Chapter 241: The Historical Record Appears! Leaving a Name Within
Chapter 241: Chapter 241: The Historical Record Appears! Leaving a Name Within
The first volume of the *Book of Man*, authored by Zhu Ge... Yi!
In an instant, the recitation was complete, and a book materialized in Zhu Ge’s hand.
Without a second glance, Zhu Ge hurled the book fiercely at Hongmi Immortal.
The *Book of Man* erupted in a brilliant light as eight trigrams—Heaven, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Water, Fire, Mountain, and Lake—materialized in the sky.
Hongmi Immortal was frozen in place, the rice grains floating around him scattering to the ground.
Terror filled his face. One after another, the artifacts on his body flared to life, only to be instantly shattered.
But nothing he did could fend off the terrifying Power of Heaven and Earth.
Finally, the *Book of Man* flared with light once more, and Hongmi Immortal’s aura rapidly faded.
’I’m going to die!’
Hongmi Immortal’s panicked expression twisted into one of venomous hatred. In his final moments, as his voice returned, he roared:
"I am Hongmi Immortal! Today, I executed the Plague God Sparrow, the Locust Demon Crown Prince, and the Red River Dragon Python, only to be brought down by a despicable villain! I hereby issue a bounty!"
"From this day forward, anyone within the borders of Yunjiang who kills Zhu Ge of the Six Paths Palace shall receive my entire inheritance!"
With that, the corners of Hongmi Immortal’s lips curled up, his eyes locking on Zhu Ge with a mocking smile.
In that instant, his words echoed across the entirety of Red River Prefecture.
"What?! The Six Paths Palace?!"
"Zhu Ge is the villain?!"
"That’s impossible! Zhu Ge just saved our city!"
"But Hongmi Immortal just said..."
Countless people were utterly bewildered.
Hongmi Immortal’s voice had reached every city and village in Red River Prefecture.
And so, in a flash, confusion spread among the populace.
The main point of confusion was that Zhu Ge and his Six Paths Palace had been fighting bloody battles to help one city after another. How could he possibly be a villain?
This was especially true in Jianshui City.
Whether it was Mr. Langhao, Li Hao, or anyone else, their first reaction was disbelief in Hongmi Immortal’s words.
As for those still locked in battle with the Demon Race, such as Yu the Scholar and his companions, they were even more incredulous.
’Zhu Ge, a despicable villain?’
’What a joke!’
’If Zhu Ge were truly a villain, he would have just fled. Why would he stay in Red River Prefecture and fight?’
Yu the Scholar, in particular, knew better.
He remembered back in Jianshan Village, Zhu Ge’s first instinct when facing trouble had been to run; he had simply lacked the power to survive in the wilderness back then.
Now that Zhu Ge had the strength, he didn’t run. It was obvious he no longer wanted to.
SQUELCH!
With a flick of his brush, Yu the Scholar sent a stroke of ink that instantly killed the Demon Beast before him. Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Pay it no mind! Is there anyone who doesn’t know of Palace Master Zhu’s righteous heart? Slay the enemy!"
On the battlefield, the number of Demon Beasts dwindled. The Soldiers of Yuan Yang City fought alongside the Soldiers of the Six Paths Palace, bravely slaughtering the demons.
The Third and Second Realm Demon Beasts, in particular, lost all will to fight upon hearing that the Plague God Sparrow and Red River Dragon Python had fallen. They simply turned and fled.
The remaining Demon Beasts and wild animals, though lacking high Spiritual Wisdom, still possessed basic survival instincts. Before long, they too had fled.
In less than fifteen minutes, calm returned to the lands outside Yuan Yang City.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the few remaining Third Realm beings stared at one another in stunned silence.
On the battlefield below, the people had separated into two groups: one from Yuan Yang City, the other from the Six Paths Palace.
If what the Pavilion Master had said was true, then weren’t these Soldiers of the Six Paths Palace accomplices to Zhu Ge?
But in the very next moment, the world changed once more.
The phantom image of a magnificent, colossal bamboo scroll materialized in the sky.
The spectral scroll stretched across the horizon, glowing with a bronze luster. Every character inscribed upon it shone like a star.
