#686 - Chapter 686 I Don’t Want to Be a Chess Pawn

"Jiang Ziya suppressed the entire cultivation world with his own strength, and no one dared to show their face. But now the world is full of Tier 9 cultivators, yet he is nowhere to be seen," Zhang Jue explained.

"There's one thing I don't quite understand. Since Jiang Ziya didn't die, why didn't he support the Zhou Dynasty and instead let it perish?"

Jiang Ziya was a founding hero of the Zhou Dynasty, Ji Fa's right-hand man.

"What does 'Investiture of the Gods' mean? It means that after the Zhou Dynasty was established, Jiang Ziya issued the Investiture of the Gods. He declared to the world that cultivators were not allowed to interfere in the interests and disputes of the common people. Anyone who violated this rule would be hunted down."

"Why did he do that?"

"It's the same principle as the feudal system. A large part of the chaos in the Shang Dynasty was due to the rampant and constant infighting of cultivators. In order to maintain national stability, it had to be done this way," Zhang Jue explained.

"This is a game of interests between countries. I think if you want revenge, you should look for Ji Fa, if he's still alive."

"Ji Fa wasn't a cultivator, and he died a few years after taking the throne."

"Then you don't need to vent your anger on Jiang Ziya, do you?"

"Hmph, vent my anger on him? The conspiracy to destroy my Zhang clan was his idea. Do you think I wouldn't look for him?" Zhang Jue snorted coldly.

"Then why didn't you take action sooner, and instead waited for three thousand years?"

"Cultivators are reclusive. I also tried to find him. In the early Han Dynasty, there was a man named Huo Qubing, you know him, right? He was very high-profile at the time and grew very quickly. In Zhangye, in the Hexi Corridor, he fought Jiang Ziya for three hundred rounds, evenly matched. By the time I arrived, their battle was already over. After so many years, I haven't been able to find his踪迹."

"Are you saying that Huo Qubing might have been killed by Jiang Ziya?" Dongfang Chen heard a hint of something.

"I didn't say that. I don't know how Huo Qubing died," Zhang Jue denied.

"Who leaked the news about Jiang Ziya being at the Hongmeng Academy to you?"

"An old man who claimed to be a cultivator from a primitive tribe. He said that Jiang Ziya was a sinner of China, completely cutting off the future of the Chinese cultivation world. He hoped that I could find him and kill him."

"Do you still remember what that person looked like?"

"Of course I remember."

"Can you describe him in detail?"

"Sure. His appearance is a bit ugly, with very high cheekbones, indeed with some characteristics of primitive people…" Zhang Jue described the appearance of the strange old man.

"Is it like this?"

Xiaolin has already generated a real-time portrait.

"It looks about right, but it still feels a bit off. Oh, right, the beard. His beard isn't very thick, it looks a bit cunning," Zhang Jue recalled.

Xiaolin adjusted the shape of the beard according to his description.

"Yes, that's about right." Zhang Jue now looked much more satisfied.

"Do you think he might be Guiguzi?" Dongfang Chen asked.

Historically, portraits of Guiguzi were drawn based on imagination and are not reliable.

"Guiguzi? I haven't seen him, I don't know," Zhang Jue shook his head.

"Okay, you rest for a while, I'll talk to you later."

After cutting off the communication, Dongfang Chen contacted Shen Huiying, who was still in prison.

She had seen Guiguzi before, and asking her for confirmation would reveal the truth.

"Mr. Dongfang, that's right, that's Guiguzi. As for whether the mole on his face is in that location, I don't remember," Shen Huiying said with certainty.

"Okay, that's enough. Thank you for your cooperation."

Dongfang Chen reconnected with Zhang Jue.

"Zhang Jue, I've confirmed it, that person is Guiguzi," Dongfang Chen said.

"So it was him. It seems I was definitely deceived," Zhang Jue sighed.

Guiguzi is best at diplomacy and esoteric arts, so coming up with small schemes is easy for him.

"But why would he deceive you into causing trouble at Hongmeng Academy?"

"I don't know either."

"Think carefully, see if there are any overlooked details or past events," Dongfang Chen reminded.

Guiguzi doesn't need to specifically frame an unrelated person.

"Sorry, the time span is too long, and too many things have happened. I don't know when I offended him," Zhang Jue shook his head after thinking for a long time.

"Okay, I'm done asking. I'll arrange for someone to send you back later."

"Then the thing on my neck…"

"Naturally, we'll help you remove it."

"Thank you! Oh, right, there's one more thing," Zhang Jue said.

"Please speak."

"I want to bring all the disciples of my Zhanghua Sect to join you," Zhang Jue said.

"Join us? Why?" Dongfang Chen asked curiously.

"Because I don't want to be a pawn," Zhang Jue said his reason.

"The world is like a chessboard, you and I are all pawns."