This Human Immortal Is Too Serious-Chapter 361 - 359: Startling the Earth God
Indeed, once Head Manager was out of the way, Wu Wang's plan unfolded incredibly smoothly. For this God of Death, Heaven Palace truly went all out. The Young Master severed her old body with a sword. Earth God initiated the way to protect Divine Souls. Nu Chou set up the realm of life and death, and Feng Chun willingly became a guide. Beyond that, Emperor Shun intervened to arrange the flow of time within the Illusionary Realm of life and death, making a hundred years inside pass as just a hundred days outside. This was truly what it meant for days to pass like years.
The Divine Pool of Heaven Palace provided an endless supply of Divine Power to this place. Those remnants of souls selected by Nu Chou and thrown into the Illusionary Realm received nourishment from this Divine Power. Though the Six Paths of Reincarnation was not yet a concept discussed between Heaven and Earth, they too had the chance to be reborn as living beings.
Wu Wang also took the opportunity to scoop up some Divine Power, regaining the Divine Power he had spent on the God of Death and profiting handsomely from it. Earth God turned a blind eye to this, not saying much at all.
As the 'mastermind' behind the entire plan, Wu Wang was naturally quite busy. Concerned that the Young Master might not understand many details, he needed to be by her side at all times, explaining everything to her in detail. And while explaining, being a little witty in his language, a bit more satirical and humorous, served well to educate while entertaining. This was only reasonable and beyond reproach. In reality, this meant he delegated the tasks, acted as an overseer, and occasionally amused the Young Master to keep her happy.
The Illusionary Realm was set up above the Hall of Death. From the outside, it appeared as a cluster of dense golden clouds, yet it contained an almost boundless world within. Wu Wang's plan, of course, did not require such a vast territory.
Those souls who had died unjustly, chosen by Nu Chou to be sent here, gathered with the false souls created by the Young Master's Divine Skills to form a village. They spent three years in the Illusionary Realm, which equated to three days in the outside world.
Once the village within the Illusionary Realm began to stabilize, and these souls started to forget their original memories and accept the new identities Wu Wang had set for them, the whole plan finally, officially, began.
At noon that day, outside the Illusionary Realm, Wu Wang, the Young Master, and Earth God were each seated in meditation. Nu Chou stood at the forefront, holding a Crystal Ball and murmuring continuously, chanting ancient Divine Literature. On the outskirts, tens of thousands of Divine Guards were stationed, preventing any Divine Spirits or living beings from approaching. Xihe's chariot even appeared high in the sky, with Xihe herself appearing to act as their protector.
With everything ready, Wu Wang still bowed his head in thought for a moment. Overall, there seemed to be no major problems left.
He gestured to Nu Chou, who immediately lifted the Crystal Ball high. Her flowing hair fluttered wildly, and her voice became incredibly resonant.
The ancient shamanic ritual, the dance of Nu Chou.
From within the Crystal Ball, a grey light burst forth, shooting towards the golden clouds.
Wu Wang let out a soft shout. A phantom of himself appeared above his head, resembling his Primordial Spirit leaving his body. In reality, it was a wisp of Divine Soul condensed from his Divine Thought, which pursued the golden clouds and entered them. Nu Chou, Earth God, and the Young Master also manifested a wisp of their Divine Souls, following closely behind Wu Wang and entering the golden clouds.
Silence immediately fell outside the Illusionary Realm. Gazes from all over Heaven Palace sought to infer what was happening inside from the changes in the golden clouds. And the true powerhouses, like Emperor Shun, Xihe, Head Manager, and other gods, were already seated in various locations, observing the situation within the Illusionary Realm.
「Within the Illusionary Realm.」
As a 'new life' was born with a cry within that tranquil village, all the 'stories' and 'plots' began to revolve around her.
But Wu Wang had, after all, miscalculated. He truly had not expected that watching the God of Death grow up from an infant, day by day within the Illusionary Realm, could be so utterly boring. Yet he couldn't leave; he had to continuously monitor the environmental changes around the God of Death to prevent any accident that might undo all his efforts.
Because of the huge difference in the flow of time inside and outside the Illusionary Realm—a hundred years inside was just a little over three months outside—if Wu Wang were to stroll out whenever he pleased, wouldn't he become the laughingstock of the gods in Heaven Palace for his lack of perseverance?
Therefore, after spending several months in the Illusionary Realm and watching the infant God of Death grow bit by bit, Wu Wang finally couldn't resist extending his mischievous claws toward the three Divine Spirits accompanying him.
"Everyone." Above the white clouds, Wu Wang turned to the three figures sitting quietly beside him. After fumbling in his sleeve, he used Divine Thought to create a chessboard. "How about we play some chess while we wait for her to grow up at a leisurely pace?"
