This Human Immortal Is Too Serious-Chapter 434 - 432

The eight Pavilion Masters consulted on the spot and decided on the fastest strategy to publicize the "Tales of Emperor Shun."

Before they could even report to the Human Emperor, they were pushed out of the pavilion by the Dao rhythm emanating from Shen Nong and found themselves standing outside, wide-eyed and staring at one another.

"Tsk," Liu Baiyi said, his hands behind his back, sighing lightly. "A new generation truly surpasses the old."

"Enough of that," an old crone chided with a chuckle. "Among us, you are the one His Majesty trusts most. Wu Wangzi now shoulders a heavy responsibility. The words exchanged between His Majesty and him are ones we must not overhear; that would be overstepping."

"True," Feng Zhizi glanced at the two figures sitting opposite each other inside the pavilion and voluntarily closed the wooden door. He spoke in a gentle voice, "The great tides of this world are already rumbling with hidden thunder, and no one knows how things will unfold next. As fellow Daoists entrusted with the duty of safeguarding the Human Domain, we must give our all."

"Agreed."

"Hey, do you think it's possible that His Majesty and Wu Wangzi are discussing how to slay the Heavenly Emperor right now?"

"Would Emperor Shun be so foolish? Seeing that things are amiss, he must have a contingency plan. A fierce battle is inevitable."

"If we can put an end to this enmity within our generation, allowing future generations to enjoy peace, then our journey through this world will not have been in vain."

The elders chuckled softly, their eyes brimming with yearning.

「Within the Barrier erected by Shen Nong...」

"Have you eaten?" Wu Wang casually asked, his gaze somewhat distant.

"I have," Shen Nong replied, stroking his beard. "Grilled fish and rice."

"How was your appetite?"

"Nothing was wasted; I ate it all."

"'That's good,' Wu Wang said, sitting cross-legged on the meditation cushion. He leaned back, supporting himself with his hands on the bamboo mat, his eyes full of mirth. "Perhaps the next time we meet, Emperor Shun will have already enthroned me as the Heavenly Emperor."

"He merely wants to use you to integrate the forces of the Human Domain and the Heaven Palace, so they can wear down the Candle Dragon." Shen Nong said gently, "Simplify the matter as much as possible. You'll find that our main preparation is figuring out how we'll still have enough strength to confront Emperor Shun after slaying the Candle Dragon."

"There is a chance of victory," Wu Wang said. "Senior, you need not worry too much. I still have a trump card I haven't used."

Shen Nong looked at Wu Wang, as if trying to see through the young man before him. Soon, Shen Nong smiled. "Sometimes, I truly believe you are the reincarnation of an Ancient God."

"Reincarnation of an Ancient God," Wu Wang sighed lightly. "I wish I could suddenly manifest a divine body powerful enough to ignore the Candle Dragon's threat. Unfortunately, my trump card comes from the future."

"Oh?" Shen Nong furrowed his brows slightly.

Wu Wang simply shook his head, a hint of apology in his eyes. The two shared a tacit understanding, and Shen Nong calmly changed the subject. "The reason I called you back was actually to bolster your spirits. I was afraid you might be coerced by Emperor Shun and fall into his trap step by step."

"What trap?" Wu Wang asked, raising a hand to gently pick his nose.

"The helplessness faced by the previous Human Emperors, Suiren and Fu Xi," Shen Nong said. "Kill Emperor Shun, and order collapses, allowing the Candle Dragon to return."

"Senior, what are your thoughts on this now...?"

"Kill Emperor Shun," Shen Nong whispered. "Regardless of whether the Candle Dragon returns or not, I will deal with Emperor Shun, and you will face the Candle Dragon."

Wu Wang's eyes widened.

Shen Nong chuckled. "It's quite reasonable, isn't it?"

"How can I possibly win against that?" Wu Wang protested.

Shen Nong just smiled without answering, pondering the divination signs. He then said slowly, "Just do your best. It is always better to struggle once than to slowly wait for death."

Wu Wang said, "If we lose, I'll have to bear the infamy."

"If we lose," Shen Nong said, "will there be anyone left to blame us?"

"Hiss—That's really true," Wu Wang gave a thumbs-up. "You truly are wiser, Senior."

"Alright, I know you can't stay long." Shen Nong fished out a familiar gourd from his sleeve, one that had left a deep impression on Wu Wang. Wu Wang's expression changed at the sight of it.

"Let's skip the Daoist liquor, shall we...? Senior, I think drinking easily leads to trouble. One could even fall into a ditch while riding the clouds!"

