This Human Immortal Is Too Serious-Chapter 337 - 335: Why So Few? [5000-word - ]

The gentle breeze accompanied the bright moon; a solitary figure, his shadow, and the moon made three.

While discussions about the affair between the Queen Mother of the West and Wu Wangzi buzzed everywhere, Wu Wang's figure gradually solidified from transparency in a cool pavilion within the Annihilation Sect's residence.

He stood quietly there, unsure why.

Inside the cave dwelling, several women he was most familiar with gathered to drink tea and chat, the atmosphere rather peaceful.

Throughout the Sect, one could still overhear the hushed whispers of cultivators, all discussing matters concerning the ancient and divine Queen Mother of the West.

The Human Domain held a favorable impression of the Queen Mother of the West, and its cultivators wouldn't use vulgar language to discuss her. At most, they would cluck their tongues or chuckle softly, leaving much unsaid.

The Queen Mother of the West, the great Goddess Nuwa, the Sun Goddess Xihe, the Moon Mother Chang Xi…

In the Great Wilderness, images of these goddesses constantly flitted through Wu Wang's mind. Aside from Goddess Nuwa, whom he had only seen from behind in ancient texts, he had a concrete image of the others.

Wu Wang felt somewhat… perplexed.

He tried to distinguish the boundaries between myths and Blue Star, yet couldn't help but ponder the connection between the Great Wilderness and Blue Star.

He had piloted a spaceship through a wormhole and, in the darkness, had seen a faint light again, becoming the Young Master of the Bear Hug Tribe in the Northern Wilderness.

If all of this was destined, then the initiator should be that Zhong, the very one he himself had forged.

If everything started with his arrival, if everything must inevitably lead to a predetermined conclusion… isn't this destiny?

Wu Wang didn't believe in destiny, but he was convinced by the logic behind cause and effect.

What truly left Wu Wang bewildered was that ultimate question about the Great Wilderness—the one that drove the Third God King mad and made the 'perfect order creators' of the first divine era recoil.

The memories of the Star God once again surfaced in his heart.

Wu Wang felt as if he were trapped on a lonely island.

Even if this lonely island was majestic, so vast that ordinary people and even Immortals could hardly explore its entirety, it was still a lonely island…

What was the significance of the void enveloping the Great Wilderness?

Where did this world come from, and where was it going?

In the mists of ancient times, who was it that first imparted the Dao?

Wu Wang's eyes were filled with confusion, but he knew that the questions he was currently pondering held no practical significance for the present.

Yet he couldn't stop his Divine Thought and Immortal Consciousness from wanting to follow the night wind, chasing the echoes of those figures from ages long past…

"What's wrong?"

A light and graceful voice suddenly sounded. Wu Wang turned to see Jingwei, who had changed into a blue and white striped short skirt, and he chuckled softly.

She resembled a songbird, colorful threads winding around her jade arms and ankles. Beneath her naturally flawless eyebrows, those small, round eyes perpetually sparkled with light.

Jingwei, her wooden clogs clattering, walked over to the pillar beside Wu Wang. As if afraid he might suddenly pounce, she hid half of her small frame behind it and asked softly, "Have you encountered some trouble? If you feel troubled, you can discuss it with me."

"The trouble has been temporarily resolved by Senior Queen Mother of the West," Wu Wang replied, a smile in his voice. He leaned casually against the pillar in the cool moonlight, closely observing her meticulously crafted hair accessory.

Lifting his hand, Wu Wang initially intended to pinch her cheek—that soft, yet not greasy, texture fascinated him—but inexplicably, he ended up lifting a lock of hair beside her cheek, his hand brushing her face.

Jingwei's cheeks grew warm, but she kept her gaze fixed upwards on Wu Wang.

If only she were a bit taller, she definitely would have brushed it back!

"Are you still happy here?" Wu Wang asked.

"Yes," Jingwei blinked. "But I always feel a bit uncomfortable when there are too many people around."

Wu Wang sighed. "In the coming days, I may be busier…"

"You go ahead and be busy. I'm quite happy with Sister Suqing and the others." A touch of disappointment inevitably showed in Jingwei's eyes, and she added softly, "I feel like, aside from filling the sea, I'm not very good at anything."

Wu Wang burst out laughing, genuinely amused by her.

She looked somewhat irritated, her lips puffing out slightly, but she just turned her head away, refusing to look at Wu Wang.

Wu Wang said warmly, "When you were in danger back then, you were just a child, and your remnant soul was trapped for tens of thousands of years. It's normal not to keep up with the current environment.

"You needn't worry about this, nor do you need to be concerned about anything else.

