Primordial Era: Becoming the Great Emperor of Humanity from the Start

Chapter 242 The Dragon Clan's Crisis!

As soon as Jiang Heng's avatar returned to the Immortal Realm, Yang Jian came to report that the Dragon King of the East Sea had been waiting for Jiang Heng for a long time.

The saying goes, "No one visits the temple without a reason," so the fact that the Dragon King of the East Sea came to see Jiang Heng at this time must have had a reason.

Jiang Heng asked Yang Jian to invite the Dragon King of the East Sea in, while he pondered why the Dragon King wanted to see him.

After Jiang Heng completely resolved the issue of the East Sea Eye, the Dragon Clan no longer needed to bear endless karma, nor did they need to suppress the Sea Eye anymore.

After years of recuperation and reconnection with the human race, the strength of the Four Seas Dragon Clan has increased significantly since the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

The only regret is that, to date, no Quasi-Saint level powerhouse has emerged from the Four Seas Dragon Clan, and their top combat strength is still somewhat lacking.

This is the exact opposite of the situation of the Phoenix Clan, which has two peak Quasi-Saints, Kong Xuan and Yuan Feng, in charge, but the number of ordinary clansmen is very small.

During these great calamities, although the dragon race stood on the side of the human race, they were not affected by the calamities.

Now, a new cataclysmic event has arrived, but in theory, this will not have a significant impact on the entire dragon race.

As long as the dragons behave themselves and the human race's position remains unshaken, the dragons will naturally be safe and sound.

Just as Jiang Heng was pondering, Yang Jian arrived with the Dragon King of the East Sea, followed by the Dragon Kings of the other three seas.

The fact that the four Dragon Kings of the Seas could come together meant that things were not simple, and Jiang Heng had some guesses in his heart.

"Greetings, Human Emperor!" The Four Dragon Kings bowed and said in unison.

"What brings the Four Dragon Kings here today?" Jiang Heng asked directly.

Given Jiang Heng's current status, there's no need for him to be polite with the Four Dragon Kings; getting straight to the point is actually a better approach.

"I hereby inform the Human Emperor that since our Dragon Clan returned to the Human Clan, we have always been cautious and respectful, never daring to overstep our bounds in the slightest!"

"But recently, under the constant pressure from the human race, my Four Seas Dragon Clan is finding it difficult to survive. We beg the Human Emperor to make a decision!" The East Sea Dragon King said with tears in his eyes.

Jiang Heng remained composed, but his brows furrowed slightly. He had considered many possibilities, but he never expected the possibility mentioned by the Dragon King of the East Sea.

Jiang Heng had initially speculated that Heaven and the Heavenly Court might be stirring up trouble again, secretly plotting against the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas.

This was nothing to Jiang Heng. Whoever dared to make a move, he would simply cut off their outstretched hand; Jiang Heng had no need to hold back.

Jiang Heng never expected that the difficulties the Four Seas Dragon Clan was indeed facing were due to coercion by the human race.

Since the dragons were incorporated into the human race and became the totem beasts of the human race, the relationship between the human race and the dragon race has always been very friendly.

The Four Dragon Kings were not ignorant of when to advance or retreat. When facing humans, they generally tried to adopt a humble attitude, so there were naturally few conflicts between them.

What the Dragon King of the East Sea just said was that the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas is struggling to survive because of the coercion of the human race. What exactly is the reason for this?

"I have not been in the Primordial World during this period. Tell me, how exactly did the human race coerce the Four Seas Dragon Clan?" Jiang Heng said in a deep voice.

Jiang Heng's true body was in seclusion in the Fire Cloud Cave, completely ignoring worldly affairs. His avatar, however, had traveled to the Void.

Upon careful calculation, Jiang Heng had not been in the primordial world for thousands of years, so he was naturally unaware of what the Dragon King of the East Sea had said.

"Your Majesty, this matter dates back a thousand years. The current Human Emperor issued a decree to the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas."

Under the constant explanation of the Dragon King of the East Sea, Jiang Heng gradually understood the cause and course of the whole matter.