"This is a primer. I had you drink it in the past to get you accustomed to this liquor's aftereffects, so you wouldn't be knocked out by a single cup." Shen Nong helped himself to a porcelain cup and poured half a cup of the pale-green Daoist liquor into it.

Afterward, the old man's movements seemed to slow. He blew on his fingertip, igniting an orange-yellow flame. He sent the flame into the cup, where it instantly enveloped the Daoist liquor.

At that moment, Wu Wang felt as if he were in a bustling marketplace, hearing people's laughter and cries, their joys and sorrows. He sensed the Dao rhythm that had once resided temporarily within him. The Dao rhythm of Fuel and Fire.

"Drink it. You are the third member of the human race to be granted this opportunity: to meet the creator of our Human Domain within this liquor."

Wu Wang hesitated for a moment. It was not that he distrusted Senior Shen Nong; he just feared making a fool of himself if he got drunk. Enough, enough! In the end, I still have to call the old senior 'Father-in-law.' I'll drink it then!

Wu Wang took a deep breath, sat up straight, cupped the porcelain cup with both hands, and tipped the contents into his mouth. The fire emitted no heat, but the Daoist liquor felt like a blade slicing his throat as it went down. A burst of flame exploded in Wu Wang's chest, and his Primordial Spirit was immediately engulfed by the light of the flame. His vision blurred, and he felt as if he couldn't sense his body. Dizzily, he seemed to stumble into a dream realm.

Shen Nong's voice sounded, guiding him through twisted beams of light and into a pitch-dark cave. "Maintain your true self. Seek neither joy nor attainment. Let your original self return to unity, that you may glimpse the ancient visage."

As Shen Nong's voice gradually faded, Wu Wang closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his vision was blurry with ripples, but there was no obstruction, and it quickly cleared. He was lying in a dim cave on a bed covered with foot-wide leaves. There were traces of moisture by his mouth; someone had probably given him water. Not far to his left was a bonfire, beside which sat a hunched figure, tossing a piece of kindling into the fire.

A voice drifted from near to far, speaking slowly in a tone Wu Wang didn't understand. Yet, somehow, deep in his heart, he knew the meaning of the syllables.

"Awake?"

Wu Wang was pondering whether to respond when a sound involuntarily escaped his lips: "Mm."

"Come over and warm yourself by the fire," the old man by the bonfire said softly. "Everyone else is asleep; don't wake them."

Then 'he' started to move. Wu Wang understood clearly: he was experiencing a memory through the eyes of its owner. The boy soon sat down beside the old man, looking down and fiddling with a pair of grass shoes.

"Tomorrow, we'll reach a secure place—a valley where many of our people live. The Fire God's wrath has never fallen there. We will have food."

"'What did I eat?'" 'he' asked.

"Deer meat."

"'Where can one find deer?'"

"'It was dried deer meat. Some people from our tribe exchanged themselves with the Eagle People, who brought enough dried deer meat for our journey ahead,' the old man said without raising his head. 'It's in the corner; you can go see.'"

The boy did not move, just looked down at the crackling bonfire.

"'What about my sister?'" he asked.

The old man said calmly, "She starved to death. She couldn't last until the food came."

The boy silently clenched his fists, looking at the scratches on his arm, then pursed his lips slightly. The scene trembled gently, and the boy's future path slowly unfolded before Wu Wang.

This was a tribe of only a few hundred people. They followed the river, trying to stay in the wettest areas possible. Fierce birds circled in the sky. The land was riddled with dry cracks. From afar, the rivers looked like mere silver threads. Everywhere one looked, volcanoes spewed black smoke. This was the South Wilderness, ruled by the Ancient Fire God.

A sigh rose from deep within Wu Wang's heart. At that moment, he realized the boy's identity.

Suiren.

The scenes kept flowing. Wu Wang felt as if he were experiencing the life of this ancient Human Emperor, recalling the time he and Yun Zhongjun had peered into the Outer Sky in their dream. It was too similar to the Outer Sky.

Living beings resided at the very bottom of the hierarchy of heaven and earth. Their living conditions depended on the nature and temper of the Divine Spirits, leading to starkly different situations in lands ruled by different gods. The tragic state of the South Wilderness was simply because the Ancient Fire God was too strong. Wu Wang had encountered many of these scenes before.

The boy, weakened by excessive blood loss, struggled to keep up with the group. But when they reached their destination, they found it had become scorched earth. People in the tribe died one after another, and those who survived tried every means to find habitable areas. After more than a decade of the hardest times, the tribe, now reduced to just over thirty individuals, finally settled down and began to work hard at reproduction.

