NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 21: Books of Heaven, Earth, and Man
Within Eminence Heaven Palace, Tongtian hugged the Qingping Sword to her chest and relentlessly tapped its sheath with a finger. The scene of the silver qi flying into Fuxi's body and transforming him into an anchor of humanity's Karmic Luck replayed in her mind over and over again.
Fuxi didn't just become an anchor of humanity's luck but an agent. Much like how a Saint acted as an agent of the Way of Heaven and could borrow the power of the heavens, Fuxi could also borrow the power of humanity.
His title as Sovereign Fuxi wasn't accurate, nor was the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperor's title. A more apt name for the group of eight rulers would be Saints of Humanity.
The mysterious silver qi that entered Fuxi from the Six Paths of Reincarnation only supported Tongtian's conjecture. Deriving inspiration from the Grandmist Violet Qi received from the Dao Ancestor, Tongtian dubbed the silver qi Grandmist Silver Qi.
Therein lay the problem: where did Fuxi's Grandmist Silver Qi come from?
Combining the Purple Majesty Violet Qi stolen from the Kongtong Seal, Tongtian could only conclude that Empress Pingxin had some connection to the source of the Grandmist Silver Qi. Then, how did she gain the connection to the source of the Grandmist Silver Qi? Of all things, Tongtian thought that the Kongtong Seal would be the source and not anything in the Underworld.
Tongtian pinched her fingers and tried to calculate the secrets, but two people obstructed her. The first one was Empress Pingxin, but Tongtian didn't expect anything less. It was the other person that caused a problem, for he was none other than the Dao Ancestor.
While unexpected, it was not outside the realm of possibilities. Tongtian remembered that although Yuanshi suggested the names, it was the Dao Ancestor who christened the title of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. She did not believe that the Dao Ancestor didn't know that the eight rulers of humanity would become the eight Saints of Humanity.
So, why would the Dao Ancestor hide this fact?
Tongtian had always assumed that the Dao Ancestor received the Grandmist Violet Qis from the Jade Butterfly Disk of Good Fortune fragment. He never publicized the fact that he possessed the broken chaos spiritual artifact, and Tongtian only knew from myths and legends of her previous life.
But now, Tongtian suspected that the Dao Ancestor never possessed the Jade Butterfly Disk of Good Fortune, or at least, the Grandmist Violet Qis had not been derived from the broken chaos spiritual artifact. If it had been, Rahu, who also possessed a fragment, would not have needed to fight with the Dao Ancestor to become a Saint of Heaven.
The source would likely come from something else. Tongtian resumed tapping on her Qingping Sword, trying to think of any similarities between the Dao Ancestor and Empress Pingxin.
'Maybe because they merged with the world?' Tongtian thought. The Dao Ancestor merged with the Way of Heavens, while Empress Pingxin was part of the Underworld. She shook her head. If that were the case, the Dao Ancestor wouldn't have been able to take out the Grandmist Violet Qi until after he merged with the Way of Heaven and not before.
Tongtian abruptly stood up.
When the Great Desolation was created, the Three Books of Heaven, Earth, and Man were also created. The Book of Man was the Samsara Register, otherwise known as the Book of Life and Death. It recorded all life that had not jumped out of the River of Time. If you crossed out a person's name within the book, they would not die of natural causes, attaining a certain definition of immortality.
What if the Grandmist Silver Qi originated from the Samsara Register? As the ruler of the Underworld and master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, it would make sense for Empress Pingxin to possess it. Using her control over it, she could use it to steal a strand of Purple Majesty Qi from the Kongtong Seal while sending the Grandmist Silver Qi to Fuxi.
Since the Book of Man contained the necessary qi for Saints of Humanity, then the Book of Heaven contained the Grandmist Violet Qi required for Saints of Heaven.
According to her knowledge, the Book of Heaven contained the records of all events in the world, from creation and destruction. You could even call it the crystallized record of destiny, but Tongtian couldn't fathom how it was possible. Even if her knowledge of its content were incorrect, Tongtian knew who possessed the Book of Heaven, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
She had always thought the Book of Heaven would only reveal itself during the Investiture of the Gods, the next tribulation of the world. However, it seemed that she had miscalculated.
The Book of Heaven should be the Divine Conferment Scroll, a registry of all heavenly officials of the Heavenly Court. The possessor of it could control the life and death of anyone whose name was written in it. Initially, Tongtian thought it was similar to the Demon Clan's Demon Summoning Banner, but that, too, was likely wrong.
