But that was only the mainstream view. As the nominal eternal protagonist of heaven and earth, ordinary humans might have lived much better lives, but humanity's strength still could not compare to the great powers of the world.
Strictly speaking, humanity, the protagonist of heaven and earth, had never truly possessed the strength of one.
During the Witch-Demon Calamity, humanity was inferior to the Witch and Demon Tribes. During the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, humanity was inferior to the Heavenly Court and the Four Sects.
As for after Investiture of the Gods, humanity as a whole could no longer unite. There was no Humanity's Co-Lord to rule the world. The Southern Continent worshiped the immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court and the Western Buddhist Ancestors; the Eastern Continent worshiped the Mystic Gate Heavenly Court; the Western Continent worshiped the Western Buddhist Ancestors.
It seemed that all under heaven belonged to humanity. Saving people earned merit, killing people incurred karmic debt, and humanity was unquestionably the protagonist of heaven and earth. Yet in truth, it was merely a dish on the table, its power of faith divided among the Primordial Era's great factions. It simply could not compare to the true great powers of the Primordial Era.
The few Great Divine Powers among humanity who could move about in the world all belonged to other Great Sects. Not one truly belonged to humanity. Meanwhile, powerful figures who genuinely cared for humanity, such as the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, remained forever in Fire Cloud Cave, suppressing Humanity's Destiny. Unless it was an Immeasurable Tribulation, or humanity faced annihilation, they could not emerge!
Humanity in the Primordial Era had it far too rough. Perhaps only during the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors did it barely resemble the protagonist of heaven and earth. After that era ended, the many later Human Kings could barely govern the human realm among the Three Realms. At the very least, that was true within humanity's domains.
After the Investiture of the Gods War, humanity no longer had Human Kings, only Sons of Heaven. As Children of Heaven, they were innately a rank below the Heavenly Emperor. Forget the Heavenly Emperor—even an ordinary Heavenly Court Deity could act as some senior master before a Son of Heaven.
When Jiang Haofeng had read Investiture of the Gods in his previous life, replacing the Human King with the Son of Heaven had always been a regret he could not erase.
No. He had to find a way to make humanity stronger. If nothing else, during the Investiture of the Gods War, the Son of Heaven could not replace the Human King!
Just as Jiang Haofeng was deep in thought, the eyes of the three thousand Innate Humans around him brightened. Streams of mana rose up, and in the blink of an eye, three thousand figures of light appeared amid the mountains and forests. Mysterious radiance rippled around each of them, concealing their bodies completely and leaving only their heads exposed.
The humans each curiously played with the mana within their bodies.
Suddenly, one of them inadvertently activated the Human Creation Merit within his body. In an instant, Golden Light of Merit appeared, and a Merit Auspicious Cloud formed above his head. Immediately afterward, waves of golden light erupted from his body, transforming him into a radiant golden figure.
Jiang Haofeng froze. Could this be a Merit Golden Body?
The next moment, a Merit Auspicious Cloud appeared above Jiang Haofeng's head as well. The light of merit encircled his body and condensed into a Merit Golden Body.
Jiang Haofeng's eyes lit up. What a wonderful thing! This was Human Creation Merit. Nuwa had attained sainthood with fifty percent of it, while Jiang Haofeng, as one of the first fifty humans created, had received one percent of the Human Creation Merit.
By that calculation, it was equivalent to one two-hundred-and-fiftieth of the merit Nuwa had needed to attain sainthood!
One two-hundred-and-fiftieth might not have sounded like much, but this was Merit of Achieving Sainthood. The one two-hundred-and-fiftieth portion of merit on Jiang Haofeng was already immense. In the Primordial Era, probably only those renowned True Immortals of Fortune and a small number of Great Divine Powers could surpass him.
As the humans watched the Golden Light of Merit around the two of them, they seemed to have discovered a new toy. One after another, they manifested their merit, and Merit Auspicious Clouds rose into the air. All three thousand Innate Humans possessed great merit. When they manifested it together, Golden Light of Merit filled the land, bathing the entire valley in gold.
Each of the first fifty Golden Immortals created could condense a Merit Golden Body. As for the later two thousand nine hundred and fifty, although their merit was far less than that of the first fifty, they could still condense a Golden Wheel of Merit.
