Portal:Investiture of the Gods/Chapter 66

This chapter is titled "A Hero Vows Redemption Upon a Moonlighten Night; A Dragon of Justice Rises from a Sea Filled with Shame". As the unfortunate prince experienced unparalleled pain in such drastic circumstances, he wasted little time in using the Heaven Overturning Stamp to free his lower body from the mountain's grip; and as he was thus free, he swallowed another silver elixer pill to heal his broken body, at which he then mounted his cloud and continued to the east. To his continued detriment, however, mist as white as snow suddenly blinded his eyes from the recently experienced dark of night, as he continued, followed by four metal chains, which lunged from the terrain beneath, wrapping around Yin Jiao's heels and throwing him to the ground. As he struggled to break free from this hold, the chains suddenly began to expand from the earth, wrapping themselves around both of his legs as if being that of a snake. Using his Soul Dropping Bell to stall the chains from expanding to even greater lengths--even though still presently remaining tight around his body--Jiang Ziya suddenly appeared before Yin Jiao's face, content with having captured the runaway prince. Unfortunately for the prince, he had tredded upon a mountain that distinctively possessed metal chains beneath the earth that could be effectively controlled by the hands of any member of Jie Taoism; and as Jiang Ziya had specifically constructed this mountain solely for protecting the lands of the Western Foothills from a neighboring distance, he allowed Yin Jiao to continue on his pathway to the east without having to stop him with his own hands -- which was unexpectedly an impossible task otherwise. Presently, King Wu appeared atop his stallion--having been stationed upon a neighboring vicinity for viewing purposes before Yin Jiao's capture--with Grand Completion by his side. Approaching the captive and being told who he was, King Wu forced the Prime Minister aside and kneeled before Yin Jiao, stating that he would gladly give his life and suffer for 10,000 years in the face of the latter's humiliating condition, while ordering Jiang Ziya not to harm the prince in any form. In retortion, Jiang Ziya boldly stated that even though Yin Jiao is a status symbol before the entire country and its inhabitants, he has opposed the "Will of Heaven", and thus must be put to the sword in the name of true justice. Even with consecutive orders to pardon Yin Jiao from such a fate, the malignant Prime Minister refuted every request, handing Grand Completion his sword, to deliver the fatal blow.

With readiful resolve to put an end to his dangerous disciple--who could risk the entire death of the Western Foothills if allowed to live--Grand Completion presently approached the captive with sword in hand, while Yin Jiao, frantic to escape such circumstances, for the sake of his ambitions and the will of the people, suddenly revealed the Heaven Overturning Stamp within his sleeve, striking it before his master's face and causing the latter to flinch with an intense gravitational pull upon his body. As Yin Jiao immediately followed with a slash from his golden halberd, Grand Completion, with tears gushing from his eyes, shattered the former's blade to pieces with his right arm, and extending his fatal blade with the right, piercing Yin Jiao's throat and rendering his body motionless. Remaining upright after such a fatal blow, Yin Jiao eye's gazed resolutely at his master with the final remaining moment of life that he still possessed, while he dropped the activated Heaven Overturning Stamp from his hand, stepping upon it with his feet; and as it hit the ground, the metal within the mountain equally reacted to the immediate change in pressure, causing the terrain to immediately collapse in a large ripple effect as the magical energy transfered through the metal, as if being electricity. As Yin Jiao unleashed one final grin of achievement right before death, the mountain collapsed in all entirity, causing Jiang Ziya and the others to be buried like sand from within. Alas! Yin Jiao thus died, remembered by the people of China as a true hero, sacrificing his every ounce of life energy to destroy the country's evil in the face of the suffering populace and the war-torn hearts of all that inhabit it.

