Past the bamboo forest at the foot of Mount Buzhou lay the human sacred land. Its overall arrangement was similar to that of the tribes outside, but the humans here were much more powerful.
Initiates in the great connate dao and golden core cultivators were plentiful. There were even some who’d exceeded golden core and reached true divinity like Shennong. However, all of them looked at the two newcomers with burning hostility, which confused Shennong.
Yawning, Ah Zhi waved Shennong and Lu Yun away and started vanishing as she walked off. “I’m going back to sleep. Fuxi will see you once he’s free.”
The moment she disappeared, a good number of humans swarmed Shennong and Lu Yun.
“Explain yourself, Shennong!” A tall, strongly-built old man grabbed Shennong by the collar and lifted him up with a shriek. “There is no bad blood between the Yu and Yan Tribes. Why did you destroy my people?!”
His cultivation was no less stronger than Shennong’s, but Shennong was now a qi refiner. Shennong could easily defeat him.
“Heavens pity my tribe, gone are our bloodlines!” He threw Shennong to the ground and stomped on the latter’s chest.
Shennong’s eyes were wide with shock. “What? The Yu Tribe has been destroyed?!”
The Yu Tribe was a major tribe by the banks of the Yellow River, weaker than the Yan Tribe by only a small margin.
Shennong knew what the old man meant. In a conflict between two human tribes, the winner usually destroyed the totem and tribute spirit of the loser, but spared the tribesmen for slavery. If the loser surrendered and agreed to worship the winner’s totem and tribute spirit, the two tribes could gradually come together as one.
The main surname in the Yan Tribe was Jiang, but there were other families in the tribe who’d been brought in after past battles. That was what Lu Yun meant when he suggested Shennong start a war to unite the human race. Those who surrendered would become their kin, while those who refused would become their slaves.
Destroying and slaughtering another tribe down to the last… that was something very rarely done.
“Stop playing dumb, Shennong!” The Yu elder glared so hard that the corners of his eyes cracked and bled. Although there were still many members of the Yu Tribe in the human sacred land, they were no longer tribesmen after joining the faction.
Hum.
Shennong’s presence surged, knocking the old man off his feet.
“What nonsense are you spouting, Di?!” Shennong matched the old man’s volume. “My son married the daughter of Dafeng, chief of the Yu Tribe! Why would I destroy my in-laws?! Speak! What’s going on here? Who told you the Yans destroyed the Yus? When did all this happen?!”
His gaze was as vicious as that of a fierce tiger found in the deepest parts of a jungle.
Elder Di couldn’t help but shudder and take a few involuntary steps back. The other humans nearby paled in response as well.
Shennong’s strength was too great, greater than all of the other true divines present. His was a strength that belonged to a completely different system.
They were like two physically equal adults fighting, but one with a wooden stick and the other with a great sword that could slice through iron like butter. There was no contest.
“You really don’t know?!” Di picked himself up and peered into Shennong’s eyes.
Shennong responded coolly, “I am Shennong!”
His name was almost magical, instantly calming down the humans in the area.
“It was Gai, Gai told us!” someone volunteered the information. “He saw you lead Yan warriors in slaughtering the Yu Tribe, not sparing even three-year-olds.”
Gai was the Dongyi man who’d stopped Shennong and Lu Yun from entering the sacred land earlier.
“The Yu Tribe has indeed been destroyed, as confirmed by the sacred land. Traces of the Yan tribute spirit were found at the scene.” Di panted heavily from the ground. He’d confirmed the annihilation of his tribe himself. If others from the sacred land hadn’t stopped him at the time, he would’ve charged to the Yan Tribe then and there to enact his vengeance.
“The demise of the Yu Tribe has nothing to do with the Yan Tribe.” Lu Yun took a step forward and prevented Shennong from protesting. “Everything is twisted and it’s all lies. The truth will come out once we meet with the holy emperor. Nothing will be solved by standing around here.”
Faces softened at the mention of the holy emperor. Off to the side, Gai stared at Shennong, his smile cold and his gaze icy. However, the smile froze when the young man by Shennong’s side—Lie Shan—suddenly turned and flashed him a toothy grin.
……
“Is there bad blood between you and that Gai?” Lu Yun asked curiously.
“Bad blood?” Shennong chuckled darkly. “Of course there is. I killed Gai’s father with a spear through his torso. Hehehe, I wasn’t Shennong yet back then.”
Now he understood. Gai was the one behind everything; the only person in this sacred land who had any reason to set him up was Gai.
“I thought that boy would challenge me fair and square to avenge his father after entering the sacred land and learning from Holy Emperor Fuxi… But he resorted to lowly tricks instead and even wiped out all of the Yu Tribe!” Veins throbbed in Shennong’s forehead.
“You two, follow me to His Majesty the Holy Emperor!” A lilting childlike voice sounded from a blue bird, one that dove down from the sky to hover before them.
“Understood!” Lu Yun got to his feet and followed the bird with an excited glint in his eyes. Shennong was right behind him.
Once they passed the residential area, they reached the foot of Mount Buzhou proper. Fuxi sat cross-legged on top of a great azure rock with bare feet. A thirty-something man dressed in linen, he gave Lu Yun a beatific smile.
“There you are, Lu Yun!” Fuxi jumped down from the rock. “But you look different!”
“It’s you!!” Lu Yun cried out in disbelief, goggling at Fuxi.
