Yin Shou's inscription at the Nuwa Palace was eventually leaked by someone with ulterior motives, causing an uproar throughout the land.

Within Chaoge, things were relatively peaceful. Emperor Xin enjoyed high prestige, so the common people didn't say much. However, other feudal lords from various regions submitted memorials condemning him, including the Marquis of the West and the Marquis of the North. In this era, feudal lords could directly criticize any wrongdoing of the emperor.

"Hmph, making a fuss over nothing, this is making a fuss over nothing."

Looking at the mountain of memorials piled on his desk, Yin Shou couldn't help but curse.

Although he prepared himself mentally immediately afterward, he still felt somewhat unhappy as the matter escalated, and his resentment towards the person who had harmed him grew even stronger.

“Your Majesty, although we know you have been wronged, no one will believe it, nor will they want to believe it,” Wen Zhong sighed.

"Ji Chang is a hypocrite, but I never expected him to be so quick to kick someone when they're down. Humph," Shang Rong couldn't help but curse.

"We must give the world an explanation for this matter, otherwise those people will probably go even further," Bigan said in a deep voice.

“An explanation? What explanation do you need? Wouldn’t that just confirm the matter?” Yin Shou frowned.

“Yes, we cannot explain, Your Majesty. We must remain unchanged in the face of all changes,” Kong Xuan said, stepping forward.

Kong Xuan had not attended court for a long time. Due to his special status, Yin Shou and the officials gave him a great deal of freedom.

Yin Shou glanced at Kong Xuan, understanding that this was Li Daoyi's intention. He immediately felt relieved, nodded, and his anger subsided somewhat.

"Dismiss the court. Burn all these things; they're an eyesore." After saying this, Yin Shou rose and left his throne.

Kong Xuan watched Yin Shou's departing figure and nodded secretly. In fact, most of Yin Shou's performance just now was an act for others to see. There were many spies of the feudal lords in the court.

As expected, news of Emperor Xin's disregard for the memorials from the feudal lords quickly spread, and rumors began to circulate that Yin Shou was a tyrannical ruler. Although the Tianlong Legion immediately arrested those who spread the rumors, these people were all assassins, and they were not given a chance to interrogate them. Instead, others felt that Yin Shou was abusing his power.

"Cough cough..."

At some point, coughing began to echo throughout Chaoge City, and soon people started dying. Without exception, all the dead suffered from persistent coughing, and within a few days, they succumbed to shortness of breath and heart failure. As the number of deaths increased, it finally drew attention, and people realized that the most terrible thing had happened: a plague.

Most of those who died were elderly, but panic had spread throughout Chaoge, and rumors even circulated that other vassal states had also experienced the same illness, suggesting that the plague was not limited to Chaoge.

Upon learning of this, Yin Shou immediately dispatched imperial physicians from the palace, including some Taoist practitioners. However, they were quickly at a loss. The plague had arrived very suddenly, and the medicine prescribed by the imperial physicians only delayed the onset of the disease. People continued to die every day.

Soon, people discovered that the epidemic had spread to livestock. Many animals had inexplicably contracted the disease and died, and their carcasses smelled incredibly foul.

Just when Yin Shou was in a state of utter distress, Zhutianlou made its move. After being closed to guests for several years, Zhutianlou began distributing spiritual medicines to the public under the arrangement of Dongfang Bubai and Xiaolongnu. People from all over the city flocked to Zhutianlou, since everyone knew that it was the restaurant of immortals.

"Everyone line up, don't push. There are plenty of medicinal herbs, so there's no need to fight over them." A beautiful woman in a blue robe called out to the chaotic crowd. Her voice was melodious and seemed to have some kind of magic. The people obediently lined up to receive the herbs.

"Sister Daji's words are still the most effective." The little girl Niu Niu couldn't help but praise, as she was also sweating profusely as she handed out medicine bottles to everyone.

Besides Dongfang Bubai and Xiaolongnu, Guanyin, Su Daji, Niu Niu, Yin Jiao, Nezha, Jinzha, and Muzha also came to help.

On the top of the Tower of All Heavens, Li Daoyi calmly watched this scene.

Just then, a figure appeared inside the Tower of All Heavens; it was none other than Kong Xuan.

Li Daoyi did not turn around, but continued to look out the window.

"You're back?"

"Hmm, this guy thought he was hiding so well, humph, I still found him. He's really useless, he couldn't even withstand a single move," Kong Xuan said arrogantly.

Li Daoyi then turned around and saw Kong Xuan holding a short, ugly corpse.

"Is this the plague demon?" Li Daoyi asked.

"Yes, that's the guy. But he seems to be controlled. He didn't even try to run away when he saw me. And I only made a casual move; I didn't kill him. It's the person controlling him who's causing this." Kong Xuan nodded.

"Yes, that's for sure. They won't leave any survivors." Li Daoyi nodded.

"Amitabha, alas..." Wutian couldn't help but sigh.

“Say what you want to say,” Li Daoyi said, looking at Wutian.

"This humble monk has nothing to say, I only wish to meet those people in person." Wutian said with his hands clasped together, but behind him a ferocious and terrifying phantom gradually condensed, like a fierce god, which was the Buddha Wrath Vajra statue.

