Chaoge, the royal city.
Inside a secluded great hall.
King Zhou radiated a formidable presence. At the sight of Wen Zhong below him, he could not help smiling.
"Grand Preceptor, you arrived at just the right time. Come with me to Nuwa Palace shortly."
"Wait, Your Majesty. Please use Great Shang's Dragon Aura to establish an Isolation Barrier. Your subject has something to report."
At those words, King Zhou's expression grew solemn.
Without wasting a word, he waved his hand. The Kongtong Seal on the table, the supreme treasure that anchored the Human Race, instantly flew out and threw the heavenly secrets into disarray.
At that moment, even a sage could not eavesdrop on their conversation.
Wen Zhong dared not delay. Only after casually laying down a formation did he recount everything he had learned from Tongtian, then take out the Nine-Layer Soul-Locking Pagoda.
After hearing him out, King Zhou was utterly stunned.
Of course, he had long sensed that Xiqi harbored rebellious intentions, but he had never imagined that this involved the great tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, or the struggle between the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect.
It was clear.
The Chan Sect had chosen Xiqi.
And the only ones supporting their Great Shang were the Interception Sect!
King Zhou naturally did not doubt Tongtian. As a sage, he had no need to deceive him.
Thus, without another word, he refined the Nine-Layer Soul-Locking Pagoda and placed it within his Purple Mansion.
Even that did not feel safe enough. King Zhou decided that he had best carry the Kongtong Seal with him as well!
In the past, King Zhou would never have done such a thing. As the Human King, he truly feared no one upon the land beneath his feet.
Thus, although the Kongtong Seal could anchor Human Fortune, it had always remained in the royal city.
Given the present circumstances, he felt it was better to keep it close.
In his view, the Human Race was heaven's destined protagonist, after all. With the Kongtong Seal on his person, even a sage would find it no simple matter to scheme against him.
"Your Majesty, everything at Wa Huang Palace is ready. You may depart."
Just as Wen Zhong and King Zhou finished their conversation and dispersed the formation, Fei Zhong and You Hun walked in.
At the sight of those two treacherous villains, Wen Zhong's expression soured.
Still, he truly did not consider either of them worth his attention.
After all, he was the Grand Preceptor, truly beneath one man and above ten thousand.
Added to that was King Zhou's trust, and with Tongtian having intervened, the king could no longer make any grave mistakes.
Under such circumstances, those two fellows were merely insignificant figures.
Wen Zhong did not care about them at all.
Of course, this was also because Wen Zhong knew that King Zhou had kept those two villains around precisely to make them carry the blame.
Since King Zhou still had a use for them, Wen Zhong was all the less likely to act against them.
"Come, we're going to Wa Huang Palace!"
King Zhou's gaze was impassive, his imposing aura immensely powerful.
As the Human King, he had learned of this matter in advance. He also had the Nine-Layer Soul-Locking Pagoda bestowed by Tongtian, along with the Human Race's supreme treasure of merit,
the Kongtong Seal.
Even if a sage personally plotted against him, he feared nothing.
King Zhou then seated himself in his royal carriage, accompanied by all the Shang Dynasty's ministers. About half a quarter-hour later, they arrived at Wa Huang Palace.
By then, the gates of Wa Huang Palace stood wide open.
When King Zhou arrived, the clergy of Wa Huang Palace were already waiting at the hall entrance to welcome him.
"We pay our respects to Your Majesty!"
At King Zhou's arrival, all the clergy of Wa Huang Palace bowed and spoke.
"Rise!"
King Zhou spoke indifferently.
Then, following the ancient rites, he began the grand ceremony of worship at Wa Huang Palace.
Everything seemed perfectly calm.
But just as King Zhou was about to offer incense, a strange gust suddenly swept in, blowing away the gauze that veiled Nuwa's stone statue.
For a hazy instant, King Zhou saw what seemed to be strands of divine light radiating from Nuwa's stone statue.
Her smiling face was radiant and beautiful.
Boom!
