Shen Zhu vanished.

From Dao Li 20042, the ninth year of the Great Wilderness calendar, the first year of Shen Zhu, the divine war in the Barren Lands began.

By the fifteenth year of the Great Wilderness calendar, the sixth year of Shen Zhu, five years of divine war unified the Barren Lands. One year of reform built up the populace and fundamentally changed the structure of the Barren Lands.

But after this, Shen Zhu Daren, who had accomplished great deeds, wielded supreme divine power, liberated the barbarian slaves, constructed grand formations, and was beloved and admired by all, disappeared without a trace.

For a long time, no one in the Barren Lands saw him again.

There were many theories about the reasons for Shen Zhu’s disappearance.

Some said that Shen Zhu Daren, pleading for the common people, provoked terrifying enemies and was jointly assassinated.

Others claimed that Shen Zhu Daren offended the high-ranking officials of the various tribes in the Barren Lands and was cunningly plotted against and killed by these treacherous and sinister powerful figures.

Still others said that Shen Zhu Daren died during a breakthrough, suffering a mishap and succumbing to Qi deviation.

Of course, the most widely believed theory was that Shen Zhu Daren did not die but returned to the heavens, “converting” to the realm of the Divine Master.

Shen Zhu Daren was not human.

He was the “Son of the Divine,” possessing human flesh and walking among mortals, yet endowed with the mighty power of divine punishment and a heart filled with compassion for all beings.

He descended from heaven, in the name of the Divine Master, to unify the Barren Lands and save the people from famine and war.

Now, the Barren Lands were unified, the wars had ceased, and the people suffering from famine had a means of livelihood.

Shen Zhu Daren’s “mission” was complete, and he had accepted the Divine Master’s call, returning to the realm of the gods.

This was the most “reasonable” and widely accepted explanation among the people of the Barren Lands.

He achieved great merit without claiming credit, and held power without abusing it.

He benefited all things without contention, and served the people without arrogance.

These were deeds only a “Divine Being” could accomplish.

The common barbarian cultivators still maintained their simple hearts, trusting Shen Zhu and believing in the Divine Master.

However, Shen Zhu’s disappearance still caused a tremendous shock throughout the entire Barren Mountain Realm.

Undercurrents began to stir once more.

Zhuque Mountain, Danque Tribe.

Dan Zhu had locked himself in his room, and the confusion and pain he once felt slowly resurfaced in his heart.

His heart felt empty, as if a part of it had been gouged out.

“Teacher… is gone…”

His whereabouts unknown, his life or death a mystery.

He left no message.

His faith and his conviction for the future seemed to lose their foundation, beginning to waver.

Dan Zhu knew this was not the time for despondency and despair. With Shen Zhu’s disappearance, rebels in various regions began to emerge again, and the hearts of many high-ranking officials and powerful figures stirred with renewed ambition and desire.

When Teacher was present, they dared not harbor ill intentions, and their faith was strong enough.

But once Teacher’s suppression was gone, the selfish desires and evil thoughts in people’s minds would rekindle.

The divine path was ethereal and vague; many things others might not understand, but Dan Zhu, with his sincere heart, educated by Mo Hua, and possessing some understanding of divine consciousness and human nature, knew it all too well.

Dan Zhu felt the pressure in his heart, heavy as a mountain.

The anxiety and torment brought by this pressure, intertwined with the pain and confusion of losing his Teacher, showed signs of cracking Dan Zhu’s Dao heart.

In this prolonged agony, Dan Zhu indistinctly heard some words Mo Hua had once instructed him:

“A cultivator’s life, in the end, must be guided by their Dao heart, by their faith…”

“Many things, I cannot decide for you.”

“Nor will I necessarily stay in the Great Wilderness forever…”

“If one day I am no longer here, you must remember to never forget your original intention…”

When he first heard these words, he thought them ordinary, and Dan Zhu didn’t ponder their deeper meaning.

But now, recalling them in his anxiety and pain, he realized that Teacher might have foreseen this day long ago.

He might have foreseen that one day he would encounter an unknown catastrophe and disappear from the Barren Lands, which is why he gave him these instructions in advance…

And what must I do?

Why did Teacher instruct me so?

Dan Zhu’s mind was a mess, filled with confusion and pain. Suddenly, his expression froze, and he slowly murmured:

“A cultivator’s life, in the end, must be guided by their Dao heart…”

He repeated this sentence many times; with each repetition, his confusion lessened, and his gaze became more determined.

“Teacher acted according to his Dao heart, unifying the Barren Lands and saving the common people…”

“What I should do is also to act according to Teacher’s Dao heart, follow Teacher’s teachings, and complete what Teacher left unfinished…”

“Whether Teacher is here or not, where the Dao is, where the heart is, there is also action, and that is where Teacher has gone.”

