Although Shennong had yet to find a suitable successor to the position of Co-Lord, he had fulfilled his mission.
So Fuxi and Su Mu decided to hold a grand sacrificial ceremony atop Mount Tai. It would showcase Shennong's achievements and allow him to report the results of his work to Heaven, Earth, and the living beings of the Primordial Era.
The ceremony was not only a celebration, but also a way to recognize and reward Shennong.
Through such a grand event, people could more clearly appreciate Shennong's great achievements and express their respect and gratitude toward him.
The sacrificial ceremony was unprecedented in scale, attracting countless members of the Human Race and other living beings of the Primordial Era.
At the ceremony, Shennong reported the results of his work to Heaven, Earth, and the living beings of the Primordial Era.
Su Mu then stepped forward, holding the Kongtong Seal, and declared in a clear voice, "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs, wrote medical texts, and introduced the Five Grains, enabling every tribe of the Human Race to have ample food and clothing. His merit is immeasurable. He should become the Earth Sovereign of the Human Race! Heaven and Earth, bear witness!"
As soon as Su Mu finished speaking, another streak of golden light shot from the Kongtong Seal into the sky. When it faded, a vast Golden Cloud of Merit appeared overhead.
Sixty percent entered Shennong's body, and his cultivation instantly soared. He reached Peak Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, then Early, Middle, Late, and Peak Primordial Golden Immortal, before advancing to Sub-Saint. Only then did his growth stop.
Ten percent of the merit entered the Ochre Whip Shennong had used to beat plants and learn about their hot and cold properties and medicinal effects. It was a red whip.
After receiving ten percent of the merit, the Ochre Whip transformed into an Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure. It developed the special ability to cure illness and dispel evil.
The remaining thirty percent of the merit flew toward Su Mu, who stored it in the Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure Creation Pagoda. The pagoda transformed into a Supreme Innate Merit Spirit Treasure, and Su Mu merged into it the merit he had received back in the time of the Three Ancestors.
The Creation Pagoda blazed with golden light. The merit within it had even liquefied, flowing slowly through the pagoda. Although it had not advanced from a spirit treasure to the level of a supreme treasure,
it could now fully withstand attacks from Innate Supreme Treasures.
The Five Sages looked at the Creation Pagoda with envy and jealousy. Zhunti in particular wanted nothing more than to snatch it from Su Mu's hands.
He had already reached out when Jieyin shouted, "Junior Brother, don't! Have you forgotten how terrifying Nuwa is? She can beat all Three Pure Ones by herself. Besides, Su Mu possesses immense merit. We can't make a move against him."
Zhunti reluctantly withdrew his hand. "Senior Brother, how come we never get this kind of luck? Our Western lands are suffering!"
Countless powerful figures across the Primordial Era could only shake their heads and sigh. "We're suffering too. We don't have that kind of destiny either."
Atop Mount Tai, Shennong looked at Su Mu and said, "Teacher, I still haven't found anyone to succeed me as Co-Lord. I'll have to return to the capital and continue handling the affairs of the Human Race."
Su Mu replied, "I have a few ideas I'd like to discuss with Heavenly Sovereign Fuxi and the Three Ancestors. Come with me to Shouyang Mountain."
"Very well," Shennong answered, following Su Mu to Shouyang Mountain. Along the way, Su Mu had already sent word to Fuxi and the Three Ancestors.
After receiving Su Mu's message, Fuxi and the Three Ancestors were already waiting outside Shouyang Palace.
When Su Mu arrived, he bowed to Fuxi and said, "Greetings, Senior Uncle. Greetings to my three elder siblings."
Shennong also bowed. "Greetings, Heavenly Sovereign. Greetings, Three Ancestors."
Fuxi said, "We are all Human Sovereigns. From now on, just call me elder brother." Sui Ren Shi and the other two Ancestors nodded in agreement.
"Shennong, you don't need to call me teacher anymore. Just call me Martial Ancestor. After all, you are now a Human Sovereign," Su Mu told him.
Shennong was about to speak, but Fuxi said to him, "That's fine. From now on, you can call Su Mu Martial Ancestor."
