Chapter 181: The Onset of the Wa
When God Farmer was surrounded by the merit, Musen took out the Kongtong Seal and spoke softly, "The Human Sovereign, appear." After a roar of a dragon, the Dragon Aura of Human Sovereign suddenly flew out from the Kongtong Seal and submerged into God Farmer's body. As a result, God Farmer got a surge of the momentum.
After a while, the Golden Light of Merit disappeared. God Farmer had improved his cultivation to the Peak Level of Sage- to-be, just the same as Fuxi, and actualized the Fruit of the Human Sovereign. From then on, he could survive from any disaster and Cultivation Tribulation. God Farmer bowed to Kong Xuan for the last time. Since he was the Human Sovereign now, he could not be the disciple of Kong Xuan anymore.
The handing over ceremony of the Human Sovereign had finished and the Sages left one by one except the Honored Lord of the Origin. He exhorted Guang Chengzi something and then finally left. Under such circumstances, God Farmer walked towards Xuanyuan and said, "Brother, I pass the Human Tribe on to you now and we'll wait for you in the Holy Land." He then instantly rode the cloud to the Holy Land of Human Tribe, together with Fuxi and the Four Ancestors of Humanity. Xuanyuan even had no time to reply. With that, Xuanyuan knelt on the ground and shouted loudly as a reply, "I'll try my best to be worthy of your trust and protect the Human Tribe, I promise." The tribesmen had also knelt down as a respectful farewell to the Human Sovereign and the Ancestor of the Human Tribe until the two ancestors were finally out of sight.
Henceforth, the Human Tribe entered a new era, which was ruled by the Human Sovereign, Xuanyuan.
...
In the Nine Li tribes, Chi You got the news that Xuanyuan had taken the position as Sovereign of the Human tribe and he thought the time was proper for a change. Now that Xuanyuan succeeded the sovereign and had no time to strengthen his position, it would be a good chance to launch a war. The Youxiong tribe would be the best target for attacking where Xuanyuan was born.
As for the Youxiong tribe, although Xuanyuan had arranged their military training long ago, the people in the tribe were all slack in their training since Xuanyuan went to Chen Du with God Farmer. They completely couldn't compare with the Nine Li tribes which were led by the Wu Tribe. After a few battles, they were naturally beat and fled pell-mell.
At that time, Chi You and the Nine Li tribes got a ringing reputation while Xuanyuan gradually disappointed his tribesmen. When God Farmer passed the crown to Xuanyuan, the tribesmen all distrusted Xuanyuan's abilities. They knew well that Xuanyuan had won a good reputation in the whole tribe, however, he had made no contribution to the Human Tribe. Fuxi had taught people fishing and God Farmer had told people to plant the Five Grains before they held the position of Sovereign of the Human Tribe, which was quite different from Xuanyuan.
Now that the Nine Li tribes attacked and defeated Xuanyuan, the tribesmen began to doubt whether Xuanyuan was qualified to lead the Human Tribe. The split even appeared within the Youxiong union.
Therefore, Xuanyuan had been trapped by both domestic trouble and foreign invasion. Some tribes in the Human Tribe even began to disobey Xuanyuan's orders, which made Xuanyuan feel completely embarrassed. The leaders who had witnessed the actualization of the Human Sovereign played a principal role in determining the situation. They held the power of the stronger tribes in the Human Tribe. If they were willing to help Xuanyuan, Xuanyuan would be much relieved. However, they had perceived the vital force of the Human Sovereign in Chi You. They couldn't help but doubt whether God Farmer was the right chosen one or not. Under such circumstances, they decided to observe longer.
Xuanyuan was extremely anxious. He knew that he could only reverse the situation and rebuild his reputation if he defeated the Nine Li tribes. But the Nine Li tribes were under the protection of the Great Sorcerers, how could his army be comparable with them? He really felt helpless.
Xuanyuan thought it over and admitted again that the Great Sorcerers could never be defeated by the Cultivators of the Human Tribe. However, he believed that the immortals in the Untainted Land must have the solution. His mentor, Guang Chengzi, was precisely a Veridical Immortal. So he was certainly able to cope with the Great Sorcerers. Xuanyuan was so happy that he immediately sent someone to call for Guang Chengzi in order to discuss the problem together.
It was chilly winter now, Xuanyuan sat in the tent of the Youxiong tribe and discussed the tactics with the ministers late at night. Since Xuanyuan became the sovereign, troop training had been highly regarded. But when Xuanyuan went to Chen Du with God Farmer, the training was gradually loosened, which made them fall far behind the Nine Li tribes in terms of military power.
In the past, the two tribes resided far away from each other and could live in peace and harmony. Nowadays, Chi You led the Nine Li tribes and constantly extended the territory, which caused the two clans to neighbor on each other. What's worse, the Great Sorcerers aggressively killed the Cultivators of the Youxiong tribe now and then at the border. It was impossible to guard against the enemy for the Youxiong tribe.
Xuanyuan and other tribesmen were greatly worried about it. But they had insufficient cultivation and couldn't match with the Great Sorcerers. They could only reinforce the defense and prevent the Nine Li tribes from attacking. All in all, Xuanyuan knew they had no choice but to fight with the Nine Li tribes.
The soldiers of the Human Tribe were much weaker than that of the Nine Li tribes, not to mention the strength gap between the Great Sorcerers of the Nine Li tribes and the leaders of the Human Tribe. Xuanyuan thought it over again and again and finally had to admit that they had no chance to win when confronted with the Nine Li tribes.
When Xuanyuan and the ministers were upset about the situation, the guard notified them about the arrival of the Mentor of Human Sovereign, Guang Chengzi. Xuanyuan got the news and was overjoyed to welcome Guang Chengzi.
As soon as everyone was seated, Xuanyuan began to tell Guang Chengzi of the severe problems and then sighed and said, "I'm not willing to fight against the Nine Li tribes, but they bully us a lot. If the war begins, I'm afraid that the Youxiong tribe will be defeated by the Nine Li tribes. Do you have any suggestions?"
Xuanyuan once heard that Liu Er and Kong Xuan had given directions to the Heavenly Sovereign Fuxi and the Earthly Sovereign God Farmer and helped them actualize, so he always regarded Guang Chengzi as his mentor. He was now driven to the point of desperation and naturally took Guang Chengzi as his hope.
After making clear the situation, Guang Chengzi was lost in thought. In accordance with Xuanyuan's words, they were indeed at an unfair disadvantage in competing with the enemy. Unfortunately, he had nothing to do with the problem. He, a single immortal, could never match with dozens of Great Sorcerers, let alone command the army.
Guang Chengzi had never thought that being the Mentor of Human Sovereign would bring such great trouble. The situation had now exceeded his expectations. During the scramble for supremacy between the Sorcerer and Demon tribes, which was unknown to Xuanyuan, an ordinary Great Sorcerer in the Wu Tribe equaled a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. Additionally, the opposite camp now had Xiang Liu and Jiu Feng there. They were the best Great Sorcerers and naturally equaled two Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.
Seeing Guang Chengzi's silence, Xuanyuan became more anxious. He had to ask again, "Is there any way to defeat the enemy?"
Guang Chengzi hesitated for a while and then said, "They overwhelm you in terms of numerical strength... I have to go back the Yuxu Palace and ask your martial uncles for help."
Guang Chengzi clearly knew that even with the help of his brothers, they would probably still be defeated by the Great Sorcerers. However, he couldn't shrink back when his disciple needed his help. After all, if Xuanyuan failed the war and couldn't unify the Human Tribe, Guang Chengzi would absolutely miss the merit given by the actualizing of the Human Sovereign. Guang Chengzi had no alternative but to return to Yuxu Palace and hope the Honored Lord of the Origin could come up with some ideas.
Guang Chengzi's words comforted Xuanyuan, who was very happy and then said, "Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it." Guang Chengzi nodded and went out, riding the cloud towards the Mount Kunlun. It didn't take long before he arrived at Yuxu Palace.
The Honored Lord of the Origin always paid particular attention to etiquette, and thus Guang Chengzi dared not intrude into the palace without permission. He asked the White Crane Lad to notify the Honoured Lord of the Origin of his coming. After getting permission, Guang Chengzi went into the palace and told the Honoured Lord of the Origin all about the Nine Li tribes and the Wu Tribe.
The Honoured Lord of the Origin frowned slightly. He knew that the last Human Sovereign's actualization would be the most difficult, while the merit was the biggest. But he had never thought that the Wu Tribe would help the nine Li tribes. He soon realized that Houtu was the backstage planner.
The key point was that Chi You now had the aura of the Human Sovereign, how did he get it? Was it given by Minghe? Not possible. If Chi You became the Human Sovereign, Minghe's interests would be harmed. Minghe was not a person to harm himself and benefit others. The problem now was figuring out where Chi You's aura of the Human Sovereign came from.
The Honoured Lord of the Origin couldn't make it clear at once. He thought it over and asked Guang Chengzi to ring the golden bell and summon the disciples. Guang Chengzi certainly accepted the proposal. He originally came here for help and the Honoured Lord of the Origin completely met his demand. Guang Chengzi thanked the Honoured Lord of the Origin a lot and went outside in a hurry. He exerted his supernatural power and rang the golden bell.
Chapter 182: The Clan of Enlightenment's Leaving the Mountain
Every disciple in the Clan of Enlightenment heard the golden bell and hurried to the Yuxu Place, knowing it was the Honored Lord of the Origin summoning them. Moments later, the twelve self-imparting disciple along with Dipamkara Taoist and the listed disciples-- Old Immortal of the South arrived at the palace.
The Honored Lord of the Origin said, "Xuanyuan is already enthroned as the third Human Sovereign out of the Three Royals and Five Emperors, yet the Wu Tribe remnants still plan on rejuvenating their tribe through a mixed-blood. Moreover, Chi You of the Nine Li tribes doesn't understand Heaven's Calculation and wants to rise in arms, leading to civil strifes in the Human Tribe. I order you to leave the mountain and assist the Human Sovereign with Guang Chengzi. When the Human Sovereign achieves his merit, you'll naturally get a share."
The disciples were delighted to hear this. They didn't think they would be able to participate as only Guang Chengzi was supposed to assist the Human Sovereign. They would naturally gain merit if they made some contributions. That was better than nothing at all. The happiest one was most definitely Dipamkara. His cultivation had been stuck at the peak level of Da Luo Golden Immortal for a long time without any signs of separation. Having felt impatient over this, he was naturally delighted with the chance to earn some merit. He might even be able to break into the realm of Sage-to-be.
The Honoured Lord of the Origin frowned to see how excited his disciples were, who were focused on the merit but forgotten about facing the many Wu Tribe elites. If they didn't pay great attention, they would definitely suffer a great deal after leaving the mountain.
Yet he was gratified to see how Guang Chengzi reacted. After receiving a blow the last time, he had become firm. With so many people leaving the mountain to assist the Human Sovereign together, his merit of being the Mentor of the Human Sovereign would naturally be shared by others. But he didn't show any concern nor resentment. With such an open mind, he was sure to get somewhere in the future.
The Honoured Lord of the Origin said, "It's too early to be happy. Though you have high cultivation and have Spiritual Treasures for self-protection, your opponents are the top Great Sorcerers of the Wu Tribe. They have been cultivating much longer than you and you can't rival their foundation. If you're careless, I'm afraid your lives will be in danger."
These words immediately disillusioned the excited disciples. They did forget that their opponents weren't ordinary people. Whether it was cultivation or combat experience, they were inferior to the Great Sorcerers. They could only rely on Magic Weapons. If they were careless, they might really lose their lives. They wouldn't expect the Wu Tribe, being the Wu Tribe, to show mercy just because they were the disciples of a Sage.
