Chapter 587: Desiring to Write the I Ching

Yin Qi communicated with the Luck Altar with his mind, inquiring about the amount of merit required to refine and analyze the Eleventh-Tier Evolution Fluid and the Six-Turn Golden Pill.

In these three years, all materials of Immortal Level or higher collected by the Martial Hall had ended up in his hands.

"Raw materials are sufficient!"

"To refine the Eleventh-Tier Evolution Fluid, ten zhang!"

"To refine the Six-Turn Golden Pill, ten zhang."

"To analyze the Eleventh-Tier Evolution Fluid, twenty zhang!"

"To analyze the Six-Turn Golden Pill, twenty zhang!"

"Hiss!"

Yin Qi gasped; this added up to sixty zhang of merit.

And he currently only had five zhang.

Sixty zhang of merit was no small number; he would either have to enter the heavens to harvest it, or do something major.

The fastest way to increase merit is through education, followed by National Fortune.

He didn't even consider National Fortune, as territory is the most critical factor, and territory cannot skyrocket in a short time.

What remained was education.

Yin Qi instantly thought of the concept of the Martial Dao Primordial Spirit; if he were to release it, he could definitely obtain a large amount of merit.

But he had already rejected this earlier; it was not appropriate for him to propose it for the time being.

"Right, I almost forgot about the I Ching!"

Yin Qi's eyes lit up.

The I Ching, also known as the Zhou Yi, should have been written by Ji Chang in this world, which is the so-called "Ji Chang was imprisoned in Youli and deduced the Zhou Yi."

The I Ching is a classic of the Great Dao, containing endless ultimate truths.

If it were spread, it could naturally educate cultivators and allow them to find their path to the future, but the realm of this classic is limited to Earth Immortal and below, so it would not make the Saints wary.

At the same time, the path of deduction contained in the I Ching also helps the Human Race avoid misfortune and seek good fortune, which can earn merit.

As the author, Yin Qi could also gain immense prestige.

Since Ji Chang chose to oppose Shang, he would not be polite either; he would intercept the other party's opportunity.

Thinking of this, he turned around and said loudly: "Someone, convey the Great King's imperial decree to the Cabinet and the Military Affairs Department, saying that the Great King has had an inspiration and wishes to go into seclusion for eighty-eight sixty-four days to focus on writing."

…………

Yin Qi's imperial decree quickly spread from the court to the outside, and then to the fiefs of the various marquises.

"Have you heard? The Great King has gone into seclusion; it is said that he had an inspiration and decided to devote himself to writing."

"I heard it too; I'm really looking forward to it. The Book of Rites, the Classic of Filial Piety, the Classic of Mathematics, and so on—the Great King has written too many classic books; that he is even going into seclusion to write this time shows the importance of this book."

"Hahaha, after six years, the Great King is finally going to write a book again."

"Eighty-eight sixty-four days—is there any significance to this phrasing? The Great King is not a person who plays tricks; if it were just a date, he would have just said sixty-four days."

"It must be. The Great King has been on the throne for six years, and his knowledge must far exceed what it was before, so logically, this book must be far beyond his previous works."

……

Within Chaoge City, within the Yin Shang territory, and within the Great Shang Celestial Dynasty, countless people were discussing it, all casting their eyes toward Zhaoge.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for the appearance of a masterpiece.

……

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

People's enthusiasm gradually faded, as everyone had their own things to be busy with.

During this period, Qingzhou and Xiqi were exceptionally busy.

However, everything was being done in secret, so on the surface, the Qingzhou Marquis Mansion and the Xibo Marquis Mansion appeared to have no anomalies, but in reality, a large number of Immortal Dao powerhouses were being born within their territories.

And as time passed, the number of Immortal Dao powerhouses under their command would only continue to grow.

While Ji Chang was secretly encouraged, he was also gradually becoming anxious, because Yuanshi was supposed to send disciples down the mountain to assist him, but he waited and waited and saw no one come.

Therefore, he brought in San Yisheng and others to discuss it.

