In a daze, I don't remember how I got down the mountain.

The last memory in my mind was of several senior brothers devouring the flesh in the pot, while I didn't even have the courage to expose them.

I had to pretend I hadn't noticed anything, and quickly found a lame excuse to leave the cave dwelling.

Along the way, I would occasionally stop to vomit, trying hard to recall if the food I had eaten earlier resembled the body of Immortal Huanglong.

The more I thought about it, the colder my body became.

Is the world truly so filthy that even the immortals cannot avoid it?

No wonder the master was in such a hurry to send me down the mountain, rather than entrusting this heavy responsibility to other senior brothers. It seems the master had already seen through everything!

It appears that only I can turn the tide now!

"It's time to go to Xiqi."

I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip, as if holding onto the last hope.

In Xiqi, there is rumored to be a sage of our time, named Xibo Hou Jichang, who is skilled in divination, benevolent and just. Under his governance, the people live in peace, and education flourishes. He is said to be a stark contrast to the tyrannical King Zhou.

But hearing is not believing; I still have to see it with my own eyes to confirm.

Soon, I found out that Jichang would be passing by the Wei River in a few days, which fit perfectly with my plans.

Things developed more smoothly than I had expected.

On that day, I cast a straight hook into the Wei River and began to wait. Before long, I saw a procession of carriages slowly approaching.

As they passed by me, a dignified man got off one of the carriages and walked towards me, curiously asking,

"Old man, what are you doing here?"

"Fishing."

I slightly raised my eyebrows and remained indifferent.

"But you are using a straight hook. How can you catch any fish with that?"

Jichang looked even more puzzled and patiently inquired.

Seeing him being so humble and polite towards an old man like me, I secretly believed eight parts of the rumors, and laughed heartily,

"Haven't you heard that nowadays, those who volunteer will be caught? There's no need to force it."

"Those who volunteer?"

Jichang was stunned, then seemed to think of something, and a look of joy appeared in his eyes as he bowed to me.

"Jichang was rude! I hope the immortal will assist me in saving the world from calamity!"

"No need for such formalities, Xibo Hou. Just call me Ziya!"

Seeing this, I also put down my fishing rod and hurriedly helped Jichang up.

With such a wise ruler, how could the world not be pacified?

All of a sudden, my heart was filled with hope again, and the previous strange events only strengthened my resolve to cleanse the world.

"Ziya, please get in the carriage quickly so we can discuss the plan to defeat King Zhou!"

Jichang was extremely excited, pulling me by the hand as he walked forward, seemingly unwilling to stop for a moment.

But just then, my fishing rod seemed to have caught something big, and I instinctively looked over.

A long object was floating up and down in the murky river water. Was that... a corpse?!

My heart tightened, and I quickly jerked the fishing rod, flipping the corpse over in the water!

At the sight of the swollen face, a chill ran straight down to my feet!

Even in the middle of the hot summer, I felt as though I was in the dead of winter!

That was the face of Xibo Hou Jichang!

He... was dead?!

Then who was the person who just talked to me?!

"Ziya, why aren't you getting in the carriage?"

Jichang's voice came from behind me. I pointed at him in alarm, wanting to say something.

Without any hesitation, I grabbed the fishing rod tightly and yanked it up!

However, I was pulled back and fell to the ground!

There was nothing on the fishhook!

What on earth was happening?!

I felt like I was going mad!

Ever since I took on the Investiture of the Gods, the world seemed to have changed!

It was filled with evil spirits!

The scenery was eerie!

"Ziya, it's time to go to Xiqi."

Listening to the voice in my ear, I took a deep breath, feeling as if I was trapped in a web from which I couldn't escape.

It's time to go to Xiqi.

As long as I keep walking down this path, I will surely see the truth behind everything!

In the carriage, I slowly closed my eyes, but did not see that Xibo Hou Jichang was staring intently at me.

As if looking at a gourmet delicacy.