"If you find your days boring, you could try refining elixirs or crafting magical artifacts…"

"Can you answer a question for me?" Jingwei suddenly interjected, looking up at Wu Wang.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"When we first met, why, why did you… treat me like that…"

This question seemed rather embarrassing to Jingwei. She stammered, unable to continue, so she rephrased it: "I originally thought you were a libertine. But after being by your side for all these years, I've found you're not that kind of person at all. On the whole, you're actually quite decent."

"Well, I can't really explain it. I guess it just felt right," Wu Wang responded casually, though a flicker of doubt stirred in his heart.

Zhong?

He had waited for Senior Shen Nong on the isolated island for more than a year, observing Jingwei for that same period, constantly feeling an incessant urge to approach her.

If he truly wanted to understand the reason… well, that would be a long story. It would have to start from when he learned he was the Young Master of a tribe with very open customs. At the tender age of three, he was already looking forward to the uninhibited freedom that would follow his coming-of-age ceremony. However, by seven or eight, the mere touch of a girl would make him faint, leading to his strongest obsession becoming simply to hold a girl's hand…

Wu Wang looked at the jade-like beauty before him and remained silent for a long time.

Jingwei met his gaze, her eyes gradually shifting from apprehension to a steady calm, until only a gentle sparkle remained.

Unbeknownst to them, they had moved past the pillar. Wu Wang took a half step forward, his arms encircling her waist.

The moonlight was cool, the night breeze gentle, but the man and woman in the pavilion felt only warmth.

「...」

"TSK."

The next morning, Wu Wang awoke from his meditation. He cast his Immortal Consciousness towards Jingwei, who was cultivating quietly in the adjacent cave, and his mood inexplicably became very relaxed.

Last night... he had kissed her.

It was all about the atmosphere. When the moment felt right, he hadn't overthought it; he just leaned in.

Little Jingwei, startled, had dodged at first. Just when he thought he might have been too hasty, she had surprisingly tiptoed forward and nervously wrapped her arms around his neck.

If he hadn't sensed Immortal Consciousness probing nearby, who knows what might have happened last night!

Ah, he had been too hurried, too anxious.

The ultimate question, the Third God King, the old gods of Kunlun Ruins, Emperor Shun's gaze, the Candle Dragon's restlessness—so what? What did any of it matter?

This was the real driving force!

Suddenly filled with energy, Wu Wang leaped from his bed, leaving several afterimages. He sent a voice transmission to Lin Suqing, saying he had to go out on an urgent matter, and then quietly left the Annihilation Sect.

He seldom acted on his own.

One reason was that he was closely watched by the Heaven Palace, and previously, the Ten Evils Hall had been active in the Human Domain.

Another was that before his recent consecutive cultivation breakthroughs, his actual strength was still somewhat lacking; any 'crazed Transcendent' could have easily beaten him into severe injury.

With the various powers in the Human Domain having intertwined interests, and human nature inevitably harboring dark corners, Wu Wang had to be cautious.

But now…

He had become Transcendent!

Not only had he become Transcendent, but he had also assimilated the Star God's Great Dao. The Star God's divine body had completely become his avatar. After slaying more than a dozen lesser gods in the Western Wilderness, his Dao Body had fully achieved Demigod status.

In terms of Divine Power and divine body, he could already match the Main Gods of the Heaven Palace.

With such strength, coupled with Wu Wang's 'modest' status in the Human Domain, he could now go almost anywhere within it.

Wu Wang transformed into a gentle breeze and drifted towards Floating Jade City, the nearest large city to the Annihilation Sect and also the place where the sect had begun its rise.

Two new temples had been erected outside Floating Jade City, where mortals and cultivators formed long lines every day to offer incense and worship.

One temple, expansive and majestic, was dedicated to the former emperors, housing seated statues of Emperor Suiren and Emperor Fu Xi. A never-ending stream of incense smoke rose before its doors.

The other was, naturally, Fire Plume's Zhu Rong Temple.

Wrapped in Transformation Qi, Wu Wang assumed the form of a middle-aged Daoist and landed directly before the Zhu Rong Temple.

Immortal Soldiers guarded the temple gates, and the interior was decently arranged.

But after Wu Wang had walked halfway around the temple's interior, his brows gradually furrowed.

The belief power generated by burning incense and worship... why is it so little?

Wu Wang wandered about, standing before a large cauldron filled with burning incense sticks, observing carefully but failing to grasp the issue.

Hadn't the Heavenly Craft Pavilion claimed they had mastered the 'core technology' of gathering belief to form gods?

"Fellow Daoist!" a sudden call came from behind. "Why do you not pay homage here? This temple is dedicated to Lord Zhu Rong. Lord Zhu Rong exhausted his strength in a fierce battle against Innate Gods to protect the Human Domain—he is a hero without equal in our Human Domain!"

Instantly, numerous gazes converged on him.

Wu Wang turned and bowed repeatedly, hastily explaining that he had been distracted by curiosity and had forgotten the proper etiquette. He raised his hand, drawing three incense sticks from near the temple entrance, lit them at a nearby candelabrum, and bowed from a distance towards the divine statue in the main hall.

