Chapter 499 – Five Qi Returning to Origin

The news that dealt a second blow to the Dongfang Clan came from other factions within Myriad Dragon Mountain.

—Although they had lost the chance to cling to Mu Lin’s powerful influence, the Dongfang Clan had ultimately revived their ancestors. And people, after all, must find a way to survive.

Amidst their intense regret, they opened their mountain gates, cautiously extending their reach to the outside world, preparing to rebuild.

What slightly boosted their confidence was that shortly after opening their gates, an Aristocratic Family sought them out to establish diplomatic relations—and that family was a powerful clan within Myriad Dragon Mountain.

Moreover, to show respect, the clan’s head personally came to visit.

This, in turn, restored the Dongfang Clan’s shattered confidence, filling them with renewed vigor.

“We aren’t that weak after all!”

“Even without relying on the protection of a Deity, we can still develop!”

Just as the Dongfang Clan’s confidence was rekindled, the Dragon-Raising Yang Family of Myriad Dragon Mountain, after exchanging pleasantries, shared a monumental piece of good news with them.

“Have you heard of the Golden Fruit?”

“No, I’ve only heard of the Gemstone Fruit… Is this Golden Fruit extraordinary?”

“Of course it is.”

When speaking of the Golden Fruit, the head of the Dragon-Raising Yang Family’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“According to news from the Southeast Region, the Golden Fruit can reshape a person’s foundation, granting them an initial lifespan of eight hundred years, a Celestial Spirit Root, and a Divine Body!”

“After consuming this Divine Fruit, even the most ordinary person can leap to become a Prodigy.”

“The fruit is indeed remarkable, but for families like ours, a single fruit isn’t particularly significant, is it?”

Upon hearing the effects of the Golden Fruit, the Dongfang Clan Head initially didn’t pay it much mind.

As a fantastical world, the Profound Spirit World contained many rare treasures capable of reshaping a person’s foundation and extending their lifespan.

And the Dongfang Clan had once been prosperous—within their ancestral lands, they possessed similar Natural Treasures.

Thus, a single Golden Fruit wouldn’t stir him much… Nor did the Dragon-Raising Yang Family care. What ignited their fervor was: “A single fruit, of course, wouldn’t catch my attention.”

At this point, the Yang Family Head grew impassioned, his gaze fervent as he declared: “But what if I told you that such fruits aren’t naturally grown but are artificially created, and can be produced repeatedly and on a large scale? Hearing this, can you still remain calm?”

“Bang!”

The Dongfang Clan Head… could no longer sit still.

He didn’t care about a single Golden Fruit. Considering the countless Aristocratic Families and innumerable Prodigies and powerful figures in the world, the recently reopened Dongfang Clan would struggle to compete for it.

Since there was little chance of obtaining it, he naturally remained indifferent.

But if such fruits existed in abundance, the implications were entirely different. It meant the Dongfang Clan also had a chance to vie for them.

With good fortune, the Dongfang Clan members could even collectively transform into a golden race.

Such a fruit could already be called a sacred fruit!

In his excitement, he crushed the teacup in his hand.

Yet, no one in the room paid any attention to his loss of composure.

The Dongfang Clan Elders were all deeply shaken.

However, amidst their excitement, some Elders harbored doubts.

“An initial lifespan of eight hundred years, along with a Celestial Spirit Root and a Divine Body—such a fruit could already be called a Divine Fruit. Can such Divine Fruits truly be mass-produced by anyone?”

These words made the Yang Family Clan Head laugh.

“Mortals naturally cannot produce such a Divine Fruit, but what humans cannot do, Deities can. Our Human Race has just given birth to a True God, a Deity who commands the powerful Authority of Life.”

“That True God possesses extraordinary talent and a benevolent heart. Seeing the hardships of cultivation among the people of the world, he created the Golden Fruit, desiring to aid our Human Race in their cultivation… Holy be the God of Life!”

The speaking Yang Family Clan Head held boundless gratitude and reverence for the new god. What he failed to notice was that when he said the Golden Fruit was created by the new god, the expressions of the Dongfang Clan’s Clan Head, Clan Elders, and the accompanying Prodigy all changed.

An ominous premonition arose in their hearts.

“It couldn’t… be that much of a coincidence…”

Before they could manifest the ominous feeling in their hearts, the Yang Family Clan Head, with a mix of envy, jealousy, and obvious flattery, said, “I have some joyful news to tell you all. That new god is also connected to your Dongfang Clan.”

“According to the information I’ve gathered, when His Majesty Mu Lin was weak, it was your clan’s Dongfang Ya who fully protected him and even secured many resources for him. With this relationship, His Majesty Mu Lin will undoubtedly prioritize supplying the Golden Fruit to your Dongfang Clan.”

“Congratulations, your Dongfang Clan is very likely to become the Golden Holy Race…”

He offered congratulations, but soon, the Yang Family Clan Head discovered that the more he congratulated them, the worse the Dongfang Clan’s expressions became.

In the end, all the Dongfang clansmen looked as if their mothers had died—their faces pale and ashen.

“???”

This scene left the Yang Family Clan Head utterly bewildered.

At that moment, he hadn’t yet made the wild leap of thought that the Dongfang Clan had sacrificed Mu Lin’s mentor… Because he hadn’t considered this, he mistakenly interpreted the Dongfang Clan’s grim expressions as displeasure directed at him.

