Chapter 144: The Ten Wu |
One year later, a new barbarian child was born.
By this time, Chu Xun had already renamed the barbarians the Wu Clan.
When that new life was held high in both hands by the short, thin Wu Luo as he ran over, Chu Xun’s eyelids twitched.
Only the Wu Clan, who had lived alongside wild beasts in the mountains for years, would treat a newborn infant this way.
When he arrived before Chu Xun, Wu Luo knelt on the ground and raised the child high with both hands, holding him before Chu Xun.
Behind him, Wu Xian, Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, and the others all looked on with faces full of excitement.
In their understanding, this was a child born under the witness of a god, and naturally, he should receive a blessing from that god.
Although Chu Xun was not familiar with the culture of the barbarians from before, similar scenes quickly surfaced in his mind.
He extended one finger, and bright flames rose from it before he pressed it toward the infant’s brow.
Chu Xun used Qi-Gazing and Fate Perception to look and saw that the child’s life flame was not especially strong, nor did he possess any unique fortune.
After all, before they encountered Chu Xun, the ten Wu had lived in long-term hunger and malnutrition.
It had not been easy for them merely to survive. Being healthy was absolutely impossible.
Even after a year of recuperation, the child born to them was still innately frail.
After brief thought, Chu Xun summoned wood essence qi and shaped it into a wooden staff, placing it in the child’s hand.
The wood essence qi attached to this wooden staff could slowly improve his constitution over long-term companionship.
Wei Youyou ran over and curiously examined the child. She even stretched out one finger and poked his little face.
The child burst into tears with a wail, frightening Wei Youyou into hurrying away.
Wu Luo and the others were overjoyed. They knelt and kowtowed to Chu Xun, shouting loudly, “Wu! Wu!”
Chu Xun waved his hand, and only then did they happily carry the child away.
Once there was one child, there would be a second and a third.
A few years later, the Wu Clan’s population reached thirteen.
After several years of teaching, Wu Luo and the others had already preliminarily grasped farming techniques. Chu Xun no longer needed to spend great effort helping them figure out food.
Perhaps because they had spent so long in the mountains, they were instead more skilled at planting medicinal herbs.
The seeds Chu Xun had brought had almost all sprouted, and some had already been harvested two or three times.
Seeing that the herbs were growing smoothly, Chu Xun had Huangshi Gong bring over some medical books so the Wu Clan could study them.
Huangshi Gong had already been to Li Mountain and met the old crows.
This eldest senior brother of Jie Sect had now handed his worldly businesses to his descendants.
He had devoted himself entirely to studying immortal cultivation, and had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, becoming the first Foundation Establishment immortal cultivator under Chu Xun.
When he saw the Wu Clan, Huangshi Gong was stunned for a moment, then said to Chu Xun, “In my thousand-year dream, I heard of the name Wu Clan. Did Teacher perhaps take the name from there?”
Chu Xun neither confirmed nor denied it. The Wu Clan Huangshi Gong had heard of might truly have existed.
But whether it had anything to do with the people on this mountain was unclear.
Huangshi Gong did not think too much about it. While bringing medical books, he also shared some Wu Clan methods he had learned of in the dream.
For example, divination by yarrow stalks, using yarrow to divine fortune and misfortune.
Yarrow was a plant that was not especially common, but could not be called precious either.
It grew one to two chi tall, had alternate leaves with serrated edges.
It had many flowers, but they were very small, and it also produced thin, small fruits.
That such a thing could be used for divination was something even Chu Xun could not figure out.
Huangshi Gong knew even less. He had only heard in his dream that among the ancient Ten Wu, Wu Xian was the most skilled in this art.
But in this world, there was no legend of the ancient Ten Wu, so there was no way to verify it.
Chu Xun then obtained yarrow seeds and specifically had Wu Xian handle their planting and research.
As for how he would research it, and what he might research, Chu Xun did not interfere.
Huangshi Gong had originally wanted to send grain and other things as well, but Chu Xun refused.
The Wu Clan’s population was too small, so they did not eat much.
The farmland on the mountain was already enough to support them.
As for what to do when there were more people in the future, that should not be a problem.
During the process of a race growing stronger, agricultural expansion was inevitable. That was what conformed to the natural order.