Suddenly, a powerful aura surged forth. Strength at the Golden Immortal level climbed steadily, and vast power swept through the valley. Five-colored rosy light gathered within her chest. The Five Elements Return to Position, endlessly cycling, and the terrifying pressure forced everyone back again and again.
A moment later, all the phenomena vanished. A woman floated in midair, power far beyond the Golden Immortal realm emanating from her body. However, the Merit Golden Body around her had disappeared.
"I am the first person created by the Mother Goddess. The current Mother Goddess has entrusted me with managing humanity. From now on, you must obey my commands!"
The woman hovered in the air, and the might of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal swept forth, instantly subduing the humans.
Jiang Haofeng looked at her in shock. This woman was the first person Nuwa had created? Wasn't Xuandu supposed to be the first person created in the legends?
And who was she? Why had history not left behind her name?
Seeing no one object, the woman was immediately delighted and continued:
"The Mother Goddess created humanity and should be humanity's Holy Mother. The Creation Sacred Spring is the creation supreme treasure left behind by the Holy Mother, and from now on, I shall oversee it!"
"The Holy Mother is a woman. From now on, women shall be honored among humanity, and men must not approach the Creation Sacred Spring!"
The humans around them immediately showed agreement. That was right. The Holy Mother was a woman, and the women of their tribe all resembled the Holy Mother. The men, on the other hand, looked vastly different from her. Humanity should honor women!
Jiang Haofeng raised an eyebrow. Even in the Primordial Era World, humanity had begun as a matriarchal society.
"Who are you?" Jiang Haofeng asked curiously. He truly had no idea who this founder of the matriarchal clan was.
The woman froze. "Who am I?"
"Right, who am I?"
The next moment, an inexplicable intuition surfaced in her heart. "I am Huaxu!"
"Huaxu of humanity!"
Jiang Haofeng's eyes widened. Huaxu—wasn't she the mother of Fuxi, the Heavenly Sovereign? Why had she appeared here? It was still far too early for the era of the Heavenly Sovereign.
No, could she be an ancestor of Huaxu Clan, Fuxi's mother?
"And who are you?" Huaxu looked at Jiang Haofeng.
Jiang Haofeng froze. Just as he was about to state his name, he recalled that this was the Primordial Era, and humanity had only just arisen. Surnames did not yet exist. Although Jiang was ancient, it was not ancient to this extent.
Should I invent surnames and earn a batch of merit?
The thought surfaced in Jiang Haofeng's mind, but he dismissed it himself. Humanity had only just been born, so Saints were surely watching. Something like surnames required time to develop and mature; it would not be appropriate to introduce them all at once.
Besides, the protagonists of heaven and earth were still the Witch Clan and Demon Tribe. Jiang Haofeng was not sure whether inventing something would bring down merit.
And besides, even with surnames, Jiang Haofeng himself was muddled about the distinction between clan names and family names. Even if he only dealt with family names, he could not remember the Hundred Family Surnames in full, so how could he claim to invent them?
Forget it. He would not mention a surname for now. A given name would do.
Under Huaxu's gaze, Jiang Haofeng said, "My name is Haofeng!"
After speaking, Jiang Haofeng looked at Huaxu before him, hesitated for a moment, then solemnly said to the humans around them, "Everyone, merit is precious. It is one of the rarest top-tier resources in the Primordial Era. We all possess Innate Spirit Bodies and extraordinary foundations. Using merit to raise our cultivation now is far too extravagant and wasteful. Please consider this carefully and do not use merit casually!"
With a single thought, Huaxu had risen from Golden Immortal to Grand Unity Golden Immortal, skipping countless years of cultivation and ascending in one leap. Yet she had also completely exhausted her precious merit.
Seeing Huaxu's formidable cultivation, Jiang Haofeng's heart ached terribly. There were so many better uses for that merit, yet she had used it to raise her cultivation. Even if she wanted to raise her cultivation, she could have waited until she encountered a bottleneck in the future. Using it now was truly too wasteful.
Jiang Haofeng saw the humans around him fall into thought, clearly taking his words to heart, and immediately revealed a gratified expression.
