The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 45 Jiang Ziya’s Second Death

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Jiang Ziya’s Second Death

After spending over ten days probing Xiqi’s strength, Lu Xiong finally decided to stop playing chess with Jiang Ziya and resolutely called upon the Four Saints for assistance.

Just from their title alone, you can tell these four are complete noobs. Which self-respecting immortal has the audacity to go around with a nickname like the Four Saints?

And who in their right mind names their treasures things like Heavenly Creation, Earth Breaking, or Chaos Origin Treasure Pearl?

Sure, they sound formidable, but can you handle the karma that comes with it?

In short, they’re just fringe Jie Sect disciples with no real experience.

Now, these self-absorbed "Four Saints" might not have much clout among immortals, but against mortals, they’re a totally different story.

When the two armies faced off, the four made a grand, boisterous entrance. Even the aura unleashed by their mounts—each carrying a touch of abnormal beast bloodline—was enough to send the Xiqi troops into chaos.

Seeing this, the four laughed maniacally. Honestly, they shouldn’t be called the Four Saints—they’d have a better chance at survival if they called themselves the Four Arrogant Lunatics of Nine Dragon Island.

Jiang Ziya, who was currently leading the military campaign, was an old fox and quickly sized up their personalities. First, he humbled himself and showered them with flattery.

As for the absurd demands from the Four Arrogant Lunatics, he nodded and bowed on the surface. What he really thought? Who knows.

The four were so puffed up by his compliments that they blatantly ignored Lu Xiong’s orders and returned to camp.

"Bring on the finest wine and meat for us!"

"We came here to help, and you think we won’t enjoy ourselves a bit?"

That evening, Xiqi held a major meeting. Since Jiang Ziya hadn’t yet mastered the Chan Sect’s signature "Shaking People" skill, he simply made a beeline for Kunlun’s Yuxu Palace to consult his master.

"You told me to conquer Yin Shang, but now I can’t beat them. Give me some practical help, Master!"

When Jiang Ziya arrived at Yuxu Palace, Child Bai He was already there waiting, expressionless, greeting him with a curt "Uncle Jiang" before leading him to Yuanshi Tianzun.

As soon as Jiang Ziya saw the waiting Child Bai He, he knew things were looking good for him this time.

Yuanshi Tianzun did not disappoint. He gave Jiang Ziya the mount "Four Unlikes." This thing was undoubtedly a divine beast, but Yuanshi Tianzun found it too ugly and unmajestic. "Here, have it!"

With this, Jiang Ziya no longer needed to fear the fierce beasts on the other side. "Alright, now you can go back down the mountain."

Jiang Ziya’s trip could be considered quite fruitful, couldn’t it?

On the way back, he "coincidentally" encountered Bai Jian, a general under the Yellow Emperor. After a brief conversation, Old Jiang more or less figured out how to make use of this pawn: "Go build the Sealing God Platform."

Soon after, he "just happened" to bump into Long Xuhu.

In the original canon, Old Jiang at least had a few third-generation disciples of the Chan Sect helping him. Now, not a single one is in sight. Nezha is busy comprehending the Dao in Pangu Hall; Jinzha and Muzha, though now masters themselves, aren’t about to leave their own initiatives to work for free—why would they?

So, Old Jiang didn’t turn up his nose at this R-rank card, Long Xuhu. He decided to make do with what he had for now.

Riding Four Unlikes, accompanied by Long Xuhu, and armed with the God Beating Whip, Old Jiang might not have resolved Xiqi’s current crisis yet, but he certainly didn’t return empty-handed.

When he got back to Xiqi, he put on the air of a man completely in control. Facing the expectant gazes of Xiqi’s people, he first flaunted his newly acquired divine mount, Four Unlikes. Then, he exhibited the divine artifact, the God Beating Whip, and finally made a grand introduction of Long Xuhu.

After an exaggerated round of self-promotion, even the normally clueless Long Xuhu started feeling fired up. He slapped his chest proudly and declared, "I’m super strong! Just watch me tomorrow!"

Jiang Ziya, meanwhile, maintained his pose of confidence—but as for the specifics of his plan? He had no idea.

Three days later, the two armies clashed again. This time, Jiang Ziya abandoned his previously obsequious demeanor and instead let loose a torrent of insults. The stark contrast enraged the Four Arrogant Lunatics beyond measure.

