Once upon a time there was a greedy snake

After all, compared to the old king's era, the Hennu people west of the Great Snow Mountain might not be able to defeat the Ignivas, but they certainly knew how to completely render the Ignivas incapable of fighting within a few generations.

"So... even if you're going to fight, you should at least accept the ways of the world first."

Only by allowing the Ignivas to have their own way of enjoying life can they avoid being seduced by the minotaurs and only then can there be talk of completely conquering them.

"So why don't you understand?"

At this moment, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage felt only bitterness in his heart. He had done everything for the good of the Ignivas, but not a single Ignivas understood his good intentions.

Yes, not a single one.

Even the guards who followed him only obeyed him because he was Akakage; none of them truly understood him.

"Perhaps the only way is to go and seek out those who seek the truth."

Taking a deep breath, the 36th Akakage decided to head to the Holy Mountain.

Ideally, he would have liked to meet the One God directly. All the people of Ignivas had unwavering faith in the wisdom of that serpent god. However, it was obvious that the One God would not bother with such a trivial matter. The One God had been busy with other things lately and had no time to answer his questions.

Therefore, he had no choice but to settle for second best and seek the wisdom of those who sought the Way.

Those seekers who live in seclusion deep in the mountains may not be able to give him any answers, but having someone to talk to at least makes him feel more at ease when he sleeps.

To the surprise of the Thirty-Sixth Akakage, the seeker who came to receive him this time was not the one he knew.

Instead, he was a young seeker of the Way, wearing a feathered headdress.

"Just call me Suixin."

The young seeker seemed eccentric, which gave the Thirty-Sixth Akakage a vague sense of foreboding.

Chapter 104 Peaceful Evolution

"I understand the doubts in your heart."

After listening to the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage's account, the seeker named Suixin nodded.

Everything seemed to be fine, and the interactions with seekers were similar to those before. However, when he saw the feathered headdress swaying with the nodding motion, the Thirty-Sixth Akakage still felt that something was amiss.

However, apart from the strange-looking feathered headdress, the young seeker named Suixin in front of him seemed to be fine in other aspects.

So, the 36th Akakage temporarily suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and continued to ask.

"So... how can I make my people understand my good intentions? Everything I've done is for their benefit."

"This is where the problem lies."

The seeker named Suixin shook his head.

"Your so-called concern for them is only at the level of thinking. In terms of practice, you actually lack the wisdom to solve all of this... Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way, and you wouldn't have come here to ask for advice."

"This……"

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage remained silent for a long time.

The seeker, Suixin, was absolutely right. This approach, which starts from both ideas and practice, is indeed the style of seekers of the Way—but no matter how right it is, it's still just empty talk.

That's not what he wants to hear; he wants a solution.

Or rather, it doesn't matter if it's not a solution; he can accept even just a suggestion that will allow him to get a good night's sleep.

However, it was at this moment that the seeker of the Dao, Suixin, spoke up once again.

Do you want to gain wisdom?

That's just another pointless statement. Who doesn't want to gain wisdom? That's why he entered the holy mountain.

However, upon seeing the Seeker of the Dao, Sui Xin, with his mysterious expression, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

For a seeker of the Tao who lives in seclusion deep in the mountains to make such an expression... could it be that this young seeker has a way to meet the serpent god and obtain the wisdom from the Supreme God?

Just as the Thirty-Sixth Akakage was pondering how to ask for a favor, the seeker named Suixin produced a rather strange scripture made of feathers.

"If you want to gain wisdom, then you must become a Mani person... On the other side of the snowy mountains, those ancient Mani people possess boundless wisdom."

"...Mani people?"

The thirty-sixth generation Akakage were all stunned.

Who is that?

However, the seeker before him, Suixin, was adamant that this thing would definitely be useful, and he even forbade him to take this stack of feather scriptures back with him, only allowing him to copy them with birch bark.

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage had no choice but to copy down the patterns and study them later.

However, the journey back was not peaceful either. Just as he was about to enter the city gate, a group of Ignivas surrounded him. The Ignivas, with red eyes, loudly questioned him about the purpose of digging that tunnel.

"Are we still going to attack or not? Give me a straight answer!"

The leader of the Ignivas roared loudly.

"If this is all there is to being an Ignivas, then we might as well become Katan!"

"...The Catan?"

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage was even more confused.

Who are the Catan? And yet another name he's never heard of before.

The doubts in his heart became more and more obvious, and the 36th Akakage urgently needed to find out what had happened. Fortunately, these ordinary Ignivas people could not stop him at all. Even if these people blocked the city gate, he only had to leap over to get onto the top of the city wall.

He leaped across rooftops, a path only elite warriors could traverse; ordinary Ignivas running on the ground couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

"It must be those Hennu people..."

Clutching the birch bark scroll in his hand, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage vaguely realized the crux of the matter.

Yes, it must be those Hennu people. After all, he remembered that the seeker of the Way had said that this thing came from the other side of the Great Snow Mountain... It must be that those minotaurs have already launched an offensive, and they have begun to corrupt the spirit of the Ignivas people!

