Chapter 562: The Creator
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Just as the entire Shangyi was in a state of confusion after Fang Yuan's actions, none of them would expect him to stroll casually in the capital instead of fleeing for his life.
"Is this the Creator's Temple?"
Fang Yuan looked up towards the towering architecture. It was built around the mountainous terrain and had an ancient look to it. There was a solemn vibe coming from the temple.
There was religion in the Shang Dynasty. However, there were only two main religions: The Tai God from the Heavens and the Creator from the Earth!
Rumour had it that the Tai God was the one who created the realm, while the Creator was the god of the people.
'According to religion, the Tai God represents the Heavenly Will! It represents the rules of the realm! The dao! It does not take any form. However, it is useless if any humans were to worship it...'
The Heavenly Will would be able to affect the large scale of things, but it helping individuals was unheard of. It was too high up and seemed almost irrelevant to most.
However, it was different for The Creator.
"If I were to do this, a God might just appear out of nowhere..."
Fang Yuan stepped into the temple and arrived at the main hall. A statue greeted him.
The statue of the female god had lifelike expressions and was a dainty looking god. It seemed compassionate, but the surprising thing was the fact that it had the body of a snake!
"Has it finally became a god..."
Fang Yuan's eyes glittered as he immediately felt a connection between the statue. He felt connected to it in another realm.
The actual body of The Creator was not in the Shang Capital. Rather, it was in another half plane.
After all, this god was the guardian of mankind and not just the god of the Shang Empire. Obviously, she would not be here.
"Religion creates higher beings... This is interesting..."
Fang Yuan immersed himself in the atmosphere and was lost in his thoughts.
The Tai God represented the Heavenly Will and was an enormous entity. It could not reincarnate into humans even if humans were to worship it.
Furthermore, it would not be able to detect anything even if humans were to worship it. If an entire capital were to worship it, there might just be a slight chance for the Tai God to sense it.
However, this was different for The Creator. It was more suited to humans and was widely worshipped everywhere. It also did not have the burden of the entire realm as it had the ability to take up human forms, becoming a true divine being!
"It is harder to become a deity than to follow the god dao... It has already been 500 years, but realm energy practitioners would only undergo a few breakthroughs during this period of time. However, religions could be easily strengthened in such a short period of time... Could Army Leader Chi have reincarnated into another form as well?"
Gazing at the half-human half-snake statue of The Creator, Fang Yuan could almost feel as though he was in contact with the purest and most powerful form of energy of the Ancient Realm.
"Master!"
Ge Nie's uneasy voice was heard. "There's a commotion outside. I'm afraid that the soldiers are here once again!"
"Mmm..."
Fang Yuan casually dismissed him and continued to gaze at the statue. Indeed, he could feel the lifelike emotions from it. It was as though the entire statue was carved from the purest white jade.
'Could they have carved it in such a way on purpose? King Shang might just compose a new poem after looking at this statue. Could this be the interplanar force? Could this be a side-effect of radiation from that source realm?'
He felt lost as he thought deeper about it.
Suddenly, a random thought came to his mind. 'What if... I am the one composing the poem? What would happen then?'
"Rumble!"
Outside, the peaceful sky suddenly turned dark and streaks of lightning crackled across the sky.
"Kill!"
A swarm of Shang soldiers rushed in and started to mindlessly slice everything they saw, dying the floor of the temple blood-red.
'Forget it... I have returned to this realm in an attempt to chase after The Ancient One. There is absolutely no need for me to go against the will of the realm...'
Fang Yuan casually sliced his sword in the air and the oncoming soldiers fell to the ground in a pile of bloodied mess. He started to shake his head as he observed the whizzing arrows and the casualties around. There was even a with lying among the pool of blood. 'This is uncalled for... The Creator is a compassionate god. Now that blood has stained her temple and her followers are killed, the Shang soldiers have put themselves against her... Is this an act of defiance against the heavens?'
Fang Yuan held his sword and made an escape path for himself. Suddenly, he picked up a green bronze sword and flung it outwards. One of the leading soldiers was struck and fell to the ground.
"Gentleman is dead!"
The soldiers were disorganised and Fang Yuan and company managed to escape from the mess.
"Stop it!"
At this point in time, a group of people rode horses and arrived at the temple. The one leading the group was a promising young man had his face was flushed with anger. "This is The Creator's Temple. How dare all of you disrespect it?"
He was filled with extreme anger as he directed his horse toward Fang Yuan.
"I am Prince Pan! Jie, you better surrender!"
Pan roared as he made his way towards Fang Yuan. Unfortunately, his horse stumbled and he fell to the ground. Effortlessly, Fang Yuan picked him up and placed his sword on Pan's neck.
'Mister Jie, quickly make your escape. Take me as your hostage and you can order for the city gates to be opened!'
Pan whispered softly in Fang Yuan's ears.
"Interesting!"
Fang Yuan smiled and shouted towards the soldiers. "If you want your prince to live, get out of my way!"
"Prince Pan?"