Tongtian had a wait-and-see attitude toward the events of the Investiture of the Gods since it no longer had anything to do with her, but now, she would need to plan. She must not show any signs of her knowledge of this secret, or the Dao Ancestor might not release the Book of Heaven for the Conferred God Tribulation.
She sat back down on the Throne of Heaven and tapped the sheath once more. Since there are Saints of Humanity, there must be Saints of Earth. And the spiritual artifact most likely to be the Book of Earth was the Realmverse Atlas, which recorded all land in the Three Realms, in Zhen Yuanzi's hands.
However, Tongtian couldn't show any interest until she had the Book of Heaven in her possession. She closed her eyes and resumed comprehending the Law of Time and merging it with the Law of Space. All her knowledge was useless without the strength to back it up.
While Tongtian cultivated, the reign of Shennong continued.
After Fuxi's enthronement as the heavenly sovereign, Shennong's first act as the next ruler of humanity was to build a new settlement near Mount Tai. Nearly all of humanity's experts Fuxi had raised gathered at this new location, becoming the capital of humanity and the second most important location after the Human Temple near Shouyang Mountain.
The central building of the capital wasn't flashy and looked rather crude compared to the palaces built by immortals, but it was built by the combined efforts of regular mortals. And inside the building, Shennong sat behind a desk with creases on his forehead as he listened to the messenger's report.
"Your Majesty, over a hundred tribes in the southwestern region are afflicted with a mysterious illness with no known cure. The casualties are rising every day, and few survive," the messenger said.
"I understand," Shennong said as he rubbed his forehead. "Send the message. I'll go to the southwestern region to take a look for myself."
"You mustn't!"
"No, please reconsider!"
"It's too dangerous!"
Shennong's advisors and vassals, who were also in the same room, all spoke out. In their eyes, Shennong's life was more valuable than all the people in the southwestern region.
"Enough," Shennong said. "I won't die so easily. Illness that affects mortals won't affect a Sky Immortal like myself. And I'm the ruler of humanity. The loss of all the humans in the southwestern region is too big of a problem for me to ignore."
Seeing the rejection in their eyes, Shennong continued. "Don't forget, the epidemic only started at a small scale but suddenly blew up. What's preventing it from affecting the rest of humanity? It's my duty as humanity's ruler to nip the problem in its bud."
His advisors and vassals kneeled and bowed to Shennong. "Your Majesty is benevolent!"
Shennong waved his hand. "Enough, we should leave as soon as possible."
When Shennong arrived at the first tribe in the southwestern region, nearly half the tribe had perished due to the sickness, causing crop failure due to insufficient manpower. If before they could store the excess, now, the tribe would not produce enough to stay full throughout the winter.
His heart bled for the tribe's dilemma. He recalled the memories of his return to the Thunder Mountain Tribe and discovering all the people he knew had already returned to dust. Shennong used his spells to heal the villagers, but he knew that he could not go to all the tribes and heal them one by one.
He traveled and visited all the tribes, healing those he could and attempting to find a cure as he did so. On the twenty-second tribe he visited, Shennong noticed they had a higher casualty rate compared to the other tribes.
As it turned out, the tribe had to face the continual assault of a local wolf pack even as their hunters and protectors fell ill.
The situation struck a chord in Shennong. He hadn't realized it at first, but all the tribes he visited didn't face beast attacks. What if animals also suffered from the same illness?
Beast attacks were a constant issue even after Fuxi taught humanity the Eight Trigrams Divination; they couldn’t avoid living on the same lands as beasts. Luckily, demons preying on humans wasn't a major issue since the experts from the Human Temple would slay these dangerous demons.
Determined to find out why these wolves didn't fall ill, Shennong searched for the beasts’ nest. Upon reaching their nest, Shennong discovered a unique herb growing. After numerous animal experiments, he learned that this herb had a unique property that repelled the illness even if it was not ingested. Ingested, the recipient would heal in one day at shortest and three days at longest.
Shennong immediately ordered mass production of the herb as fast as possible, personally seeing the operation. It took several years, but eventually, the illness was conquered.
Before Shennong could sigh in relief, a new problemed cropped up, literally. A strange disease was killing the crops that he had popularized among humanity. Right now, only a few areas were affected, and Shennong immediately ordered the few immortals under him to quarantine those infected crops and burn them.
