This Human Immortal Is Too Serious-Chapter 339 - 337 Wishing to Head to Heaven Palace

The plan was to fabricate mythology—a systematic set of myths designed to challenge the Hundred Races' worship of Innate Gods and sever the foundation of their Divine Power.

Wu Wang's logic successfully persuaded the eight Pavilion Masters present.

Even Feng Zhizi, who was originally most resistant to spreading myths in the Human Domain, eventually had his eyes shining, as if he had already envisioned a grand scene where thousands of false gods inundated the Heaven Palace.

However, Shen Nong clearly saw several problems with this plan. After the eight Pavilion Masters left, he kept Wu Wang behind alone.

The venerable elder said, "Let's go for a walk outside."

Wu Wang nodded in agreement. He thought they were about to walk out the door when Shen Nong grasped his arm, stepped forward, and in an instant, they were a hundred thousand miles away.

They arrived at a beach by the East Sea.

Wu Wang had almost forgotten that, besides his profound strength, the elder's mastery of the Dao of Heaven and Earth was incredibly deep. He was even stronger by a fair margin than Evil Gods like Ming She, who had been granted a pseudo-Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Shen Nong chuckled and sighed lightly, leaning on his walking stick. Clad in his burlap clothes, his vitality-depleted long hair strewn about, he walked slowly along the sandy beach.

Wu Wang removed his shoes and followed. The sea waves washed ashore, the edges of the surf lapping at their feet, cool and refreshing.

"What else do you have up your sleeve? Better take them out sooner rather than later, lest time grows tight as we move forward," Shen Nong said slowly.

"To concoct a mythology... what an absurd idea, yet it perfectly strikes at the Achilles' heel of the Heaven Palace."

"Right, Elder, this matter must be kept strictly confidential," Wu Wang said earnestly. "Whether it will succeed and what the effects will be depend on how long we can keep it from the Heaven Palace."

"Don't worry, none of those eight are rash individuals." Shen Nong smiled, then suddenly turned to look at Wu Wang, a glint in his eyes. "Have you considered the consequences of this matter?"

"Consequences?" Wu Wang pondered for a moment and mumbled, "The Heaven Palace and the Human Domain are already in a do-or-die struggle. At most, it'll just give them a bit more insomnia?"

"HAHAHA—COUGH." Shen Nong cleared his throat and said with a smile, "The consequences I'm talking about concern the condition of mortals."

"The condition of mortals?" Wu Wang was somewhat puzzled.

"Many people now feel that mortals are a drag on the Human Domain." Shen Nong sighed, then continued, "Whether the Human Domain truly belongs to the human race or to the cultivators has become a quite serious dispute. As you said, the Human Domain has already been divided into upper and lower strata.

"On the upper level are the cultivators: soaring freely, living carefree lives, with lengthy lifespans.

"On the lower level are the mortals: they do not practice the art of abstaining from grains, so they suffer from various illnesses and misfortunes. Their few hundred years pass in a hurry; before they can recover from the sorrow of losing loved ones, they must face their own aging.

"But Wuwang, we can't just abandon these mortals. The method of cultivation requires certain physical constitutions; some people are born unable to cultivate, while some are born able to absorb Primordial Spiritual Qi on their own. This is already a great injustice.

"If we then deliberately separate and differentiate them, it is tantamount to abandoning them. That is the biggest problem with your plan. By binding mortals with God Worship, while cultivators become aware of the true nature of the Divine Spirits, the two groups will grow increasingly distant from each other."

"Not necessarily so." Wu Wang gazed at Shen Nong and said gently, "Elder, your heart is benevolent and your considerations thorough, yet perhaps a little conservative."

"Oh?"

"Elder, you should know how many mortals there currently are in the Human Domain... their number is about ten to twelve times that of the cultivators," Wu Wang said.

"That's true. Speak your mind; don't be too reserved," Shen Nong laughed. "I can only guard this Human Domain for another eight or nine hundred years. If you can convince me, prove more sagacious than I, I'll be laughing out loud even in my coffin."

Wu Wang was momentarily speechless. This sudden sense of déja vu felt somewhat unsettling.

