The sky was blue and lively, the aloof clouds stay afloat in the sky.
The birds sang their soothing melodies, morning dew dripped off the plants that lay in forests. The beasts have awoken, each and every one tending to their needs.
Hao Xiong Plain was vast and large. It spanned across hundreds of li and ended at a river. It was filled with grass of different kinds, with a few trees that occasionally came into view.
Situated on the Hao Xiong Plain, was Wu Qing tribe. Thick, sturdy walls fortified the borders of Wu Qing tribe, protecting it from danger. On every corner of Wu Qing tribe, stood a tall outpost.
Wu Qing tribe consisted of dozens of buildings, each serving its own purpose. Some housed families, while others were taverns or markets.
Like every other day, it was a pleasant morning in Wu Qing tribe. But, today was different from the rest.
In the middle of Wu Qing tribe, stood a building that greatly differed from the rest. The size of it alone loomed over the other buildings, its design was majestic and overbearing. It was Wu Qing tribe's pagoda.
Inside one of the floors of the pagoda, a group of men sat on a table, discussing important matters.
Unlike humans, their appearance was a mixture of a beast and man. They were one of the ten variant human races ー beastmen.
The beastmen were seated at a rectangular table, each side had four people seated. Besides one seat of the table, the rest of the seats were taken.
At the end of the table, stood the most prominent seat. The one sitting on it had the head of a tiger, and the body of a human. His physique was impressive in itself, muscularity covered his body. The robes he wore were grand and majestic in appearance, showing that he had a high status.
His expression was furious as he slammed his fist onto the arm of his chair.
"Damn it! You tribe has become too arrogant, threatening to overtake our Red Flame River! Just because we haven't produced any outstanding talents recently, they think that they can just freely take away our resource points. Hmph, we'll have to show them otherwise!"
One of the beastmen sitting beside him nodded. He had the head of a goat and the body of a human with a short stature. He was wearing gray robes that covered his whole body.
"Tribe leader Lao Qiu is right, if we don't stop them before it's too late, then we can forget about our status as a large-sized tribe. You tribe has received an influx of resources after annexing Grass Python Pit from Lin tribe. Not to mention, their tribe has produced numerous amounts of outstanding Gu Masters. I'm afraid, with their current momentum, they will only continue to grow. We must nip the problem in the bud before the situation becomes more severe."
After the goat beastman spoke, the atmosphere of the room worsened. Another person spoke in a worried tone.
"But, elder Cao Zhe, we don't have the liberty to push back You tribe even if we wanted to. Right now, we are dangerously lacking in manpower. Most of our Gu Masters are busy guarding other resource points, we can't disregard those either. The worst case possible, we might have to intervene, but then who will guard the tribe at that time?"
The beastman's explanation further deepened the frowns on each elder's face. They knew what this elder implied. If they left their position of guarding the tribe, then other tribes might come and attack it, eventually leading to the destruction of their tribe.
"Yes, I am aware of that. With our current circumstances, there's not many options to choose from. Either we can ally with another tribe to supress You tribe, or we can place our hopes at the upcoming Annual Ceremony." The goat beastman, Cao Zhe, replied.
Hearing about the Annual Ceremony, the mood had improved and the atmosphere was less tense than before.
The tribe leader, Lao Qiu, laughed heartily at the idea brought up.
"Haha, that's right! Let's discuss these matters another day. We need to start preparing for the festivities."
His angry attitude was no more, instead it was replaced by joy.
As mentioned by Cao Zhe, Wu Qing tribe has had less and less talents appearing each year. Long ago, it used to be one of the most prominent large-sized tribes, yet it had been reduced to this state.
Of course, there are many factors that come into play here.
Tribes are always fighting for authority and resources, this in turn ensues a lot of wars. Gu Masters dying during wars are extremely common. This also creates a problem. The more Gu Masters that die, the more the population of a tribe decreases.
That's also another problem, the less populous a tribe is, the less chances there are for Gu Masters to awaken, not to mention outstanding talents.
Lao Qiu and the elders have been waiting in anticipation and excitement for this upcoming Annual Ceremony, it was their only hope. If things went wrong, then their tribe would undoubtedly be dethroned of their position. Even worse, they might suffer the onslaught of stronger tribes.
In the past, in order for Wu Qing tribe to keep their status as a large-sized tribe, they had participated in a lot of battles and wars with other tribes. This was both detrimental and beneficial for their tribe.
They had gained a lot of resource points, but also lost too many Gu Masters. Without Gu Masters to protect the resource points, what was the point of them? They could only grit their teeth at the losses of a few resource points.
But, now was a different story. Wu Qing tribe had halted their process of pursuing wealth and power, and focused nurturing their tribe members. This was their improvised strategy to save their tribe from dying. That way, there would be more Gu Masters awakening this next Annual Ceremony.
But, this plan of theirs did not completely ensure the rise of their tribe, it had flaws.
Because of this, they could not do anything to You tribe that had coveted their resource point, Red Flame River. It was just not possible right now with their current state, they could only endure and bide their time until the future.
They have to carefully consider their options and make strategic decisions in order to make sure they didn't incur too many losses. If they even showed any signs of weakness, then they would be devoured by other tribes.
