Chapter 634: Two Millennia of Heart's Blood Legacy
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign seemed somewhat dazed, as if he hadn't yet snapped out of the storm of blows Qin Mu had rained down on him. However, the Second Progenitor and the others understood that his confusion stemmed from why Qin Mu refused to learn his techniques and divine abilities.
His original intention had been to spur Qin Mu on, to make him unleash more potential, and then teach him his own techniques and divine abilities. Qin Mu had indeed been spurred on, throwing himself into danger without regard for his own life, resolutely teleporting himself to the Grand Monarch Heaven. He endured countless hardships, narrowly escaping death several times, and finally achieved enlightenment through his techniques, gaining the strength to fight on equal footing with him. Anyone else would have found it nearly impossible to return alive from the Grand Monarch Heaven; the dangers involved were unimaginable.
Yet, after Qin Mu had sacrificed so much, he rejected his techniques and divine abilities with a single word of disdain.
Was it disdain for learning his techniques, or disdain for his character and conduct?
Perhaps it was both?
The successive Human Sovereigns exchanged glances, then their eyes fell on the Second Progenitor. Together, they reached out and poked him in the ribs.
The Second Progenitor Human Sovereign winced in pain and reluctantly stepped forward, saying boorishly, "Old man... Bah, you look younger than me! Master, Qin Human Sovereign has his own pride. If you hadn't destroyed our life's work, hadn't smashed my bones and tombstone, he wouldn't have treated you like this. Don't wallow in self-pity. If he won't learn, you can pass your techniques to me."
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign glanced at him and shook his head. "I gave you eight hundred years, and you never managed to learn. I've given up on you. I think Qin Human Sovereign is a Dominator Body; he'll probably master it in a few months at most."
The Second Progenitor Human Sovereign stormed back angrily. "This is too humiliating! I'm not going to persuade him. Whoever wants to can go! With that temper of his, he deserves to be beaten to death!"
The other Human Sovereigns looked at each other in bewilderment.
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign strode forward, shaking off his earlier confusion and dejection. "This is the Jade Clarity Heavenly Palace, one of the thirty-six heavenly palaces. Although you are all Human Sovereigns, you've only ever been to the outer perimeter of the Jade Clarity Palace, this area known as the Human Sovereign Hall. I'll take you to see the real Jade Clarity Palace. Follow me."
The various Human Sovereigns were puzzled. He had just been wallowing in sorrow, and now he was taking them to see the Jade Clarity Palace. They had no idea what the First Progenitor Human Sovereign was thinking.
However, the First Progenitor Human Sovereign wasn't wrong. Although they, as Human Sovereigns, had often come to the Human Sovereign Hall during their lifetimes, they actually knew very little about it. They could sense that the space of the Human Sovereign Hall extended beyond the land before their eyes, but whenever they tried to explore into the mist, they would always end up back in front of the hall, no matter how they walked.
Even if they flew or ran at full speed, the same result occurred every time. They would fly or run, and then another Human Sovereign Hall would appear ahead, as if no matter which direction they took, it was a circular path.
That was when they realized someone had used immense power to fold the space around the Human Sovereign Hall, preventing anyone from discovering the secrets deep within. And that person could only be the First Progenitor Human Sovereign.
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign must have had his reasons for hiding the Jade Clarity Palace, and now he was opening it up. What was his reason for that?
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign led them forward, saying, "The Jade Clarity Palace was not a place of high authority, but it was a very sacred place in the Heavenly Court of the Opening Era. It was a place of teaching and learning, where four Heavenly Masters served. When the calamity broke out, I was studying here."
The Second Progenitor pondered. "Was one of those four Heavenly Masters dressed like a woodcutter? The founding patriarch of the Heavenly Saint Sect considered him a sage."
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign nodded. "He was one of them. When the calamity began, he left the Jade Clarity Palace for the front lines to devise strategies. Later, when the Jade Clarity Palace fell into chaos, he thought I was dead. Then he discovered I hadn't participated in the war but had fled, and he never paid me any attention again."
"The Jade Clarity Palace fell into chaos?"
