I was the Heavenly Emperor in ancient times

Chapter 3 Emperor

The edict issued by the "Emperor" prompted the Ximu clan to immediately take various actions in response to it. As it concerned the life and death of the entire clan, they could not afford to ignore it.

Moreover, the migration is imminent, and a response must be taken.

Down the mountain.

Important members of the clan, men and women, sat together to hold a grand assembly.

They had a fixed migration route, and they immediately described all the valleys they passed through along the route.

“We can go around these valleys, but it will take us a bit more time.”

"But we can't get around this place!"

"If we can't get around it, we have to get through it quickly."

The Ximu clan had made preparations and redefined their migration route.

However, the First Mother, as the leader, looked into the distance with deep concern.

"Heaven has sent down a calamity, and the entire clan will perish!"

This sentence has always echoed in her heart.

The leader, the Great Mother, failed to notice that one person had quietly disappeared from the dispersing crowd and then secretly headed up the mountain.

When he set off, he secretly brought along a piece of log used for sacrificial offerings to the emperor, which he tied with a rope and carried on his back.

Upon hearing what the elder woman had just said, this man had a bold idea.

"Since the Emperor can know when disaster will strike, why don't we take the divine stone with us?"

"Why bother guessing which valley it is? There will be a warning when we get there."

The Ximu clan had recently become very familiar with the road leading up the mountain from the foot of the mountain to worship the emperor.

The road has been repaired after being used so many times that it has become increasingly smooth and easy to walk on.

He looked at the mountain.

I could vaguely see the light reflected from the lake above, and I could also sense the divine stone on the shore of the lake.

At this moment, he thought again.

"It's not just the immediate disaster; if the Emperor were by our side, wouldn't we be able to avoid all of these calamities?"

“We can even ask the Emperor where there is an endless supply of food, so we will never have to migrate again.”

When we finally reached the top of the mountain, we could see the altar where the emperor was worshipped in the distance.

He suddenly recalled the image of the Great Mother, who was the shaman and leader, presiding over the sacrifices on the altar. Right there on this ancient stone altar, the Great Mother lit the sacrificial wood and danced around the flames.

The dance may not have been beautiful, but it conveyed a sense of reverence and piety towards heaven and earth.

Because she was the leader, she was able to become the person who offered sacrifices to the Emperor and Heaven and Earth.

Conversely, it was precisely because she was able to worship heaven and earth and communicate with the emperor that she was able to become the leader.

He thought to himself, "The sky above is untouchable, but the Emperor's incarnation is right here. If I can communicate with the Emperor, can I also become a leader, and then I will be a shaman?"

Could he then replace the Great Mother and lead the entire clan and tribe?

He even thought of the bluebird.

"That bluebird turned into what it is now because it touched the divine stone, and became a divine bird."

"What if it were me?"

"I also touched that divine stone..."

He walked with increasing enthusiasm, almost impatiently.

But what he was gazing at was not the mountain, nor the altar, but the sacred stone enshrined on the altar.

They even stared intently at the figure within the divine stone.

Somehow.

He forgot all his previous purpose in coming here, and only wanted to touch the divine stone that everyone said had fallen from the sun.

Without saying a word, and without even unloading the wooden offerings for the emperor from his back, he climbed onto the stone altar.

At this moment, it was dark.

Overlooking the mountains.

Under the starry sky, he reached out and touched the divine stone, and he was stunned for a moment.

"I touched it."

Then he looked up and saw a pair of eyes looking at him.

For an instant.

He got goosebumps all over his body.

"The Emperor is watching me!"

He didn't know what the Emperor was looking at him for, whether the Emperor was angry or happy; his mind went completely blank.

Then, a powerful force surged into his body.

He felt that he was no longer an ordinary person, as if he had become one with heaven and earth, sun and moon.

That feeling was irresistible to him.

The moment he touched the divine stone, a change occurred in him, along with the piece of sacrificial wood he carried on his back.

The wood that had been completely dead began to sprout and grow again, growing into his body from behind.

The green shoots burrowed into his flesh and grew from all over his skin.

After waking up.

His hand slipped from the jade.

He immediately screamed in agony; the change had caught him completely off guard.

"what?"

"How did I sprout?"