After Honoured Lord of the Origin gave them a few more pieces of advice, Guang Chengzi led Dipamkara and the others down the mountain. A few days later, they arrived at Youxiong tribe and went to the tent where Xuanyuan did his administrative affairs. When someone went to report about their arrival, Xuanyuan was discussing with his soldiers how to resist the attack of the Nine Li tribes. When he heard his mentor was here, he immediately brought his soldiers to meet him.
After exchanging greetings, the immortals were welcomed into the tent and were seated. Xuanyuan said, "The rebellion of the Nine Li tribes has caused much hardship on the Human Tribe. I very much appreciate you coming here to help us. Please allow me to express my gratitude on behalf of the Human Tribe."
The Clan of Enlightenment disciples quickly got up and said, "That's not necessary. It's our duty to do so." They didn't dare put on airs with Xuanyuan for he was the Human Sovereign even if he was inferior to a Heavenly Immortal. With their cultivation, how could they not realize there were several humans in the Realm of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal secretly protecting him from a distance?
Even if they were disciples of a Sage, the Human Sovereign represented the prestige of the Human Tribe, the strongest tribe in the Untainted Land with countless experts. Even a Sage would be respectful of the Holy Land of the Human Tribe. Never mind the fact that the Martial Ancestor of the Human Tribe was Ancestor Minghe's Self-centric Separation. Of course, they didn't dare to be arrogant.
Guang Chengzi felt much more reassured now that he had Dipamkara and his juniors supporting him. He got up and introduced them to Xuanyuan. The latter then ordered a feast and welcomed them personally.
Over at Chi You's camp, he and the other Great Sorcerers were naturally aware of the arrival of the Clan of Enlightenment disciples but they didn't care for them. After all, they were only a dozen of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals. Even the strongest one, Dipamkara Taoist, was just at the Peak Realm of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. Being much stronger, the top Great Sorcerers naturally wouldn't pay them any mind.
But this made Chi You frown. Since all the Clan of Enlightenment disciples were here, they must have come on the Honored Lord of the Origin's order. He was who Chi You was concerned about, not Guang Chengzi. It would be bad if the Honored Lord of the Origin intervened, but there was nothing to be done about spilled milk. They could only take one step at a time. If nothing else, they could ask the Ancestor of Sorcery, Houtu, for help.
Though he wasn't concerned about Guang Chengzi, he knew the disciples would definitely be armed with primordial spiritual treasures for self-protection. The Wu Tribesmen could use those treasures as well, but they wouldn't be able to decipher their mysteries and only use them as weapons. When it came to a fight, the Great Sorcerers would be at a disadvantage against the primordial spiritual treasures.
Thinking of this, Chi You took out a Jade Slip that recorded a powerful tactical formation called the Xuanyin Formation. It was a gift from the Ancestor of Sorcery, Houtu. She gained it when she comprehended the Twelve Divine Beings Killing Formation.
According to the record on the Jade Slip, the formation would be full of Evil Spirit once it was laid down. Anyone entering the formation would lose his life, be it an ordinary person or immortal. Moreover, the formation would constantly absorb the military spirit and morbid air of battles to enhance its power. It could be said that the formation was meant for war.
Chi You had started preparations for the formation a long time ago. He first collected the thousand-year cold iron beneath the North Sea with the Great Sorcerers. He then spent 81 days refining 81 banners using Xuanyin cold copper and the Great Sorcerers' Blood of Essence for the formation. When the formation was completed, an impatient Chi You immediately ordered his army to march to Chen Du.
Elated that Guang Chengzi and the other disciples had come to help him, Xuanyuan prepared a feast to welcome them and began discussing how to drive back the enemy after. But they didn't manage to come up with any solutions even after a long discussion. After all, Guang Chengzi and the other disciples were only Immortal Cultivators who knew nothing about military affairs. They could only help Xuanyuan fight against the Wu Tribe.
One day while the immortals were having a feast, someone came to report about Chi You coming with his army. Shocked, Xuanyuan immediately ordered them to prepare for the fight. He turned to Guang Chengzi and the other immortals. "Master, and all immortals here, the Nine Li tribes are coming to attack us. How should we handle them?" He looked at them expectantly.
Guang Chengzi said serenely, "Don't worry, my disciple. As the saying goes, different situations call for different actions. Since the Nine Li tribes are coming to attack us, we'll naturally fight back."
Xuanyuan was elated at Guang Chengzi's words and arranged for the formation to be laid down. He then got ready for the arrival of Chi You's army with the immortals.
Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor, stood before the two armies with his Li Mu, Bo Jian and the other generals. They could see a huge cloud of dark mist blocking the two armies. Within the mist, floating ghosts and wildfires were faintly visible. Things billowed inside the mist, carrying with it the roaring cold wind.
A muscular man, over two meters tall, stepped forward with a huge Devil Knife in his hands. The blade of the five-foot sword was black and surrounded by a bloody glow.
It was Chi You. When he saw Xuanyuan watching in front of the armies with the rest, he shouted, "Child, you'll never defeat our Nine Li tribes. Surrender while you still can or suffer a crushing defeat."
Just then, Guang Chengzi walked forward and said, "Chi You, you acted recklessly and plunged so many creatures into misery. The Heaven and Earth won't tolerate your existence. Besides, Xuanyuan is the Human Sovereign appointed by the God Farmer. It's a huge sin for you to rebel against him. If you retreat now, you can still avoid calamity. But if you don't, calamity will definitely befall you."
Chi You burst into laughter. "I'm blessed with the Supreme Aura of Human Sovereign. Why can't I be the Human Sovereign? Guang Chengzi, I suggest you return to your mountain as soon as possible lest you die without a soul." Guang Chengzi wasn't angered to hear this, for he wasn't the same person as he had been in the past. But it was true what Chi You said about the Supreme Aura of Human Sovereign. This would be a troublesome issue. It was also because many tribes of the Human Tribe who supported Xuanyuan had decided to wait and see.
Guang Chengzi replied, "I left the mountain on my master's orders to assist the Human Sovereign. I'll never give up halfway. Chi You, you waged war against the Human Tribe for your benefit and even sent the Wu Tribe to wantonly kill the human cultivators. With those actions, what right do you have to be the Human Sovereign?"
Chapter 183: The Defeat of Xuanyuan
Hearing what Guang Chengzi said, Chi Yu laughed and said, "Ha ha, Guang Chengzi, I'm not your opponent in speechcraft. Dare you fight with me?" When Chi You came out from the blood pool of the Wu Tribe, he was at the Peak Realm of Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, and now, he had already broken through into the Early Stage of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. With his tough human body and Tiger Soul Knife, he could fight with Guang Chengzi, who was in the Secondary Stage of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.
Faced with Chi You's invitation, Guang Chengzi did not flinch. He stepped forward with an immortal sword, which was impressively a Top Grade Primordial Spiritual Treasure, and shouted, "Yes, I dare." He would surely show his dignity in front of so many people.
The two immediately fought with each other and the battlefield was filled with sword aura, knife aura, and killing intent. Immortals of the Clan of Enlightenment instantly played their tactics to protect Xuanyuan and his tribesmen nearby since the fight between Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals was not what they could bear. Guang Chengzi and Chi You only used the knife and sword in the fight, otherwise, with their cultivation, everything would be in a mess and all humans present would suffer a lot. Even so, the world changed its look, which greatly shocked the humans.
Chi You was inferior to Guang Chengzi in cultivation, but he had a tough human body and an abundance of combat experience. In contrast, Guang Chengzi did not have much combat experience, let alone experience of such a decisive battle of life and death. Fortunately, with his higher cultivation and Magic Weapon, Guang Chengzi was well-matched with Chi You.
People saw the two fight back and forth with knife and sword, wherever the knife and sword went, stones were driven along and sand was whirled about. Chi You waved his Devil Knife, leading the Evil Spirit rolling up and down. Guang Chengzi waved his sword with one hand and issued Jade Pure Holy Light with the other hand so as to break the Evil Spirit. They were so well-matched that a victory could not be decided.
After fighting for a long time, the two finally stopped. Even if they kept fighting, it would be difficult to decide a victor. After exiting the battlefield, Guang Chengzi looked at Chi You and said, "Chi You, you're powerful. We'd better stop for today and fight another day." Chi You laughed and said. "That's good, Guang Chengzi. I didn't expect that Sage Jade Pure had a disciple such as you. I'm delighted to have been able to fight with you today. As you wish, let's fight another day." This fight was just a feeler for Chi You, rather than a decisive battle. Since there was no point in fighting on, he immediately ordered the withdrawal of his army.
Seeing that Chi You withdrew his army, Xuanyuan immediately ordered a withdrawal as well. On their way back, one of Twelve Golden Immortals, Immortal Yu Ding walked to Guang Chengzi and whispered. "Brother, why didn't you use the Smashing Seal Fan or other Magic Weapons, you fought with only the sword in the fight? If you gained victory by a single blow, it would've greatly boosted the morale of Xuanyuan's army."
His words attracted other disciples of the Clan of Enlightenment. In fact, that was what they were all wondering. Guang Chengzi said with a faint smile, "It's not the case. Chi You didn't do his best either. What's more, I also learned much in this fight. When the matter of Human Sovereign is settled, I'll go into Closed Door Meditation to comprehend the Dao of Sword. As for the Magic Weapons, they're all external things after all." All of the disciples were stunned by Guang Chengzi's words and realized that Guang Chengzi had changed a lot since the last insult. Even Dipamkara, who was envious of Guang Chengzi for being the Mentor of Human Sovereign and owner of several Magic Weapons given by Honoured Lord of the Origin, admired him. Such a person could be the mainstay of the Clan of Enlightenment.
After returning to the camp, Chi You looked at Xiang Liu and the other Great Sorcerers and asked, "Have you mastered the forms of the Xuanyin Formation?" In fact, Xuanyuan misunderstood them. Chi You and the others were simply maneuvering the tactical formation but that has been mistaken as an invitation for Xuanyuan to fight.
However, after this fight, Chi You put aside his disdain for the disciples of the Clan of Enlightenment and was surprised by Guang Chengzi's strength. Although Chi You did not do his best, he used most of his strength. Even so, he did not defeat Guang Chengzi, who was not at his full strength either. What's more, Guang Chengzi had other Magic Weapons to protect himself.
Xiang Liu laughed and said, "Don't worry, brother. I can't yet say that we've completely mastered the formation, but it's enough to deal with the small Human Tribe." This was not only the pride of Xiang Liu but all of the Great Sorcerers.
A few days later, Chi You once again came with his army and Xuanyuan also got his army ready to fight. In front of his armies, Chi You observed for a while and then waved his hand without any words. Seeing that, Feng Bo and Yu Shi, who were next to Chi You, started to arrange the formation at the same time.
As a result, at the side of Xuanyuan's army, a gale was blowing with rain and filling the whole sky, while it was still sunny at the side of Chi You's army. Xuanyuan immediately understood that Chi You intended to consume the strength of the Human Tribe's army, and then lead the Nine Li tribes to fight at a minimum cost. Meanwhile, Xiang Liu and the other Great Sorcerers arranged the Xuanyin Formation.
Suddenly, the battlefield was full of Evil Spirit. Being affected by that, the Nine Li tribes became cruel and bloodthirsty, running towards Xuanyuan's army with bloody eyes.
However, Xuanyuan's army, which lacked battle experience, were no match for the nine Li tribes. They constantly retreated during the fight. No matter how hard Xuanyuan shouted, it was of no use.