Diverting from this topic, Lao Qiu and the elders began to discuss about the Annual Ceremony.
Meanwhile, inside of a house in Wu Qing tribe, a young beastman sat in his room, looking out the window as he gazed in awe at the beauty of the scenery in front of him.
He had the head of a crocodile, with the lower body of a human. Shiny, brown scales covered his skin. His upper body was comparatively bulkier than his lower body, the robes he wore could not hide the beastman's large physique. To top it off, two large feathered wings adorned his muscular back, spanning more than his arm's length.
His eyes, which were admiring the outside scenery, regained clarity as he reminisced about the past.
"It has been 15 years already..."
This crocodile beastman, was Yi Shen.
Upon activating the Immortal Killer Move Reincarnation, Yi Shen had reincarnated into the body of an adolescent beastman. He did not exactly remember how the Killer Move's process worked, but here he was.
Initially, Yi Shen was not intending to use Reincarnation Immortal Gu at such a critical juncture, but it did not matter now.
'The activation of Reincarnation Immortal Gu succeeded, but I wasted more than 15 years living as a mortal.' Yi Shen thought.
As a matter of fact, Yi Shen knew that this would of happened. After all, he was the one who created the Immortal Gu in the first place.
In order for him to not forget any of his crucial information, he recited them in his mind daily for 15 years straight.
When he first reincarnated, he was excited. But, now that was long gone. He had begun planning his future plans on the day of his rebirth, letting emotions get in the way of them is stupid.
Although he succeeded and successfully reincarnated, it was not what he imagined. Not to mention, instead of being a human, he was now a beastman.
This was one of Reincarnation Immortal Gu's weaknesses.
When activated, the reincarnation itself was not fixed.
For all he knew, he could've reincarnated as a noble or a slave, a beast or a plant. The only thing that he was certain about, was the time period and region.
Instead of using Reincarnation Immortal Gu by itself, he used it with a Rank Six Time Path Immortal Gu ー Time Anchor.
It let him set a time anchor in the River of Time, and let him reincarnate during that specific time period.
For the region, Yi Shen should have reincarnated in Central Continent, where he had used the Immortal Gu.
Yi Shen could not eliminate these factors because of his limited amount of knowledge. In order to fix this, he would need to be familiar with a few paths. But, one thing he couldn't fix is the person he reincarnated to, that would always be random, but it could be influenced.
If the Immortal Killer Move was used in conjunction with Luck Path Gu, then he might have had a better chance reincarnating into a favorable environment.
All in all, Yi Shen could not fix this glaring weakness because of the limited amount of time he had left. This Immortal Gu alone would cause a frenzy across the Five Regions if its ability was known. In the end, he could only settle for this.
Another thing noting was that Reincarnation Immortal Gu was an expendable type Gu. That meant that it could only be used once before it was gone for good.
But, it's not like it was the end of the world. After all, he was able to reincarnate, removing the problem of his limited lifespan temporarily. And it's not like the Immortal Gu was gone forever, he would be able to refine it again whenever he had the resources to do so.
In this world, there were Ten Big Mystical Gu. Ranking at seventh place, was Spring Autumn Cicada Gu.
Spring Autumn Cicada Gu allowed one to go back in time, giving them a second chance at their life.
Compared to this mystical Gu, Reincarnation Immortal Gu is only slightly inferior. Both have the ability to give the Gu Master a chance to start their life anew, albeit with different ways.
Still, it did not matter to Yi Shen. Even if he reincarnated as an ordinary beast, he would still be satisfied.
Why?
That's because he has something precious that no one else does. That precious thing was the 900 years of memories and experiences that was carried with him.
Right now, he had the body of a beastman. During the era he lived, beastmen had already long been extinct since the Olden Antiquity Era.
That is to say, the knowledge he has about many fortuitous encounters and inheritances might not be of much use to him if he was reincarnated over one million years ago.
But, this thought was quickly eliminated. Yi Shen used Time Anchor Immortal Gu with Reincarnation Immortal Gu to create an Immortal Killer Move that reincarnated him 800 years into the past.
If he had Space Mark Immortal Gu, he would've been able to choose which region he could've reincarnated into. Alas, Yi Shen did not have an encounter with it.
Knowledge is power. Without having the right amount of information, how would you be able to effectively play your cards?
Yi Shen was an infamous demonic path Gu Immortal in his previous life. Living the life of a demon was not easy, but Yi Shen preservered. There were many times where he had nearly died, but he continued to struggle even near death.
He endured through 900 painstakingly, long years. Tempering himself throughout his journey. There was no need for fear and courage in his heart. All he needed was himself, that's all. If he needed to be a saint, he would be a saint. If he needed to be a devil, he would be a devil.
But, Yi Shen was certain about something.
"I wasted most of my previous life in secluded cultivation, managing resources, and so on and so forth. I was not able to pursue my goal with the little amount of power and knowledge I had. But, it's different now. This life, I will grasp any and every opportunity I can!"
He clenched his fists, and took a deep breath of fresh air.
This was not fake, it was reality.
No matter what difficulties will confront him in this new life as a beastman, he will walk past them with unwavering resolve.
"This new life I've earned, will certainly not be wasted!"