I Might Be a Big Shot — Chapter 50

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In the ancient times, the Supreme God-Emperor of the East was the sovereign of Heaven and Earth, and the Earth Mother {possibly, Nüwa herself} was the matriarch of all living beings. The yao race the rightful rulers of the Three Realms. At that time, numerous great yao {followed by a long list of mythological creatures} successively ascended to become yao gods, standing alongside the wu race {wizards, shamans, spirit-mediums} during the Primordial era. At that time, no one cared about humans; the Primordial world belonged to the yao and the wu.

However, after the great wu-yao war, the ancient wu race fell and The Supreme God of Mysterious Darkness {possibly, a wu god} perished along with them, shattering the Primordial world. The yao race was nearly obliterated in the wake of the war, with fewer than one in ten of the ancient great yao surviving. The lesser yao that remained, like the the Nine-tailed Foxes of the Green Hills, came to be seen by humans as great yao. Gradually, some of those lesser yao took to the stage, and no one ever again witnessed the glorious era when the yao dominated the world.

{Could gods be of the wu race?}

Even among the ten elders of the Mystic mist Yao Valley, none are truly great yao of old; each carries a trace of ancient yao bloodline to varying degrees, yet they are nothing more than unremarkable hybrids. Today, the majority of the yao race in the Valley are not innately born as yao but are simply nature spirits who gained awareness and slowly cultivated themselves into yao. They are weak, their cultivation difficult, and they face countless tribulations. Heaven's Order of the human world no longer permits such fearsome power as that which existed in the ancient era. This already battered and scarred human realm can no longer withstand another great war.

Thus, for races such as the yao and the wu — who in ancient times grew so powerful as to defy the heavens — Heaven's Order would not allow them the chance to restore the glory of the Primordial Wilderness, continually suppressing them to prevent this. When the Primordial Wilderness was divided into the Three Realms and Six Paths, the great goddess Nüwa realized this opposition and used her powers to open the Mystic Fog Yao Valley precisely to shield some lesser yao from Heaven's Order and allow the yao race to continue existing. But she also understood that to let the yao race endure, and for the peace of the human world, the ancient great yao must never appear again. Therefore, what the Valley truly protected was not the ancient Green Hills fox clans or similar descendants of great yao, but rather the weak, later-born beings who attained wisdom and cultivated themselves into yao under the harsh conditions of Heaven's Order — those who chose the path of the yao cultivator despite knowing how hard it is to follow.

In the eyes of the mighty ones of the Primordial Wilderness, no one could have imagined that humanity would be the last one standing. In the Primordial Wilderness era, they struggled to survive amidst the wars of the great powers, weak yet numerous, hard to exterminate. Back then, they scurried like tiny insects at the feet of the mighty — who could have thought that it would be they who eventually stepped onto the stage?

Nüwa preserved the lesser yao precisely for this reason. Even if the yao race were entirely wiped out, as long as there continued to be sentient beings who awakened, cultivated, and reached the threshold of the Mystic mist Yao Valley to receive the yao race inheritance within, then the yao race would never truly perish.

More than the power of an individual, Nüwa cared about the continuation of the race.

The Eight-tailed Fox understood this truth better than any other yao. He also knew clearly: if the Sacred Yao Spirit at the center of the Mystic Fog Yao Valley were to be removed by anyone, that person could, relying on Nüwa’s legacy, gain tremendous power — possibly enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great ancient yao in an instant. But that would come at the cost of the complete destruction of the valley. Once the Sacred Yao Spirit was taken, and the entirety of Nüwa’s legacy concentrated in a single person, the barrier of the valley would vanish completely. A yao empowered at such a cost, severing every last chance of survival for the lesser yao — was such a being truly the yao god who could lead the yao race forward?

The Eight-tailed Fox had lived far too long. He knew that without the legacy of the Sacred Yao Spirit, he would never have the chance to become a Nine-tailed Fox. Yet he never tried — not even knowing that, after another hundred years without progress, he would face the Five Decays of Heaven and Man {signs of decline that even the most exalted divine beings experience before the end of their lifespan} and soon depart this world forever. Even so, he still never attempted to absorb the Sacred Yao Spirit. He was willing to trade his own life for even just one century of peace in the valley.