Xuanyuan could only look to Guang Chengzi and the other immortals for help, but they were also helpless. When the Wu Tribe cast the tactic and made it blow and rain on the side of Xuanyuan, they could only help to stop the storm. However, faced with the nine Li tribes, they were at a loss of what to do. According to the law set by the Holy Land of Human Tribe, no immortal was allowed to kill ordinary people without reason. Even if they were disciples of The Sages, they could not break the law.
Guang Chengzi sighed, "My disciple, the Holy Land of Human Tribe orders that immortals shall not kill ordinary people, the same with the fight for Human Sovereign. I can't break the law either. You'd better withdraw your army and fight another day. I'll follow in the rear."
Xuanyuan could only nod upon hearing his words. He never thought there was such a ban in the Human Tribe. No wonder those of the Wu Tribe only fought against Cultivators but not ordinary people. To his surprise, could it be that the Holy Land of Human Tribe was so powerful that the aggressive Wu Tribe and disciples of Sages all obeyed the law and dare not deviate from it? Xuanyuan was only an ordinary person in his twenties at the moment, so he had a narrow outlook.
After Xuanyuan gave an order to withdraw, Guang Chengzi and the disciples of the Clan of Enlightenment cast the tactic to restrain the Nine Li tribes so that Xuanyuan's army could retreat to their camp. After that, they arranged a tactical formation so as to guard against Chi You's attack.
Seeing Xuanyuan suffer a crushing defeat, Chi You did not order a pursuit. Though the Xuanyin Formation could boost the fighting capacity of the Nine Li tribes, it also had side effects which wouldn't allow them to fight a protracted war. Moreover, they were not skilled at the control of the Xuanyin Formation and need more time for running-in, so he ordered a withdrawal.
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In Yuxu Palace, Honored Lord of the Origin had focused on Guang Chengzi and the disciples of the Clan of Enlightenment since they went down the mountain. For their defeat, he had no alternative but felt annoyed about the ban of the Holy Land of Human Tribe. Without the ban, the Nine Li tribes were nothing. However, the Holy Land of Human Tribe took charge of Kongtong Seal, so if Xuanyuan wanted to become Human Sovereign, he must be recognized by the Holy Land of Human Tribe. Guang Chengzi and other disciples surely would not break the law.
But now it seemed that even if Guang Chengzi and the other immortals stopped Chi You and the Great Sorcerers, Xuanyuan could not defeat the Nine Li tribes. The human bodies of Great Sorcerers were so strong that it was hard to deal with them. But Honoured Lord of the Origin was reminded of a lethal weapon. With this weapon, they would be able to deter Chi You and the Great Sorcerers.
Thinking of this, Honoured Lord of the Origin left for Mount Shouyang. After a while, he arrived at Eight Wonders Palace on Mount Shouyang and directly went into the elixir room under the lead of a Taoist child. Laozi was refining elixir at the moment when Honoured Lord of the Origin entered. He did not turn back but said peacefully, "My disciple came. Wait a moment, the furnace of elixir is near completion."
Origin nodded and sat on the seat, waiting for the completion of elixir, disregarding whether Laozi could see him. Three hours later, Laozi finally finished refining the elixir. He put away the elixir and came to Honoured Lord of the Origin. Honored Lord of the Origin immediately stood up and bowed. "Your little brother greets you."
Laozi nodded and said, "You're too courteous." Then they took the seats facing each other. Laozi asked first, "Guang Chengzi and other immortals are assisting Human Sovereign, how are you available to come to my Palace? Is there anything serious?"
Honored Lord of the Origin answered upon hearing the words, "Brother, Guang Chengzi was assisting Xuanyuan and everything went well. However, Chi You led the Wu Tribe and the Nine Li tribes to fight against them. You know that the Great Sorcerers have powerful human bodies and the Nine Li tribes are skillful in battle, so Xuanyuan is no match for them. I've to come to you for advice."
Chapter 184: Haotian's Action
Laozi did not pay any attention to what had happened in the Untainted Land when he was doing his Closed Door Meditation to refine elixirs. He counted his fingers when hearing his words. When he figured out what happened to Chi You, he started by saying, "To my surprise, Chi You owns the Supreme Aura of the Human Sovereign. It seems to be more difficult. The Nine Li tribes' betrayal and the Wu Tribe's attack are all the Human Tribe's tests from the Way of Heaven. If Xuanyuan can't defeat the Nine Li tribes, he can't actualize his Tao, and there will be no change to the Holy Land of the Human Tribe. So what can I do for you, my brother?"
When hearing this, the Honoured Lord of the Origin naturally understood that Laozi was waiting for him to ask for help, so that he could owe him a favor. However, in order for Xuanyuan to succeed to the status of the Human Sovereign, he could only begin to say, "Brother, I want to ask for one Nine Cycles Golden Elixir and a weapon, the Wu-killing Sword, for Xuanyuan, which can help him to defeat Chi You and successfully actualize his Tao to become the Human Sovereign."
Laozi nodded his head after hearing his words, and said, "Our teacher used to send the Wu-killing Sword to me, but I have figured out it has no connection and shares no destiny with me. Today, I find that it does have some connection with Xuanyuan, so I will give you this Wu-killing Sword and a grain of Nine Cycles Golden Elixir."
The Honoured Lord of the Origin took the two things and said thankfully, "Thank you for your generosity, my brother. Xuanyuan's situation is not optimistic. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave now."
Looking at the back of the Honoured Lord of the Origin, Laozi muttered to himself, "Supreme Aura of the Human Sovereign? Is this also a deal between Houtu and Minghe? But it seems that it doesn't serve Minghe's interests. Is there anything that I haven't noticed?"
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In Xuanyuan's military camp, Guang Chengzi and many Enlightenment clansmen gathered there, all worried. In terms of cultivation, although many of them could not match those Great Sorcerers, they were not scared of them because they owned plenty of Spiritual Treasures. However, the biggest trouble for them was that they could just not defend the Nine Li tribes' army of the Human Tribe, and the Wu Tribe did not even take any action at all now.
All of a sudden, a flash of silver light flew into the camp. Everyone here found a sword and an elixir there at once. Right at the moment came the voice of the Honoured Lord of the Origin: "Guang Chengzi, this is the Wu-killing Sword, and the elixir is the Nine Cycles Golden Elixir. These two things are granted to Xuanyuan to help him win the battle against Chi You."
After hearing this, Guang Chengzi and the Enlightenment tribesmen all thanked the Honoured Lord of the Origin. Guang Chengzi went for Xuanyuan with the Wu-killing Sword and the Nine Cycles Golden Elixir, but the remaining clansmen were still worried. They thought even if Xuanyuan could resist Chi You and the Wu-killing Sword could largely frighten Chi You and the Great Sorcerers, their soldiers did not have the ability to withstand the Nine Li tribes' soldiers. That was really a big problem.
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In the Heavenly Court, Haotian was focusing on every movement of Xuanyuan and Chi You through the Haotian Mirror. After he found that Xuanyuan failed in this battle, something occurred to him. He thought and said, "Xuanyuan is not in a good condition now. If I send someone to help him, he will need to be thankful for my Heavenly Court when actualizing the Human Sovereign. It will be a good way to show the stateliness of the Heavenly Court, and maybe I can get some merit through this."
Thinking of this, Haotian had made a decision in his mind and asked someone to call for Yaochi.
When Yaochi arrived, Haotian shared his idea with her, but Yaochi responded worriedly, "Haotian, the Human Sovereign is assisted by the Clan of Enlightenment. If we get involved, the Honoured Lord of the Origin won't be happy."
Haotian smiled and said, "Yaochi, you have worried too much. Now, the situation of the battle is unfavorable to Xuanyuan. If he can't turn into the Human Sovereign, the Clan of Enlightenment's assistance will go to waste. Even if we will occupy some parts of Clan of Enlightenment's merit after doing them a favor, the Honoured Lord of the Origin has no reason to make any trouble for us. After all, we have helped them." After hearing this, Yaochi naturally had no counterviews, but she still felt a little uncertain, asking, "Since you have decided to send someone to help the Human Sovereign, who will you choose?" Through Yaochi's tone, Haotian realized that she must have found the right person to do this job. Then he asked, "Who do you think is the best one?"
Yaochi smiled and said, "Haotian, you know the situation in Untainted Land. Although Xuanyuan was defeated this time, he can also resist the Great Sorcerers and Chi You with the help of the Enlightenment clansmen and the Wu-killing Sword. However, the most difficult problem Xuanyuan and the Clan of Enlightenment are facing is that their army can't match the Nine Li tribes'. Since it is so, we can send the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens to help them with three Heaven Books of Warcraft, which must do a great favor to the Human Sovereign."
The Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens was one of the most outstanding fair children they had recruited when they controlled the Heavenly Court in the beginning. She followed Yaochi to cultivate for many years, and with the help of the Power of Stars, she had come to the Early Stage of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. She was especially good at the art of war, so she was the best person to help the Human Sovereign. After hearing Yaochi's words, Haotian started to weigh the pros and cons in his mind. For a short while, he had made a decision and said, "Yaochi, you are totally right. We can send the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens to help the Human Sovereign." Then, the two of them sent someone to call for the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens. With a few words of their orders, they asked her to descend to the world at once.
The Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens headed for Zhulu Plain upon leaving the Heavenly Court. She passed the three Heaven Books of Warcraft onto Xuanyuan when meeting him. The latter one was excited, ordering Li Mu and some other generals to immediately arrange formations on the basis of the Heaven Book of Warcraft.
Mysterious Lady's coming naturally could not escape from the Honoured Lord of the Origin's eyes, but the latter just turned a blind eye to this. Although he knew Haotian wanted to share part of his merits, he did not stop him because it was a good way to solve Xuanyuan and the Clan of Enlightenment's emergency. Besides, Guang Chengzi and the other generals were not good at Warcraft.
Guang Chengzi would not be opposed to this but felt released. With the three Heaven Books of Warcraft brought by the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens, the fighting capacity of Xuanyuan's army could be largely enhanced. If only they could find a method to break Chi You's Xuanyin Formation, then it would not be that difficult for Xuanyuan to defeat the Nine Li tribes.
Besides, Xuanyuan had directly ascended to the Early Stage of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal after consuming the Nine Cycles Golden Elixir. That Wu-killing Sword greatly enhanced his ability to fight. However, he thought the name of the Wu- killing Sword was not elegant, so he changed its name to the Xuanyuan Sword. While Guang Chengzi trained with him day by day as his partner, Xuanyuan gradually mastered the power of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.
Xuanyuan got ready for the next battle, while Chi You was also busy preparing for this. He hastened to practice arranging the Xuanyin Formation with the Wu tribesmen so as to master it sooner and better. When it came to the next battle, Chi You believed that he could totally defeat Xuanyuan, becoming the Human Sovereign.
Both sides were speeding up their training. Xuanyuan naturally knew that the next battle would come soon. In order to have a greater chance to win, he ordered his soldiers to join the training day and night. Besides, he sent out many spies to keep an eye on the Nine Li tribes' action from time to time.
Half a month later, a spy came and reported to Xuanyuan that the Nine Li tribes' army had assembled and might start their attack soon.
After hearing this, Xuanyuan ordered the whole troop to keep alert. He was determined to win the battle, once and for all. If the combat dragged on longer, both of them would suffer great losses, and he would be ashamed to see God Farmer.
The next day, the two sides started the battle in Zhulu Plain. Chi You's army had already arrived. A belt of black fog shrouded the whole nine Li tribes' army, which was the Xuanyin Formation controlled by Xiang Liu and the other Great Sorcerers.
