Portal:Investiture of the Gods/Chapter 64

This chapter is titled "With the Left Arm of Fire, Yin Jiao's Ambition Tears Apart the House of Zhou". At the immediate report that a man of Taoist appearance had appeared before the Shang encampment and called for the prince to appear at once, Yin Jiao understood the probability that his master may have arrived, and thus took leave from his head camp presently following. Bowing in traditional manner to his master, Grand Completion, as he took leave from his place of residence outside the encampment, the latter immediately demanded the reasoning behind why he has chosen to fight against the "will of Heaven" and stay the hand of Prime Minister Jiang Ziya in a manner that defies his former words of conviction. Unhesitatingly replying that he had been enlightened by "Master Shen Gongbao", who had evidentially informed him of the rebel commander's cruel murdering of Yin Hong and his terrible forms of leadership and administration that had only led to the forces of Shang vieing their very lives just to destroy him, declared that it his ultimate "duty" under the footsteps of his ancestors to wipe out the false "will of Heaven" and become the new ruler of the country after he slays Jiang Ziya and King Zhou in the name of the people. Grand Completion, seeing that Yin Jiao was resolute beyond change to slay Jiang Ziya out of mere words declared by the swindler Shen Gongbao, charged his blade at the young prince, declaring that the Prime Minister never possessed the slightest of intention to kill Yin Hong, and that if he does not repent in his general way of thought, he shall be unmercifally slain without a moment of hesitation. Yin Jiao, seeing that his master had no evidence to back his statement involving the rebel commander, realized that Grand Completion is fully determined to destroy their relations of disciple and master through a completely irrational basis, and thus unleashed his legendary halberd, for the sake of living on with his ambitions than to die by the sword of a fool. As the stone dragon present on Yin Jiao's halberd began to wrap itself tightly around Grand Completion's arms as the two individuals clashed their respective weapons, Grand Completion managed to flee upon a beam of light at the very moment at which the prince was suggestively posed to unleash his Heaven Overturning Stamp.

Relating the incident involving his attempt to win the prince over, and the detrimental resolution that followed, as he returned to the side of Jiang Ziya, Burning Lamp presently appeared before Grand Completion and Prime Minister Jiang Ziya within the head mansion of Phoenix City, with declaration that he has come for the sake of capturing the "lamp flick", and thus easing their current troubles. Following this declaration, Burning Lamp specifically told the Prime Minister a plan that will result in this "Ma Shan"'s capture: A plan that was put into effect the following morning at the immediate brink of dawn. At such a set moment in time during their arranged trap, Ma Shan exited the camp of Shang as Yin Jiao received report on Rebel Commander Jiang Ziya's arrival, to which he allowed the former leave upon the prospect of what will be shown to the populace if a mere bandit in the mountains were to single-handedly wipe out the reputed "receiver of Heaven's will", thus backing his standing with complete evidence of his truth of word. But Yin Jiao decided to additionally send a unit of one-thousand soldiers in order to ensure that the commander does not attempt any trickery that cannot be retorted alone. Returning to the confrontation between both Ma Shan and that of Jiang Ziya, the Prime Minister, according to the original plan, violently lashed about his Staff of Beating Gods in a manner that greatly angered Ma Shan to the point that Jiang Ziya was essentially able to lure the former to the southeast following a sudden retreat. Ma Shan, not intending to allow the rebel commander's blatant intentions of ambush get the best of him during such a pursuit, ordered his 1,000-strong unit to split into two halves, forming a pincer-formation that will crush upon the opposition from both sides, while Ma Shan heads the middle with a handful of spear-armed soldiers. As the pursuers advanced to a region lush with willow trees on all sides, Ma Shan noticed Jiang Ziya escape behind a certain man sitting under one of these trees, who immediately blocked Ma Shan's pathway of pursuit after the Prime Minister had passed. This man, who was known other than that of Burning Lamp, recognized the pursuer as being his lamp wick, following a moment or two of consideration, and thus dropped the glazed container atop Ma Shan, putting the latter into frenziful fear before being physically manipulated by the container's magic -- which forced him to return to his original form, and rendering him methodless to any potential escape. The soldiers of Shang, seeing their commander bested by a man of completely new appearance and ability, fled back to their respective encampment in prospect that they could surely not have any greater of chance to seize the life of the rebel commander with such circumstances in play.