Still, Shennong knew that this was only a delaying tactic at best. The disease affecting the crops might have perished, but what about new strains? Not just the crops but for humans too. He needed to solve the problem at its root.
Shennong delegated his advisors and vassals to rule in his stead as he left on a journey. He traveled the entire land, even venturing out of the East to the South, North, and West.
He would stop and research every plant he came across, recording their effects. Shennong even went so far as to ingest unknown herbs and plants just to test their effect on the human body. Although crude, this method allowed him to quickly and easily determine the properties of the plants he discovered.
Not just plants but Shennong would intentionally infect himself with any disease he found, human or animal. He didn't purge it with his methods as a Sky Immortal and used mortal means to cure himself. Using his years of experience and knowledge concerning plants, he concocted numerous medicines that would heal him.
However, Shennong did not leave himself any time to recuperate. Before he could fully heal, he would have already infected himself with the next disease or poison. Gradually, the sequelae would slowly build up until he could no longer suppress it.
Had it not been for Guang Chengzi's intervention, Shennong would have undoubtedly died. He took the human ruler to his temple and healed him, but Shennong still fell into a three-years-long coma.
When Shennong awoke, he had heavy bags under his eyes and sickly pallor. His healthy body had been reduced to a twig, and he looked more skeleton than flesh.
"Forcing yourself to an early death will do no good for humanity. If you had allowed yourself to heal, you wouldn't have fallen to this point," Guang Chengzi rebuked. "I can't believe how reckless you were with your body. Had it not been for Master's aid, even I would not have been able to heal you!"
"I know, Teacher," Shennong quietly said, looking at the ceiling. He didn't care for Guang Chengzi's rebuke, the first and only time his teacher had raised his voice against him. "But when I close my eyes, I see the helpless expression of all the people who died. No matter what, I couldn't stop, even if it destroyed my body.”
"Teacher, you said cultivation focuses not just on the realm but the heart as well. How can my heart be at peace knowing that so many of my people are dying each second I waste?" Shennong asked.
The human ruler struggled to get up, but he didn't even have the strength to stand up and fell off the bed. Still, he did not give up. If he could not walk, he would crawl.
"Enough already," Guang Chengzi said as he bent down and held Shennong up before forcing him to sit on the bed. He sighed. "Master said you wouldn't listen to reason."
Shennong looked down, ashamed. He knew his actions were irrational, but he couldn't stop his body from acting.
"You don't have to blame yourself. Perhaps this is the disposition a human ruler should have," Guang Chengzi said. "And there is a reason why I have become your teacher."
A jade bottle appeared in Guang Chengzi's hand. "Take this. Although Master isn't as skilled in alchemy as the Heavenly Venerable of Virtuous Way, these pills can still dispel the buildup of harmful substances in your body. Take one when you are near death. But remember, there is a limited number of pills inside. Use them well."
Shennong took the jade bottle with trembling hands. "Thank you, Teacher."
He opened the bottle and poured a single pill onto his palm. The pill was pitch black yet did not emit an ominous aura. Contrastingly, it exuded an inviting rainbow brilliance. Shennong swallowed it, and the bags under his eyes disappeared, his skin regained its healthy tones, and his body filled out.
Shennong stood up and walked toward the entrance. Before stepping out, he turned around and bowed to Guang Chengzi. "Teacher, I'm leaving."
"Go," Guang Chengzi softly said.
Shennong left and continued his journey. Decades passed, and he eventually ran out of detoxification pills, but he didn't slow down. The years slowly changed his body, and common poisons and diseases could no longer affect him. Instead, they served as nourishment for him and increased his cultivation.
At the end of his journey, Shennong transformed his body into the Myriad Poison Physique. No poison in the world could kill him; they would only strengthen and boost his cultivation instead. However, it was the books he had written that made him smile.
Upon returning to the capital, Shennong compiled hundreds of books. Together, they were known as the Myriad Herb Canon. It was split into two parts, the Life Omnibus and the Death Omnibus. They recorded all plants in the Earthly Realm and taught those who read it the art of medicine and poison.
Shennong sealed the Death Omnibus for it was too dangerous and released the Life Omnibus for all to learn. After Shennong spread the Life Omnibus, humanity learned to make medicine to not only heal themselves but prevent diseases from affecting their livestock and crops.