To him, if he truly believed Changkong Zhuoyu was Nüwa’s heir, he would never start the ceremony but would secretly kill him to prevent him from destroying the valley’s peace. Precisely because Changkong Zhuoyu was almost certainly not her heir, the fox agreed to the ritual.

It was nearly a death trap — and Changkong Zhuoyu had no idea, following the fox’s lead into the valley’s center — a gorge so thick with white mist that one could not see their own outstretched hand.

Li Xinglun, seeing this gorge, felt an odd, subtle sensation. He suddenly remembered the first time he’d met Changkong Zhuoyu at the bottom of the Soul-Breaking Gorge — the white mist that now made up his master’s ever-changing robes. That mist was identical to the mist of the valley.

Li Xinglun could not believe Changkong Zhuoyu was truly Nüwa’s heir. The foolish Rang master and disciple of the Hundred Flowers sect believed anything anyone said — how could that prove true?

Yet Changkong Zhuoyu had opened the valley’s passage, and the mist here was so eerily familiar.

Could it be…? Li Xinglun didn’t want to think about it. With each breakthrough in his cultivation, he felt that once Changkong Zhuoyu recalled his past, that would be when he left. This was not baseless worry; each breakthrough revealed faint heavenly secrets, and the dangers sensed were always deeply personal.

This unease made him grab his master’s sleeve and say seriously: “Master, let your disciple go first. Your power is vast — if I’m harmed, you can save me. But if you… if you…”

At this, Li Xinglun couldn’t finish saying, “If you’re harmed, I can’t save you.” If Changkong Zhuoyu was hurt, Li Xinglun knew he would immediately fall to darkness, caring nothing for calamity or salvation, overturning heaven and earth until he found him. If he lacked strength, he’d keep cultivating — one year, ten, a hundred, a thousand… even if the world crumbled, he would find him.

For him, the option of his master being harmed simply did not exist.

Changkong Zhuoyu could feel his disciple’s concern and patted his shoulder comfortingly: “Don’t worry — for me, harm is not even an option. I am Nüwa’s heir, aren’t I? You already confirmed it yourself.”

Though Changkong Zhuoyu’s inexplicable confidence had been there since meeting Li Xinglun, his disciple’s explanations and actions had strengthened it.

The words he once used to soothe his master now weighed on himself, and Li Xinglun could only cling tightly to his wrist.

“Most importantly,” Changkong Zhuoyu continued, “I don’t have to obtain the Sacred Yao Spirit at all. What I care about is my identity, not becoming a yao god. If there is something my power can’t handle, I’ll simply run away.”

In his heart, he had no notions of heroism — he followed his whims. Since his disciple worried, he promised not to act recklessly.

“Hmph!” A shadow in the darkness spoke. “Such shameless words — saying you don’t care about being a yao god just proves you have no idea what it means.”

The other nine elders hid in the shadows, not showing their true forms. Said to be descendants of the ancient great yao, their bloodlines were faint but real.

Hearing the words, the Eight-tailed Fox sneered coldly. Of the ten elders, only he truly understood Nüwa’s intent; the others lusted after the Sacred Yao Spirit to become yao gods, lead the valley’s yao to conquer the world, and restore the ancient glory.

But these short-sighted yao never considered that even in the ancient age, none of the mighty ones had ever truly got to enjoy their victory. Even the greatest gods had spent vast power to create the Time-Space Wheel just to give the world a chance to survive. The ultimate masters of the world had always been Heaven's Order and the cosmic laws {karma}. Those who defied heaven were ultimately cast down and sent to serve out their punishment by the cosmic laws {i.e., reborn as lower beings such as animals, plants, etc.}

Now the world no longer needed such powerful races. If the yao were to endure, it would be thanks to the little ones, the weak new yao.

This was why the other elders had all tried to gain the Sacred Yao Spirit's favor, but only the Eight-tailed Fox never had. He knew he could never become a nine-tailed fox — not for lack of talent but because the world could no longer hold another nine-tailed divine fox. Even with a century left before the Five Decays, if he gained the Sacred Yao Spirit he would live on — but having seen through it all, he chose instead to protect the valley.

