Hu Immortal blessed land, southern district.
“Yan Yong, Yan Yong, wake up quickly. Stop sleeping, you’ve slept for three years already!”
A voice woke Yan Yong up from his sleep.
A lump of grey stones with a mossy surface started to vibrate, as the tremors intensified, causing the dust to disperse. From the large oval stone, four limbs and a head appeared like the blossoming of a flower.
Next, a grey rockman stood up — Yan Yong woke up from his sleep.
“Grandpa?” Yan Yong opened his eyes, looking at the rockman who woke him up, it was his eight hundred year old grandpa, the leader of the Hui Shi tribe.
“Grandpa, why did you wake me up, I want to sleep for another two to three years.” Yan Yong sighed, begrudging.
Rockmen loved to sleep. When they sleep, the curled into a ball, forming a large oval stone. Each sleeping session lasts seven to eight years.
“Stop sleeping, my grandson, you are already a hundred and eighty years old. Your father died earlier, and I cannot live much longer. In a few decades, you will be our Hui Shi tribe’s new tribe leader.”
Rockmen have a long lifespan, generally a thousand years to live. Ordinary humans could barely live for a hundred years, but Yan Yong was a hundred and eighty, and had just reached adulthood.
“Grandpa, I do not want to be tribe leader. After becoming leader, I will not have time to sleep casually anymore.” Yan Yong pouted, but saw his grandpa staring angrily, and chose to shut up.
Hui Shi tribe leader chided: “Why haven’t you grown up? You slept for so many years in vain. Quickly pack up, and clean the moss off you, pull off all the weed that had grown on you. Bring the offerings with you and go with grandpa to the ground, we have to meet the immortal, we cannot be disrespectful!”
“Ah? It is time to pay offerings to the immortal again? But I remember there is still a year left.” Yan Yong said as he plucked the weed off him.
After sleeping for so many years, his armpits, his groin, and back all had lots of weed. Especially the black thread grass in his groin area, they were hard as steel and curly. Every time he plucked one, Yan Yong felt great pain.
“Sigh, there is a problem this time. The immortal changed, this immortal came not too long ago, he is calling for us.” Old clan leader sighed and said with worry.
“New male immortal? I hope he is easier to speak to than that female immortal. Maybe we can discuss with him, after all, we have to contribute so much offerings every ten years, it is taxing.”
“Mm, the other tribe leaders and I also have this thought.”
…
On a large altar made of green rocks, Fang Yuan wore his black robe as his long black hair was let down, sitting at the main seat staring at the people below with his deep dark pupils.
There were tens of rockmen kneeling below, among them, eight were rockmen leaders, two grey rockmen, three granite rockmen, one iron rockman, one green rockman, and one white rockman.
At the same time, there were offerings.
Large amounts of ore containing gold, silver, bronze, iron, as well as other gems and jewels, Gu worms etc.
All sorts of metallic elements would grow on the rockmen’s bodies as time passed. Fang Yuan looked at these offerings, understanding at once why Dang Hun palace was built so luxuriously.
If these were brought to Earth, they would be a huge asset, but here, their greatest use was to become Gu refinement materials.
Hu Immortal using these things as decoration was only her womanly love for beauty. If she could choose to exchange them for primeval stones, she would trade away all these gems and jewels without a second thought.
Among the offerings, the most valuable were Gu worms.
But these Gu were mostly rank one rock skin Gu, rank two monolith Gu. There was only one rank three Gu, stone aperture Gu.
Fang Yuan had once used this Gu, back then Spring Autumn Cicada’s pressure on the aperture could not be relieved, thus when he was desperate, he used it.
The rockmen were skilled at digging, they lived deep underground. Their food was dirt, and sometimes when they dig underground, they would discover Gu worms.
“What did you say? You want to reduce the offerings?” Fang Yuan’s eyes squinted as he stood up, slowly walking down the stairs, coming towards the rockmen leaders.
The rockmen were tall and huge, even when they kneeled on the ground, their shoulders were still higher than Fang Yuan’s head.
“Esteemed lord immortal, our rockmen tribes have contributed so much offerings during these thirty years. During these years, the earth rumbled, the north area had floods, the east area had fires, life is difficult. These things that we managed to acquire are getting harder and harder to find. Immortal, please have mercy, and forgive our inability, reduce the offering amount by a bit.” The oldest rockmen tribe leader begged.
“That’s right, lord immortal, please reduce the offerings.”
“These years, we have been decreasing in numbers.”
“Immortal, please understand, we will never forget your kindness!”
The other rockmen leaders started saying.
“Reduce the offerings? Hehehe, of course you can! In fact, I can exempt you all from these offerings.” Fang Yuan smiled kindly and warmly.
The rockmen’s expression were joyous.
“But I have a condition.” Next, Fang Yuan said: “I need you all to dig a river, from the north, transport the water towards the east, to stop the fire from spreading.”
“What?!” Hearing this, the rockmen were shocked.
Quickly, they reacted, shouting loudly.
