The Kind Death God - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Puyan’s History

There was great delight in Pu Lin’s eyes as he exclaimed, “That’s right, the power of the esteemed Supreme Pontiff is indeed profound! Even when resisting against the blood sun, he was still able to obtain God’s guidance. If not for the Supreme Pontiff and the various priests of the Holy Church, the great tribulation might have already happened five years ago. However, we do not have much time left. At the thousandth year of the Holy Calendar, it would be impossible to prevent the great tribulation. After sacrificing 30 years of my longevity, the full verse of guidance that I obtained was, “The melding of Kindness and Evil, the fusing of Light and Dark. With Phoenix’s Blood as guide, passing through all obstacles. With Dragon’s Blood as bond, love through all eternity.” Most of the Supreme Pontiff’s words are inside, so this must be it. You, the both of you, are the saviors as decreed by God!”

Ah Dai discovered, Xuan Yue’s small hands were damp with cold sweat. Savior? This word was too foreign to him, and he could not help but ask, “What is a savior?”

Prophet Pu Lin forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart, and explained,” Savior, a savior is someone who receives His guidance, in order to save the people during the tribulations. The advent of the blood sun, was just a forewarning of the incoming great tribulation. The Supreme Pontiff and the priests have used their pure holy powers of god just to postpone the great tribulation, and it is impossible to avoid it. However, God has not abandoned us, He still cares for us. And under His guidance, the two of you have appeared. God will guide you to become the saviors, who can turn the tide of the great tribulation.”

Xuan Yue wrinkled her brows, “Prophet Pu Lin, what proof do you have that we are the saviors?”

Pu Lin smiled, “Of course, I have sufficient proof, I will explain it to you later. First tell me, what are your names?”

Xuan Yue replied, “He’s called Ah Dai, and I’m Xuan Yue. Prophet Pu Lin, please quickly explain it to us.”

Nodding his head, Pu Lin continued, “The melding of Kindness and Evil is talking about Ah Dai. Ah Dai is a kind-hearted child, but on his body, there is an extremely evil energy.”

Xuan Yue got a shock, and looked at Ah Dai. Subconsciously, Ah Dai felt for the Hell’s Sword near his chest, while shaking his head repeatedly. “No, no, I’ve never done any evil deeds!”

Pu Lin let out a smile, “Don’t be so agitated, the evil energy that I’m talking about is from an evil object, and as for kindness, it is your original temperament. Do you know why I am so sure that you are the melding of kindness and evil? It was not simply because of your actions just now to save Xuan Yue. Take a look.” Suddenly, a crystal ball appeared out of nowhere. Pu Lin quietly muttered some incantations, and the crystal ball started emitting faint light. There were some blurry images in the crystal ball that gradually became clearer. It was showing the scene where Ah Dai was preparing to step into the Tilu Temple. Nothing special happened when the first few people passed through the door, but just as Xuan Yue stepped past, her image started glowing a faint red, and a faint phoenix silhouette appeared, enveloping her within. And when Ah Dai stepped into the temple, his body started emanating faint gray light. The crystal ball darkened, and the images instantly disappeared. As he kept the crystal ball, Pu Lin explained, “This is the projection of you stepping into the Tilu Temple, and the defensive magic formation that I set up for inspection was actually shattered by Ah Dai. Normally, even if it were someone many times much more powerful than you, he would not have been able to break my magic formation. However, that extremely evil object on you, would be able to, do you understand it now?

Furthermore, the way you acted after you entered the temple proved to me that you were extremely kind-hearted. Therefore, I was even more sure that you are the true savior. That sentence describing kindness and evil must have been referring to you. As for light and darkness, it was precisely describing the contrast between you and Xuan Yue. The extreme evil object brings about the power of darkness, while Xuan Yue, who was born in the Holy Church, is the embodiment of light. Initially, I’d never have thought that there would  be two saviors. But, after seeing the Phoenix’s Blood from the Holy Church on Xuan Yue’s body, I was able to confirm this thought of mine. As for the Phoenix’s Blood as guide, wasn’t it just describing Xuan Yue? And as for the Dragon’s Blood, I will tell you later. I’m not too sure about the last part regarding love for all eternity, so you will have to find that out for yourselves.”

