Beside the valley stream, Wu Wang sat with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips, looking at the smiling, straw-cloaked elder before him.
What in the world? What's happening? How am I supposed to deal with this? Ah, I'm feeling a bit dizzy...
The current King of the Human Domain, who had led the Human race against half the divine spirits of the Great Wilderness, ensuring the Human Domain's steadfast presence in the South Wilderness and its ever-increasing prosperity—the Human Emperor himself was sitting so casually before him?
Should I salute him? This thought surfaced in Wu Wang's mind, followed by a wry smile.
Be serious. Now is not the time for jests.
It wasn't just because the elder before him was the rumored Yan Emperor, Shen Nong; nor was it merely because the man claimed he could cure his strange illness. There was also a profound sense of awe stemming from the myths of his old home.
Wu Wang took two steps back and offered the elder, who called himself the Old Man of Lianshan, a common salutation of the Human Domain.
"This junior has been disrespectful, Your Majesty the Human Emperor. Please don't take offense!"
The Shennong Family elder shook his head, chuckling. "Let us only discuss your strange illness for now and leave other matters aside. Do you believe me?"
"I believe you. What could a Senior like yourself possibly want from a junior like me?"
Wu Wang smiled. "This junior has also followed the example of Human Domain cultivators and chosen a Taoist name: Wu Wang, signifying a life without worries or undeserved disasters."
"Wu Wang? An undeserved disaster?"
Shen Nong burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, your Taoist name is truly fitting! This strange illness of yours is indeed an undeserved disaster."
Wu Wang asked, puzzled, "Senior, do you know the root cause of this junior's strange ailment?"
"Let me consider how much I can tell you. Some details concern the fate of the Human race, and it's not appropriate to explain them to you just yet."
After musing for a moment, Shen Nong said, "First, let's go to a nearby place to rest, and then I will explain slowly."
With those words, Shen Nong stood up, placed his hand on Wu Wang's shoulder, and took half a step forward.
The light and shadows around them swirled, and the world around them transformed, as if by a trick of light and shadow.
They found themselves among rolling mountains, standing within a maple forest halfway up a slope, surrounded by crimson-tinged maple leaves. Birds circled in the distance, and even farther away, endless pine and cypress trees stretched out. Wisps of clear qi drifted with the wind, mountain springs and waterfalls cascaded from the clouds, and there was no sign of human habitation anywhere—it truly was an excellent spot for Cultivation.
Not far away stood a small thatched cottage, and Shen Nong's voice came from the side, "Come over."
Wu Wang didn't dare to take in too much of the surrounding scenery and quickly followed.
The distant calls of cranes heralded the arrival of two white cranes. They flew in, circled above the cottage for a moment, dropped the Lingzhi mushrooms and Spiritual Medicine they held in their beaks, then flew off again.
A small, fenced yard lay in front of the cottage.
Shen Nong approached the yard, shook his wooden staff, and a gust of wind swept over the stone table and benches under a tree, leaving them spotless.
"Come, come, have a seat."
Wu Wang didn't refuse and sat opposite Shen Nong, his posture impeccably proper.
"Where should I begin?" Shen Nong stroked his beard and said softly, "Wu Wang, your Divine Thought is already quite strong. It's clear you've practiced the Praying Star Technique of the Northern Wilderness. You've also mastered a Qi Gathering Cultivation Technique, achieving the Qi-gathering realm. Someone must have secretly opened a door for you, shielding you from the Starry Sky Temple's detection. Has your mother been the leader of the Northern Wilderness's Seven-Day Sun Ritual in recent centuries?"
"Yes, my mother's name is Cang Xue."
"So, the Star God's control over the Northern Wilderness has loosened even further." Shen Nong murmured to himself before smiling again. "Having the North Wilderness People flourish like this adds another layer of security to the Human race's bloodline. That's truly good."
After a brief contemplation, Wu Wang asked, "Senior, is the situation in the Human Domain not optimistic?"