But the Fire God's decree was spread everywhere by the Eagle People: fire was the property of the Divine Spirits. All fire in heaven and earth belonged to the Fire God; for living beings to touch it was blasphemy against the great Fire God. Without fire, there was no cooked meat. They were unable to resist the cold of the night or fend off equally hungry fierce beasts.

Then one day, Suiren took out two sticks. He sharpened one end and pressed it into a groove in another piece of wood, which he had filled with dried grass and leaves. Slowly, he ground out a spark, then a flame.

"'This is not a flame bestowed by the great Fire God; this is a flame granted by the Wood God.' With Suiren's explanation, the Eagle People could not make a move. So, the small tribe began to use fire and, as a result, started to develop swiftly.

Disaster still came. The Fire God noticed the method of making fire by rubbing wood. He raged and roared, cursing, 'Wood God, you overstep your bounds!' All the while, he scattered endless meteorites, nearly shattering the South Wilderness.

The subsequent events were also known to Wu Wang. Emperor Suiren was bound and brought before the Fire God by the Eagle People. The god flicked him away with a finger, and he crashed into the sea. But what happened to Emperor Suiren after he smashed into the sea, Wu Wang only found out today.

It was a ball of clay.

A clump of mud lay silently on the shallow seabed. It was struck by Emperor Suiren's rapidly descending body. The mud seemed to come alive, enveloping Emperor Suiren and slowly dragging him into the white sand beneath. At this moment, Wu Wang felt an incredibly intimate yet wholly unfamiliar aura.

He, or rather Emperor Suiren, heard a lighthearted song. In the song, Emperor Suiren saw a beautiful woman with a human's torso and a snake's tail. Wearing a floral garland, she walked ceaselessly upon the earth, pondering something, searching for something. Then, with a faint smile, she sat before a mud pit. She shaped several clay figures and breathed upon them. The clay figures came to life and started running and jumping around.

The woman, seemingly deep in thought, continued to shape clay figures. This process lasted for a very long time. Then, as if she had an epiphany, she picked up a willow twig, dipped it into ordinary mud, and flicked droplets of it around. These droplets transformed into human figures, who ran and laughed across the land. One droplet of mud, however, was flung too far and fell into the sea. It still bore the power of creation but did not transform into a human figure.

This was the 'mud droplet' explaining its origin to Emperor Suiren. It was also the secret behind Emperor Suiren's increasing strength. Within the mud droplet lay not only the residual mysteries of the Dao of Creation but also Nuwa's many insights during the creation of humans, and the entire process of how the human race came to be. The mud itself was not the key; it was merely a vessel, a manifestation of the Five Elements. The crucial part was the 'emergence of consciousness.' This transition from non-existence to existence, though traceable, was a resonance of the Dao of Life—an evolution from 'inanimate' to 'animate.'

The Spirits of the Great Dao are born from the Great Dao itself. They call themselves gods and are closely related to the primordial forces of heaven and earth. Innate Spirits, on the other hand, are born from the myriad things of creation; they are the spirits of these things, an extension of the evolution from 'inanimate' to 'animate.'

Emperor Suiren then sensed an invisible net within heaven and earth. This net seemed to ensnare countless nebulous consciousnesses, all seeking to manifest themselves... This is what spirit is.

Afterward, Emperor Suiren embarked on a journey to seek spirit, to feel spirit, to enhance his own spirit. He roamed the seafloor and dwelled on islands, exchanging wisdom with their intelligent inhabitants. His footprints spread from the southernmost parts of the South Wilderness to the easternmost parts of the Eastern Wilderness. Emperor Suiren encountered diverse creatures and experienced affections that made him reluctant to leave. Yet, he never stopped moving forward, for he ultimately had to return to that scorched land.

The power of living beings grew ever stronger. The lingering grace of the Dao of Creation brought boundless benefits to Emperor Suiren.

A thousand years passed. Emperor Suiren still maintained his youthful visage. During one spiritual exploration, he stepped into an ancient but broken teleportation array and found himself in the domain of other gods. The teleportation array was one-way. And so, Emperor Suiren entered the Outer Sky.

Wu Wang felt as if he were watching a story, experiencing Emperor Suiren's journey through his perspective. The initial hardships, the soaring rise after obtaining the mud droplet of creation, the joy of continuously sensing the existence of spirit—all these deeply moved Wu Wang's Dao heart, captivating him for a long time. Perhaps because he had left his homeland, Emperor Suiren's journey in the Outer Sky felt less grim, and the story's pace lightened.

