I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

#182 - Mysterious Age

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, 'Di' said with a depressed tone: "The trial is about to fail, I choose to leave the tribe."

"Trial failed? Tribe?" Zhang Chen was shocked upon hearing this. Not only did living beings appear in the First Heaven, but there was even a tribe?

Was this really the First Heaven that he heard about from the fox spirit Nannan?

Before Zhang Chen could ask further, the young man took the initiative to explain: "When the children of our tribe reach the age of ten, they must venture into the mountains alone to hunt a 'Tooth Beast'. Only by using the Tooth Beast's baptism to ignite the Qi and blood within their bodies will they be recognized as qualified to stay in the tribe. If they cannot complete the baptism, they will be considered lacking courage and physically weak, and will only become a burden to the tribe in the future, and can only be expelled from the tribe."

Speaking of this, 'Di' became somewhat depressed: "I was accidentally plotted against and stepped on by a Kui Bull, breaking three ribs. I'm afraid I'll never be able to ignite my Qi and blood to return to the tribe. In the future, I can only wander in the wilderness, and I don't know when I'll become food for strange beasts."

Di's emotional fluctuations were very intense, his voice filled with resentment and helplessness, and his eyes were full of pain.

He was a prodigy in the tribe, favored by countless elders in the tribe, but who knew that he would be plotted against in the trial and end up in such a situation?

Falling from a prodigy to an outcast overnight, this kind of gap was enough to drive people crazy.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen picked up a leg of the rabbit and started eating: "What is the name of your tribe? How many people are there?"

"Our tribe is called 'Ape', and there are three thousand people. It is a small tribe nearby," Di replied.

Zhang Chen glanced at Di: "Eat meat!"

As he spoke, he tore off the ribs of the rabbit meat and handed them to Di.

Hearing this, Di devoured the meat ravenously. Zhang Chen smiled and rubbed the grease on his hands with yellow sand, and then gathered a ball of clear water to wash away the sand.

"God! You are a god!" Di was shocked to see the clear water gathered in Zhang Chen's hand. The rabbit meat fell to the ground, and his face was horrified as he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

Zhang Chen dispersed the clear water in his hand, looked at the frightened 'Di', and asked: "Does your tribe have this kind of power?"

"All tribes rely on gods to exist. Gods protect the tribes. Gods are born, tribes exist. Gods fall, tribes perish," the young man replied to Zhang Chen, while cautiously looking at Zhang Chen out of the corner of his eye:

"It's just that the gods in the world are all kinds of objects. I have never seen a god transformed into a human form."

"No human form?" Zhang Chen was even more surprised upon hearing this. According to the young man's words, it meant that no one could master the power of mystery. In later generations, living beings would obtain mystery and integrate it into their bodies, thereby borrowing and mastering the power of the gods. According to the young man's statement, it seemed that no one in this era had mastered the power of the gods?

Why was this so?

Zhang Chen looked at the big sun outside and asked the young man: "Could it be that no one in your tribe has borrowed the power of the gods and merged with the gods, thereby mastering the great power of the gods?"

"You're joking, gods are high above, how can we ants dare to blaspheme? Who dares to blaspheme the power of the gods? Let alone borrow the power of the gods and merge with the gods," the young 'Di' said in shock, his eyes filled with horror, as if he felt that Zhang Chen had blasphemed the gods, as if he was about to be punished by the gods in the next moment.

Hearing the young 'Di's words, Zhang Chen became even more puzzled, and if he wanted to answer his doubts, he could only ask the Great自在Heavenly Demon.

However, since the Great自在Heavenly Demon had gone out for a stroll, Zhang Chen could only temporarily suppress the doubts in his heart, but at this time he caught the key words in the young man's previous words: "All tribes have gods?"

"There are countless dangers in the wilderness. Only by obtaining the favor of the gods can tribes avoid being invaded. Tribes without gods will turn to ashes when darkness comes."

There was also surprise in 'Di's voice: "Since you are a god, how could you not know this news?"

"Who said I was a god?" Zhang Chen said with a smile.

"You are not a god? Then why do you have such power?" The young 'Di's voice was full of surprise. He probably also realized that Zhang Chen was easy to talk to and did not seem to be the kind of god who was difficult to communicate with, so he spoke.

"I am a Qi Refiner," Zhang Chen said.

"Qi Refiner?" The young 'Di's eyes were filled with doubt, as if he was hearing this word for the first time.