The four first signaled for their mounts to intimidate the enemy warhorses. Then their leader, Wang Mo, charged forward with a massive treasure sword in hand, shouting, "Brothers, watch as I take Jiang Ziya’s dog head! Hahaha!"

The other three actually stayed back laughing, not moving an inch.

Lu Xiong could only shake his head at this sight and waved his battle flag, ordering the entire army forward.

Chaos erupted on the battlefield, but no one could stop Wang Mo. Ordinary attacks couldn’t penetrate his Water Element Garment defense. In contrast, Wang Mo’s sword slashes left either grave injuries or death in their wake as he cut through the ranks, heading straight for Jiang Ziya.

Seizing the moment, Jiang Ziya threw out the God Beating Whip, but Wang Mo quickly dodged it with a backbend, even taking a hit from a nearby soldier’s sword to evade.

Seeing the God Beating Whip fail, Jiang Ziya immediately spurred Four Unlikes to flee. And Four Unlikes, being intelligent, turned its head and bolted.

Enraged, Wang Mo abandoned everyone else and gave chase. But his chariot, infused with some Bi’an beast blood, couldn’t match the high-performance Four Unlikes in a pursuit.

As he watched Jiang Ziya getting further and further away, Wang Mo activated his mana and summoned a treasure bead, launching it at him.

Sensing the incoming threat, Jiang Ziya ducked just in time to avoid it. But Wang Mo quickly formed a hand seal, causing the Heavenly Creation Pearl to change direction and slam into Jiang Ziya’s chest.

Poor Old Jiang, low offense and low defense, had no treasures to protect him. One hit, and he was dead—his soul returning straight to Kunlun Mountain.

With the death of their Heavenly General, the Zhou Army fell into utter disarray. Amid the chaos, Long Xuhu dropped his rocks and, while taking a hit from the Heavenly Creation Pearl, carried Jiang Ziya’s body back to the city.

They quickly shut the gates and raised the ceasefire token high.

At that time, warfare among nobles wasn’t as ruthless as it would be in future eras. Seeing a ceasefire token raised, unlike today’s absurd fear of unspoken rules, people would genuinely stop fighting.

In essence, it was about etiquette among the aristocracy. Chances are, after tracing family lines, they’d find they were all related somehow, so exterminating each other wasn’t the name of the game.

News of Jiang Ziya’s death quickly reached Chaoge, bringing Wen Zhong immense joy. With this front stabilized, he could finally deal with the perpetually slacking Zhang Guifang.

As a military bigwig, how could Wen Zhong not know about Zhang Guifang’s laziness? He simply hadn’t had time to address it. But now that the situation in West Zhou was under control and victory seemed inevitable, it was time to deal with his own camp’s slackers.

First, Zhang Guifang received a scolding—though it couldn’t be too harsh, lest it drive him away. Then, Wen Zhong planned to replace the commander while making it clear: "If you won’t do it, someone else will!"

To bolster support, Wen Zhong sent three skilled mystics to reinforce the campaign: Hong Jin, Tu Xingsun, and his junior nephew, Yu Hua.

Two were Jie Sect disciples, and one was a Chan Sect disciple. Why was Tu Xingsun even in Yin Shang’s camp? Well, he was simply a power-hungry and lustful man. Nothing surprising about that.

...

Meanwhile, back in Pangu Hall, Nezha had been meditating for who knows how long, finally reaching a plateau. Continuing further wasn’t impossible, but with his current level of attainment, he might not fully comprehend what lay ahead. After all, your perspective is tied to your height. Despite having the Creation Jade Scroll as a cheat, Nezha’s cultivation base was still too low.

Waking up, Nezha refrained from excessive greed and decisively left the hall where he’d been cultivating.

Outside, he turned back to look at the entrance, which appeared to be an unremarkable cave. Two Witch brothers who had been guarding the outside took a good, long look at Nezha before shaking their heads and sighing, "It’s okay, Nezha. Even if your appearance isn’t very striking, with your martial prowess, you’ll definitely find a suitable girl."

Originally in a good mood, Nezha’s face darkened instantly. "No wonder you guys are stuck guarding the gate."

Nezha didn’t bother arguing with them. He bid farewell to the tribe leader once more; now that his matters in the Pangu Realm were done, it was time to depart.