CHAPTER 23: CHAPTER 22: CHIVES, OCTOPUS, DEMON REFINING

"The things we long for are right beside us?" Under the tea shed, he still didn’t understand.

Zhu Zhengwei just smiled.

A head of chives is growing above you all, it would be a pity not to harvest them.

However,

it’s normal for them not to know.

How could mortals possibly feel the qi?

They just think of it as ordinary weeds!

Yet those who can sense the qi are already practitioners.

But such people are mostly emperors or blood relatives of the three dynasties and won’t casually go out!

And in front of Hundred-Stone City, there is an aged tyrant, alas...

Zhu Zhengwei smiled, stood up, and prepared to leave,

a few travelers beside him showed fierce light in their eyes, with a rough aura, silently pressing their waist knives as they slowly stood up.

But the middle-aged traveler waved his hand and calmly said, "We don’t kill indiscriminately. He doesn’t intend to inform on us, I don’t see any changes in his emotions."

"But..."

"If he doesn’t even have that bit of courage, if he doesn’t believe in others, won’t he just be the next disbelieving slave hero?"

The guards around stepped down.

The middle-aged traveler suddenly spoke to Zhu Zhengwei’s back, "Who exactly are you, a skilled martial artist? Confident enough in your skills to venture here alone? Will you really not join me? This glorious enterprise, this land, is bound to change soon..."

Zhu Zhengwei shook his head, simply saying, "If we are destined, we will meet again."

"You haven’t told me your name, and I haven’t told you mine!" he suddenly laughed, "Otherwise, how will we meet again in this vast sea of people?"

Zhu Zhengwei merely said, "I hope that when I learn your name, it’s not from your mouth, but from the world."

"I will."

...

Zhu Zhengwei took a stroll around the city.

He found that the great desert city was in extreme disrepair, faintly revealing its past splendor.

Unfortunately, it was currently filled with ruin and decay, with no one repairing it, while the area around the arena was bustling, filled with a sense of impending doom.

"That god is about to die of old age."

"Even gods can die."

The city was already full of rumors, and many were eager to act.

Everyone was waiting for him to grow old and die but couldn’t let him die completely.

If he completely died of old age, his qi would dissipate; they must seize his life to capture all of it before then!

"A new era will begin, and I’m here at just the right time to see how it unfolds."

As Zhu Zhengwei left, he put on a cloak and walked away from the desert city into the wind and sand.

Three days later, a middle-aged traveler brought a shipment into the city to present to Emperor Changshou Shiguang, initiating an assassination and, with it, a new shift of power in the state.

"Rebels!"

"My power is heaven-bestowed, royal authority is divinely bestowed. The gods will not forgive you!"

An aged, hunched man emanated white light all over.

A formless wave of qi rolled off him, like a sculpture of an elder from ancient Greek times.

Every curve and angle of his body seemed exquisitely carved by a sculptor, standing on the yellow sand and great stones, exuding a romance and intellect unique to this era.

At that moment, people realized once again that he was once a hero, a mortal who wielded his knife against the gods.

"Kill!"

Countless warriors, armed with long spears and lances, leapt up.

They charged at the elder wielding the scepter, crowned, atop the city wall.

The elder was besieged and covered in blood, suddenly perceiving something while running on the great stones, his expression full of desire, looking toward a tea shed outside the city gates.

In the tea shed, the middle-aged traveler, as the leader, watched the battlefield.

On top of the tea shed, a wild grass swayed under the sun, shining brightly, solitary and distinct.

"That’s the breath of qi. How could it be?"

Emperor Changshou Shiguang suddenly expressed astonishment, loss, and regret on his face, colorful and vivid.

He was old, spending his life traveling far and wide, employing every means for longevity, yet never could break through to the next stage. If only he had that herbal plant containing qi...

Puff!

"Fire!!"

Countless strong men drew their bows and arrows.

Unfortunately, a day later, Zhu Zhengwei received the news.

Ultimately, Emperor Changshou Shiguang of the Slave Dynasty, the second-generation, could not be successfully besieged, and he fled wounded and was lost without a trace.

And that wild grass on the tea shed by the sandy city gate continued swaying, untouched by anyone.

It was a priceless treasure, leading to immortality, longed for by countless, right amidst the bustling crowd by the city gate, unrecognized by all.

"Wow, what a dramatic scene, filled with historical weight, like a major blockbuster."

The plant, carefree and heartless, thought the scene was nicely done; at the last moment, the elder who seemed like an emperor even exchanged a glance with it, full of cinematic flair!

Everyone was bewildered by the great emperor’s final vivid excitement, but they didn’t understand what he had truly discovered.

Yet the entire era was stirred by great winds and waves.

A howling gale swept the land.

"Divine right, lost!"

"Find him! Discover the Slave Kingdom’s Emperor Changshou Shiguang. The second king’s life is at its end. Whoever finds him and kills him shall be the new king!"

"Royal authority is mine!"

"I will possess the power of the New Gods!"

...

Countless slaves, nobles, wanderers, craftsmen, and farmers searched every possible trace.

Zhu Zhengwei traveled on, taking some detours, observing cacti, wild grass, chives, and dandelions.

He even went to touch and sense these plants, realizing their new forms resembling the servers of the fourth generation. They were plants in this world but had a flowing and functioning abundance of qi, acting as the operating servers of the world.