"It's manageable. However, I was just reminded of someone who kept pestering me, arguing for uniting the people of the Nine Wildernesses within the Human Domain. Others contend that the Human race's current scattered state across the heavens and earth is actually for the best." Shen Nong looked slightly annoyed, clearly having been bothered immensely.
He then recovered his previous gentle smile, took off his straw cloak, and placed it to the side. His wide robe beneath bore a few stains, showing he wasn't one to fuss over minor details.
"They often argue back and forth over a single issue for hundreds, even thousands of years, without reaching a conclusion. Let's set these matters aside and talk about your strange illness."
Wu Wang instantly became fully alert.
Shen Nong said, "Have you heard of the ancient god war?"
"I have. I've read most of the documents that can be found in the Northern Wilderness."
"It's always easy talking to you," Shen Nong smiled. "The root of your strange illness lies in that ancient god war."
Wu Wang's brow furrowed deeply.
What's the principle behind this?
"And then?" Wu Wang asked tentatively.
"For now, this is all I can tell you," Shen Nong said with a light chuckle, stroking his beard.
Wu Wang nearly slammed his hand on the table in frustration but, after some thought, decided he should still respect this formidable figure.
After all, I can't beat him.
Wu Wang said listlessly, "Thank you, Senior."
Shen Nong replied with a smile, "Don't be disheartened so quickly. Your strange illness originates from Primordial God Spirits, but the Primordial God Spirit who cursed you isn't the only one who can resolve it. I have a method that can help your Cultivation succeed and also allow you to lift the curse of your strange illness. However, this method is quite precious..."
"How precious?" Wu Wang asked hurriedly. "I implore you, Senior, enlighten me."
"This method concerns the future of the Human Domain," Shen Nong said, his eyes carrying a profound meaning. "But if you cultivate this method to the ninth level, the strange illness will recede on its own."
"Really?"
"Truly."
Wu Wang blinked. "Does this Cultivation Technique have only nine levels? Is it related to the Human Emperor's legacy, meaning that reaching the highest level would make one the next Human Emperor and also grant the power to resist Innate Gods?"
"Hahaha, you truly are quite clever."
"Are you really willing to impart this Cultivation Technique to me, Senior?"
"Well," Shen Nong stroked his beard as he spoke, "a healer must be benevolent. If there is a method to cure your illness, it shouldn't be kept secret. But this matter is indeed very significant... How about you say a few pleasing things for me to hear? Perhaps, if I'm delighted enough to laugh, I might just give you this opportunity."
Pleasing words!
Wu Wang felt an urge to both laugh and cry but quickly calmed himself. He sat there, meeting Shen Nong's gaze, while images started surfacing in his mind. "Volunteer Wu Wang! You are the only volunteer who reached the wormhole! The fate of all humanity rests on your shoulders! If you can return alive, you will be a hero, the greatest hero! If you cannot return, your contribution will not be forgotten—never forgotten! The volunteers who perished before reaching the edge of the wormhole... their sacrifices will also gain meaning through you!"
"Senior," Wu Wang said softly, his expression tinged with exhaustion, "I am not shirking responsibility, nor am I afraid of bearing it. But can you tell me plainly, why me? Your seeking me out today must be for more than just my strange illness. If the Human race of the Great Wilderness needs me to step forward, I will, but it must be of my own volition. I want to make my own decisions, not be coerced under any pretext."
Shen Nong looked intently at Wu Wang, his smile gradually fading. He said seriously, "I don't know how you honed such a keen mind in a simple place like the Northern Wilderness."
Wu Wang was momentarily unsure how to respond.
Shen Nong asked, "Let me ask you, Wu Wang: if the Human Domain faced a crisis so dire it might be overturned, and you were faced with an enemy you could not possibly defeat, would you still be willing to fight to the death?"
After pondering for a while, Wu Wang replied, "If it is the Human race facing the crisis of being overturned, not just the Human Domain's people, I will certainly fight to the death."
"Here, the opportunity is before you. It's up to you whether you can seize it."