As Yin Jiao's spirit took flight through the skies and gazed down upon the enormous reckage as a result to the mountain's collapse, the prince was justifiably infuriated that his ambitions have been evidentially sullied, but was still relieved that the rebel commander is indeed dead, allowing him some form of opportunity to easily take the Western Foothills if any new body is to be found. In resolution to this, the first worry that struck Yin Jiao was seeing whether his respectable comrades had succeeded in their initial defense of the Shang encampment; but as he arrived to inspect, corpses laid desolate along the region's perimeter, with his encampment having been breached and desolated in all entirity. Seeing the evidence that many soldiers of Shang had scattered to variable distances after the dominant use of fire, Yin Jiao wrathfully altered the clouds of the sky and uprooted neighboring trees, as he loudly lamented the death of his fellow allies. Following this incident of lamenting, Yin Jiao realized that some form of gravitational force was pulling him in the direction of the east, and nonetheless resisted such a force, arriving before the grounds of Capital Morning Song and searching widely for his father, who he intended on seeing, as opposed to initially killing him, which would provide a heavy weight of populace support to the side of Zhou, considering that his aspirations to be seen as the country's influence would be harmed by such circumstances, and recovery would be almost impossible. Therefore, Yin Jiao eventually found his father--who was presently dozing off by means of heavy drinking outside the Happy Terrace--and stood before his father, informing him of his identity, the past circumstances taken place within the Western Foothills, and that the able and powerful should be convinced to negotiate and tear apart the Zhou influence -- for by no other means is such a resolution possible. Following this, Yin Jiao created an enormous gust of wind, soared through the skies, and arrived before the Terrace of Creation in which his body was innately drawn towards; at this initial point in time, Yin Jiao allowed himself entry within the terrace, after being elaborated to by the guardian, knowing that even with Jiang Ziya dead, he did not possess any actual body or magical item to reinforce his authority. The crown prince thus took rest, vowing upon the moonlighten night that he would rest for the time being, awaiting the moment in which he will be able to reinforce his eternal ambitions once again.

The following morning, King Zhou sat concentrated on the message that he received from his "deceased" son, but nonetheless grew frenziful when receiving an urgent report that stated that Crown Prince Yin Jiao was indeed present on the battlefield; and as the worst possible circumstances would have it, he and that of Zhang Shan had both been killed while in the ultimate attempt of destroying the Western Foothills. Unhesitant to act in some means of retortion to this detriment, King Zhou immediately held a council within the Royal Hall, where he announced the entire situation before every minister, accordingly asking who should be chosen as the following expeditionary commander to enact vengeance. In response to this, Supreme Minister Li Deng stepped forward from the others, stating that Commander Hong Jin of Sanshan Pass possesses both unparalleled magicaly capability and is additionally successful in military strategy -- someone who should thus be employed and tasked with such an obligation. Initially accepting this recommendation, King Zhou sent a messenger with royal decree to Sanshan Pass, where Hong Jin accepted the proposal, equipped himself with the Commander's Seal and 100,000 soldiers, and appointed his subordinate--Kong Xuan--as Sanshan's new head guardian. He then took leave of the pass and lead his army towards the direction of the Western Foothills.

At the present time at which Crown Prince Yin Jiao gave his final stand by collapsing the Western Foothill's Guardian Mountain, Grand Completion and the others were initially buried by the rubble that encased upon them, but the former immediately deployed thousands of lotus flowers that protected them from the weight of the rocks' pressure, escaping with both Jiang Ziya and King Wu before any furthered amount of detriment could result. Regardless, both Jiang Ziya and Grand Completion were heavily wounded, and were thus handed by Zhou generals silver elixer pills that were retrieved from the fallen Shang encampment, which were previously identified by the Prime Minister as only being consumable by a man of immortal characteristics. The Zhou soldiers had also located the respective grave of Luo Xuan and freed the citizens that were held by Yin Jiao, so proclamations were immediately spread about the city that appeased the people from their strife, and reconstruction immediately took place within Phoenix City as many days passed by in conviction. Meanwhile, Hong Jin and his army of 100,000 had made their way deeply into the Western Foothills after a straight week of marching, where they presently made themselves an encampment secluded within a forest region that laid to the south. Scouts were then sent to report on the current circumstances present within Phoenix City. After some time, information had been received that many escorts of provisions, silver, and iron were being transported regularly, and many soldiers were being drilled apart from one another in variable regions, suggesting that the Western Foothill's were quick on their feet to ensure that further invasion was well-defended from, and that such an opportunity to strike shouldn't be avoided. Thus, Hong Jin distributed his soldiers to specific strategic positions, drilled the sword, bow, and spear units beneath his command, and ordered General Ji Kang to take the field the following morning. As dawn arrived the next day, Ji Kang marched a grand army of 70,000 soldiers before Phoenix City, ordering his soldiers to pounce upon its western gates and besiege it as quickly as physically employable. At this initial time, General Nangong Kuo charged through the gates that presently suffered from besiegement and furiously ordered his unit of 20,000 to fit arrows to their bows and barrage the Shang soldiers from the city's walls, additionally meeting Ji Kang one-on-one, prepared to fight to the death if the need be.