RUMBLE—

A sound like a heavy millstone grinding came from within the hall. The statue trembled a few times, and the stone platform beneath it rotated half a turn.

Outside the hall, mortals and cultivators gaped in amazement.

Wu Wang placed the three incense sticks into the edge of the great cauldron, cupped his hands towards everyone, and his figure transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, disappearing without a trace, leaving only the bewildered cultivators murmuring about the identity of the middle-aged Daoist.

「Moments later, in the rear hall of the great temple.」

Wu Wang sat atop a crossbeam, concealed by the circulating rhythm of the Yin-Yang Dao. He was at a loss, carefully pondering the Dao of Incense.

Although the Dao of Incense was a novel concept in the Great Wilderness, the principle was 'gathering belief to form a god'; only the method had been altered.

"When did you arrive, sir?" a familiar greeting suddenly came from the side.

Wu Wang turned his head, a somewhat serene smile appearing on his face.

Fire Plume.

She could only maintain a phantom image about three feet tall, seemingly fragile enough to be dispersed by the faintest breeze, yet her features, figure, and attire were indistinguishable from the Fire Plume of old.

This was the method of 'gathering belief to form a god.'

Wu Wang smiled and said, "I just arrived. I came to see how you're doing."

"Everything is well," Fire Plume sighed softly. "I just feel somewhat unworthy of all this."

"Why do you feel unworthy?" Wu Wang said earnestly, "You fought bravely against the Gold God, disregarding your own life. It is only natural and reasonable for the Human Domain to build temples and worship you."

"It's just... everyone fought like that." The phantom of Fire Plume flew before Wu Wang, speaking softly, "Those seniors who followed His Majesty through long years of campaigns deserve this honor even more."

"When they fought to their deaths, their Divine Thoughts were already consumed, and even the Dao of Fuel and Fire could not gather them," Wu Wang said. "You being able to walk this path is actually due to a coincidence."

"This?" Fire Plume's valiant brows furrowed tightly but soon relaxed. She was never one for excessive sentimentality, and hearing Wu Wang's words, the knot in her heart unraveled.

Fire Plume showed Wu Wang a slight smile and said, "Since His Majesty and you, Sir, have granted Fire Plume a second life, I will definitely not disappoint your expectations.

"Should the day come when I can leave these stone statues, I will once again storm the Heaven Palace and challenge the strong gods in battle!"

Wu Wang gave a serious bow, praised Fire Plume briefly, and then inquired about her 'sensations' during this period.

Fire Plume knew the gravity of the matter and spared no details. She recounted everything, from when she first faintly heard clamorous voices to the recent changes where she felt as if 'her body was returning.'

Wu Wang sat on the crossbeam, nodding continuously, occasionally interjecting with more questions, seeking the reason why the power of incense was not as strong as expected.

Overall, the idea of 'gathering belief to form a god' was correct; Fire Plume had already paved this path. The belief gathered within these statues and the Divine Power produced, though impure, was indeed genuine Divine Power.

"Strange," Wu Wang couldn't help but murmur to himself.

Fire Plume waited quietly beside him. Before long, she grew tired and was persuaded by Wu Wang to return to the statue.

Fire Plume didn't always confine her presence to the statue in this specific location; she could 'move at will' among the nearly thousand Zhu Rong statues erected throughout the Human Domain. She could sense through them and descend into any of them at will.

Having identified an issue, it was natural to seek a solution.

Wu Wang's heart, which had been surging with passion from the previous night's kiss, had now calmed.

He left the Zhu Rong Temple in Floating Jade City and headed to another nearby Zhu Rong Temple, observing carefully and pondering incessantly, searching for the reason why the power of incense was not as vigorous as expected.

Were the mortals and cultivators merely going through the motions when offering incense, their hearts insincere?

That might be part of it. But he had encountered several cultivators from the Imperial Guards offering incense, their eyes brimming with tears as they sighed endlessly, yet they only contributed... a tiny bit of belief power.

After searching for a long time, Wu Wang even discerned a few patterns.

First, the amount of belief power that mortals and cultivators could generate was comparable.

The amount of belief power produced during worship was unrelated to an individual's cultivation strength, the power of their Divine Soul, or whether they had condensed a Primordial Spirit.

Second, belief power was generated the instant people saw the statue. An image of her formed in their hearts, her deeds became known to them, and this elicited an emotional response.

At its core, belief power was also a form of consciousness power.

Third, individuals known for their idleness and misdeeds, and those praised by their neighbors as 'good people,' generated the same amount of belief power during worship.

Nevertheless, the amount was still far less than the belief power of the living beings Wu Wang had sensed in Central Mountain.

This left Wu Wang at his wits' end, and he spent two consecutive days investigating various locations in the Human Domain.

