All Gods: Starting with Two Families

Chapter 123 Spiritual DegenerationZhou Zheng continued inward.

The scenery in the middle circle was completely different from the outer circle.

This was no longer a desolate wilderness, but rather an area filled with buildings—stone houses and wooden structures. Although dilapidated and crooked, one could at least tell that there had once been order here.

Some roofs still hung with faded cloth banners, fluttering listlessly under the gloomy daylight.

He encountered more and more of the Yao Race on the road.

Unlike the beasts in the outer circle that ignored Zhou Zheng, these would stop and size him up with complex gazes.

Some eyes held curiosity, some held vigilance, and others... held a kind of longing that Zhou Zheng could not define.

Zhou Zheng paid them no mind. He continued forward.

But soon, he discovered that someone was following him.

Not one or two, but a whole group.

They trailed far behind, not daring to get close, yet unwilling to leave. When Zhou Zheng stopped, they stopped; when Zhou Zheng walked, they walked. It was as if they were confirming something.

Zhou Zheng frowned and quickened his pace.

Just then, an old voice came from ahead: ”Stop!”

Zhou Zheng’s Divine Thought stopped. Standing on a giant rock ahead was an old man.

His hair was snow-white, and he had a pair of dark golden feather crowns on his head. His figure was thin, but he stood very straight.

Behind him, dozens of members of the Feather Clan and the Scale Clan were peeking over, their eyes filled with something... something Zhou Zheng could not define. It was like anticipation, yet also like fear.

The old man stared at Zhou Zheng, his gaze sweeping over him, and then—his body trembled violently.

”You...” the old man’s voice trembled, ”On you... what is that?”

Zhou Zheng did not speak. He just stood there, looking at the other party.

The old man jumped down from the giant rock and stumbled over to Zhou Zheng.

His footsteps were unsteady, and he nearly fell several times, but he didn’t care. He stared fixedly at Zhou Zheng, at the direction of Zhou Zheng’s Divine Domain, and at those restless Eagle People and fish people.

Then, he suddenly knelt down.

”Heavens...” the old man’s voice sounded as if it were blocked by something, ”It is an outsider’s Kunpeng Bloodline... It really is the Kunpeng Bloodline...”

The people behind him were stunned at first, then erupted into chaos.

”What? An outsider?”

”Let me see! Let me see!”

They surged forward, yet dared not get too close, only craning their necks from afar, eyes wide as they looked toward Zhou Zheng. That look, Zhou Zheng understood—it was hunger.

Not a hunger for food. It was a hunger for hope.

The old man knelt on the ground, trembling all over. He tilted his head up to look at Zhou Zheng, tears welling up in his eyes.

”You... you came from the outside?”

Zhou Zheng nodded.

The old man took a deep breath and looked back at his clansmen. They were already in a chaotic state; some were crying, some were laughing, and some were kneeling on the ground, muttering to themselves.

”Go prepare!” the old man suddenly roared, ”Bring out the best things! Dig up the wine that has been hidden for so long! Go!”

Only then did the people react, scattering in a swarm. Some ran toward the distant stone houses, some dove into cellars, and others ran off to who knows where, leaving behind only a trail of hurried footsteps.

The old man turned back to look at Zhou Zheng. He wiped away his tears and tried hard to squeeze out a smile.

”Honored guest... honored guest, please come with me. We... we have nothing to offer you, but... please do not mind.”

Zhou Zheng watched him, not moving.

”How do you know it is the Kunpeng Bloodline?”

The old man’s smile stiffened for a moment. He was silent for a while, then said in a low voice:

”We can feel it. Having stayed in this pot for so long, we are especially sensitive to spirituality. The Bloodline within you... is different from the others. That is the Bloodline of the Primogenitor.”

Zhou Zheng was silent for a moment, then followed the old man forward.

...

The old man led him through several stone houses to a hall that was still relatively intact.

The doors of the hall were open, and inside, people were scrambling to move tables.

A young Feather Clan member ran in carrying a jar of wine covered in mud, nearly tripping. Another woman of the Scale Clan was vigorously wiping bowls and chopsticks with her sleeve, her hands trembling as she did so.

The old man smiled somewhat awkwardly: ”Please excuse our lack of manners. We... we have not hosted a guest for too long. The last time... I myself cannot remember when it was.”

Zhou Zheng did not smile. He just watched the people bustling about, watching the expressions on their faces that were a mix of excitement and nervousness.

The feast was quickly laid out.

The dishes were not sumptuous—a few plates of slightly burnt roasted meat, a pile of wild fruits whose names he could not name, and that jar of wine just dug up. But for a place on the verge of starvation, this was already giving their all.

The old man invited Zhou Zheng to the seat of honor, then brought several clansmen who appeared to have higher status to sit on either side.

”Honored guest,” the old man raised his wine cup, his hand still trembling slightly, ”This old one is named Pale Feather, and I am the Clan Chief of this Feather Clan. To see you today is this old one’s life’s... no, it is our entire clan’s greatest honor in this life.”

Zhou Zheng looked at the wine cup but did not drink.

”Before I drink this cup of wine,” he said, ”I want to know, what exactly are you?”

Pale Feather was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Zheng pointed out the window: ”Those things outside. And you. You all say you are Yao. What exactly is a Yao?”

Pale Feather put down his wine cup. He was silent for a while, looking out at the gray sky outside the window.

”Honored guest,” he began, ”have you ever seen wild beasts?”

Zhou Zheng nodded.

”Then you should know what wild beasts are like. They live, but only by instinct. They eat when hungry, sleep when tired, and run when they encounter danger. They do not think about tomorrow, do not recall yesterday, and do not ask themselves ’Who am I?’”

He turned his head to look at Zhou Zheng.

”A Yao is simply a beast that has awakened its spiritual wisdom.”

”The birds and beasts of this world were originally all muddled and ignorant. But some, through a coincidental Opportunity, awakened their spiritual wisdom.”

”They began to learn to think, to speak, to Cultivate. They began to remember yesterday, began to plan for tomorrow, began to ask themselves—who am I, where do I come from, and where am I going.”

”From that moment on, they were no longer beasts, but Yao.”

Zhou Zheng was silent for a while: ”Then what about you? Are you birds?”

”Yes,” Pale Feather nodded, ”We are the Feather Clan. Originally, we were all ordinary birds. Because we awakened our spiritual wisdom, we became what we are now.”

He pointed to the members of the Scale Clan present: ”They are the Scale Clan. Originally, they were all ordinary fish. Likewise, because they awakened our spiritual wisdom, they became Yao.”

Zhou Zheng looked out the window. Through the dilapidated window lattice, he could see those creatures in the distance with empty eyes and stiff movements.