Ji Kang, relatively being overwhelmed by Nangong Kuo's stand of desperation and rage, presently recited many incantations, causing an enormous cloud of darkness to appear directly above his respective head, at which a wolf of bronze fur lunged from the darkness, piercing its fangs into Nangong's flesh and rendering him screaming in pain. Ji Kang then stabbed his sword relentlessly upon the wounded warrior, causing Sun Yanhong, who gazed at such a sight from the city walls, to spray an enormous torrent of fire down upon Ji Kang, who initially fled in great surprise at such a display, knowing that such a monster may have been the justification as to why the Shang encampment's remnants were found as being mainly nothing more than deeply incinerated ashes. Ordering his soldiers to retreat less they were to be killed in mass by this incredible beast, Ji Kang and the Shang army fled the day, and Nangong Kuo was immediately carried back into the Zhou encampment, where he was treated. As the circumstances involving Sun Yanhong's appearance was presently reported to Hong Jin after the time at which Ji Kang effectively returned to his commander's encampment, Hong Jin was delighted that the source of the previously seen catastrophy had now been filled in with partial evidence, and he thus chose to send General Bai Xianzhong to due battle the following day with 10,000 pikemen and crossbowmen alike, while meanwhile forming a fixed strategy on how to destroy such a beast and its conspirators.

As the warrior of Shang approached Phoenix City's gates, he aligned his pikemen in a pincer formation, while his respective bowmen formed towers out of mounds of mud in the rear, so as to have a mounted position that would allow them to spray upon the enemy soldiers like rain. With these formations having been aligned, Deng Jiugong alone commanded a frontal army of half the number; and after failing in the controversial attempt to convince Xianzhong that his course of action will only result in death, Deng Jiugong fearlessly charged upon the enemy's pincer formation, ordering his fire-arrow ambush units on his right and left to clear a pathway of fire that would separate the opposing pikemen from his body. As the pincer formation became distorted by this show of unexpected bravery, Deng Jiugong whipped his noble steed until he obtained great agility, at which he closed in upon the enemy commander--who remained at the middle--and felled him in a single cut of his blade, presently fending off volleys of arrows at the same initial time. As Deng Jiugong ordered his soldiers to then begin to spray their flaming arrows upon the mounds of mud, the morale of the Shang soldiers diminished, and they fled back to their encampment while Jiugong took the enemy commander's head and made his return to Phoenix City, much to the praise of Jiang Ziya, who ordered the head to be hung upon a pole before the city gates as a showing of their conviction. As Hong Jin was naturally distressed to hear of such a detriment upon hearing report, he still relatively harbored a very keen interest in the capable men of the Western Foothill rebel faction, and more than anything desired to visit their city personally, where he would be able to engage in some form of controversy.

The following day, Hong Jin equipped his body with full-plated armor and led an enormous front before the eastern gates of Phoenix City; and as Jiang Ziya and his men exited the city gates to repel this enemy force, Hong Jin took notice of the rebel army being of perfect discipline, consisting of many a general and celestial, who showed such a look of resolve and furiosity that the Shang commander grinned in admiration. Approaching Jiang Ziya and receiving his name with full respect, Hong Jin began by informing the Prime Minister that he has been sent by royal order of King Zhou to cease their rebellion and make ultimate peace between both of their respective factions.

"I am Senior Advisor of the Leftern House, Hong Jin, and I come before you today to put forth an agreement that can settle our differences in a manner differing from lowly barbaricy. As I see that your army is of perfect discipline and formation, yet you carry the name of a rebel, it is obvious that you possess hatred towards the name of King Zhou and intend on his overthrownment. Now would it ultimately benefit your position by using moral influence to strengthen the swords of your soldiers and create a furthered amount of chaos in this country? I see such an action as being nothing less than folly, as you and your people consider yourselves men of peace that await the times, but in reality, you are treacherous snakes that wish to bite back at your master! Have you taken into consideration the consequence in acting in such a manner? You may possess the capacity to overthrow the dynasty and declare yourselves as heroes, but is barbaric violence truly something that you should carry out as if being nothing less than a normality? In the name of justice, I cannot allow someone such as yourself to destroy the Shang Dynasty and bind the people's minds to petty delusions of grandeur and peace. If you value your life and the hearts of your people, I order you to throw down your weapons and speak of submission: for what can animals such as yourself perform against men of my ability, other than using celestials as tools to carry out your own evils?"

