what did Marshal Deng say in his report?"
The many ministers below asked, puzzled.
They had not seen the king this happy in a long time.
They simply didn't know how Deng Jiugong had defeated Xiqi.
"Marshal Deng's report says he killed one of Xiqi's generals, Dragon Beard Tiger, who was also a disciple of Jiang Ziya!"
"Besides that, Deng Jiugong wiped out several thousand of Xiqi's elite soldiers."
As Emperor Xin spoke, his face lit up with joy.
Xiqi had fewer than ten thousand elite soldiers, all carefully selected and trained. Some of them even possessed cultivation.
Each of these elite soldiers could take on several ordinary troops.
Originally, if Tu Xingsun had captured Deng Chanyu, Jiang Ziya could have led those several thousand Xiqi elites, with Yang Jian, Nezha, and Lei Zhenzi at their head, to defeat Deng Jiugong's three-hundred-thousand-strong army.
But Tu Xingsun had failed to capture Deng Chanyu and had instead lost several thousand elite soldiers.
What's more, Tu Xingsun had been captured by Deng Jiugong, and Deng Jiugong's son, Deng Xiu, had castrated him.
Deng Jiugong's son, Deng Xiu, was surprisingly capable!!!
"However, Deng Jiugong actually punished Deng Xiu by confining him for a year!"
Emperor Xin thought to himself.
That was the one thing he felt was a little inappropriate.
He had only castrated an enemy general. What did it matter?
Hadn't Deng Jiugong's punishment been a bit too harsh?
Still, Deng Xiu's actions had violated military discipline, so Emperor Xin couldn't say anything.
Though this was a matter of state, it was also a family matter for Deng Jiugong.
Deng Jiugong had severely punished his eldest son, and naturally, Emperor Xin couldn't interfere.
However, Deng Jiugong's report didn't mention Kong Xuan at all.
He only said that although they had won a great victory, Xiqi had members of the Chan Sect bolstering its strength. If a Golden Immortal of the Chan Sect intervened, their forces would collapse, and Great Shang would be in danger!
In a sense, Deng Jiugong was also trying to make Emperor Xin feel the urgency of the situation and send Shen Gongbao to recruit people from the Interception Sect.
Now, everyone under heaven believed that King Zhou was unjust, the realm was falling apart, and of the three parts of the realm, two would belong to Zhou!
In other words, two-thirds of Great Shang's fortune had already been lost to Xiqi.
If Deng Jiugong's forces were defeated, there would be no one left to stop Xiqi's army.
At that moment, Deng Jiugong had left the military camp alone and was following the directions on the Treasure Map to search for treasure.
He had reached the True Immortal Realm and had only just broken through, so staying in the camp to enter seclusion wasn't advisable. Going out to gain experience now would do the most to improve his strength.
Besides, the higher one's cultivation, the slower one's progress. If he wanted to grow stronger quickly, he had to find a way to obtain cultivation resources.
Whoosh!
Deng Jiugong moved at incredible speed. The Five Elements Great Escape truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Powers. Even though Deng Jiugong was only in the True Immortal Realm and had only cultivated it to Minor Accomplishment, he still moved astonishingly fast.
Before long, Deng Jiugong landed in a mountain ravine.
Clouds and mist swirled through the ravine, making it seem incredibly mysterious.
As Deng Jiugong stepped inside, it was as if he had entered an illusion.
"This should be the place the map is pointing to."
Deng Jiugong murmured.
Deng Jiugong knew that after the world was created, countless treasures in the primordial world had been claimed by mighty beings.
By the time of the Investiture of the Gods, there were few treasures left in the primordial world.
This ravine was mysterious. No wonder no one had searched it out.
Then again, there might be some danger here.
Splash!
Just then, a four-clawed flood dragon rose from the ravine and lunged at Deng Jiugong, trying to swallow him.
Deng Jiugong was startled!
"Five Elements Great Escape!"
He suddenly unleashed the divine power and dodged the attack.
"Wretched beast, you're asking for death!"
If he hadn't dodged in time, the evil flood dragon would have swallowed him whole.
"I haven't tasted human flesh in a long time. Become my meal!"
The four-clawed flood dragon spoke, its voice filled with murderous intent.
Deng Jiugong then realized that his opponent was in the late Mystic Immortal Realm, more than one major realm above him.
Besides, flood dragons belonged to the dragon kind. Their bodies were covered in scales, their defense was formidable, and their attacks were fierce. An ordinary person who came to this ravine would be caught off guard and swallowed whole.
"Ding-dong! The host's current predicament has been detected. God-Tier Options activated!"
"Option One: The evil flood dragon is terrifying. Flee immediately. No reward!"
"Option Two: Slay the evil flood dragon and receive a Taixu Blind Box!"
Just then, the system's notification rang out in Deng Jiugong's mind.
Deng Jiugong was taken aback.
A Taixu Blind Box?
So far, Deng Jiugong had never gotten a blind box.
He was eager to find out what was inside!
"I choose the second option!"
Deng Jiugong thought to himself.
"Ding-dong! The host has made a choice. The reward will be granted after the evil flood dragon is slain!"
Before you continue