I have a relic of heaven

Chapter 342 The Struggle for the Throne, Lord of the Nine Netherworlds!
The end of the Second Age.

A barbaric era.

A man named Shennong traveled across hundreds of rivers and tasted hundreds of herbs, teaching humankind to practice slash-and-burn agriculture. He eventually became the second human emperor and was revered as the "Earthly Emperor".

The fortunes of the human race soared because of him, thanks to the groundwork laid by the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi and the protection of the Earthly Emperor Shennong.
Humans are already on par with demons in terms of destiny; they are just one step away from surpassing demons and becoming the new protagonists of the world.

"This last resort depends on you."

The aged Shennong gently stroked the child's head and said with a smile:

"what's your name?"

"Ji Xuanyuan," the child said, looking up.

The aged Shennong clapped his hands and laughed:

"Humanity should have three emperors, and you shall be the last one."

The child nodded, raised his head, and gazed at the old Shennong:
"I have one more."

"Oh? What is it?"

"My name is also Zhou Mu."

Shennong paused for a moment, then smiled:

"It's no use, young friend."

He, or rather, He, turned around, looked at Kunlun in the distance, raised his foot, and set off to attack the Jade Void Palace on Kunlun!

Xiao Xuanyuan sighed, lifted his foot and stepped into the passage of time, heading towards another era, stepping onto the ruins of the Heavenly Court.

He reached out and tore open the vault, entering it. Amidst the trembling gazes of the three innate spiritual roots, he strolled into the tenth floor.

Zhou Mu sat upright on the riverbank, looking at the person in the river, staring at the sword scar on the other's chest, and asked:
"who are you?"

The creatures at the bottom of the river opened their eyes and spoke with smiles:
"What, are you going to stab me again?"

"That's not true."

Zhou Mu smiled, seventy-two colors of light appeared behind him, and the Primordial Auspicious Cloud appeared beneath him. He held the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi in one hand and the Primordial Heaven-Opening Banner in the other.

He said:

“You should know that I have become the Primordial Beginning, but why is there no sword mark on the Primordial Beginning’s chest? Is it because you cannot usurp the Primordial Beginning’s position? Can’t transform the Primordial Beginning’s position into your next life? That doesn’t make sense.”

After a pause, Zhou Mu frowned and spoke:
"Because your abilities are too extraordinary, you can change the order of the three major nodes of [past], [present], and [future] - even the Three Pure Ones would need to work together to do this."

"Therefore, for you, it should not be difficult to make me, who has ascended to the position of the Primordial Venerable, still your 'future life'?"

Hearing Zhou Mu's question, the confused one calmly replied:
"It's because I don't want to."

"As expected." Zhou Mu understood. "Why wouldn't you want to?"

The confused one looked at Zhou Mu with a mocking expression:

"you guess?"

He paused, then his gaze deepened:
“I have already set an irreversible future for you. If you continue to try to sever your connection with me, you are destined to become that corpse, destined to die and perish.”

Zhou Mu, who looked like a young child, yawned.

"I really don't understand your background or your intentions. Never mind, I need your help."

"Oh?" The confused one became somewhat interested: "Help you? Why should I?"

Zhou Mu gazed at Him, and the jade ruyi and the Heaven-Opening Banner disappeared, the seventy-two-colored light and the Primordial Auspicious Clouds dispersed, no longer residing in the Primordial position.

Then he touched the sword scar that had appeared on his chest after he lost his Primordial Status:
"Because I am your reincarnation, I am you, and you are me."

"Helping me is helping yourself."

As he spoke, Zhou Mu pointed to the sword scar on his chest, and then to the sword scar on the chest of the murky figure at the bottom of the river.

The confused one curled his lip:
"Alright. By the way, how long until you become the Heavenly Emperor?"

"Soon, isn't it?" Zhou Mu laughed. "To take the throne of the Nine Netherworlds, one must face Houtu directly; to take the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, I'm afraid the deposed Jade Emperor will jump out."

"Hmm, maybe Taiyi and Dijun will also jump out."

"So, let's not rush. Let me secure my position as the Lord of the Nine Netherworlds first."

Upon hearing this, the confused one praised:
"Very smart, just as I thought."

"However, I still have one question."

He gazed at Zhou Mu.

Zhou Mu nodded:

"please say."

The Chaotic One said:

"Have you resolved the issues that are bound by chains and locks in your heart?"

Zhou Mu thought for a moment and replied:
"I have answered all the questions of the Five Chains, namely, 'Who are the Five Emperors?' And I have answered the question of the Three Locks, namely, 'Who is Xuanyuan?'"