There were humans in the Outer Sky too. Nuwa had created humans and comprehended the Dao of Life at the end of the Third Divine Age. Afterward, the human race began to prosper, and the Hundred Races gradually emerged. Only then did the rise of the Candle Dragon usher in the Fourth Divine Age.

Although the Fourth Divine Age was brief, it was a critical period for the thriving development of living beings. The Candle Dragon cared nothing for them, constantly scheming to devour the Great Daos of other strong gods and entertaining the thought of being unrivaled under the heavens. However, Emperor Shun sneakily formed alliances and coalitions. In the end, the collective gods forced the Candle Dragon into the Outer Sky. When the Candle Dragon left, the gods took many living beings with them—after all, the divine lords had grown accustomed to the servitude of these living slaves.

The Outer Sky was an extension of the Fourth Divine Age. However, the Candle Dragon kept striking the Heaven and Earth Seal, causing irregularities in the sun and moon. Periodic 'tides of Spiritual Energy' also appeared between heaven and earth. Every time the Candle Dragon battered herself bloody against the Heaven and Earth Seal, the Land Beyond the Skies would enter a period of relatively abundant Spiritual Energy. And whenever the Candle Dragon rested to recover her strength, the Spiritual Energy in the Land Beyond the Skies would begin to recede, though not by a large amount.

When Emperor Suiren burst into this place (the Outer Sky), he already possessed considerable power. Moreover, the Outer Sky lacked the concealment of the Dao of Order, making it easier to approach various Great Daos. Thus, Emperor Suiren's strength began to soar, and the mud droplet of creation gradually exhausted its Spirit Light.

In the Outer Sky, Emperor Suiren fought his way through, from insignificant minor gods to the Candle Dragon's trusted generals; Suiren defeated them all one by one. There was no concept of rebirth in the Outer Sky. What's more, at that time, Emperor Shun had not yet fully established the Divine Court within the heavens. When gods fell, the rest grew fearful. The Candle Dragon herself had fallen into a slumber, exhausted from her previous fervent assault on the Heaven and Earth Seal.

Emperor Suiren gathered the living beings of the Hundred Races and taught them how to feel the presence of spirit. He left behind the seeds of cultivation in the Outer Sky. He told them that living beings could become strong on their own and that Divine Spirits merely possessed innate advantages. There is no essential difference between one spirit and another; an oppressive existence is inherently unreasonable.

A fierce rebellion of living beings erupted in the Outer Sky, drawing in many Divine Spirits. Emperor Suiren continued to challenge the Divine Spirits, fighting his way all the way to the Candle Dragon... Truly a hero sent from heaven.

To be honest, from Emperor Suiren's perspective, Wu Wang saw his own mother. Her true form was so stunningly elegant and uniquely beautiful. He also saw his maternal grandfather, who was surprisingly a 'water orb' with a human face and indeed looked very gentle. Besides them, he saw many strong gods under the Candle Dragon's command—likely on par with the Thunderstorm God.

Unfortunately, Emperor Suiren was still no match for the Candle Dragon at the time, but the Candle Dragon couldn't defeat Emperor Suiren easily either. Their fierce battle tore a fissure in the Heaven and Earth Seal. Emperor Suiren, severely injured, squeezed through the gap and returned, openly and with dignity, to the world within. Luckily, he appeared in the Northern Wilderness.

The Star God was severely wounded.

After recovering in the Northern Wilderness, Emperor Suiren quietly returned to the South Wilderness and began to accumulate strength. By this time, Emperor Suiren's understanding of spirit had almost reached its essence. This fearless man, who dared to tear at the Candle Dragon with his bare hands, finally accomplished the great deed that would profoundly impact the cosmic order.

He slew the Fire God!

The great war between Emperor Suiren and the Heaven Palace thus commenced. It heralded an era of intense struggle: opening up lands for the Human Domain, gathering the Human race, and teaching them methods to perceive the Spirit Dao. Similarly, Wu Wang also understood why the cultivation methods of the Human Domain were primarily suited for the Human race, while most of the Hundred Races found them somewhat unsuitable. This was because the Human race was born from the Dao of Creation, while most of the Hundred Races were 'forcibly evolved' from Innate Spirits. Certain aspects of the Human Domain's cultivation methods originated from that mud droplet of creation. They were subtly aligned with the Dao of Creation, granting Human Domain cultivators the chance to connect with the myriad Great Daos of heaven and earth and to form their own Dao.