Besides Wu Xian, who specifically handled yarrow, Wu Peng, Wu Zhen, Wu Ji, and Wu Di began studying medicine.
Wu Pan, Wu Gu, and Wu Luo were responsible for growing grain, making pottery, and other such tasks.
As for Wu Li and Wu Xie, they were the two among the ten specifically responsible for rituals.
Put plainly, they were responsible only for serving Chu Xun.
Every day’s worship, along with a stream of chattering chants, was never missed.
Chu Xun told them there was no need for this, but unfortunately, their languages did not connect.
The Wu Clan could not understand. Even if they had understood, they might not have given up.
In their world, Chu Xun was the god they believed in.
With their god beside them, how could they not offer rituals and praises?
After a long time, Chu Xun grew used to it and could no longer be bothered to care.
A few more years passed, and the Wu Clan’s population increased by several more people.
The earliest-born child was already seven or eight years old.
Every day, he held his wooden staff and led the other children running wildly all over the mountain.
Perhaps because his body had been nourished by wood essence qi since childhood, his constitution grew better and better, and he ran faster and faster.
Even his height was much taller than the other children.
Year after year passed like this, and human activity on the barren mountain gradually increased.
At this moment, a guest came to the mountain.
He carried an old bundle on his back, was around twenty years old, and held a walking stick he had found who knew where.
For generations, his family had loved traveling all over and writing many travel journals.
He had heard people say that there were man-eating barbarians in the great mountains of the Western Wasteland.
He had once seen records about barbarians in his grandfather’s notes, but had never personally seen them.
That was why he had gone through so much effort to climb this tall, steep, bare mountain with little worth looking at.
Yet when he looked around, he saw that there was actually a dense forest on the barren mountain.
There were also crisscrossing fields and people working in them.
He was extremely surprised. He had never heard that people farmed here.
And not only did they farm, there were also several large medicinal herb fields nearby.
The herbs planted there came in many varieties and were growing exceptionally well.
The young man immediately drew great attention when he arrived.
Everyone raised their eyes to look at him. Their gazes were full of scrutiny and carried hostility.
Before the young man could react, Wu Luo and several others grabbed him by the arms.
The young man had studied martial arts. His talent was also decent, and he already had the strength of a sixth-rank martial warrior.
He wanted to struggle, but discovered these people were extremely strong. They pressed him down so firmly that he could not move.
Before long, he was pushed to the front of the stone house.
Chu Xun, who was inside the stone house studying formations, was dragged out by Wei Youyou.
Seeing someone being escorted over, before he could ask anything, Wu Luo ran over, waving his arms and legs while shouting loudly.
Seeing that Chu Xun’s clothing and appearance were the same as the people of his own country, the young man immediately understood that this person must have helped the barbarians.
His heart was no longer panicked, and he said, “I am the traveling writer Liang Ciyue. Out of curiosity about the barbarians, I came here specifically to visit. I have no other intention.”
Wu Luo had already taken the young man’s bundle and opened it on the ground.
Inside was a change of clothes, several flour cakes as hard as stones, two small strips of dried meat, and a bit of salt.
Aside from these, there were also several worn, tattered paper books of different colors and sizes, along with brush and ink.
Wu Luo carried everything over. Chu Xun casually picked up a yellowed book.
Before even opening it, he saw the words on the cover and paused slightly.
Liang Wuyan’s Travel Notes.
This name made Chu Xun feel as though he had returned to more than a hundred years ago.
He vaguely remembered that cleanly dressed young man in the steamed bun shop, the one who had wiped feces and urine for his foolish old father, fulfilling his filial duty yet being despised by others.
Chu Xun waved his hand. Only then did Wu Pan release the young man.
Chu Xun looked at him and asked, “Where is your family’s ancestral home?”
Liang Ciyue answered, “Mingxiu Prefecture of my country, Fenggu City.”
Chu Xun smiled when he heard this, then asked, “Then who is Liang Wuyan to you?”
“He is my grandfather.”
The smile on Chu Xun’s face deepened. He took all the books from Wu Luo’s hands and said, “Stay here for now. I’ll first see what all of you have written.”