From Shen Nong's sleeve flew a spark of fire, which gathered without dispersing and congealed into a wooden Token before Wu Wang. The wooden Token was generally trapezoidal, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. In its center, a pale white flame leaped continuously. Complex symbols were carved on its left and right—symbols that seemed to have evolved from pictographs, yet Wu Wang couldn't make any sense of them.
The Token slowly rotated, revealing an enormous 'Yan' character on its back.
Wu Wang reached out to touch it, and clusters of flames emerged from the Token, drifting into the air.
"This is the Yan Emperor Token. You have one month. If you can gain its acknowledgment, you will be the owner of the Yan Emperor Token. It contains the first Cultivation text of the Human Domain, and this is one of only two solutions to your strange affliction!"
In Wu Wang's eyes, two fervent flames ignited. He was completely oblivious to the subtle, almost imperceptible smile playing on the lips of the formidable elder before him.
「Four hours later.」
CLANG! CLANG!
In the forest north of the thatched cottage, Wu Wang, dressed in a short shirt, trousers, and boots, his long hair simply tied back, was drenched in sweat as he swung a stone axe, chopping at the towering trees before him.
Behind Wu Wang, the Yan Emperor Token floated quietly, its flame flickering slightly.
The first trial of the Yan Emperor Token's acknowledgment!
[A strong physique is a basic quality of a Human Emperor's successor. Without relying on the Praying Star Technique or cultivation Mana, chop down one hundred trees in this area and carry the logs back near the thatched cottage.]
When it comes to strength and stamina, we men of the Northern Wilderness fear nothing!
Wu Wang, axe in hand, headed up the mountain. He sealed his Praying Star Technique and his Qi-gathering realm cultivation, chose the densest part of the forest, and set to chopping the tallest, thickest trees!
This is a matter of dignity for the men of Cang Mountain, the pride of our Bear Hugging clan! How could I, the Young Master, lose face before the Human Emperor?
And so, Wu Wang labored at chopping wood for an hour.
"HUFF... HUFF... GULP."
Wu Wang leaned against a half-chopped tree trunk, took a gulp of the spring water he had just fetched, and gasped for breath, his entire body soaked in sweat.
Never mind. I'm a ranged spellcaster, a cultivator; I can't expect to have the physique of a warrior. Without using my Qi or the Praying Star Technique, and having done no physical training, if I keep picking these thickest trees, I won't complete the first task even in a month. I'll have to settle for the next best thing.
Wu Wang, carrying his axe, dragged a couple of trimmed logs slowly toward the neighboring woods.
「Half a day later.」
Well, thinner ones will still work.
「Two days later.」
Trees have a hard time living for a thousand years. I'll just chop those under a hundred. Amen, amen. Hail Gatling Bodhisattva.
「Seven days later.」
Wu Wang collapsed beside the thatched cottage. Staring at the empty cottage and the absent Emperor Yan of Shennong, he took the Elixir lying before him. Instantly, a hot current surged through his body, and he felt an inexhaustible supply of energy.
So this is... Indeed, the Senior thought I focused too much on spiritual cultivation and that my physique was a weak point. Thank you, Senior!
Wu Wang bowed towards the empty cottage. The Yan Emperor Token floating behind him trembled gently, and words emerged in Wu Wang's mind. The second trial was upon him!
[Build a shelter, so that the Human race in its infancy could withstand wind, frost, rain, and snow. Please use these timbers, without using the Praying Star Technique, to quickly build a structure that you are most satisfied with.]
This challenge seemed to merely require him to build a structure, but it also covertly tested his aesthetic sense and project management skills.
Senior Shen Nong's methods are truly extraordinary.
Wu Wang took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly, a wooden hall began to take shape in his mind. He opened his eyes, looked at the logs stacked before him, let out a roar, ripped off his short shirt, and, axe in hand, charged forward.
Appear! Green Wood Temple—Miniature Version!
「And so, another half month passed.」
A grand temple, ten zhang high, rose from the woods. It was entirely green and comprised three levels. Although it lacked flying eaves and carved dragons, the shining Wood-element treasure gem at the very top was particularly conspicuous.
