Chapter 70

On the other side, sensing the change in Shui Ren Shi's gaze, Feng Yi let out a slight sigh of relief in his heart, and then, without hiding anything, he spoke: 'Heavenly Stele Mystic Method.'

Glancing at Feng Yi, sensing the change in his internal cultivation aura, Shui Ren Shi nodded and murmured softly: 'I see! Do you wish to study the Great Dao insights contained on the Heavenly Stele, like the Martial Ancestor, or do you have another plan?'

Having said that, he looked at Feng Yi and said in a deep voice: 'The Heavenly Stele is indeed located in the City of Death, but it requires suppressing the passage beneath the City of Death; you cannot take it away.'

'I understand.'

Feng Yi nodded, smiling, and said: 'I am only contemplating the Great Dao insights above, perfecting my own cultivation method; it will not affect the passage to the World of Death that is being suppressed below.'

'World of Death.'

Hearing Feng Yi's words, Shui Ren Shi's eyes flickered slightly, the last doubt in his heart vanished, his tone grew gentler, and he said softly: 'I want to remind you of one thing: although the Great Dao insights on the Heavenly Stele are profound, they do not seem to originate from a single person; merely contemplating one or two aspects is fine, but if one is greedy and unable to fully integrate and comprehend them, it is likely to cause conflict in one's foundation, even leading to eternal ruin—you must be careful.'

'Thank you for the reminder, Senior Shui Ren Shi.'

Feng Yi clasped his hands, smiling, and said: 'I will pay attention to that.'

Having said that, Feng Yi's tone shifted, and he said in a deep voice: 'Senior Shui Ren Shi, a new round of great calamity is approaching; I have a premonition that soon, foreign realms may see an invasion of ancestral gods—could you possibly intervene now?'

'An invasion of ancestral gods from foreign realms?'

Shui Ren Shi's eyes narrowed, and an involuntarily solemn expression appeared on his face.

He did not doubt that the premonition of the figure before him could be wrong.

After all, the original Fuxi was the ancestral god most proficient in deducing heavenly secrets and the way of future fate.

After a moment, looking at the expectant gaze of the figure before him, Shui Ren Shi shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed: 'In fact, I have long since fallen; what you see before you is merely a wisp of obsession manifested by borrowing the power of the City of Death, and I cannot leave at all.'

'Indeed, is that so!'

Feng Yi's face showed little change; after a moment's thought, he continued: 'Senior Shui Ren Shi, I have a plan that might, with the aid of the Fuxi Qin, briefly manifest Fuxi's power, but I need your help.'

'Fuxi Qin'

Shui Ren Shi instinctively glanced at the ancient stone qin atop Feng Yi's head, and a green light flickered in his eyes.

The more he observed, the brighter his gaze became; after a while he exclaimed: 'What a powerful divine artifact—it indeed contains ancestral god level power, and there seems to be something else as well; could it be the past-life Dao fruit left by Fuxi?'

Having said that, looking at the figure in dark robes before him and sensing the weak yet renewed vital energy within him, Shui Ren Shi faintly seemed to understand something.

'Could it be that Fuxi wishes to walk a completely new path, absorbing his past-life Dao fruit only at the moment of final transformation, thereby completing that ultimate metamorphosis!'

Having this thought arise in his mind, Shui Ren Shi said softly: 'How do you need me to help you?'

First clasping his hands toward Shui Ren Shi, Feng Yi then spoke solemnly: 'Senior, although I am innately bound to the Fuxi Qin, my cultivation level is too low to truly activate the power it contains; I need to temporarily possess a cultivation level matching that of the Fuxi Qin in order to manifest Fuxi's power and block the invasion of ancestral gods from foreign realms—do you have a way?'

'To temporarily possess a cultivation level matching this divine artifact.'

A low voice sounded; after a moment of thought, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Shui Ren Shi's eyes as he pointed a finger at his own brow.

Hum—

The next instant, a brilliant, pure ray of light emerged from Shui Ren Shi's brow, like a flame representing the civilization of humanity, and faintly a towering figure seemed to rise and fall within it.

