Chapter 416: The Human Sovereign Seal Emerges
Yankang National Preceptor walked in, entering this mountain villa, looking around in surprise, and praised, "In the future, when I retire in glory, I too want to find such a scenic place to enjoy family happiness with my wife and children."
Qin Mu came forward to greet him, smiling, "Heavenly King, what brings you here?"
Yankang National Preceptor said solemnly, "I have not come to see the Sect Leader as the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Saint Church, but to see the Human Sovereign as the National Preceptor of Yankang. I request the Human Sovereign's assistance!"
Qin Mu's expression immediately turned serious: "National Preceptor, please speak!"
Yankang National Preceptor glanced around and said, "Where is the old Human Sovereign? Could you also ask him to come out for a talk?"
"The Village Chief is sunbathing and drinking tea."
The two found the Village Chief, only to see Pharmacist and the Village Chief drinking tea, with many women gathered around, holding cups of tea to their lips, not even needing to use their hands. Yankang National Preceptor's eyelids twitched. Among these women was even the Empress Dowager.
He quickly covered his face, pretending not to see.
He and the Empress Dowager had always been at odds. The Empress Dowager had repeatedly opposed him, and the Little Poison King Fu Yuanqing's poisoning of the Empress Dowager was also done on his orders.
However, he was still a subject. Seeing the Empress Dowager serving another man like this naturally required him to avoid suspicion.
The Empress Dowager saw him, sneered, but did not leave.
Pharmacist saw this and laughed, "There are too many worldly affairs here. Let's go somewhere else. I know an excellent scenic spot. You bring the instruments, and we'll have some fun."
The women cheered and crowded around Pharmacist as they left.
Only then did Yankang National Preceptor move his sleeve away, pay his respects to the Village Chief, and wait for Qin Mu to sit down before he also sat.
"The strange phenomena in Yankang have been continuous, with many mouth-like treasures appearing, and a hundred stone statues. This should not be hidden from the two of you. The danger within should not need me to explain; the two Human Sovereigns naturally understand."
Yankang National Preceptor got straight to the point, saying, "I have come to request the Human Sovereign to take out the Human Sovereign Seal, command the heroes of the world, and campaign against the Heavenly Firmament, to spare the common people from further suffering!"
The Village Chief gave him a strange look and asked, "National Preceptor, have you ever been to the Heavenly Firmament?"
Yankang National Preceptor shook his head.
The Village Chief said, "If you had been to the Heavenly Firmament, you wouldn't think that way. I have been to the Heavenly Firmament. Back then, I commanded the heroes to campaign against the Heavenly Firmament, and that's why I lost my arms and legs. The Heavenly Firmament is not just the Four Lords of the Heavenly Firmament; there are other false gods as well. Back then, I almost managed to pacify the Heavenly Firmament, until I encountered a true god, a genuine deity."
His old face was full of wrinkles, deep lines, like an old farmer facing the earth with his back to the sky, the wrinkles on his face being the deeply plowed land.
"A true god, divine in every aspect."
The Village Chief said unhurriedly, "My sword technique was defeated by his sword technique, and he cut off my legs and arms. Human Sovereign? Hah! That's what he said, and then he threw me out of the Heavenly Firmament."
He glanced at Yankang National Preceptor and said, "At that time, you should have just been born, not knowing about this. The strong ones who went with me to the Heavenly Firmament died, fled, or scattered. I, this Human Sovereign, was completely defeated, utterly routed. Your current sword technique has already surpassed mine, and your sword path is slightly inferior to mine, but if you go to the Heavenly Firmament, the outcome will be the same."
Yankang National Preceptor frowned: "Then, what should be done?"
"Don't go to the Heavenly Firmament; intercept the Heavenly Firmament."
The Village Chief said, "Whoever comes down from the Heavenly Firmament, we kill them. If one comes down, kill one. If they all come down, kill them all. Don't worry about that true god. For him to come down, he also needs enough flesh and blood sacrifices."
"Then..."
Yankang National Preceptor looked at Qin Mu and said in a deep voice, "May I request the Human Sovereign Seal?"
Qin Mu took out that pitch-black seal. This seal was utterly unremarkable, but it was forged from the best treasures brought by various races and sects, symbolizing the power of the Human Sovereign.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow. Taking out this seal meant that he, as the Human Sovereign, would step from behind the scenes to the front, bringing him many dangers.
Just like the Village Chief back then, once he became the Human Sovereign, he had to risk his life for the human race, and some arrows were even shot from within the human race itself!
According to the teachings of the villagers, things like the Human Sovereign Seal should be thrown as far away as possible, but they also taught him to have a sense of responsibility and duty.
The nine elders in the village each taught him different things, sometimes contradictory. He had to make his own choices, following his own heart.
Qin Mu took a deep breath and said, "Village Chief, how is this seal activated?"
The Village Chief said, "Pour your primal energy into the seal, and we will help you."
Qin Mu did as he was told, channeling his primal energy into the Human Sovereign Seal. A kind of spirit within the seal, which looked like a lump of black iron, was triggered, surging out and feeding back to its master.
Qin Mu immediately felt a roar in his mind, as if the seal contained countless unyielding strongmen, countless unyielding spirits.
His vision blurred, and he seemed to see a group of ragged people walking towards him. Behind these people were countless common people, the descendants of various sects and races in Yankang, the ancestors of the people on this land.
Their faces were gaunt, covered with the traces of wind, frost, and war. Many were disabled, and their eyes still held sorrow and fear. That was a period of desperate history, full of disasters, with gods and demons causing havoc. It was the Human Sovereign who led them through hardships, emerging from despair to this new land.