The phantom was so vast that it could be seen by all who looked up from the dozens of cities across the Three Prefectures of Yunjiang.
At the same time, a voice emerged.
The voice was calm and gentle, imbued with an unhurried power. Its cadence was measured, like a clear spring flowing over jade, or the ringing of metal against stone.
"The Holy Emperor has fallen. The realm is in chaos. Years have passed..."
The voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached the ears of every living being in Red River Prefecture.
The bamboo scroll slowly unfurled, and lines of archaic text materialized across the heavens—
"In the spring of the 3412th year of the Da Sheng Calendar. Jianshan Village, Red River Prefecture, Yunjiang. A deity called the Fungus God stole the souls of the villagers, seeking to establish its domain. The villager Zhu Ge, not yet of age and with no Cultivation, stood against it alone. Borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth and wielding the might of the Xigui, he executed the Fungus God within the village. The villagers were nearly annihilated, with only a few survivors."
In Jianshui City, Mr. Langhao looked up at the sky, the teacup in his hand trembling slightly.
He remembered that late night when the young man arrived riding a Mazhu, declaring his intent to raise an army and reclaim the cities.
"To leave such a significant mark on the Historical Record!" Mr. Langhao exclaimed in awe.
He had vaguely heard legends of the Historical Record, but he never imagined he would witness it with his own eyes.
According to legend, most people were but a single line in the Historical Record, hidden within brief statements like, "The year of the great famine, when men ate men."
Only a select few might have their names left behind—for example, that so-and-so was the Pavilion Master of a certain prefecture—but this was merely a note, hardly a significant entry.
Only those with truly great influence, merit, or wisdom would be granted entire biographies or annals, entries that could truly be called significant.
Now, it seemed, a practitioner of the Historical Dao had appeared to record Zhu Ge’s deeds in the Historical Record.
"In the summer of the 3412th year of the Da Sheng Calendar. The Jingzhe Official, the Raincoat Fisherman, came to Jianshan Village, where he oppressed the people and raped and murdered a young girl. Zhu Ge feigned allegiance while secretly laying a trap. Nineteen days later, he gathered allies from the Mo Family, the Yi Witches, the Confucian Scholars, as well as Demons and Ghosts, and executed the Raincoat Fisherman on the banks of the Red River. In this battle, Zhu Ge—at the Anger Realm of the Martial Arts First Realm—slew the Raincoat Fisherman, a Third Realm cultivator of the Fishing Dao’s Fishing Realm."
In Eagle City, Ding Ding stood atop the city walls, her gaze flickering.
She remembered the first time the young man had stepped into the Underground City; his eyes held no greed, only compassion.
She knew then, with certainty, that Zhu Ge was not the villain. The true villain had to be Hongmi Immortal.
"In the summer of the 3412th year of the Da Sheng Calendar. Demon Beasts ran rampant in Red River Prefecture. Six of the twelve cities fell, and the rest were in peril. Zhu Ge established the Six Paths Palace, raised an army, and, himself at the Mountain Shattering Realm, successively lifted the sieges on Jianshui, Eagle City, Mengzi, Yilong, Fenshui, and Lvchun. He recruited Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters, and saved hundreds of thousands of lives."
The characters on the bamboo scroll grew ever more dense.
In Mengzi City, Tongzhen leaned on his Bone Staff and sighed, looking up at the sky.
He remembered Zhu Ge’s departure, his silhouette on the Mazhu stretched long by the morning sun.
That young man... he had really done it.
"It’s a pity, my old friend. You became lost in your obsession with power and forgot why you started..." Tongzhen shook his head, then gave an order. "Relay my command: Hongmi Immortal spread vicious lies to deceive the masses. From now on, no one is to treat Zhu Ge as an enemy. The bounty is to be ignored."
The influence of the bounty might be debatable in other regions, but in Red River Prefecture, it would have been posted in every city.
After all, Hongmi Immortal was the Pavilion Master.
"In the summer of the 3412th year of the Da Sheng Calendar. The three great powers—the Plague God Sparrow, the Red River Dragon Python, and the Locust Demon Crown Prince—besieged Yuan Yang City. Hongmi Immortal feigned grave injury, secretly intending to use the power of the three to merge five Daos and achieve Fusion."