A complex web of relationships underpinned the human sacred land. Factions and cliques were found everywhere, each representing a different group of interests. But it wasn’t humans in charge of their sacred land, that was Fuxi and Wahuang.

Though Fuxi had entered the chaos to search for something that could destroy connate demon gods, Wahuang was still present at Mount Buzhou to ensure that things ran smoothly. She would later become Nüwa in the mouths of later generations.

One holy decree from Wahuang immediately disseminated Lie Shan’s feats far and wide. Thanks to the sacred land’s greatest efforts, Lie Shan’s accomplishments were mentioned in the same breath as Youchao, Suiren, Xuanyuan, and Shennong. He was a literal saint to the human race!

More importantly, the strongest of the first generation Youchao, Suiren, Xuanyuan, and Shennong had only been at true divinity, but Lie Shan was a bonafide great master of the combat arts, and he’d killed a chaos realm demon god in broad daylight!

……

On the banks of Wei River.

Dusk Snake’s head had been minimized down to three meters and was casually thrown onto the ground. Lu Yun’s formations covered the local area to prevent him from escaping.

He could’ve executed Dusk Snake with a single blow and simply taken the Stone of Three Lives, but there were two among his Infernum that had something to do with the snake—Bing Ling and Bing Xuan. They were both descendants of Dusk Snake and possessed his bloodline.

Therefore, he wasn’t in a hurry to head to the Mu Clan to visit Ling Weiyang, as he wanted to distill the snake’s true blood from the head.

Dusk Snake was still conscious and knew what the human wanted to do. He wanted to struggle, to beg for mercy, but he couldn’t even release a single ripple of consciousness. He could only watch mutely as Lie Shan refined his true blood.

“Fellow daoist.” A genteel voice suddenly sounded at Lu Yun’s ear.

Lu Yun lifted his head and saw a young man wearing long golden-purple robes and a small crown in his hair walk out of the void. His cultured face bore hints of a warm smile, and he bowed at Lu Yun.

“Fellow daoist.” Lu Yun quickly rose to return the gesture.

He’d met this young man not too long ago—the latter had been observing the world in a flower at the foot of Mount Buzhou. This was absolutely a great master of combat arts, possibly one of the strongest in the great wilderness. Though he appeared as an ordinary human, that was precisely what was most frightening about him.

“This humble self is Hongjun. I am here to request a favor from my fellow daoist.” The young man introduced himself and bowed at Lu Yun again.

“Hongjun!!” Lu Yun almost jumped straight into the air. “What might the dao ancestor need from this junior? Please just say the word!” [1]

“Dao ancestor?” Hongjun blinked when he heard Lu Yun’s title of address and shook his head. “I am unworthy of being a dao ancestor. I am just here to borrow something from my little friend.”

"Please name whatever it is, Dao Ancestor!” Lu Yun replied gravely.

Hongjun didn’t refute things a second time. “Reincarnation!”

It was Lu Yun’s turn to blink.

“You come from the future, fellow daoist, so you should know that the basis of humanity’s strength in the future comes from reincarnation. However, it doesn’t yet exist in the great wilderness. Construction of the wheel of reincarnation must come from you.”

“Come from me? Then does the chicken come first, or the egg?” Lu Yun frowned.

All of his present accomplishments were a result of help from the Tome of Life and Death and the power of reincarnation it held within. But if reincarnation originated from him, then did reincarnation come first, or did he exist first?

He really didn’t have an immediate answer for that.

“This humble self doesn’t know if reincarnation comes first or if you come first, but one thing I do know is that fellow daoist possesses an ultimate treasure of reincarnation. That is the origin of the wheel.” Hongjun smiled.

“The Tome of Life and Death!” Lu Yun suddenly understood. Whether it was reincarnation or him, they both stemmed from the Tome of Life and Death! “Is that what the dao ancestor would like to borrow?”

He tried his hardest to force the book out of his body, but it didn’t respond no matter what he did.

Hongjun shook his head. “This humble self is not here for fellow daoist’s ultimate treasure, but for the Stone of Three Lives. The stone has picked up traces of that treasure’s presence and birthed a prototype of reincarnation. All that needs to be done is to lend the stone to this humble self.”

“That’s easy.” Lu Yun took out the stone and placed it in Hongjun’s hands.

Hongjun elicited a brief and anguished scream from Dusk Snake’s head with a casual point, reducing it to dust and directing a fist-sized globe of true blood into Lu Yun’s hands.

“My thanks, fellow daoist.” Hongjun bowed once more upon receiving the stone and left.

The little fox had popped out at some unknown point and clambered to Lu Yun’s shoulder. Confusion sparkled in her eyes when she watched Hongjun leave.

“So it’s… him,” she murmured.

“You know the dao ancestor?” Lu Yun looked askance at the little fox.

“If who you call the dao ancestor is that person… then I am one of his honorary disciples. He was the one who enlightened me and helped me forge my dao foundations so that I would reach the chaos realm,” the little fox muttered.

Lu Yun wasn’t surprised by this. In his understanding, Dao Ancestor Hongjun was on the same level as the great Pangu. He too was a creator!

“We should be going to Mount Buzhou!” The little fox tugged at Lu Yun’s robes. “Eternal and Arbiter must settle down as soon as possible, or they’ll be born soon!”

The two eggs that Yinglong had given Lu Yun were constantly on the little fox’s mind. They had to go where they needed to go as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they would be ordinary connate demon gods the moment they hatched and just regular chaos realm cultivators.

“Mm, now that I have the true blood in hand, it’s time to visit Mount Buzhou again.” Lu Yun looked to the east. “Bai Zhaoju should’ve gone to the Mu Clan and sought out Ling Weiyang by now. So… I guess I’ll wait a little bit longer to visit the Mu Clan.”

He wanted to visit Ling Weiyang to find out a way to capture the Constellation Willow. Though Ling Weiyang was currently a no-name minor character, Lu Yun still believed he possessed the requisite ability to do so.

Instead of burrowing back into his robes, the little fox stood on Lu Yun’s shoulder. Thanks to the core essence of a Qingqiu mountain ghost, she’d recovered her energy and her cultivation had rebounded to the celestial divine realm. The Bell of Chaos on her chest now emanated a faint golden luster.

However, Lu Yun’s trip to Mount Buzhou this time wasn’t as tranquil as before. Somehow, news of the little fox being Tushan and possessing Taiyi’s ultimate treasure the Bell of Chaos spread like it had wings. Numerous dominating presences locked onto Lu Yun the second he left the Yan Tribe.

“Fuxi is right, these connate demon gods are cancerous tumors upon the great wilderness. There are realm monsters and dead spirits in space, ready to attack the great wilderness at any time, but these connate demons are wholly unmoved…”

1. Hongjun Laozu is the "Ancestor of the Great Balance", a deity in Chinese folk religion and Daoism, teacher of the Three Pure Ones and mentioned in the Chinese New Year myth about the Nian beast.