Smiling with an aura of great resolve, Jiang Ziya responded: "So, the common class general of the Shang forces declares me as being a rebel of the country and someone who should ultimately be eliminated for the sake of the greater good. I am nothing more than a simple Taoist-man that has risen up in the name of Heaven, and I will strike down anything that opposes such a will, even if I am forced to destroy every last one of your kind with the sword that rests at my side. The will of Heaven is vast, and I am the figurehead of destiny that has been ordered to strike down the evil Shang Dynasty and its ruler, so that my benevolent ruler King Wu can rise up and rightfully claim the throne as his! You state my intentions as being nothing less than a passing whim held by a barbarian, yet how can you deny the resolve of my blade as being delusions of peace when I possess the full capability to create such peace?! I am a ruler among men, and nothing can deny what I have chosen to do for this country, as my actions will create a future that everyone shall prosper from, no matter what needs to be sacrificed within the process. My people fight as my arms and legs, and I treasure them the same: How can one such as yourself dare talk of justice when my actions are for righteousness and universal happiness!"

Laughing aloud in full determination, Hong Jin boldly stated: "So it seems that you believe yourself to be a hero of the common man, and use your direct followers as evidence to prove that what you are doing is for the best possible resolution to the present circumstances. Is that not nothing less than truly pathetic--eh? You foolish ape for a human! It seems that no reason can diminish that disparity within your breast, and that you are determined more than anything to bring this country to a greater height of chaos, simply due to your own petty views of justice! Righteousness, love, honor, resolve -- are these words that you truly believe will somehow save the people from their consistent despair, and that you will be seen as a hero among men? Listen to reason, you useless old fool! Even if you are able to destroy the Shang Dynasty with the backing of those evil righteous-driven celestials, think that I will simply stand down and allow your actions to pave a pathway of destruction through this country, in face of my ultimate duty and reputation beneath the sword of Shang?! If you refuse to set aside your delusions even in the face of reason, then I have little other choice then to show that my blade has been carved from the blood of thousands of rebels, and you shall simply be another corpse that litters the death-paved ground of shame once my justice tears open your very heart!"

With these words having been spoken, Hong Jin resolutely ordered his pikemen and spear units to charge to his right and left as they advanced to the enemy's position from the front; his bowmen would begin to construct forts to the south and north to use as fortifications; and the mounted cavalry would create a wide pincer formation around the rebel army, expanding the effectiveness of Hong Jin's forward charge. As Hong Jin neared Jiang Ziya's position, he would be momentarily confronted by the 72nd son of King Wu, known as Wu Shimeng, who was naturally of intense physical ability, and thus subsequently able to beat back Hong Jin's assault with only a small unit of soldiers. Seeing that this new foe possessed a high level of strength to back his resolve, Hong Jin concluded that such a confrontation would not prove fruitful by means of his own martial prowess, and he thus gave a signal with his right hand before stabbing his silver flag into the ground, at which he ran inside of a void door that appeared to his right. With this void door having been opened, Wu Shimeng knew not what fate would befall him if he were to enter; but as such circumstances opened an opportunity for him to potentially seize the head of the enemy commander, he unhesitatingly charged onward through the door. Little could he actually comprehend, however, is that Hong Jin immediately took to hiding as he was present within his void; and by the time at which Shimeng had entered, the Shang commander's cutless fell upon him like a heavy guiotene, slicing the general into two vertical halves and subsequently placing fear into the hearts of Jiang Ziya and each of his subordinates.