"Don't worry, there will be opportunities," Li Daoyi reassured him.

"Huh?" At this moment, Li Daoyi sensed something and looked out the window again, his gaze falling on the city gate in the distance.

"Interesting, this guy has finally shown up." Li Daoyi's lips curled up slightly.

In Chaoge City, outside the East Gate, as news of the Zhutian Tower distributing spiritual medicine spread, more and more people poured into the city. This was the case at all four city gates, and at this time, the East Gate was already filled with a long queue. In this vast line, an old man dressed simply and wearing a bamboo hat was also standing in the queue. However, compared to the others, this old man seemed a bit different. After all, the others all looked somewhat sickly, while he appeared very energetic.

"Ahem, old man, you're quite hale and hearty. Is this your first time in Chaoge?"

Just then, a middle-aged man in front of the old man turned around and said something. The middle-aged man coughed from time to time, but because he was still quite healthy, he didn't look too bad.

"Ah, yes, I've always lived up in the mountains, this is my first time coming down," the old man said.

"So you're a recluse after all. My apologies." The middle-aged man was somewhat surprised.

"My name is Li Baoguo, you can just call me Lao Li, brother," the middle-aged man said readily.

"Of course, of course. My surname is Jiang, and my given name is Ziya." The old man was indeed Jiang Ziya.

"Brother Li, have you also contracted the plague?" Jiang Ziya asked.

"Cough cough, yes, I live in the outer city. Everyone else in my family has fallen ill. Sigh, I'm still okay, I can manage. So, the city was distributing medicine, and I came early this morning, but I didn't expect to have to wait in line for so long," Li Baoguo said helplessly.

Jiang Ziya nodded upon hearing this, then looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to the two of them, asked in a low voice.

"Brother Li, I've heard that this plague is a result of the king's tyranny, sent down by heaven?"

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo was taken aback. Then, a hint of anger appeared on his face as he looked at Jiang Ziya with some surprise. Finally, he suppressed his anger and said...

“Brother Jiang, I see you’re from out of town, so I won’t be angry with you. Don’t bring this up again. We’ve seen what kind of person the King is. Even if he were true, why would Heaven send a plague upon us mortals for no reason? What have the people done wrong? I think Heaven is truly wicked.”

After saying that, Old Li turned around and ignored Jiang Ziya.

Jiang Ziya was stunned, his mind replaying Li Dingguo's words.

"Yes, what have the common people done to deserve this..." Jiang Ziya thought to himself.

He then gently patted his chest, which bulged slightly, as if something important was inside.

It wasn't until after noon that Jiang Ziya was able to enter the city. Looking at the bustling city, Jiang Ziya was amazed. He hadn't been back for more than forty years, and the changes in Chaoge were so great that he could hardly recognize it. It was truly a world transformed.

The outbreak of the plague did not diminish the liveliness of Chaoge. On the contrary, the distribution of the elixir made the whole city lively. Around Jiang Ziya, one could hear the joyful laughter of people who had recovered after taking the medicine.

"Could it really be that a true immortal here to save people?" I was quite surprised.

At this moment, Jiang Ziya looked up in the direction the crowd had gone, and a magnificent building came into view. It was the Zhutian Tower. Jiang Ziya hesitated for a moment and did not walk in that direction. Instead, he found a nearby restaurant and went inside.

Jiang Ziya was tired from his journey, so he asked the innkeeper for some side dishes and a pot of wine and began to eat. It seemed that everyone had gone to ask for medicine today, and the entire inn was very quiet except for Jiang Ziya.

While eating, he recalled what Yuanshi Tianzun had told him before he went down the mountain.

"Assisting a wise ruler, assisting a wise ruler, Master, why don't you explain yourself clearly? Who is the wise ruler? You say that the fate of the Shang Dynasty is exhausted, but from what I've seen along the way, it seems that this is not what you said." Jiang Ziya thought to himself.

The reason he chose to come to Chaoge immediately after descending the mountain was partly out of spite. The old man from the South Pole who sent him down the mountain had told him that his path was to the west and that he would meet a wise ruler if he went west. However, after descending the mountain, Jiang Ziya inexplicably headed east and chose to come to Chaoge. He still harbored some resentment and intended to see for himself whether the Shang Dynasty was truly doomed as they said.

Jiang Ziya ate a few bites and then put down his chopsticks.

"Why..."

Jiang Ziya touched the object on his chest, which contained the sealed Investiture of the Gods, given to him personally by the Primordial Lord of Heaven, who did not tell him how to use it, only saying that he would know when the time was right.

Just as Jiang Ziya was lost in thought, a small hand suddenly appeared before him, reaching for the roast chicken on the table.

"Uh..." Jiang Ziya was stunned for a moment and turned his head to look.

Suddenly, a beautifully sculpted three-year-old girl appeared beside his table, tiptoeing to grab a roast chicken.

"Heave-ho."

The little girl is indeed adorable.

She tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into her mouth to eat.

Jiang Ziya stared blankly at the cute little girl in front of him, so surprised that he couldn't speak for a moment.