Chapter 21: The First Battle of the Investiture of the Gods

Shen Gongbao was very happy to receive the news sent by the disciples of the Jie Sect, and he invited Jiang Ziya over to discuss the various matters of forming an alliance. Jiang Ziya had also received a letter from the Chan Sect, and after receiving the invitation from Shen Gongbao, he set off for Wu State immediately; after all, an early alliance meant defeating Buddhism sooner, which would prevent many people from being added to the Investiture of the Gods list.

"Brother Jiang has arrived, please, come inside, let us discuss the matter of the alliance properly; this is a matter of great benefit to both our sects," Shen Gongbao said to Jiang Ziya with a smile.

"Indeed, that is true, shall we discuss properly how to deal with Buddhism?" Jiang Ziya also said in a gentle tone.

"Brother, actually there are only two points we need to pay attention to regarding our cooperation," Shen Gongbao said solemnly.

"Oh, which two aspects, why don't you tell me, Junior Brother?" Jiang Ziya asked.

"The first aspect is that we are both facing the Shang Dynasty; both sides should start attacking from the areas adjacent to them and slowly meet at the capital of the Shang Dynasty. On the other hand, the disciples of both sects must not engage in internal strife; no matter what, they cannot start fighting each other before Buddhism is defeated. This is also the most important aspect," Shen Gongbao continued.

"Indeed, what you say is correct, Junior Brother. Then let us begin our discussion centered on this aspect," Jiang Ziya said.

Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao discussed for a whole day and finally finished their discussion.

"Alright, Junior Brother, the matters have been discussed, and I should return to convey this to them as well," Jiang Ziya said after the discussion was finished.

"Very well, walk slowly, Brother, and I wish us a successful cooperation," Shen Gongbao said.

After sending off Jiang Ziya and his party, Shen Gongbao immediately summoned all the Third Generation Disciples of the Jie Sect.

"My fellow junior disciples, today I have already discussed forming an alliance with Jiang Ziya of the Chan Sect. From now on, the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect are allied to jointly attack Buddhism. Furthermore, before Buddhism is defeated, no one is allowed to have any conflict with the people of the Chan Sect, regardless of any past grievances you may have had with them. Otherwise, do not blame your Uncle-Master for being heartless and dealing with you according to military law," Shen Gongbao said with cadence.

"Yes, Uncle-Master, we will certainly not have any conflict with the Chan Sect," the Jie Sect disciples replied.

"Good. Tomorrow we officially attack the Shang Dynasty. Who among you is willing to serve as the vanguard to be the first to attack the cities of the Shang Dynasty and deal with the Buddhist experts guarding the cities?"

Yuan Hong and the other two were so excited upon hearing this that they were just about to shout that they would take the role.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up first: "I will serve as the vanguard. I ask for Uncle-Master's permission; this disciple will surely take the head of the city-guarding expert." This person was none other than Anan. He had felt very stifled ever since he lost to Yuan Hong, so when he heard Shen Gongbao ask who would serve as the vanguard, he answered immediately.

"Good. Since Nephew Anan is so confident, then let you serve as the vanguard. We shall give the order to attack the city tomorrow morning," Shen Gongbao said with high spirits.

Early the next morning, the army was assembled and charged toward the nearest city of the Shang Dynasty.

Upon arriving under the city gates, only Anan's loud voice could be heard shouting: "You Buddhist bald donkeys on the opposite side, your Grandfather Anan has come to attack, why don't you surrender quickly?"

"Hmph, what kind of nameless nobody dares to come and act wild? I think you are tired of living." A harsh voice came from inside the city. A crow spirit wearing black clothes and black all over appeared. This crow spirit was a disciple of the last remaining Three-Legged Golden Crow. Because they were both crows, Lu Ya did not hide anything from him, which meant his cultivation was not low—at the peak of the Luo Heaven Immortal realm.

"Hmph, such big talk. I want to see who finishes whom." Saying this, Anan tapped his feet and flew rapidly toward the crow spirit. It must be said that Anan's cultivation was also not low, also at the peak of the Luo Heaven Immortal realm; it was just that his luck was poor, and he had encountered Yuan Hong.

Seeing Anan attack first, the crow spirit did not hesitate. With a flash of black light all over his body, three thousand feathers flew out from his body, spinning at high speed. One could tell they were immensely powerful, and there were three thousand of them.

Anan quickly dodged, but he did not expect the feathers to have a tracking function. Now Anan fell into an unfavorable situation, constantly dodging the attacks of the feathers while slowly approaching the crow spirit. Finally, he got close to the crow spirit and swung a punch with all his might to attack him. The crow spirit quickly stepped on the air, flew into the high sky, and kept diving down from the high sky to attack. He would strike and then fly back to the high sky, then continue to attack downwards.

Anan became anxious now; there would always be a time when he would be hit, he could not just keep dodging.

Seeing the crow spirit still using this tactic, Anan let out a loud roar and suddenly many arms grew out from his body, and his body also kept increasing in size. This was exactly the Heaven and Earth Manifestation of the Mysterious Technique. Watching the three thousand feathers flying toward him, he did not dodge or evade, but swung his arms at the feathers to meet them. Only the sound of countless 'bangs' could be heard as the three thousand feathers were continuously shattered by Anan.

Seeing his weapon, the three thousand feathers, being shattered one by one, the crow spirit was quite furious. These were feathers that had fallen off his body during his transformation; there were nine thousand in total, and he had not expected three thousand to be broken by Anan. These were one-of-a-kind, and once broken, they were gone; there was no way to replenish them. He immediately used his ultimate move and shouted: "All crows under heaven are black." Suddenly, the sky was filled with black, filled with crows, and they attacked Anan. The attack of each crow was equivalent to a full-strength strike of a peak Golden Immortal. One or two, or even a few hundred, would naturally have no effect on Anan, but there were countless crows filling the sky. This kept Anan very busy. At first, he could still keep blasting them away, but slowly his magic power dropped, and his physical strength could not keep up. He slowly began to be hit by the crows, continuously getting injured. After a while, he was covered in wounds and had no strength left. The remaining magic power could finally no longer support the Heaven and Earth Manifestation, and he returned to his normal state.

Just as Anan was about to be attacked to death by the crows filling the sky, a huge, furry fist suddenly flashed in the sky, knocking down half of the crows filling the sky with one punch, and a furry hand rescued Anan from the crows. Seeing his prey being rescued, the crow spirit was very angry. He looked to see who had rescued Anan, and upon closer inspection, it was actually a monkey.