The Nine-Layer Soul-Locking Pagoda instantly unleashed its might. Rays of divine radiance burst forth, purging the strange thoughts from King Zhou's mind and completely sealing his Sea of Consciousness.
When King Zhou looked again, it was nothing more than an ordinary stone statue.
Holy hell!
At the sight, King Zhou instantly recalled Wen Zhong's warning.
They're already making their move?
Before King Zhou had time to think, the Kongtong Seal flew out of his robes on its own. It hovered in the air, releasing boundless divine radiance.
Endless strands and wisps of merit xuanhuang qi cascaded down, engulfing King Zhou entirely.
The Shang Dynasty's fortune golden dragon also erupted from Chaoge, surging forth to encircle and protect the entire Nuwa Temple.
Ghosts and spirits could not trespass; all evil recoiled!
Why did the sages have to wait until King Zhou of Shang came to Nuwa Temple to offer incense before scheming against him?
The reason was simple.
Yin Shang's royal city was guarded by a fortune golden dragon, and Yin Shang's fortune was still at its peak.
Under such circumstances, even if the sages acted in person, the instant they entered the royal city, they could not unleash so much as a trace of their full cultivation.
The Human Race was heaven's destined protagonist, and Yin Shang represented the Human Race in the present age.
As King Zhou of Shang, Di Xin was blessed by Human Fortune. Even the sages could not act with impunity.
In this age, there were only Human Kings and Human Emperors.
The title "Son of Heaven" only came into use after the Zhou Dynasty began.
The Human King had become heaven's son!
It had to be said that this was a bitter irony.
Yet the current King Zhou of Shang of the Human Race would not even permit King Zhou of Shang to act with impunity.
According to the original course of events, Nuwa Temple was far from the Human Race's royal city. Yin Shang's fortune golden dragon had no time to react, and the Kongtong Seal was not
at his side.
Before the fortune true dragon and the Kongtong Seal could react, King Zhou of Shang had already taken up his brush and written that poem.
In an instant, Yin Shang Fortune plummeted, leaving it even less able to shelter King Zhou.
But now, things were different.
Because Tongtian had intervened, King Zhou of Shang had the Nine-Layer Soul-Locking Pagoda protecting him. The Kongtong Seal he carried had unleashed its might instantly, and Yin Shang's fortune
golden dragon had rushed over as well.
At that moment.
Even if Hongjun acted in person, he could do nothing to King Zhou of Shang.
Not to mention that Hongjun had merged with the Dao and could not interfere unless the greater course of events was involved.
"Heh. Interesting. Truly interesting."
"I, Di Xin, never imagined that my identity was so important."
"The sages really have racked their brains to scheme against me!"
Ignoring the horrified faces of the countless high ministers of Yin Shang behind him, King Zhou remained calm. After offering incense to Nuwa according to the proper rites, he turned and walked straight out.
As a sovereign, King Zhou of Shang was naturally a man of deep calculation.
Even though the sages had plotted against him, and anger burned in his heart, he would not let it all show on his face.
Until he was ready, King Zhou did not mind playing the meek grandson.
After all, it was only an incense offering. It would not cost him a scrap of flesh.
King Zhou was the Martial Emperor. He had campaigned against Gui Fang, conquered Western Qiang, and annihilated Nine Miao. Even Yin Shang's great enemy, the Eastern Yi, could only tremble before him.
An emperor with such illustrious martial achievements, who had not yet fallen victim to the sages' schemes...
His mind was clear now. Since he knew he could not defeat the sages, he naturally would not readily hand them anything to use against him.
He could manage playing the meek grandson.
He left Wa Huang Palace just like that and took his royal carriage straight back to Chaoge.
The other loyal ministers of the Shang Dynasty, though they possessed little magical power themselves, were well acquainted with the various immortals and gods.
After all, countless members of the Interception Sect served within Yin Shang.
Thus, they naturally understood that King Zhou's behavior just now meant he had indeed suffered a strange attack.
But since King Zhou said nothing, they could hardly say anything either.
Before you continue