Conferred Gods: Master Tongtian is my master

A few days later, the sun rose and shone on the earth, and a huge army marched slowly on the ancient road leading to Chaoge.

Flags fluttered, armor gleamed, horses neighed, dust flew, and the scene was magnificent.

This army was led by Wen Zhong. After several months of fighting, they finally returned victorious.

King Di Xin of Shang had already learned of the Zhou's surrender in the palace. Although he felt relieved, he could not hide his expectations for Wen Zhong, his trusted minister.

He was dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing a crown on his head. He walked out of the palace, followed by a group of civil and military officials. The ceremonial guard stretched for several miles to welcome the prime minister who had worked so hard for the country.

As the army gradually approached, Emperor Xin's eyes became more and more anxious.

Finally, the familiar figure came into view. Wen Zhong was riding on the back of the black unicorn. He looked majestic, but his face looked a little weathered.

Emperor Xin felt warm in his heart, stepped forward quickly, clasped his hands together, and said loudly:

"Thank you for your hard work, Grand Master! I have been waiting for you here for a long time!"

Upon seeing this, Wen Zhong quickly got off the black unicorn's back, bowed, and spoke with some excitement in his voice:

"Your Majesty, I, Wen Zhong, present my greetings! Fortunately, I have fulfilled your orders and put down the rebellion in Xiqi. Now, the rebels have surrendered, so I have come to report."

Emperor Xin helped Wen Zhong up with both hands, his eyes full of gratitude and admiration:

"Grandmaster, you have worked hard and made great contributions. I am very pleased. Come back to the palace with me. I will hold a banquet to celebrate your success!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The two men walked side by side, with civil and military officials following closely behind them, and the group returned to the palace in a grand manner.

At the banquet, Emperor Xin raised his glass frequently and drank with Wen Zhong and his ministers. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

After three rounds of drinking, Emperor Xin suddenly changed the subject and mentioned the surrender of the Great Zhou:

"Grandmaster, now that Xiqi has surrendered, what should we do with Ji Fa and the others?"

Wen Zhong put down his wine glass, pondered for a moment, and said slowly:

"Your Majesty, although Ji Fa is the leader of the rebels, he only emerged after the death of Ji Chang and Bo Yikao. Moreover, surrendering this time is also a wise move."

"I think that his life can be spared to show the king's magnanimity and to calm people's hearts."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xin's eyes flickered as he looked at the civil and military officials sitting below him:

"My dear friends, what do you think?"

Shang Rong stroked his beard, pondered, stood up and bowed, saying:

"I second the Grand Master's words. Ji Fa has already surrendered. If we continue to kill him, we may lose the support of the people. It is better to go with the flow and give him a minor official position to show our favor."

Bigan also echoed, "I agree. Now that the rebels have surrendered, we should focus on stability and not cause any more trouble."

After hearing this, Emperor Xin nodded slightly, and had already made up his mind. He looked at Wen Zhong and said with a smile:

"You are right, Grand Master. I will follow your advice and spare Ji Fa's life."

The next day, Emperor Xin officially announced the decision on Ji Fa's punishment in the court:

"Jifa, although you were once the ruler of the Great Zhou, now that you have surrendered, I will forgive you for what happened."

"I hereby appoint you as Marquis Shenjing. You will stay in Chaoge and enjoy the salary of a marquis. You don't have to deal with government affairs anymore. You can be an idle marquis."

Upon hearing this, Ji Fa secretly rejoiced and immediately knelt down to express his gratitude:

"Thank you for not killing me, Your Majesty. I will obey your orders and behave myself."

However, Emperor Xin was somewhat troubled by the way he dealt with Jiang Ziya. He looked at Wen Zhong and asked:

"Grandmaster, what should we do with Jiang Ziya?"

When Wen Zhong heard this, he remembered what his senior brother Luo Shu had told him when they returned to Chaoge. He thought about it again and again, and then slowly said:

"Your Majesty, regarding the treatment of Jiang Ziya, I have something to tell you."

"My eldest brother Luo Shu once told me that Jiang Ziya was responsible for the task of conferring the title of God. This was destined by heaven and was of great importance."

"Although he once assisted Zhou in committing atrocities, the matter of conferring the gods concerns the overall situation and cannot be easily interrupted."