"emperor!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

“Forgive me, forgive me…”

He retreated repeatedly, no longer daring to approach the divine stone, only wanting to escape.

At this moment, when he looked at the divine stone and the figure inside it, his gaze was filled with only despair and fear.

As he was pushed backward, he felt his body becoming increasingly stiff and his consciousness increasingly numb, until he could no longer move at all.

Like the figure in the jade, it stood motionless in place.

The wood on his body was still sprouting, branches growing upwards along his arms and neck, and his skin was gradually turning the color of the wood.

His feet were the same.

The roots first transformed into his meridians, then intertwined and slowly touched the ground, eventually breaking through the earth and penetrating it.

the other side.

It took the tribe members most of the day to realize that the man had disappeared, and then they began searching for his whereabouts.

The group approached the matriarch and reported the matter.

“A child just saw him carrying the sacrificial wood up the mountain.”

What was he doing up the mountain?

"And it's carrying sacrificial wood?"

Upon hearing these messages, the eldest daughter-in-law's expression immediately changed drastically.

"not good."

Then the elder woman led her people up the mountain to chase after the man.

However, the man reached the mountain peak in the dead of night, and by the time they caught up with him, it was already dawn.

When they arrived, the man was still alive.

Or rather, it's unlikely that he will die like an ordinary person again.

He had turned into a tree, his arms became branches that sprouted green leaves, and his feet had completely disappeared, leaving only tangled roots that penetrated deep into the soil.

All that remained was that familiar face, growing on that thick tree trunk.

That face was expressionless, showing neither pain nor joy.

When he saw the tribesmen chasing after him and coming up to him, they stared blankly at the strange tree that had suddenly appeared.

He used all his strength to utter a single sentence.

"Grandmother, I was wrong."

"Don't touch the sacred stone, or else..."

But then his expression turned crazed and obsessive.

"No, the divine stone, I must touch the divine stone."

"This feeling is amazing. I am so powerful. I am one with the heavens and the earth."

"emperor!"

"The Emperor can grant us immortality..."

Before he could finish speaking, his slow, low voice was drowned out by the creaking sound of the rapidly growing wood.

The shout from the tree nearly scared the souls out of everyone who had come there.

"It's him!"

“It really is him, he spoke.”

"How did he turn into a tree?"

"What did he do that made the tree eat him?"

The elder woman in front of everyone heard the words coming from the tree. She looked at the altar and shouted to everyone.

"Come back and stand over here."

"No one is allowed to go up to the altar unless I speak."

Everyone was terrified by the tree and obediently gathered around the Great Mother, listening to her words.

The eldest mother also felt terrified, but she also guessed some of the truth from the previous news and the other party's fragmented words.

"It wasn't that he was eaten by a tree, but that he offended the Emperor, which is why he turned into this."

Next.

No one did anything; they just stared at the tree.

In their eyes, the tree grew taller and taller, increasing several meters in a single day.

At this point, the shadow of the person from before is nowhere to be seen, and no one would imagine that the tree was actually transformed from a person.

But everyone was filled with a deep sense of fear and awe.

Finally, someone used a word they had only recently learned.

"God damned!"

They had never understood what divine retribution looked like before.

Now they've seen it for themselves.

Only later did they understand.

Touching the sacred stone and getting this outcome is considered good; for most people and animals, the consequences of touching the sacred stone are far more terrifying and tragic.

Only a very few can obtain the opportunity to transcend the mundane.
-
The climate is gradually changing, and it's truly time to migrate.

The Ximu clan took everything they had and prepared to migrate to a distant place, not to return until the following year.

before leaving.

They held a grand ceremony at the foot of the mountain, while the Great Mother herself ascended the mountain and the altar.

At this time, the mountain had undergone tremendous changes. A large tree had appeared on the bare mountaintop, blocking the view of the sacred stone.

And the bluebird now has a place to roost, and even food.

When something absolutely shouldn't exist, and then something unique appears.

This place has become like a fairyland.

This was especially true for the Great Mother, who witnessed this change firsthand; her reverence for the Emperor deepened with each sacrificial ceremony.

The respect and rigor of the sacrificial rites, as well as the complexity of the rituals, increase progressively.

