Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

He himself was given the title of "Ancestor of the Way" by these savages simply because he said it casually.

"No, it's really not that bad."

Du Yi became habitually modest.

"It was just a casual remark, nothing like that... It's like if you asked me to be a rock I couldn't even lift myself, I probably wouldn't be able to..."

"I guess it's possible."

The 27th generation Akakage sighed.

"You made a stone that I couldn't even lift. So you were implying that I should take the initiative to face difficulties... Thank you for your guidance. I completely understand now."

The answer to the 27th Akakage was a long tail slamming down on his head.

This time, Du Yi was certain that this giant savage was indeed a descendant of those savages from back then, simply because this wild idea was exactly the same as that of those savages from back then.

"That's why I won't let you treat me as some kind of Dao Ancestor... that would make you start to misunderstand my meaning."

Du Yi reiterated the keynote of the exchange, which he valued highly.

"Don't overthink it, and don't let your imagination run wild. It's all just the literal meaning, understand?"

"……able."

The 27th Akakage finally bowed his head.

Yes, he had indeed overstepped his bounds. Going to crawl into the snake god's nostrils was already extremely rebellious, and now he dared to presume to interpret the meaning of the snake god's words...

He needs to correct his attitude.

Is there anything I can do for you?

"Just don't disturb my sleep."

For Du Yi, who was still a little sleepy, this was his only request.

Although the so-called food essence extraction mentioned by this large savage sounded interesting, considering that he was still a bit groggy, he decided to catch up on his sleep before learning about it.

"Of course, as payment, I can answer your questions before I go to sleep... Let me make it clear first, I am not omniscient or omnipotent. If you ask me something I don't know, I can't answer it."

"It's just a small request."

Upon hearing the Serpent God say this, the Second Akakage was overjoyed.

"I want your excrement..."

"roll."

Du Yi refused without hesitation.

However, even if he refused, Du Yi did so with reason and evidence. On the one hand, it was because the request was too outrageous, and on the other hand, it was because the matter itself was problematic.

“I understood what you just said. So, the production of your food essence is all based on compost... Have you thought about what the consequences will be?”

"Your demand will only increase, and I can't keep supplying you forever. So what will you do when you run out of food next time?"

What should we do if that happens?

The 27th Akakage vaguely sensed a terrible outcome.

When that time comes, the Ignivas people, in order to survive, will probably do anything to get the serpent god to make more compost—but obviously, the serpent god will not, and cannot, agree to such a thing.

Unless they can control the serpent god, that is, control a stable source of compost.

That means they are going to fight the serpent god.

"hiss……"

Looking up at the towering figure of the Serpent God, the 27th generation Akakage immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

This is undoubtedly the most dangerous thing. By opposing the serpent god, the Ignivas might even follow the old path of the Old King's era.

As for where this road leads...

The answer is already obvious.

If they could truly defeat the Serpent God, then the Old King's Era wouldn't be called the Old King's Era.

Moreover, they seemed to have no need to clash with this serpent god.

"But if we didn't have that fertilizer..."

"Can't you figure out a way to get those fertilizers yourselves?"

Du Yi couldn't help but scratch his head.

"You've already managed to extract vitamins, how could you forget to put effort into composting? Can't you do it yourselves?"

"How could we possibly... wait?"

Just as the 27th Akakage was about to say something, he suddenly froze.

It seems... that's indeed the case.

They've already refined the essence of food to such an extent, so why can't they achieve a similar level in composting?

Yes, even if what they make can never compare to what the snake god made, as long as it can get infinitely close to the effect of the snake god's excrement, wouldn't that still be the key to solving the problem?

"This kind of thing..."

At that moment, the 27th Akakage suddenly thought of those people in the mountains.

The way that the people in the mountains talk about is probably this kind of thing: as long as you think of it, you should do it, and do it through your own efforts. As long as you are willing to do it, there is nothing that cannot be done; it's just a matter of how long it takes.

In order to extract the true essence from food, he has been the twenty-seventh Akakage to date.

So, what difference would it make if we had a few more generations of Akakage to make the necessary compost?

"Thank you for your guidance, Ancestor of the Dao! I understand completely now!"

The 27th Akakage immediately bowed down, thanking the Snake God for his guidance.

Du Yi, however, nodded slowly.

He could tell that this large savage truly understood; at least the resolute look in his eyes was unmistakable—it was undoubtedly a look of wanting to do something. This large savage had already stopped thinking about those things concerning digging up his toilet.

However, to ensure the accuracy of the information, Du Yi still asked the large savage again to confirm that the savage really wanted to go back and develop it himself before he felt at ease.

"Then you can go back now, and take your white flour with you while you're at it."

Seeing that the large savage was full of ambition, Du Yi also prepared to continue resting.

"Also, please don't disturb my sleep anymore. If there's anything, we can talk about it after I finish shedding my skin."

"Rest in peace, the Ignivas are capable of facing all difficulties."

The 27th Akakage nodded repeatedly, expressing his determination.

The exchange with the Ancestor of the Dao was beneficial. Although he failed to obtain the serpent god's excrement, he obtained something far more valuable than the serpent god's excrement.

That is the wisdom of the serpent god.

Or perhaps, the guidance of the ancestor of the Tao.