At the sight of that flame, Feng Yi's mind swayed, as if he beheld an endless starry sky, a vast great world, the profound mysteries of the laws of the great cosmos, and the ancient history of civilization where our forebears cleared thorns, practiced slash-and-burn agriculture.

At the moment the flame appeared, Shui Ren Shi's aura instantly withered, even giving him the sensation of drifting away with the wind.

However, he paid no heed to his own change, instead handing the flame in his hand to Feng Yi and saying: 'This is a flame I condensed from my own Great Dao laws; it carries the secret of flame transmission and also contains my cultivation level and insights. Although it cannot let you directly wield ancestral god power, it can temporarily grant you the cultivation level and vision of an ancestral god—perfect, since the Fuxi Qin, this divine artifact, is innately bound to you, perhaps allowing you to briefly manifest Fuxi's power.'

'Flame transmission.'

That term arose unconsciously in Feng Yi's mind; looking at the tall figure before him, a sense of admiration welled up, and he hastily bowed: 'Thank you, Senior Shui Ren Shi.'

He waved his hand casually and said softly: 'Although I cannot leave the City of Death, I can still contribute to the battle between Kyushu and the foreign realms; even if I fall here, I have no regrets.'

Hearing Shui Ren Shi's words, thinking that he now is nothing but a lingering obsession yet still devoted to Kyushu, Feng Yi could not help but feel a sigh in his heart.

'Shui Ren Shi, Shennong, and the many ancestral gods of Kyushu truly deserve the title of Human Ancestor!'

After a moment, suppressing his miscellaneous thoughts, gazing at the flickering flame before him, Feng Yi's heart stirred, and an ancient-looking book appeared within his body.

Countless patterns appeared on the book's surface, as if various scenes were continually evolving, like an illusory world.

Swish—

Feng Yi's heart moved, and the book flipped open on its own, within which countless characters flowed, faintly bearing the power to turn the illusory into the real, seemingly continually influencing the turning of fate's trajectories between heaven and earth.

And at the very top of this page were written three large characters: Realm of Longevity.

'Huh?'

Seeing the appearance of this book and sensing the special power it contained, Shui Ren Shi involuntarily let out a soft 'huh' and instinctively said: 'What a marvelous book—fate, the virtual and the real, the spirit; it seems there are even deeper mysteries, which I myself cannot fully perceive.'

Hum—

The next instant, that flame of Shui Ren Shi merged directly into this page of the book, becoming like a cluster of ever‑burning, never‑extinguishing fire of civilization.

In an instant, the text on this page seemed to be infused with the power of civilization, becoming weighty and yet real.

Scene after scene flowed within it; the text on this page underwent a tremendous change, as if forming an actual world, with the shadows of ancient scrolls and the long river of civilization.

Witnessing this, Feng Yi's heart stirred, and a plain brush appeared in his hand; following his inner feeling, he sketched upon the book a tall and towering figure.

As he drew, some mysterious trajectory in heaven and earth seemed to be guided by the brush, and an unknown force gathered onto the book.

At the moment the towering figure took shape, countless characters converged, forming an eternal, undying flame of humanity that fell into the figure's hand.

'The flame never dies, the Way of humanity endures.'

Voices rose from the book, from the flame of humanity in the towering figure's hand, like the cries of countless human beings.

'The flame never dies, the Way of humanity endures.'

Gazing at the figure on the book that resembled him yet was far more towering than his present withered self, looking at the flame in its hand and hearing those cries, Shui Ren Shi, who had lost the ability to weep, found tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

He instinctively whispered:

'The flame never dies, the Way of humanity endures.'

'May all beings of Kyushu be as dragons.'

As the sound faded, Shui Ren Shi gave Feng Yi a deep look, then turned into a black mist and vanished before his eyes without another word.

'Ah.'

Seeing Shui Ren Shi's form dissipate, Feng Yi glanced once more at the towering figure holding the flame on the book, and involuntarily let out a soft sigh.

The next moment, he closed the book and stored it inside his body.

No matter what, this time's purpose can be considered achieved.

His thoughts turned, and the Fuxi qin also entered his body along with it, disappearing.

After doing all that, the surrounding black mist dispersed, and Feng Yi's figure reappeared on the wide street of the ancient city.

(End of chapter)