Then, in a flash, he left the main group. He would find somewhere quiet to be alone for a while. There was no need to remain with these Innate Humans right now. At present, they were newborn infants, curious about everything and still in the exploratory stage. He would let them explore slowly. Once they were done and knew what they needed to know, it would not be too late to speak with them.
First, he needed to see why he had suddenly come here. Hadn't he been conducting archaeology at Kunlun Mountain? How had he suddenly transmigrated?
He found a small river and sat by its bank. Haofeng closed his eyes and examined himself. Sure enough, he discovered something unusual within his mind.
A blue scroll floated quietly in Haofeng's mind. The instant his consciousness touched it, a vast amount of information flooded into Jiang Haofeng's mind.
A moment later, after reading the information in his mind, Jiang Haofeng's face filled with delight. What a treasure!
It seemed there was hope for freeing humanity from its original fate!
This treasure was called the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book. It was originally a Chaos Spirit Treasure. After Pangu opened heaven and earth, it was affected by the laws of heaven and earth and became an Innate Supreme Treasure.
It had originally been the accompanying supreme treasure of the Myriad Manifestations Demon God, one of the Three Thousand Demon Gods who cultivated the Great Dao of Wisdom. Later, Pangu slew the Three Thousand Demon Gods to prove his Dao. The Myriad Manifestations Demon God died, and the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book chose a new master, selecting humanity, the race most suited to inheriting the Great Dao of Wisdom. Jiang Haofeng was the one chosen by the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book!
This treasure possessed neither offensive nor defensive abilities, but it had three functions. Two of them were learning and deduction. With the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book, one could learn another's methods to the greatest extent possible, then discard the old and bring forth the new, ascending to an even higher level!
Even Innate Divine Abilities and Great Dao Laws could be learned. Once the Great Dao of Wisdom was comprehended to its peak, any method could be learned at a glance. Legend had it that when the Myriad Manifestations Demon God fought an enemy, he could use their methods after seeing them just once. Whether Innate Divine Abilities or the profound essence of laws, he could imitate them all.
Ordinary cultivators simply could not defeat the Myriad Manifestations Demon God. At best, they could only fight him to a draw. After exchanging blows enough times, they might even be defeated by the Myriad Manifestations Demon God using the very methods they excelled at!
Of course, defeating someone in the field they excelled in required a very long time, and it might not even be possible to deduce the method. Learning through the Great Dao of Wisdom was naturally beyond question, but creating something new was as difficult as another Demon God comprehending a new law.
But this was already enough. By learning an opponent's abilities and divine powers, as long as his cultivation did not fall behind, he would naturally stand undefeated!
As for the third function, it was to imitate another's Magic Treasure. As long as one understood the mysteries of the opponent's Magic Treasure, the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book could transform into the same Magic Treasure. So long as the treasure's origin did not surpass that of the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book, it could be imitated!
Most importantly, once he had fully studied them, the Dharma and Divine Abilities he learned could be passed on to others!
What a treasure!
With this treasure, he could completely change humanity's fate and give humanity a chance to become the true protagonist of heaven and earth!
"Haofeng!"
Just as Haofeng happily planned how to change humanity's fate, a call came from afar, and a woman came looking for him.
"You are?"
Haofeng looked at the woman before him and asked in confusion.
"We're a pair!"
"What?"
"How are we a pair?"
Jiang Haofeng nearly spat blood, staring wide-eyed at the woman before him.
"We are a pair! You were the fiftieth person created by the Holy Mother, and I was the forty-ninth person created by the Holy Mother. Of course we're a pair." The woman counted on her fingers as she spoke earnestly.
Jiang Haofeng froze. It really did seem to be the case.
When Nuwa created humans, she had created them one woman and one man at a time. Beginning with Huaxu and ending with Jiang Haofeng, the first fifty humans made up twenty-five pairs. By that logic, the person before him really was paired with him.
Jiang Haofeng gave a bitter smile and earnestly said to the woman before him, "That isn't called a pair. That's called siblings. You are the elder sister, and I am the younger brother. We were born of the same mother!"
"Siblings..." The woman repeated the words, tilting her head as if considering their meaning.
"What is your name?" Jiang Haofeng asked the woman before him—his elder sister by birth, more or less.
"My name is Zhisheng."
Hearing Jiang Haofeng's question, the woman immediately raised her head and answered.
Zhisheng.
What? Zhisheng!
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