However, that's certainly not the right way to put it, since even the Ancestor of the Dao wouldn't allow him to use the title "Ancestor of the Dao," and it seems that the Snake God wouldn't be allowed either.

"Then... Taiichi it is."

The 27th Akakage thought to himself.

Taiyi, meaning "a very large one," vividly depicts the appearance of the serpent god.

That should solve the problem.

"This is the wisdom of Taiyi!"

With these thoughts in mind, the 27th Akakage, brimming with confidence, returned to the outside of the sacred mountain.

He couldn't wait to share the wisdom from Taiyi with all the Ignivas.

Chapter 74: Forgetting the Battle Will Lead to Danger

“I have received the wisdom from the One God.”

Upon returning to the city, the 27th Akakage summoned everyone he could and proclaimed the guidance of the serpent god to them.

Unfortunately, only a minority of people were willing to listen to the 27th Akakage. Most of them felt that the 27th Akakage had been making trouble for a long time, but the problem had not been solved at all. Some even said extremely presumptuous things, and they even felt that the Serpent God was just fobbing them off.

Only a few people thought that the Twenty-Seventh Akakage was right; most of them were the mages who had originally gathered around the Twenty-Seventh Akakage.

Clearly, there was another group of mages who also felt that the 27th Akakage was just giving them the runaround.

After all, the snake god only offered guidance, without providing any substantial help.

"The people of our tribe seem to be acting strangely."

It was this unexpected turn of events that led the 27th Akakage to discover some problems that had not been noticed before.

The clansmen seemed to have changed. In his memory, after he mentioned Taiyi's guidance and the ancestor of the Dao, the clansmen should have followed that guidance and continued to study diligently. After all, when they were researching the essence of food, the clansmen had done the same thing. Now it was just a repetition.

Even he himself has made mental preparations, and is even prepared to fight like his predecessors, for several generations.

But the tribespeople right now think completely differently.

The tribesmen had lost their ambition and only knew how to rely on the serpent god's blessings. When the serpent god stopped giving them blessings, they actually began to complain about him. These complaints were completely unreasonable, since the compost was not even a blessing; it was just that they had dug up the serpent god's excrement, nothing more.

"How could those fiery Ignivas people have become like this?"

He was indifferent to any hardships and difficulties, but he was truly bewildered by the state of his clansmen.

He longed to seek the serpent god's guidance again, but the serpent god had fallen into a deep sleep once more, and during their previous conversation, had strictly forbidden him from disturbing the serpent god.

"Besides, if I blindly rely on the serpent god's guidance, wouldn't I just be like them?"

The 27th Akakage thought to himself.

However, while he couldn't ask the Snake God directly, he could ask those who had once been closest to him. So, after a short rest, he went to seek out those seekers of the Way, those who had once lived in the mountains, to ask for guidance.

The person who came out to greet him was the same seeker of the Dao as before.

"The answer is simple: because the people have lost the Way."

Faced with the doubts of the 27th Akakage, the Seeker provided an answer.

“Long, long ago, at the end of the Old King’s era, the Ice People conquered the capital of the Ignis… After achieving victory and possessing everything, those Ice People were just like this, even more complacent than their people are today.”

Hearing the seeker recount that past history, the 27th Akakage felt a deep sense of empathy.

Before coming to seek answers, he had thought about this history, but he was still somewhat reluctant to compare his people to those icefield people of that time.

So, how should we deal with these issues?

The 27th Akakage expressed his doubts.

"How can we help our people find their way... Speaking of which, how did the people in the mountains back then, those original seekers of the Way, manage to do it?"

"This... is rather complicated to explain."

The seeker pondered for a moment, then continued speaking.

The story of how the Ignis people became the Mountain People, the original Seekers, is indeed quite complex—though later Seekers did manage to compile that history and glean some insights from it.

"The first seekers of the Way were persecuted by the mages... I'm referring to the mages of that time, the royal families of the Old King's era."

Seeing that the 27th Akakage's expression remained unchanged, the Seeker continued speaking.

"The royal family of the old king's era caused them to lose everything, but after being saved by the serpent god, they regained everything... In the beginning, they were actually immoral, and even after receiving guidance from the serpent god, they were still immoral."

"Even after receiving guidance from the Snake God, he is still without virtue?"

This was the first time the 27th Akakage had heard this claim. It was completely different from what those seekers of the Dao claimed to have received guidance from the Ancestor of the Dao and then began their search for the Dao.

At that time, it even vaguely reminded him of this very moment.

"It simply omitted some unnecessary details."

Seeing that the 27th Akakage was still somewhat confused, the Seeker said this.

"Those people in the mountains back then did indeed receive guidance from the Ancestor of the Dao, but at the very beginning, they didn't understand what the Dao truly meant..."

The seeker continued to recount those past events.

The earliest seekers of the Dao had a rather confused understanding of it. At that time, they only felt that doing what they wanted to do was probably seeking the Dao. So at that time, they were more likely to act recklessly and even wantonly. Until the Ice Plains people attacked, but the Dao Ancestor did not appear. All the people in the mountains were captured by the Ice Plains people and made into slaves and prisoners.

"It was at that time that the people in the mountains realized that only by mastering the power to protect themselves could they be considered to have the foundation for seeking the Tao."