Once the Shang soldiers realised that Prince Pan was being held hostage, they looked at each other in despair and retreated to form a path for Fang Yuan and company to arrive at the city gates with no obstruction.
The guards at the gate did not dare to disrespect Prince Pan and Fang Yuan as well and promptly, albeit unwillingly, open the gates for them. They even provided them with a carriage for Fang Yuan and company.
...
In the grasslands.
As soon as Fang Yuan and company took over the carriage, they quickly fled from the city and not long after, they were miles away from Shangyi before taking a break at a nearby river.
"Prince Pan, why did you rescue me?"
Fang Yuan ordered Ge Nie and Hei Zhong to feed the horse before sitting down. He looked at Prince Pan with interest.
'The purple energy rays filled the sky above, and there are no signs of a weakened empire. It's a pity that the fate of the people is interconnected with the fate of the empire... If the empire were to fall, the people will fall with it too.'
"You are a talented person and I am unwilling to see you oppose the Shang Empire!"
Prince Pan paid his greetings. "However, by the time I've heard the news about you, it was already too late. I can only help you leave Shangyi first. When I return, I will then try to convince my father to change his mind towards you."
"Prince Pan, you are a worthy and virtuous son!"
Fang Yuan smiled. "However, your father is arrogant and full of himself. He will have to go through this ordeal one way or another!"
On first sight, Fang Yuan felt a sense of familiarity towards this prince. It was as though he was someone familiar.
The vibe he was giving off was similar to those who belonged to the division which Fang Yuan had single-handedly created previously, which made him a little fond of this prince.
"Ordeal?"
The prince's expression changed and he bowed once more. "Please enlighten me!"
"It's difficult! Difficult, difficult, I say! It had already begun and there is nothing we can do about it!"
Fang Yuan shook his head.
He had only just thought about it.
Since this realm had already been infected with the radiation of energy from a higher realm, it would have to undergo a certain calamity. Something had to happen. It could very well not be the lustful poem which King Shang would compose. For instance, it could also be... the killings which happened earlier today!
"It had begun?"
Prince Pan shook and was in disbelief.
"The Creator was a god of compassion. You led a group of soldiers to kill people in her temple, tainting it with blood. Your soldiers have also killed her followers. What do you think about this?"
Fang Yuan spoke calmly.
"Is it about The Creator? I shall return now and order people to sacrifice livestock in an attempt to apologise!"
Prince Pan gritted his teeth.
"It's too late!"
Fang Yuan shook his head. It was as though he had completely seen through Prince Pan.
Suddenly, he burst out in laughter. "Forget it... Since we are fated to meet today, there must be an underlying reason to it... I will give you this incense. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can light it and I shall arrive personally to help you!"
Fang Yuan could not interfere with the country affairs for no reason.
Therefore, he made use of this opportunity by disguising it as a repayment to Prince Pan for his kindness. As such, everything would be logical.
'This is great... If everything happens as how I have predicted it, the great war in Shangyi will still happen, and it will affect all 3 regions! The Ancient One will not miss this opportunity!'
Fang Yuan thought to himself silently.
As soon as The Ancient One were to show up, he would undoubtedly be met with lightning tribulation!
...
This was a void.
Incense filled the void and turned into golden streaks of religious force. Like a huge river, the streaks of religious force swirled around. It was a spectacular sight.
In the middle of the void stood a temple. The path at the entrance of the temple was paved with gold and resembled a golden dragon. Thick streaks of religious force gathered above the temple, making the temple look even more majestic than it already was.
In the middle of the main hall of the temple, on an altar, a seemingly sleeping god was awakened.
The top half of her body was human, and the bottom half was that of a snake. Her face was elegant and compassionate. "My temple has been intruded... My followers are killed!"
Before her, a streak of green fog rose up, forming a screen which showed the events that happened on that fateful day.
As she watched on, her expression started to turn into a strict one. "What audacity! How dare the Shang people think so highly of themselves! They deserve retribution!"
As she became enraged, the heavens and earth responded.
The entire plane rumbled and revealed the mountains of the Da Qian world.
Suddenly, it turned into the 800 feudal states and the Shang Empire in the centre, with black fog circling the top of the Shang Empire. At the Northwestern side, a streak of red light appeared.
"Is this... the heavenly will?!"
The Creator scoffed. "With just a simple thought, I have managed to create all these troubles..."
She was only intending to give the Shang Empire a small warning and was ready to forgive them as soon as they repent.
However, now, the heavenly will made use of her in an attempt to eradicate the Shang Empire!
How much power was involved in this, and how many people would die because of this?
"This is regretful... Although I am a god with godly powers, I do not have much control over his..."
She sighed as though she was looking at the doomsday of the realm.
Although she was god herself, she was still bounded by the laws of the realm. With a single thought, her actions would go out of control and it was too late!
Instead of blaming her for creating the calamity, it was more accurate to say that the heavens had made use of her to do so.
"Is the heavenly will active now?"
After a long while, as everything settled down, a piece of information appeared before her and The Creator remained silent.