The Great Mother informed the Emperor and his party of their impending departure from the altar, explaining when she would return, before respectfully withdrawing.

The migration began. The Ximu tribe traversed the sides of valley after valley, initially cautious and fearful, but they did not seem to encounter anything unusual along the way.

"Not this valley."

"It's not this valley either."

Is it the one in front?

Some people firmly believe it, while others have doubts in their hearts.

Did they have already passed through the valley that might bring disaster, or did the valley not exist at all?

"Was the Emperor wrong?"

"If we avoid the valley where the divine calamities and punishments were brought down, how can we prove the Emperor's divine power?"

"Did Mother mishear?"

“That’s right. If not, then the First Mother must be mistaken. The Emperor would not be wrong.”

"How could the mighty heavens be wrong!"

During their migration, the Ximu clan would sometimes gaze at the distant mountains.

In a daze, they even secretly longed to encounter that calamity.

Only this way.

Only then could they witness once again the Emperor's divine power and magnificence.

Until this day, they passed by that inescapable valley.

On the vast, desolate land.

The rugged mountains blocked the way ahead, with only a canyon through which one could pass.

As they entered the canyon, the dark shadows of the mountains on both sides loomed over them, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

As they walked, they carefully looked at both sides.

Is it this valley?

They rushed along as fast as they could, trying to cross the border as quickly as possible, and everyone felt exhausted.

Some people wanted to rest, but were sternly rebuked by the Great Mother, and in the end, everyone left the canyon overnight.

We left the mountains.

The elder led them to a familiar place to set up camp, which was a natural cave.

They felt both relieved and deeply disappointed.

"Nothing happened again."

"It doesn't seem to be this valley either."

"If I had known, I would have rested in the valley."

Amidst their busy work, the tribesmen had this conversation inside the cave.

Late at night.

The people guarding the fire and herds at the cave entrance were suddenly awakened by the bleating of the cattle and sheep outside.

Suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky, dripping onto the muddy ground outside.

The men who guarded the fire and the herds stood up and looked up at the sky.

The sky, which was just filled with nebulae, is now completely dark.

Sudden.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out from the dark mass in the distance, falling from the heavens to earth. The lightning flashed in the eyes of the fire guardian, as if a divine sword had cleaved the heavens and earth.

"Boom!"

Following the flash of lightning was a deafening roar, like that of a dragon.

The deafening roar, seemingly coming right up to them, startled everyone resting inside the cave. Ignoring their exhaustion from their tireless journey, they sprang to their feet like startled rabbits.

They then gathered at the cave entrance.

The distant thunder didn't stop; instead, bolts of lightning fell from the sky one after another, striking the valley.

The raging lightning twisted and intertwined, like pillars of lightning connecting with the boundless black clouds in the sky, or like dragons dancing above the clouds, before suddenly plunging down upon the human world.

And that place was exactly the valley they had just emerged from.

Everyone understood, but no one spoke; they all stared blankly at the distant scene.

"Isn't that the valley we just came out of?"

This sentence broke the silence and, in an instant, instilled a strong sense of fear into everyone's hearts.

The chill penetrated to their very bones, causing them to shiver.

And this time.

The howling cold wind really did start to blow.

The thunder was just the beginning; then they saw the snow outside turn into tiny hailstones.

And in the distant valley.

Suddenly, hailstones the size of fists began to fall, followed by a flurry of snowflakes.

A rapid drop in temperature enveloped the area, as if to freeze all living things in the valley to death.

Although the thunder, gale, and blizzard did not strike them, they made everyone in the Ximu clan feel icy cold.

If they hadn't already left the canyon, how could they possibly be alive?

But after the fear subsided, everyone felt relieved.

"The Emperor was indeed right."

"The Emperor is the heavens, the sky, and the glorious sun."

“My Ximu clan is blessed by Heaven.”

Then, everyone cheered.

Amidst such a terrible disaster, they were actually singing and dancing in the cave, shouting the names of the Emperor and the heavens.

Celebrating their survival is also like offering a prayer to the heavens.

And at this moment.

Atop the distant mountains, the figure standing amidst the sacred rocks beside the alpine lake seemed to sense something amiss.

He opened his eyes, and the bluebird that was resting under the tree beside the rock immediately looked up at him, their double pupils meeting.

