But unfortunately, he was not. Now, a thousand years had passed, and he was only at the peak of the Earth tier.
Qing Ling had only inherited nearly half of the divine essence of the Spring God, and had taken human form before his divine essence was fully nurtured. If he hadn't met Granny Hua Geng, he would have long since perished in a land ravaged by savage beasts.
Granny Hua Geng was the leader of the Xi Shan Serpent Clan and a Golden Immortal Venerable whose age rivaled the heavens.
Qing Ling was brought back to the Xi Shan Serpent Clan by her, becoming a member, a special one, of the clan.
For a thousand years, he had practiced qi and nourished his body day after day, year after year, through four thousand cycles of spring and winter, never once stopping. It was only three hundred years ago that his foundation stabilized, compensating for the drawbacks of taking human form prematurely.
Qing Ling's gaze swept across the golden clouds and sea of mist. Through the ethereal mist, his eyes fell upon the vast, boundless land.
All the flowers had withered, and all the grass had died. Spring had passed, and the harsh winter was approaching. Frost began to creep across the land, and the beasts searched for food to survive the winter.
There was no cycle of four seasons here, only the alternation of spring and winter. The grass turned green, flowers bloomed, and all plants vied for life in spring; the grass withered, flowers fell, and all beings revered winter.
The four seasons were an order established by future humans, not the seasonal order of the Primordial World.
The sharpness of winter was already apparent, and all living things retreated. The Spring God had departed, and all beings mourned.
At this moment, Qing Ling finally shed a tear from his dark-colored right eye. As the tear fell, the spring breeze vanished, and all things perished.
His tear descended from the clouds, falling straight down into a precipice tens of thousands of feet deep. Qing Ling tilted his body and also plunged from the clouds, chasing after that drop of tear.
The clear, bright tear fell, not dispersing into finer droplets due to gravity, but falling straight down, sinking into the earth, and disappearing into the soil.
"Buzz~"
An inexplicable vibration emanated from the earth.
Qing Ling, clad in red robes, fell to the base of the cliff. Hearing this sound, he smiled joyfully and murmured, "It's finally done!"
The earth trembled slowly. A hole about ten feet wide cracked open beneath Mount Tai Chong, and a golden pill vessel rose from within.
Qing Ling extended his arm and opened his right palm. The golden pill vessel landed in his hand, and he slowly opened it.
A drop of green spiritual water flew out. Within it, countless dao patterns flashed briefly, and all profound meaning was concealed.
Qing Ling hooked his index finger, and the drop of spiritual water landed beside the corner of his right eye, transforming into a green crystal that adorned his face, like a tear mole, utterly unremarkable.
Just as he finished this, he suddenly heard a voice filled with surprise from behind him.
"Wow! I see the fairy sister again."
Upon hearing this voice, Qing Ling's head began to ache. He turned around to face the snake that had made the sound.
It was a large-headed young boy with a tiger-like face, still full of childish innocence. He wore a black deerskin robe, and his cute, lovable face was filled with surprise. However, on his back was a black greatsword almost as large as his body, still sheathed, which looked rather peculiar.
"How many times have I told you! You must call me clan brother when you see me. What is this strange name 'fairy sister'?" Qing Ling said with a hint of exasperation, as if he couldn't believe he hadn't succeeded in teaching him.
The large-headed boy waved his hand, "Oh, you're even more beautiful than Ke, the most beautiful in the clan. Father told me that when I see a beautiful snake..."
Qing Ling immediately interrupted, "I am male. Go find your little Ke; she is the female one. This is the last time. If there's a next time, I'll blow your snake head off directly!"
The large-headed boy heard this and quickly hugged his head, mumbling in a small voice, "But you don't look like a male at all..."
"Qi! Ever since you broke through to the Heavenly tier, you've become more and more audacious." Qing Ling's mismatched eyes stared indifferently at the large-headed boy.
The large-headed boy, called Qi, immediately stopped talking and chuckled, "I was patrolling the mountain just now and sensed the commotion here. I didn't expect to find you.
Since you went into seclusion, I haven't seen you for dozens of decades. Hey, why is there a green spot on your face?"
