A solemn pure land, a sacred hall.
Feng Xi wandered aimlessly through the place, astonished and curious.
The hall rose as high as the heavens and stretched level with the earth, as if it were the only thing in existence.
Every floor tile radiated an eternal aura, imperishable and indestructible, unworn and undiminished.
Exquisite as flawless white jade, it shimmered with a faint glow. Its beauty and splendor surpassed anything Feng Xi could describe with words.
"Is this the world after death?"
He sighed in wonder.
—Yes, Feng Xi was already dead.
He had been stabbed twelve times by a knife-wielding criminal while trying to uphold justice, losing too much blood and suffering extensive organ damage.
Even after he was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, there had been little hope of survival.
As his consciousness blurred and he hovered between life and death, he seemed to hear the busy doctors trying to save him sigh, "The resuscitation was unsuccessful..."
"Ah, such a fine young man, gone just like that..."
"What a pity!"
"Yes, it is a little regrettable."
Feng Xi's slightly transparent body—like the soul in legends—floated through the magnificent hall. His thoughts turned as he passed the boring time. "How long did I even live?"
"Still, although it's regrettable, I don't regret it."
"There are always things that require someone to step forward."
He was optimistic and cheerful. Though dead, he had no regrets, with little remorse or resentment.
His heart was pure—not entirely flawless, perhaps, but brimming with vigorous vitality and a desire for progress and change.
Perhaps resonating with such an attitude, this empty, solemn, and majestic hall began to undergo a new transformation.
Streams of light condensed out of nothingness.
Then they rapidly gathered together and transformed into a screen of light.
The light and shadows flickered, and images flowed across it, as if something were being played.
"Hm?" Feng Xi watched curiously. It seemed like a holographic 3D projection, drawing his attention.
Image after image flashed by. Gradually, he understood.
—They were the struggles of the Human Race's ancient sages as they rose from the vast wilderness!
They were the history of the Human Race on Earth, presented before his eyes!
Hunger, illness, cold... Every one of these things had blocked the path of a race.
Yet in the end, they were all conquered, giving rise to a great and glorious civilization!
In freezing weather, people drilled wood to make fire and stitched hides into clothing.
When food was scarce, people wove nets to fish and took up farming and herding.
When epidemics raged, people tested medicines on themselves and sampled every herb.
When floods overflowed, people traveled across the wilderness, cut through mountains, and redirected the water.
Every single one of these was an ancient achievement worthy of song and tears.
Their legacy had been passed down through their bloodlines, enduring through countless ages without perishing!
As the images progressed to the blazing fire of civilization and the establishment of nations and order, when the descendants of Yanhuang no longer had to helplessly fear being constrained by the natural world, the screen of light finally scattered.
In its place came a change that struck terror into the heart.
At some unknown point, a towering divine being had appeared there.
She was a goddess.
But terrifyingly... her body was simply too enormous!
Thousands of miles? Tens of thousands of miles?
An indescribable might flowed around her. She seemed capable of holding open an entire universe while looking down upon all the ages of time.
A brilliantly colored dress draped over the goddess.
Upon it, the Cosmic Star River glittered, while vast continents drifted and rose and fell, dazzling and magnificent without end.
Feng Xi's soul trembled with fear from the deepest part of his heart.
—This was the gap between life levels, the oppression born from the fundamental difference between god and man!
However, such fear and oppression vanished in an instant.
Apparently fully aware of his condition, the boundless majesty was restrained by the goddess's will.
It gave Feng Xi room to breathe, preventing him from being reduced to ashes by a mere wisp of her aura.
"After seeing everything just now..."
"Born human, are you proud? Are you honored?"
A grand Divine Sound, ethereal beyond measure and seemingly descending from the heavens, shook Feng Xi's ears. It was the supreme divine being questioning him.
"No." Feng Xi first nodded, then shook his head. "I'm neither proud nor honored."
"How could the achievements of my predecessors be the source of my own pride?"
"Oh?" The goddess paused. "Then what do you think?"
"Being born human is my honor!" Feng Xi's eyes shone. "I am grateful and thankful. Glorious Human Race!"
"Then..." The goddess smiled. "If you were given the chance to choose, would you be willing to make sacrifices and contributions for the rise of the Human Race?"
"Of course!" Feng Xi spoke righteously, but the next moment, something was exposed. "However, may I ask..."
"Where would I need to go to contribute to the Human Race?"
"Naturally, to the most ancient era, where you will carve out a path through thorns and obstacles."
"I see?" Feng Xi drew out his words, hesitation appearing on his face. Was he really supposed to go to that world of scarce material resources, harsh living conditions, and inadequate medicine, and fight Heaven itself for the Human Race's survival?
Hmm... It sounded rather dangerous.
"Forgive me for being presumptuous..." He boldly asked, "May I know what the other choice is?"
"That everything before your eyes never happened." The goddess spoke with amusement. "Your fate will return to its original course."
Feng Xi's face instantly turned green.
His original course?
What was his original course?
If he remembered correctly... he had already been pronounced dead after resuscitation failed!
"Where do people go after they die?"
"Is there reincarnation? Is there an underworld?"
As all sorts of thoughts spun through his mind, Feng Xi's resolve began to waver.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself... How improper of me." The goddess slowly continued, "In your legends, I seem to be called—Houtu Huangdizhi, the one who bears Heaven and follows the law?"
"Opener of reincarnation, ruler of the underworld!"
In an instant, Feng Xi's already green face turned white.
Deathly pale!
After swallowing with difficulty, he solemnly swore, "For the Human Race, I'll Go Through Fire and Water! Why should I care about life or death?"
"The ancient era, is it?"
"Battling Heaven and earth, is it?"
"Go!"
"I must go!"
"If I don't go, I'm no human!"
"I would be letting down the ancient sages of the Human Race above, and my ancestors below!"
At that moment, immense enlightenment arose in Feng Xi's heart.
He resolved to devote himself wholeheartedly to the cause of the Human Race's rise and die only after giving everything he had!
After all...
Who could blame him when the world after death was governed by the big shot standing before him?
"Very good." Saint Houtu expressed her satisfaction. "For someone with such firm resolve, I will give you some assistance."
"An immortal life, the power to move mountains and fill seas, divine abilities to pluck stars from the sky..."
"You will possess all of these."
Feng Xi's eyes immediately shone like a sea of stars.
He felt overwhelmed with delight. Each of these promises was so generous that he could hardly breathe.
"Wonderful... What is the ancient era? Where is it? Send me there quickly! I can hardly wait!" Feng Xi rubbed his fists and palms, his fighting spirit soaring to its peak.
"That era, that world, is called—" Saint Houtu said with a smile at the corner of her lips. "The Primordial World!"
Feng Xi went from delighted to terrified in the blink of an eye.
As he was sent away, his expression froze into an extremely abstract painting, accompanied by a faint wail. "The Primordial World... Aah!"
"I don't want to go to that hellhole!"
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