As Hong Jin exited his void door and resumed it to its original state as a flag, he began to loudly boast before Jiang Ziya: "You stated earlier that you possess the full capability to create peace within this country, yet how can one deny the power that I wield as being something subtle and easily conquered, even as one of your men have now reached River Sphynx and cry out in resent at their own unknowing! If you wish to take my life and continue with your petty ambitions of grandeur, then call forth those worthless celestials of chaos and use them to your present advantage, otherwise the scent of blood shall echo throughout the countryside as my blade erases your every cell of existence! Don't take me lightly, you barbarian: I have slain thousands of rebels with this resolved sword of justice, and your streaming blood shall simply be another passing page in history, while I shall be looked upon as this country's true hero!" With this having been spoken, Hong Jin re-awakened his void door and disappeared within, concentrating every ounce of his magical energy to sprout from the ground beasts comprised of dark matter, who roamed across the battlefield in enormous number, tearing apart soldiers of the Rebel Army limb by limb. As these beasts were a part of Hong Jin's subconscious, he was forced to remain in a meditative state while within the void; but with Deng Chanyu's immediate and brave showing of agility, she was able to scatter many soldiers of Shang before entering the door that held the commander, barraging him with a multitude of reinforced pebbles and subsequently causing Hong Jin to yell out in thriving pain and despair. Attempting to grab ahold of her body with his Hands of Darkness, he had already maxed out the majority of his remaining energy and struggled in such an attempt, causing Ji Kang to initially pierce forward like a shadow and purge the entire battlefield in mist. Taking ahold of his wounded master while in the midst of such a showing, Ji Kang ordered a full-scale retreat back to their encampment, thus scoring for Jiang Ziya a moderate but resentful victory.

As Ji Kang and the rest of the Shang forces had returned to their respective encampment, Hong Jin had immediately treated his wounds with advanced medicine and rested for the evening, vowing that he would unconditionally dispose of the woman that had given him such deep wounds, ultimately for the sake of his credibility. Acting upon these words, Hong Jin departed from the encampment the following afternoon, taking with him a 3,000-strong unit of archers to back his assault, determined to solely tear apart Deng Chanyu, the woman who had humiliated him so deeply. As Hong Jin appeared before the eastern gates of Phoenix City shortly following and ordered the appearance of the "rock-throwing whore", Princess Long Ji, who had taken ear to the ability of Hong Jin's flag and had happened to possess a weapon that could counter such a detriment, rode from the city gates and confronted Hong Jin upon Jiang Ziya's consent. As Hong Jin was both enraged at the fact that Deng Chanyu refused to show her face, but satisfied that he could enact his revenge on another respective arm of the rebel commander, he initially awakened his void and ran inside, preparing to unleash the largest amount of dark energy that he could sum forth, tearing his enemy into pieces. To his shock, a large silver portal carrying Princess Long Ji was suddenly awakened from within the void, and she strode outside with incredible speed, smashing Hong Jin's back with such force that his armor shattered to pieces, additionally throwing him a great distance before he had reattained his footing. In a state of great panic, Hong Jin abandoned his flag and fled to the north on his mount, ordering his 3,000 archers in ambush to unleash volleys of arrows at Long Ji, who was presently in pursuit at the rear. Returning to a natural state of mind and fully confident that the woman could never survive such a heavy onslaught, Hong Jin steadied his horse and turned to look at his opponent; but to his intense fear and dismay, the Shang soldiers fell in masses as Long Ji unleashed from her magical vase an enormous sum of fire, which had been originally obtained during Luo Xuan's former attack upon Phoenix City. Gazing all around him and seeing trees falling apart with flames scattered to the very skies, Hong Jin, no matter how bold, wished to live another day, and frantically sped his horse to the north until he had reached the North Sea, at which he dismounted, throwing into the waters an imperial seal that was granted to him by noble birth, carrying with it the will of ancestors.

As the waters began to part from one another with violent waves churning consistently, an enormous guardian dragon leaped from the depths of the ocean, allowing Hong Jin to mount it as if he were its master. With Long Ji having caught up to him his position, Hong Jin stood atop his beast and loudly proclaimed before his opponent: "You are a mere tiger that has been uncaged by a rebel who wishes to overthrow the country, and you still consider yourself as being superior to I, a man of true noble birth who even the skies proclaim as their equal! Is the present situation not anything less than laughable?! I am a man that has been chosen by the Shang Dynasty to lead the masses to unconditional victory, never severing my path of duty nor giving up in the face of any opposition! You on the otherhand are nothing more than a test-animal who has been granted supreme power at birth, while at the same time you prove yourself as being too incompetent in knowing how to wield such a power, even to the extent that you shamelessly attempt to take the life of one such as I, known by all as a man of justice! If you give in now and show to me that your life is better off saving than to meet a humiliating death in the face of service beneath a deluded man of the common class, then I shall treat you as if you are my own right arm, an individual who deserves respect and gratitude, and someone who is treasured by the people alike as being a hero that has awakened from ignorance.