As Burning Lamp had presently taken leave to Mount Divine Hawk after being pleased at the results of the Ma Shan incident and the evidential backing that he will possess in the future by using this happening for the betterment of his reputation, and that of Prince Yin Jiao, the soldiers of Shang had meanwhile returned to the side of their prince, and relayed the unfortunate happenings to that of Ma Shan: A report that filled Yin Jiao's heart with utter remorse and made him resolved more than ever to tear apart Jiang Ziya in a battle that will prove descisive to his name. Burning Lamp, who had safely escorted the Prime Minister within Phoenix City prior to his return to Mount Divine Hawk, arrived before the head mansion and relayed his report on successfully subdueing Ma Shan. Receiving written letter via messenger presently following, the message stated that Prince Yin Jiao demands Jiang Ziya to an unconditional battle on the frontlines as vengeance for the stated loss of Ma Shan. the Prime Minister, recalling the ability that he can effectively wield if he were to utilize the power of his Yellow Apricot Flag, unhestitatingly gathered forth a large armada before exiting the gates of Phoenix City at the moment to which the army of Shang was advancing from the east. As the two forces confronted each other in mere moments, Yin Jiao wrathfully lashed his halberd at the rebel commander with an intense showing of skill, while Wen Liang used his Jade Ring to negate the power of Nezha's Universal Ring. Unfortunately however, Yang Bliss mutually assisted Nezha in the form of using magical pellets that were of equal power to that of Chanyu's, resulting in Nezha seizing many opportunities to strike consecutive blows upon Wen Liang's body with his fire-tipped spear; and after several strikes to the chest, the warrior under Shang toppled to the ground, spurting blood in every direction as he let loose his last few breaths in despair. Meanwhile, during the prince's clash with the rebel commander, Yin Jiao unleashed the power of his Heaven Overturning Stamp; but to his immediate dismay, Jiang Ziya unraveled the Yellow Apricot Flag, which caused the stamp to consistently spin in the air without causing any effect to his body in the form of its gravitational pull. Being suddenly charged at by Yang Bliss, who wielded his longsword with great aggravation, Yin Jiao became very flustered at his clear detriment in such a situation, and thus retreated after receiving a critical blow to his back by the rebel commander's staff, retreiving the stamp before departing in unparalleled rage. Zhang Shan and Li Jin, who additionally suffered from similar circumstances at the same present time, followed their prince's lead, retreating back to the camp of Shang after covering their retreat with large clouds of dust that they spread through the air.

As Yin Jiao returned to his inner quarters that evening, he publicly burned incense within the central camp of Shang, weeping over the death of his head-general, Wen Liang, and the additional passing of his right-hand comrade, Ma Shan, who both assisted him like true warriors beneath the name of the greater good. As Zhang Shan and the soldiers alike began to express inner sorrow at the death of these two leaders, a man of Taoist origin had arrived before the Shang encampment with request to confront Crown Prince Yin Jiao. Being allowed entrance, this man, who declared himself to be "Luo Xuan, the Burning Flame Immortal from Fire Dragon Island", informed the prince that he has arrived after being asked to assist the cause of Shang by none other than Shen Gongbao. Yin Jiao, who immediately realized that the man to which Shen had specifically stated would support his name has finally arrived to uphold the will of the people, entertained Luo Xuan with great generosity, knowing that Phoenix City's declared survival date has expired, and that it shall be burned to ashes by all means with the use of this new subordinate. Unfortunately however, Luo Xuan declared that his comrade, Lu Huan, has yet to arrive; and Yin Jiao was thus forced to wait an additional two days before the latter finally showed, handing Luo Xuan many additional magical weapons as they prepared to attack the city that afternoon.

At the brink of dawn the following morning, the two Taoist warriors were entirely prepared with their set strategy, and thus challenged the gates of Phoenix City only to to be confronted by Prime Minister Jiang Ziya in short measure. As the two forces became aligned before their respective opponents, Luo Xuan was already angry at being humiliated to a certain level at his comrade's late showing, and vented such a rage by charging through the Zhou army ranks, violently clanging his duel Flying Smoke Swords against the rebel commander's mere longsword, who was naturally taken aback by such an unexpected display of speed. Being immediately retorted by Yang Bliss, Huang Tianhua, and others, while Liu Huan meanwhile evaded many attacks from Nezha's spear, Luo Xuan realized that the matter needs to be settled with the utmost of swiftness, and thus assumed a form at which he possessed two additional heads and four additional arms, effectively allowing him the control of multiple weapons at one time. Jiang Ziya, seeing a moment at which he could seize to strike upon Luo Xuan in his transformed state, suddenly wipped his staff in combination to Yang's Sky Barking Hound, startling Luo Xuan for a mere instant, and giving way to many consecutive blows from other soldiers within the neighboring terrain: A lucky blow that forced the enraged warrior to retreat in grave pain, as Lu Huan respectively reciprocated his comrade's action after being overpowered by Nezha's new boost in morale. The two Taoists thus made their way within the encampment of Shang, and naturally fumed in great measure at their carelessness in the former feud, resolute to turn all of Phoenix City into nothing more than flames within death after being told of Yin Jiao's sworn intentions. As Yin Jiao was naturally more than inclined to answer the resolve of his subordinates after being unexpectedly forced to delay his plans for two additional days, the prince equipped the two warriors with countless arrows supplied by Zhang Shan; and by the second watch of night, Luo Xuan and Liu Huan strode from the Shang encampment atop their respective steeds, laughing in confidence at the prospect of their vengeance, and upholding the intentions of their leader at the same time.

