Reversing Falsehood and Preserving Truth: All Gods and Gods Are in My Hands

The five torrents of heart-wrenching consciousness suddenly receded, dissipating into the chaotic void like a tide.

Lu Yu was drenched in sweat, which soaked through his clothes and dripped down his hair, leaving tiny wet marks on the bluestone.

He knelt on one knee, exhausted, his palms braced against the cold stone surface. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath. The burning pain in his chest had not yet subsided, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness. It was the sharp edge of his Dao heart, refined to the extreme, more steadfast than ever before.

Although he was not the main subject of that soul-crushing punishment, the torment of being personally involved in the fivefold purgatory tempered his will a thousand times more than ordinary cultivation.

The illusory image of Shennong on the bluestone, with its hazy halo swaying slightly, slowly nodded. It had no trace of the pressure of an ancient god, but instead exuded the simplicity and compassion of an old farmer on a field ridge. Even the halo had the warmth of grass and trees.

"good."

The deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the secluded realm, like the gentle tolling of an ancient bell, yet without any sense of distance. Rather, it was like an old man from a neighboring village giving a sermon, simple yet powerful:

"The punishment of the Millet Gate was originally intended to sever the impurities in one's Dao heart and remove the dust of attachments. Your internal and external coordination and mutual illumination of your hearts caused the punishment to end prematurely. This was not solely due to the efforts of Shen Che and the other four; your pure and unblemished state of mind was also key. The Spiritual Plant Returning to Origin Body chose you as its master, and this was no deception."

The phantom finally revealed its identity, its tone as calm as a casual conversation, yet concealing a sense of vicissitude spanning millennia: "I am Shennong, but this is not my true form, merely a remnant of his will and soul."

Lu Yu's heart trembled, and he bowed respectfully, not daring to show the slightest disrespect—the person before him was an ancient sage king who had traveled across mountains and rivers, tasted hundreds of herbs, and cured diseases for all people; a benevolent god who lived his life in the fields and herb gardens; a pioneer who measured the world with his own feet and saved lives with his own hands.

The phantom of Shennong slowly raised his hand, his fingertips shimmering with light, outlining a hazy scene as if the world had just been created: "In the past, when the goddess Nuwa refined five-colored stones to mend the sky, she left a crack. Illusory things entered through the crack and eroded the world. At first, the gods were there, either slaying or suppressing them, and mortals lived without disturbance, and the world was at peace."

He paused, the aura around him dimming slightly, as if recalling a long-forgotten regret, his tone tinged with melancholy: "Years ago, I devoted myself to refining medicine, hoping to alleviate the suffering of all beings, and I secluded myself for hundreds of years. When I emerged, all the gods in the world had vanished without a trace, and the falsehoods spread unchecked like wildfire. I fought against them with my divine power, but in the end, I could not hold them off alone. What's worse, my divine body was also afflicted by the falsehoods, gradually decaying until there was no cure left."

"With no other choice, I destroyed my divine body and used my divine blood to cleanse myself of the corruption of falsehoods, leaving only this wisp of my will hidden in the secret realm, so as to keep my mind clear and not be deceived by falsehoods."

"All the gods in the world... have disappeared?" Lu Yu's pupils shrank, and his heart was filled with shock.

He subconsciously clenched his fist, and the image of the myriad paths hub, the figures of Nuwa and Feng Hou flashed through his mind.

Should we tell Shennong's remnant soul about these experiences?

However, the Myriad Paths Hub was too mysterious. He knew nothing about whether Nuwa and Feng Hou were related to the disappearance of the gods. He feared that speaking rashly might cause unforeseen changes, so he ultimately suppressed his thoughts after some hesitation.

The illusory image of Shennong continued, "As time flows by, thousands of years have passed in the blink of an eye. Without a divine body to bear it, my will is like a candle flickering in the wind, gradually dissipating. Left with no other choice, I disperse a wisp of the Great Dao's energy, seeking a destined person to pass on my legacy and continue the responsibility of protecting the world."

Before he finished speaking, the illusory figure's gaze seemed to pierce through his physical body, reaching straight to the origin of the Great Dao. Its tone suddenly became more solemn: "You possess two Daos, like ice and fire in the same furnace, incompatible and posing a great hidden danger. If you cannot reconcile them, with each advancement in the future, you will face the danger of your Great Dao collapsing and your life and Dao annihilation."

