The Human Race's Three Thousand Years of Development

Since 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 their cultivation reached a bottleneck.

Yuan Ming did not hold anything back either, often using the profound principles of the Dao De Jing to enlighten them, benefiting them immensely.

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 of the Primordial Humans who had originally followed Yuan Ming successively broke through into the True Immortal Realm. Tens of thousands more Postnatal clansmen successfully reverted to the Innate Realm and stepped across the threshold of the immortal path.

The Human Race's cities expanded from a single one to nine, distributed across the fertile Central Plains like an arching defensive screen.

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): Could vaguely sense calamities and disasters within the next three days.

[Black Ox Demon Body] (Blue): Strengthened the physique and endurance.

As for Entries below blue grade, Yuan Ming could not even be bothered to pick them up. They offered him no real help.

Three thousand years later, Yuan Ming's cultivation reached the great perfection of the True Immortal Realm.

At that moment, the system notification sounded:

[Detected that the host's realm has reached great perfection. One Entry draw opportunity obtained.]

Yuan Ming focused and drew an Entry. A flash of five-colored radiance swept past:

[Obtained five-colored Entry "Great Fortune": Luck greatly increased; disasters turn to blessings, and opportunities arrive on their own.]

Sensing an invisible guiding force, Yuan Ming used traveling to break through his realm as an excuse and entrusted the Human Race of the Central Plains to Hua Qi.

Hua Qi was a second-generation Primordial Human and had already cultivated to the middle stage of the True Immortal Realm.

Before leaving, Yuan Ming solemnly instructed Hua Qi, "The Central Plains are the foundation of our race. Defense and preservation must come first. Should a crisis arise, you may join forces with clans such as the Azure Ox clan. Remember: advance steadily while seeking progress."

Before leaving, Yuan Ming stood atop the city wall and gave one final look at the land he had personally opened up. Then he turned and headed east.

This journey had two purposes: first, to return to the ancestral land by the Shore of the East Sea for a visit; second, because a voice seemed to be calling to him from the unseen, and somewhere in the east lay a great opportunity that belonged to him.

Before leaving, Yuan Ming handed Hua Qi a jade slip engraved 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 progenitor of humanity.

Yuan Ming delayed no longer, transforming into a streak of clear light and fleeing into the distance.

He did not travel at full speed. Instead, he maintained a pace that was alert yet unhurried, spreading out his divine sense to perceive everything along the way.

Yet perhaps the [Great Fortune] Entry was working in secret, for the journey proved strangely peaceful.

But the string in Yuan Ming's heart did not loosen in the slightest.

When something was abnormal, there had to be a demon at work. This excessive calm instead felt more like an invisible pressure.

Just as he swept over a range of rolling mountains, a strange sensation from the unseen suddenly stirred his mind without warning.

This sensation was not an alarm from [Discerning Calamity]. On the contrary, it carried a gentle pull.

"Hmm?" Yuan Ming halted his escape light and hovered in midair, directing his gaze toward an ordinary-looking valley below.

From the outside, the valley seemed unremarkable. It merely appeared that large stretches of red trees grew within it.

After pondering briefly, he decided to follow the sensation. He descended from the clouds and landed at the mouth of the valley.

Only upon approaching did he discover that the valley was covered from mountain to mountain in red maple trees, blazing like fire in their full splendor, forming a stark contrast with the lush green mountains around them.

Even stranger, the moment his feet touched the ground at the valley entrance, the space ahead rippled like water. An Innate formation, originally formless and flawless in its concealment, slowly opened a gap on its own.

In an instant, hazy treasure light spilled from within the valley, carrying an aura both warm and compassionate.

Yuan Ming immediately activated the [Discerning Calamity] Entry and carefully sensed the surroundings.

Yet the information returned was one of utter peace. There was neither danger nor hostility, only the vicissitudes and waiting of countless ages.

After a moment's consideration, Yuan Ming stepped inside.

The valley held another world within it. Its spiritual qi was dense and pure, far surpassing that of the outside world.

Red leaves filled the sky, moving without wind and producing soft rustling sounds, as though they were telling some ancient tale.

He followed a narrow path blanketed in fallen leaves deeper inside, eventually arriving at the heart of the maple forest.

There was an open space here. At its center floated not some heavenly treasure, but an exceedingly faint strand of crimson remnant soul, as though it might disperse at any moment.

The remnant soul's form was indistinct, yet one could still sense the lingering aura of mana that had once been boundless as the sea, though it had now fallen silent.

Faint auspicious qi surrounded the remnant soul, yet it also carried an injustice and regret that could never be dissolved.

The instant Yuan Ming approached, the strand of remnant soul trembled slightly. A gentle voice filled with endless exhaustion sounded directly within his mind:

"After countless long years, someone fated has finally come..."

Along with that voice, a sealed secret of the Primordial World slowly unfolded in Yuan Ming's consciousness like a painted scroll.

It turned out that this place was where one of the great supreme experts of the ancient Primordial World, the Redcloud Ancestor, had fallen!

This strand of remnant soul was precisely the True Spirit imprint that Red Cloud had preserved after his death through a trace of obsession.

It was only because Ancestral Witch Houtu had yet to transform herself into reincarnation, leaving no destination for souls between Heaven and Earth.

Thus, this remnant soul could only remain sheltered here by the Innate formation, unable to pass on and unable to disperse.

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 mana reached the heavens.

Yet his character was both his making and his undoing.

He had been kind by nature and loved helping others, renowned throughout the Primordial World as an old-fashioned good man.

Precisely because of this, after the Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third lecture at Violet Firmament Palace, when he distributed the Primordial Purple Qi that represented the foundation of Sainthood, the seventh and final strand fell into the hands of Red Cloud, who had no desire to contend with the world.

A common man committed no crime, yet carrying jade became his crime.

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti were all disciples personally chosen by the Dao Ancestor to attain the Sage Realm. No one dared touch them.

Only Red Cloud was a Rogue Cultivator, without any 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 over the matter of yielding seats at Violet Firmament Palace. Heavenly Emperor Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, for the sake of the Demon Heavenly Court's fate and fortune, were likewise determined to obtain the Primordial Purple Qi.

In the end, several great experts joined hands in a heaven-shaking encirclement and slaughter, beating Red Cloud until both body and soul were destroyed...

"What a pity!"

The remnant soul's voice carried endless lamentation. "They killed me, yet that final strand of Primordial Purple Qi vanished with me. No one obtained it... Hahaha, Heaven truly toys with men..."

The laughter of Red Cloud's remnant soul was full of 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 could be called a lose-lose outcome, adding nothing but needless slaughter and karmic sin.

Yuan Ming's heart shook violently.

He stared at this strand of remnant soul that could vanish at any time, sensing the ancient Dao resonance born from the beginning of creation, as well as the obsession that remained unresolved even in death.

This great expert, who had once shared Heaven and Earth's lifespan, had now fallen into such a miserable state. It truly made one sigh in grief.