The various Human Sovereigns were confused. The Third Progenitor Human Sovereign asked, "First Progenitor, what happened to the Jade Clarity Palace?"
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign didn't answer. He led them onward, and suddenly, the mist dispersed, revealing a magnificent complex of heavenly palaces before them. There were buildings every five steps and pavilions every ten, arranged in a row, all bathed in the fragrance of spring.
The buildings were as bright and beautiful as a maiden of sixteen. The palace corridors curved gracefully, and the scent of books wafted from the doorways. Faintly, the sound of clear reading could be heard.
The various Human Sovereigns were startled and uncertain. This place seemed untouched by any war, not even a trace of damage from divine abilities.
The palaces, buildings, pavilions, towers, and pagodas all appeared incredibly fresh, as if newly built, with no signs of age or erosion.
This was almost impossible.
The Heavenly Court of the Opening Era had already been destroyed. Outside the Jade Clarity Palace, one could still see the marks left by war—scorched earth and countless tombs of fallen gods and demons. How could this place have been untouched by any war?
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign said nothing, leading them forward. They passed a great hall, where cushions were scattered about. Young boys and girls sat inside, looking forward as if listening to a lecture.
The various Human Sovereigns' hearts shook violently. These young men and women looked lifelike, but they could tell they had been dead for countless years!
On the platform stood a god or demon with a scholarly air, one hand raised, a smile on his face, as if explaining the mysteries of divine abilities to the young people below.
This god or demon was also a corpse, devoid of any life force.
"Their bodies haven't decayed. What's going on?" Qi Kang Human Sovereign asked in a hoarse whisper.
No one answered him.
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign continued walking, and they quickly followed.
On the way, they saw even stranger things. At a corner, they spotted a little girl with two braids, frozen mid-run, chasing a black divine dog. The dog was mischievous, leading the girl on a chase. Its eyes sparkled with playfulness, while the girl smiled, seemingly clapping and saying something.
However, both the little girl and the divine dog were frozen in place. They had died in an instant, still holding the last pose of their lives.
The various Human Sovereigns looked around, growing more alarmed.
Not far away, a god with a scholar's demeanor stood before a young woman. The woman held several scrolls in her arms, looking up as if asking her teacher about some difficult problem.
In the courtyard, there were several youths practicing divine abilities. Two of them were sparring, their postures agile, hands forming seals as if executing a seal-based divine ability. Beside them, a few youths stood smiling and whispering, as if discussing who was stronger.
The various Human Sovereigns averted their eyes, suppressing their shock, and followed the First Progenitor's steps.
The more they saw, the more alarmed they became. Time here seemed to have frozen. There was no sound. Everyone was frozen in the last action of their lives.
Silence.
An utterly deathly silence.
A suffocating, oppressive silence that made it hard to breathe!
"Those who entered the Jade Clarity Palace to study were the outstanding talents of the younger generation in the Heavenly Court. When the catastrophe struck, it wiped out the entire future generation of the Opening Era in one fell swoop."
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign said woodenly, "The one who attacked this place used a divine ability from the Netherworld. A single divine ability erased the future of the Opening Era. I was lucky to escape, not daring to look back, fleeing in panic. I once thought my Dao heart was strong enough that nothing could make me feel fear. But seeing so many companions, so many young people and gods and demons dead, I completely collapsed..."
The various Human Sovereigns were silent. Faced with such an unimaginable catastrophe, it was hard not to collapse.
"I fled, lost and terrified, like a stray dog."
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign said hoarsely, "I ran into the Heavenly Court army that had come to rescue us, but I was utterly terrified. I didn't join them. I kept running, until I realized there was nowhere to run. Where could I go? So I turned back and came here, and then..."
His face twisted slightly, the pain in his heart unimaginable. He gasped for breath a few times. "And then I saw the corpses of my comrades. Heh, I was supposed to fight alongside them, die here with them. But I fled, I survived, and they were buried here forever..."
His shoulders trembled twice as he swallowed his tears back down. He said woodenly, "I stayed here, with no will to live, wanting to die with them. Just then, I saw many fleeing races—some cultivators escorting countless mortals in flight. So I took them in, protected them, and searched for a place where they could settle and multiply."