Zhang Chen crossed his legs: "Qi Refiners, seize the creation of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and moon, comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, and create all kinds of incredible methods."

"Isn't that comparable to a god? Human power can actually be comparable to a god?" The young 'Di' widened his eyes upon hearing this, his eyes filled with disbelief.

At this time, the young man's stomach was rumbling. Zhang Chen smiled when he heard the sound and pointed to the remaining roasted rabbit: "You continue to eat it."

The young 'Di' cautiously glanced at Zhang Chen before picking up the rabbit on the ground and continuing to eat.

Zhang Chen sat under the big tree and continued to ponder the doubts in his heart. After the young man finished eating the rabbit, he sat obediently beside Zhang Chen, silently and not daring to disturb him in the slightest.

Until noon, when the young man saw that Zhang Chen was not moving, he cautiously said: "Lord God, it's time to worship the Eastern Emperor Taiyi."

Hearing the four words 'Eastern Emperor Taiyi', Zhang Chen couldn't help but be shocked: What the hell? Eastern Emperor Taiyi?

Isn't that a character from Honghuang mythology?

"Tell me about the Eastern Emperor Taiyi," Zhang Chen asked.

The young 'Di' cautiously looked at Zhang Chen, wondering why Zhang Chen didn't even know the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, so he pointed to the sun outside: "Lord Eastern Emperor Taiyi bestows blessings upon all living beings. Every day at noon, no matter what all living beings are doing, they must put down their affairs and piously worship Lord Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Lord Eastern Emperor Taiyi is in charge of the daytime, while the Goddess Wangshu is in charge of the night. All living beings in the world, big and small gods, must pay homage day and night, without the slightest negligence."

Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard this, and subconsciously raised his head to look at the sun in the sky. Golden light flowed in his eyes, and his Dharma Eye opened instantly. Then, in the next moment, Zhang Chen was stunned, only to see a huge divine bird hanging high above the vast starry sky. The divine bird was surrounded by a mysterious golden aura, and the mysterious aura transformed into endless runes, weaving into a large net, covering the entire universe.

"Pfft ~"

Zhang Chen's eyes exploded, blood spurted out, and he was repelled by that powerful force. Even the golden light in the Dharma Eye was scattered at this time.

"Lord, what's wrong with you?" The young man was shocked when he saw Zhang Chen's eyes suddenly explode, constantly spurting blood, and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

“Don't be afraid, it's just a minor injury.” Zhang Chen, hearing the young man's anxious words, comforted him. In the next moment, the Blood Control Technique activated, and countless tendrils writhed wildly in his eyes, rapidly repairing Zhang Chen's injuries.

After Zhang Chen summoned clear water and cleaned the bloodstains from his body, his eyes were completely restored. He then saw the young man kneeling in the sunlight, prostrating devoutly.

Zhang Chen didn't move. He was a Qi Refiner, and asking him to worship the mysterious was impossible.

“The sun? A three-legged bird?” Zhang Chen, through the shade of the trees, looked at the scattered sunlight, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Is that really the sun, or a three-legged bird? All the sunlight is transformed into a web, enveloping billions of living beings, enveloping the entire world. Truly, divine might is vast.”

“What level of mystery is that great bird?” Zhang Chen pondered, feeling that the bird's level must be beyond his imagination.

“Twelfth level?” Zhang Chen wondered.

But that divine light enveloped the entire world. Could a twelfth-level mystery do that?

“My sphere is a twelfth-level mystery, but it doesn't seem to have such power, right? Or is my twelfth-level mystery's power latent, unable to be unleashed at all?”

Zhang Chen's doubts grew more and more numerous.

The more he knew, the more confused he became, the more he wanted to understand this world.

First of all, the mysteries that are rare in the material world are actually present in every tribe in the spiritual world? Although it can't be said to be commonplace, it can be considered common, right?

“The first heaven of the spiritual world already has such creation, then what unimaginable creations, what unimaginable mysteries, are in the second heaven, the third heaven… even the thirty-third heaven?” Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with disbelief. “Peaches of immortality, fountains of youth, they might not be fake.”

“But that's not right. I just suffered the backlash from that three-legged golden crow. Why didn't I drop any skills? Before, when I collided with the True Dragon's aura, I dropped skills.” A confused look appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes.

Zhang Chen looked around, but indeed, no skills had dropped.