A new cataclysmic event has arrived, and during this period, all sentient beings in the primordial world with any knowledge have chosen to live in seclusion.

This is considered a standard procedure for dealing with calamities. As long as one avoids the world, one can avoid getting involved in karma and thus greatly reduce the chance of perishing during a calamity.

Having experienced several great calamities, the dragon race naturally understands the ways to protect themselves. Before this great calamity arrived, the dragons of the four seas chose to stay out of the world.

The Four Seas Dragon Clan was preparing to live in seclusion, but the Human Clan took the initiative to approach them, asking for powerful individuals and cultivation resources.

The Four Seas Dragon Clan initially paid little attention to this matter and readily agreed to all of the human race's demands.

All the dragon clans of the four seas dispatched their experts to the human race to await the orders of the current human emperor, and also offered a large amount of cultivation resources.

The Dragon Clan has ruled the four seas for hundreds of millions of years, so they are extremely wealthy. Some cultivation resources are nothing to them.

At this time, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was scarce. Although Jiang Heng personally intervened, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth never recovered to its former level.

When the primordial energy of heaven and earth is scarce, although the human race is strong, it is inevitable that there will be a shortage of cultivation resources due to the large number of people.

The fact that humans asked the wealthy dragons for some cultivation resources is nothing in itself; it can be considered as helping humans overcome difficulties.

Once the primordial energy of heaven and earth returns to its previous level, it won't be a big deal for the human race to repay the dragon race double.

However, according to the Dragon King of the East Sea, after that, the human race became even more demanding, asking for more and more cultivation resources each time.

Although the Four Seas Dragon Clan was large and powerful, it could not withstand the repeated demands of the human race for cultivation resources, and its dissatisfaction began to slowly arise in its heart.

That wasn't all. The Four Dragon Kings soon discovered that, not long afterward, human cultivators began to appear in large numbers throughout the four seas.

The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas only discovered later that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the four seas was several times more abundant than that on land.

After the primordial energy of heaven and earth became scarce, the land of the four seas naturally became a rare treasure land for cultivation, attracting countless humans to flock there.

However, this action by the human race immediately touched a raw nerve with the Four Seas Dragon Clan. Compared to cultivation resources, the Four Seas Dragon Clan clearly valued the Four Seas more.

The Four Seas have always been regarded as the foundation of the Dragon Clan. It is not only the home on which the Dragon Clan depends for survival, but also the core of the Dragon Clan.

The large number of human cultivators appearing in the four seas is only nominally different from the fact that humans occupy the four seas.

Moreover, with the emergence of a large number of human cultivators, friction between humans and dragons occurs almost every day.

After all, the world is said to be vast and boundless, but it is actually only a small place. Humans can cultivate, but dragons don't need to.

In the struggle for cultivation sites and resources, conflicts inevitably erupt between humans and dragons.

As the conflict between humans and dragons intensified, reaching a point where they were practically irreconcilable, the Four Dragon Kings realized the gravity of the situation.

If a large-scale conflict were to break out between the human race and the dragon race, it would certainly not be a situation that the Four Dragon Kings would want to see.

But at that time, Jiang Heng was not in the primordial world, but had already gone to the void.

The Four Dragon Kings could only restrain the dragon race and make constant concessions to the human race while anxiously waiting for Jiang Heng to return to the primordial world.

After finally waiting for Jiang Heng to return to the primordial world, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas couldn't wait to come and meet the Human Emperor.

"I am already aware of this matter. You should return to the Four Seas Dragon Palace for now, stabilize the Four Seas Dragon Clan, and prevent any major incidents from arising!"

"Rest assured! Now that I know about this matter, I will definitely give your Four Seas Dragon Clan an explanation!" Jiang Heng said in a deep voice.

The Four Dragon Kings were overjoyed. With Jiang Heng's assurance, they naturally put their minds at ease for the time being.

Watching the departing figures of the Four Dragon Kings, Jiang Heng sighed helplessly. This was something he had expected.

