After the Great Demon Banquet at Azure Ox Ridge, the three demon kings—Black Xiong, Dou Cang, and Hei Tian—never again mentioned raising the Human Race in captivity. Instead, they treated Yuan Ming as their master, respectfully seeking his guidance whenever they encountered bottlenecks in cultivation.
Yuan Ming did not hold anything back. He often used the profound principles of the Dao De Jing to enlighten them, benefiting them greatly.
With a stable cultivation system and sufficient resources, the Human Race of the Central Plains entered a period of rapid development.
Over three thousand years, several Primordial Humans who had originally followed Yuan Ming successively broke through to the True Immortal Realm. Tens of thousands of Postnatal clansmen even successfully reverted to the Innate Realm and stepped across the threshold of immortality.
The Human Race's cities expanded from one to nine, arranged in a protective formation across the fertile lands of the Central Plains.
During this time, Yuan Ming picked up quite a few Demon Race entries through the system:
[Azure Ox Demon Body] (Blue): Greatly enhanced physical defense and strength. [Discerning Calamity] (Purple): Allowed vague perception of calamities within the next three days. [Black Ox Demon Body] (Blue): Strengthened the body and endurance.
As for entries below blue grade, Yuan Ming could not even be bothered to pick them up. They were of no help to him.
Three thousand years later, Yuan Ming's cultivation had reached the peak of the True Immortal Realm.
At that moment, the system notification sounded:
[Detected that the host's realm has reached its peak. One Entry draw opportunity obtained.]
Yuan Ming focused and drew an Entry. A five-colored radiance flashed:
[Obtained five-colored Entry "Great Fortune": Luck greatly increased. Misfortune turns to blessing, and opportunities come of their own accord.]
Following the guidance he sensed in the dark, Yuan Ming entrusted the Human Race of the Central Plains to Hua Qi under the pretext of traveling to seek a breakthrough.
Hua Qi was a second-generation Primordial Human who had already cultivated to the mid-stage True Immortal Realm.
Before leaving, Yuan Ming solemnly instructed Hua Qi, "The Central Plains are the foundation of our race. Preservation must come first. Should a crisis arise, join forces with clans such as the Azure Ox Clan. Remember to advance steadily."
Before departing, Yuan Ming stood atop the city wall and took one last look at the land he had personally opened up. Then he turned and headed east.
This journey had two purposes. First, he wished to return to the ancestral land by the Shore of the East Sea for a visit. Second, a voice seemed to be calling to him from within the darkness; it seemed that a great opportunity belonging to him lay in the east.
Before leaving, Yuan Ming handed Hua Qi a jade slip inscribed with the general outline of the Dao Scripture. "This scripture is the foundation of the Human Race. Study it well."
Hua Qi respectfully accepted the jade slip, his eyes filled with reverence for this ancestor of the Human Race.
Yuan Ming delayed no longer. His body transformed into a streak of clear light and vanished into the distance.
He did not travel at full speed. Instead, he maintained a vigilant yet unhurried pace, spreading out his divine sense to perceive everything along the way.
Yet perhaps the Great Fortune Entry was secretly taking effect, for the journey was unusually peaceful.
But the string in Yuan Ming's heart did not loosen in the slightest.
When something was abnormal, there had to be a reason. This excessive calm instead felt like an invisible pressure.
Just as he flew over a stretch of continuous mountains, a strange sensation from the depths of the unknown suddenly stirred his mind without warning.
This sensation did not come from the warning signs of Discerning Calamity. Instead, it carried a gentle pull.
"Hmm?" Yuan Ming halted his flight and hovered in midair, looking down at an ordinary-looking valley below.
From the outside, the valley appeared unremarkable. It merely seemed to contain a large number of red trees.
After a brief pause, he decided to follow the sensation. Descending from the clouds, he landed at the entrance to the valley.
Only upon approaching did he discover that the valley was covered in red maple trees, blazing like fire and breathtakingly splendid, forming a stark contrast with the verdant mountains around it.
