The most primitive of qi flowed through Lu Yun at the moment. Not having undergone baptism by the great dao, it was the most fundamental energy beneath the heavens.

This kind of energy was strong and wild, but it wasn’t suitable for cultivation. If beings of the world wished to officially become cultivators, they had to transcend the limits of their birth and transform their bodies into ones suitable for the connate great dao before they could cultivate.

Lu Yun had reached the limits of what he could do with his body, so the untamed qi within him careened wildly, shoving against the threshold of the next realm again and again. He didn’t know what the next realm was, but there was a next level to the Method of Life and Death. He’d be able to ascend to the next cultivation realm as long as he made a breakthrough there.

Boom—

An enormous rumble roared like a thunder clap from his body and startled the nearby tribespeople.

“He’s breaking through and entering the golden core great dao!” Some of the youths on their way to challenge him trembled with fear when they overheard the commotion.

Cultivators newly initiated into the connate great dao were the apex in small tribes and war gods of an entire race. But at the same time, they weren’t a rare sight in a large faction like the Yan Tribe—the tribe’s hunters were comprised entirely of cultivators.

However, golden core cultivators were the greatest powerhouses of the human race. These kinds of people were very rare in the tribe; only the patriarch and priest were at that august level. But this Lie Shan was only eighteen years old and about to set foot into the golden core realm of the great dao!

“No wonder chief wants him to be the next Shennong…” A young man grimaced with fear.

“Bah! So what if he’s a golden core cultivator? He doesn’t have Yan blood flowing in his veins! How can the chief of the Yan Tribe, the vaunted Shennong, be an outsider?” Deep resentment flashed through the eyes of a man who looked roughly forty years old.

His name was Qingyou and he was one of the most accomplished people of the tribe. He would’ve most likely been the next Shennong if life had progressed as expected. He couldn’t possibly accept Lie Shan’s sudden appearance and Shennong just announcing that the newcomer would be the next chief!!

“Maybe he’s a spy from the Xiong Tribe!” A long bone spear clenched in his hand, Qingyou geared himself up and flung the spear straight at Lu Yun. Streaking across the air with a deadly glint of white, its target was in the most critical moment of his breakthrough and couldn’t react. Besides, Lu Yun had never imagined that someone would dare ambush him while in Yan tribe territory!

But before he could sense the arrival of the spear, it dissipated in midair as bone dust. An enormous aura descended from the sky and pinned Qingyou and the others to the ground. They couldn’t even mew in protest, much less move a muscle.

A livid Shennong appeared, looking at Qingyou with a glare of death. Terrified out of his wits, Qingyou remained docilely plastered onto the ground.

“Hmph!” Shennong waved his hand and wrapped an enormous surge of power around the group, taking them with him as he pushed off in a giant leap.

……

“I do not accept this!” Qingyou stared stubbornly at his chief. “Why can an outsider be our chief?!”

“I don’t accept this either!”

“Me too!”

Much of the tribe were gathered here in protest. Their reactions wouldn’t have been so pronounced if Shennong had wanted his younger brother to be the next chief, but the people had gotten to the bottom of this ‘Lie Shan’ during this time.

According to the former Ning villagers, this boy was a random wild thing they’d found in the woods! His background was completely unknown, to say nothing of being from the Yan bloodline!

Shennong trembled from anger. If it wasn’t for a few elders and the tribe priest holding him back, he would’ve already executed the troublemakers from earlier.

“Chief, I too think this matter requires more deliberation,” said the tribe priest. He was the most revered figure in the tribe after the chief, and the representative of the tribute spirit at the same time.

Qingyou’s eyes lit up when he saw the priest raise an objection as well. Even the chief couldn’t go against the priest when it came to many things.

“The chief of the Yan Tribe is the pillar and guardian of our people. How can we give that position to an unknown outsider?” The priest took a look at Jiang Ti.

The old village chief remained silent at a time like this. It wasn’t his place to speak. He’d been away for several decades, so his prestige in the tribe was long gone.

“i admit that Lie Shan has done a deed as great as the heavens for the tribe, and all of humanity, in identifying a hundred plants. But… we must still properly investigate his origins.” The priest’s tone softened when he met Shennong’s eyes. He too knew that Lie Shan’s contributions were too enormous for humanity. The tribute spirit could heal wounds and cure sickness, it could bring someone back from the dead and revive the injured, but there was only one of it. Only in providing for themselves was there a way forward for humans.

“Ai…” Shennong sighed. “I was hesitant too, but fully made up my mind when I saw Lie Shan just now. Tribe uncle, do you remember Holy Emperor Fuxi?”

“Fuxi??” The tribe priest—Shennong’s tribe uncle—gasped.

Fuxi wasn’t human, he was the son of the two connate gods—Leize and Huaxu—and an incredibly famous god beneath the heavens. He and Wahuang had protected humans in the darkest of times, saving them from floods and beasts, and defeating the connate demon gods that fed on humans.

The priests of the various human tribes first worshipped Heavenly Sovereign Fuxi, then worshipped Earthly Sovereign Wahuang, before finally worshipping the tribe’s tribute spirit.

“Do you mean that the young man has something to do with the holy emperor?” the priest shook his head.

“Yes, he has something to do with Holy Emperor Fuxi!” Shennong affirmed solemnly. “Though Fuxi isn’t human, he’s been protecting us all along. He takes in our race’s experts and has built a human sacred land. Those in there are our last hope, the holy clan of humanity!”

“Um…” The tribe looked at each other, finding this too much to believe.

“There’s a marvelous power around Lie Shan that protects him from outside disturbance! I once went to the sacred land to pay my respects to Holy Emperor Fuxi and witnessed the same power there!” Shennong delivered in ringing tones, “So I’m very certain that Lie Shan is from the holy clan!”

He’d just finished when a howl rang forth—Lu Yun had officially set foot into golden core realm.