Human greed is an inherent human trait that cannot be changed! Jiang Heng cannot expect all humans to possess noble character.

When the primordial energy of heaven and earth is scarce, it is human nature to compete for the source of cultivation and even to exploit the dragon race.

With the current strength of the human race, how could the dragon race possibly be a match for them? This is what the Four Dragon Kings are most worried about.

Given the current strength of the human race, if they truly harbored any intentions towards the dragon race, it wouldn't be difficult for them to completely exterminate the dragon race.

Moreover, in the minds of many humans, the dragon race belongs to the human race, which is equivalent to the dragon race becoming a vassal of the human race.

Humans are the true masters. Even the Four Seas were bestowed upon the Dragons by humans. So what if they took the Four Seas for themselves?

Therefore, it is not surprising that humans always adopt a superior attitude when facing dragons.

As for the dragons, although they are no match for the human race, are they really willing to hand over the four seas to the human race?

This is naturally impossible. If the Dragon Clan loses the Four Seas, they probably won't even be able to establish themselves in the Immortal Realm.

But what can the dragons do even if they disagree when facing the human race now? Are they still a match for the human race?

However, let's not forget that in the primordial world, there were many who coveted the dragon race, such as Heaven and the Heavenly Court.

If the dragon race were willing to join Heaven or the Heavenly Court, both would wholeheartedly support it.

Of course, this is under duress. If they could, the Four Dragon Kings would know which option would be the most advantageous.

Over the years, the fortunes of the dragon race and the human race have been intertwined, and the benefits enjoyed by the dragon race are not insignificant. How could the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas not know the importance of this?

Now, with the promise of Emperor Jiang Heng, the chances of the Four Seas Dragon Clan completely siding with Heaven or the Heavenly Court are naturally not great.

"Report to the Human Emperor! Not only the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas, but the Human Clan has also demanded a considerable amount of cultivation resources from my Phoenix Clan!"

"Even more so, quite a few humans have already appeared in the Undying Volcano, using its power to cultivate!" Kong Xuan suddenly said.

Jiang Heng nodded. After learning about the current situation of the human race, Jiang Heng understood that the matter of the Four Seas Dragon Clan was not accidental.

With the primordial energy of heaven and earth scarce and cultivation resources becoming increasingly limited, the human race eventually turned its attention to other races.

As long as one can prosper and become strong, why would one care about the life or death of other races? This should be the common mindset of any powerful person.

Whether it was the three clans of dragon, phoenix, and qilin in the past, or the two clans of witch and demon, they all treated other living beings in the primordial world in the same way.

Although Jiang Heng did not expect things to develop to this extent, he was not at all surprised by the current situation of the human race.

Originally, when the primordial energy of heaven and earth was gradually depleting, Jiang Heng had already made a corresponding plan, intending to take this opportunity to rejuvenate the human race.

Jiang Heng had realized that over the long course of time, the human race had inevitably developed an aura of decay, which was not a good sign.

To rise from ruin and be reborn from annihilation! Only in this way can humanity break free from its shackles and usher in a new era.

Jiang Heng truly hadn't expected that the human race would be so unwise as to target the dragon and phoenix races.

But for Jiang Heng, this was also an opportunity, and it wasn't too different from his original plan.

"Who is the current Human Emperor?" Jiang Heng asked.

When it comes to the Human Emperor, the first powerful figure in the primordial world that comes to mind is Jiang Heng, but in fact, Jiang Heng is no longer the Human Emperor.

After the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Jiang Heng had gradually faded out of the human race, and only when he transformed into Emperor Xin did he become the Human Emperor again.

After the Investiture of the Gods, although Jiang Heng did a lot for the human race, he did not interfere in the affairs of the human race itself.

Jiang Heng had long understood that the human race did not need gods, nor did they need a supreme being above them, even if that being was Jiang Heng.

The deliberate separation of himself from the human race was to allow the human race to break free from all constraints and develop freely.

Therefore, among the human race today, many know of Jiang Heng, the progenitor of humanity, but very few truly understand him.

