The Spiritual Attainment of Minghe

Of course, Musen realized he had greatly offended Haotian this time, but he did not care. As the Human Tribe grew stronger, all living beings of Untainted Land would estimate their strength using the humans outside the Coast of the East Sea as their yardstick. Some tribes had long itched for taking action against them. If this went on any further, the Human Tribe would suffer turbulences and history would repeat itself.

To send shockwaves throughout the Untainted Land, Musen must first set an example to deter the rest. This time, he had selected the Dragon Tribe as that example. He did not expect Haotian to show up to protect this example. If Musen agreed to this, the prestige of Human Tribe would be tarnished. That would invite many troubles.

Since he could not agree with Haotian, he might as well offend him. Since he was going to offend him, he might as well go all out. His initial plan was to kill the dragons to deter those who wanted to cause trouble for the Human Tribe. Now he had changed his mind. He wanted to fight both Haotian and the Dragon Tribe. This was to teach all living beings of Untainted Land that Human Tribe was no weaker than any other tribe, they simply preferred to stay low profile. If someone offended them, they would not be afraid to fight regardless of what backing the enemy had.

Inside his chariots, Haotian’s face was dark with rage. Musen noticed this and said coldly, "Haotian, it seems like you’re really obsessed with power. This is a strength-oriented world. It’s true you deserve praise for reaching the late stage of Sage-to-be only after governing the Heavenly Court for thousands of years, but you’re still too weak. If you want to fight me, I accept your invitation."

Musen’s vital force changed at once after uttering the word ’fight’. That display of strength earlier was just a glimpse of his vital force of Fate Reading Peak Stage (Peak Level of Sage-to-be) in the last stroke. His vital force burst completely, turning the Heaven and Earth dark and violent and causing all nearby animals to flee.

Musen’s aura was endlessly domineering. Unlike that the domineering air of a king, his was one that carried the fearless spirit of Martial Arts. The vital force gathering above his head formed a shadow in the shape of the character Wu. It was the first time all living beings of Untainted Land and even all Sages had ever seen the character Musen acquired when he laid down Martial Arts. The word may be simple but it contained profound vital force. Once a person looked at it, he would endlessly think about it.

Haotian’s expression became graver after seeing Musen’s powerful vital force. He was now caught between a rock and a hard place. If he was defeated today, he and his Heavenly Court would be greatly shamed. But if he was to retreat, they would be looked down by all living beings of Untainted Land. Haotian could not bring himself to decide and began regretting his decision to meddle in this affair.

Just then, a Thunder Tribulation appeared in the Heavenly Court and shocked the Untainted Land. Why did it occur in the Heavenly Court? Did something serious happen there? "Jade Emperor, please return soon," said Yaochi. His voice from the Heaven further verified the suspicion of all living beings of Untainted Land.

Haotian’s mind became calm when he heard Yaochi’s voice. A smile appeared on his face but soon disappeared. He told Musen coldly, "Something is going on in the Heavenly Court today. I will return to fight you another day. Please excuse me." When he was done talking, his chariots transformed into a light that flew to the Heavenly Court.

Haotian knew the Thunder Tribulation was the transformation of his younger sister, Yaoji. Now that Yaochi had created an opportunity for him to leave, he would naturally grasp it. Although his dignity was dishonored, there was no better way for him to retreat. There were numerous forbidden formations in the Heavenly Court, especially the Yaochi, which outsiders could not explore. Except the Sages, all living beings of Untainted Land would simply think something serious had happened in the Heavenly Court.

Haotian’s departure placed Dragon King of the Four Seas at a loss. Musen turned to the Dragon King of the Four Seas and said emotionlessly, "Ao Guang, I’ll ask you for the last time. Will you hand them over?" Musen’s words were full of malice. If Dragon King of the Four Seas said no, it seemed as if he would order his army to slaughter their entire tribe.

Through gritted teeth, Ao Guang replied, "We’ll hand them over." The situation was far more important than the lives of the dragons that offended the Human Tribe. Aoguang knew they could not amend the desperate situation as even Haotian could not protect them. They could not sacrifice their entire tribe to fight Musen.

Thousands of dragons sobbed bitterly as they were handed over to the Human Tribe army. Four Ancestors of Humanity did not bother staying any longer. They immediately returned with their army, marching the prisoners toward the Coast of the East Sea. There they would call a meeting of all heads of each tribe in the Human Tribe. They would execute the evil dragons in public to demonstrate their strength to all living beings of Untainted Land.

