Do I care about rewards? I only care about the dignity of the Three Pure Ones.

"Oh? How so?"

Jieyin looked at Zhunti curiously.

"The next Human Emperor of the Human Race is Shennong. He has a daughter named Nüwa, and this daughter is destined for a tribulation."

"If we don't make a move, we'll start with her. We'll make Shennong personally appoint a disciple of our teachings as the next Sage Teacher of the Human Race."

"This way, even if the Three Pure Ones disagree, it's the Human Emperor's personal appointment. What can they do?"

As Zhunti spoke, Jieyin quickly performed a divination and was immediately overjoyed.

"Excellent, excellent! This daughter indeed has a connection with the West."

However, before he could rejoice too much, he thought of something and looked at Zhunti, "Junior Brother, there's one more thing."

"The Three Pure Ones are showing signs of reconciliation. Although our plan may be hidden, we might still incur their displeasure."

He recalled the scene of being severely beaten by the Three Pure Ones in the Human Race's tribal village and felt a chill down his spine.

Now, scheming for the position of the future Human Emperor would surely displease the Three Pure Ones.

Zhunti also frowned.

After much consideration, he finally looked in the direction of the Heavenly Court.

"Senior Brother, I have an idea!"

"Haotian is currently the ruler of the Heavenly Court and bears the title of Heavenly Emperor. He must want to strengthen the Heavenly Court. Why don't we join forces with Haotian? Let the Heavenly Court make a move. This way, even the Three Pure Ones won't be able to discover that it was our Western Teachings!"

Jieyin's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Good!"

Afterward, the two of them went directly to the Heavenly Court.

Now that the Earthly Emperor Shennong had just been born, they had plenty of time to scheme.

Meanwhile, in the Human Race's tribal village.

Grand Master Xuandu returned to the Eight Sceneries Palace with the infant Lie Shan Clan and meticulously taught him.

As both were of the Human Race, they felt a sense of mutual appreciation.

Sixteen years later, Lie Shan Clan, under Grand Master Xuandu's orders, returned to the Human Race to fulfill his destiny.

Fuxi Clan learned of Lie Shan Clan's return to the Human Race and wished to appoint him as the leader of a tribe to handle tribal affairs.

However, Lie Shan Clan refused the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi Clan's offer and returned to the tribe to work diligently.

One day, he noticed that the young people in the tribe had to go out every year to harvest a type of tall-stalked plant.

Lie Shan Clan had the idea of trying artificial cultivation and thus collected some seeds to plant himself.

Afterward, he taught the various tribes of the Human Race to plant grains themselves and designated these few types of grains as the Five Grains.

From then on, the Human Race entered the agricultural era, ending their long history of relying on harvesting wild grains for food.

By ushering the Human Race into the agricultural era, Lie Shan Clan gained immense prestige among the Human Race tribes.

He further established markets, setting the time of noon as market time, gathering people from all over the world, bringing together goods from all over the world, trading and then dispersing, with each getting what they needed.

Later, Lie Shan Clan saw that his tribesmen often died from illness, and he was moved.

At the cost of his own life, he personally tasted the properties of various herbs.

Realizing the importance of the properties of medicinal herbs, Lie Shan Clan spent several more years compiling a book, recording the properties of the herbs he had personally tasted over decades.

Upon completion, Lie Shan Clan initially named it Lie Shan's Materia Medica.

He also created pottery, allowing people to steam and cook food, store items, brew wine, and sterilize.

To encourage people to live a regular life, cultivate crops according to the seasons, Lie Shan Clan established the calendar, fixed the stars, divided day and night, determined the months and days, with a month being thirty days, and the eleventh month marking the winter solstice.

He did not seek reward, nor did he covet the world's wealth, yet the world shared in his prosperity.

His wisdom surpassed that of others, and the world universally respected him.

With his virtue and righteousness, the people worked diligently without reward, evil and good were kept in check without punishment, wealth was abundant without contention, and the people followed without decrees. His might was stern but not lethal, his laws were simple but not cumbersome, and the people respected and admired him without exception.

Thus, Lie Shan Clan's prestige among the Human Race grew day by day, and his influence became immense.

At this time, the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi Clan also proposed that Heaven had sensed this and that the throne should be abdicated to a virtuous person.

After Fuxi Clan abdicated, the various tribes of the Human Race immediately acclaimed Lie Shan Clan as the co-ruler of the Human Race.

Thus, Lie Shan Clan became the second Human Emperor of the Human Race, known as the Earthly Emperor, and was renamed Shennong Clan.