Arriving before the gates of Phoenix City under the darkness of night, Luo Xuan and Liu Huan slew every guard on patrol with incredible swiftness before unleashing their Cloud Raising Smoke above the enemy city, sending over ten-thousand flaming arrows spraying down within the terrain beneath, causing countless buildings to be set aflame, while the Zhou soldiers within the first district began to flee in great panic at such a fierce situation. As Luo Xuan thus gave the signal for an all-out attack upon Phoenix City's inner district, he stated that--upon the order of Yin Jiao--all civilians are to be safely escorted temporarily from the city without harm, while any soldier of Zhou that does not express submission to the name of the crown prince is to be slain without hesitation. Upon this order, over 100,000 soldiers of Shang respectively burst forthward, invading the enemy city with immense speed and morale. As the men and women, young and old, began to be safely distributed outside of the city for the time being while the majority of the soldiers sprayed onwards to smite upon the forces of Zhou, who immediately began to retaliate in full force, Luo Xuan resolutely charged like a beam of light across the battlefield, atop his flaming steed, slaying legions of enemy soldiers with a mere few turns of his Flying Smoke Swords and the compounded power of his Five Dragon Wheel. King Wu, who took notice of the disastrous circumstances within his city, fell to the ground and prayed for the Heavens to grant him sympathy, while Jiang Ziya and his superiormen stood with astonishment, deploying many units of archers and swordsmen to reinforce the frontline defense. Luo Xuan, who single-handedly slew over 10,000 soldiers of Zhou, presently advanced before many architectural buildings of great stature, tore them to shreds of rock with the burning grip of his fire dragons, and absorbed the fire within the first district, distributing it before the noble grounds to protect what remained of the civilian homes. Now taking notice of the head palace of Zhou, and the Prime Minister's mansion that neighbored it, Luo Xuan and Liu Huan advanced with greater speed only to be confronted by a young celestial woman known as "Princess Long Ji", who had arrived at a prior time to assist the regulation of the agriculture within Phoenix City's region of farming. As she began to spread the Mist Dew Universal Net over the city, effectively ceasing any fire that was originally distributed by the two enemy celestials, Luo Xuan angrily turned at the woman, knowing that she will be a nothing more than a nuisance, and must be eliminated if he is to progress upon the Zhou mansions.

Approaching Long Ji's position and hurling his Five Dragon Wheel at the latter, upon approaching her position, Ji unveiled her Four Sea Vase, absorbing the wheel and all other fire arrows that Luo Xuan deployed following this humiliating display of retortion. Liu Huan, who was equally enraged at the effectiveness of this woman's item, charged upon Long Ji only to be smitten in half by her Double Dragon Sword. As Luo Xuan became mixed with emotions of rage, frustration, and fear, at the sight of such crucial circumstances, he hurriedly merged his remaining Sky Shining Stamp into the blades of his duel Flying Smoke Swords, causing the swords to consistently glow with immense light and burst with flaming smoke. Resuming his three-headed, six-armed form, Luo Xuan thrashed his blades at Long Ji like a madman, but was overpowered by her enormous Double Dragon Sword, and was consecutively beaten back at every attempt. Charging her sword into Luo's flesh and then striking dead his steed with a single stroke, Luo Xuan realized the situations as being dire, and thus ordered his soldiers to retreat back to the Shang encampment with every civilian and head of the enemy soldiers slain. Protecting the masses with an enormous barrier of fire to cover their essential retreat, Luo Xuan, with resolute vengeance, charged deeply into the neighboring mountains to detour all pursuers, slaying each and every scout and soldier encountered and healing his wounds for another immediate attempt on the city. Meanwhile the following day, the many soldiers of Zhou reported the great renown displayed by Princess Long Ji to Prime Minister Jiang Ziya, who in return granted her due rank and was well-pleased with her having appeared for his mutual sake. Now that Luo Xuan had his strength re-gathered after devouring a tiger whole and consuming an additional elixer pill, he summed up his energy and began to make his way back to Phoenix City only for a man of old age to appear beside his pathway, singing heartedly with unknown reasoning. Seeing that this man had an aura of great strength as he carried a long halberd, and wore a distinctive cloud-shaped helmet above his brow with the symbol of Zhou placed therein, Luo Xuan knew that, he being alone, it is of the upmost importance that all his strength is reserved for the sake of destroying Phoenix City and the assassination of Jiang Ziya, and thus gave a bow of respect followed by declaration that he is a new recruit of the Prime Minister and has been ordered to carry a missive to the city of Zhou, relating that a terrible incident involving some form of detriment had taken place within Phoenix City the night before, and he, by the order of his master, has been sent for the sake of its essential protection. Showing the false decree to this man, who was none other than Li Jing, father of Nezha, Luo Xuan began his way to the enemy city without harm or suggested suspection.

封神演義/卷064