Suiren Shi was an extremely low-key yet extraordinary existence.
As a Great One who had kindled the fire of civilization and ancestor of all surnames... yet in the legends of the Human Race, his halo seemed somewhat dim. Compared with Fuxi, Nuwa, Shennong, Yellow Emperor, and the others, he fell slightly short.
Take the lists of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, for example. In all kinds of versions, no matter how they were arranged, Fuxi and Shennong were always on the list, permanent fixtures.
But Suiren...
His imperial throne was unstable, facing tremendous challenges from those who came after him!
There was no doubt that he was one of the Human Kings, but as for ascending to the position of Human Race Saint Emperor?
That was highly questionable.
Even Feng Xi had once somewhat overlooked this existence, simply grouping him with Youchao Shi and the other Human Kings, judging that he deserved respect—but only as a Human King worthy of respect.
But now, Great Sage Fuxi had taught him a lesson, letting him know how extraordinary this low-key king truly was!
"Suiren took fire..." Fuxi sighed softly. "But the fire he took was no ordinary flame."
"Ordinary fire... what did it amount to in this Primordial World?"
"He kindled the fire of civilization, the fire of the Human Dao. He illuminated a dark era, leading countless living beings from confusion toward awakening!"
"The sun could illuminate Heaven and Earth, but it could not illuminate the human heart... Suiren did it!"
"He left behind the most brilliant flame in the Human Dao, leaving a spark in the heart of every living being..."
"From then on, the Human Dao seized the opportunity for eternal prosperity and began its journey toward eternity."
Feng Xi listened to Great Sage Fuxi's words, his expression deeply moved.
He could hardly imagine what a magnificent epic lay behind them, or how many tragic and inspiring struggles and efforts had been involved!
At the same time, he was somewhat puzzled.
"Why have I heard so little about such a great and noble figure?"
"In countless legends of the Primordial World, he's always glossed over. They're even reluctant to mention him..."
"With achievements like that, he must have had a supreme title in Heaven and Earth, right? And what kind of Great Divine Ability User was he?"
A fleeting trace of oddness crossed Fuxi's face. He fell silent for a long while before finally speaking slowly. "Suiren Emperor... I can't really explain his situation either."
"He seems to exist and not exist at the same time. Perhaps he is the remnant of a spirit, or perhaps a lingering obsession, enduring through the ages and surviving countless tribulations..."
"Sealed away by the era, buried and abandoned, a lonely soul wandering while watching the changing ages and sighing? Or perhaps lamenting?"
Feng Xi inexplicably felt a trace of desolation and sorrow.
"But... perhaps that isn't necessarily a bad thing?" Great Sage Fuxi rubbed his chin. "Although few people mention him, all the traces and information about him are positive. He stayed far from worldly disputes and preserved a pure land for himself."
Emperor Xi gave a derisive laugh. "Look, among those countless stories of truth and falsehood, how many of us active Great Divine Ability Users haven't been slandered?"
"The Three Pure Ones, Jieyin and Zhunti, Kunpeng... every one of them is a victim!"
"And my younger sister... Even the great merit of creating humanity and repairing Heaven couldn't spare her from slander. People still viewed her through colored glasses and inexplicably saddled her with labels—either a heartless Saint or a lovesick fool."
"I'm a little better, at least... I treat people kindly and make friends. Whenever those Great Divine Ability Users with some fame and strength talk about me behind my back, they all give me a thumbs-up and praise me in unison."
Fuxi sighed, lamenting the fickleness of the world. Being famous was no easy thing.
Beside him, the little Phoenix stared at him with an extremely strange and uncanny look.
He kept staring.
"Mm... the topic has strayed a little." Fuxi endured the Phoenix's gaze without changing expression. "Little fellow, after saying all that, I just wanted to tell you... even if people like us can manifest countless incarnations, exist throughout Endless Space-time, and leave behind legends and bloodlines..."
"You might not necessarily have a direct connection to me—your branch may belong to Suiren Emperor and have nothing to do with me." Emperor Xi smiled. "Still, some of what you said isn't without reason... everyone under Heaven with the same surname is family. However you put it, you can reluctantly be considered half a junior of mine."
"If you hadn't encountered me, so be it. But now that we've met, and you're doing so miserably... I understand the situation clearly. If I don't give you, my junior, a little help, it wouldn't make sense."
Never had Feng Xi found Great Sage Fuxi so handsome, so dashing, so wise and martial, so great and noble!
The way he looked when he was about to give a reward made Feng Xi pour out words as vast and numerous as the waters of the four seas in praise, yet he still couldn't describe even one ten-thousandth of his magnificence!
Praise Great Sage Fuxi!
Feng Xi wore an earnest expression and struck a pose of worship.
Fuxi laughed, somewhat helpless and speechless. "Actually, I think that with your ability to shamelessly seize every opportunity to improve yourself and strive upward, no matter how poor your starting point, you'll end up doing quite well."
"Whether you receive my gift or not isn't really important... it only affects how soon you reach your final achievements."