Lu Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied, "This junior once met Senior Jiang Heng. He inherited your Hundred Herbs Dao and sensed your summons. He must be on his way here now. Senior Jiang said that finding the three spiritual herbs—Nine-Turn Rejuvenating Grass, Xihe Flower Dew, and Xuan Yuan Fruit—can alleviate the danger of the conflict between the two paths."

"My successor of the Hundred Herbs..." Shennong's illusory figure murmured, a faint ripple spreading across his aura as if sensing a distant presence. "That child has some comprehension, but he only grasps the basics. The three medicinal herbs he spoke of can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."

He shook his head, his voice carrying the wisdom of antiquity: "To enable different paths to coexist peacefully, two more divine ingredients are needed to achieve perfection."

Lu Yu held his breath, afraid of missing a single word.

"First, the Chaos Green Lotus Seed." A wisp of green light condensed at the fingertip of the illusory Shennong, transforming into the shape of a lotus seed. "This seed was born at the beginning of chaos, containing the nature of encompassing all things and harmonizing yin and yang. It can pave the way for the origins of the two paths and eliminate the mutually repulsive and hostile energy."

"Secondly, the Dust of Time." The azure light changed again, transforming into particles as fine as stardust. "This is forged from the sands of time in Kunlun Ruins. It can regulate the flow of energy, making the two paths alternate like day and night, orderly and preventing them from becoming chaotic and collapsing."

He slowly said, "The five divine ingredients complement each other—the Nine-Turn Rejuvenating Grass replenishes the foundation, the Dew of the Dawn Flower neutralizes conflicts, the Profound Origin Fruit stabilizes energy, the Chaos Green Lotus seeds build bridges, and the Dust of Time establishes order. Only by refining them into pills according to specific methods can your hidden dangers be completely eliminated, and even allow multiple paths to generate each other, doubling their power."

Lu Yu was deeply shocked. Shennong had seen through his fundamental problem at a glance and provided such a perfect solution. However, these five divine ingredients, judging from their names, only existed in ancient legends. Not to mention finding them, even their exact whereabouts were unknown. To gather them all was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Just as his spirits were sinking, the illusory figure of Shennong changed the subject: "These five divine ingredients are all preserved in my secret realm. However, I only have a wisp of my remnant soul left, and I am powerless to refine them into medicine."

As the light surged, the illusory figure of Shennong raised his hand and waved it, a gentle yet irresistible beam of light slowly falling into Lu Yu's arms. The light dissipated, revealing a small, palm-sized, three-legged cauldron.

The small cauldron is dark gold in color, seemingly cast from ancient divine metal. Its surface is engraved with countless intricate patterns—some depicting grains in the fields, others depicting plants in the mountains, and still others depicting insects, fish, birds, and beasts, as well as the trajectories of the sun, moon, and stars. All these are marks of Shennong's traversing mountains and rivers and tasting hundreds of herbs. Although the cauldron is small, it exudes a profound aura of suppressing and refining all things, as if it has endured tens of thousands of years and witnessed the birth of countless spiritual herbs.

"This cauldron is named 'Hundred Herbs.' It has accompanied me as I tasted all the herbs in the world, containing the essence of ten thousand medicines and the vitality of creation within. It can be used to refine divine elixirs." The voice of the illusory Shennong carried a solemn entrustment, its tone simple yet full of expectation. "You must nurture it with your own blood and divine thoughts until it recognizes its master, only then can you use it freely."

Before Lu Yu could respond, the Hundred Herbs Cauldron suddenly transformed into a stream of light and pierced straight into his dantian.

Lu Yu felt a warmth in his dantian, and a gentle vitality spread along his meridians, resonating faintly with the spiritual plant returning to its origin within his body.

"Refine this cauldron while you are seated cross-legged on the spot." The voice of Shennong's illusory figure rang out again, with an undeniable certainty. "My remnant soul can still hold on for a while. I will wait here for Jiang Heng to arrive. Since he has inherited my Great Dao, he should know about the subsequent matters and can also lend you a hand."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yu no longer hesitated. He quickly composed himself, sat cross-legged, and focused his divine sense into his dantian, making every effort to establish a connection with the Hundred Herbs Cauldron.

The grass and wood patterns on the cauldron glowed slightly, as if responding to his divine thoughts, yet also carrying a hint of ancient resistance, clearly indicating that it needed some nurturing before it could truly recognize its master.

The phantom of Shennong on the bluestone stands quietly. Although the halo is still dim, it exudes a steadfastness, as if guarding this inheritance and expectation that spans thousands of years.