Perhaps it was Changkong Zhuoyu’s claim of “not caring about becoming a yao god” that moved him, or perhaps it was the little foxes crying over Changkong Zhuoyu’s impending death and soaking all eight of his tails — but the fox suddenly no longer wished to see such a beautiful person die.

So he spoke: “Changkong Zhuoyu, Nüwa’s inheritance is not necessarily a death sentence. There is still a chance. Though I’ve never entered the mist, by absorbing the shattered souls drifting from it, I’ve learned what awaits inside.

Within the mist are not only the Sacred Yao Spirit but countless ancient yao beasts, sealed here since the ancient age. They are mindless, driven only by hunger for blood and soul. If the Sacred Yao Spirit does not accept you, it won’t appear but will instead lead you to the beasts. The beasts will disguise themselves as the Sacred Yao Spirit, tricking you into absorbing them so they can devour you.

The mist is controlled by the Sacred Yao Spirit — Nüwa’s wisp of divine thought. If she accepts you, she will appear immediately, and you won’t even see the beasts.

So when you encounter the first being, do not be greedy — remain alert. If it is not the spirit, flee at once. The ancient beasts are terrifying; you may lose a part of your body, but at least you’ll live. Do not imagine it’s a test — if the first you meet is a beast, you cannot be Nüwa’s heir. Leave the mist at once, or face a tide of beasts.”

“Eight-tailed Fox,” a massive voice rumbled from the shadows, “who gave you permission to reveal the valley’s secrets to outsiders?”

With a sound like boulders crashing, its body struck the rock walls.

“Heh,” the fox sneered. “So what if I did? Even you relied on my experience to escape the mist — only you lost parts of yourselves and now hide in shadows, afraid to be seen.”

Roars shook the entire valley, but they could do nothing to him. The Eight-tailed Fox, closest in cultivation to the position of a yao god, was beyond their power.

Meanwhile, Li Xinglun no longer heard the elders’ angry roars. Grasping his master’s hand, he declared: “Master, I’ll go down with you.”

Seeing Changkong Zhuoyu frown disapprovingly, Li Xinglun added, “Don’t worry, master — after hearing the Grand Elder’s advice, I’m confident I can survive the mist. I’m a blood cultivator — best at survival. Even if I lose parts of my body, I can regrow them with true essence. Master, this is a rare chance to temper myself — as your disciple, I must seize every opportunity to become the second-strongest in the cultivation world.”

In truth, Li Xinglun thought that as long as he could send a blood soul out of the mist, he wouldn’t die. Following his master in, he could shield him from harm. As long as Changkong Zhuoyu lived, he would always find him.

Of course, he would never say this aloud — after all, in his master’s eyes, someone of his strength couldn’t possibly encounter danger.

Changkong Zhuoyu considered and agreed — even if danger arose, he was confident he could protect his disciple. Letting him come for the experience was fine.

Thus, without consulting the Grand Elder, the two clasped hands and leapt down. The Eight-tailed Fox was still quarreling with the others when, in the blink of an eye, both had jumped!

“Wait…” the voice like a bell stopped crashing against the walls and asked cautiously, “Grand Elder, what happens if two go down together?”

“How would I know!” The Eight-tailed Fox almost exploded. “Humans before were all afraid their companions would steal their chance — no one ever went down in pairs.”

“What if one is truly Nüwa’s heir and the other isn’t? What will the spirit do?” a shrewd elder asked.

“That…” the fox was stumped.

“Could it be… the spirit won’t appear at all?”

“Most likely neither of them is — in all these years no heir has appeared, how could it be these two?”

The elders chattered on.

After thinking, the Eight-tailed Fox finally said: “These two might just be the most likely — I just never wanted to believe it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because they were acknowledged by the Twin Serpents and entered through the Hundred Flowers sect,” the fox finally remembered Changkong Zhuoyu’s words and now found them believable.

“Ah?” an elder’s voice cracked. “Could it really be true? But… what about the sect’s token? If they had brought it, our valley would have treated them as honored guests.”

“That…” the fox didn’t know why Changkong Zhuoyu hadn’t brought it.

“So what now?” another elder asked helplessly.

“We wait,” the fox said, staring into the mist. “If he truly is Nüwa’s heir, the spirit will not let him die. If not, then he dies.”

But his tails, he feared, would once again be soaked by the little foxes’ tears.

~ Chapter End ~

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