He said seriously, "Elder, mortals and cultivators are inherently different."

Shen Nong frowned slightly. "I don't like the sound of that. Why are they different?"

"It's precisely because of whether or not one can cultivate," Wu Wang sighed.

"I know you don't want to differentiate everyone, but a fundamental divide has already emerged between mortals and cultivators.

"We are still one family; that will never change.

"The problem is, in the present Human Domain, we can't hear the voices of mortals."

"Oh?" Shen Nong said with a serious tone. "What do you mean by that? Has the Human Emperor Pavilion been neglecting the affairs of mortals?"

"Neglect is definitely not something they would dare to do." Wu Wang smiled calmly; it was rather decent of him not to take a jab at Liu Baiyi.

He continued, "While the needs of mortals and the needs of cultivators aren't fundamentally different, the outcomes have already diverged.

"Everyone is progressively pursuing survival, safety, emotional fulfillment, respect, and status.

"But what mortals need for survival is food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, while what cultivators need for survival is Spiritual Energy and Spirit Stones. They have long been different.

"I actually lean towards classifying mortals and cultivators as distinct equals, reducing interaction between them.

"We only need to adhere to three principles—

"First, the life of a mortal is as important as the life of a cultivator.

"Second, every mortal, during their youth and before adulthood, can receive at least three aptitude assessments for cultivation.

"Third, any cultivator who kills a mortal shall be hunted down and killed by the entire human race.

"This would not only leave mortals with an opportunity to cultivate but also establish an order that makes mortals feel respected, and give cultivators a sense of mission and satisfaction."

"Satisfaction?"

"Performing chivalrous deeds, being praised by mortals," Wu Wang laughed. "Most cultivators buy into this, especially the older ones."

Shen Nong's face darkened.

"I'm certainly not referring to you, Elder," Wu Wang explained weakly, quickly pulling the topic back. "Moreover, the separate governance for cultivators and mortals is already an inexorable trend."

"Enough," Shen Nong waved his hand and said with a smile. "I can't out-argue you."

Wu Wang laughed. "It's all just a matter of reasoning, isn't it?"

"It's just that I'm worried," Shen Nong stopped walking, gazing at the calm sea, and said slowly. "Entrusting all this to the character and conscience of future Human Emperors is ultimately unreliable. What if a foolish or incompetent one comes along? What then?"

"Regarding that, Elder, one can only say you're looking too far ahead."

"Not far. It's right before us," Shen Nong murmured.

"They say that when living beings grow old, they can occasionally see glimpses of the future. Lately, this old skeleton of mine increasingly feels that the heavens are about to change.

"The dark turmoil of the Human Domain will likely never occur again.

"At that time, how will the position of Human Emperor be determined?

"The selfish desires of the human heart can expand without limit. The reason I didn't give the Yan Emperor's Order to the Lin Family was because of Lin Nuhao's ambition.

"Without the pressure from the Heaven Palace, he would inevitably cause turmoil in the Human Domain."

From the side, Wu Wang sighed softly. "Lin Qi is quite a promising young talent."

"That's for you to deal with." Shen Nong saw an isolated reef and stepped towards it. "The matter of fabricating myths—are you taking full responsibility?"

"No, I'll just offer some suggestions," Wu Wang said. "I might need to leave the Human Domain for a while."

"Where to?"

"The Heaven Palace." Wu Wang calmly uttered these two words.

Shen Nong slowly sat down on the reef and asked, puzzled, "What are you going to the Heaven Palace for?"

"To poach their talent," Wu Wang clicked his tongue and smiled. "I've decided to be a bit more adventurous, a bit bolder."

Shen Nong's eyes showed some confusion. "Aren't you... quite afraid of dying?"

Black lines crawled across Wu Wang's forehead as Shen Nong burst into hearty laughter.

Wu Wang retorted, "Am I not doing this for the sake of all living beings, for the world to be free from the Heaven Palace's rule sooner, willingly heading into danger and shedding my blood! PFFT, PFFT! Don't say such unlucky things. Emperor Shun intends to win over my mother and Grandpa; he wouldn't dare do anything to me.