“From now on, no matter what happens, I must follow my Dao heart, adhere to my devotion to the Divine Master, uphold the faith of the Barren Lands, and lead the people of the Barren Lands to continue living well…”

“Only then can I live up to Teacher’s teachings and expectations…”

Dan Zhu’s expression was resolute, and in his Dao heart, a fierce fire seemed to burn brightly.

After Mo Hua left, Dan Zhu, who had gone through enlightenment, the divine war, and unification, and tempered by the fires of battle, had to face various difficulties alone.

Gradually, his Dao heart also underwent a certain transformation.

He was Mo Hua’s most trusted disciple.

He was the most affirmed believer of Shen Zhu.

He was the highest leader of the entire Barren Lands’ most powerful Shennu Tribe, second only to Shen Zhu.

Thereafter, during the years of Shen Zhu’s disappearance, Dan Zhu, guided by his Dao heart, with the Shennu Tribe as his core, did his utmost to combat internal division and external powerful enemies.

With unwavering faith, he maintained the stability of the divine system, consolidated the faith of the people of the Barren Lands, and sought a glimmer of hope for ordinary barbarian cultivators…

Although Shen Zhu disappeared, faith in Shen Zhu still widely existed in the Barren Lands, passed down from generation to generation.

And this faith became the only spark in the subsequent dark and turbulent era of the Guidao in the Barren Lands.

At this time, however, everyone was still unaware of the true darkness.

In their hearts, there was only a longing for Shen Zhu Daren.

Zhuque Mountain, Shen Zhu Grand Hall.

The pure white tiger, adorned with black stripes, lay in its usual familiar spot, guarding Shen Zhu’s throne, just as always.

However, the person it guarded on the throne was no longer there.

The great tiger lay on the ground, occasionally raising its head to look at the throne, holding a faint hope that the familiar figure would suddenly appear on it.

But each time it looked, the seat was empty.

The great tiger felt inexplicably anxious. It stood up, circled Shen Zhu’s throne several times, and even nudged the throne with its head.

But no one reached out from the throne to stroke its large head anymore.

The only person it allowed to touch its head had vanished.

A long time had passed, and it didn’t know when they would meet again.

The great tiger let out a low growl, then dejectedly lay back on the ground, its head bowed, its eyes filled with loneliness and loss.

Meanwhile, in an unknown prison.

The oppressive sound of dripping water echoed, drop by drop.

After an unknown period, a sense of dead silence, after being obliterated, emanated from the fragmented divinity, and the senses began to revive.

His sea of consciousness felt like it was being pricked by needles.

His limbs, meridians, and bones all carried the fragmented pain of a failed breakthrough.

Mo Hua wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t summon an ounce of strength.

He didn’t know where he was, nor what had happened to him.

In a state of chaos, after an unknown length of time, he suddenly heard faint, somewhat noisy sounds, as if people were chatting.

These voices were very distinct, sounds Mo Hua hadn’t heard for a long time.

His head was heavy, unable to think, and for a moment, he couldn’t understand why these two voices felt special to him.

Only when his divine consciousness recovered somewhat did he understand.

The accent.

These people spoke with a pure Jiuzhou accent, unlike the barbarian cultivators of the Barren Lands.

Moreover, their accents seemed even more “standard” than those of ordinary Jiuzhou cultivators, carrying an indescribable “official” tone.

What they said also gave Mo Hua a sense of unfamiliarity.

“How long will the war last…”

“Don’t know when we can go back… it’s so grueling…”

“Idiot, is that all you’ve got?” someone cursed.

Another person whispered intermittently, “One can somewhat guess the intentions of those above… Jiuzhou has been divided up for so many years… the territories have long been distributed… there’s no extra land for ranking…”

“Under heaven, isn’t it all Daoist land…”

“This Great Wilderness was originally Gu Li Zhou… logically, it should be our Dao Ting’s territory…”

Gu Li Zhou!

Mo Hua’s heart trembled, and his divine consciousness became much clearer.

But as his divine consciousness cleared, the pain intensified. Although Mo Hua tried his best to endure it, he still let out a faint, disordered breath.

This extremely subtle breath also drew the guards’ attention, and the air instantly fell silent.

Then footsteps sounded, seemingly someone approaching Mo Hua, but halfway, that person seemed to be pulled back.

“Don’t go over there, do you want to die?”

“This is someone brought in by a Zhenren, not to be approached casually. If anything goes wrong, neither of us can explain ourselves.”

The footsteps stopped.

After a moment, someone else asked, “Is he awake?”

Everyone fell silent, and the air became quiet again.

Mo Hua also held his breath and guarded his heart, his divine consciousness restrained, not revealing a trace of aura, like a “living dead.”

Several divine senses swept through the air. After an unknown time, someone sighed, “Overthinking it… Don’t underestimate a Zhenren’s methods…”

With rustling sounds, the few people sat back down, interspersed with the clinking of bottles, water, and cups, seemingly drinking.

“This kid, was he really captured by the Zhenren?”

“Yes.”