Chi You understood that this battle decided which one could become the Human Sovereign. It also determined the future of the Nine Li tribes and the Youxiong Tribe. After the Xuanyin Formation was arranged, the whole army of the Nine Li tribes totally changed and every soldier's eyes were bloody with mad expressions on their faces. Looking in Xuanyuan's direction, they were waiting for Chi You's order. In a second, they could rush to kill their enemies immediately, utterly defeating Xuanyuan's army.
When Xuanyuan arrived with his army, he found the whole Zhulu Plain shrouded in black fog and the nine Li tribes' army were completely covered by the Xuanyin Formation. Inside, all the soldiers were moving in a strange way and roaring in a sharp voice. Faintly, some fried fire bloody cloud showed up but disappeared suddenly.
Between the Heaven and Earth, Evil Spirit gradually gathered there and was consumed by the Xuanyin Formation step by step, which enhanced its power again. This situation made Xuanyuan and all the Enlightenment tribesmen totally shocked and they could not help shaking with coldness. They had not met this kind of scene before.
Guang Chengzi and Dipamkara were the most unperturbed ones in the Clan of Enlightenment. Guang Chengzi's heart hardened nowadays, so nothing could interrupt him. Dipamkara had deep and profound cultivation, who had also witnessed so many battles between the Sorcerer and Demon Tribes. However, Dipamkara still showed his worry because, in this formation, he seemed to find the shadow of the Twelve Divine Beings Killing Formation, which made him alert and cautious.
Chapter 185: Xuanyin Formation, Broken!
Looking at the Formation before him, Guang Chengzi turned grimmer. In the beginning, he thought it was just an ordinary tactical formation but it turned out to be the opposite. He was not clear about it, so he asked Dipamkara, who was grim-faced as well, "Teacher Dipamkara, do you know the mystery in the tactical formation? How could it be so influential?"
Dipamkara replied, "I also have never seen the Formation before. However, to be honest, the Formation is hard to handle, you can see it!" Then he pointed to the Formation all round and said to everyone, "The Formation should have the power of controlling the Killing Intent of Heaven and Earth, a little similar to the Twelve Divine Beings Killing Formation of the Wu Tribe, which is extremely dangerous."
At the mention of the Twelve Divine Beings Killing Formation, all the disciples in the Clan of Enlightenment were startled by its power and began to be more alert about it.
Hearing his words, Xuanyuan asked, "Does Master have any way to break the Formation?" Guang Chengzi shook his head because he did not know about the tactical formation at all, nor could do anything to break the Xuanyin Formation. Since Guang Chengzi had no way, Xuanyuan turned grim immediately.
At this moment, Dipamkara Taoist said, "I have an idea, but it'll be a little risky as we need you to enter the array with us." Then Dipamkara did not continue. It would be too risky to do that because Xuanyuan was the Sovereign of the Human Tribe.
Xuanyuan said at once, "Immortal Dipamkara, as the Sovereign of Human Tribe, I'll take the lead. Moreover, with the Xuanyuan Sword and the cultivation of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, I'll be able to protect myself, though I can't rival those Great Sorcerers."
Dipamkara nodded and said, "Well, there must be an Eye of Formation in every Formation. After we enter the Formation, what we need to do is to find it and then destroy it, so the Formation would naturally disappear. By that time, the abnormal state of the nine Li tribes would disappear with some strength weakened, then we'll be able to defeat Chi You with one strike."
Xuanyuan then said to his generals, "Li Mu and Bo Jian, you two lead soldiers to fight against the Nine Li tribes armies outside the Formation while I'll go into the Formation with Teacher Guang Chengzi and all the Immortals. You all must guide our army to resist their attacks until we destroy the Formation." Then Li Mu and Bo Jian obeyed and left.
Following Guang Chengzi, Dipamkara, and the other disciples of the Clan of Enlightenment, Xuanyuan went into the Xuanyin Formation, only to see Evil Spirits and ghosts pervading. They entered the Formation when countless Evil Spirits began to attack them. All Immortals wielded their supernatural power to kill them. However, there were so many Evil Spirits that it was difficult to kill them all, which annoyed all the Immortals.
At this moment, a vehement emperor aura was emanated from Xuanyuan with a purple light sent out from his body. Evil Spirits nearby were hit by the purple light and then turned into dust and ashes before they were able to counter it. Hundreds of Evil Spirits had to dodge in any place where the purple light reached.
Guang Chengzi smiled and said, "My disciple, you're really extraordinary. With Zi Wei Emperor Aura, it'll save us some efforts to kill those Evil Spirits. If you lead the way, we'll not fear the harassment from Evil Spirits anymore." Xuanyuan nodded and said, "It sounds great! Let's start off now." It was hard to tell the direction in the Formation filled with miasma. Fortunately, Xuanyuan had prepared before and he took out the South-Pointing Chariot, which was created by the Human Tribe to show the direction so that he would not lose his way.
Xuanyuan was clear that the situation would be less favorable to them if they stayed too long. Hence, he used the South- Pointing Chariot to tell the direction and then led the way toward the center of the Formation. Seeing this, all Immortals followed him immediately. After a while, they came to the center of the Formation.
81 people in the Wu Tribe, including Chi You and Xiang Liu, respectively held a flag in their hands, standing on a Tao terrace and brandishing their flags. Evil Spirits around also rolled all over. Noticing this scene, all Immortals were clear that Xing Tian and others were operating a tactical formation, so they sacrificed Spiritual Treasures to attack it at once.
Chi You and others were somewhat surprised by their arrival, so they rose to the challenge without operating the Formation. Suddenly, the two sides fought with each other. Although there were about 10 Great Sorcerers in the Wu Tribe, the Twelve Golden Immortals and Dipamkara in the Clan of Enlightenment were at the level of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal with Spiritual Treasures. As a result, the fight was at a stalemate.
Guang Chengzi knew this kind of situation could not last too long, otherwise, it would be more unfavorable to his side, so he shouted to Xuanyuan, "My disciple, use your sword to destroy that Banner of Formation. Once the flags are destroyed, the Formation would disappear naturally."
Xuanyuan obeyed him at once, but Chi You could not let him succeed. He forced a disciple from the Clan of Enlightenment back and ran toward Xuanyuan. Noticing that Chi You intended to kill him, Xuanyuan had to leave the Banner of Formation behind and immediately fought against Chi You.
Xuanyuan was inferior to Chi You in both cultivation and battle experience, but his Xuanyuan Sword was powerful enough to help him tie with Chi You. Chi You was also afraid of the Xuanyuan Sword, as he recognized that it was the one that had killed him before. Therefore, he was somewhat cautious during the fight.
At the sight of this scene, Guang Chengzi was very anxious. He was held back by the Wu Tribe together with Dipamkara and other junior fellows, meanwhile Xuanyuan and Chi You fought with each other. In this way, no one would be able to destroy the Banner of Formation and then they would be defeated after a long stalemate. Moreover, armies of Xuanyuan would be routed as well. By that time, there would be no Human Sovereign in the Xuanyuan Clan.
This battle between Xuanyuan and Chi You naturally attracted attention from many Sages, particularly the Honoured Lord of the Origin in the Jade Pure Palace of Mount Kunlun. He was very worried about the unfavorable situation of Xuanyuan and the Clan of Enlightenment.
Helplessly, the Honoured Lord of the Origin threw out his Jade Ruyi to the Xuanyin Formation with no regard for his honor, intending to destroy the Formation. However, as a burst of a bell sound rang out in Heaven and Earth instantly, the Jade Ruyi was frozen in the air above Mount Kunlun.
The Honoured Lord of the Origin certainly knew it was done by Houtu in the Nether World when he saw the bell in front of his Jade Ruyi. Then he said coldly, "Houtu, Teacher appointed you to guard reincarnation, how could you take action without permission? It's a kind of action against the will of Heaven to pamper the Wu Tribe to go out and cause internal conflicts in the Human Tribe."
At this time, Houtu's voice came out from the Bell of Chaos. "Honoured Lord of the Origin, you're wrong. I don't shun my responsibility guarding reincarnation, so how could it be that I did something without permission? As for Chi You, it's God's will. The third Human Sovereign in the Human Tribe mainly masters weapons and armies, so he must rule the whole Human Tribe to actualize. With an aura of the Human Sovereign, Chi You belongs to the Human Tribe as well, how couldn't he be the Human Sovereign in the Human Tribe? But as a Sage, you should not intervene in it."
The Honoured Lord of the Origin turned to sulk when he heard that. Houtu made it clear at this moment, so the Honoured Lord of the Origin could not intervene in it. The reason was that he could not surmount the obstruction of the Bell of Chaos to control his Spiritual Treasure across the air unless His Veneration appeared.
In Pingxin City, Houtu felt a little relieved to see that the Honoured Lord of the Origin did not take any action. She really feared that the Honored Lord of the Origin would appear regardless of what she said. By that time, she could not stop the Honoured Lord of the Origin although she could control the Bell of Chaos. Then Chi You must fail in the end.
Certainly, what Houtu intended to get was just the status as the Human Sovereign, so she urged Chi You and those Great Sorcerers again and again not to kill disciples in the Clan of Enlightenment but to expel them. If they were killed, the Honoured Lord of the Origin would perhaps be furious about it. At that time, Houtu could not go out from the Nether World to prevent the Honored Lord of the Origin. Consequently, Chi You, Xiang Liu, and the other Great Sorcerers would be in danger of death.
Houtu was very happy to see Xuanyuan and Guang Chengzi become weaker inside the Xuanyin Formation. If Chi You became the Human Sovereign, the Wu Tribe could not only utilize the Luck of the Human Tribe to flourish but also recover themselves. However, she could not imagine that they could be the overlord once again because she had a clear estimation of the Wu Tribe.
Interests of many Sages were involved in the Human Tribe, making it impossible for the Wu Tribe to recover their status as the overlord. Perhaps, the result brought about was not prosperity but catastrophe. Moreover, even if the Sages did not intervene in it, the Wu Tribe could not recover their status without defeating the Human Tribe. With the Holy Land of the Human Tribe existing, there was no hope of it.
The Xuanyin Formation suddenly disappeared when Houtu's thoughts had drifted away. She was greatly surprised to see that the Xuanyin Formation had disappeared as her mind came back. However, at the sight of the person who broke the Formation, her countenance took on a ghastly expression. It was just in accordance with the proverb which said: As a man sows, so shall he reap.
Chapter 186: Character Creation by Cangjie
Above the Youxiong Tribe stood a young man who was surrounded by countless peculiar characters. These characters glimmered with Light in Seven Colors, by which the whole Untainted Land shone. In the Human Tribe, all people looked toward Heaven. Though these characters were small, all people in the Human Tribe could see them clearly and understand their meanings.
These characters were not Taoist characters, Demon characters, or Wu characters but characters that belonged to the Human Tribe. It was a man, aged about 10 or 20 who had created these 3,000 characters. The man, full of high spirits and Merits, was Cangjie, whose cultivation reached the Peak Level of Sage-to-be.
Having finished creating the characters, Cangjie did not take these 3,000 characters back but coldly looked at the battlefield of Zhulu Plain. He waved his hands, 10 characters flying out from these 3,000 characters. Then Cangjie shouted, "There is righteousness in Heaven and Earth, so the Human Tribe should be strong." 10 characters were magnified several times instantly while their Light in Seven Colors was even brighter. For a moment, there seemed to be 10 more seven-colored suns in Heaven and Earth.
People in the Human Tribe all felt enthusiastic. They not only seemed to see that the Human Tribe had stood at the top of Untainted Land, but also saw the scene of their ancestors expelling the Demon Tribe in the Cultivation Tribulation of the Human Tribe. The latter made them overwhelmed with more passion.