Wu Wang stood before the building, every detail polished to near perfection, and couldn't help but be moved to tears.
Did I really make this with my own hands? Thank you, Senior, for arranging this trial and giving me this chance to rediscover myself. It turns out there's infinite joy in being a carpenter...
HUM! HUM!
The Yan Emperor Token trembled slightly, and the content of the third trial emerged in Wu Wang's mind.
[Water is the source of life. The Human race in its early years settled by water and migrated with it. Please dig a stream to channel the clear spring from the mountaintop so that it flows past the building you constructed.]
Wu Wang flexed his arms, let out a low roar, and, carrying his axe, charged into the mountain forest.
「Three days later, a stream flowed behind the wooden temple.」
Another two days passed, and the forest near the wooden temple was cleared, giving way to a large medicinal garden. Wu Wang, now almost perfectly integrated with the land, carried a wooden basket on his back and planted seedlings in the garden.
「Two days later... and another two days...」
「A refined villa now stood halfway up the mountain.」
Finally, Shen Nong himself came slowly, leaning on his staff. He couldn't stop nodding in satisfaction at the ingenious arrangements everywhere.
And Wu Wang received the final trial from the Yan Emperor Token.
[Migration often occurs to avoid unassailable disasters. Please move the contents of the original wooden house to the great hall, arrange them properly, and experience the hardships of ancient Human race migrations.]
Wu Wang laughed heartily a few times and, like a whirlwind, rushed back and forth between the original wooden house and the Greenwood Great Hall, quickly carrying over wooden boxes and cabinets.
When he placed the last wooden box, the Yan Emperor Token that had been floating behind him slowly descended into his palm. The flame on it receded, and a warm current entered his palm as a sequence of incantations slowly surfaced in his mind.
This is it!
Wu Wang sighed softly, clutching the Token, his spiritual mind turbulent for a long time.
I've done it! Since coming to the Great Wilderness, do I have to shoulder such a heavy responsibility? Ah, my joyous life as a Young Master... is it gone forever starting today...?
CRACK! CRACKLE! CRACK!
Wu Wang turned toward the sound. It was the very last wooden box he had just moved. Perhaps due to its age, or because he had set it down too forcefully, the wooden slats on its side had broken, and dozens of wooden Tokens spilled out, burying Wu Wang's feet.
These wooden Tokens... why do they look so familiar...?
Wu Wang looked down at the wooden Tokens on the ground, at the incredibly familiar symbols, the flamboyant 'Yan' characters, and the peculiar material that was hard to identify at a glance...
He bent down and picked one up. A warm current entered his palm, and the incantation he had just received surfaced in his mind again.
At the entrance of the hall, Emperor Yan of Shennong, who was just approaching with his staff, silently withdrew his outstretched foot.
"Sen... ior." Wu Wang's voice was like a cold wind from the nine hells. Dark lines spread across his forehead, seeming to engulf the corners of the hall. His slightly raised head revealed a sharp red gleam in his eyes.
Wu Wang let out a howl and, gripping the now well-used axe, dashed out.
The barefooted, straw-cloaked elder turned and fled, his staff tapping the ground, causing patches of grass and wildflowers to spring up. The old man's laughter and the young man's roars echoed through the woods.
"Oh, hahaha! Disrespecting the Human Emperor is a serious crime!"
"A gentleman cannot be humiliated! The North Wilderness People are not under your rule yet!"
"Young man, you must be reasonable! Hahaha! Weren't you quite happy during this process? I originally just wanted to build an elixir-concocting room here. Who knew you'd be so formidable, building a grand hall without even using Mana!"
"Give me back my dream of saving the world! I put so much resolve into accepting the Yan Emperor Token!"
"Hahahaha! Such talent, such potential! Suddenly, I really want to nurture you properly!"
"I don't need it! I don't need it! A young person's dreams are the most precious!"
That day, Wu Wang accomplished a feat not even the Heavenly Emperor had managed: he chased the current Human Emperor all over the mountains and fields, weapons in hand, from dusk until the stars filled the night sky.