"I see it clearly now. Emperor Shun isn't afraid of the Heaven and Earth Seal being broken. He doesn't care how many living beings die, or even how many Innate Gods under him perish.

"What Emperor Shun cares about is whether he can defeat Candle Dragon after the Heaven and Earth Seal is broken.

"From the current situation, Emperor Shun's Divine Faction has many internal problems; his victory isn't guaranteed.

"But if he wins over my mother, bringing the Ice God and Water God to the Heaven Palace's side... Candle Dragon might not even dare to return."

Shen Nong stroked his beard, humming softly, then laughed and said, "When you put it that way, it does seem quite reasonable."

A faint shock passed through Wu Wang's heart; he had thought the elder would surely have seen through this point long ago.

"Elder, regarding the fabrication of myths, I hope you can personally oversee it, or at least maintain strict quality control."

"This is your initiative; I don't have many ideas for it."

"That's simple," Wu Wang said, casually pulling over a tree stump and placing it next to the reef. He rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs and sat down nonchalantly.

He smiled and continued, "I will write a simple outline, though it would be fine if I just recited it to you. Let's start with god-making. God-making is all about three things—elevating status, performing miracles, and finding good shills.

"Elevating status is the simplest. For example, Fire Plume—we could say that she is the reincarnation of some Divine Spirit who came to the Human Domain to relieve suffering. We could even say that this is one of her millions, no, billions of reincarnations, all to save the world.

"Since it can't be verified, just inflate it as much as possible; there's no need to be afraid of overdoing it."

Shen Nong nodded slowly, smiling as he said, "Elevate status, noted. Performing miracles is simple enough. But what do you mean by 'finding good shills'?"

"Spreading the faith... BLECH! Just the term makes me sick." Wu Wang curled his lip and muttered, "To be honest with you, Elder, I'm somewhat nervous myself, constantly reminding myself—we are doing this to contend with the Heaven Palace, to protect our kin, not to reap the faith power of all beings.

"But I also know that once this precedent is set, it's like unleashing a torrent of savage beasts.

"However, since I dared to let the tiger out of its cage, I'm not afraid of it getting out of control."

Shen Nong looked at Wu Wang with complex eyes and asked, "I really want to know, where does your confidence come from?"

Besides, I have Zhong.

Wu Wang could only say, "It's a death sentence whether I stick my neck out or shrink back, so I might as well calm down and confront them directly."

"Tell me about finding shills."

"Alright, 'finding a shill' means finding someone to corroborate the story. For instance, we claim that a certain god is incredibly great and powerful, but the miracles are limited to saving people and curing illnesses. Then we find some collaborators to say they have personally witnessed such and such. When enough people repeat it—'three men make a tiger'—naturally, others will believe."

Shen Nong pondered carefully before asking, "Then, what if a genuine Innate God from the Heaven Palace comes and exposes this god as a fake?"

"First, give them a good beating; that's very necessary—it's about giving the believers a sense of security," Wu Wang said earnestly. "Knock the Innate God down, then laugh loudly... 'HAHAHAHAHA, your vision is too narrow! You think that being born from the Great Dao makes you superior, yet you have no idea that this world is all an illusion!'

"At this point, we can introduce the 'setting.'"

"Setting?"

"For instance, that this world exists within the Dream Realm of a supreme Divine Spirit. Or, there are three thousand worlds, and this world is but one of them; our gods and higher gods are the rulers of these three thousand worlds. You strut around as tyrants in one world and look down on our gods—this is extremely naive." Wu Wang spread his hands.

"Just blow it up big! Anyway, few people in the Great Wilderness know the truth about the world. God-making is all about talking big!"

"You! HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!" Shen Nong clapped his hands and laughed loudly. "Interesting, indeed interesting."

"I have a draft here for how to fabricate a complete Divine System," Wu Wang produced a scroll from his robes. "This outlines some God position divisions."

Shen Nong slowly unrolled the scroll, revealing a series of squares, like memorial tablets.

The top box read 'Heavenly Emperor, Divine King,' with many blank squares below it.