“Perhaps the greatest opportunity for me in coming to this world is the mysteries themselves. If I secretly farm mysteries from the various tribes, causing them to drop skills, wouldn't I make a fortune?” Zhang Chen's heart fluttered with excitement at the thought.

At this moment, the young man 'Di' finished worshiping the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, then turned to look at Zhang Chen. Seeing Zhang Chen's pure and clear eyes, he couldn't help but reveal a hint of joy. “Revered God, are you alright?”

“Of course, I'm fine. A mere injury is nothing to me,” Zhang Chen said with a smile.

The young man looked at Zhang Chen, admiration in his eyes.

“Rest well. The sun in the sky is so scorching. We should take a good nap and then go to the mountains after noon,” Zhang Chen said to the young man. The young man immediately obediently ran to the shade of a tree thirty meters away to cool off. “Revered God, if you have any instructions, just call me.”

Zhang Chen smiled at the young man, then pulled the chain in his hand, directly pulling the Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) back.

“Hey, why did you pull me back? Didn't you say you'd let me take a stroll?” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) looked at Zhang Chen with dissatisfaction.

“I just have some questions I want to ask you,” Zhang Chen said.

“Fortunately, I, your ancestor, haven't taken action yet, otherwise you would have almost ruined my important affairs. Ask your questions quickly, and don't delay my time,” the Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) said.

“I have two questions.” Zhang Chen held up two fingers:

“First, why can mysteries in the real world fuse with living beings, but living beings in the first heaven don't fuse with mysteries to borrow their power?”

“Because this world is full of mysterious substances. Those mysteries are transformed from the essence of laws. Absorbing the mysterious substances of heaven and earth can ensure that their forms don't dissipate. But in the material world where we are, mysterious substances are lacking, and the bodies of sentient beings are made of matter, which helps the mysteries to stabilize their forms and not collapse into laws.”

Saying this, the Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) was afraid that Zhang Chen wouldn't understand, so he said, “When the concentration of mystery in heaven and earth is greater than the concentration of mystery within a god, the god can absorb the mysterious substances of heaven and earth. But if the mysterious substances of heaven and earth are scarce, and the concentration of mystery within a god is higher than the outside world, it will spread and dissipate outwards.”

“Do you understand?” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) asked Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen nodded. “So that's why.”

“Not only because of this, but the main reason is that the gods of the material world need to absorb the lifespan of living beings to maintain their own lifespan and repair their injuries. You must know that in the past, all the mysteries were buried with the decline of mysterious substances. Later, the mysteries were all dug out from the great tombs, and they were already lingering.” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) said.

Zhang Chen's heart suddenly dawned upon hearing this. It turned out that this was a balance between mystery and living beings, a last resort.

“Then why is worship needed? For example, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi hanging high above the nine heavens?”

Zhang Chen asked, “What use is the faith of living beings to the gods? The gods are high above, how could they look upon the faith of living beings?”

“The gods we speak of are actually the essence of the laws of heaven and earth, products formed by the chaotic collision of laws at the time of the creation of the world. Since it is a collision of laws, some essences fuse several laws, which are very complex, and some essences have only one law, which is very pure.” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) said.

Zhang Chen thoughtfully said, “Then the mysteries can use the faith of living beings to strip away complex laws?”

“Who told you that?” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) looked at Zhang Chen, as if looking at a fool. “Those essences originally had no intelligence, but after being worshiped by acquired living beings, they were stained with the essence, Qi, and spirit of acquired living beings, and fused with the joys, sorrows, and joys of acquired living beings, so they had intelligence. The more worship they receive from living beings, the stronger their spirituality becomes.”

“And after gaining intelligence, those gods know the importance of the faith of living beings. To gain stronger spirituality, and even to decipher the laws and order of heaven and earth, they need strong spirituality. Of course, the role of faith is not limited to this. It can even cut one's own complex laws into incarnations to fuse with the laws of heaven and earth.” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) said, “The strength of spirituality is related to the foundation of the gods and the speed of understanding the laws of heaven and earth.”

“I see, this is the true purpose of the power of faith.” Zhang Chen's heart suddenly dawned.

The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil)'s words contained too much information, and Zhang Chen was a little difficult to digest for a while.

“What if humans gain the power of faith?” Zhang Chen asked.

“What do you think?” The Great自在天魔 (Great Freedom Heavenly Devil) asked back.