“Esteemed lord immortal, you cannot do this!”
“Digging a river from scratch, this is a huge project, we rockmen need sleep. Without sufficient sleep, we will die.”
“And there is a great fire and huge amounts of water. You ask us to go dig a river, but isn’t that asking us to go die?!”
At once, everyone flew into a rage. Many young rockmen were kneeling at one corner, but hearing this, they rushed over, staring at Fang Yuan vigilantly.
“Master.” Hu Immortal land spirit beside Fang Yuan saw this and she felt slightly worried.
The rockmen had a stubborn nature, they had foolhardiness, emphasizing their pride and would not accede to demands. When they are rash, they would even attack Demon Venerables or Immortal Venerables, regardless of who the other party is.
Hu Immortal was only to contain these rockmen because at the start, she had spent a lot of effort and gave them a lot of benefits.
“Master, these rockmen do not reason with people, asking them to offer these things was already their limit…” Little Hu Immortal sent her thoughts to Fang Yuan secretly, reminding him.
“Limit?” Fang Yuan scoffed, his mouth opening as he showed his bright white teeth, laughing ruthlessly: “You rockmen are too insolent, you dare to bargain with me? Hmph! The place you are living at is mine. The dirt you eat is mine. The spirit spring beside your tribe is also mine. You live here, you are my slave! I want to dig a new river, that is not a request, and not a transaction, it is an order!”
The rockmen heard this and they all stood up, looking furious.
“Immortal, you don’t know what’s good for you, you dare to look down on us rockmen!”
“Back then when we relocated here, it was because of a female immortal. But the environment here is getting worse, who would want to stay here anymore?”
“You want us to dig a river, that is asking us to die. Do you think we rockmen are fools?”
“We rockmen are born from heaven and earth, we will not be your slaves. Let’s go, relocate, I’ve had enough of this shitty place!”
The rockmen leaders shouted, falling out with Fang Yuan at once.
The followers they brought, the young rockmen all came forward, clenching their fists as they stared at Fang Yuan with a dangerous look.
“You want to leave? Hahaha.” Fang Yuan threw his head back and laughed, like he had heard the funniest joke in the world. Next, he stopped laughing, looking at these rockmen coldly, his tone was chilly: “Where do you think this is? Come and go as you please? The old rules are no more, from today onwards, I am the greatest ruler, my words are heaven’s will! You will abide by my rules, even if you don’t want to!”
“Ahh!” Many young rockmen clenched their fists and howled.
“Immortal, you are trying to step over my tribe’s baseline!”
“Immortal, you might be strong, but we are not afraid.”
“We rockmen will never lower our heads to brute force, we are natural warriors, we fear no death!”
“Only love can make us dig out our hearts. Only warmth can make us lower our backs.”
Roar!
Fang Yuan pushed with his hand and a golden dragon flew out.
The golden dragon roared, killing the rockman that was screaming the loudest.
“Ah, he killed the granite rockmen’s old tribe leader!”
“Old tribe leader is dead, we have to get revenge!!”
“Even an immortal has to die under our tribe’s fury!”
Granite old tribe leader’s death was like the trigger, causing the rockmen’s anger to erupt.
The rockmen attacked Fang Yuan in waves, every step made a dent in the ground, as they gave off an impressive aura. Dozens of rockmen attacked together, giving off the disposition of a grand army of ten thousand.
From their bodies, numerous lights shone. There were also Gu worms inhibiting these rockmen’s bodies, they were activated through their will.
But a moment later, these lights vanished.
Little Hu Immortal struck, sealing all the Gu worms.
Fang Yuan snickered as he began his slaughter.
The rockmen were not afraid of death, but their strength was inferior to fang Yuan, they were all broken down into shards, dying a pathetic death.
But these rock fragments gathered like magnets, forming new rockmen.
“Kill!”
“Resist the tyranny, take revenge for father!!”
“We are born from heaven and earth, we die due to heaven and earth, thus we have no fear!”
Tiny rockmen charged over, and were all slaughtered by Fang Yuan.
But these rock fragments gathered into even smaller rockmen.
The number of these rockmen continued to shrink, but after they were formed, they charged towards Fang Yuan and shouted things like exacting revenge for their grandpa, father etc.
This was the way the rockmen reproduced. It was a male only race, after the old rockmen dies, the soul and rocks they split into will form new rockmen, and inherit a portion of the old rockmen’s memories, or some important experiences. In some cases, old rockmen sleep too much and their soul foundation accumulates to a degree, they would split out a portion of their bodies to form new tiny rockmen.
After Fang Yuan killed the third wave of rockmen, the world was finally silent once more.
Only one rockman remained, lying on the ground, shivering.
“What is your name?” Fang Yuan slowly walked towards him.
“My… my name is Yan… Yan Yong.” The young rockman stammered.
“Do you know why I left only you alive?” Fang Yuan stood on Yan Yong’s head.
“No… I do not know…”
“Because you are terrified. Because I like your fear and horror towards me.” Fang Yuan smiled warmly.