"go with!"

"Take a look."

The bluebird then let out a sharp cry and flew into the heavens.

Its daybreak.

When we arrived, it was a desolate place, but when we came out of the cave, the ground outside was covered with frost.

Looking into the distance, the canyon appears to have transformed into a frozen wasteland.

The cattle and sheep were frightened, but no one was injured.

As dawn broke, the people of the Ximu clan drove their herds on a new journey, heading away into the distance with their backs to the valley and mountains.

As they left, everyone from the Ximu clan gazed at the canyon and the mountains.

At this moment, the little girl with braids sitting on the ox's back still had the sharpest eyes; she pointed to a tiny black dot in the sky.

"Look, the Great Mother!"

"It's the Bluebird."

She was able to recognize that it was a bluebird, even though it was such a tiny thing.

The bluebird flew lower, circling above the ground, looking at the people of the Ximu tribe, and letting them see its appearance clearly.

"It really is a divine bird."

"Did the Emperor send it?"

"Heaven is watching us."

When I saw the bluebird again, I felt something different.

Everyone raised their hands to the bluebird, then prostrated themselves on the ground to welcome its arrival with the utmost respect.

At this moment, the bluebird was not only an attendant to the emperor to deliver messages and a medium to communicate between heaven and earth, but also a symbol of good fortune.

It seemed that as long as they could see the bluebird, they would be free from calamity and protected by the heavens.

The eldest mother was at the very front of the crowd. She was the first to kneel down to welcome the bluebird, and she shouted the loudest and most enthusiastically.

"emperor!"

She was the first to doubt the existence of the Emperor, a witch who communicated with heaven and earth, and now she is the one who believes in him the most.

The little girl sat on the back of the ox, staring blankly at the divine bird that circled in the sky like a phoenix. She also raised her hands high and cheered, just like her mother.

"emperor!"

Thereafter.

No one had any more doubts and strode confidently into the distance.

But the mountains behind them seemed to be forever etched in their hearts, and no matter what happened, they would always come back.

Returning to the foot of those jade-like mountains, I once again stepped onto the altar by the high-altitude lake.
-
The bluebird circled once in the sky before returning to the side of the divine stone.

Yu Zhong's gaze shifted slightly as he glanced at Qingniao.

"We made it through safely?"

He didn't speak, but the bluebird spread its wings and opened its long, sharp beak to make a sound.

"Yes!"

"Okay."

Li Jun blinked, feeling a sense of relief.

"That's good."

As the Ximu clan departed, peace returned to these mountains, and Li Jun seemed to have been here for quite some time without realizing it.

After all, he had been here for a long time before the Ximu clan arrived.

"It's been about a few years!"

"Still ten years?"

Before the arrival of the Ximu clan, Li Jun felt as if he were watching a movie, and it was only with the arrival of the Ximu clan that time truly began to flow.

How long am I supposed to stand here?

"Can I still go back?"

While thinking.

Li Jun's pupils suddenly trembled, and his double pupils appeared automatically without being activated.

What he had been seeing before him were high mountains, lakes, and the distant land, but now another scene appeared deep in his mind.

He saw himself sitting on an altar made of redwood, silk, command flags, and Taoist banners, with rows of Taoist priests chanting scriptures below, and figures dressed as immortals sitting cross-legged on either side of him.

"Isn't this what it looked like before I came here?!"

The images in my mind press forward, while the images in front of my eyes sink downward.

The world ten thousand years ago and the bizarre altar atop a modern hospital—two completely different scenes belonging to different time dimensions intertwine.

That feeling of overlapping gazes returned, and Li Jun paused for a moment before immediately understanding.

"I'm waking up."

The overlapping of the two worlds initially made Li Jun feel extremely confused, unable to distinguish whether he was in the past or in the present.

Which body should he control, and which world should he gaze upon?

But then an accident happened.

The wall atop the modern hospital building was suddenly breached by a powerful force, with layers of bricks and stones overturned and a large amount of glass shards rushing towards the altar.

"Boom!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

One leg of the altar collapsed, causing chaos at the scene, with alarms blaring everywhere.

The explosion and the collapse of the altar brought Li Jun back to reality.

(End of this chapter)