In the current understanding of the human race, Jiang Heng is merely one of the few ancestors who made outstanding contributions to the human race at its inception.

According to human legends, the ancestors of the human race, such as Jiang Heng, were stationed in the Fire Cloud Cave to suppress the fortune of the human race, and they did not interfere in the affairs of the human race.

"The human race is currently under the rule of the Great Song Dynasty, and the current human emperor is named Di Tian!" Yang Jian said.

The Great Song Dynasty in the Immortal Realm is not the one in Jiang Heng's memory, but a newly emerging unified dynasty in the Immortal Realm.

The change of dynasties is a perfectly normal thing among humans. The only constant is that the current ruler of the human race is always the Human Emperor.

As the Human Emperor, protected by the fortune of humanity, he can treat even saints as equals.

This does not mean that the Human Emperor was very powerful, or even reached the level of a saint. On the contrary, the Human Emperor's cultivation level was probably not very high.

Generally speaking, apart from the first emperor of the founding dynasty, the emperors after that were not very powerful.

Taiyi Xuanxian is considered the common cultivation level of the Human Emperor, Jinxian is already considered extremely outstanding, and Daluo Jinxian is already a genius of unparalleled talent.

Apart from Jiang Heng, no human emperor has reached the level of a quasi-saint to date, not even the first human emperor of the founding dynasty.

This may be a limitation after becoming the Human Emperor. Protected by the fortune of humanity, cultivation is much more difficult than for ordinary cultivators.

However, according to Yang Jian, the current Human Emperor Tian is a genius who has cultivated to the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal in just a few hundred years since becoming Human Emperor.

For this reason, among the human race, Di Tian is hailed as the most likely to break through the limitations of the Human Emperor and step into the Quasi-Saint level, an unparalleled genius.

Even today, when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is scarce, if it were in the former Earth Immortal Realm, many human powerhouses would believe that Di Tian would probably have already stepped into the Quasi-Saint realm.

According to Yang Jian, Di Tian was a man of great talent and ambition. During his hundreds of years on the throne, he governed the human race in an orderly manner and was a peerless and great ruler.

"I'm not afraid of a mediocre emperor, I'm afraid of an emperor with great ability!" Jiang Heng said with a smile.

The more capable a person is, the less willing they are to be mediocre. Clearly, the brilliant and ambitious Emperor Tian of our time was not one who was content with mediocrity.

Given the scarcity of spiritual energy and the limited cultivation resources available to the human race, it is not surprising that Di Tian set his sights on the Dragon and Phoenix races.

Jiang Heng, accompanied by Kong Xuan and Yang Jian, did not immediately go to see the current Human Emperor, but instead wandered around among the human race.

What Jiang Heng saw and heard was indeed as Yang Jian had said: under the rule of Emperor Tian, ​​all aspects of the human race were now in good order.

The people live in peace and contentment, and crimes are rare. Even powerful cultivators abide by the law.

Afterwards, Jiang Heng arrived near the Undying Volcano and found that there were indeed many human cultivators there.

The existence of the immortal volcano makes the surrounding area's spiritual energy much richer than other places.

It is no exaggeration to say that cultivating near the Undying Volcano is several times faster than cultivating in other places.

However, the Undying Volcano is where the Phoenix Clan lives, and after a large number of human cultivators appeared, the Phoenix Clan became extremely awkward.

If we don't allow humans to cultivate here, it will inevitably lead to conflict with human cultivators, and may even cause a bloody battle.

This is something the Phoenix Clan doesn't want to see. Moreover, with Kong Xuan and Yuan Feng present, they wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.

However, with the increasing number of human cultivators, the living space of the Phoenix Clan has inevitably been compressed.

This is not something the Phoenix Clan, which has just been revived and is constantly accumulating strength, can accept.

During his observation, Jiang Heng also noticed that the human cultivators were indeed very arrogant near the Undying Volcano.

It's as if this place is human territory, and allowing the Phoenix Clan to continue living here is already an act of leniency.

This is perhaps the arrogance of the overlords of heaven and earth. In the past, the Wu and Yao races never took other creatures in the primordial world seriously.