Even stranger, the moment his feet touched the ground at the valley entrance, the space ahead rippled like water. An Innate formation that had originally been formless and perfectly concealed slowly opened a crack on its own.
In an instant, hazy treasure light shone out from within the valley, carrying an aura of warmth and compassion.
Yuan Ming immediately activated the Discerning Calamity Entry and carefully sensed the situation.
The feedback he received was one of utter peace. There was no danger or malice, only the ancient vicissitudes and waiting that had endured through countless ages.
After some thought, Yuan Ming stepped inside.
There was a Grotto-Heaven within the valley. Its spiritual energy was rich and pure, far surpassing that of the outside world.
The red leaves filling the sky rustled without wind, as though they were telling some story.
He followed a narrow path covered in fallen leaves deeper inside, eventually arriving at the heart of the maple forest.
There was an open clearing here. At its center was not some heavenly treasure, but a wisp of extremely faint crimson remnant soul floating in the air, as though it might dissipate at any moment.
The remnant soul's form was blurry, yet one could still sense the lingering aura of boundless magical power that had once existed, though it had now fallen silent.
Faint auspicious energy surrounded the remnant soul, but it was mixed with an unresolved grievance and regret.
The moment Yuan Ming approached, the wisp of remnant soul trembled slightly. A gentle voice filled with endless exhaustion sounded directly within his mind:
"After countless years, I have finally waited for one destined to come..."
Along with that voice, a long-buried secret of the Primordial World slowly unfolded in Yuan Ming's consciousness like a painting.
This place was actually where the Redcloud Ancestor, one of the greatest powers of the Primordial World in ancient times, had fallen!
This wisp of remnant soul was the imprint of Red Cloud's true spirit, preserved after his death through a trace of obsession.
It was because Ancestral Witch Houtu had not yet transformed herself into reincarnation, so there was no destination for souls between heaven and earth.
Thus, this remnant soul could only remain protected here by the Innate formation, unable to reincarnate and unable to dissipate.
Red Cloud had attained the Dao as the first red cloud between heaven and earth. He was a Primordial Divine Saint of the same era as the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Di Jun, and Taiyi. His seniority was immensely high, and his magical power reached the heavens.
Yet his nature was both his making and his undoing.
He was naturally kind and always willing to help others, renowned throughout the Primordial World as an exceptionally good-hearted person.
It was precisely for that reason that, after the Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third lecture at Violet Firmament Palace, when Hongjun distributed the Primordial Purple Qi that represented the foundation of becoming a Sage, the seventh and final strand fell into the hands of the reclusive Red Cloud.
A common man committed no crime, yet he was guilty for possessing a treasure.
The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti were all Sage disciples personally chosen by the Dao Ancestor, and no one dared touch them.
Only Red Cloud was an independent cultivator with no powerful backer.
That strand of Primordial Purple Qi became his death warrant.
Demon Master Kunpeng of the North Sea bore a grudge against Red Cloud because of the matter of yielding seats at Violet Firmament Palace. Heavenly Emperor Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, seeking the fortune of the Demon Heavenly Court, were likewise determined to obtain the Primordial Purple Qi.
In the end, several great powers joined forces and, in a world-shaking siege, beat Red Cloud until both his body and soul were destroyed...
"What a pity!"
The remnant soul's voice carried endless regret. "They killed me, yet that final strand of Primordial Purple Qi vanished along with me. No one obtained it... Haha, fate truly makes fools of people..."
The laughter of Red Cloud's remnant soul was filled with sorrow and mockery.
He had fallen because of a strand of purple qi, yet those who had acted to seize it ultimately failed to get what they wanted as well. It had been a lose-lose outcome that merely added to the slaughter.
Yuan Ming's heart shook violently.
He stared at the wisp of remnant soul, which could vanish at any moment, feeling the ancient Dao rhythm that had existed since the beginning of creation, as well as the obsession that had remained unresolved even in death.
This great power, who had once shared the same lifespan as heaven and earth, had fallen into such a miserable state. It was truly heartbreaking.
Before you continue