Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 426: The Reason for the Fall of the Shang Dynasty in 408

Chapter 426: The Reason for the Fall of the Shang Dynasty in 408

After looking at this individual, Jiang Chen shook his head, planning to walk away with Xia Zicheng. Given his current stature, he wouldn’t stoop to quarrel on the streets.

But the young man cared about saving face. Seeing Jiang Chen shake his head, he felt slighted, his temper flaring up. He grabbed Jiang Chen, refusing to let him leave, insisting on arguing his point: "You still disagree? Prove your point about the Human Dynasty being superior to the Immortal Dynasty!"

Being publicly grabbed like this, Jiang Chen’s face couldn’t help but show displeasure.

At this moment, Xia Zicheng stepped forward and quietly revealed the man’s identity: "This is Prince Zhenyuan, the thirtieth son of the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty. He has only cultivated for a thousand years, yet he has already reached the realm of the Golden Immortal."

The Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty, inherited from the ancient power Great Zhen, was supported by the bigwigs of the Immortal Dao. Its strength was no less than that of Great Xia. It was counted among the formidable forces in Dongsheng Divine Continent.

"Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty!"

Once he knew who he was dealing with, Jiang Chen instantly understood the reason for his outburst. The so-called Immortal Dynasty system was co-founded by his ancestor, Great Zhen, and a few heavyweights of Immortal Dao.

As such, of course, Zhenyuan wouldn’t sit idly by as someone disparaged the idea of the Immortal Dynasty—the critique was also questioning his ancestral achievements.

Not interested in arguing with Zhenyuan, Jiang Chen summoned his strength and forcefully pushed him away, saying calmly: "In ancient times, the Human Dynasty had the three emperors and five sovereigns."

"In the olden days, King Yu came first on the scene, controlling the great flood, calming the great chaos. Then came Xia Qi, building the Xia Dynasty, commanding respect from Heaven and Earth, and consecutively producing thirty-six sovereigns of the Human Race. All bowed before them."

"Ever since King Cheng Tang from Shang replaced Xia and established the Shang Dynasty, seventy-two Human Kings have emerged. Who dares to disrespect the emperor’s decree in Heaven and Earth, within the vastness of the prehistoric world?"

"Now, at this time, the First Emperor has also emerged. He swept through the universe, clearing the vastness. With the path of humanity, he instilled fear in the hearts of immortals and buddhas."

"What about the Immortal Dynasty? How many awe-inspiring, unparalleled figures did the long-lasting Immortal Dynasty produce?"

Done speaking, Jiang Chen led his escort away, leaving Zhenyuan standing there, speechless and ashen-faced.

He could not refute the claim!

These are the facts.

The Human Dynasty had the power to command the universe, giving birth to countless great beings.

Meanwhile, the Immortal Dynasty could only occupy a small corner and dominate small areas. Far from controlling Heaven and Earth, commanding countless races, they couldn’t even control the Dongsheng Divine Continent. Beyond the country’s borders, their royal edicts were no more than a piece of waste paper.

As for the formidable beings, aside from a few founders of the Immortal Dynasty System who could be considered unparalleled, others were merely presentable at best, without any disgrace. The term ’unparalleled’ had nothing to do with them.

After a long time, as Jiang Chen had already walked far off, Zhenyuan gritted his teeth, resentfully grumbling: "What arrogance! Even if the Human Dynasty is powerful, if it doesn’t grant immortality, it’s inferior to the Immortal Dynasty."

These words, which defy logic, would only invite ridicule.

...

From far off, Xia Zicheng suddenly asked Jiang Chen: "Your Majesty, what’s your view on the future of Immortal Dao? Can it prosper?"

Surprised, Jiang Chen gazed at Xia Zicheng, guessing his thoughts. As someone aspiring to reign over the Immortal Dynasty, he would naturally place great importance on its future.

Unfortunately, in Jiang Chen’s view, the future of the Immortal Dynasty seemed bleak.

Shaking his head, Jiang Chen said: "Don’t pin too much hope on the Immortal Dynasty. Its very existence has predestined its lack of future."