"We can't relax," the Young Master said softly. "It's better to keep a close watch."
"Young Master," Nu Chou said with a smile from the side, "I can keep watch."
Earth God laughed and said, "It's fine. I find the setup here quite interesting; decades pass like the blink of an eye.
"It's the God of Spring—young and promising, yet he lacks the experience of enduring long years. With little to do here, he is naturally prone to drowsiness.
"Young Master, perhaps you should spend more time with the God of Spring, so he doesn't find it boring."
Wu Wang looked at Earth God, a flicker of unease in his heart. Were he and Earth God truly on such good terms now? Or was Earth God simply trying not to offend anyone, using this as a gesture of goodwill to smooth over their past enmity?
Prompted by Earth God's remark, the Young Master looked at Wu Wang with concern and asked softly, "Do you find it boring here?"
"Somewhat," Wu Wang admitted with an embarrassed expression. "Ultimately, I lack steadfastness."
"Then just ask me to keep you company." The white cloud beneath the Young Master drifted over. She, who had been sitting in a lotus posture, naturally shifted to sitting with her legs together to one side, pulling a wisp of cloud to wrap around them. The Young Master smiled. "By that count, I'm much older than you, you know."
"Why should immortals count years? It's our mindset that matters." Wu Wang spread his hands and pushed the basket of chess pieces toward her. He smiled. "If chess gets boring, I have some other games I came up with back in the Northern Wilderness."
"New games?" The Young Master's eyes sparkled. "Now, whenever you say 'back in the Northern Wilderness,' I can't help but get my hopes up." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Wu Wang made the first move, smiling. "Don't worry, I won't disappoint you."
Inwardly, though, he felt a flutter of nerves, wondering if Innate Gods from Heaven Palace would enjoy the complex card games popular among mortals.
Above the clouds, laughter and light conversation drifted; below, smoke from cooking fires curled lazily upwards.
This Village was home to hundreds of 'people' living in a secluded paradise. Surrounded by mountains that blocked their view of the outside world, it was complete with ponds, streams, and waterfalls. The mountains teemed with delicious Spirit Beasts, so the dozen or so hunters in the Village were greatly admired by the children. Ample farmland surrounded the Village, and continuous good weather allowed the elders to brew delicious wine from surplus grain. After a day of labor or returning from a hunt, men and women would gather to drink wine and eat meat, joyfully discussing the tranquility of their lives here. This scenery, reminiscent of southern water towns, thus gained an added touch of the Northern Wilderness's rugged spirit.
When Wu Wang designed this Village, he naturally included a school and a schoolmaster. The schoolmaster, modeled after an elderly Ji Mo, was an illusory being—formed from the Young Master's Divine Skills. He would speak of the treacherous nature of the human world outside, clutching a chest of ancient books passed down through generations as if it were more precious than his own life. He was also the one the Village children feared most.
The infant God of Death grew up slowly in this environment. Her memories hadn't been lost; those painful experiences still clung to her. It was just that with three additional seals on the Dao of Death, the Resentment of Living Beings was blocked, making her feel quite at ease.
In the first few months, the infant's eyes were mostly vacant. Only when her 'father'—the gray-haired hunter—lifted her from her swaddling clothes and called her name gently would a flicker of life appear in her eyes.
"Xiao Ming? Xiao Ming? Daddy's here. How about a smile?"
Ming. It seemed to be a name someone had given her, but the image of that person had become very faint, almost entirely indiscernible.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed. The child who had lain in swaddling clothes could now walk and eat by herself, but she had never stepped out of her house. Even when carried outside, she would hide in her mother's or grandmother's back-basket, peeking at the world through the gaps in the bamboo strips. Gradually, nothing felt strange anymore, and the emptiness in her eyes began to be filled by the serene sights of the Village.
Above the clouds, Wu Wang, who had stood guard for two years, lay on a rocking chair, calculating his departure date. His Immortal Consciousness enveloped the infant that the God of Death had become. Not far away, Earth God, the Young Master, and Nu Chou were solemnly gripping playing cards. The Young Master's face already had three or four little turtles drawn on it, and Nu Chou's forehead was adorned with seven or eight paper strips. And on Earth God's honest, good-natured face, a confident, winning smile appeared once more.
Wu Wang, ultimately wanting to be responsible for the plan he had devised, had volunteered to stay and observe the God of Death's changes daily.
Seven sunrises and sunsets passed in the Great Wilderness.