Moreover, when the 10 characters came out, great changes took place in the warfare on Zhulu Plain. Evil Spirits in the Xuanyin Formation were swept away completely by the brilliant lights of the 10 characters, so the Formation disappeared without being attacked. The combat capabilities of the Nine Li Tribes were certainly reduced a lot because they lost the tactical formation to increase their power but needed to burden the side effects of the tactical formation. For a moment, the battle situation was more favorable to Xuanyuan.
...
20 years ago, Hongyun was called Cangjie after his incarnation in the Youxiong Tribe. Zhenyuanzi left his Good Separation named Immortal Qian Yuan behind to take care of Cangjie. Immortal Qian Yuan, the Good Separation separated by the Top Grade Primordial Spiritual Treasure, excelled in calculations and reached the Secondary Stage of Sage-to-be. Under his good separation protection, Zhenyuanzi felt much more reassured to leave.
Now Immortal Qian Yuan needed to look after Cangjie, so he could not live far away from Cangjie. Then he chose to live on a mountain nearby the Youxiong Tribe and paid attention to every move of Cangjie at all times. He always tried to foresee Cangjie's future by Prediction, though he had gotten nothing.
Immortal Qian Yuan was still not clear what kind of Fated Chance it was when Minghe mentioned it. It was hard for Hongyun to become the Human Sovereign without the Supreme Aura of the Human Sovereign. God Farmer got the status as the Earthly Sovereign that should have been given to Hongyun. So Hongyun's Fated Chance was on the third Human Sovereign?
However, before long, Immortal Qian Yuan gave up the idea because the third Human Sovereign, Xuanyuan, who was the son of the leader of the Youxiong Tribe, had been born. At the birth of Xuanyuan, Guang Chengzi, the senior disciple of the Honoured Lord of the Origin, went to the tribe to recruit disciples. In this way, Xuanyuan was the third Human Sovereign, so Hongyun had no Fated Chance of becoming the Human Sovereign.
As Cangjie, the incarnation of Hongyun gradually grew up, Immortal Qian Yuan did not find him anything special. Was Minghe wrong? Immortal Qian Yuan could not help but doubt it. However, the task given by Zhenyuanzi was to take care of Hongyun's incarnation body but not to intervene in Cangjie's growth. Hence, what he could do was to wait and see.
About 10 years later, Xuanyuan was really elected as the inheritor Sovereign of the Human Tribe by God Farmer, and then Xuanyuan was taken back to Chen Du. Before long, the Nine Li Tribes attacked and defeated the Youxiong Tribe, causing humans in the Youxiong Tribe to flee in all directions. Thus, Immortal Qian Yuan could only protect Hongyun's incarnation body in secret.
Cangjie fled all the way to Chen Du where Xuanyuan had arranged a new tribe territory for the tribesmen of the Youxiong Tribe. Therefore, the tribesmen settled in Chen Du, and Immortal Qian Yuan naturally followed them to Chen Du.
Then Xuanyuan fought with Chi You and the situation were unfavorable to Xuanyuan. Immortal Qian Yuan did not care about it but he was worried about Hongyun. After fleeing to Chen Du, Cangjie's family passed away one after another. Hongyun also became somewhat dispirited and insane, holding a branch to doodle on the ground all day. His behavior was laughed at by the other tribesmen.
After a long time, Immortal Qian Yuan was a little amazed due to the fact that he could not predict Cangjie's fate anymore. The secrets of Heaven were in the chaos. What was more important was that he began to understand what Cangjie was doing.
Character creation! Cangjie was creating characters. Immortal Qian Yuan was very shocked to get the idea. Was it the Fated Chance mentioned by Minghe? If Cangjie were able to create characters that belonged to the Human Tribe, there would be many Merits falling down. By that time, Cangjie would be able to recover his preexisted Veridical Soul, then Immortal Qian Yuan's task would be finished.
In the Untainted Land, there were three kinds of characters. The first one was the Taoist character, created by the Way of Heaven, which was the most original character in Untainted Land. The second one was the Wu character, which was inherited from the Great Divinity Pan Gu by the Wu Tribe. The third one was the Demon character, which was created by the Demon Master Kunpeng. Every kind of character represented the symbol of tribe culture.
As Xuanyuan and Chi You began a decisive battle in Zhulu Plain, Cangjie suddenly stood up, looking up to Heaven and laughing. People around looked at him strangely. Cangjie was just a little insane before but he never acted like he did at this moment. Was he completely insane?
Cangjie ignored their strange eyes and shouted to Heaven, "The Way of Heaven is above all. Now I, Cangjie of the Human Tribe, think that culture is deficient in the Human Tribe and there is nothing to inherit their culture. Hence, I create characters for the Human Tribe to do that. The way of Heaven, please prove it."
Though Cangjie was an ordinary man and did not have any cultivation, Cangjie's voice spread throughout the entire Untainted Land. In the Untainted Land, all were shocked. Who was Cangjie? They did not care about it at all. What they cared about was that Cangjie actually created the characters, which was a great event and attracted a lot of attention from innumerable Almighties. In Wuzhuang Taoist Temple, Zhenyuanzi, who was in Closed Door Meditation, was startled to hear what Cangjie had said. Cangjie? He was the incarnation body of Hongyun. Character creation was a big event. Thus, in order to protect Cangjie, Zhenyuanzi finished his Closed Door Meditation at once and ran fast to the outside of Chen Du. Under no circumstances did he allow anyone to destroy Hongyun's third Fated Chance.
For the first time, Hongyun lost the Hong Meng Immortal Qi. At that time, he blamed himself very much for not protecting Hongyun well with powerful strength. For the second time, Hongyun experienced incarnation and lost the status as the Human Sovereign, which was grabbed by the Ancestor of Sorcery Houtu. At this time, he would not allow such a thing to happen again.
Looking at Cangjie in Chen Du, Zhenyuanzi was very happy. How could not he be excited about it when his old friend Hongyun would come back? Nevertheless, feeling that countless Spiritual Thoughts around were spying on Hongyun, Zhenyuanzi immediately initiated his aura to frighten those humans in order to prevent them from taking unusual action.
Once Zhenyuanzi's aura appeared, all humans in the Untainted Land were surprised. Who was Cangjie? Zhenyuanzi, an Almighty in the Untainted Land, should protect him. It was such big news that the Sages turned their countenance a little.
In the Holy Land of the Human Tribe, Musen, Suiren-Shi, Youchao-Shi, and Ziyi-Shi stood before the palace and looked toward Chen Du. Suiren-Shi laughed. "Hahaha! Heaven protects us. We went over once!" The three and Musen looked at each other, then they flew in clouds toward Chen Du one after another.
No matter what others' reactions were, Cangjie began to create the characters in the end. He used the branch in his hands as a pen, then he waved it in the air, finally, he would write a big character in the air. Cangjie shouted loudly, "Heaven!" The character was "Heaven".
After the "Heaven" character came out, the wind and clouds drastically changed their colors in Heaven and Earth with many dark clouds coagulated together. Humans in Untainted Land were startled to see the scene. Was it a tribulation? Character creation by Cangjie should trigger a tribulation. Therefore, it was actually against the will of Heaven. Even Zhenyuanzi by the side was in great trepidation. A tribulation was not frightening. What was frightening was how Cangjie could ward off the tribulation without cultivation. The latter was exactly what Zhenyuanzi worried about. When Kunpeng created characters, there was not any Tribulation Thunder. However, why was there TribulationThunder as Cangjie created characters? Zhenyuanzi felt strange about it.
Cangjie completely ignored the Tribulation Thunder that coagulated gradually and continued his character creation. He waved his branch to write one more character and then shouted loudly, "Earth!" A big "Earth" suddenly flew in the air and danced with the character "Heaven".
"Human!" After a while, Cangjie wrote another word. It was also a character, "Human", but it represented the whole Human Tribe, which danced with "Heaven" and "Earth". The huge might of Cangjie was warded off by these three words and did not interrupt Cangjie at all, who was still creating characters. Otherwise, before the Tribulation Thunder fell down, ordinary Cangjie would have died under the coercion.
Chapter 187: The Will of the Human Tribe
Cangjie continued to wave the branch in his hand, ignoring the Tribulation Thunders above him. Fire, house, clothes, martial, language… One by one, the most ancient characters were created. Along with the creation of each character, the Tribulation Thunders on the sky became even more severe. It was as if the Heaven was furious.
The Sages, Zhenyuanzi, as well as the reclusive Almighty gradually understood that the Human Tribe was on the verge of becoming the ruler of Heaven and Earth. With the characters created by Cangjie, the Human Tribe would be able to record the secret of Heaven and Earth as well as the Spiritual Inheritance of the Human Tribe, consequently passing the records down to future generations. Thus, the other tribes' hopes to become the leader of the universe of Honghuang were almost completely destroyed. It was indeed a Heaven-defying act.
Now the tribulation was brewing and would fall once Cangjie finished creating the characters. It would be a test for Cangjie and the whole Human Tribe. If they could survive the tribulation, the Human Tribe would henceforth have their own characters that could be passed down from generation to generation. Thus, the Human Tribe would naturally have a great increase in Luck. If they couldn't survive it, their Luck would be damaged and other tribes would have the opportunity to replace the Human Tribe in becoming the ruler of Heaven and Earth.
As the number of characters Cangjie created increased, the power of the tribulation also became more and more terrifying. Even Zhenyuanzi, who was watching from the sideline, shuddered with terror. Even he would have a difficulty surviving this kind of tribulation without suffering any injuries, needless to say Cangjie, who didn't have the slightest cultivation at all. Furthermore, since Cangjie was still creating the characters, the tribulation would likely grow in power.
After some time, Cangjie vomited a mouthful of foul air and said loudly, "Today the 3,000 characters of the Human Tribes are completed along with the Way of Heaven." The 3.000 characters hovered in the sky and emitted faint white rays, resembling stars under the pitch-black tribulation. They provided a little solace among the terrifying black clouds.
Soon after Cangjie's words landed, a change began to appear among the clouds of tribulation in the sky. Thunders were rumbling, giving everyone a strong sense of threat. The current power of the tribulation had already turned Zhenyuanzi's face pale. Even for him, whose cultivation was at the Peak Level of Sage-to-be, surviving such tribulation thunders would be difficult. Thus, Zhenyuanzi was worried to see Cangjie under the Tribulation Thunders.
However, this tribulation was the Way of Heaven's test. He could not replace Cangjie to undergo this tribulation. Doing so would only cause the tribulation to become even stronger. On the other hand, many of the Almighty felt happy to see such tribulation. These Almighty naturally weren't members of the Human Tribes. They didn't wish that Cangjie could successfully pass the tribulation because if he did, their tribes would forever lose the opportunity to have a quest for power in the Untainted Land.
"Boom!!!" Along with a loud booming sound, the first tribulation thunder fell. The 3,000 characters acted like a formation that resisted the tribulation thunder, preventing it from falling onto Cangjie's body. Although the tribulation thunder didn't strike him, Cangjie's present situation was far from good.
Cangjie created the characters by prying into the secrets of Heaven. Although the 3,000 characters had obstructed the power of the tribulation for him during the time of character creation, it has now been completed. Cangjie's strength had already been exhausted. Under the bombardment of Tribulation Thunders, some of Heaven's power managed to penetrate the 3,000 characters and landed on his body, worsening his situation.
During the falling of Tribulation Thunders, although the 3,000 characters weren't broken, the soft white rays they emitted became dimmer. After nine heavenly claps of thunder, the faint white rays almost completely disappeared. The next Tribulation Thunder would probably thoroughly break these 3,000 characters' defense. Under the bombardment of these Tribulation Thunders, Cangjie too would completely vanish.