Shen Nong frowned and said, "Isn't this empty?"

"This is for you to create, Elder," Wu Wang said with a smile. "I'm just suggesting a framework, a format."

Shen Nong cursed, "This really is just a framework—and nothing else!"

"Look, isn't there a couplet written at the very end?"

"What's this? 'Nine Heavens, Ten Earths, and Heavens Beyond Heavens; True Gods Reside in Three Thousand Worlds?'"

Wu Wang laughed a few times and whispered, "Elder, you can just make it up. Who knows, maybe one day what you come up with will actually become reality."

Shen Nong's eyes flickered.

Wu Wang, however, said no more and stared blankly at the sea for a while.

To be fair, he really wasn't just delegating everything like a carefree boss.

After all, he was not yet the grand manager of the Human Domain.

「」

The feeling of having delegated matters was truly comfortable.

Wu Wang stayed in the Human Emperor Pavilion for half a month, summoned daily by Shen Nong. The old man and the young man would huddle together, whispering mysteriously.

Apart from the eight Pavilion Masters, no one knew what significant undertaking they were plotting.

However, everyone knew that whatever had captured the attention of His Majesty and 'the man who was, with about ninety-eight percent certainty, going to be their next Human Emperor,' it had to be something major.

Fire Plume once again became the test subject for the Human Domain's new plan.

The Human Emperor Pavilion had already started looking for 'pilot cities'—large cities predominantly inhabited by mortals, of which there were already quite a few in the Human Domain.

But these things couldn't be done openly.

To keep it from the Heaven Palace, they had to keep it from everyone; spies from the Heaven Palace were certainly in the Human Domain.

This presented an immense, unseen challenge for Liu Baiyi and Feng Zhizi.

Luckily, both Pavilion Masters had their own methods. As for the specific implementation, neither Shen Nong nor Wu Wang would inquire.

Trying to manage every single detail personally would only lead to exhaustion and death.

After being thus preoccupied for half a month, Wu Wang saw that the plan's framework was generally in place and that Shen Nong was personally overseeing it. So, he found an excuse to slip back to the Annihilation Sect.

Shen Nong naturally wanted to keep this capable young man around.

But when Wu Wang said, "I need to go back and spend time with Jingwei," Shen Nong was left speechless.

True to his word, once Wu Wang returned to the Annihilation Sect, he forcefully pulled Jingwei away from her cultivation to chat and joke with her.

He had a premonition that news would soon arrive from his friend, Yun Zhongjun.

Whenever his friend mentioned setting something up, it usually took about half a month.

Wu Wang wanted to spend more time with Jingwei, fearing they would soon have to endure a long-distance separation.

The two went on an outing, staying in Floating Jade City for a few days. They hid in a small, unknown courtyard, spending their days playing the zither, cooking, practicing calligraphy, and in the evenings, they cooled off in the courtyard, stargazing and telling stories.

As time passed, even though Wu Wang didn't actively try to get closer, some physical intimacy was unavoidable.

However, as the Human Emperor's daughter, Jingwei always maintained a certain dignified reserve.

Wu Wang was in no rush either.

To have reached the stage of 'freedom to hold hands' was already enough to make his former self green with envy.

That noon, Wu Wang slowly woke from his nap in the rocking chair in the courtyard. Upon opening his eyes, he saw... the figure of Yun Zhongjun.

How am I dreaming? And of Brother Sleep God, no less.

Wu Wang yawned and slowly closed his eyes again.

"HEY!" Yun Zhongjun's large hand pressed down, forcibly prying open Wu Wang's eyelids. He cursed through gritted teeth, "While I'm running around everywhere, you're here enjoying a leisurely life with a beautiful companion!"

"Well, it's just that the capable ones work harder, isn't it?" Wu Wang chuckled. From the adjacent room, Jingwei approached, carrying tea.

"Thank you, Sister-in-law!" Yun Zhongjun said with a smile. He took the teacup, tilted his head back to take a large gulp, and then let out a comfortable sigh.

"I've arranged everything," he said. "It's up to you when you want to set off."

The Heaven Palace. It seemed he was indeed going.