Chapter 135: I Laugh: The Three Ancestors Lack Strategy, the Heavenly Emperor Lacks Wisdom

Chapter 135: I Laugh: The Three Ancestors Lack Strategy, The Heavenly Emperor Lacks Wisdom

Upon hearing this, Luo Feng drew a sharp breath. Shennong was indeed a hot-tempered fellow, living up to his reputation as the Sage Emperor of the human race, the Flame Emperor. He would need to build a good relationship with him in the future.

With the Three Ancestors, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Earthly Emperor already accounted for, only one Great Luo Sage Emperor remained. Luo Feng took a bold guess: "Could the fourth faction be the Sage Emperor Xuanyuan?"

Emperor Ziwei shook his head and sighed with emotion: "Far from it. The fourth faction can be considered the most powerful force within Fire Cloud Cave, and it has long dominated the mainstream of the human race."

"Led by three great beings of immense power—the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, the White Emperor Shaohao, and the Black Emperor Zhuanxu—along with the descendants of the Yellow Emperor's lineage and sages from various eras, such as Cangjie and Dayu..."

"The fourth faction can be said to be the camp with the largest number of Great Luo beings."

"As for their ideology," Emperor Ziwei arched an eyebrow and sneered, "it is naturally 'Humanity Supreme, Humanity Above All'... After all, the Xuanyuan clan once served as the Central Heavenly Emperor..."

"If he were truly allowed to realize this ideal, I fear the Sage Heavenly Emperor would be reduced to a figurehead ruling through inaction."

...

Luo Feng felt a chill run down his spine. The Heavenly Emperor and the Human Emperor had always been two supreme positions. The Heavenly Emperor could govern the Three Realms and the Six Paths, ruling over the Primordial world and presiding over all living beings. The Human Emperor was not necessarily incapable of the same; the "human" in Human Emperor did not refer merely to the human race, but to all creatures living in the world. To govern the heavens through humanity—it was not necessarily impossible.

As he spoke, Emperor Ziwei felt a stir in his heart. His eyes shimmered with the colors of the sun and moon, and divine light converged as he gazed into the distance. His vision pierced through layers of space and realms, resting upon a vast, independent universe—a realm surrounded by sacred virtue, hidden merit, gathered blessings, and eternal morality.

Inscribed upon it were three ancient, mysterious characters: Fire Cloud Cave.

Though called a "cave," it was no smaller than a vast universe, containing all manner of living things in infinite variety. Perhaps it would be better to call it the "Fire Cloud Heaven."

The Primordial Great Universe—or perhaps it should be called the Primordial Multiverse—contained within itself myriad heavens and worlds. The difference between a "heaven" and a "world" lay in the presence of a Great Luo being. A vast world, no matter how high its energy level—even if it were a high-magic or super-magic world—was still just a "world" so long as no Great Luo being resided there. Conversely, even the smallest world, containing only a few continents and stars, would be elevated to a "heaven" once a Great Luo being took up residence.

The universe created by the Empress Wa was called the Wa Heaven; the universe created by the Moral Heavenly Lord was the Taiqing Heaven; the one by the Primordial Heavenly Lord was the Yuqing Heaven; and the one by the Lingbao Heavenly Lord was the Shangqing Heaven...

The place where the human Great Luo beings resided was one of these heavens: Fire Cloud Heaven.

In Fire Cloud Heaven, the land was boundless. Beneath an ordinary mountain lay a plot of farmland. The soil was not fertile but rather barren, and what grew there were not immortal herbs or divine plants, but ordinary crops.

In the field, a young man in plain clothes was weeding, a small red divine bird fluttering on his shoulder. The bird flew about, occasionally bringing a seed to the young man—though more often than not, it would mistakenly bring a stone. The young man did not mind; with a gentle squeeze, the stone, hard as divine iron, would crumble into dust and merge with the earth.

He picked up his hoe, focused entirely on tilling the land, as if nothing in the world were more important than the soil beneath his feet. Only farming was the path to everything; only through farming could one succeed!

The pastoral scenery, the flying divine bird, rising at sunrise and resting at sunset—everything seemed so beautiful. It would have been perfect, were it not for the black-haired man chattering incessantly nearby.

"Oh, come on, Old Jiang, let me tell you..."

"It’s just one Haotian! Let's take him down!"

...