Liang Ciyue had not intended to leave in the first place. Seeing that Chu Xun’s attitude was fairly gentle, his heart became even calmer.
At that moment, the little girl with horn-shaped braids hopped over to him.
She tilted her head and examined Liang Ciyue.
“I know your grandfather, yo.”
When she had followed Wei Ting’s remnant soul to Fenggu City, Liang Wuyan had not yet left. They could be considered to have met once.
Later, she had also heard Chu Xun mention this person, only she had never seen him again.
Liang Ciyue’s face revealed a little pride.
“Although my grandfather was not a rich or noble man, he traveled the world and had some small fame. It isn’t strange that you’ve heard of him.”
Wei Youyou knew he had not understood, and she did not plan to explain.
She reached into her robes and took out a radish leaf.
“Want to eat? It’s tasty, yo.”
Liang Ciyue accepted it without hesitation. Traveling the world with no money, he relied entirely on others’ charity.
Without charity, he had to endure wind and dew.
Forget radish leaves—even tree bark, he had chewed before.
He put the radish leaf into his mouth and chewed a few times, then showed surprise.
This radish leaf was unexpectedly delicious!
Its juice was sweet, with a faint medicinal fragrance.
After eating it, he felt warmth spread through his whole body, as though he had gained a few extra points of strength.
Suddenly, explosive pops rang out from his body one after another.
Liang Ciyue’s face flushed red. He could not help shouting loudly and swinging both fists.
He felt that both his punching speed and strength were much greater than before, and immediately understood that the martial arts barrier he had been just one step away from had actually broken through at this moment.
He knew very well that although he had martial arts talent, he was not among geniuses.
Logically, it should have taken him some more time before breaking through.
For it to happen so quickly and so suddenly—could it be related to the radish leaf?
Wei Youyou saw what he was thinking and said with a grin, “There’s no more, yo.”
Liang Ciyue felt somewhat regretful. Such a delicious thing, yet he had only eaten one bite.
There was also no way to verify whether his martial arts breakthrough was connected to it.
But he still cupped his hands toward Wei Youyou.
“Many thanks.”
Inside the stone house, Chu Xun opened Liang Wuyan’s travel notes.
On the first page, it read, “Chongming, tenth year. Summer.”
“I met a kindhearted youth who gave me extra silver.”
“Though young, he carried himself like an old man. I always felt he was extraordinary.”
This page’s paper was of a different size and style. Clearly, it had been cut out separately and later bound together.
Then came the second page.
I buried my father north of the city, then departed for other lands.
After traveling three days, I reached Qingxi Town. The townspeople all make their living by growing bamboo. Their houses are roofed with bamboo tiles, and dried bamboo shoots are common along the roadside.
After leaving town, I met an old man. His beard and hair were all white, yet his steps were light. He was a recluse in the mountains, skilled at identifying hundreds of herbs and treating sprains and injuries. Seeing my injured foot, he applied leaves to it, and it healed at once.
After another half month, I reached Linjiang Ferry. Most households there are fishermen. At the ferry was an old fisherman over sixty. Whenever he cast his net, he never returned empty-handed. He was skilled at identifying wind direction and could cross steadily and catch fish even in violent winds.
After crossing the ferry, I entered West Mountain. There were many hunters there, strong and skilled at archery.
At night, I lodged in a ruined temple in the mountains. Suddenly, I heard low voices outside the window, like a woman sobbing. I rose to check, but there was no one there. Only wet marks remained before the steps, like footprints, vanishing in an instant.
I traveled south. The people there live in bamboo houses, eat rice and fish, and men and women dress differently. In the middle of the month, they beat drums and sing mountain songs.
I met a strange man who could speak with beasts. He was often accompanied by apes. With one whistle, apes would bring him fruit.
All sorts of experiences and sights were recorded within, too many to list.
Chu Xun read for a long while, until he finished the entire travel journal.
In Liang Wuyan’s life, he traveled through seven nations.
The things he saw were countless.
The reason he did not go to more places was partly because his body could no longer keep up.
On the other hand, he had met a beautiful woman on the road. Considering descendants, he had no choice but to return.
And later, his descendants also followed this tradition.
Once they had children, they would go out and travel. When they grew old and could no longer walk, they would return and hand the travel journals to the next generation for safekeeping.