"Very well," Shennong replied reluctantly.
Just then, the gates of Shouyang Palace opened, and Golden Phoenix came out. She said to Fuxi, "Great Master, Empress Nuwa invites everyone inside to discuss matters."
Everyone entered Shouyang Palace. The hall was brightly lit, resplendent with gold and jade, and adorned with intricate carvings. It was a breathtaking sight.
Fuxi immediately saw Nuwa seated at the very top of the hall. A feeling both familiar and unfamiliar welled up inside him.
Nuwa's aura seemed different from before. The might radiating from her was far greater than it had been.
"Little Sister, what happened to you?" Fuxi asked in surprise.
Nuwa stood and took out six meditation cushions, passing them around. After everyone sat down, she returned to her own cushion and said, "Elder Brother, I have severed my Heavenly Dao Saint Dao Fruit and proved the Chaotic Dao anew. I am now a Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal."
"Good, good, good!" Fuxi exclaimed, repeating the word three times.
Then he continued, "Now that you've attained the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, you won't have to put up with Dao Ancestor Hongjun anymore. You don't know how furious I was when the Three Pure Ones attacked and Dao Ancestor Hongjun took their side. I only wish my strength had been sufficient. Otherwise, I would have come to help you." Fuxi looked indignant.
"Elder Brother, don't be angry. Have some Spiritual Tea to cool down," Nuwa said with a smile.
Fuxi took a big gulp of Spiritual Tea, then asked, "What realm are you at now, Little Sister?"
"I'm at the first level of the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. But I can still beat Primordial Lord and the others, even if they're at the third level," Nuwa replied.
"What about Taiqing Laozi? You have a grudge against him, after all," Fuxi asked hurriedly.
"I can just barely hold him off for a while. But don't worry, Elder Brother. Once my strength increases further, Taiqing Laozi will certainly be no match for me."
Only then was Fuxi truly reassured. He turned to Su Mu and asked, "Su Mu, why did you call us all together?"
"Teacher, Senior Uncle, here's the matter. I'd like to set aside a region of the Human Race as an ancestral land, where all members of the Human Race who have achieved success in cultivation can gather. It will serve as the foundation of our race," Su Mu said, looking at everyone.
Everyone fell silent in thought, but Fuxi said, "Su Mu, I think it's a good idea."
Sui Ren Shi said, "Su Mu, where do you think we should establish the ancestral land? What's your plan?"
Zi Yi Shi said, "Exactly. Tell us your plan, Su Mu. We'll support you."
"Very well," Su Mu began. "I'd like to set aside a region near the Yellow River Basin and place a protective array around it. Inside, we'll establish the Human Ancestor Hall, the Three Sovereigns Hall, and the Hall of Five Emperors.
"We'll also have a training ground for our people, with living quarters built on either side."
"That will work. You can handle it. Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the Five Sages, and the living beings of the Primordial Era still don't know that I've severed my Dao Fruit," Nuwa told them. "By the way, my disciple, here's your Primordial Chaos Axe. Now the destiny of the Human Race is more than enough to conceal the secrets of Shouyang Mountain."
"Very well." Su Mu took back the Primordial Chaos Axe and placed it inside his body to nurture it.
The Three Ancestors said, "Then we'll go choose a site." After bowing to Nuwa, they left.
Fuxi said, "Then let's discuss what kind of array we should set up."
Shennong considered this and said, "The array needs powerful defenses, as well as the ability to discern whether people are good or evil, so that those with wicked intentions can't enter the ancestral land."
"Disciple, do you have any suggestions?" Nuwa asked.
"We could base the array on five divine beasts," Su Mu said.
Fuxi asked, "Which five divine beasts?"
"Dragon, phoenix, qilin, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise," Su Mu replied.
"The White Tiger has the metal element, the dragon has the wood element, the Black Tortoise has the water element, the phoenix has the fire element, and the qilin has the earth element. Wonderful—the Five Elements are complete!" Fuxi exclaimed, slapping the table.