The man surnamed Jiang, who was tilling the soil, looked up slightly and replied coldly, "Oh, go ahead and do it yourself."

The black-haired man’s expression stiffened. What kind of person was the Jade Emperor? He was the Primordial Heavenly Emperor, the most orthodox of the orthodox; strictly speaking, even the six Sages of the Heavenly Way had to listen to him. On the surface, the Heavenly Court might seem to have only a few stragglers, but who knew how many hidden cards they held in the dark? At the very least, he knew Yaochi was in league with the Golden Mother, the Star God lineage would definitely intervene, and the Immortal Dao side was hard to predict. That was only the first layer; heaven knows how many layers the Jade Emperor had hidden.

If one person could overturn the Heavenly Court, he wouldn't be the Xuanyuan clan—he would be the Pangu clan.

"Brother Jiang, listen to me, this move of mine absolutely cannot fail!"

"For the sake of the human race, give your brother a hand!"

The Xuanyuan clan member was gesturing wildly, exceptionally excited. But in the eyes of Shennong, he looked just like an old general on a stage, his back bristling with flags. Why take risks? The situation was excellent now; wasn't it better to just farm? Once the firepower was concentrated and the plan was flawless, overturning the table then would be magnificent!

"No, I won't do it. I am a pacifist."

Xuanyuan’s expression stiffened. *You, a pacifist?* Don't think I don't know that Chiyou fellow came from your Flame Emperor lineage. Back then, you were secretive and deceived my feelings. Only after I entered Fire Cloud Cave did I realize that of all the human race, you, this old man, were the most cunning.

Xuanyuan had a mountain of complaints, but he swallowed them down, needing to win over Shennong's Flame Emperor lineage. With a face full of smiles, Xuanyuan twisted the serpent coiled around his waist and prepared to put an arm around Shennong’s shoulders.

"Old Brother Yiqi, you know me—my whole life has been pure and flawless, a model of morality. How could I trick you..."

Shennong set down the seeds in his hand and sighed. "What is it you want to do? Rebellion?"

Xuanyuan chuckled. "How could it be a rebellion?"

Usurping the throne was impossible—it would never happen in this lifetime. After all, overthrowing a virtuous Heavenly Emperor was a great stain on one's reputation. No Great Luo being wanted to carry that infamy.

Shennong pondered for a moment. "Hasn't your whole goal always been rebellion? Why the change of heart?"

Xuanyuan said leisurely, "A couple of days ago, I visited the neighboring timeline and learned something new. Brother, what do you think of a Sage Heavenly Emperor ruling through inaction?"

Shennong's eyes lit up. He pondered for a moment and said, "'Heavenly Emperor' is not quite right. How about just 'Emperor'?"

A Sage Emperor ruling through inaction—that was a good idea! Open rebellion would cause too much loss for the human race; Shennong would never agree to that. But something like ruling through inaction—that was open to negotiation.

Xuanyuan smiled. "I have a draft proposal. Old Brother, help me refine it."

He produced a jade slip, clearly having prepared it long in advance. Shennong took it and read.

Xuanyuan’s plan was to first establish the Five Elder Emperors to govern the five directions and five elements of the mortal world, then the Three Officials of the Great Emperors: the Heavenly Official to bestow blessings, the Earthly Official to forgive sins, and the Water Official to resolve disasters.

"As for administrative power and the power of rewards and punishments, there is no need for you to worry yourself, old man. As for other trivial matters, the Sage Emperor will rule through inaction, so you won't need to fret over much. All manner of capable Great Luo beings will handle things for you. You, old man, just focus on cultivating your Dao. If you get bored, you can always host a few Peach Banquets to pass the time."

...

The plan was sound, but Shennong was a man who prized stability. His whole life was about farming, and he only knew how to farm. His goal was to wait until every human was a True Immortal and the high-end combat power reached at least three thousand Great Luo beings before beginning the initial construction of the Primordial Great Alliance.

After a moment of silence, Shennong tucked away the jade slip and said earnestly, "We are still a bit short on manpower."

If the Jade Emperor were to lose his mind and refuse to back down, forcing a head-on confrontation with the human race, there would still be risks.

Xuanyuan laughed heartily. "I thought it was something major. It's just a matter of manpower."

"The Three Ancestors lack strategy, and the Heavenly Emperor lacks wisdom—that’s one thing, but how could you, Old Brother, not see..."