However, Jiang Heng simply observed silently without saying anything, and soon he left the Undying Volcano and headed to the East Sea.

Of all the seas, the largest is undoubtedly the East Sea. Among the dragon clans of the four seas, the East Sea dragon clan has always been the leader, and its strength is also the strongest.

In this day and age when the primordial energy of heaven and earth is scarce, the primordial energy in the East Sea is the most abundant among all the four seas, almost comparable to that of the immortal volcano.

Jiang Heng naturally knew that the reason for this situation was the existence of the East China Sea Eye.

When creating the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, Jiang Heng used astonishing methods to completely resolve the calamities posed by the East Sea Eye and the Undying Volcano.

Jiang Heng even turned waste into treasure, transforming the immortal volcano into a thermal power plant and the East China Sea eye into a hydroelectric power plant.

The immortal volcano and the eye of the East Sea constantly supply the immortal realm and the human realm with pure primordial energy.

In the past, this might have been insignificant in the Immortal Realm, but in the present primordial world, it is extremely crucial.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is so abundant, this is truly a blessed land! Which cultivator wouldn't want to possess such a blessed land?

Moreover, unlike ordinary blessed lands, the Four Seas region is incredibly vast, making it even more precious.

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime! It is only natural that such a sacred place of cultivation would be coveted by the human race.

Along the way, Jiang Heng discovered countless human cultivators. Moreover, the cultivation levels of these human cultivators were all quite high.

It is no exaggeration to say that among the human cultivators today, probably 40% are concentrated in the East Sea.

Another 30% of the cultivators are either concentrated in the Undying Volcano area or in the other three seas.

The remaining 30% of cultivators are not particularly strong, and they can cultivate within the human race's own territory without much trouble for the time being.

In the East Sea, human cultivators were even more arrogant, completely ignoring the existence of the dragon race and often taking aggressive actions against them.

It is no exaggeration to say that, apart from the East Sea Dragon Palace, any place that human cultivators set their sights on belongs to them.

If any dragons disagree, then let them come at me. Human cultivators will naturally show them what it means to be mighty.

Jiang Heng unconsciously shook his head. If this situation continued, even if the dragon clan did not want to rebel, they would be forced to rebel.

Jiang Heng naturally disagreed with the current actions of the human race. It wasn't that the human race's actions were wrong, but rather that the human race had chosen the wrong target.

The dragon and phoenix clans are, after all, totem beasts of the human race, and can be said to be part of the human race.

Exploiting one's own people to strengthen oneself—what kind of logic is that? Has humanity really sunk to the point where they only bully their own kind?

If one truly possesses such ability, in such a vast world, are only the Four Seas and the Undying Volcano sufficient to satisfy the cultivation needs of the human race?

Heaven also occupies a large amount of cultivation resources. Heaven itself is also a huge blessed land, where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is even more abundant than that of the East Sea.

While the primordial energy of heaven and earth in the Earthly Immortal Realm and the Human Realm has become thinner, the primordial energy of heaven and earth in the Celestial Realm has not become thinner.

If humanity is truly powerful, why can't it target Heaven and the Heavenly Court for its plunder? Is it out of fear?

Are they afraid of the two saints in Heaven, afraid of the Heavenly Court's powerful strength, or afraid that the Dao Ancestor Hongjun stands behind the Heavenly Court?

Therefore, Jiang Heng is not against the human race using various methods to resolve its current predicament.

Jiang Heng simply felt that although the human race had undergone a long period of development, it still lacked a certain sense of confidence.

With enough confidence, no matter what gods or Buddhas fill the sky, no matter what saints or Taoist ancestors there are, none of them can stop the human race from moving forward.

Perhaps, by today, the indomitable will that was once deeply rooted in the hearts of all humankind has begun to fade slowly.

The rise and fall of dynasties is an inevitable fate for every dynasty, and even for every race; this is a fundamental truth.

There are no eternal protagonists in this world; the human race is merely a temporary protagonist of heaven and earth!

(End of this chapter)