At that moment, Golden Phoenix, who was standing beside Nuwa, interrupted. "Su Mu, there are no fire-element phoenixes left, but the Vermilion Bird Clan has the fire element."
"That works," Su Mu replied. He then thought, The Vermilion Bird... Could we find the Four Divine Beasts and have the Four Directional Sacred Beasts take their places? That'd be another great chance to earn merit.
Nuwa heard Su Mu's thoughts again and thought, As expected of my good disciple. He's so capable.
Shennong spoke up again. "Could we replace the Black Tortoise with the Black Tortoise Warrior? After all, it's a fusion of turtle and snake, and it also has the ice element."
Nuwa said, "The only wood-element dragon in the Dragon Clan is the Azure Dragon. Then let's use the Azure Dragon."
"Mm, that sounds good," Su Mu said, nodding. I haven't even said anything, and everyone's already on the right track.
"What should we call this array?" Fuxi asked everyone.
Nuwa sneered. "Since we're already enemies with the Three Pure Ones, and Jieyin and Zhunti are no good either, let's call this the Five Saints Strangling Array!" Her voice was resolute and ruthless, as if she had complete confidence in the battles to come.
The four of them began working out how to set up the array, while the Three Ancestors had already arrived at the banks of the Yellow River.
"Elder Brothers, why are there so many weeds along both banks of the Yellow River?" Zi Yi Shi asked, displeased.
"With the Yellow River nourishing them, it would be strange if there weren't many plants," Sui Ren Shi said. "Don't worry. I'll use the Human Race Hearth Fire to clear out all these weeds.
"But there's no need to worry about burning the plants to death. I'll leave their seeds behind. After they've been reduced to ashes, the seeds will sprout again when the wind blows. After all, wildfire can never wipe them out; when spring winds blow, they grow again."
Once they had cleared the area, You Chao Shi stepped forward and used his spirit treasure to build the Human Ancestor Hall, the Three Sovereigns Hall, the Hall of Five Emperors, the Training Ground, and numerous houses according to Su Mu's plans. Then he sent word to Su Mu and the others.
The four of them had just finished setting up the array when they received a message from the Three Ancestors.
Su Mu looked at Nuwa. "Teacher."
"Go ahead," Nuwa said. Su Mu and the other two left Shouyang Palace and headed for the place by the Yellow River where the Three Ancestors were.
The three of them were all shocked by the vast complex of buildings that made up the ancestral land before them.
"This is wonderful. I didn't expect our elder siblings to be so quick," Su Mu said.
"Indeed. Now it's our turn to contribute." After saying that, Fuxi began setting up the array with Shennong and Su Mu. It took them a full day to complete it, using Su Mu's Nine Martial Dao Steles as the array's core.
After finishing the array, the six of them entered the ancestral land. From that day on, Sui Ren Shi and the other two Ancestors would live there. Shennong, who still had to handle the affairs of the Human Race, returned to the Human Capital.
He selected members of the Human Race who met the requirements and brought them into the ancestral land. There were only a hundred of them for now, all of whom had just broken through to the Martial Emperor Realm (Golden Immortal).
That was already quite good. Many more would surely enter the ancestral land in the future.
In the East Sea, at the Guixu, Candle Dragon, the younger brother of the Dragon Clan's ancestor, Ancestor Dragon, had been asleep for a long time. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the merit flowing through the Creation Pagoda in Su Mu's hands. He drooled so much that it pooled on the ground.
"Old Ancestor, please restrain yourself. If you keep drooling, the East Sea's water level will rise. A higher water level isn't a problem, but please don't flood the people living on the East Sea Coast! The Human Race has two Sub-Saint Human Sovereigns and a Primordial Golden Immortal Martial Ancestor," the Four Seas Dragon Kings nearly wept.
The East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang, said, "Old Ancestor, the Three Ancestors of the Human Race are also Grand Unity Golden Immortals, just like us. The Dragon Clan can't afford to provoke the Human Race!"
"Hmph! You four have some nerve. You've lived for so long, and is that all you've achieved? Have you cultivated your strength for nothing?" Candle Dragon snapped angrily.
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