Tian Yu almost died from reverence, a sheer accident.
He did indeed save these hundreds of thousands of people, and their prostration before him was justified. Having formed such a cause and effect, he had laid the foundation to receive their gratitude and Luck. But what was nourishing to Wei Yuan in the form of green Luck, turned to poison upon Tian Yu's head. Tian Yu's Dao Foundation was not yet as expansive as the Ten Thousand River Mountains; how could he possibly withstand thousands of strands of green Luck?
As a result, he almost perished along with his Dao before surviving even three prostrations.
Upon clarifying the whole situation, Tian Yu was stunned for quite a while, truly at a loss for words. Those people were sincerely grateful to him, to the extent of generating faith-based Luck. Their intentions could not have been more genuine.