Qing Ling rolled his eyes at him. This Qi was his clan mate with whom he had grown up. In the entire Xi Shan Serpent Clan, only he and Granny Hua Geng were of utmost importance to Qing Ling. In front of them, Qing Ling had few secrets.
"This didn't just grow here. Be careful, don't touch it."
Qi asked curiously, "What will happen if I touch it?" As he spoke, he reached out to touch it.
Qing Ling quickly slapped his hand away. He tenderly touched the green crystal by his eye corner and slowly said, "This crystal is something I refined using all my mental energy for five hundred years.
You know I am a god of spring. Every year, when spring and winter alternate, I feel the grief and death of all things, and thus shed a tear of sorrow. Every time all things are reborn with vigor and spring returns to the earth, I shed a tear of joy.
A god's tear, one drop falls, all things perish.
A god's tear, extreme sorrow, decline of life, beginning of death, is the poison of nature.
For five hundred spring and winter cycles, I shed a thousand tears. The first nine hundred and ninety-nine tears fell, and I collected them one by one into a refined gold pill vessel. I tempered them with the fire of my primordial spirit for a hundred years, stored them in this pill vessel, and buried it underground. Then, I compressed it with the immense pressure of Mount Xi Shan's countless peaks. Buried beneath Mount Tai Chong, it was refined by thousands of fires and a thousand poisons, condensed into a single drop!
Today, the thousandth tear fell. The thousand tears merged, and thus transformed into this single drop, the Thousand Tears of Sorrow."
Qi's eyes widened, and he felt incredulous. "This, so troublesome? It's only one drop. It's not as good as my Great Blade Eight-Headed Serpent, which can cleave enemies in all directions!"
Qing Ling shook his head and chuckled, "Even though you have broken through to the Heavenly tier and your Eight-Headed Serpent can slay great beasts of the Heavenly tier and defeat enemies in all directions, can it even slightly harm a Golden Immortal Venerable?"
Qi's face showed a hint of surprise. After a moment of thought, he suddenly realized, "This Thousand Tears of Sorrow, is it the trump card you used to escape from that Golden Immortal Venerable back then?"
"You're considered to have grown a bit of a brain, you big snake head."
Qing Ling pointed to the large hole behind him and said, "I'll leave this hole for you to fill. I'm going back now."
After saying that, he turned to leave.
Qi didn't react and let out a "Ah" before asking, "Then where are you going?"
"Since you've stepped into the Heavenly tier, I'm going to break through as well!" Qing Ling walked up the mountain without looking back.
Qi sighed and looked at the deep hole tens of thousands of feet deep, his large head seeming even larger.
Qing Ling walked back to his cave dwelling. On the mountain path of Mount Tai Chong, he occasionally encountered fellow clan members. They had human bodies and snake tails, or snake heads and human bodies, and were still not fully transformed. Some fully transformed male and female snakes still hung on the sheer cliffs like snakes, or were entwined with those not yet transformed. There were all sorts of humans and snakes, all sorts of snake forms. If a mortal were to enter, they would undoubtedly be terrified half to death.
Wherever Qing Ling walked, both male and female snakes looked at him with a hint of infatuation. He was a youth in red robes, with his black hair tied with a blue ribbon. The sunset's glow could not compare to his smile, flowers were less beautiful than him, and the warm sun was not as gentle as him. Everywhere he passed, it felt like bathing in a spring breeze.
However, no clan members stepped forward to talk to him. Snakes were naturally cold-blooded, let alone snakes living in the Primordial World!
Their infatuation was merely awe at his beauty.
At this time, the serpent clan was not as seductive and delicate as later human descriptions. That's because such serpent clans would have long since perished in brutal tribal wars. Those who survived were the mightiest pythons among pythons, the most ferocious among the ferocious, and the wisest among the wise!
The world was currently dominated by three tribes, and there were not many divine abilities and profound techniques. This was the most savage era, a chaotic epoch of bloodthirsty slaughter. The battles between tribes were the most primitive, like wild beasts fighting with their bare bodies. Snakes skilled in charm and illusion were often not suited for such battlefields. Survival of the fittest, extinction of the unfit!
Whether it was in small tribes like the Xi Shan Serpent Clan or among top predators like the Dragon Clan, the rulers of a thousand tribes, the law of the jungle prevailed: the strong were respected, and the weak were preyed upon. This was the unalterable rule!