They took out their respective treasures, imprinted their spirits within them, melted them down, forged them into a seal, and respectfully presented it to this person.
"Whoever holds this seal is the Human Sovereign!"
Their spiritual fluctuations turned into a voice that exploded in Qin Mu's mind: "When the Human Sovereign Seal emerges, all shall follow!"
Qin Mu's mind shook. At that moment, Yankang National Preceptor and the Village Chief each surged their magical power, activating the Human Sovereign Seal. With a hum, the seal floated high into the air, emitting a dazzling radiance!
The unyielding spirits within the seal materialized. The phantom images of patriarchs and emperors who had founded sects and nations projected out from the seal, imprinting themselves between heaven and earth, their figures majestic.
Waves of terrifying spiritual fluctuations surged in all directions. Those with the same bloodline and the same inheritance would hear the call from their ancestors, summoning them to come.
That was their promise, the immortal vow their ancestors made out of gratitude to the Human Sovereign!
When the Human Sovereign Seal emerges, all shall follow!
The promise their ancestors made twenty thousand years ago, even after twenty thousand years, they still had to keep!
After a moment, the Village Chief and Yankang National Preceptor each withdrew their magical power, and Qin Mu also dispersed his primal energy, his mind still surging.
This was the Human Sovereign Seal, a treasure presented to the Human Sovereign by all races and sects. It had no power of its own, but it possessed immense power of appeal!
The Village Chief said calmly, "Let's wait here for a few days. Those who should come will naturally come."
Yankang National Preceptor asked, "May I ask, how many experts can come? Ordinary cultivators at the Divine Bridge realm are not very useful. No matter how many come, they would just be sending themselves to their deaths."
The Village Chief laughed, "Those who dare to come, who can come, are naturally experts."
Yankang National Preceptor was not reassured. The experts of this world were often concentrated in a few sacred lands. Those who could stand alongside them were the Old Tathagata, the Old Dao Lord, and the experts of Little Jade Capital. Little Jade Capital was aloof from worldly affairs, and the Old Tathagata and Old Dao Lord had abdicated. There really weren't many who could come.
Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he said, "Among the phantom images I saw just now, it seemed there were not only humans but also other races."
Yankang National Preceptor said, "I also saw many strange races."
The Village Chief said, "Back then, the Human Sovereign rescued not only humans. Some races gave up this continent of Yankang and traveled far away to find other territories."
Yankang National Preceptor showed a surprised expression and asked, "Did they go overseas?"
In the Eastern Sea, a huge island was slowly moving across the ocean. On the island lived a strange race. The men had horns on their heads and lived by fishing, while the women had no horns.
These men jumped into the sea, their bodies shook, and they transformed into giant whales, also with spiral horns on their heads, swimming swiftly through the water. Even the sea monsters were often no match for them. Whenever they caught fish, these whales would leap onto the island, transform back into men, and carry their catch towards their village.
Suddenly, almost everyone on the island felt an inexplicable bloodline call and looked up towards the distant land.
"The call of the Human Sovereign Seal!"
In the temple at the center of the island, the white-robed elders' hearts trembled, and they quickly said, "Hurry and awaken the ancestor!"
"Moo—"
A melodious whale song came from the bottom of the sea. The island shook. The entire island was the back of a giant whale. This giant whale woke up, spouting a water column several hundred feet high.
In the distance, several other islands drifted over. They were also giant whales.
The people and palaces on one island flew up, leaving that giant whale, and landed on other islands. The giant whale slowly submerged into the water. After a moment, a bare-chested, long-haired, burly man with an exposed chest walked out of the sea and stepped onto the island.
Inside the Sea King's Hall, many white-robed elders had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the burly man, they all bowed and said, "Kun King!"
"The promise made by the ancestors of the Kun race twenty thousand years ago flows in our blood. The promise made twenty thousand years ago is still valid today!"
Kun King looked around and said, "The Human Sovereign Seal is calling me. I will go personally. Bring the sacred artifact!"
The many white-robed elders stood in two rows. At the center of the altar in the Sea King's Hall was a golden spear, a spiral horn.
Kun King paid his respects, pulled out the horn, and immediately huge waves surged around the island. The white-robed elders saw him off.
Kun King, holding the golden spear, ran swiftly, leaped into the sea, and transformed into a horned giant whale, racing between the sea and sky, heading for Yankang. Kun King leaped from the waves. At that moment, a large bird flew overhead, its wings spanning dozens of acres. Seeing him, the bird suddenly spun rapidly, shooting down like an arrow. Countless feathers fluttered down, and landing in front of Kun King, they transformed into a woman with bird-like legs and a crest of feathers on her head.
Kun King laughed and said, "Wing King, you've come too?"
The woman said, "The Human Sovereign Seal is calling again, asking us to fulfill the promise our distant ancestors made. How could I not come?"
Suddenly, the sea churned. A pitch-black tortoise-shell giant ship broke through the water from the seabed, leaped out of the surface, and crashed heavily back onto the sea, shaking several times before stabilizing.
"Raise the flag!" a voice came from the ship.
With a rustle, a dripping wet flag was raised, depicting a tortoise and a snake.
In Little Jade Capital, the Old Tathagata frowned slightly and sighed, "I thought I could have peace and quiet, but it seems I still have to leave the mountain."
The Old Dao Lord laughed and said, "If we don't leave the mountain, our successors will have to go. Wouldn't that be sending them to their deaths? Let's go."
The Old Tathagata nodded, sighed, and got up to leave Little Jade Capital with him.