The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 118 - 117 Please Teach Me, Ancestral Master

Chapter 118: Chapter 117 Please Teach Me, Ancestral Master

A few of them chatted, and Yang Jian laid out Ji Fa’s entire plan in great detail.

The main point was that relationships differed by closeness or distance.

Helping Ji Fa was just work, but helping Nezha was personal; not to mention Nezha helped investigate that year’s incident for him. On top of that, his younger sister was working under Nezha’s command—if she worked hard, maybe they’d even end up as family someday!

Jinzha and Muzha were not well-versed in such matters; they merely thought that Yang Jian was grateful to Nezha, so he acted so favorably.

The two did not make things difficult for Yang Jian. They knew that although Yang Jian possessed an array of magical treasures, if a fight truly broke out, the two brothers together would likely not stand a chance against him.

Thus, they politely said, "This time, Brother Yang may have made a fruitless trip. The Nanbo Marquis has already secretly pledged allegiance to Nantang, so the two of us are stationed here."

Yang Jian nodded and agreed readily.

Seeing him being so agreeable, one of them prepared a table of fine wine, sumptuous dishes, and rare spirit fruits to host him.

The other rode the clouds back to Nanchang to report the matter to Daji.

After much contemplation, Daji said, "No need to worry. Qinyang is ours to claim; under no circumstances can it fall to Xiqi.

Second Brother, return and wait for the moment. If Ji Fa dares to attack Qinyang despite knowing it has pledged itself to Li Tang, we’ll cut off his supply routes.

In addition, I will dispatch Father-in-law to gather troops and provide reinforcements.

Should a battle truly erupt, both you and our eldest brother must prioritize your safety above all else."

Daji’s words were flawlessly spoken, leaving Muzha very satisfied with his sister-in-law. Saying a single "Well done," he returned to Qinyang.

Daji, however, proceeded to visit Lady Yin. Lady Yin flew through the night on her cloud to rendezvous with Li Jing at Three Mountains Pass.

The two of them worked tirelessly through the night, organizing their forces and setting out for Qinyang City soon after.

....

Yang Jian drank through the entire night with Jinzha and Muzha. The three, all Chan Sect disciples of good breeding—coupled with their mutual connection to Nezha—found the evening’s conversation most enjoyable.

While Yang Jian was enjoying their company into the late hours, Ji Fa spent a sleepless night, fraught with worry.

Though Ji Fa was not skilled in cultivation, his deep insight into human nature allowed him to gauge the attitudes of other Chan Sect disciples toward Yang Jian and deduce that Yang Jian was highly capable. And yet, Yang Jian had not returned.

Could Qinyang be some treacherous dragon’s lair or a den of formidable masters?

Had his judgment been terribly flawed?

At dawn the next day, Yang Jian departed Qinyang and wandered about for a while to rid himself of the lingering wine fumes, before finally returning to the Zhou Camp.

Seeing Yang Jian’s excited expression, Ji Fa hurried forward and supported Yang Jian, who was bowing, saying, "You nearly scared me to death, General Yang! I thought you had encountered danger."

Yang Jian silently withdrew his hands and said, "Last night, I went only to find myself trapped in an array. I gave it my all but failed to break free.

Later, I learned that the ones who had set up the grand array were none other than the two elder brothers of the Great Sage Master.

Fortunately, given that we are all Chan Sect disciples, they allowed me to return and sent a message with me: the Nanbo Marquis has pledged himself to Nantang and will no longer obstruct West Zhou’s campaign against Shang."

Ji Fa harbored no doubts, as he’d witnessed Nezha’s abilities firsthand. If these were Nezha’s older brothers, even if their skills were slightly inferior, they couldn’t be far off.

It was understandable that Yang Jian was no match for them.

Pacing around the command tent for a long while, Ji Fa finally gave the order to retreat.

No matter the plans or the cost expended, retreat!

However, Ji Fa was not the kind to take such losses quietly. Three days later, the entire battlefield of Zhou and Shang knew of Nanbo Marquis’s defection to Li Tang.

Shen Gongbao’s immediate reaction was to send someone to command the new Nanbo Marquis to deploy troops, as doing so would demonstrate his loyalty and also conveniently supplement the Asura clan’s sacrificial offerings.