Zhenyuanzi was extremely aggrieved to see this situation. If this was the Fated Chance Minghe mentioned, he didn't want it. Had he known earlier that this would happen, after Hongyun incarnated as Cangjie, he would have directly taken him back to Wuzhuang Taoist Temple and guided him to walk on the path of cultivation. Although he might have to spend years letting Cangjie recover his preexistent Veridical Soul, in the end, Cangjie would be safe.
Watching Cangjie who was standing under the Tribulation Thunder, Zhenyuanzi clenched his teeth as if he had made up his mind about something. He wanted to step forward into the Tribulation Thunder and block it for Cangjie. Although he knew it was practically impossible and that he might enrage the Way of Heaven, he didn't have any other choice. He would rather they die together. He couldn't watch Hongyun die and do nothing.
The friendship between Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun was far deeper than that among the Three Pure Ones or the one between Two Sages of the West. Hongyun had left Wuzhuang Taoist Temple knowing that he would certainly get killed outside because he didn't want to become a burden for his friend. Now, Zhenyuanzi could also resolutely meet death for Hongyun.
Just as Zhenyuanzi was about to take that one step forward, a supernatural power pulled him to a stop. Someone said, "Fellow Taoist Zhenyuanzi, you don't need to panic. Fellow Taoist Hongyun would come out safe and sound." Zhenyuanzi turned around in shock and saw that the Four Ancestors of Humanity had actually come. The one who spoke was Minghe's Self- centric Separation, the Martial Ancestor of the Human Tribe, Musen.
As if he were proving Musen's words, Zhenyuanzi promptly looked down. Unexpectedly, Cangjie who was originally already overwhelmed began to stand up. The more shocking thing was that another pair of eyes had appeared above Cangjie's eyes. This pair of eyes was incomparably dark, just like the Cosmic Stars. Moreover, Zhenyuanzi had only had a short glimpse at these peculiar eyes of Cangjie, yet his mind became empty for an instant.
Cangjie looked up at the brewing thunderclouds in the sky with his four eyes. There wasn't even the slightest fear on his face. The newly-appeared eyes on his head suddenly projected two beams of white rays that shone directly upon the 3,000 characters he had created. The silhouettes of those 3,000 characters became hundreds of times larger. It was as if they extended across the entire sky of the Untainted Land.
Cangjie looked up and roared, "Children of Human Tribe! Use your mind to form a strong barrier to protect the Human Tribe's civilization!" These words were brimming with Cangjie's unwillingness. He was unwilling to see the characters he created being destroyed by the Tribulation. He was unhappy that the Human Tribe didn't have their own characters, and that the Human Tribe's civilization and Spiritual Inheritance were intermittent. What he wanted was that the Human Tribe's civilization could be remembered throughout the ages and their Spiritual Inheritance could last forever. For a moment, Cangjie's aggrieved roar unexpectedly covered the rumbling thunder in the sky, spreading across the entire Untainted Land. The entire Human Tribe was shocked. They looked at the sky and saw the enlarged 3,000 characters. Their hearts seemed like they had been caught and they could no longer shift their gazes.
The Sages of the Untainted Land and the Almighty of various parties were all stunned. Cangjie actually wanted to use the will of the entire tribe to fight against the Heaven. This was a very insane act. Though by doing this he could gather the will of the entire tribe above the 3,000 characters, he would, at the same time, challenge the dignity of the tribulation. Perhaps, all of these were challenging the dignity of the Way of Heaven.
Just like they thought, Heaven became furious. The clouds of tribulation suddenly became several times larger. It might have even frightened the Sages. However, Cangjie still showed no fear. Countless will of the Human Tribe gathered on the 3,000 characters. All of a sudden, a chaotic change appeared among the 3,000 characters.
The white rays, which had originally become dim, suddenly turned bright once again. It was like another 3,000 bright suns appeared among the dark tribulation cloud. Furthermore, along with the constant convergence of the Human Tribe's will, the white rays on top of the 3,000 characters slowly transformed into light in seven colors. The terrible pressure that came from the might of the clouds of tribulation actually showed a faint sign of being suppressed.
Zhenyuanzi was stunned to see this scene. Beside him, Musen and the other three Ancestors of Humanity smiled at each other. Together, they exclaimed, "The Human Tribe is imperishable! The Martial Art is everlasting!" In the wake of the four people's words, their wills of Martial Arts simultaneously converged on top of the 'Martial' character Cangjie had created. In an instant, the 'Martial' character actually became numerous times larger, turning into the strongest and the largest among the 3,000 characters.
However, that was only the beginning. Following the loud voice of the four Ancestors, countless wills of Martial Arts soared from inside the Holy Land of Human Tribe. They converged into a Current of Martial Arts which then went directly into Cangjie's 'Martial' character. Once again, it grew numerous times larger in an instant. The other four largest characters, 'Heaven', 'Earth', 'Human', 'Immortal', all revolved around the 'Martial' character. As for the rest of the characters, they surrounded and protected the five largest characters just like countless stars that surrounded a moon. Everyone was stupefied. They thought, "What a powerful strength! Is this really the strength of a tribe which was born only about thousands of years ago?" Once all of the Human Tribe's wills had gathered together, the tribulation seemed to have become something insignificant. Following the unceasing drops of tribulation, the 3,000 characters seemed like they had gone through a baptism and became even brighter.
After a total of 81 Tribulation Thunders, the clouds of tribulation finally dissipated. Everyone in the Untainted Land felt like they were dreaming. They didn't dare to believe what had happened in front of them. A tribulation with power equal to that of a Sage was actually unable to inflict even the smallest injury on the Human Tribe. Moreover, those 3,000 characters didn't suffer the slightest damage under the tribulation and became extremely bright instead.
Right after the tribulation dissipated, rumblings of thunder could be heard coming from the Ninth Heaven. Thick Golden Light of Merit fell from the sky. Everyone in the entire Untainted Land was stupefied. This Golden Light of Merit was practically comparable with the combined Merits of the two Human Sovereigns, Fuxi the Heavenly Sovereign of Human Tribe and God Farmer. They even wondered whether the Merit Cangjie obtained would actualize the Realm of Origin. It would be remarkable if someone from the Human Tribe was to reach the Origin.
Chapter 188: Houtu's Killing Intention
However, once the Merit fell, it was divided into three, where 60% went to Cangjie and 20% fell on the 3,000 characters. Meanwhile, the remaining 20% was to be shared among the Human Tribe, as a reward given by the Way of Heaven for them. Following the arrival of the Merits, the Human Tribe's Luck started to have a tremendous increase. In a short while, the Human Tribe's Luck almost grew by half of its original size. Many tribes were almost insane from feeling jealous over this matter.
After experiencing this, the Human Tribe's wills were once again awoken. The most important thing was that when their wills gathered on 'Martial' and 'Immortal' characters, they also obtained some of the Martial Arts' and the Way of Celestial Immortality's cultivation methods. A craze of practicing Martial Arts to become immortal would definitely happen among the Human Tribe in the near future.
After Cangjie absorbed the 60% of character creation's Merits, the vital force in his body increased dramatically and his cultivation reached the Peak Level of Sage-to-be. Furthermore, his vital force was several times more terrifying than that of Fuxi and God Farmer. Once he opened his eyes again, Cangjie threw his head back and burst out laughing, "Hahaha… I, Ancestor Hongyun, have come back once again!"
Ancestor Hongyun? The Almighty and the Sages in Untainted Land were all stunned. Cangjie was actually Hongyun's incarnation! They had always thought that Hongyun's soul had completely vanished after his self-explosion. However, he actually incarnated and came back. Moreover, his incarnation was a Human Tribe. He even created the Human Tribe's characters and obtained Merit from it, achieving the Peak Level of Sage-to-be in an instant.
Seeing Zhenyuanzi standing not too far away with an excited expression on his face, everyone instantly understood. No wonder Zhenyuanzi immediately interfered and used aura to deter the countless humans spying in the dark once Cangjie began the creation of the character. It turned out that Cangjie was Hongyun.
This wasn't what the Sages cared the most about. It was how Hongyun managed to survive. At that time, because of Kunpeng, Hongyun was forced to self-explode, leaving only the Primordial Spiritual Treasure and the Nine-Nine Spirit-killing Gourd behind. This gourd, in the end, became Minghe's possession. Minghe had, nevertheless, conveniently returned it to Zhenyuanzi. Who would believe that Minhe didn't know Hongyun's shattered soul was inside the red gourd?
Thinking of it, the Sages couldn't help but gasp. They
thought, "What a good Ancestor Minghe! What a profound scheme! Zhenyuanzi suddenly abandoning his life as a Carefree Immortal, establishing the Earth Immortal's Residence, fighting over the Luck in the Untainted Land, all of them were probably planned by Minghe!" The Sages felt quite terrified as they
shifted their gazes towards the Blood Sea.
Cangjie laughed out loud and coldly watched the battlefield- like Zhulu Plain. Having missed the Fated Chance twice, he naturally wouldn't be whimsical like he did in his preexistence. Even if he was a kind person, he would also have to see who the other person was. Now, repaying the kindness and taking revenge were the only things he wanted to do.
Back then, although Minghe had sent him into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Houtu had unexpectedly blocked his path. Not only was his Supreme Aura of Human Sovereign snatched away, he was also trapped in one of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the path of humans. He was trapped for decades, where he was constantly purified by the power of reincarnation. If it wasn't because these years he had recovered some of his Original Spirit, perhaps he would have already been obliterated inside the Six Paths of Reincarnation a long time ago. However, he did waste these years. He managed to completely comprehend the great changes in the path of Humans and even obtained the Aura of Human Ancestors. This was also the reason why when Minghe saw him he would say that he had a great Fated Chance. The Aura of Human Ancestors was something far rarer than the Aura of Human Sovereigns.
Now that he had incarnated as Cangjie and created the characters of the Human Tribe, he had already become the fifth Ancestor of the Human Tribe. As long as the Human Tribe exists, the Ancestor of Chinese Characters, Cangjie, would always be able to enjoy his Luck. This was the so-called blessing in disguise. He lost the position as Human Sovereign but obtained the position as Human Ancestor. He didn't suffer any losses at all.
However, one should reap what they sowed. Ancestor of Sorcery Houtu schemed against him and robbed his Fated Chance. Now the Karma should be settled. Cangjie effortlessly waved his hands and 10 of the 3,000 characters flew out. Then, he loudly said, "There is a vital energy between the Heaven and the Earth. The Human Tribe would be self-reliant."
The Heaven's power hadn't completely dissipated yet. Using that power, Cangjie was able to break Chi You's Xuanyin Formation in one hit. Although there were no ill feelings between him and Chi You, Chi You was a member of the Wu Tribe. Furthermore, the Supreme Aura of Human Sovereign that Houtu snatched from him back then was inside Chi You's body. Houtu obviously wanted to let Chi You seize the Human Sovereign position, but Cangjie would never let her succeed.
The Formation was broken, and it didn't look good for Chi You and many members of the Wu Tribe. Their Blood of Essence was on the Banner of Formation. If the tactical formation was destroyed, the boomerang's force would naturally fall on their body. In a while, Chi You's group sunk into a disadvantageous position. Xuanyuan also took advantage of this situation and injured Chi You with the Xuanyuan Sword.
In the Nether World, Houtu's expression became stiff after she saw the situation. She furiously said, "Hongyun! Damn you! You dare to ruin my scheme! Last time it was due to a moment of soft-heartedness that I didn't kill you, but now you dare to ruin the Xuanyin Formation of my Wu Tribe! You are looking for death!" Once her words were finished, the Bell of Chaos instantly extricated itself from Honoured Lord of the Origin's Jade Ruyi and flew towards Cangjie who was above Chen Du.
