Chapter Ninety-One: Origins

They call themselves the ancient human race because, tens of thousands of years ago, they already left the surface and went to live in a strange realm. That was the demand left to them by the fifth generation of humanity. Even the name ancient was inherited from the generation before them.

Who exactly are you people? Ma Yi asked, genuinely curious now. He found these ancient humans exceedingly strange.

Let me tell you about the successive generations of humanity, and then you will understand, the Sword Immortal said with a calm glance at Ma Yi.

The first generation of humanity was barbaric, yet each and every one of them was immensely powerful. In those days the world could contain such formidable beings. Perhaps they were simply too strong, or perhaps they carried some special mission. In any case, the mighty ones crossed the starry sky and left this place. Those who remained were all congenital invalids, or people of low ability. And yet it was precisely these weak and disabled humans who gave rise to the second generation of humanity.

The first generation was innately powerful? Are Pangu and Nüwa among their representatives? Ma Yi said, a spark of insight flashing through his mind.

The Sword Immortal sighed. You seem to know a little. But you are mistaken. Pangu belonged to the first generation, yes, but Nüwa was the chief of the second generation. She was among the weaker members of the first generation, which is why she was left behind. In the end she brought about the second generation of humanity. It seems they received some kind of message as well, because the second generation also departed with many powerful clansmen, crossing the starry sky and following in the footsteps of the first. Whenever the various races that arose alongside humanity appeared, they too would leave together with humanity, as if something in the unseen was summoning them.

Then came the third generation of humanity. Who were its representatives? Ma Yi asked, voicing his own thoughts.

Among the third generation, the most famous were Jiang Ziya and Jiang Shang. As for the other races, the most famous might have been Shen Gongbao, the Sword Immortal said.

Shen Gongbao was not human? Ma Yi asked in surprise.

Of course not. He was a powerful member of the beast race, probably a leopard clan expert, the Butcher said with a hearty laugh when he heard Ma Yi.

So the legends are a little off, then, Ma Yi muttered, momentarily stunned. Still, he now had a rough sense of the timeline, so he continued, Who were the representatives of the fourth generation of humanity?

The fourth generation was actually the smallest in number. According to our records, when the third generation left, almost all the strong ones went with them. Not many of the ancient texts were preserved intact. So the fourth generation was, in a sense, the weakest of all the generations. Its representative figures were Erlang Yang and Nezha Li.

Was Sun Wukong part of the beast race? Ma Yi looked at the Sword Immortal and asked.

Who is Sun Wukong? The Sword Immortal looked baffled, casting a strange glance at Ma Yi and the dragon. The dragon was now utterly muddled, unable to make head or tail of what they were talking about, but it was not allowed to leave, so it could only obediently lie on the ground and recover from its injuries.

Who was the strongest of the beast race back then? Ma Yi asked, still bewildered. Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong were not of the same generation, were they?

The strongest of the beast race was the Great Ape King. He was, at the time, the mightiest existence among the beasts. Though no match for Erlang Yang, he was still considerably stronger than Nezha Li.

A monkey? Ma Yi blinked. Then that should be Sun Wukong, right?

Not a monkey, an ape-man. It is said he was the offspring of a human and a long-armed ape, the Sword Immortal said.

What the heck, a human and an ape. Ma Yi's mental image turned strangely absurd.

Exactly. And then came our fifth generation of humanity. Among us now there are many powerful ones. The strongest is General Bai Qi, followed by the formidable General Feng Xian, General Guan Yun, General Zhang Fei, General Zhao Zilong, as well as Zuo Ci, Hua Tuo, Li Yuanba, Yuan Tiangang, and many others. It can be said that our generation is far stronger than the fourth, enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the mighty of the third. But you sixth-generation humans are simply too weak. There is little we can say about that. So, in accordance with the final wishes of the fourth generation elders, we released the corpse qi sealed within the forbidden zone. According to the elder, this corpse qi was left behind by one of the second generation's powerful beings. It was intended for use when there were no successors left, to create an alternate kind of human strongman.

Wait. You're saying that the corpse qi was released by you? Ma Yi looked at the three of them in shock.

Yes. We released the corpse qi in order to forge powerful alternative humans, the Sword Immortal said with a nod.

Then we're really zombies? Ma Yi looked at himself, then at the corpse king dragon across from him.

I do not understand what you mean by zombies. I can only put it this way: even if the corpse qi changes you, you may no longer be exactly yourselves, but you are still descendants of my human race. And this corpse qi is no ordinary corpse qi. It was innate to one of the second generation's strong beings from birth.

What was that human strong one's name? Ma Yi asked in confusion.

Hánbà.

Holy hell, the Zombie King Hánbà, daughter of the Yellow Emperor. Ma Yi's worldview kept collapsing and rebuilding itself. Fortunately his nerves were broad; otherwise, with one strange thing after another appearing before him, any ordinary person would already have been completely lost.

That does seem to have been one of her titles. In those days Hánbà was also among the ten greatest of my human race, with a bronze head and iron bones, invincible in battle.

All right then. So what brings you here today? Ma Yi asked, glancing at the one dressed as a Sword Immortal.

Let me answer, the Butcher said. Not long ago we received a message that predecessors from the earlier generations would be returning. As for which generation they belong to, we do not know. But the matter sounds serious, as though they encountered some great trouble.