Great battles.

An endless succession of great battles.

The Heaven Palace's army of living beings poured southward unceasingly. Gradually, many figures began to gather around Emperor Suiren. The Human Domain began to take shape... It started to flourish. The Divine Spirits of the Heaven Palace began to retreat, and the South Wilderness became a paradise for living beings.

But all of this ground to a sudden halt when Emperor Suiren, while inspecting the various lands, bowed his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. The great war had exhausted Emperor Suiren. Divine Spirits fed on the faith of living beings and innately controlled the Great Daos. Emperor Suiren had endured too many assaults in the early days of the Human Domain, and the despicable Innate Gods laid a curse upon both Emperor Suiren and the Human race. In ancient times, the lifespan of humans was three thousand years, but it was suppressed to a mere five hundred. The powerful experts of the Human Domain, who had gained the recognition of the Great Dao, were then bound by layer upon layer of shackles by that handsome male Divine Spirit.

—This was the beginning of the Head Manager suffering the backlash from the Great Dao.

Afterward, Heavenly Punishment emerged. The strong individuals of the Human Domain, upon becoming Immortals or achieving Transcendence, would be directly intercepted and killed by the Heaven Palace's Heavenly Punishment. These scenes all unfolded before Wu Wang from Emperor Suiren's perspective, making him feel that same anger, that same stifling frustration.

Emperor Suiren decided on a northern expedition, determined to fight to the death against the Heaven Palace. The army advanced swiftly. The entire Human Domain, prepared for death, faced the Divine Spirits in a decisive battle. At the most critical moment, Emperor Suiren, with his last breath of fighting spirit, forced himself to the very gates of the Heaven Palace.

Emperor Shun appeared.

"You wish to fight me to the death. My strength is not equal to the Candle Dragon's, so you could likely drag me down with you. But Suiren, look. What is this?"

Beneath Emperor Shun's feet, numerous rings appeared. Hundreds of them stacked up to form a seal—the Heaven and Earth Seal. Emperor Shun stood silently at the very core of the seal.

In the end, Emperor Suiren retreated. Emperor Shun made him many promises: Heavenly Punishment would become Heavenly Tribulation, giving Human Domain experts a chance at survival; the Heaven Palace would acknowledge the legitimacy of the Human Domain's existence and cede the South Wilderness to it, and so on. Those conditions sounded so wonderful, as if the Divine Spirits were submitting to living beings.

But Emperor Suiren knew full well that after his death, the Heaven Palace's army would engulf the Human Domain like a tsunami.

On their journey back, as Emperor Suiren's last breath was about to dissipate, his emaciated figure sat by a small stream. Behind him stood his people, all bearing scars.

"My strength is spent," Suiren said. "Emperor Shun is untrustworthy. He lacks the self-restraint expected of a Heavenly Emperor; to achieve his goals, he can easily go back on his word. After my death, the Heaven Palace will do everything in its power to flatten the Human Domain. I can no longer protect you. Many of you will perish—your families, your friends. But I have thought of a way to protect the Human Domain... Come. Take my flames."

Emperor Suiren spoke softly. His trembling hand, now just skin over bone, extended, holding a ball of flame. The flame quivered gently, then separated into many individual sparks. The surrounding figures said nothing. One by one, they walked past Emperor Suiren, each taking one of the sparks.

"These are fire seeds. I have bound the origin of the Great Dao of Fire to my spirit. With these sparks... you will have the chance to obtain my power. When I close my eyes, I will scatter my final spirit across this land of the South Wilderness. I will watch over every member of our race. If any of you can comprehend the mysteries within these sparks, you will feel my presence. Do not rely on the power I leave behind. Do not worship me as a god. Do not abandon the faith you have fought so hard to obtain... You must strive to... surpass me…"

Emperor Suiren sighed softly, his eyes slowly closing. The final image in his blurring vision was of countless specks of light scattering like stars.

Darkness gradually enveloped Wu Wang's vision. He felt helplessness, loneliness, and self-reproach, which eventually coalesced into a soft sigh.

"Come back now."

Wu Wang opened his eyes to see Shen Nong's aged face before him. The surrounding light and shadows flickered. As he shook his head, his perception returned to normal.

"Carefully experience the memories of the First Human Emperor's battles with those Divine Spirits, and the various insights he gained during cultivation," Shen Nong said softly. "This is the secret of how each Human Emperor, upon their emergence, can withstand the Heaven Palace. You do not have the blessing of the Dao of Fuel and Fire, so how much you can comprehend will depend on yourself."