‘Damn, turning face as soon as you’ve latched onto a powerful patron, you really are snobbish…’

Though somewhat gritting his teeth, for the sake of the Golden Fruit and to enable his clansmen to transform as quickly as possible, the Yang Family Clan Head still forced a smile and said, “Everyone, there’s no need for this, is there? I admit I came here first hoping to rely on your connection to purchase some Golden Fruit from His Majesty Mu Lin.”

“But I’m not taking it for free. My Yang Family is willing to pay three times, even five times the price to purchase it from you.”

“Moreover, my Yang Family is also willing to fully assist you, helping your Dongfang Clan recover as quickly as possible.”

To obtain the Golden Fruit swiftly, the Yang Family Clan Head’s attitude was very humble.

Furthermore, he believed his terms were extremely favorable. The abundant resources and the connections to help them integrate into Myriad Dragon Mountain were exactly what the Dongfang Clan needed most.

Trading some surplus Golden Fruit for these benefits seemed, by all accounts, to be a profitable deal for the Dongfang Clan.

……

The Dongfang Clan Head, the Clan Elders, and the Prodigies in the room.

They also knew that cooperating with the Yang Family would bring them immense profit.

And the Yang Family likely wouldn’t be the first. If they maintained good relations with Mu Lin, after the Yang Family, other families would certainly send people over.

With so many seeking their favor and delivering large quantities of resources, it would be a very easy task for their Dongfang Family to restore its former prestige.

Such is the beauty of being associated with a divine power.

Especially, as the God of Life, Mu Lin not only possesses formidable combat power but can also produce extremely vital resources. Such a figure can bring even greater benefits to his subordinates.

It can be said that aligning with Mu Lin offers numerous advantages. However, the crucial point is that the Dongfang Clan… cannot align with Mu Lin.

Not only can they not align with him, but they have also thoroughly offended him.

Under such circumstances, the stronger Mu Lin becomes and the more benefits he offers, the more severe their regret and anguish grow.

This is why the Dongfang clansmen in the room looked as if they had lost their mothers, each with a face ashen with fury.

Some, overwhelmed by agitation, even slammed their fists fiercely against the table.

“???”

This scene left the Yang Family Clan Head utterly bewildered.

He could not understand why the Dongfang Clan would be displeased when Mu Lin possessed such important resources, given their supposedly good relationship.

Just as he was racking his brains in confusion, one of his sons hurried in from outside and whispered into his ear, his expression peculiar as he relayed the news he had just uncovered.

That news stunned the Yang Family Clan Head.

“What did you say? The Eastern Family has fallen out with Mu Lin? They sacrificed Your Majesty Mu Lin’s mentor?”

“What were these people thinking?”

“No, how dare they do such a thing?”

The news was so explosive and shocking that the Yang Family Clan Head was left speechless for a long moment.

Once he regained his composure, he immediately stood up and dashed straight toward the mountain gate of the Dongfang Clan.

—The Golden Fruit was now a treasure coveted by all Aristocratic Families.

In such a situation, those Aristocratic Families with good relations with Mu Lin would naturally receive the utmost courtesy and flattery.

As for those who were his enemies, no one dared to associate with them.

Doing so would mean cutting their own clan off from the Golden Fruit.

“Whoosh!”

Leading his clansmen, the Yang Family Clan Head practically fled the Eastern Family at a sprint.

His haste left some of those he brought along bewildered, and one instinctively asked, “Are we just leaving like this?”

This reminded the Yang Family Clan Head, and he nodded. “You’re right. We can’t just leave like this.”

“We absolutely must not let Your Majesty Mu Lin know we had any dealings with the Dongfang Clan!”

With that, he channeled his Mana and unleashed a barrage of attacks upon the Eastern Family’s territory.

“Boom!”

After three minutes of continuous bombardment, reducing numerous structures to rubble, he finally departed.

“Bastard!”

His actions left many Dongfang clansmen trembling with rage.

Especially when they recalled how, just moments ago, the Yang Family Clan Head had treated them with utmost respect, swallowing any Resentment he might have harbored.

Now, without any inquiry or justification, he had launched a reckless assault. Such a stark contrast in treatment left many Dongfang clansmen deeply aggrieved.

And when they thought of the Golden Fruit—a divine artifact they would never obtain—their anguish grew even more intense.

“Damn it, why did we choose Dongfang Ya as the sacrifice back then…”

…

Though the distance was great, Mu Lin could sense the Dongfang Clan’s regret, and a faint smile touched the corners of his lips.

Of course, his grand actions were not solely intended to spite the Dongfang Clan.

His primary goal was still to carry out the grand plan of genetic ascension, transforming the vast majority of the Human Race into Golden People, thereby strengthening the foundation of humanity. At the same time, he aimed to become the “Mother God” and “progenitor” of the new humans, embedding himself into the annals of human civilization.

Beyond this, Mu Lin had a second objective—to gather resources.

Although most resources in the mortal realm, and even in the cultivation world, were useless to True Lords and Deities, Mu Lin had just ascended. Having only just grasped the Authority, he was still in the accumulation phase. As a result, many Treasures in the Xuanling Realm were extremely useful to him.

Take, for example, the Chu Family’s Five-Organs Spirit Tree.

This tree blooms once every five hundred years and bears fruit once every five hundred years. The five fruits it ultimately produces not only nourish the five organs but are also inherently imbued with the power of the five elements.

While the fruits alone were of little use to Mu Lin, he could optimize them using his Life Authority.

“My opportunity to achieve the Five Qi Converging to the Origin lies here.”

(End of Chapter)