The Bell of Chaos' attack came, carrying the surging force of earth, wind, water, and fire. This was Houtu's furious attack and therefore wasn't something to be trifled with. Seeing the upcoming attack on the Bell of Chaos, Cangjie naturally wouldn't dare to be careless. The power the Bell of Chaos would display when it was in Sage's hand was completely different from the power it would display if it was in the hand of a Sage- to-be. The situation was even worse since this attack was Houtu's furious attack.
Cangjie waved his hand and the 3,000 characters started to move and form a Formation in the sky. "Boom!" The Bell of Chaos suddenly pounded against the Formation. The impact of that attack practically had the potential to destroy the world. Although the Bell of Chaos was blocked, the Formation was broken in an instant.
"Pfff!" Cangjie vomited blood and looked extremely pale. The 3,000 characters revolving on his side also became slightly dimmer. Successfully blocking the attack of Houtu was really a stroke of luck. If it wasn't because he managed to comprehend this tactical formation when the 3,000 characters blocked the tribulation, the full-strength attack of Houtu would probably have killed him.
Cangjie stared at the Bell of Chaos a few distances away from him as he wiped the bloodstains on the corner of his lips. He sneered and said, "Houtu, back then you robbed my Supreme Aura of Human Sovereign, and today I broke your Wu Tribe's Formation. It's the cycle of Karma. Since you dared to do it, you should have thought that this would happen."
Houtu stared at Hongyun with a frightened heart. She never expected that Hongyun would actually be able to block her full- strength attack. However, seen from Hongyun's present appearance, he seemed to have completely exhausted his power. If the grass was cut without removing its roots, it would grow again in the next spring. Since a huge enmity had been formed between her and Hongyun, she would better take this opportunity and thoroughly annihilate him, getting rid of future troubles.
Houtu coldly said, "Hongyun, don't think that there's anything extraordinary about Peak Level of Sage-to-be. You managed to block the attack a moment ago. However, are you able to continue resisting my attack?" Once her words were finished, the supernatural power on the Bell of Chaos fluctuated. Obviously, Ancestor of Sorcery Houtu was preparing her next attack, an attack that would be able to kill Cangjie.
At this moment, a silhouette suddenly appeared in front of Cangjie. It was Zhenyuanzi who had always been protecting him from the side. Zhenyuanzi moved to Cangjie's side and held out his hand. A Ginseng then appeared on his palm. He passed it over to Cangjie, saying, "Hongyun, eat this now to heal your injuries." In the Five Elements, Ginseng belonged to the category of wood. Apart from being able to raise cultivation, it could also be a potent healer to injuries.
Seeing this familiar fruit, Cangjie couldn't help but laugh, and said, "Haha! Zhenyuanzi, after not seeing you for so many years, you treat me to a Ginseng under this kind of situation! Hehe, Ginseng, I've really been missing you!" He then began to devour the Ginseng.
Zhenyuanzi felt relieved to see such a familiar scene. His old friend finally came back. He then turned around to look at the Bell of Chaos not too far from them; its supernatural power was fluctuating violently. The Book of the Nether World appeared in his hand. With a wave of his hands, the ground began to shake. Several mountains appeared out of thin air, forming a Formation in an instant.
The Nether World Book Formation, Zhenyuanzi's strongest tactical formation, was considered to be the formation with the strongest defense in the Untainted Land. Seeing this formation, Huo Tu sneered and her voice came, saying, "Zhenyuanzi, although the defense strength of your Nether World Book Formation is strong, can it block several attacks from my Bell of Chaos?"
Zhenyuanzi coldly said, "My Nether World Book Formation naturally cannot block the force of a Sage together with the Bell of Chaos. However..." His tone changed as he continued to say, "Houtu, I want to know whether the Karma you'd receive once you break the ley lines of the Untainted Land could pull you down from the Sage position. Would the Wu Tribe be exterminated because of the Karma they'd receive from startling the Heaven? I'm really curious."
All the Sages were stunned by Zhenyuanzi's words. They wondered, "Is this person is still the protector of others, the amiable-looking Immortal Zhenyuan?" It turned out the number of ruthless humans in the Untainted Land weren't little at all. Apparently, they just didn't know about it. Zhenyuanzi was definitely one of those ruthless people. He wanted to take down the Houtu and the Wu Tribe together with him.
The Sages began to carefully feel around. They naturally could feel that Zhenyuanzi's Nether World Book Formation was steadily connected with the Power of Ley Lines on the Untainted Land. Before long, the ley lines connected with the Nether World Book Formation grew wider. If this tactical formation was to be broken, the range of damage suffered by the Untainted Land would be wider and the Karma would also be greater.
Chapter 189: Houtu's Retreat
To be Sages in the Untainted Land, one definitely needed Merits. Although one's Merits could not be withdrawn, his capacity would be influenced negatively if he carried Karma on his back. Further, a certain amount of Karma would turn a Sage into a common figure. As for Zhenyuanzi, his attack obviously hit Houtu's Achilles heel.
Now it was totally impossible for Houtu to fight back even though she wanted to do so since the Nether World Book Formation set by Zhenyuanzi was connecting more and more ley lines on Untainted Land. That was to say, if she really killed Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi, the Karma she would carry on could possibly turn herself into a common figure and the entire Wu Tribe might also face extermination.
However, Houtu was still not willing to just let Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun go like that, so he could only say, "Zhenyuanzi, you're right, while I, a Sage, have many methods to torture you. Even though I can't kill you now, I can let you be sealed eternally."
After hearing Houtu's threats, Zhenyuanzi's complexion suddenly changed. It was well-known that Being Sealed Eternally would bring much more suffering than being killed directly. Right at this time, Cangjie, who just recovered a little bit, clapped Zhenyuanzi on his shoulder and said with a smile, "Zhenyuanzi, I will die without anything to regret with a good friend like you."
Seeing the Bell of Chaos in front of him, Cangjie burst into laughter. "Houtu, you're really indulging in your wishful thinking if you want to seal me forever. I have already died once, so I'm not afraid to die again. However, this time I will also let you suffer." Then, Cangjie's vital force suddenly became pretty turbulent.
Seeing Hongyun's behavior, everyone in Untainted Land was shocked, for Hongyun was going to destroy the character creation Merits to fight against Houtu by the Karma created during this process. How crazy he was! Merits of heaven were hard to gain, while to destroy them would also create Karma. This was why Merits played a very important role in protecting oneself in Untainted Land because no one wanted to carry the Karma created by killing a man with Merit on his shoulder.
In the meantime, Zhenyuanzi looked at Hongyun with a determined face and then approached him, laughing and saying, "Haw-haw, Hongyun, I will also die without regrets with having such a friend like you. Let's tell the entire Untainted Land today, even though all of us are nonentities in the Sages' eyes, that we will not be bullied easily."
Looking at Zhenyuanzi, Cangjie felt pretty sorry since Zhenyuanzi had been influenced negatively when he had gotten the Hong Meng Immortal Qi. And now Zhenyuanzi was even going to sacrifice himself. Cangjie would certainly not let him do this, so he said immediately, "Zhenyuanzi, you don't need to do this. This affair is between me and Houtu."
Zhenyuanzi then laughed. "Hongyun, why are you such a sissy now? If you still treat me as your best friend, we should die together. You think I will be afraid of death?"
"Pa, Pa, Pa!" A clap of applause suddenly came from afar, which soon attracted Zhenyuanzi and Cangjie. It turned out that Musen was clapping his hands. Musen then said, "Hey! One of you is the leader of the Earth Immortal's Residence and another is the Ancestor of Chinese Characters of our Human Tribe, how can you die so easily?"
Musen then walked to Cangjie and Zhenyuanzi with Suiren- Shi as well as another two leaders of the Human Tribe. Suiren- Shi looked at Cangjie, saying with a smile, "You're Ancestor Hongyun. I have long heard of your great reputation. I can't believe you will incarnate into our Human Tribe and be our fifth ancestor. Your kindness knows no bounds to create characters for us Human Tribe. Just as my brother said just now, you are indeed the 'Ancestor of Chinese Characters' of our tribe."
Ancestor of Chinese Characters? The Almighty in the Untainted Land suddenly realized something. Cangjie indeed deserved the name of Ancestor of Chinese Characters of the Human Tribe for creating characters, that was to say, Cangjie now got an extra layer of protection. If Houtu wanted to kill Cangjie, he would be the common enemy of the whole Human Tribe.
Right at this time, the words of Musen and Suiren-Shi surely frightened Houtu. If he killed Hongyun now, he would kill the Ancestor of Chinese Characters of the Human Tribe. In this way, the Wu Tribe would definitely fall into trouble with the Human Tribe just as the Demon Tribe had.
Houtu stared at Musen, who was standing next to Cangjie with a blue face, and then said coldly, "Martial Ancestor of the Human Tribe Musen—no, I'd better call you the Self-centric Separation of Minghe—so your opinion is also Your Veneration Minghe's?" In the eyes of the Sage, Musen's opinion was actually Minghe's thought.
After hearing the query of Houtu, Musen replied calmly, "Ancestor of Sorcery Houtu, don't mix me and My Veneration together. I'm a member of the Human Tribe, so I need to consider for the sake of the Human Tribe. Now Hongyun incarnates into the Ancestor of Chinese Characters Cangjie in our tribe, and if he is killed, our Human Tribe's Luck will also be influenced, that's why I can't just stand by."
When Musen just finished his words, all the Sages came to realize the importance of Hongyun. They put too much attention on the Karma between Houtu and Hongyun before, while they totally forgot that Hongyun was the Ancestor of Chinese Characters, Cangjie of the Human Tribe. His creation of characters helped the Human Tribe's Luck grow by almost half. If Cangjie died, the Human Tribe's Luck would naturally be damaged.
The aim for Sages to steal the identity as the Mentor of the Human Sovereign was to steal the Human Tribe's Luck. The growth of the Human Tribe's Luck would do good for all of those Sages in the long run, while if the Human Tribe's Luck was damaged, none of those Sages could benefit from it anymore. Therefore, compared with those two results, they naturally wanted Cangjie alive.
All Sages then "kindly" went to persuade Houtu, "Fellow Taoist Houtu, Cangjie creates great Merit for the Human Tribe, so you can't kill him as you like. Please give up attacking him now, otherwise, you will be the common enemy of the Human Tribe." "The death of Cangjie is related to the Human Tribe's Luck. Since the Human Tribe is the ruler of Heaven and Earth now, its Luck can't be damaged. Please don't defy fate..."
The words of those Sages made Houtu pretty angry. The reason why they persuaded her not to kill Cangjie was just to protect their own interests. Cangjie's life was related to the Human Tribe's Luck, so those Sages who wanted to occupy Luck as much as possible naturally only hoped that the Human Tribe's Luck would keep increasing, so they would never allow Houtu to kill or seal Cangjie.
Houtu suddenly noticed that no one supported her. Looking at the peaceful Blood Sea, she came to realize that even though the Blood Sea was close at hand, it was so unreachable. She had to ask herself, "Am I really wrong?" "No, I am not wrong. What I'm doing is all for the Wu Tribe's sake." Seeing it was impossible to kill Hongyun now, Houtu then calmed herself down and immediately decided to give up the chance to compete for the Human Sovereign. She then used the Bell of Chaos to carry all tribesmen of the Wu Tribe away,
surely Chi You was a member among them.
When Chi You and the whole Wu Tribe were carried away, the battle of Zhulu Plain obviously came to an end. Xuanyuan's army finally defeated the troops of the Nine Li Tribes, which was also the end of the first large-scale war of the Human Tribe.