"If I can do it a day earlier, why wait until a day later?" Feng Xi blinked. "This world is too dangerous. Deep down, I'm actually terrified. I wish I could hide away and cultivate forever, only coming out after reaching the peak of the Great Unity stage, or even proving the Great Luo Dao."
"Unfortunately, cultivation requires four essentials: wealth, companions, techniques, and a place... Every one of those requires resources."
"Without resources to accelerate my progress, if I rely on absorbing Vital Energy from Heaven and Earth, how long would I have to wait?"
"No one knows when the Witch-Demon War will begin. It could be ten million years from now, or it could be a few days from now... This uncertainty of time is forcing me to improve as quickly as possible and achieve the greatest results in the shortest time."
"That means I have to use some unconventional methods of advancement—such as Lord Zhu Jiuyin's Time Secret Realm, where one day outside is at least one epoch inside."
"But the Time Secret Realm... costs money too!"
There were trillions upon trillions of Lesser Witches in the entire Witch Clan. Feng Xi had nowhere near enough face to make an Ancestor Witch waive his fee and let him enter for cultivation.
For an organization, the most important thing was fair rewards and punishments. The rules could not be broken—the unspoken rules in private were another matter, but publicly, they absolutely could not be violated!
Only merit earned rewards, and only then could one obtain more resources... Otherwise, once morale dispersed, there would be no point in leading the Witch Clan's forces.
This forced talented elites with ambitions and aspirations to consider other ways of making money. Merely squatting in the Witch Clan's headquarters and cultivating on a fixed salary might seem safe.
But that would inevitably lead to mediocrity... Once the Witch-Demon Cataclysm began, there was a high chance they would become cannon fodder!
That was precisely why Feng Xi's opening of a channel to earn a windfall outside the Witch Clan had received unanimous support and allegiance.
Every witch had an intelligence level above the standard. They knew what kind of situation they would face in the future.
Rather than dying a slow death, they might as well take a chance!
Great Sage Fuxi shook his head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"I can give you a small gift. As for how far you'll go in the future, that will depend on your own abilities." He pointed with one hand, and a small cabinet beside him opened, revealing its inner space to Feng Xi.
The moment the cabinet door opened, a clattering sound rang out, and a great pile of miscellaneous-looking objects fell out.
Some were fragments of jade, resembling the broken remains of some jade artifact.
Some were a large number of beads with chaotic coloring, rolling everywhere.
Others were strange-shaped lotus flowers... golden, azure, and black.
There were even more unusual things, such as specks of light and clusters of radiance that shone brilliantly and nearly blinded the eyes.
And so on.
There were countless miscellaneous items, impossible to enumerate.
Feng Xi watched this scene, utterly baffled and unable to make heads or tails of it.
He hesitantly looked toward Great Sage Fuxi, hoping for an explanation.
"You can choose one of these yourself." Emperor Xi waved his hand generously. "They weren't mine to begin with, so giving them to you won't make my heart ache."
"They weren't yours?" Feng Xi asked in confusion.
"Of course." Fuxi nodded. "These items... were all obtained from various transmigrators."
"Some Great Luo experts stirred up trouble downstream in time, while others recruited people from the future like the Ancestor Witches did... Yet they were all sneaky about it."
"They made my hands itch. Sitting here fishing through the years, I caught quite a few."
"They're different from conscripts like you, recruited by the Ancestor Witches and starting with nothing."
"Every one of them came with a golden finger—'cheats' mass-produced by Great Luo figures behind the scenes, hoping to stir up storms in this era."
As Feng Xi listened, the corner of his mouth twitched and his eyes widened.
A golden finger cheat, transmigrating into the Primordial World... he was so envious!
But after thinking it over, he was no longer envious.
The 'golden fingers' were all displayed here. In that case, those transmigrators...
Their fates were worrying indeed!
Fuxi immediately confirmed his suspicion with his next words. "Sigh... I, Fuxi, am a god who treats people kindly."
"I usually never kill living beings. I'm always peaceful and amiable."
"If these transmigrators had righteous hearts and were willing to work toward building a better Primordial World, I would simply wave my hand and release them, letting them take their golden fingers and roam the Primordial World... Perhaps they could add a brilliant splash of color to this era?"
"If they still longed for their former lives and didn't want to transmigrate... I would also do a good deed and send them back to their original spacetime, granting them continued life."
Great Sage Fuxi sighed. "Both outcomes would be happy ones... But there are always some fools who don't know their place."
"They came to this era specifically to cause trouble. Some only wanted to burn, kill, plunder, and enslave everyone; others wanted to build enormous harems and collect goddesses from every side..."
"Tsk, tsk, such courage and ambition... Those are things even I wouldn't dare imagine!"
"So I would directly send them before the targets they yearned for, encouraging them to launch their advances... Perhaps their kingly aura would spread in all directions and make Great Luo figures kneel? Or perhaps a female divine being would fall in love at first sight and throw herself into their arms?"
"Unfortunately..." Fuxi sighed. "After playing matchmaker so many times, I haven't succeeded even once."
Feng Xi looked at Fuxi and began trembling all over.
How terrifying!
"Sigh, let's not talk about the past..." Fuxi smiled. "Come, choose whichever one of these you like."
Before you continue