"Therefore, I suggest that we wait until the Conferred God Ceremony is over before dealing with Jiang Ziya, so as to avoid making mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xin frowned slightly and looked at Wen Zhong with deep eyes:

"Since that's what the Imperial Master said, let him complete his deification first."

When Jiang Ziya heard what Emperor Xin said, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, fortunately his master Yuanshi Tianzun asked him to be in charge of the matter of conferring gods, otherwise, he might have died here today.

He secretly vowed to do his best to complete the mission of deifying and live up to the expectations of his master Yuanshi Tianzun.

……

On this side, Luo Shu was also doing his best to eliminate wave after wave of Jiejiao outer disciples who were still wild and had bad behavior.

Of course, all this was carried out with the support of the four direct disciples of Jiejiao, as well as Zhao Gongming, Sanxiao and others.

The Five Saints who were far away in the chaos naturally didn't know about all this.

As for why only the Five Saints were detained in the Zixiao Palace, it was naturally because Nuwa of the Wahuang Palace stayed out of it and did not participate in the catastrophe.

In the main hall of Zixiao Palace, clouds and mists lingered, and the air was ethereal. On the cloud platform, Hongjun Daozu sat in it, closing his eyes and resting, as if he was isolated from the world.

Suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes, and his sharp gaze swept over the five saints sitting below.

"Yuanshi, how is the Conferred God List going?"

Upon hearing this, Yuanshi Tianzun was startled, and then he waved his hands. A golden light flashed, and the List of Gods appeared in front of everyone.

He said respectfully, "Master, please look."

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Hongjun nodded slightly and looked at the List of Gods, examining it carefully.

The Conferred God List was filled with names, each of which represented a being who was about to be conferred a god. He nodded with satisfaction and said:

"That's right. Now that the Conferred God List is full, the Conferred God event can officially proceed."

The five saints were all stunned when they heard this. Is the Conferred God List full? They looked at each other, their eyes flashing with shock and confusion.

Especially Master Tongtian, his face became extremely gloomy.

Because he clearly saw that the last one or two hundred names on the List of Gods were all disciples of his Jiejiao sect.

“This… how is this possible?” Patriarch Tongtian could not help but stand up, staring at the List of Gods, as if he wanted to see through it.

His voice was trembling, full of disbelief, "Why are there so many disciples of my Jiejiao appearing on the Conferred God List?"

Upon hearing this, Hongjun's eyes fell on Tongtian, "Tongtian, I have said that those who are on the list are all destined. Since you are on the list, it is fate."

When Master Tongtian heard this, although he was unwilling, he knew that this was a fact that could not be changed.

He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself, and then slowly sat down.

After a while, Hongjun looked at Yuanshi Tianzun and continued:

"Yuanshi, since the person to be deified has been chosen, give him the List of Deified Gods. Let him complete the deification as soon as possible."

"Disciple, please obey your master's orders!"

"After the Conferred Godhood is completed, the saint's true body cannot set foot in the wild at will."

As soon as these words came out, the Purple Sky Palace fell into silence. The five saints looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion and puzzlement.

Tongtian frowned slightly and asked first: "Master, why is this?"

Zhunti Taoist followed closely behind, his voice filled with urgency: "Yes, Master, what is the reason?"

Taishang Laozi, Jie Yin Taoist and Yuanshi Tianzun also had worried expressions on their faces and cast inquiring glances.

Hongjun stood up slowly, and after a moment, he slowly spoke:

"The secret of heaven cannot be revealed, you just need to obey it."

Afterwards, Patriarch Hongjun moved and turned into a stream of light, disappearing into the Zixiao Palace.

Only the Five Saints were left standing there, looking confused.

……

Time flies, years pass like songs, and in the blink of an eye, the matter of conferring gods is coming to an end.

As the last trace of calamity energy dissipated, the catastrophe finally came to an end, and the world seemed to have regained some tranquility and peace.

On this day, Luo Shu was standing alone on the towering peak of Yufu Mountain.

A breeze blew by, causing his clothes to flutter, as if he were an immortal descending to the earth.

His eyes were deep as he gazed through layers of clouds at the boundless starry sky, with indescribable emotion surging in his heart.

"Perhaps," he murmured to himself, his voice soft, "the end also means a new beginning."

"Maybe... Never mind. Just let it go. I should go and see what my lovely disciples are busy with."

As Luo Shu finished speaking, he moved and turned into a stream of light, disappearing above the clouds of Yufu Mountain.

(End of text)