San Yisheng had already returned from Zhaoge; over these years, he had tried every method to bribe Ma Benqi, but Ma Benqi did not give him a chance at all, not even letting him enter the mansion gate.

As for the National Teacher Yang Daoren, the Guoshi Mansion was empty all year round.

Fortunately, things took a turn for the better; the Marquis had gained the favor of Yuanshi Tianzun, who bestowed countless cultivation resources, so they in Xiqi no longer needed to keep a close eye on the new Refining Artifact Technique and Yang Daoren.

As long as they digested these cultivation resources and completed the expansion of their military and preparations for war, they could directly raise an army to oppose Shang.

San Yisheng said in a deep voice, and only after a long time did he say: "Marquis, your subordinate is thinking that perhaps the Saint's disciples have already arrived in Xiqi, but we just don't know it."

Ji Chang asked suspiciously: "Since they have arrived, why haven't they come to find me?"

San Yisheng smiled slightly: "Marquis, the Saint's disciples are naturally men of great virtue, and since they are sages, they naturally have pride; how could they condescend to come here! In your subordinate's view, the Marquis should go out to visit them; this can not only reflect the Marquis's respect for sages, but also spread the Marquis's reputation for loving talent, attracting other talents to come."

"Excellent!"

Ji Chang clapped his hands and smiled, nodding in deep agreement.

So, from then on, he went out every day, inquiring everywhere about where there were sages, wanting to invite them back to assist him.

And then, Ji Chang's virtue of treating the virtuous with courtesy spread far and wide.

And don't you know, although he had not yet found Jiang Ziya, he had found quite a few great talents, many of whom had come after hearing the news, which could be considered an unexpected joy.

………

Speaking of Jiang Ziya, he stayed in Zhaoge for three days, and then spent a month traveling all over the Yin Shang lands; he had deep feelings and understood deeply the prosperity and power of Yin Shang.

If it were not for the backing of the Chan Sect, even if he assisted Ji Chang, they would be far from being opponents.

Therefore, he decided to go to Xiqi to take a look.

Jiang Ziya returned to Zhaoge, and after meeting up with 'Jia Ren', he went straight to Xiqi.

It took him ten days to travel across Xiqi, and the results were quite satisfactory: first, Ji Chang had a reputation for benevolence, second only to Di Qi; second, Xiqi was equally prosperous.

Whether it was Taiji Rice, various agricultural implements, or trucks, Teleportation Arrays, and so on, they had all become widespread in Xiqi.

Even the Slave System had been abolished, just as in the Yin-Shang.

It could be said that in terms of the situation among the common people, Xiqi was almost no different from the Yin-Shang.

Since Ji Chang was equally wise and worthy of being assisted, and furthermore, the orders of his master were hard to defy, Jiang Ziya thoroughly made up his mind to stay in Xiqi and assist Xiqi in opposing the Shang; this would also be a matter of great accomplishment.

However, although he had made up his mind, it would certainly not do for him to go to the Xibo Marquis Mansion of his own accord.

One who offers themselves up voluntarily will always be looked down upon.

Thus, he and the Clone of Yin Qi settled down by the Wei River; in his daily life, he either discussed the mysteries of the Dao with Yin Qi or fished by the Wei River, living a carefree and leisurely life.

Furthermore, he used a straight hook for his fishing.

The passing commoners saw this and one after another tried to dissuade him, saying that no one uses a straight hook to fish, but Jiang Ziya only smiled without speaking, until he took Wuji as his disciple and answered this doubt for Wuji.

"Disciple, although your master is called fishing, my intent is not on the fish."

"Your master is here merely to guard the azure clouds and find the path, to brush aside the shadows and soar to the heavens; how could I use a curved hook to catch fish!"

"That is not what a man of character would do."

"I would rather seek in the straight than beg in the curved; I do not set my hook for golden scales, I only fish for kings and marquises."

Wuji then suddenly realized the truth.

He naturally knew his master's abilities, and it just so happened that the Marquis was searching everywhere for wise men, so he had an idea in his heart.