Kunpeng spoke with a low, haunting voice, a sinister light flashing in his eyes that perfectly matched his vulture-like features.
His words struck a chord in Guiche. As a fellow avian creature, Guiche felt a sudden surge of "inspiration" and added:
"I suspect Empress Wa (Nuwa) created the humans specifically for our Yao Race. She must have calculated this Calamity eons ago and left them as a back-up resource. It explains why she hasn't meddled in our affairs—she wants us to be self-reliant and grow through the slaughter. Only then will our race be truly strong!"
Guiche's imagination ran wild, and he spoke with such conviction that he actually began to believe his own nonsense. Kunpeng shot him a mocking look before stepping forward into the Human Clan Land (Human Clan Land).
Guiche followed quickly. To them, this wasn't a land of living people; it was a back garden, a fenced-in hunting ground. Soon, when the protection period expired, this vast land would become a playground for the ten thousand races, a slaughterhouse where the humans were the livestock.
"Let me test just how miraculous this human Essence Blood (Essence Blood) actually is," Kunpeng said with a light chuckle as they approached a settlement.
"Emperor, is it wise to act now?" Guiche hesitated. "The protection..."
"It's fine. I'm only taking a little blood. I won't take their lives—yet."
Kunpeng flicked his finger. In the distance, several humans working in the fields were instantly paralyzed, suspended in mid-air by an invisible force. Slowly, ribbons of blood began to seep from their eyes, ears, and mouths. They couldn't even scream; their faces were masks of pure horror as their very Divine Souls (Divine Soul) shivered in agony.
It was like undergoing surgery without anesthesia.
"STOP!"
A thunderous roar echoed through the fields. A man wreathed in a noble purple aura streaked across the sky toward them.
The Ant's Defiance
"Oh?" Kunpeng's sharp eyes flickered with a hint of curiosity, though he didn't stop the extraction.
"Who are you? Release them!" The newcomer was Zi Wei. He stood on guard, his heart hammering against his ribs. The pressure radiating from Kunpeng and Guiche made his skin crawl with an instinctive dread.
"Interesting. A tiny human has actually reached the Profound Immortal (Profound Immortal) rank?" Kunpeng said, ignoring Zi Wei as he bottled the essence blood.
To the Yao, a Profound Immortal was bottom-tier trash, but for a human who had existed for less than ten thousand years, it was an incredible achievement. Even Kunpeng was slightly impressed by the cultivation speed.
With a casual flick of his fingers, Kunpeng sent the drained humans tumbling through the air, their fates unknown.
"Bastard!"
Fury blinded Zi Wei. Regardless of the power gap, he launched himself at Kunpeng in a desperate assault.
"Heh. An ant dares to strike at me?"
Kunpeng shook his head with a mock sigh. He didn't even move his hands from behind his back. A mere surge of his Aura sent Zi Wei flying backward like a broken doll, coughing up blood as he slammed into the earth.
"So... strong..." Zi Wei's face was ashen. His soul felt upended; the gap between them was a chasm of despair.
"You don't know the height of the heavens," Kunpeng said indifferently. "If I weren't in a good mood, you would have died ten thousand times over. Consider it your lucky day."
Kunpeng still harbored a lingering fear of Nuwa's Saint-Might; he didn't want to technically "kill" anyone during the final days of the protection period.
"Hahaha! Kid, you're lucky. Any other day, and your bones would be dust by now," Guiche laughed, looking at Zi Wei with the total indifference one might show a crushed insect.
Their objective was complete. The two demons vanished from the horizon, leaving the human lands behind.
The True Self Returns
As the demons departed, a Divine Thought that had been silently monitoring the area also withdrew.
Zi Wei lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. His eyes were vacant, as if his soul had been extinguished. But inside his mind, a kaleidoscope of images was fracturing and reforming.
The impact from Kunpeng hadn't just broken his ribs; it had shattered the final "shackles" within his soul.
Slowly, an ancient jade seal engraved with a Qilin (qilin seal) manifested above his chest. Moments later, a ruler wreathed in Chaos Qi (hongmeng measuring ruler) appeared beside it.
A vast, majestic aura erupted from Zi Wei. His cultivation began to skyrocket, tearing through the bottleneck into the Golden Immortal (Golden Immortal) realm in seconds.
Zi Wei's vacant eyes suddenly sharpened. A spark of light exploded in his mind like the birth of a universe.
"A dream of a thousand autumns... today, I finally know who I am."
Zi Wei sat up, a bittersweet smile on his face. He had reclaimed his memories of his previous life. The past few thousand years as a human fused perfectly with his eons as Ling Xiao's boy.
"I am Zi Wei... and I am also Human!"
He stood up, stroking the Qilin Seal and the Hongmeng Ruler with a sense of deep familiarity. These treasures had accompanied him through reincarnation, hidden until the moment of his awakening. They were his companion treasures, bound to his very essence.
He looked up at the high-hanging sun and bowed deeply. For thousands of years, even without his memories, his experiences among the humans had left a profound mark on his soul.
"Zi Wei, my boy. You have finally awakened."
A majestic voice resonated within his mind.
"Master! I have found myself... though it seems I am a bit late," Zi Wei said with a hint of shame. To take thousands of years to awaken felt like a failure of his potential.
"It matters not. Do you remember what I told you before you entered the cycle?" Ling Xiao's voice was steady and encouraging.
"I remember. But... I still don't fully understand how to walk my path. How do I achieve Sainthood (achieve sainthood)?"
He felt close to the answer, but it was like looking at a reflection in a disturbed pool.
Ling Xiao's voice responded with a single concept:
"Luck!"
"Luck?" Zi Wei's eyes widened. A sudden bolt of clarity struck him.
"Gather the Luck of the Human Race (Human Race Luck) unto yourself. Walk the Dao of Destiny. This is your path."
"When the Human Race prospers, your Attainment of the Primordial Chaos (Attain the Primordial Chaos) will follow as naturally as water flowing down a mountain."
Ling Xiao continued. In his previous life, Zi Wei had been stuck at the Peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal (Quasi-Saint) level, unable to break through. Neither the "Slaying of Three Corpses" nor the "Raw Law" path suited his nature. His "Opportunity" simply hadn't arrived—until now.
Zi Wei nodded firmly to the empty air. "I know what I must do!"