The Meat Grinder

When Lu Chuan and his father emerged from the courtyard, that stout gentleman was still persistently trying to persuade Jiang Ziya to get married.

Lu Chuan glanced back at the courtyard and asked, "Father, is our master named Song Yiren?"

He remembered that in the Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya indeed had a sworn elder brother named Song Yiren, a man of immense wealth who could be considered a tycoon.

Though the two were only sworn brothers, their bond was as close as siblings.

Jiang Ziya had studied the Dao at Kunlun for forty years; the first person he thought of after descending the mountain was this man, which spoke volumes about their friendship.

Furthermore, it seemed Song Yiren was the one who arranged a marriage for the seventy-something-year-old Jiang Ziya...

"You already know?"

Lu Liang looked at him, appearing quite surprised, but immediately cautioned him, "Remember, as a servant, you must never casually mention the master's name in the future."

A servant?

A strange glint flashed in Lu Chuan's eyes, but on the surface, he nodded calmly.

He then looked back at the courtyard behind him and sighed softly; he was now one hundred percent certain that he had ended up in the world of the Investiture of the Gods.

After returning to their room, Lu Liang went out to prepare lunch for them.

As for Lu Chuan, he remained somewhat dazed, sitting on the bed in a trance, feeling as if he had fallen into a misty, ethereal cloud.

Jiang Ziya?

The Chan Sect? The Jie Sect? The Great War of the Investiture?

The mere thought of these made Lu Chuan's teeth ache, for this war was truly tragic—one might even describe it as terrifying.

Yes, terrifying.

This war was also a tribulation.

A great tribulation that swept across the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and the Demon Realm, affecting all sentient beings within the six paths.

This catastrophe involved the gods in heaven, the people on earth, the immortals and demons of famous mountains, the Chan and Jie sects, and even someone from the Western Sect who would occasionally come to fish in troubled waters...

In the end, the situation became uncontrollable, with even several Heavenly Lords getting involved and entering the fray themselves.

One could only imagine the scale of this war when that time came.

However, among all these beings, humans were undoubtedly the weakest and at the very bottom of the hierarchy. He had heard that the fox spirit in the palace at Chaoge often ate human hearts and drank human blood...

Besides, how were these ancient wars fought?

With human lives—they were filled with human lives.

After a battle, which battlefield wasn't littered with corpses and flowing with rivers of blood? Thus, war required a massive supply of soldiers.

What if there weren't enough?

They would press-gang the able-bodied.

He was currently sixteen; when King Zhou and Xiqi eventually went to war, he would be in his prime and likely be snatched up as a conscript.

A sense of crisis instantly gripped Lu Chuan.

He had no desire to be some conscript or cannon fodder, sent to the front lines to throw his life away.

"How can I get Jiang Ziya to..."

Lu Chuan's eyes flickered as he pondered, "...teach me a few tricks?"

He knew that Jiang Ziya was no simple man.

Although he had not yet attained the Dao of Immortality, he was, after all, a disciple of the Primordial Heavenly Lord under the Yuxu lineage. His Daoist arts were astonishing, and he would eventually use the Samadhi True Fire to burn the sister of the fox spirit, the Jade Stone Pipa Spirit.

However, since he had just descended the mountain, the burning of the Pipa Spirit had not yet occurred.

Jiang Ziya's skills were formidable, and the backer behind him was as vast as the heavens.

If he could learn even the scraps from Jiang Ziya, it would likely serve him for a lifetime. If nothing else, at least he would be able to protect himself as a mortal.

That's right, his primary goal now was to become a mortal with the power of self-preservation and gain a firm foothold in this world.

He had only just awakened in this reincarnation and hadn't even had a good look at this world yet; he certainly didn't want to die again in a state of confusion.

As for participating in the Great War of the Investiture...

Thinking of this, Lu Chuan shook his head. "Is the business of dragons something an ant can interfere with?"

He wasn't belittling himself.

He was well aware that a mortal like him, in the context of the Great War, would at most be a tiny ripple in a vast ocean.

And this war was a meat grinder.