Ah Dai and Xuan Yue looked at each other, neither of them would have imagined such a thing. Xuan Yue asked, “Prophet Pu Lin, did you call us here, just to confirm that we are the saviors? I don’t want to become some savior of the world, if it is something that people like you, who have such profound powers, can’t accomplish, how are we supposed to do it? There’s something I don’t understand, why would you sacrifice 30 years of your longevity just for this prediction of the saviors? Shouldn’t the Holy Church be responsible for the safety of the continent? Even it the great tribulation were to befall, it should not have much to do with your Puyan Tribe!”

Pu Lin let out a bitter smile, “Indeed, I do not have such noble intentions. The only thing I’m concerned about, is the preservation of our Puyan Tribe. Initially, I wanted to foretell the future of the Puyan Tribe, but all sorts of omens made it clear that if our Puyan Tribe wanted to continue developing and make a place for ourselves in this continent, we must successfully make it past this Thousand-Year Great Tribulation. The savior is not just the savior of the entire continent, but shall also be the savior of our Puyan Tribe. The reason why I brought you two here, is to reveal the secret throughout our long history, and helping you to become true saviors. Hopefully, the great tribulation will come to pass, our Puyan Tribe has been suffering long enough, I can’t bear to watch it go towards ruin!”

“Prophet Pu Lin, I’m still not very sure of the meaning of your words. Are you hoping for us to help your Puyan Tribe do something?” Ah Dai spoke up.

“I guess you can put it that way, but of course, I wouldn’t simply request for your help without any payment. First, listen to the whole story that I’m going to recount, then I’ll tell you what kind of help our Puyan Tribe needs. Be it in the United Regions Commonwealth, or in the entire continent, our Puyan Tribe is one of the tribes with the longest histories. We are the earliest human beings that appeared on the continent, and the history of our Puyan Tribe can be traced back to over ten thousand years ago. While the current three main empires and the commonwealth, were only formed after the first generation Supreme Pontiff sealed the demon god.” Pu Lin walked over to one of the walls in the stone grotto, and pointed to the mural on the wall. “Look.”

Ah Dai and Xuan Yue glanced towards the place that he was pointing to. Under the faint light from the glowing jewels, they saw that the colors on the mural was mostly faded, but they could tell that there were many people in the mural. The people were wearing clothes made of wild beast’s’ fur, and they were wielding primitive weapons in their hands, as they seemed to be dashing wildly towards somewhere. There was a tall and burly man among those people, with his long brown hair scattered behind his back, as he revealed a face full of excitement, with his spear raised up high, he seemed to be shouting something. Pu Lin explained, “This is the most complete ancient mural that the Puyan Tribe has preserved till now. The group of primitive people in the mural, are the ancestors of our Puyan Tribe, and as for that burly man, he is the first tribe leader. I, myself, am not too clear as to exactly how old this mural is, but I feel it should be at least ten thousand years old. Our ancestors were still living primitive lives back then, and since then, our Puyan Tribe is the tribe that cares for nature greatly.”

Taking a few steps forward, Pu Lin continued to point towards a second large mural and said, “This should have been painted a thousand years after the first mural.”

The second mural was of a large valley, and along the cliffs of the mountains, there were numerous caves. The Puyan tribesmen were wearing cloth as they traveled in and out along the cliffs. Pu Lin explained, “After a thousand years of progress, our Puyan Tribe had slowly begun to have its own civilization. Although they were still living in caves, the Puyan tribesmen had already started farming at that time.” He did not elaborate further, and walked forwards again, pointing towards the third mural. There were tens of thousands of Puyan tribesmen, wearing neat leather armor and wielding long battle axes, lined up in orderly contingents, with murderous looks on their faces. “This is around 5000 years ago. At that time, our Puyan Tribe was looking to advance towards a greater goal. Look at these warriors, do they seem familiar to you? Indeed, they are the original forms of the Tilu warriors. Look at the fourth mural.”