"I searched for a long time and found the place where the Heavenly Court had fallen. They were very grateful to me and honored me as the Human Sovereign. These ragged, exhausted people used their last treasures to forge a Human Sovereign Seal, making a vow that their ancestors and descendants would uphold, remember, and never betray. But they didn't know that I wasn't the Human Sovereign they wanted. I was just a cowardly deserter!"
He laughed bitterly and shook his head. "Times create heroes. I didn't want to be this hero. I didn't want to be the Human Sovereign, but they pushed me onto this throne."
The Second Progenitor Human Sovereign said, "Later, you took me as your disciple and threw the Human Sovereign Seal to me. Was it because you felt you didn't deserve it?"
The First Progenitor Human Sovereign nodded.
He came to a building and looked up at its nine stories. He said softly, "This is the Jade Clarity Pavilion. Inside are many techniques and divine abilities from the Opening Era, better than those of the Grand Monarch Heaven. You can go in and learn whatever you want."
He sat down on the stone steps in front of the Jade Clarity Pavilion, looking desolate and gloomy, gazing at the people in front of the pavilion who, though long dead, still seemed alive. They were familiar faces. Even after twenty thousand years, he could still call out their names.
The Second Progenitor Human Sovereign and the others didn't enter the Jade Clarity Pavilion. Instead, they looked at him.
Suddenly, the Second Progenitor said hoarsely, "Master, since you had better and higher techniques and divine abilities, why didn't you teach them to me? Why didn't you teach them to the world? Did you think the people you saved were all mortals, all commoners, unworthy of the techniques here?"
He couldn't help but shout accusingly, sneering, "Yes, you are the Human Sovereign revered by all races. We are just the commoners and mortals you saved, inferior to your noble bloodline. You are a prince, lofty and exalted. We are unworthy of your techniques! If you had wanted to teach, why didn't you do it twenty thousand years ago?"
He couldn't hold back the bitterness in his heart and shouted, "Do you know? After you left, I fought alone against the heavens. I fought desperately, nearly beaten to death countless times. But I held on because of that broken seal you gave me. I thought I was the Human Sovereign, that I should do something for humanity! Teach me! Why didn't you teach me!"
The First Progenitor was wooden.
The Second Progenitor pointed at the successive Human Sovereigns behind him and said harshly, "They, too, inherited that broken seal of yours. For an ideal you didn't even care about, they fought their whole lives, struggled their whole lives, and gave their entire life's work! Many of them never married, never had children, never had descendants, afraid that the identity of Human Sovereign would burden their offspring, afraid that romance would hinder the cause of the Human Sovereign! But what about you? You hid your whole life, hid for twenty thousand years—you let us down!"
The First Progenitor's body trembled. He shook his head. "I couldn't teach. There were only so many people left from the Opening Era. I couldn't teach you. If I taught you, you would become a threat and be wiped out."
He looked up, his eyes filled with turbid tears. "Teaching you would have harmed you. I couldn't..."
The Second Progenitor was wooden. After a long silence, he said bitterly, "Now we're dead, only our primordial spirits remain. What use is it to teach us now?"
The First Progenitor buried his face in his arms and said hoarsely, "There are many bodies in the Jade Clarity Palace. They died too quickly, and their bodies were preserved. You... each of you, seize a body and be reborn. Qin Human Sovereign needs you. He alone deserves to be called the Human Sovereign... Go! Go! Don't let me see you!"
The Second Progenitor and the successive Human Sovereigns stared blankly. Suddenly, the Second Progenitor knelt. "Teacher!"
The other Human Sovereigns knelt as well. When they looked up, the First Progenitor Human Sovereign had covered his face and walked away.
"Will the First Progenitor come back?" Yi Shan asked.
The Second Progenitor's heart was heavy. "He might have seen hope in Qin Human Sovereign, but he doesn't want to see us seize the bodies of his old friends. I don't know if he'll come back. If he does, seeing our reborn faces will remind him of those old friends..."
—Take it easy. Deaf man: Mute man is right! Vote, you must vote!