Little Annie Raises Hell at the Investiture Altar, and the Three Immortals Rebuke Two Sages

Mount Qi was the birthplace of Western Zhou, and was also known as Xiqi.

According to reliable rumors, the story seemed to have first spread among the gossipy aunties and busybodies in Xiqi City. They said King Wen of Xiqi had a daydream and discovered a new law of the universe: he dreamed that the sun and moon revolved around him, and that he, Ji Chang, was the center of the world.

Then, a lost bird of unknown origin flew to Mount Qi and cried out wildly every day. Shortly after, during the sixth ten-day period of Mengchun, five stars shone especially brightly above King Wen's house. Later, a phoenix flew over the capital of King Wen with a scroll in its beak. The scroll read, "The Yin emperor is unrighteous and has thrown the world into chaos. The stars' mandate has shifted; his reign cannot last much longer. The spirits have departed, and all the gods have fled. The five stars gather in the Chamber, illuminating the four seas."

After all those events had gathered momentum, Ji Fa succeeded to the throne, took the title Martial Lord, and raised an army to campaign against Shang. That eventually sparked the great war between Zhou and Shang and the calamity of the Investiture of the Gods...

As for why that bird had flown to Mount Qi to cry out, or why the phoenix had flown over King Wen's capital with a scroll in its beak, that was a matter of perspective.

In any case, the people of this world—especially those in Xiqi—wouldn't dwell on such complicated, philosophical questions. They certainly wouldn't suspect that someone had sent the bird to Mount Qi or sent the phoenix to distribute flyers in Xiqi City. They simply believed these were auspicious signs, messages from Heaven.