Jiang Chen’s response greatly surprised Xia Zicheng. Even if the former didn’t harbour high expectations for it, he didn’t expect him to entirely dismiss the future of the Immortal Dynasty.

Confused, Xia Zicheng directly asked: "Your Majesty, what leads you to say that the Immortal Dynasty has no future?"

Jiang Chen didn’t immediately answer Xia Zicheng’s question. Instead, he motioned for him to look up. As Xia Zicheng lifted his gaze to the sky, he saw nothing but clear, blue skies, save for few white clouds.

Just as he was puzzled, Jiang Chen began to speak: "There, in the sky, lies the greatest power in the Three Realms—Heaven Court. And at the end of their evolution, the Immortal Dynasty aims to create another Heaven Court."

"Knowing this, do you still believe the Immortal Dynasty has a future?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Zicheng was silent for a while before letting out a bitter smile. Indeed, the Immortal Dynasty had no future. Heaven Court would never allow another such entity to spring up.

Right now, the Immortal Dynasty is not strong and is far from forming a significant force. Hence Heaven Court turns a blind eye to it. But once the Immortal Dynasty starts showing signs of prosperity, it will undoubtedly face severe suppression by Heaven Court.

The evolution of the Human Dynasty would also end up as Heaven Court. Logically speaking, it should also be suppressed. But during the rise of the Human Dynasty, the Heavenly Emperor passed away unexpectedly, and the Human Emperor ascended to the realm to take over his authority.

This is termed as the Unison of Heaven and Man. During the period when the Human Emperor became the Heavenly Emperor, the fate of Heaven and man merged. The emperor of the mortal world further claimed to be the son of the Heavenly Emperor.

This was not wrong, because the Heavenly Emperor of that time was the Human Emperor, the ancestor of the Human Race. Therefore, when people read the classics, they would find that the emperor of Yin-Shang was sometimes also referred to as Yin Heavenly Son.

King Cheng Tang was a descendant of Emperor Di Ku, one of the Five Emperors, and Di Ku’s grandfather was the eldest son of Emperor Huang, Emperor Shaohao. Emperor Shaohao was the fourth White Emperor among the Five Emperors of the Human Race.

The lineage of Yin-Shang was indeed descended from the Heavenly Emperor without a doubt, calling themselves Heavenly Sons was quite fitting.

Why was it that although both were Heavenly Sons, the Heavenly Son of Yin was respected, while the Heavenly Son of Zhou was despised? The reason was simple. The Heavenly Son of Yin called himself as such, because the Heavenly Emperor above him was the Human Emperor, a family ancestor, so calling him this was appropriate.

However, the Zhou King was deemed lesser than Emperor Hao Tian himself. Consequently, using the title of Heavenly Emperor was inappropriate for him. For the same reason, the Zhou King’s title was often regarded as shameful.

Now, Jiang Chen was no longer the naive boy he once was, ignorant about everything and guessing solutions to problems he did not understand. With his current status, he’s entitled to know many secrets about ancient times.

For instance, the truth about the fall of the Shang Dynasty.

During the era when the Shang overthrew the Xia, they managed to do so without harming the Xia royal family, allowing them to retreat to their ancestral lands.

However, when it came to the Zhou, they completely eradicated the Shang. Today, descendants of the Xia reign, yet there’s no trace of Shang’s lineage. It’s because they were all killed, destroyed under divine punishment.

Although the Shang Dynasty was destroyed during the Quantitative Calamity of Investiture of the Gods, the root cause was the Shang Emperor, Wu Ding. He marshaled the might of an entire country to ascend to Heaven Court and kill a Tiandi.

Therefore, the Gods were furious. They collaborated to extinguish the Shang Dynasty, which led to the Quantitative Calamity of Investiture of the Gods.

As for why the Shang Dynasty wanted to kill Tiandi, the root of the conflict revolved around the title of "Heavenly Emperor".

Shortly after Wu Ding ascended to the throne, the last Tiandi of the Human Race, Black Emperor Zhuan Xu, stepped down. He was succeeded by a significant figure from the Immortal Dao.