But this has nothing to do with us, does it? My strength isn't much, and I can't really help with anything. Did you come to the wrong place? Ma Yi looked perplexed.

Actually, we had not intended to come at first. But you, newly initiated and still so insignificant, are hardly worth worrying over, the scholar said.

Enough. Keep your mouth shut, the Butcher said, his expression darkening as he gave the scholar a cold glance.

We have actually been observing you for a long time. We suddenly discovered that you infected with corpse qi grow at an astonishing speed. Even after the age for cultivation has passed, the corpse qi still forcibly reshapes you. From ordinary bodies, you can very quickly be forged into acquired treasure bodies. Truly remarkable. So the higher-ups issued an order for us to come and establish contact with you. At the proper time, we will also give you some assistance.

What is an acquired treasure body? The more Ma Yi listened, the more confused he became. Hadn't they just been talking about something out of science fiction? How had it suddenly turned into mythology? And even stranger, zombies supposedly had something called an acquired treasure body? Were these three here to make a joke?

If we are to speak of the acquired treasure body, then we must first speak of the ranks of strength, the Butcher said, stroking his thick beard slowly. In our world, the quality of a human physique is divided into many grades. The lowest is the clay vessel: one does not live beyond a hundred years, and at best one can only reach entry level four. With your current strength, you are merely at entry level nine. Entry level is the lowest stage in the entire system. Beyond entry level lies the extraordinary realm; the three of us are all in the extraordinary realm. After that comes the carefree realm. Once one attains carefree, lifespan increases by twelve hundred and eighty-six years, and each minor breakthrough grants another twelve hundred and eighty-six years.

Heavens, you can live that long? Ma Yi was practically turned to stone. Humans were supposed to live only a little over a hundred years.

Yes. Beyond the carefree realm lies the fate-knowing realm. One must know the mandate of heaven before one can rise above the clouds. Upon reaching fate-knowing, lifespan increases by twelve thousand eight hundred and sixty years. Likewise, each minor breakthrough adds another twelve thousand eight hundred and sixty years. At this level, one may already compete for the position of elder within the human race. The current human chieftain is at the pinnacle of fate-knowing, only one step away from the heavenly secret realm. The heavenly secret realm, as its name implies, is to seize a sliver of heaven's secret and achieve the true self. This level is also called the true self realm. Achieving the true self grants an additional one hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred years of life, and each minor breakthrough increases it still further. At present, many of our human race's top experts are at this level. It is the highest realm known to us.

That's it? Ma Yi's heart thudded wildly. Leaving aside what these so-called realms represented, just living for more than ten thousand years was already beyond human existence. That was the stuff of immortals and earthbound sages in the legends.

How could that be all? It is said that beyond the heavenly secret realm lies the boundary-breaking realm, which can add ten tribulations of lifespan, the Butcher said with a smile.

Ten tribulations? Ma Yi now resembled a curious child, full of questions at every turn.

One tribulation is one hundred twenty-eight thousand six hundred years. Ten tribulations is one million two hundred eighty-six thousand years, the Butcher explained.

Holy hell. That really does make one an old monster. Then again, it makes sense. In the myths, those immortals are always said to have lived through countless tribulations. So that's what it means to have lived that long, Ma Yi thought, marveling inwardly.

Indeed. And after the boundary-breaking realm there are two more realms. These were summarized little by little by many generations of our people: the eternal realm and the indestructible realm. The eternal realm, it is said, has a lifespan of over a thousand tribulations, though we do not know whether that is truly so. As for the indestructible realm, that is truly immortal and undying. Perhaps one would simply live far too long, maybe tens of thousands of tribulations, or even hundreds of thousands. But if you calculate it, how many years would that be? It is too distant to imagine.

Speaking of the eternal and indestructible realms, the Butcher could not help but sigh. Not to mention anything else, they did not even know whether they would see beings of those realms in their own lifetime, let alone hope to attain eternal or indestructible themselves. There was simply no such hope.

Having finished with the realms, let me now speak of the various constitutions. From worst to best, they are: clay vessel, sand hourglass, dripping vase, acquired mortal body, acquired spirit body, acquired treasure body, innate spirit body, innate treasure body, acquired supreme body, innate supreme body.

When the Butcher finished, Ma Yi spoke up at once.

Isn't this acquired treasure body only mid-tier? What's so strange about that? Surely the human race doesn't lack people with acquired treasure bodies.

The key lies here. Among humanity today, aside from the first three ordinary types, most people are acquired spirit bodies or innate spirit bodies. Not only are acquired mortal bodies absent, but even acquired treasure bodies are rarer than innate spirit bodies. Look at you lot: every single one of you is an acquired treasure body. Do you see? Most importantly, within the human race there is a method that can directly elevate an acquired treasure body into an acquired supreme body. Now you understand why we came.

What the hell? So if we obtain that method, we can directly become acquired supreme bodies? Ma Yi was stunned again.

Exactly. That is one of the strongest of the two great physiques. So long as you work hard, in the future you may even break through the heavenly secret realm and achieve boundary-breaking, the Butcher said with a smile.

At last Ma Yi understood why the scholar's tone toward them had been unfriendly. It was definitely jealousy.