By Liang Ciyue’s generation, it had already been passed down for five generations.
Five travel journals recorded the customs and landscapes of over a dozen different countries.
In order to travel farther, the descendants of the family specifically practiced martial arts.
Only with a strong body could they avoid giving up halfway.
Liang Ciyue had come from very far away. He had left home at eighteen and was now twenty-three.
In five years, he had traveled through several countries and finally returned to his grandfather Liang Wuyan’s ancestral homeland—Jing Kingdom.
After Chu Xun finished reading all the travel journals, he gained a greater understanding of the world.
He also understood even more that the size of this world likely exceeded what many people imagined.
The vast majority of people could spend their entire lives and still never see the whole world.
Only through the joint efforts of over a dozen generations might there be the slightest possibility.
Looking at Liang Wuyan’s earliest travel notes, already yellowed but still fairly well preserved, Chu Xun slowly breathed out.
He had thought that after Liang Wuyan buried his father, they would never meet again.
He had not expected to encounter him again in such a way.
Chu Xun walked out of the stone house holding the travel notes. Liang Ciyue, who had already stayed here for a day, was watching Wu Xian stack several yarrow leaves together and press them with a stone.
Then he placed branches and animal bones beside them, grabbed some dirt in his hand, and scattered it around, muttering who knew what.
Liang Ciyue watched for a long time but could not see anything meaningful.
At that moment, a voice came from beside him. “He is trying divination.”
Liang Ciyue hurriedly turned back. Seeing Chu Xun standing behind him, he cupped his hands and bowed.
“Greetings, sir.”
Then he asked, “Can this really divine a result?”
“I don’t know.” Chu Xun shook his head.
Wu Xian had already tried many times, using many methods. Even now, he seemed not to have found the right direction.
Chu Xun did not understand divination much either. He only studied the relevant classics Huangshi Gong had sent over and occasionally told Wu Xian his own insights and experiences.
But Wu Xian’s language was still mostly stuck in the barbarian period. He could understand half and not understand half.
Which parts he did not understand, Chu Xun did not know either, so he could only let him be.
“Here are your travel notes,” Chu Xun said.
Liang Ciyue accepted them and asked, “Were they satisfactory to you, sir?”
“Not bad, only too mundane,” Chu Xun said.
Liang Ciyue froze. What did that mean?
Chu Xun smiled and did not explain. He only asked, “Do you want to go elsewhere and have a look?”
Liang Ciyue quickly nodded. “I was just thinking of seeing how they make medicine.”
Chu Xun then stepped forward and led the way.
Liang Ciyue had wanted to go earlier, but Wu Peng, Wu Zhen, and the others had driven him back.
These ten Wu were filled with vigilance and hatred toward outsiders.
Not beating him up was already generous. How could they allow him to wander around and look everywhere?
But with Chu Xun leading the way, the Wu naturally would not trouble him again.
They arrived at the house where Wu Peng and the others studied medicinal herbs. Inside, all kinds of herbs were piled up. Beneath stone platforms, fires burned, using clay jars to steam and boil herbs.
What was different was that other things were also mixed among the herbs.
Liang Ciyue saw a child crying as he ran over. A large piece of flesh had been scraped from his leg who knew where, and blood was pouring out.
Wu Zhen took some medicinal herbs from one clay jar, chewed them up in his mouth, and covered the wound with them.
Then he grabbed mud mixed with wild beast bone ash, blended it evenly with medicinal juice, and used it to cover the herbs.
Liang Ciyue stared in dumbfounded silence. If wounds were treated like this, would it not kill people?
Chu Xun said, “They have their own understanding. They believe wild beasts have strong bones. When the body is injured, if medicine is mixed with wild beast bone ash, one can absorb its essence and become as strong as a wild beast.”
“When encountering difficult illnesses, they also mutter while jumping around.”
Liang Ciyue was speechless. This indeed fit the barbarian inheritance.
But judging from Chu Xun’s meaning, this method of treatment seemed fairly effective.
At the very least, so far, no cases had been found where it did not work.
Even Chu Xun himself found it strange. Such a childish method was actually more useful than physicians below the mountain.
He had specially found injured livestock, wild beasts, and the like to test it.