As for who this person was, the information Jiang Chen has didn’t contain their name, only stating that this person was someone important from the Immortal Dao.

Indeed, this new Tiandi was not of Human Race origin, but an Innate Divine Demon. This provoked great dissatisfaction in the Shang Dynasty upon his ascension.

At that time, the Shang Emperor was also considered a Heavenly Emperor. Wasn’t he now subordinate to this new Tiandi? The Shang Emperor was naturally furious at the idea of having a "father" appointed out of nowhere.

Moreover, the throne of Tiandi had been passed down through five generations of the Human Race. It was actually Di Ku, the ancestor of the Shang people, who was next in line. Out of nowhere, the seat was given to someone else, not from the Human Race.

This outraged the Shang Emperor, who felt that the gods were suppressing the Human Race.

The confluence of these events spurred the Shang Emperor to incite an uprising. Under the guise of correcting the disorder, he led his nation’s power to the Heaven Court and, at the cost of ninety percent of the country’s fate, killed the Tiandi.

Though the Tiandi was dead, the Shang Dynasty had lost ninety percent of its Fate, laying the groundwork for its subsequent downfall.

With the Tiandi’s fall, the Prehistoric World was set in an upheaval. Sages personally went forward to slay Wu Ding and the Shang army. If it hadn’t been for the timely intervention of the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors, they would not have survived.

Wu Ding ultimately died, succumbing to heavenly punishment. This was the price he had to pay for killing Tiandi.

Because of the fall of this Tiandi, the gods became restless and sought out Hao Tian. They found him and thrust him into the role of Tiandi.

Hao Tian was the true Heavenly Emperor of the Prehistoric World. Even the Five Directions’ Heavenly Emperors of the Human Race only acted on his behalf to preside over Heaven Court. They were only dubbed Heavenly Emperors because of this arrangement.

Therefore, upon Hao Tian’s return and his taking charge of Heaven Court, nobody could deny his rightful position. That was the real rectification of the disorder.

The Shang Dynasty, having defended its dignity with the blood of a Heavenly Emperor, cultivated reverence for the name of Emperor Yin among the people.

In contrast, the Zhou King, who took advantage of the Shang’s weakened state, was considered shameful by many powerful beings of the Human Race. Zhou’s name, therefore, was taken lightly by the people.

...

...

The Human Path Dynasty, thanks to the protection of the Five Directions’ Heavenly Emperors, had been able to develop steadily and flourish to the present state.

However, the Immortal Dynasty lacked the protection of the Heavenly Emperor. Should they dare to rise, Hao Tian would not hesitate to crush it with a simple slap, destroying all hope for the Immortal Dynasty.

Seeing Xia Zicheng’s disappointed face, Jiang Chen laughed and said, "Even if the Immortal Dynasty has no future, it’s enough to support your cultivation to the Ancient Daluo Realm. At that time, you’ll be qualified to enter the ancestral land and cultivate with the Human Race’s Fate."

"So, whether the Immortal Dynasty has a future or not doesn’t significantly affect you, as it’s not your foundation."

Upon thinking about it, Xia Zicheng realised that he had been putting the cart before the horse. His foundation was the Human Race, not the Immortal Dynasty. Even if the Immortal Dynasty had no future, it wouldn’t affect him, as his future lay with the Human Race.

The Immortal Dynasty was merely a tool, one that could help him to have a better future within the Human Race.

After understanding this, Xia Zicheng naturally felt relieved.

"We’ve arrived!"

Just then, Jiang Chen announced their arrival and stopped without progressing further.

At this point, Jiang Chen and Xia Zicheng had already arrived at the most significant market in Xia’s capital. This area was the most bustling spot in the city, filled with shops specifically set up by various factions to trade and collect treasures.

It could be said that this place attracted a large number of independent cultivators, as well as masters from all factions, powers, and races.

The treasures here were countless, and every day people would come with spiritual pills, divine abilities, and other treasures to trade with others.

Initially, this was the location where King Xia held auctions. However, as the situation gradually spiraled out of control, the idea was scrapped.