Musen knew his actions this time were too high-profile, but this was the only way for him to hold Untainted Land in awe. If such things continued to happen, the Human Tribe would not live in peace and their prestige would suffer. They would publicly behead the dragons and build a Dragon Cutting Platform using their bodies. That way, it could deter lawless creatures and remind them it could be their head on the platform if they dare seek trouble with the Human Tribe.

Since Musen had made such a step, he decided to be more thorough. Over the next few months, he ordered the tens of thousands of Cultivators and Demons who caused trouble for their tribe to be captured and executed publicly. He used their spilled blood to deliver a warning to the treacherous creatures of the Untainted Land. Ever since then, no one dared to bully the humans any longer. The Holy Land of Human Tribe was like a sharp sword hanging above their heads, ready to fall at any time.

Even the disciples of the Sages restrained themselves. Musen’s actions this time had highlighted a truism to them: only the strong would be respected. Musen even paid no attention to Haotian. Considering the resoluteness of Martial Ancestors of the Human Tribe, not even the Sages could protect them if they cause trouble.

The only reason the three religions were spreading their doctrines was to gain the Luck of the Human Tribe. If the tribe wanted to kill them for their mistakes, what should the Sages do? This was troubling not only for Haotian but for the Sages as well.

...

Laozi, atop Mount Shouyang, appeared gloomy. It was Musen who had weakened the position of the Tribe of Humanity among the Human Tribe and forced his disciples to preach down the mountain to seize Luck. Though Musen had only embarrassed the Heavenly Court, Laozi realized Musen held no fear of the Sages as well. If any of the Sages’ disciples dare harass the Human Tribe, their ending would be the same. Such a strong-minded governor of the Human Tribe would no doubt spell disaster for the Sages.

However, with Musen’s identity as the Martial Ancestor of the Human Tribe, great Merits, as well as his Peak Level of Sage-to-be cultivation, no one could rival Musen but the Sages. But none of the Sages were willing to bear the consequences of removing Musen. That was the trickiest problem.

...

On Mount Kunlun, Honoured Lord of the Origin was gloating over Haotian’s failure. He was far happier than he was nervous about Musen. It had not been easy for Haotian to conquer the Dragon Tribe and rejuvenate the fame of the Heavenly Court. With this little show, he was forced back to square one. No, it was even worse than square one. He truly dug his own grave this time.

···

Over in the Jadeite Palace, Tongtian was uninterested in Haotian. Rather he was intrigued when he saw Musen’s force and said, "I really didn’t underestimate you back then, Ancestor of Martial Arts. When you step on the path of the Origin, I must meet you properly." Underlying his words was a sharp fighting desire.

···

On the Holy Mountain of the West, Zhunti worriedly asked, "Brother, the Human Tribe has their Holy Land. I fear they will obstruct our future plans. I worry particularly about the fearless Martial Ancestors of the Human Tribe, Musen. It was him who weakened the rights of the Sages among the Human Tribe. Now his cultivation has reached the Peak Level of Sage-to-be. What’s worse, it seems he achieved this by comprehending the Law of Martial Arts rather than through beheading Three Separations. Further, it won’t be long before he reaches the Origin with his 30 percent of the Human Tribe’s Luck. When that time comes, he’ll be the second Minghe. What should we do?"

Jieyin answered calmly, "The Four Ancestors of Humanity established the Sacred Land of Spiritual Inheritance to maintain the sustainable inheritance of the Human Tribe. They won’t take action unless there’s anything serious. Moreover, it has nothing to do with us as they’re in the East. We just need to manage the West well and wait for the opportunity to act."

···

Haotian sat in the Jasper Lake with a grave look and deep hatred in his heart. He deeply regretted that the hard-earned prestige of the Heavenly Court would greatly fall due to this incident. Thousands of years of efforts were all in vain, owing to the Holy Land of Human Tribe and the Four Ancestors of Humanity.

Seeing this, Yaochi said, "Haotian, the Ancestor of Martial Arts of the Human Tribe is right. Only the strongest can be respected in the Untainted Land. Since we begin governing the Heavenly Court, we have really been developing smoothly. I’m afraid the lack of interference of the Sages isn’t because that they fear the Honourable Ancestor. They have simply disregarded us, and that’s why they never cause trouble for us."

Haotian’s expression darkened even further. It was strength. The root cause of everything was his lack of strength. If he was a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of Origin like Minghe, both the Sages and the Human Tribe would not humiliate him in such way. If he could not achieve the Origin, he was nothing but a nonentity.