My ancestors have long been known throughout the land as prodigies, individuals of both great talent and respect, and saviors of nations and kingdoms, never allowing themselves to falter or give in to unfavored circumstance, but living on to fight for their resolve another day, destroying any opposition to the throne and securing themselves as men of true repute! Set your eyes upon reason and become a beacon of light as my ancestors have shown themselves to be: only then shall you make a name for yourself in this pathetic country gutted with every whim of evil and become a figurehead that is deserving of praise and power! My conviction for the people has never decayed even after so many years of service beneath a land dreaded with incompetency: think that I will simply give in to a force driven with nothing else than unconditional barbarity and lose an opportunity at guiding the masses with the power and authority that resides within these very fingertips?! The circumstances are futile for any means of victory, as even the gods have answered my noble call, and together we shall both strike down the evil in this country and blossom the future as a sword of unparalleled conviction and truth!"

In response to this, Princess Long Ji approached the sea that stood before her and casted into it her own hereditary seal, effectively summoning forth an enormous dolphin-like creature that bordered the size of Hong Jin's dragon. Mounting her respective beast, Princess Long Ji began to shout: "As you are indeed a man worthy of my respect and admiration, I shall tell you my name and title. I am none other than other than the daughter of Golden Mother of Jade Pond, Princess Long Ji, wielder of the 10,000-armed vase! Now that you are competent of my position in this world, by what means could I betray the expectations of my mother and all who serve under my right arm, simply to save my own present life? What you state is not the present way of things, as Jiang Ziya is a man guided by Heaven, destined to allocate freedom to the people and reign forth an era of unparalleled peace! No matter how noble you believe yourself to be, the will of my lord and the aspirations of the people are something that you shall never understand, and the waves of the time shall ensure that a person of greater capability rises up and seizes peace for all, and that man is Jiang Ziya! How dare you speak of delusion when you yourself are the one who is ignorant of the present circumstances! I refuse to give in to your swindler ways of trickery!"

"It is a sad state of affairs to see a woman of your beauty succumb to such a shallow understanding of this country and the figureheads that are essential in running its every ligament. Can you not comprehend that even with such a position of influence, you are nothing more than an animal bound in rope that longs to see the light of freedom, feeling every form of resentment as you are forced to unconditionally follow petty codes of filialty? If you are unable to awaken from your primitive ways of thought and see my absolute reasoning, than you are fated to be regarded within history as a fool who was destroyed out of nothing less than their own blindness and irrationality. Do you intend on such a detrimental resolution as being your fate within this world? I would hardly consider that as being reasonable by any means, as you will thus have tained any reputation you previously possessed with the blood of resent and ignorance, forever looked upon as a mere nobody that was unable to adapt to the times, let alone crushed by a man of unparalleled repute such as myself."

With this having been spoken, Hong Jin leapt to the skies atop his one-mile long golden-scaled dragon and fell upon Long Ji's beast with incredible speed and valor, tearing apart the dolphin's upperbody and etching the sea with a coating of blood. With this having been initiated, Hong Jin's dragon began to bear its heavy fangs into the flesh of Long Ji's dolphin; and taking advantage of this situation, Hong Jin leaped upon his foe and landed a crucial blow to her flesh with his sword. Taking immediate advantage of this, Long Ji pressed Hong Jin aside with all her might and ordered her Dragon Binding Rope to bind the Shang commander's body and effectively render him immobilized. Struggling to free himself with every ounce of strength as the rope tightly began to bind his ligaments from any form of movement, Long Ji grabbed ahold of Hong Jin and quickly fled back to Phoenix City, the same initial time being forced to evade many consistent attacks by his dragon, which burned with a great flushing of rage over the position of its master. Nonetheless, Long Ji was able to safely return to her respective city, at which she threw Hong Jin before the very feet of Jiang Ziya.

Categorized Events

• The Guardian Mountain's treachery; Prince Yin Jiao's last resort
• Meeting with King Zhou; A vow upon moonlight is elaborated
• Political contention is aroused; Commander Hong Jin takes leave with Seal
• Ji Kang's assault upon Phoenix City; Deng Jiugong's valiant showing against General Bai Xianzhong
• Hong Jin takes the field in battle; The controversy between philosophies develops
• Activation of void door; Dark matter creates universal chaos
• Deng Chanyu's brave stand; the Shang army's forced retreat
• Hong Jin's newly developed hatred towards Deng Chanyu
• The retortion of Princess Long Ji; Fire is initiated from a legendary vase
• Summoning of ancestral dragon of Hong; The words of reason
• Mystics clash upon heightened waves; The Shang commander is humiliated through capture