A Plain-Language Retelling of Investiture of the Gods. In the distant final years of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou, Di Xin, ruled over a vast land. Though he was the Son of Heaven of the Shang, he was debauched, unjust, and cruel. One day, while offering incense at the Temple of Nüwa, King Zhou saw that the goddess's statue was extraordinarily beautiful. He made a reckless remark and wrote a poem insulting Nüwa. When the goddess learned of this, she flew into a rage. She believed King Zhou's wickedness had offended the Way of Heaven, and that the Shang Dynasty's time had come to an end.
When the Western Sect's leaders, Zhunti and Jieyin, learned that the Shang Dynasty was doomed, they went to the Temple of Nüwa and asked the goddess for permission to recruit the Shang's wandering immortals and cultivators, bringing them back to the Western Sect to strengthen Buddhism.
The Shang Dynasty's time had come to an end, and a great calamity was about to descend.