"As for who Fuxi and Shennong are, I haven't had time to answer yet, but if I want to, I can answer who Shennong is at any time—Houtu."

After pausing for a moment, Zhou Mu asked with a smile:

"Here's the question: Do you know who Fuxi is? Is he the same person as Nuwa?"

The one in a state of confusion shook his head, not answering directly, but instead smiled and said:
"It's good that I didn't have time to answer. Shennong, not Houtu."

Zhou Mu was stunned:

"Shennong is not Houtu? Are you kidding me?"

The primordial being stretched, causing the boundless river to churn and tremble.
"In the past and present, Shennong is Houtu, but in the future, that may not be the case."

As he spoke, he smiled and said with pride:
"As far as I am concerned, the past and the present are not necessarily before the future. There can be a future first, and then there can be a past. You know this."

Zhou Mu was a little confused:
"So, what do you mean?"

The confused one poked his head out of the river and asked a question instead of answering:
"What did you originally want me to do for you?"

Zhou Mu replied:
“Block Shennong. He is now almost supreme, and I cannot handle him. I need you to help me delay him and give me time to manipulate the Ultimate Ancient Land and reclaim the power from the Ultimate Ancient Land on him.”

"In this way, Shennong will return to the level of an ordinary great supernatural being, no longer 'He,' and I can then deal with him."

After listening quietly to Zhou Mu's words, the confused man shook his head:

"This can indeed make you surpass Houtu, rule the Six Paths, and become the new master of the Nine Netherworlds, but it's not enough, it's still not enough."

"Future me, how could you be so dull-witted? Or am I smarter?"

He held up a finger to his lips, making a 'shh' gesture, before saying:
"How about I kill Shennong, let Him perish, and then transform Him into my next life?"

Zhou Mu's eyes widened:
"Can you beat me?"

"I can't beat them," the confused one honestly replied. "But with you in the mix, it might be different."

Zhou Mu was puzzled, but nodded in agreement:

"You can give it a try."

"However, I also have a question."

"explain."

After a moment's thought, Zhou Mu asked:
“Just now, you called me ‘the future me,’ but I am not the future you; I am the ‘you of the next life.’”

The confused one wondered:
"Is this different?"

Zhou Mu's gaze suddenly sharpened:
"It's the same for others, but for you, it's completely different. The future can precede the past, and the next life can precede this life."

"So, who are you anyway?"

The confused one slowly sank his head to the bottom of the river, leaving only four words behind.

"you guess?"

"whee."

Zhou Mu's eyelids twitched.

...............

future.

"Young friend, you have lost." Shennong's palm struck Lingbao Daojun, triggering a massive surge of future events. The past.

"Young friend, you have lost."

Shennong smiled, his fist sweeping across the Jade Void Palace, striking at the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, a gesture he made at every moment.

The overwhelming power of the near-supreme being shook the heavens and the earth. The solemn Buddha, who was being suppressed under the Jade Void Palace, opened his eyes in astonishment, while the Jade Emperor, who sat in the Lingxiao Palace, looked up wearily.

That is the time.

The end of the Second Era, a barbaric age.

A man named Shennong traveled to hundreds of rivers and tasted hundreds of herbs. He ascended to the throne of the Earthly Sovereign and helped the human race prosper. When he was about to abdicate, he stood in front of a young child.

"This last resort depends on you."

The aged Shennong gently stroked the child's head and said with a smile:

"This last resort depends on you."

The aged Shennong gently stroked the child's head and said with a smile:

"what's your name?"

The confused toddler punched through His chest and smiled:

"My name is Shennong."

This is now, and it is also every moment in the past.

On the eve of the first tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, the middle-aged Taoist standing in front of the Jade Cauldron Immortal Palace was enveloped in a hazy aura of chaos. He looked up and stared at Shennong, who was coming to attack, and pointed a finger, piercing through the other's head.

In the year of the Great Calamity of the Journey to the West, Zhen Yuanzi, with a solemn and fearful expression, saw the Great Celestial Venerable shrouded in chaotic energy. With a wave of his hand, the gates of the Jade Void Palace swung open.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable, seated within, raised his eyelids and pointed a finger, piercing through the head of the approaching Shennong.

It was the Primordial Celestial Venerable who, at every moment, pierced through the Shennong who attacked at every moment.

"audacious in the extreme."

The Primordial Celestial Venerable, shrouded in chaos, spoke thus.