Finally, Wu Wang decided not to get bogged down in it alone. He sent out a few Jade Talismans, and a large contingent of experts from the Human Emperor Pavilion and the Heavenly Craft Pavilion immediately arrived to meet him.

They met at a Zhu Rong Temple near the Human Emperor Pavilion.

After a few polite greetings, Wu Wang cut to the chase, asking how the Heavenly Craft Pavilion's arrangements for the 'gathering belief to form gods' project were progressing.

"Everything is going smoothly, my lord," the old Vice Pavilion Master, who had a goatee and a somewhat gaunt appearance, asked with slight confusion,

"Following your guidance, the Heavenly Craft Pavilion mobilized a large number of craftsmen. Working day and night, rushing to meet the deadline, we finally assisted Commander Fire Plume in taking that crucial step.

"Our efforts in 'gathering belief to form a god' have achieved excellent results, and His Majesty even issued a decree commending our Heavenly Craft Pavilion.

"This... My lord, is there something amiss with Commander Fire Plume?"

Wu Wang pondered for a few moments but did not answer directly.

He was surrounded by elderly men. Judging from their expressions, mannerisms, and the confident tone of the Vice Pavilion Master's earlier response, it was clear they hadn't noticed the problem of insufficient belief power being generated.

After all, for the Human Domain, every attempt to empower gods through collective belief since Emperor Suiren had ended in failure.

The success of this attempt truly excited them, as they felt they had gained another means to contend with the Heaven Palace.

Wu Wang asked, "Have any of you observed the living beings in Central Mountain?"

Most of the elders shook their heads.

A tall, lean official from the Heavenly Craft Pavilion with white temples stepped forward, performed a Daoist salute to Wu Wang, and asked, "My lord, do you feel that the belief power we've gathered is too little?"

"Correct." Wu Wang's eyes lit up. "And how should I address you, sir?"

"You honor me too much," the man replied with a bow. "I am Li Queyue, currently serving as an official in the Heavenly Craft Pavilion."

"Have you observed Central Mountain?"

Li Queyue offered a somewhat reserved smile. "Previously, to prepare for constructing Commander Fire Plume's temple, I covertly lurked in the Eastern Wilderness and the Southeastern Region to observe how those tribes conduct their worship.

"But, my lord, I feel the two situations are not comparable.

"The Hundred Races are indoctrinated from a very young age with the concept that gods are the origin of everything; they genuinely believe in their gods. We, on the other hand, are merely memorializing those who have passed away.

"It's only natural that the belief power generated in these two cases would differ."

Wu Wang countered, "But the difference shouldn't be this vast. It's only about one-tenth of what it should be."

"That," Li Queyue appeared embarrassed, performing another Daoist salute and sighing, "is a matter beyond the ingenious arts of the Heavenly Craft Pavilion to resolve."

Wu Wang smiled. "Official Li, your ability to see the crux of the problem is already quite remarkable… As for the other esteemed officials of the Heavenly Craft Pavilion…"

The old Vice Pavilion Master quickly interjected, "Rest assured, my lord. He will be generously rewarded."

"Hmm," Wu Wang smiled and glanced at the bustling Zhu Rong Temple nearby. "Let's go to the Human Emperor Pavilion to discuss this; the crowd here is getting bigger."

Everyone agreed and ascended into the clouds one after another.

Wu Wang was about to transform into a breeze and depart, but the tangled thoughts in his mind had not yet been unraveled.

Brother Yun Zhongjun seems to have disappeared. He must be off making some clandestine arrangements.

I've become somewhat reliant on him, Wu Wang admonished himself internally as his figure transformed into wind and glided away.

Suddenly!

Wu Wang, who had been swiftly departing, reappeared more than ten miles away, his head snapping back to stare intently at the Zhu Rong Temple.

Inside the temple's main hall, on a prayer mat before the deity statue… a child with horn-like pigtails knelt solemnly, hands pressed together, her small face etched with anxiety. Wu Wang directly heard her heartfelt plea:

Oh, Great Lord Zhu Rong, please let my mother's illness be cured quickly.

Then, a substantial amount of belief power, almost tangible, gathered before her, floated towards the statue, and entered it.

Deep within Wu Wang's mind, it was as if a great door was slowly pushed ajar, and from the opening burst forth a thousand dazzling rays of light.

"Attendants!"

Ahead in the clouds, figures rapidly flew towards him.

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Then… in the name of Zhu Rong, distribute elixirs within a radius of several hundred miles to eradicate the diseases of the mortals in this area."

The experts from the Heavenly Craft Pavilion and the Human Emperor Pavilion were perplexed.

But Wu Wang had given the command, so they simply bowed in acknowledgment, then immediately summoned Immortal Soldiers and set about the task.

Wu Wang clenched his fist slightly.

He had found the root of the problem.