[Go become the original Ancient One! I’m waiting for you at the end of the river of time!]
When this familiar voice echoed in Li Xudou’s ear, he merely looked around nonchalantly.
Because he knew this wasn’t reality, but a dream.
Since Li Xudou arrived in this era, about a month has passed.
In this month, Li Xudou blended seamlessly into the life of the mountain people and enjoyed their admiring gazes with great interest.
After all, in Li Xudou’s own era, he was always the one being taken care of.
In contrast, in this era, Li Xudou became the Innate Divine who looked after and protected the mountain people.
In just a month, Li Xudou had quelled seven or eight conflicts among the Gods and the secondary disasters that arose from them.
Of course, it was also this desire to show off that led to his nature.
Li Jingshu strictly forbade him from contacting the Li Family Village of this era to avoid truly affecting the future.
Not only that, but even the name "Li Xudou" could not appear; instead, he was called "Houyi."
After all, Li Xudou indeed was a descendant of the mountain people, a progeny from the future.
In the absence of using his real name, Li Xudou accepted this name given by Xiaogui.
At the same time, Li Xudou finally understood why when he was a child, Aunt Gui always called him "Xiaoyi."
He originally thought it was merely his nickname before he got an official name.
But now it seems the situation is far more complex than he had imagined.
Li Xudou isn’t even sure if there’s another meaning behind this title.
After all, this current dream is from an ancient hero named Dayi.
Dayi and Houyi, although spelled differently, sound nearly the same, making it really hard to say whether it’s a coincidence.
"What do you want to show me today?"
Just bowing his head lightly, Li Xudou indeed saw the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow in his hand.
From the previous dreams, Li Xudou had basically learned about the first half of Dayi’s life and guessed that Dayi was the former owner of the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow.
To be honest, Dayi’s life story is quite inspirational.
Dayi was born in the late reign of Celestial Emperor Hao, in a tribe that worshiped the Ancient Sun God Xihe.
Unfortunately, due to various celestial disasters and man-made calamities, Dayi’s tribe had already dwindled, resulting in him becoming a wanderer at an early age.
However, Dayi was innately gifted and divine, with a passionate and kind heart.
So, although nominally a "wanderer," Dayi was actually raised on food from various families.
Relying on his strong physique and superior archery skills, he hunted tigers, leopards, wolves, and insects for food in the wild and helped people resolve disasters in exchange for food, reaching the tribe.
As time passed, Dayi gained a significant reputation among the human circle of that time.
Yet, it was not the era of humans, but the era of the Gods.
Even though Dayi had gained a high reputation among humans, he was, after all, just an ordinary human being of flesh and blood.
The ascent path was monopolized...
The frequent human sacrifices made Dayi furious...
Thus, Dayi decided to climb Kunlun Mountain and ascend the Ascension Stairs to meet the Celestial Emperor.
In that era, the Ascension Stairs were the only potential way for mortals to contact the Celestial Emperor and their chance to change fate against the heavens.
Because those who reached the top of the Ascension Stairs would receive the blessing of the Celestial Emperor, becoming the Emperor’s agent on earth.
As expected, Dayi eventually succeeded in climbing the Ascension Stairs.
Standing at the juncture of the Celestial Emperor’s Capital and the human world, Dayi bathed in divine light and received the favor of the Celestial Emperor.
The Gods watched, and the masses gazed in awe...
Just when everyone thought a new Heavenly Emperor’s agent was about to emerge, Dayi unexpectedly refused the Emperor’s blessing.
"I will always be myself, Yi, born among humanity."
"My journey here is only to speak for humanity, to let you, the Celestial Emperor, know how hard it is for the mortals under your reign!"
It was the first time since the Celestial Emperor’s birth that someone had refused His blessing.
The most crucial point is that the Emperor’s blessing isn’t something negotiable.
It’s a mandatory power, a ceremony for the will of Celestial Emperor Hao to descend upon mortals.
In other words, Dayi refused the descent of the Emperor’s will and the role of being the Emperor’s agent by the sheer strength of his conviction.
Then, an unexpected scene unfolded.
The long-absent Celestial Emperor Hao unveiled His true form and bestowed upon Dayi the Divine Artifacts [Crimson Bow] and [White Arrow].
Subsequently, Dayi became the "God of Inquiry and Judgment," commanded by Emperor Hao, responsible for judging the transgressions of the Gods and quelling the calamities of the human realm.
During this period, Dayi achieved five major accomplishments in the first half of his life, becoming a great hero on par with the Gods in a mortal’s body.
The first major accomplishment of Dayi was slaying the Gouge-Toothed Beast in the Fields of Chouhua.
In the southern region of the land was a plain named "Fields of Chouhua."
There, an Evil God with chisel-like long teeth and wielding shield and spear fed on human flesh, using living creatures for sacrifice, nearly wiping out all existence on the plain.
Dayi fought it head-on, piercing its weak defensive point with an arrow, ending its atrocities and restoring order in the south.
Following that was Dayi’s second great accomplishment, annihilating the Nine Infants in the Fierce Water.
The Nine Infants were ancestors of the nine-headed Snake God Xiangliu, Fiends even more ferocious.
This Nine-Headed Snake Evil God resided for years in the northern Fierce Water, capable of spitting fiery flames and icy water and frequently surfaced to attack gathered humans.
Dayi exploited the Nine Infants’ flaw of "asynchronous breathing of the nine heads" to shoot through its nine heads with consecutive arrows during its breathing pauses, preventing water and fire disasters from consuming the north.
Then came Dayi’s third major accomplishment, shooting down the Great Wind in Qingqiu Marsh.
In the late reign of Celestial Emperor Hao, the binding over the Gods wasn’t as strong as before.
Thus, at Qingqiu Marsh in the east, the Wind Master Da Feng attempted to incite a rebellion, and Dayi was ordered to quell this "Rebellion of the Wind Master."
In that suppression battle, Dayi used a specially crafted "Silk Arrow" to drag Da Feng down by silk ropes after hitting, then slew him by spear, calming the windstorm in the east.
After the battle, all the Gods in heaven and earth realized Dayi’s might.
As the strongest sword in the hands of Celestial Emperor Hao, Dayi’s presence commanded reverence from the Gods.
In such scenes, the human world enjoyed a few rare years of peace.
Dayi’s fame spread across the Four Seas and Eight Desolates, becoming undoubtedly the first person under the Celestial Emperor.
But what no one expected was that this was merely the calm before the storm, with an even greater crisis brewing beneath the calmness.
☞☞Monthly Ticket☜☜/☞☞Recommendation Ticket☜☜