By this time, Li Jing had pushed forward rapidly, arriving at Qinyang in haste.

E Laoer, deeply brainwashed by his elder brother and further influenced by his own wild imagination, idolized Old Li in every way imaginable.

He personally went ten miles out of town to greet him.

As for troop deployment, forget it! That wasn’t going to happen!

That very day, the flag was changed, and he directly hoisted the "Li" family banner.

The confrontation between Shang and Zhou abruptly lost its intensity. Nantang, after years of silence, once again faced the battlefield head-on, though the current situation was radically different.

From previously fretting over how to defend, Nantang had now become a powerful deterrent to both sides.

It could be said they had advanced tremendously.

Ordinarily, the involvement of a third-party force would immediately cause the two belligerents in a conflict to halt their fighting or at least exercise restraint to avoid being overrun and utterly crushed.

Under Jiang Ziya’s leadership, the West Zhou forces had indeed begun to restrain themselves, avoiding unnecessary engagement.

But the Asura clan simply didn’t play by normal rules. What third party? If you dare show up, then we’ll slaughter you too—it’s all the same, you’re all enemies anyway!

An Tuo Jia only concerned himself with the actions of his superiors and couldn’t care less about those beneath him. The West Zhou forces found themselves forced into fresh clashes yet again.

Li Jing, observing the Shang-Zhou war from a distance, was no stranger to the horrors of battle. As a seasoned general, he had fought through countless campaigns. Yet even he was moved by the Asura clan’s cruelty.

What kind of monsters were these? They weren’t even human—just beasts!

Nonetheless, his position was now entirely different from before. No matter how deeply he pitied anyone, he knew these were matters beyond his responsibility.

Every day he strolled about with the Linglong Pagoda and his troops, tempering the soldiers’ willpower. Having studied the book "Battle Array" for years, he possessed an exceptional talent for it.

But his observations during one such outing uncovered a problem.

In the Primordial realm, Immortals typically stored their magical treasures within their Divine Souls or used other means to conceal them, only bringing them out for critical fatal strikes.

But Li Jing was different. To him, the Linglong Pagoda wasn’t a mere magical treasure; it was Saint Taiqing’s acknowledgment of the Li family!

How could he possibly store it away?

He had to hold it up reverently, as if paying homage to an ancestor!

At night, not only would he pray to it, but he’d also chat with it.

Believing himself a disciple of the Human Sect chosen by their ancestral Saint, given his lack of notable talents, he resolved to maintain the utmost humility and gratitude.

It must be said that Li Jing’s mindset aligned perfectly with that of an old bureaucrat—a killer in the realm of officialdom.

Did Saint Taiqing value mere cultivation prowess?

In his eyes, aside from the other Five Saints, there wasn’t much difference in strength among the rest of the beings in this world—they were all like ants.

And who’d bother comparing the size of ants? What he valued was attitude.

Couldn’t Saint Taiqing reclaim that small amount of merit with a simple wave of the hand?

And yet, he hadn’t done so.

Li Jing didn’t even need to refine the pagoda—it obeyed his commands the moment he grasped it.

While holding it, he often felt his spirit platform become extraordinarily clear, his comprehension greatly heightened, and his energy renewed in all pursuits.

As a result, he noticed faint traces of black aura pervasive across the battlefield.

Although he couldn’t definitively say what it was, he found it deeply unsettling and knew it couldn’t be anything good.

After asking his subordinates and discovering they couldn’t see the black aura at all, he immediately realized it was due to the pagoda in his possession.

Based on Li Jing’s current standpoint, he shouldn’t interfere in the war between Zhou and Shang. The more vicious and protracted the fight, the better it was for him.

Yet, he couldn’t shake the conviction that the ominous black aura was an abomination, and the slaughter should cease at all costs.

Li Jing refrained from making a unilateral decision. Late that evening, he recounted his observations and concerns about the black aura to the Linglong Pagoda.

Finally, he pulled out two bone fragments with one side flat and the other convex and silently prayed in his heart: "Ancestral Saint, your disciple Li Jing cannot bear to see the masses suffer further carnage, yet as a servant of Li Tang, I am at a loss on how to proceed. Please guide me."

Having said this, he knelt before the pagoda and tossed the bone fragments repeatedly.

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