With the same injuries and the same method, when he tried to treat them himself, the condition instead grew worse.
The wound either became infected or expanded in size.
Until one day, when Wu Peng and the others were treating an illness, Chu Xun used Qi-Gazing and Fate Perception.
Only then did he discover that when they treated someone, a portion of their fortune actually connected to his own.
As they danced and chanted, this portion of fortune then connected to the injured person.
Once the injured person recovered, the fortune connection automatically broke.
Only then did Chu Xun understand that the reason Wu Peng and the others were effective when using this method was because they were borrowing his “force.”
Their faith in him was extremely devoted, so much so that it produced an effect similar to incense prayer.
Only, it did not require him to choose wish ribbons and fulfill prayers like an incense god.
They only needed to complete their own ritual, and everything would naturally fall into place.
The key was that Chu Xun himself paid no price and felt nothing special.
One had to admit that these ten Wu, based on what Huangshi Gong had brought over, his own teachings, and the original barbarian cultural inheritance—
Had blindly tinkered around and seemed to have tinkered up something new.
So new that even Chu Xun could only silently observe and try to understand it.
As for Liang Ciyue, he understood even less and could not understand their speech either.
He only felt it was very magical.
At this moment, in Mingzhu Prefecture, along the Songliu River—
A flood dragon temple had been built here, modeled entirely after the green-white flood dragon’s exact appearance.
Although there were slight differences, they were not too great.
Because the green-white flood dragon often appeared and helped the local commoners stop floods, there were still many believers.
Under the Songliu River, a grass carp several zhang long was nestled beside the green-white flood dragon, which was now nearly two hundred zhang long.
The flood dragon’s aura slowly seeped into its body, subtly improving both its bloodline and original body.
The green-white flood dragon also taught it how to fuse with Ren Water Essence and adapt early to the future water tribulation.
For a python to transform into a flood dragon was already incredibly difficult.
For a grass carp to transform into a flood dragon was even harder than climbing to heaven.
At least dragons and snakes could barely be classified together. A fish, however, was purely an anomaly among anomalies.
Moreover, it would not experience the process of becoming a flood dragon. It could only directly transform into a dragon, so the difficulty was naturally even greater.
But the grass carp still studied very hard, hoping that one day, as Teacher had said, it could leap through the dragon gate and become a true dragon.
In Li Mountain—
The old crow, transformed into human form, chanted the cultivation method Chu Xun had left behind to a group of birds and beasts.
Many of these spirits, who had already gained some cultivation, had transformed in recent years.
The old crow chanted for a long time before temporarily stopping.
He raised his head and saw that at some point, several clouds of rosy light had appeared above.
Perhaps because Chu Xun had advanced his Five Elements Dao arts here, back then, that five-colored cloud had been forcefully pulled down and torn apart by Wei Youyou.
A portion of it had remained and had not been fully devoured by Chu Xun.
Now, after remaining here for many years, it had never dispersed.
Whenever the old crow chanted the cultivation method, they would float over.
The old crow looked up for a while, his gaze stirring slightly, but he did not pay them too much attention.
On Hanging Sky Mountain, Sun Zhu sat upright beneath the mountain stone, also teaching many spirits to cultivate.
Beside him sat Xiao Shuying, legs crossed.
The Flying Gold Sword rested on her lap. Her eyes were closed, and the aura around her continuously climbed.
Her talent had already been good, and turning from martial arts to Dao cultivation counted as having a foundation.
Now, she was already at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, and her speed was not slow at all.
A moment later, Sun Zhu finished today’s Dao lecture.
The many Jie Sect spirits bowed to him.
“Many thanks, Senior Brother, for teaching the Dao.”
Sun Zhu looked toward Xiao Shuying, who had opened her eyes at some unknown time, and asked, “Senior Sister, your aura is fluctuating. Is there something you do not understand?”
Xiao Shuying shook her head and said, “I was only wondering when Master will return.”
Ever since Chu Xun went to Wusun Kingdom to slay the Ghost Emperors and Earth God, more than ten or twenty years had passed since they parted.
When Huangshi Gong had come earlier, he said Master had gone to Li Mountain and brought the old crows into Jie Sect as well, establishing Li Mountain’s sect gate.