"The promotion of the various doctrines... must be intensified!"

Seeing that this bloodless war had already been launched by the other side, the Thirty-Sixth Akakage knew that he could not wait any longer.

But before the 36th Akakage could gather the guards...

The guards, however, reported to him a piece of news that left him speechless.

What do you mean by saying that a bunch of people who practice various paths have gone mad?

The Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage was dumbfounded, knowing that he was certain that his method would not have any problems whatsoever.

But this illogical thing just happened.

A group of practitioners of various paths have begun to go mad. Their skin has become rough and thick, and they have become mentally unstable. They have even lost their reason and no longer know how to use magic, becoming even more foolish than the people of the Ice Plains.

They no longer even call themselves Ignivas, but instead state what they are: Natas.

"What is this?"

Hearing unfamiliar names three times in a row, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage felt his brain was starting to malfunction.

But no matter how the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage thought about it, this sudden news was a fatal blow to him.

The path of pleasure, which originated from the Way of the Pleasure, was his only means of fighting against the Hennu people, but now even this only means has run into problems.

"I……"

As night fell, the thirty-sixth generation of Akakage stared blankly at the starry sky.

The stars in the sky twinkled, winking at him as if they were telling him something, but the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage had no interest in looking at the stars at this moment—he was completely consumed by frustration and had no idea how to continue.

He originally thought that he could be like those Crimson Shadows before him... no, he was even going to surpass them. If everything could be accomplished, he would have completed the spiritual world of the Ignivas people, and he would become the most memorable Crimson Shadow.

But now...

It's all over.

Perhaps he will indeed be the most memorable Akakage, but in a different way—he will be the worst Akakage in history, and even this vast empire will be ruined in his hands.

"It's all my fault..."

Thinking this, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Akakage sighed.

The next morning, he selected his successor. This was his duty as the Crimson Shadow, and the last thing he could do for the Ignivas.

After that, he entered the sacred mountain alone.

The corruption of a race must be blamed on someone.

He was willing to bear all the punishment from that serpent god.

Chapter 105 The Wisdom of the Snake God

Deep within the sacred mountain, Du Yi was inspecting the savages brought by the three giant beasts.

The Katan people wear wolf bone masks, wield spears, and have bloodthirsty eyes. The Nata people seem to be out of their minds, but they are thick-skinned, strong, and incredibly powerful. The Mani people wear feathered headdresses and are decorated with feathers on their bodies, and their faces are full of mystery.

It looked exactly like the description of the three giant beasts, which Du Yi found quite novel.

If there's any problem, it's that these three races are just too similar to the Ignis—but Du Yi can understand that, since they're called human, they must have two arms and two legs, and they all look pretty much the same.

Ultimately, he was just curious and wanted to see something new. Now that these three giant beasts could do it, it was naturally a good thing.

"Well done."

Du Yi glanced at the three giant beasts with expectant faces and flicked his tail.

"Then let's get back to work."

"it is good!"

The three giant beasts were eager to fight.

They had been waiting for this for a long time, and all the preparations were for this day. You know, they never thought they could get away with it so easily. Now that they had managed to create something out of nothing and complete the ancient serpent's instructions, they would surely receive the ancient serpent's reward and obtain temporary management rights over a certain piece of land from the ancient serpent, right?

But the three giant beasts waited and waited, but nothing came of it.

"Didn't you say... to get things done?"

In the end, it was the blue-faced lion who couldn't help but speak first.

Which mountain do you intend to grant us as a tributary?

"Is a mountain even necessary?"

Du Yi was stunned by this turn of events.

"It's just raising saber-toothed tigers and mammoths. Why not just set up two ranches? I've seen those kinds of ranches before. They don't even need a whole hill... You guys can just do it here. I'll just watch from the side. You can come and ask me if you have any questions."

"This……"

The three giant beasts were speechless for a long time.

Things weren't going as they expected. This wasn't the outcome they wanted; all they wanted was a pasture... What could they possibly do?

But it was too late to say anything now, because the ancient serpent in front of them had once again given a death order: if the three of them couldn't even raise the saber-toothed tiger and the mammoth, it would eat them all.

"That way you'll have some motivation."

Du Yi stated his intentions directly.

However, it was clear that the three giant beasts did not appreciate this good intention; at this moment, all they felt was regret, endless regret.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have come to the east side of the Great Snow Mountain in the first place..."

The three-headed behemoth was even starting to miss home.

However, this matter had nothing to do with Du Yi. He was still routinely searching for firewood and seasonings—in fact, if raising animals wasn't so troublesome, he would have liked to do even that himself.

Although the snake currently has no hands or feet, it has long since developed the habit of doing everything itself over the years.

If I had to say something to be careful about, it would probably be that I need to be a little more careful when walking.

Just like now, he almost ran over a passing savage on the spot.

"You should be a little more careful."

Looking at the savage lying on the ground, Du Yi patiently offered advice.

"It's only because I realized it this time that I didn't crush you to death... If it had been a blind spot, you would have been gone."

"I, I, I..."

The savage on the ground showed no intention of standing up; instead, he lay there with his mouth open for a long time.