There was only a single person depicted in the fourth mural, a brawny man, with bulging muscles. He was only wearing a pair of ordinary long pants, leaving his upper body exposed. His hands were raised as he held a pair of long battle axes, seeming to be yelling something in rage, and a layer of dazzling yellow light emanated from his body. Pu Lin’s eyes revealed a look of reverence as he sighed, “This man on the mural, is the greatest hero of our Puyan Tribe, the Tilu battle god. He led the Tilu battle warriors, and brought our Puyan Tribe to glory. This very Tilu temple was built in honor of him. Under the leadership of the Tilu battle god, our Puyan Tribe’s territory increased immensely, and in just 30 years, three quarters of the continent was occupied by our tribe. The continent at that time, was basically the Puyan Empire instead. Our tribesmen who were scattered all over, married into some of the other smaller clans, resulting in the humans with different colored skin now. Apart from the Southern Silk people, who share the same length of history as us, our Puyan Tribe can be said to be the ancestors of the humans on the continent today. Oh, perhaps you don’t know yet, the current Prosperous Empire, is the descendants of the Southern Silk people. They were not as ambitious as our Puyan Tribe to expand their territory, since they were a peace-loving race. Although they only occupied a small area on the continent, they have obtained the respect of our tribesmen, and we were able to get along with them peacefully. I guess, that the Southern Silk people were cleverer than us, since, they are still able to occupy nearly a quarter of the continent even now.”

As Pu Lin was talking about how the Puyan Tribe was able to dominate over three quarters of the continent, there was immense pride and excitement in his eyes, as though he had been part of those glorious times. Especially his gaze when he looked towards the Tilu battle god, it was a look filled with reverence and admiration. Ah Dai and Xuan Yue had also been deeply affected by his story, the two of them listened intently to Pu Lin’s recount, totally immersed in the story that happened thousands of years ago.

Pu Lin walked over to the fifth mural, it was the largest mural in the stone grotto, and it seemed to almost encompass a fifth of the stone wall in the grotto. The mural displayed an image that seemed very much like the current Puyan Tribe, there were stone houses everywhere, and there were expressions of happiness and contentment on the face of the Puyan tribesmen, as they hurried around, doing their own business. Pu Lin let out a sigh, “The full glory of our Puyan Tribe lasted for 3000 years, and during those 3000 years, we had dominance over the continent. This was how it looked like, every single corner of the continent seemed to be filled with the same stone houses, forming smaller clans.”

As he spoke, Pu Lin continued walking forwards, to the sixth mural. On the sixth mural, a large city was depicted. Although the city wall was short, and there were not that many buildings, it was still a city. Sighing, Pu Lin continued once more, “The continent is indeed too broad, although we had occupied a large portion of land in the continent, the distance between the regions were too vast, and there were still many things that we fell behind in. Our tribesmen gradually separated into different sections, now known as the white colored people, black colored people, and even including the red haired people of the Red Hurricane Tribe. Under the influence of the natives then, they gradually broke free of our Puyan Tribe’s rule, and formed their own empires. They even abandoned the basic values of caring for nature. They started to destroy forests, in order to establish their own cities. At that time, our tribe leader did not blame them too much, after all, they were still the descendants of the Puyan Tribe, and the Puyan Tribe still occupied more than half of the continent.”

Pu Lin revealed a look of sorrow as he walked over to the seventh mural. The mural was filled with smoke, seeming to show the battles among a few different tribes. “Although we did not try to conquest those tribes who have separated from us, their progress is really too fast, and they had even surpassed us in various aspects. At last, they could not control their ambitions, and joined hands to attack our Puyan Tribe. In that battle, both sides suffered many casualties. However, our Puyan Tribe was at an advantage in terms of sheer numbers, and we finally won the battle. That happened around 1200 years ago. After that great battle, the predecessors of the Heaven’s Gold Empire and the Sunset Empire first started appearing. Tribes like the Yalian Tribe, also started to grow and develop after that great battle. Even though the territory of our Puyan Tribe did not decrease, we were no longer able to control our whole territory, as we had simply lost too many tribesmen in the battle. Due to the massive casualties in the battle, all of the tribes entered a recuperating period, and it was from then on, that our Puyan Tribe started to go into decline.” Two rows of tears flowed down from Pu Lin’s eyes, and he trembled a little, then walked towards the eighth mural, letting out another sigh.

On the mural, there was a group of humans, no, they cannot really be considered as humans. They had green colored skin, and there were sharp claws on their hands. Even with their human-like appearances, it was impossible to conceal the evil aura emanating from them, and their blood-red eyes also contained many devious colors. At the very middle of the group, there was a giant whose height was about three times that of a normal green colored person. He had a pair of wings on his back, and his green wings were surrounded by sharp spikes. There was also a single horn protruding from his forehead, and the claws on his hands were glinting with a piercing, chilly aura. His fearsome appearance caused chills upon anyone who looked at him. Xuan Yue involuntarily cried out, “That, isn’t that the ancient devil?”

Pu Lin nodded, ”Indeed, he was the ancient devil, also, he was the demon god that the dark demon race worshipped. At that time, after the great battle, the peace barely lasted for a hundred years, before these green-colored people appeared in the continent. They were savage and ruthless, born with destructive powers. They still exist today, the dark demon race has yet to be exterminated, even though their numbers are extremely little right now. This ancient devil was the god of the dark demon race. His strength was was terrifying, and it is far from what you could ever imagine. The dark demon race multiplied rapidly, and no one knew how they appeared on the continent, not even our Puyan Tribe and the Southern Silk people of the Prosperous Empire. Their appearance soon became the nightmares of the human race, the Supreme Pontiff should know, that the great tribulation a thousand years ago, was actually caused by this dark demon race. Initially, their numbers were not very many, but they had powerful bodies. Just based on their powers that far exceeded those of a normal person, they were able to quickly take over a small area of land in the continent. Anyone who opposed them were fully exterminated. 50 years later, just a mere 50 years of development, the numbers of the dark demon race had already exceeded ten million. That was all a mistake on our part! If only we weren’t recuperating from our casualties, and killed them off just after they appeared, perhaps there would not have been such devastating consequences. The dark demon race launched attacks on all of the different races and tribes, and tens of millions of their warriors flooded into the continent. In just 5 years’ time, they had managed to occupy over half of the continent. And at that time, out Puyan Tribe was the first to be targeted. Although our forces were strong, we were not fully prepared, and adding on the extreme power of the dark demon race, we were simply unable to stop their progress. 5 years, it was just 5 years! Our Puyan tribesmen had decreased to only a fifth of what we once had.” At this point, Pu Lin could not help but start crying, he mourned deeply over the fates of his tribesmen.

After quite some time, Pu Lin finally managed to steady his emotions, and walk forward again, to the ninth mural. That was a tall and muscular youth, wielding a magic staff in his hand. A faint white light was spreading out from his body, and behind him, there were countless soldiers from various races. What was most astonishing to Ah Dai and Xuan Yue was that, there were actually over ten colorful dragons circling over his head. Those were the dragons from legends! And before him, was precisely the dark demon race that the demon god commanded. Pu Lin sighed, “Just before our Puyan Tribe was about to be wiped out, the savior appeared. Under his lead, all of the various races and tribes on the continent were united, and with the help of the ancient dragons, they entered the final battle against the dark demon tribe. When the battle ended, under the wise leadership of the savior, we managed to wipe out most of the dark demon race, but the total number of humans had also fallen to only one fifth of the original population, and our Puyan Tribe was left with only 5% of our original numbers. The savior activated a heaven-shaking curse, and although he did not manage to eliminate all of the dark demon race, he had successfully restricted their reproductive prowess. Until now, the dark demon race is still a mortal enemy of the empires, just that, after that battle, they gradually moved below the ground, and it has been very hard to find traces of them. I guess that their numbers are few.”

Hearing this, Ah Dai suddenly recalled the incident of the pirates when he was on the ship with Gliss. At that time, Gliss had told him that the green skinned people were of the dark demon race.

With a solemn expression on his face, Pu Lin finally walked over to the last mural. It depicted a group of people in magician robes, surrounding the dark demon god. The leader of the group of people, was the savior mentioned by Pu Lin. Green colored blood was flowing out from the dark demon god’s body, a huge magic hexagram appeared on the ground. “At last, after the humans eliminated most of the dark demon race, they trapped the dark demon god on a mountain under the leadership of the savior. All of the advanced magicians and the strongest warriors of the human race were gathered, and with the help of the savior, they successfully killed the dark demon god, sealing his body and soul in the mountain range. And that place, was the Death Mountains.”

Xuan Yue and Ah Dai gasped in shock. How could they ever have guessed, that the place that they were planning to go, was actually where the ancient Devil was sealed.

Pu Lin seemed to be extremely frail, as he relied on his wooden staff to support his body, saying with a grievous voice, “During that great tribulation, our Puyan Tribe suffered the greatest loss. However, as the continent gradually regained peace and calm, we were forgotten by everyone. They did not return us our rightful land, claiming that we were unable to rule over such a large territory with our numbers. Under the instructions of the savior, the continent was divided into 5 areas, the Heaven’s Gold Empire, Sunset Empire, Prosperous Empire, the United Regions Commonwealth, and the Holy Church of today. As there were not many Puyan tribesmen left, we could only become one of the numerous tribes in the Commonwealth. After a few thousand years of glory, the Puyan Tribe finally fell into decline. At that time, if not for our Puyan tribesmen sacrificing their lives to delay the advancement of the dark demon race, the savior might not have been able to unite everyone and achieve victory! However, our Puyan Tribe did not get any of the respect that we deserved…”

Xuan Yue furrowed her brows, “Prophet Pu Lin, this savior you’re talking about, is he the first Supreme Pontiff of our Holy Church, His Majesty Shen Yu?”

[TN: Shen (神) means god, while Yu (羽) means feather, it sounds weird “english-ising” his name, so I left it in hanyu pinyin.]

Pu Lin nodded, “That’s right, he is indeed the first Supreme Pontiff, His Majesty Shen Yu. Our Puyan Tribe has never bore a grudge against the Holy Church, because without His Majesty, there would not be a continent today. During that time, he was already very considerate towards us. However, what we are resentful about, are the other tribes. It was our Puyan Tribe that sacrificed the lives of our tribesmen in order to protect the others, but when His Majesty Shen Yu proposed to return the land to us, they actually voiced out their dissent! Because of that, His Majesty was disheartened, and decided to live a solitary life in the divine mountains of the Holy Church. However, what His Majesty had done, would never be forgotten, and the year that he went into recluse, was named as the first year of the Holy Calendar.”

Listening to his words, Ah Dai could not help but comment, “The Puyan Tribe is so pitiful! 95% of the tribesmen had died, that is such a huge number! Prophet Pu Lin, don’t be sad.”

Pu Lin shook his head dejectedly, “All of this happened a thousand years ago, what use is there even if I’m sad now? Just before His Majesty Shen Yu went into recluse, he warned that there would be another great tribulation a thousand years later. If we are unable to get through this tribulation, the continent will once more be in dire straits. The thousandth year is approaching, and the great tribulation is about to befall. The only one who can save us, are you two.”

“But I still can’t believe this, how can we the saviors? With our powers, we can’t even accomplish anything much in the continent, much less help you. I think that you should find the Supreme Pontiff and have a talk with him,” Xuan Yue frowned as she spoke.

Pu Lin shook his head, “No, the only ones who can help our Puyan Tribe, are the both of you. Even the Supreme Pontiff is unable to go against God’s decree. Of course your powers are still insufficient right now, but there will be a day that you will understand the reason behind what I’m doing this day. Actually, I don’t really wish to ask anything much from you. I just hope that, when the great tribulation befalls, you can help protect the bloodline of our Puyan Tribe, and allow our tribesmen to continue living on the continent. Just this will suffice.”

Without waiting for Xuan Yue to respond, the hot-blooded Ah Dai immediately replied, “Prophet Pu Lin, I promise you, if there is really some great tribulation, I will surely help your Puyan Tribe to get through it!” Xuan Yue had pinched Ah Dai’s hand, but she was unable to stop him from saying the words in his heart.

Pu Lin revealed a smile of relief, and his voice was trembling as he spoke, “Child, thank you, thank you. The future of our Puyan Tribe, will depend on you. Xuan Yue, you are a member of the Holy Church, so I know that you are hesitating, but why would an old man like me, with only a few years left to live, lie to you? The only wish that I have, is for my tribesmen to continue living on. This is my only wish.”

Xuan Yue gave Ah Dai a glare as she replied, “Prophet Pu Lin, if everything is as you say, I promise you, I will do my best to protect your Puyan Tribe. Of course, I can only try my best with the power that I have. With our current powers, even protecting ourselves may be a problem, not to mention protecting your tribe.” As she finished speaking, there was a trace of craftiness in her eyes.

Pu Lin let out a gentle smile, “Little lass, although you’re still young, you are pretty clever. It is better for you to witness the truth in the future, but still, remember what I have told you. And remember the promise that you made today. Of course, I won’t just ask for your help without any repayment. Follow me.” As he slightly waved the wooden staff in his hand, the stone wall that the last mural was on, suddenly cracked open, revealing a narrow gap. Pu Lin took the lead and walked inside. Xuan Yue whispered to Ah Dai, “Why are you so dumb? We’ve just met him, how can you be so rash to promise him? Even if he is speaking the truth, we are in such a dangerous place within the Puyan Tribe, and you… … Nevermind, forget it, you wouldn’t understand anyway. Let’s quickly follow.” As she spoke, she pulled the muddled Ah Dai along, entering the gap between the stone wall.

It was not exactly another grotto, as it was simply too small, only around ten square metres. It was more like a stone room. The surrounding stone walls were uneven, and in the middle of the room, there was a square-shaped platform that was around one metre tall and half a metre wide. Prophet Pu Lin was standing before the platform, as he saw Ah Dai and Xuan Yue enter. “This is our first meeting, yet I’ve already requested for you to help our Puyan Tribe. I apologize if I was too brazen, but to show my sincerity and to help you increase your powers, I will gift each of you something. Come over, Xuan Yue.”

Shooting a glance at Ah Dai, Xuan Yue loosened her hand that was holding Ah Dai’s, and walked over. Prophet Pu Lin let out a sigh as he said, “Child, Pu Lin is my real name, but in the continent, I am known my by alias. Back when I was wandering the continent, I have always been using that name, and that name was Yuan Mu.”

[TN: as usual, Yuan (圆) means round, Mu (木) means wood. So no english-ised name here.]

Although Pu Lin was very calm as he spoke, the words he said were like thunder throughout Xuan Yue’s ears. Her body wavered as she cried out, “What? You are Magister Yuan Mu?!” On the whole continent, apart from the Holy Church, there were only three people who have reached the level of a Magister. One of them was the current guild leader of the magicians’ guild in the Heaven’s Gold Empire, Magister Lardas, who specialised in fire attribute magic. The second, was the chief court magician of the Sunset Empire, Magister Biernlog, who specialised in wind attribute magic. And the last one, also the most mysterious one, Magister Yuan Mu, who specialised in spatial magic. Among the 3 magisters, if they were to compare only attack power, it would surely be the fire attribute Magister Lardas who came out first. But, if they were to compare the combined power, it would be Magister Yuan Mu instead. His spatial magic shocked the whole continent, and even Xuan Yue’s father, the youngest crimson-robed priest, Xuan Ye, had deep respect for him.

Pu Lin let out a smile, “What? Do I not look the part? But this is the truth. The reason why you are unable to use magic here, is because I used spatial magic to restrict the movement of magic elements here. Ever since the blood sun appeared, I disappeared from the continent, because I was waiting, waiting for both of you to appear. Do not be too surprised that I am Yuan Mu. And the gift that I’m going to give you, is my magic book. Although I don’t dare to say that my spatial magic is comparable to the holy light magic of your Holy Church, it should still be of certain value, especially since it has undergone thorough studying and refining by the previous prophets of our Puyan Tribe. I know that you already have many treasures on you, so this book should be something useful to you. I can tell that you have great talents for magic, just that you have not practised hard enough. In fact, my spatial magic and the light magic that you’ve been cultivating are quite compatible and it can even help to supplement your magic. You have to work hard, if not, Ah Dai’s accomplishments will greatly surpass yours.” As Pu Lin spoke, he sliced open the space, forming a spatial tear. Reaching his hand in, he grabbed and retrieved a thick leather bound magic book before Xuan Yue.