A faint sword mark appeared on Shennong's chest, very blurry and unclear, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

This moment, and the future.

Amidst the blurred future, Shennong was covered in sweat:

"what happened"

He sensed a crisis, realizing that [Primordial Beginning] had been replaced, and wiped the sweat from his brow:
"Yuanshi can replace people, but what about Lingbao?"

This near-Supreme being glanced down at his chest, at the sword wound that appeared and disappeared intermittently. Though he didn't know the reason, he had a very bad premonition.

At the same time, He knew that victory was just around the corner!
Destroying Lingbao Daozun and destroying that little guy's future self could still turn the tide!

He strode forward, toward Lingbao Daozun, who sat atop the layers of the future, and suppressed the young Zhou Mu with one palm, then struck Lingbao Daozun with another!

Lingbao looked up, stunned:
"Are you crazy?"

Shennong smiled, his large hand pressing down, his face beaming:
"Young friend, you are ultimately a step behind in the game."

‘Boom! ’

Shennong pressed his palm against Lingbao Daozun's forehead.

Lingbao Daozun remained motionless and unharmed, only repeating the question and answer with puzzlement:

"Are you crazy?"

Shennong was dumbfounded.

Is this awkward?
He looked bewildered, instinctively glancing at the young Zhou Mu, the future figure he was suppressing in his hands. The latter innocently said:

"I have not yet assumed the position of Lingbao Daojun."

“You attacked the real [Lingbao Daozun].

Shennong gasped, looked up, and saw the young Taoist with an unfriendly expression. He noticed the Qingping Sword on the other man's knees tremble.

A sword rang out.

A series of fantastical futures unleash a tremendous wave that will engulf Shennong, who exists in the future.

He died.

He died at the hands of Lingbao Daozun in the future, and at the tip of the chaotic Primordial Fingertip in the past.

………………

The end of the Second Age, a barbaric era.

Fuxi observed the celestial phenomena, the patterns of the earth, and the markings of birds and beasts. He created the Eight Trigrams, invented writing, and taught fishing and hunting, thus becoming the first human emperor.

He was honored as the Emperor, which made the fate of the human race no longer insignificant, but had more than half the fate of the demons.

That year, he stroked the forehead of a young child:

"After me, it should be you. You should call me the destiny of the human race, on par with the demon race. The human race should have three emperors. I am the first, and you are the second."

"After the birth of the Third Emperor, the position of the human race as the protagonist of the world was completely established."

After a moment's pause, Fuxi asked kindly:

"what's your name?"

The child answered:

“Jiang Kui, I too will be the Earth Emperor, and I too will be called Shennong.”

As he spoke, the child suddenly lowered his head, tore open his clothes, looked at the sword scar that was slowly emerging and becoming clearer on his chest, and smiled brightly:

"My name is also Zhou Mu."

Fuxi was taken aback.

At this moment, in the present time.

Zhou Mu sat upright before the chessboard, contemplating the depths of his own soul, touching the second shackle, and answered:

"Shennong is Zhou Mu."

The shackles snapped instantly.

As for now, of the original three locks and five chains, only the last lock remains, and only the last question remains.

Who is Fuxi?

Zhou Mu then opened his eyes, raised his head, looked at Shennong in front of him, and smiled:

"Empress Houtu, you have lost."

Shennong's lips trembled. He lowered his head, looked at his chest, at the sword marks that were gradually appearing, and wanted to say something, but his voice was hoarse and strained.

He only had time to say in the end:

"Young friend, no, I should call you fellow Daoist now."

One wrong move and the whole game is lost.

Shennong sighed softly. The Lord of the Blood Sea was separated from him and fled back to the Ultimate Ancient Land. He also fell into him and closed his eyes.

When Shennong opened his eyes again, the sigh was gone, the daze was gone, and he had the same smile as Zhou Mu on his face. He then reached out and grabbed.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation appeared in his palm, while Shen Tu huddled in a corner.

Shennong handed the Six Paths of Reincarnation to Zhou Mu, who held it, rubbed it in his palm, gazed at the Six Paths, and quietly observed the cycle of reincarnation.

Next to this [Dao Zheng Chessboard], there is an additional seat, one of which belongs to Zhou Mu.

The fourteenth position.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation appeared behind Zhou Mu.

Heaven, Human, Asura, Hungry Ghost, Animal, Hell.

Each of the six realms absorbs and releases souls; the dead are reborn, and the living enter the world, all in perfect order.

The Nine Netherworlds have changed masters once more.

(End of this chapter)