Look at the powerful experts of the Chan and Jie sects from the three mountains and five peaks—after being drawn into this grinder, how many walked out unscathed in the end?

Not to mention the Jie Sect, which suffered heavy casualties and existed in name only, even the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, who had the Primordial Heavenly Lord protecting them like a nanny, didn't they eventually have their three flowers atop their heads severed and their five internal spirits scattered?

Thousands of years of bitter cultivation and Daoist fruits were destroyed in this tribulation, leaving them to return to their mountains in dejection to close their doors and start over.

Furthermore, even Jiang Ziya, the protagonist with profound Daoist arts, endured the tribulations of seven deaths and three disasters during this great calamity.

He had died seven times!

If not for the protagonist's halo and a good master, Jiang Ziya would have been completely finished during the Investiture of the Gods. Of course, this just goes to show how important having a good master truly is.

Lu Chuan couldn't even dodge this calamity in time, let alone be foolish enough to run into it himself.

Of course, besides learning skills, Lu Chuan had a few little ulterior motives for seeking out Jiang Ziya.

That was, if he could pursue the Dao of Immortals, become an immortal, and attain eternal life, that would be simply wonderful.

In a world where both immortals and demons coexisted, if he didn't at least try to pursue the Dao of Immortals, he would be too embarrassed to have lived this life.

However, whether he could actually learn anything would depend on whether Jiang Ziya was willing to teach him.

"I will go find him tonight to ask to be his apprentice."

After pondering for a long time, Lu Chuan's gaze flickered, and he made a decision in his heart: Even if I cannot attain the Dao of Immortals, at the very least, I must beg him to teach me some skills for self-preservation.

The temptation of flying through the heavens, escaping the earth, and attaining eternal life was something few people in the world could resist.

Lu Chuan could not, and even the emperors of the mortal realm could not.

In the afternoon, while wandering around the estate, he heard some information from the idle chatter of the servants:

For instance, the beautiful Daji had already entered the royal palace;

Furthermore, she had caused the death of Queen Jiang and created the ancient, wicked torture of Paoluo;

And because King Zhou had killed the Queen's father, four hundred of the eight hundred dukes of Great Shang from the southeast had already rebelled...

None of these were minor matters.

Although the Great Shang was not yet on the verge of collapse and still maintained its rule over the world, it could not stop the murmurs of the people.

He returned to the small courtyard he shared with his father and bumped into Lu Liang, who was just about to head out.

Lu Chuan asked, "Father, where are you going?"

"Looking for you! Where did you go? You've only just recovered, and now you're nowhere to be found."

Lu Liang said with a tone of reproach, "I've already brought food and left it in your room. Eat first; I have some business to attend to over there."

Without saying much more, he hurried away.

However, Lu Chuan could clearly feel the concern hidden within his words.

By the time he finished eating, it was already pitch black outside.

Following the route he had memorized during the day, Lu Chuan felt his way through the darkness until he arrived outside Jiang Ziya's courtyard.

"Oh, my dear brother, stop being so stubborn. Why not just take a wife, have a child, live a peaceful life, and leave an heir for the Jiang family?"

The voice of Song Yiren could be faintly heard from inside, trying to persuade Jiang Ziya.

Still trying to persuade him?

Lu Chuan, perched on the wall listening, couldn't help but smile. He was somewhat moved by Song Yiren's persistent spirit.

This was a brother who truly lived up to the name.

Even though they were only sworn brothers, Song Yiren was so worried about Jiang Ziya's marriage prospects—he probably wouldn't be this concerned even for his own biological kin.

But if you want Jiang Ziya to carry on the family line, you should find him someone younger! Finding him a sixty-eight-year-old woman—how is he supposed to carry on the line?

However, since Song Yiren was still there, it wasn't appropriate for Lu Chuan to enter just yet, so he squatted on the wall beside the courtyard gate, watching the stars and the moon.

After waiting for a long while, just as Lu Chuan was beginning to doze off, Song Yiren finally stood up, bid farewell to Jiang Ziya, and left.

"Who is at the gate? Come in!"

Just as Lu Chuan was hesitating about what to say once he went in, Jiang Ziya's voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard.