Chapter 1 The Green Giant Hand

The green giant hand, having carried Hu Ma to the cave entrance, slowly withdrew and disappeared back into the clouds swirling around the mountainside.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, he looked down and saw the Three Barriers and Twelve Steps, still eerily desolate, yet now beneath his feet. He felt as though he had overcome something, surpassed something.

Hu Ma inhaled softly, then slowly walked forward, his figure swallowed by the dark cave before him. His vision dimmed slightly, and a strange sensation washed over him.

"This is..."

Hu Ma's thoughts raced. "Have I arrived at someone else's Natal Spirit Temple?"

Once his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he took in the surroundings. Wisps of strange mist floated in the air. Before him stood an incense table with an incense burner, filled with ash but devoid of incense.

Behind the table sat a dilapidated, lopsided clay statue, devoid of any aura of life. It was clearly a transmigrator's Natal Spirit Temple; it looked almost exactly as his own had when he first entered it.

Every transmigrator had their own Natal Spirit Temple, but Hu Ma had never seen another's. The feeling was exceptionally bizarre.

The absurdity of his journey here faded as he breathed in deeply and approached slowly, examining the temple carefully. It was lifeless. The statue was merely a clay sculpture, sitting there lifelessly.

Looking closely, he saw massive cracks and fissures on the statue, like wounds. The statue's face was blurred and indistinct, but he could make out the harsh features of a man.

"Is anyone there?"

Hu Ma stopped just two steps inside the Natal Spirit Temple and called out cautiously, his voice echoing through the space.

No one answered. The silence was deathly.

Hu Ma asked out of courtesy and caution, but he wasn't surprised by the lack of response. He continued to survey the area and soon spotted a tiny sliver of mingxiang (lifespan incense) near the incense burner.

Unlike his own, this incense faintly glowed with a golden hue and was covered in intricate, fine patterns. Even beneath the dust, it possessed a mystical quality. Just being near it created a sense of pressure.

But it was so short, so incomplete, like a person on the verge of death.

He slowly raised his head, gazing at the lifeless statue behind the incense table, and gradually understood. He reached out, took the sliver of mingxiang in his hand, and took a step back.

First, he respectfully bowed to the statue, then inserted the remaining mingxiang into the incense burner.

"Whoosh."

As the mingxiang entered the burner, a red light flared up and wisps of smoke began to drift.

Hu Ma quickly retreated a few steps, quietly observing the statue, a strange mix of anticipation and subconscious awe welling up within him.

At first, the statue didn't change. But as the smoke from the mingxiang rose, the clay shell on the statue seemed to crack and flake away rapidly. Within the deep fissures, a reddish glow appeared to flow like blood in real wounds.

After a long while, the statue suddenly shuddered, and a heavy, weary sigh seemed to emanate from its chest, a sound of surging air.

At the same time, it slowly raised its head, mud and ash falling from its eye sockets. A pair of eyes slowly opened, looking down from above with boundless confusion.

Hu Ma felt a jolt of alarm, as if his soul had been struck by an invisible force. He hastily retreated another step, stopping at the entrance of the Natal Spirit Temple.

Then, a vibrating, booming sound came from within the statue, gradually forming words that squeezed out from its throat:

"Finally, someone has come..."

"..."

"Hm?"

Hearing this voice, Hu Ma felt like a giant bronze bell was ringing beside him. His body seemed to be vibrating, almost unable to stand.

After entering this painting, he was essentially in a spiritual form, but it was difficult to perceive. Only now, shaken by this voice, did he fully realize it.

This statue possessed immense divine power. Even when it was dormant, it was tall and silent, imposing a tremendous sense of pressure.

Now that Hu Ma had helped light the last bit of mingxiang, the statue had come to life. The pressure it exuded was so powerful that Hu Ma, despite being at the Fuzhong level, felt like an ordinary person facing a magistrate in court, experiencing instinctive dread.

As Hu Ma's heart filled with caution, the statue muttered to itself in confusion. Its eyes were rapidly focusing, gradually gaining clarity. It was as if a person waking from a deep sleep needed time to recall the events before.

As realization dawned, a pair of hollow, dim, and withered eyes turned anxiously toward Hu Ma. Anxious murmurs, accompanied by the sound of rushing air, escaped its throat:

"So, has the new emperor been chosen yet?"

"..."

"Hm?"

Hu Ma never expected that the statue's first question upon opening its eyes would be this.

He had come here with a stomach full of questions, but he hadn't expected to encounter this first. Sensing the statue's anxiety and concern, he paused, swallowed his own questions, and decided to answer.

Gathering his thoughts, he looked at the statue and slowly said, "No!"

"For twenty years, no one has sat on the emperor's throne."

"..."

"T-Twenty years..."

The statue seemed slow to react, perhaps due to its recent awakening. Its voice was filled with weariness and confusion. "Only twenty years?"

As it spoke, it struggled to move its eyes. More mud and ash fell from its body.

Slowly, its eyes found Hu Ma's location, but it took great effort before a glimmer of light finally appeared and focused on Hu Ma's face. With difficulty, it asked, "You are a transmigrator, aren't you?"

"Whoosh."

Hu Ma pondered, realizing that he had essentially come through the back door and didn't need to hide anything. He slowly nodded and said, "Yes, I came here to meet a fellow countryman, to see a senior."

"Good, good..."

Normally, transmigrators would exchange pleasantries upon meeting. Hu Ma was considering the statue's identity and how to ask his most pressing questions.

However, the statue didn't continue down that path. Its eyes looked at Hu Ma with anticipation, its voice gradually becoming smoother. "Regardless, since a transmigrator has arrived here first, it means... it means that the..."

"The selection of the new emperor has begun?"

"..."

Why was it asking this?

Hu Ma's suspicions deepened, but meeting the statue's concerned gaze, he nodded, observing its expression as he slowly said, "There are signs."

"The various noble families are placing their bets, even the local gentry are stirring. Who truly has the destiny of an emperor is unknown, but there are many with the heart of one. Perhaps it will only take a few short years to choose an emperor."

"..."

"Good, good..."

The statue nodded forcefully, appearing to have some anticipation in its expression. It slowly looked at Hu Ma and asked with concern, "Then you... "

"How are you transmigrators of this generation preparing?"

"..."

Hu Ma, who had been listening intently, couldn't help but be stunned by the question.

"Preparing?"

"What preparation?"

"..."

"What preparation?"

Not only was Hu Ma baffled by the statue's question, but the statue, newly awakened, was clearly confused by Hu Ma's response.

It was clear that it took some time to react, as the light in its eyes grew brighter and the incense in the burner seemed to burn faster. Finally, it spoke with a hint of urgency, "Naturally, the preparation to compete for the Mandate of Heaven and slay the Grand Duke of Jupiter!"

"We... we were too sudden, we didn't have time to prepare. We could only lose that battle, just to buy you... to buy you more time..."

"But since you've had these twenty years, isn't it enough time for you to unite and discuss countermeasures?"

"If someone is willing to be the emperor, that would be best, but that sacrifice is indeed too great. It is understandable that transmigrators don't want to sit on that throne, but..."

"Even if no one is willing to do it personally, after so long, you should have chosen some suitable candidates, right?"

"..."

"..."

"Compete for the Mandate of Heaven? Slay the Grand Duke of Jupiter?"

Hu Ma's mind was reeling from the statue's string of words. He had forgotten the things he wanted to ask and was simply filled with confusion. He vaguely remembered hearing these words from the Mountain Lord, but he never expected the statue to say it like this.

It asked so matter-of-factly, as if it expected him to understand immediately.

Did "that battle" refer to the Dharma combat during the Grand Sacrifice in the capital? Was that to buy time for them?

Said to buy them twenty years? Was that the twenty years without an emperor?

He felt like this conversation was off from the start. Each side had their own concerns, but it felt like something was missing.

Thinking quickly, he took a deep breath and slowly said, "It seems that you are indeed a senior among the transmigrators, but how did you end up like this?"

"I don't know what to call you yet. Besides, what you just said..."

"I don't even know what it means."