Afterward, he had gone to the Western Wasteland mountains and was teaching a group of Wu.
Xiao Shuying had never heard of the Wu Clan. She only remembered that place had originally belonged to the barbarians.
The great fire set by Wu Kingdom’s emperor was said to have burned the barbarians to extinction. She had not expected there were survivors.
As for why Chu Xun wanted to teach these barbarian survivors, Xiao Shuying could not understand. She only felt that Master’s actions must have deep meaning.
However, after so many years without seeing him, she inevitably missed him.
Cultivating all day on Hanging Sky Mountain, yet never seeing Chu Xun, she always felt uneasy.
So she said to Sun Zhu, “I want to go out and travel. What do you think?”
“Where does Senior Sister want to go?” Sun Zhu asked.
Xiao Shuying had already decided. In this life, she had experienced almost everything, except the sea.
She had heard the sea was vast, boundless, and endless.
So she wanted to go out onto the sea and have a look.
Hearing this, Sun Zhu nodded.
“If Senior Sister wants to go, then go. Only, do not clash with others. You should be careful in all things.”
Xiao Shuying stood, holding the Flying Gold Sword, her expression carrying a trace of pride.
“My martial arts are at the Innate Grandmaster level, and my immortal cultivation has also reached the Qi Refinement stage. The world is vast, but I may go anywhere.”
“Master founded Jie Sect. How can I remain here accomplishing nothing?”
“I have heard there are also commoners on the sea. Perhaps on this trip, I may open a new Dao field for Jie Sect and spread its teachings widely.”
Seeing this, Sun Zhu said nothing more.
He was cautious by nature and did not possess Xiao Shuying’s great ambitions.
Being able to teach the Dao on Master’s behalf on Hanging Sky Mountain was already a good life.
At that moment, a spirit came over and said, “Senior Sister, this journey is long. I am willing to contribute some strength.”
With that, he revealed his true form.
It was actually a white-fronted tiger with hanging eyes, also known as a Mountain Lord.
A tiger roar shook the mountain forest, and its might transformed into a white ruyi scepter, landing in Xiao Shuying’s hand.
This was the tiger might he had accumulated through cultivation in this life.
If cast out, it could shake an enemy’s mind.
Xiao Shuying accepted it with a smile.
“Many thanks, Junior Brother.”
Then she put away the white ruyi and left Hanging Sky Mountain with the Flying Gold Sword.
She passed through Eagle Pass and Jixia Pass, then crossed Changming Prefecture and other places before arriving at Mingzhu Prefecture.
At the Songliu River, she met the green-white flood dragon.
Hearing that Xiao Shuying wanted to go out and see the sea, the green-white flood dragon swung its thick tail and said, “If I transform into a dragon one day, I will certainly go to the sea as well. Senior Sister, carry my true intent and go there first.”
With that, he let out an earth-shaking dragon cry.
A stream of flood dragon true intent descended and unexpectedly fused with the tiger-might ruyi in Xiao Shuying’s robes.
A flood dragon and a fierce tiger intertwined with one another, causing the ruyi to flash with golden and white light, becoming increasingly lively.
Xiao Shuying was delighted when she saw it.
“With this ruyi, I have a little more confidence on this journey.”
Afterward, she went to the capital.
Xiao Zhiheng had already passed away. The current emperor of Jing Kingdom was named Xiao Changge.
However, he was already old, and in a few years, Jing Kingdom would likely change emperors again.
Xiao Changge still continued the previous emperor’s policies. Jing Kingdom was now at its height of prosperity.
Seeing this, Xiao Shuying did not disturb anyone.
She had already separated from the mortal world. The people and things she came into contact with were no longer mortal.
All things of the past had already drifted away like smoke and clouds.
Toward Jing Kingdom, she had already exhausted her heart and strength and done everything she could.
In the future, everything would depend on later generations.
She could not manage it, and no longer wished to.
She immediately left the capital and headed toward the legendary sea.
In the blink of an eye, twenty years passed.
In the Western Wasteland mountains, the Wu Clan’s population had multiplied almost tenfold and was close to a hundred people.
Many new stone houses had been built on the mountain, and the farmland and medicinal fields had expanded many times over.
