Ever since Fuxi created the Innate Eight Trigrams, he had been searching for the next common leader of humanity. Unfortunately, even after searching far and wide, he had yet to find a satisfactory candidate.
"Greetings, Chief! We found him, we found him!"
A middle-aged man rushed toward Fuxi, shouting that they had found him.
"Chief! A great sage has emerged from the Yan Clan tribe, named Shennong. At his birth, heavenly omens appeared just as they had for you, Chief. He even discovered the five grains to feed his people. Unfortunately, Shennong is currently the leader of the Yan Clan and refuses to come here!"
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's account, Fuxi immediately determined that this was the person he had been looking for and decided to visit him in person.
Meanwhile, Shennong came to a tribe living deep in the mountains and forests, where he saw many hunted beasts discarded carelessly about. After asking around, he learned that the forest was teeming with wild beasts, and the tribespeople simply could not finish eating all the animals they hunted, so they threw them away.
He then went to a nearby tribe, only to discover that they were throwing away countless five grains. Shennong immediately found it regrettable and asked why.
The locals told Shennong with a smile, "We planted too many five grains. We can't finish them, and we have nowhere to store them. They'll rot sooner or later anyway, so we might as well throw them out now."
After witnessing these two incidents, Shennong returned to his tribe feeling rather distracted.
As he wrestled with the problem, he suddenly heard children arguing within the tribe. Driven by curiosity, Shennong went over to investigate.
It turned out that among the children, one had rabbits at home that had given birth, while another had puppies at home that had been born. They had agreed to trade rabbits for puppies, but one side had gone back on their word.
The moment Shennong heard this, inspiration struck him.
He subsequently summoned the chiefs of several tribes to discuss the matter. They decided that at regular intervals, they would gather their people together and bring unwanted goods to other tribes to exchange for things they needed.
High in the void, two people watched Shennong's every move.
One was naturally Shennong's master, Yunxiao. The other was Kong Xuan, who had grown bored staying in the Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Court had only recently been established, and its operations were still imperfect. Kong Xuan cultivated in the Heavenly Court every day, and with the empowerment of his position as Great Emperor Gouchen Shanggong Tianhuang, his cultivation had reached the realm of a two-corpse Quasi-Saint. However, after cultivating for so long, he had grown somewhat bored and wanted to travel through the lower realm.
Back when Kong Xuan and Six-Eared Macaque had watched over humanity for tens of thousands of years, they had long since developed feelings for them.
After considering it carefully, he decided to come see how humanity had developed. Unexpectedly, he happened to witness Shennong creating humanity's earliest marketplace.
Seeing humanity flourishing so well under the guidance of a wise leader, Kong Xuan could not help but feel greatly delighted. He rose and flew toward the Yan Clan tribe, intending to have a chat with Shennong.
"Fellow Daoist, please do not approach the lands of humanity!"
An incomparably beautiful figure appeared before Kong Xuan and blocked his path.
"Fellow Daoist, by my master's command, I am here to protect Shennong. I hope you will not go and disturb him!"
Unable to see through Kong Xuan's cultivation, Yunxiao knew that he was likely beyond the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, so she did not dare offend him rashly.
At the sight of Yunxiao's peerless beauty, Kong Xuan could not help but become momentarily dazed.
Kong Xuan naturally knew about the Three Sovereigns, and he also knew that this woman was Tongtian Jiaozhu's disciple. Seeing how she faced him as though confronting a great enemy, Kong Xuan's playful side emerged, and he decided to tease her.
"I see that this leader of humanity possesses remarkable talent and greatly pleases me. I have decided to take him as my disciple."
The moment Yunxiao heard that, she realized he was trying to steal her livelihood. No matter what, she had to complete the task her master had entrusted to her.
"Fellow Daoist! This child is already my disciple, and he is also the Human Emperor chosen by the Saints. I hope you will find another disciple."
"Oh? But I have taken a liking to this boy. Are you going to stop me?"
As he spoke, Kong Xuan released his aura. The imposing might of a Quasi-Saint instantly bore down upon Yunxiao.
Yunxiao treated him as a formidable enemy and said no more. She brought forth the Primordial Golden Chalice and attacked Kong Xuan.
With Yunxiao's mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, Kong Xuan simply did not take her seriously.
The Five-Colored Divine Light behind him gave a gentle sweep, and Yunxiao's Primordial Golden Chalice immediately fell into Kong Xuan's hand.
"What?"
Yunxiao's expression changed drastically. She had not expected Kong Xuan to be so terrifying that he could seize her magic treasure in a single strike.
Remembering Tongtian Jiaozhu's earnest teachings, Yunxiao gritted her teeth, drew her treasured sword, and attacked Kong Xuan again.
Kong Xuan looked upon Yunxiao's attack with disdain. He had already cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts taught by Xuan Yi to its sixth level, and his physical body was incomparably powerful. Why would he fear a mere acquired weapon?
Kong Xuan did not even counterattack, allowing Yunxiao's strikes to land upon him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of hacking and slashing rang out without end.
Before long, Yunxiao was drenched in fragrant sweat from exhaustion, while Kong Xuan still stood there with a calm, unruffled expression.
"How about it, Fellow Daoist? Do you still wish to continue?"
Kong Xuan stood there smiling. Looking at Yunxiao, he found her exceedingly adorable, and an inexplicable feeling slowly spread through his heart.
"What will it take for you to leave?"
Yunxiao was nearly breaking down. He had seized her magic treasure in one move, then allowed her to slash at him without suffering the slightest injury. Faced with such a terrifying opponent, Yunxiao felt utterly powerless.
"Letting that human go is not impossible. As long as you can defeat me, I will turn around and leave. How about it?"
When Kong Xuan mentioned the matter again, Yunxiao could not help but feel wronged. If she could beat him, would she still be wasting words here?
At that thought, Yunxiao's eyes filled with tears as she looked at Kong Xuan with a stubborn expression.
"I can't defeat you. I have failed my master's expectations. Kill me, then!"
As she spoke, tears slipped helplessly down her cheeks.
This iron-clad straight man, Kong Xuan, instantly panicked. He had only meant to tease Yunxiao, yet he had somehow made her cry.
"Fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist! It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I won't take that human as my disciple, and I'll return your magic treasure too."
Kong Xuan clumsily returned the magic treasure to Yunxiao while hastily explaining himself.
Yet when Yunxiao saw her magic treasure returned, she felt even more wronged and burst into tears.
Her crying made Kong Xuan's head swell. His straight-man instincts left him with no idea how to comfort her, and he could only apologize again and again.
"Fellow Daoist, please don't cry. It is all my fault. I should not have teased you. Please forgive me, forgive me!"
Seeing Yunxiao's tears still streaming down, Kong Xuan stomped anxiously on the spot, while his heart began to ache as well.
Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he cast aside whatever damned Quasi-Saint dignity he had.
"Grandma, I'm begging you, don't cry. It was my fault. As long as you stop crying, I'll agree to anything."
Seeing Kong Xuan like this, Yunxiao stopped crying and found him quite amusing.
She hurriedly wiped the tear streaks from her face, then let out a giggle at Kong Xuan's flustered appearance.
"Can you really agree to anything I ask? No going back on your word?"
"I agree, I agree! As long as you stop crying."
Seeing that Yunxiao had finally stopped crying, Kong Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and hastily replied.
"Fine! I only need you to agree to one thing."
Before you continue