Someone looked back, full of surprise, “Who is he? Does he deserve a Zhenren to capture him personally?”

“Do you know… Shen Zhu?”

“Heard a little…”

“The Dao Ting army marched to attack the King’s Court, but after several years of fighting, killing back and forth, they finally crossed the Ghost Wolf Pass. When they turned their troops towards the Barren Lands, they found the path ahead shrouded in heavy miasma, with withered vegetation, and the Barren Lands were isolated by famine.”

“The Dao Ting army simply couldn’t get through.”

“And in this famine-stricken land, there were also chaotic disputes and constant warfare. Unexpectedly, a mysterious shaman priest emerged from the barbarian tribes, calling himself Shen Zhu, stirring up trouble in the Barren Lands, wielding immense power. After unifying the various tribes, he openly rebelled against the Dao Ting, committing acts of great defiance…”

Someone pointed at Mo Hua, “This kid is that Shen Zhu.”

There was the sound of a cup falling to the ground.

And someone inhaling deeply.

“Are you kidding me…”

“He… Shen Zhu? Isn’t he just a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”

“Judging by his age, he probably hasn’t been out of the sect for many years, not even as old as my son… Can he really rebel against the Dao Ting?”

“A paternal uncle of the same clan told me this personally… He was doing business in the Barren Lands and was chased and hunted by this Shen Zhu like a dog. All his wealth, spirit stones, and territory were robbed, and many people died. Now, hearing the name Shen Zhu, he habitually feels his blood surge and his throat wants to cough up blood…”

“Your uncle, he is…”

“Golden Core late stage.”

“A Golden Core late stage, being chased and hunted by a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”

“You don’t know, it’s said that this Shen Zhu had terrifying influence in the Barren Lands. Many Golden Core late stage great chieftains and generals were his lackeys, and he even tamed a fierce tiger, a king among beasts, as a ‘pet’…”

“Did your uncle say this when he was sober, or drunk?”

“When I’m drunk, I also like to brag like that…”

“He’s not lying to you…”

“That’s not right,” someone frowned, “famine surrounded the Barren Lands, so how did your uncle get in if the Dao soldiers couldn’t?”

The person was silent for a moment, then whispered, “They can’t get in now, but they could before.”

“Similarly, the Dao soldier army couldn’t get in because there were too many people, but it wasn’t impossible for a few individuals to ‘smuggle’ in using their cultivation and methods.”

“Otherwise, how did the Zhenren capture this ‘Shen Zhu’?”

“So that’s how it is…”

“So, this young man… is he really the Shen Zhu of the Barren Lands?”

“Captured by the Zhenren, how could it be wrong?”

“But… his age is really too young, he doesn’t look at all like someone who could commit such great… acts of defiance…”

“You don’t understand the saying ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover,’ do you? Moreover, these things weren’t actually done by ‘him’…”

“What do you mean?”

“It is said…” the person’s voice dropped even lower, “it is said that this child is a ‘flesh puppet,’ with some heretical deity parasitic in him, controlling him, which is how he unified the Barren Lands.”

A chilling coldness emerged, and the sound of gasps echoed again.

“That makes some sense…”

“The cultivation world is vast, who knows how many strange and mysterious things exist. It’s not impossible to be possessed by an heretical deity.”

“So this kid is actually just a ‘tool’?”

“Most likely, he’s just a ‘pawn,’ wearing the cloak of Shen Zhu, being manipulated by others.”

“He’s also a pitiful worm…”

“Pitiful my ass!” someone cursed, “You haven’t been killed or robbed by him, that’s why you feel sorry for him.”

“Do you know how great the losses of my Hua family in the Barren Lands were?”

“We may not all be clear about the family’s businesses, but these businesses were painstakingly planned by our ancestor, and they are the foundation of great families like ours.”

“The rebellion in the Great Wilderness and the resumption of war, what an important opportunity, how much interest was at stake, a once-in-a-millennium chance, and as a result, more than half of my Hua family’s plans were ruined, all thanks to this child.”

“This child truly deserves to die!”

These words indeed stirred anger.

Harming someone’s business is equivalent to killing their parents; this saying was etched into the bones of the Hua family cultivators.

“In that case, the Zhenren should have killed him then, flaying him and extracting his bones to serve as a warning…”

“Didn’t I say, he’s not easy to kill; there’s a deity within him…”

“The Zhenren sealed his divinity, but…”

“Hush!” someone immediately pulled him, saying, “Shut up, don’t say too much.”

“I didn’t say too much… This isn’t anything… Why can’t I…”

Before the words finished, the air instantly stiffened, and the entire prison was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

A moment later, hurried rustling sounds broke the silence, and everyone stood up, bowing to a grandly robed cultivator who appeared out of nowhere:

“Zhenren.”

“Hmm.”

The tall, grandly robed cultivator nodded slightly. He didn’t know what he had heard, but he paid no attention, merely shifting his gaze to Mo Hua, who lay like a living dead person.

(End of chapter)