「In the Illusionary Realm, seven years had hurried by.」
Ming entered the school this year, learning to read and recite texts along with more than twenty other children of various ages. She always sat in a corner and never spoke to anyone. The Village elders all said she was 'innately lacking' and probably 'not very bright.' But Ming's parents and grandmother knew that, in private, Ming had become very lively. She would swing in the courtyard under the setting sun, secretly strike various heroic poses with her father's bow and arrow, and sometimes use the red paper from her mother's dressing table to press faint prints onto her lips. Ming's appetite also grew by the day.
During the busy farming season, she would accompany her mother and grandmother to the fields, often finding a spot in the shade of the trees at the edge of the fields to take a pleasant nap. When spring arrived, Ming would chase butterflies. On glowing summer nights, she would catch fireflies, release them in her room, and drift off to beautiful dreams in their company.
All these changes, witnessed by the four divine beings and humans above the clouds, and by the various great gods in Heaven Palace, seemed mostly unbelievable.
One day, Earth God came to Wu Wang to inquire about this, his words filled with admiration and emotion. Wu Wang pondered for a long time but couldn't offer a detailed explanation, only saying, "This is the mutual influence between living beings. This Village may seem like a mere illusion conjured from a few hundred real souls, but in reality, its form, the words and actions of those souls, the scenery, the houses, the farming methods—all these have been slowly acquired by living beings over countless ages. It's akin to using the accumulated achievements of living beings over innumerable years to irrigate and nourish Ming's pale, vacant heart. That we've achieved such results isn't actually beyond my expectations."
Earth God's eyes were full of admiration. He gave Wu Wang a thumbs-up and said with a laugh, "God of Spring, I have truly witnessed your methods! And your understanding of living beings is indeed astonishing."
"Those were just some wild ideas of mine," Wu Wang said with a wave of his hand and a smile. "The first method I thought of was simply to place the God of Death in an ordinary Human race Village, let her deeply experience the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death among living beings, and thereby understand death. I didn't expect her true nature to be so... lively."
Earth God's lips didn't move, but a voice transmission entered Wu Wang's mind: The God of Spring must have had his own hidden agenda, right?
"Hmm?"
"A Human race Village." Earth God looked down towards the Village below the clouds and said slowly, "Allowing the God of Death to develop a closeness to the Human race was indeed a brilliant move. The God of Spring's calculations are so profound that one only realizes their full depth in hindsight. Truly, they are on an exceptionally high level."
Wu Wang was momentarily speechless. So there was this additional benefit! He had been careless; he hadn't even considered that before.
"God of Spring, are we just waiting for her to grow up now?"
"Yes," Wu Wang said. "When she's twelve or thirteen, we'll introduce the first hardship."
"Introduce a hardship?"
"Correct." Wu Wang continued slowly, "We are trying to cultivate her willpower. We can't let her become a delicate flower, unable to withstand wind and rain. Her grandmother's Lifespan is nearing its end. Letting her observe and experience the pain that comes with life, aging, sickness, and death is the most important purpose of our mission here."
Earth God frowned. "Now that the Dao of Death has been sealed by the combined efforts of the Star God, the Young Master, and myself, and the backlash has also been temporarily blocked, perhaps…"
"This place is, after all, the Illusory Land," Wu Wang said. "Besides, I will ensure all the souls find a proper end, and I will explain everything to her in detail, without any concealment. She is ultimately here to comprehend the Great Dao, not just to accumulate pleasant memories. No matter how many pleasant memories one has, they will eventually be worn away by time. Only by perceiving the true essence of her own Dao can she become the true God of Death."
"True essence?"
A subtle, abstruse Daoist aura suddenly emanated from Wu Wang. He lowered his head slightly, his face veiled in shadows. His calm eyes, like abysses, made Earth God instinctively recoil. When Wu Wang spoke, the profound Daoist undertones in his voice etched his words indelibly into Earth God's mind.
He said, "Eternal life from death, everlasting existence from destruction."
Earth God's expression remained composed. He gave Wu Wang a slight nod and turned to walk towards the distant clouds. The Young Master and Nu Chou had gone to rest among the rosy clouds at the horizon, leaving only Earth God and Wu Wang above the clouds.
Once he had put some distance between them, Earth God couldn't help but narrow his eyes, a divine light flickering within them. Wu Wang's demeanor and the Daoist aura he projected when he uttered those two lines replayed constantly in his mind.
Eternal life from death, everlasting existence from destruction.
Earth God glanced down at the Village on the land below, watching the God of Death, whose every move seemed to be controlled by Wu Wang. He recalled his several confrontations with the God of Spring…
Could it be…
He turned his head to look at Wu Wang's retreating figure, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
Rebirth of an ancient god?
Very likely.