At the same time, Musen, Suiren-Shi, Youchao-Shi, Ziyi-Shi, Zhenyuanzi, and Cangjie were all standing on clouds above Chen Du. Seeing that the battle on Zhulu Plain had eventually come to an end, most of them exhaled with relief. However, only Musen was still confused about why Houyu also took Chi You away. He worried that Houtu would stir up other trouble in the future.
Musen then looked at Cangjie and asked, "Fellow Taoist Hongyun, so you will go back to Wuzhuang Taoist Temple with Zhenyuanzi or go to the Holy Land of the Human Tribe with us?" Since Cangjie had got his memory about preexistence back and the Human Tribe would not limit its tribesmen's freedom, Cangjie had the right to choose not to stay in the Holy Land of the Human Tribe. As for Musen and Suiren-Shi as well as another two, they had already gotten used to the life in the Holy Land of the Human Tribe, while Cangjie did not need to act like them.
Cangjie laughed, saying, "Fellow Taoist Musen, I was Hongyun in my preexistence, while now I'm Cangjie of the Human Tribe. You can just call me Cangjie from now on. As for your question, I think I'd better go back with Zhenyuanzi first and have a big meal there, and then I will return back to the Holy Land of the Human Tribe to do my Closed Door Meditation. I am getting many new feelings about character creation at this time, so I guess I will spend a lot of time in Closed Door Meditation."
As for Zhenyuanzi, he was indeed moved by Cangjie's words, while he soon got a bitter feeling when he heard that Cangjie would have a big meal there in his Wuzhuang Taoist Temple, for he clearly knew much of his Ginseng would become food in Cangjie's stomach. Therefore, Zhenyuanzi said, "In that case, how about all of you come to my Wuzhuang Taoist Temple together? You can have a taste of my Ginseng and we can also discuss something about Taoism." Suiren-Shi, Youchao-Shi, Ziyi-Shi, and Musen all nodded. Even though all of them had heard of Ginseng for a long time, none of them had really seen it. Since Zhenyuanzi invited them just now, it was a good chance for them to satisfy their bellies.
Musen, Zhenyuanzi, and the other four then flew to Wuzhuang Taoist Temple on clouds. This scene made the rest of the Sages get lost in thought, for they realized that Minghe had already arranged everything within his control and his influence was also extremely great now.
Minghe was the owner of Ashura Tribe in the Blood Sea and the Nether World. Aside from that, he had Musen as his Self- centric Separation in the Human Tribe. And the establishment of Earth Immortal's Residence by Zhenyuanzi also possibly gained Minghe's permission and support. Unknowingly, Minghe had done so many things to reach his goal. It definitely frightened the other Sages, so they came to realize that they needed to be cautious about Minghe's every move in the future, while they forgot that they were already involved in the trap set up by Minghe without noticing it.
Chapter 190: Minghe's Outburst
Members of the Tribe of Enlightenment finally breathed a sigh of relief after Chi You and the Wu Tribe's tribesmen were swept away by Houtu's Bell of Chaos. In this battle, they had tasted the incredible power of the Great Sorcerer, but they still felt excited about their victory.
Dipamkara scorned their excitement in his mind. "They really think they can beat the Great Sorcerer? Even I can barely do that." In this battle, the Great Sorcerer was trapped by the Xuanyin Formation, and Ancestor of Sorcery Houtu must have ordered the tribesmen of the Wu Tribe not to kill any member of the Tribe of Enlightenment, or else, the Tribe of Enlightenment must have lost quite a lot.
Along with Dipamkara, Guang Chengzi was the other one who looked calm among all the followers of the Tribe of Enlightenment. In this battle, he had fully realized the strong force of the Wu Tribe. There were plenty of potential forces hiding in Untainted Land, and even some declined tribes could not be underestimated. Sometimes, his status as a disciple of a Sage could not ward his enemies off out of fear, such as facing Liu Er. When he thought of Liu Er, a flash of a firm look showed in his eyes. In the following battle, without the support of the Xuanyin Formation, the Nine Li Tribes' soldiers became weaker and weaker. After all, the Xuanyin Formation had overdrawn both their physical and mental strength. Therefore, Li Mu and Bo Jian could easily get the victory in the end.
It seemed that it could be easy to tell who would win this battle. Guang Chengzi saw this and turned to Xuanyuan, saying softly, "This battle seems to be settled, as the Wu Tribe will retreat soon. What will you arrange for the Nine Li Tribes?" Now, the Nine Li Tribes would lose this battle, while Xuanyuan was the winner. Besides, as the Sovereign of the Human Tribe, he indeed had the right to deal with the Nine Li Tribes.
Xuanyuan thought for a while and said, "Although it is the Nine Li Tribes' fault to turn against us, they are just bewitched by Chi You and the Wu Tribe, and that's reasonable. Now, since Chi You and the Wu Tribe have retreated, I won't make trouble for the Nine Li Tribes. Just let them go back to their homeland and rehabilitate."
Guang Chengzi nodded after hearing this. Without the support of Chi You and the Wu Tribe, the Nine Li Tribes were no threat to Xuanyuan. Now, Xuanyuan chose to let go of them so he could build himself a reputation of kindheartedness, which was also very beneficial to him to strengthen his position as the Sovereign of the Human Tribe.
As Guang Chengzi had expected before, Xuanyuan earned a great reputation in the Human Tribe after he mercifully arranged for the Nine Li Tribes to go back to their homeland. Those leaders of some of the Human Tribe who were hesitant to join Xuanyuan before defected to him one after another. Xuanyuan would not refuse any of them. Therefore, his reputation among the whole Human Tribe sharply increased in such a short time.
…
In the Blood Sea, Minghe stopped paying attention to this battle since everything was settled. It was luck or chance that Hongyun could incarnate to Cangjie. Although he had lost the position of the Human Sovereign, he became an Ancestor of the Human Tribe, which was much better than before. As the old saying goes: Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise.
Minghe did not care what Xuanyuan would do to govern the Human Tribe, but what made him a little bit surprised was that Guang Chengzi comprehended his Tao after experiencing Liu Er's attack six times. With his mental and physical condition, Guang Chengzi would become a Sage-to-be sooner or later. In due course, he would become one of the main supporters of the Tribe of Enlightenment.
Right at this moment, a slit was torn in the Great Formation for Defence on Sacred Island, with a shadow of a figure showing up inside. Minghe frowned after noticing this but calmed down in an instant. He said lightly, "My Fellow Taoist, Houtu. You come to my place without being invited and even break my tactical formation. Where is your etiquette?" At the end of his words, he waved his hands, and the formation was repaired immediately.
In fact, the coming person was not Houtu, but her Evil Separation, Pingxin. Since Pingxin had been controlled by Houtu's Spiritual Thoughts, this meant that Houtu wanted to communicate with Minghe by herself. Pingxin showed her anger, so obviously, she did not come to have a chat with Minghe.
Pingxin felt angrier when noticing Minghe's indifference and said angrily, "Minghe, what do you want? How could you pass the position of the Human Sovereign to Fuxi, who was one of the Demon Tribe before, and let Hongyun become an Ancestor of the Human Tribe? You have destroyed our Wu Tribe's plan! You must give me an excuse!"
Minghe looked at Houtu after hearing her words, and said lightly, "Explanation? Houtu, you might have looked too much upon yourself. I, Minghe, have overrun the whole land for such a long time, but I have never explained to anyone about what I have done. Although you are a Sage now, don't forget who gave you the Hong Meng Immortal Qi. I handed it over to you just because I wanted to balance the force between the Wu and Demon Tribes. You really think I can only pay back Pangu's Karma with the Hong Meng Immortal Qi?"
Pingxin felt much angrier after hearing Minghe's words, and even in the Nether World, every creature could feel Houtu's anger. As the myth had told, when a Sage became angry, Heaven and Earth would shake and change. Such a great anger came out of the Nether World, which naturally attracted all the other Sages' attention.
Pingxin said with a storm of anger, "Minghe! How dare you say something like this? Our Wu Tribe never needs your mercy. The reason why you gave the Hong Meng Immortal Qi to us is that you needed our Twelve Ancestors of Sorcery's Blood of Essence for the Twelve Divine Beings Killing Formation. You really think we don't know? The turbulence that happened in the Blood Sea before was caused by the Twelve Divine Beings Mazinger Flag, which was refined by our Blood of Essence, wasn't it?"
Minghe smiled and said, "You're right. That turbulence was caused by my Twelve Divine Beings Mazinger Flag, but..." Minghe's face darkened and continued to say, "if I want to get this formation, I have lots of methods. As for your Blood of Essence, I can just kill you all and get it. In my eyes, there is nothing that I can't kill."
Right at this moment, Minghe's killing intent suddenly surged. Although Pingxin was controlled by the Sage's Spiritual Thoughts, she was still at the Late Stage of Sage-to-be, so how could she defend against Minghe's killing intent, who had reached the Origin. Obviously, she was pushed back several steps when facing Minghe's killing intent.
Looking at Pingxin, Minghe said in a cold voice, "Houtu, you really think you are unstoppable when you become a Sage? You really think I will fear the force of the Wu Tribe with you? You are too conceited. Right at the moment when you took the Supreme Aura of the Human Sovereign from Hongyun, we went our separate ways." The other Sages were all stunned after hearing Minghe's words. They had guessed at the cause and effect of Hongyun's issue, but they had never expected that Minghe would respond so intensely and even turn hostile to Houtu. Actually, it was good news for them.
In the Nether World, Houtu was also stunned after hearing that. When a cultivator reached the Origin, he would not act on impulse without due, but Houtu had never expected that Minghe could be so impulsive and even turn hostile to her just for Hongyun. She was a Sage, but in Minghe's eyes, she was less important than a Sage-to-be. That was really ironic.
Houtu directly released her strong power at the Secondary Stage of a Sage in the Nether World, running toward the Blood Sea. She said with rage in her voice, "Minghe, you really think too highly of yourself. You are just at the Early Stage of the Origin, but I am at the Secondary Stage. So how dare you say something like that?"
Minghe laughed and looked at Houtu indifferently. He sneered, "Really? The Secondary Stage of the Sage is really something? Is that where your confidence comes from, so you can set me up? Hmph!" With that, a stream of strong power was released from Minghe, surging into the sky. The two streams of killing intent crashed against each other, making the whole Blood Sea roar. Plenty of Ashura tribesmen suddenly went faint and directly sank into the sea. Minghe and Houtu both refused to give in. For a long time, they continued to be at a draw.
The other Sages were stunned at the result. They looked at Minghe and could not help screaming, "The Secondary Stage of the Origin!" After they became Sages, their progress became slower and slower, but Minghe could directly break into another stage, breaking into the Secondary Stage of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, which was unexpected and made them shocked.
In the Nether World, Houtu changed color. She had never expected that Minghe could make such great progress in his cultivation. Only nearly 10,000 years after Minghe actualized his Tao, he broke into another stage again. What was worse, Minghe had totally turned hostile to her and it was impossible for them to cooperate later.
Since it was so, Houtu calmed down gradually and cleared her thoughts. Why did Minghe choose to help Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi instead of her? Minghe needed a steadfast ally instead of betrayal. She took the Supreme Aura of the Human Sovereign from Hongyun for her Wu Tribe and ruined Minghe's plan. Minghe could not ensure that she would not betray him anymore.
Looking in the direction of the Blood Sea, Houtu felt a little regret. Since she turned into a Sage and had gotten the Bell of Chaos, she became more and more arrogant, and even looked down upon Minghe. Now, she realized how naive her thought was. If Minghe was an ordinary person, how could he occupy so much Luck in Untainted Land?