Inside one stone house, Chu Xun looked at Wu Xian and asked, “There will be a heavy rainstorm?”
Wu Xian had drawn many dots on the ground, then cupped water and showed it to him.
Hearing Chu Xun’s words, he nodded hard.
After forty years, Wu Xian already showed some signs of age.
He had been studying yarrow divination all this time. Unexpectedly, he had truly managed to discover something.
By now, he could predict wind and rain, and his accuracy was quite high.
Chu Xun nodded and told the Wu Clan to put away the grain so the heavy rain would not cause losses.
Although he could avoid such trouble with Dao arts, Chu Xun still followed his original idea.
He wanted the Wu Clan to learn the way of survival, not always rely on his personal power for protection.
Before long, dark clouds filled the sky, and thunder rumbled.
In an instant, torrential rain poured down.
Wei Youyou sat on a stone stool inside the house, swinging her legs.
While gnawing on the wheat cake Wu Gu had made, she wrote something on paper.
Chu Xun walked over and glanced at it. He saw that Wei Youyou was drawing a map.
She had marked the regions around Jing Kingdom.
“What are you drawing this for?” Chu Xun asked.
“To look for the Marriage Stone,” Wei Youyou said matter-of-factly.
She had not forgotten this matter.
Liang Ciyue had already taken his leave and departed more than ten years ago.
He had stayed in the Western Wasteland mountains for several years and recorded many things about the Wu Clan.
For example:
There is a spiritual mountain. Wu Xian, Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Di, Wu Xie, and Wu Luo—the Ten Wu—emerge from there and return there. The hundred medicines are found there.
There was another record:
There is a mountain that does not join together, called Buzhou Bearing Children. Two yellow beasts guard it. There are waters called Cold and Warm Waters.
There were many similar entries.
Wei Youyou used three radish leaves to entrust him with helping her find the Marriage Stone.
She also promised that if he found it, she would give him ten more!
To Wei Youyou, this was already a very heavy promise.
But to outsiders, perhaps it sounded like a child’s game.
Yet Liang Ciyue had agreed very seriously, saying that even if he could not find it, he would certainly have his descendants continue searching. One day, they would find it.
When that time came, they would write to Wei Youyou and inform her.
In addition, every so often, he would write a letter telling her where he had traveled.
That way, in the future, there would be no need to search those places repeatedly.
Wei Youyou drew maps based on his letters and the contents of his travel notes, marking them one by one.
Chu Xun did not disturb her. Everyone had something they should do.
It was true for him, true for Wei Youyou, and true for Liang Ciyue as well.
The heavy rain continued to fall. Wu Li and Wu Xie braved the rain and came outside, worshipping before the stone house as usual.
Their devotion would never change because of the weather.
Chu Xun watched the two Wu worshipping, and a strange feeling rose in his heart.
He and this clan had already developed an unshakable special connection.
Originally, he had come here to help the Wu Clan develop and grow, thereby obtaining a divine office status.
But now, he felt that perhaps he would not only obtain a status, but something even more powerful than a status.
What that thing was, Chu Xun did not know.
The only thing he could be certain of was that the Wu Clan’s worship was very different from traditional incense offerings.
The common people’s incense offerings were a form of nourishment, helping incense gods remain in the world.
The Wu Clan’s worship, however, seemed to use their own strength and faith to create something new.
Even if there were no god, they could forcibly worship a god into existence by themselves.
When Chu Xun thought of this, he suddenly thought of the ancient immortals and gods.
Could those ancient immortals and gods have been born in this way?
From nothing into existence, born because of faith and destroyed because of faith.
Thinking this, Chu Xun’s expression became slightly strange.
If that was truly the case, would he not become an existence equal to the ancient immortals and gods?
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and he silently thought, That seems a little interesting.
Join you, then beat you to death, then replace you.
Wei Youyou turned to look at him, confusion appearing on her face.
“Old Master, what are you laughing about, yo?”
A few more years passed like this. The people below the mountain finally discovered that something on the mountain was not right.
The once-barren mountain was becoming more and more lush, and they often saw people moving about.
Even wild beasts had begun migrating there.
Some bold people had approached and said there were waves of fragrance there, as if some treasure existed.
(End of Chapter)