Consequently, Lie Shan's Materia Medica also came to be known as Shennong's Materia Medica.

Shennong tasted a hundred herbs and promoted the five grains, gaining great merit.

He was already preparing to go to Mount Tai for the Feng Chan ceremony!

"Shennong is about to go to Mount Tai for the Feng Chan ceremony. Haotian the Supreme Lord should make his move now."

In the Heavenly Court, the Hall of Miraculous Mist.

Zhunti looked at Haotian, his gaze shifting slightly.

After more than a decade of secret plotting, the two sides had finally reached a consensus.

Using Nüwa's soul to coerce Shennong into designating the Western Teachings as the next Human Emperor's Sage Teacher.

And once this Human Emperor's Sage Teacher fell into the hands of the Western Teachings, they could repeat the same trick, having the Human Emperor designate someone from the Heavenly Court as the Sage Teacher.

This way, both sides would benefit.

Even if the Three Pure Ones came looking for them, they could deny everything, blaming it all on Haotian, who wanted to win over the Western Teachings, and claiming they had nothing to do with it!

A smile appeared on Haotian's face. "You two can rest assured, I've already handled this. Look what I have here?"

As he spread his palm open.

A wisp of soul could be seen flickering in his palm, with the faint figure of a woman visible.

It was Shennong's daughter: Nüwa!

Before Zhunti and Jieyin could speak, they heard Haotian say, "Not only that, I've already sent Taibai Jinxing down to the mortal realm to meet Shennong. I believe there will be results soon."

He was ambitious and had long wanted a share of the Human Race's Sage Teacher position.

It was just that his strength was insufficient, and he had never had the opportunity. He never expected the Two Sages of the West to approach him directly, promising him a Sage Teacher position. It was a perfect match!

"Good!"

Zhunti and Jieyin nodded slightly, smiling.

In Shennong's tribe.

Shennong, who was preparing to go to Mount Tai for the Fengchan ceremony, suddenly received devastating news. He stood before the corpse of a young girl, overcome with grief.

This was Shennong's daughter: Nüwa.

"Tribe Leader, please accept my condolences... Our tribe still needs your leadership," a member of the tribe said softly to the grieving Shennong.

After a while, Shennong finally recovered and asked everyone in the room to leave.

He sat alone, lost in thought.

Why was he in so much pain?

It was because Nüwa's soul was missing.

When he first saw the body, he had intended to resurrect Nüwa.

However, he discovered that her soul was gone. He tried to deduce what happened, but found nothing.

Seeing that resurrection was hopeless, he finally burst into tears.

"Alas, who could be so wicked as to harm my beloved daughter?!"

Shennong's expression was filled with grief and indignation.

Just as he was thinking, a tribesman walked in.

"Tribe Leader, a Taoist priest is outside asking to see you. He says it's about your daughter."

The tribesman entered and said to Shennong.

"What? About Nüwa? Quickly, invite him in."

Shennong said urgently.

Soon, a white-haired elder with a kind expression appeared before Shennong.

It was Taibai Jinxing!

He looked at Shennong and spoke directly, "May I ask if the Earthly Emperor is searching for Nüwa's soul?"

"Did you do this?"

Killing intent flashed in Shennong's eyes as he glared at the person he could crush with one hand, filled with hatred.

"No, no, I am a civil official of the Heavenly Court, sent by Emperor Haotian to deliver a message."

"Emperor Haotian has asked me to tell you that the Heavenly Court can resurrect your beloved daughter."

"But in exchange, you must designate Maitreya of the Western Teachings as the next Human Emperor's Sage Teacher."

Taibai Jinxing paid no mind.

He was merely a messenger. No matter how angry Shennong was, there was no need to kill him, a mere messenger.

"Designate the Human Emperor's Sage Teacher? How am I qualified to do that?"

"And even if I were, I would never appoint a disciple of the Western Teachings!"

Shennong refused outright.

It was because when he succeeded the Human Emperor, Fuxi had told him about a great battle between Saints that had once occurred in the Human Race's territory.

The cause was the Two Sages of the West attempting to hold the Human Emperor hostage.

With such a Sect Master, the Western Teachings could not be good!

"Earthly Emperor, don't rush to refuse. Emperor Haotian has asked me to tell you that you have ten days to consider. After ten days, if you still refuse, your beloved daughter will truly die, and even a Saint will be powerless to save her."

With that, Taibai Jinxing left directly.