Chapter 3

Though this body seemed childish and clumsy, cuteness was not the foundation on which one stood.

Raising his strength was the urgent priority.

With a slight shift of thought, a vast origin poured down like the River of Heaven, flowing into his body.

The Primordial Dao Canon circulated on its own without cease.

A boundless spiritual radiance rose around the Youth. Golden Dao Patterns surfaced in his bones, every strand containing the primordial aura of heaven and earth at the moment of their first opening.

His originally dormant cultivation now surged like furious waves. Spiritual power churned within his dantian, battering again and again against the barriers of his realm.

Suddenly—

A clear note of shattering came from the void. Ten thousand rays of rosy light Erupted around Lin Fan, and his robes stirred without wind. When the radiance faded, a golden Dao seal had already condensed between his brows.

"Golden Immortal perfection..." He lightly stroked the aura of creation flowing through his palm. That tender face revealed a depth wholly at odds with his appearance. "Though the fusion of my origin has strengthened the Fate Wheel, this body..."

Before his words fell, a clear radiance suddenly poured down from the dome of the cave dwelling. Nuwa drifted in, holding Nine Dao Leaves in her hand. The chaotic Dao rhythm flickering through the veins of the leaves reflected the holy light around her.

"The movement in heaven and earth just now..." She Gazed at the child sitting cross-legged in enlightenment, her pupils trembling faintly. Though the figure before her was small, the power of laws lingering around him had already transcended the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao of the Great Wilderness. When that seemingly slender wrist lifted, it actually stirred the Innate Dao Leaves in her hand into resonant trembling.

"Eldest Sister came at just the right time." At Lin Fan's fingertip condensed a drop of jade-green Spirit Dew. "Try this."

Lin Fan nodded in reply.

Nuwa's expression showed a trace of surprise.

Even if he had consumed an Innate Spirit Fruit, he should not have been able to absorb it completely this quickly.

What shocked her even more was that Lin Fan possessed only Golden Immortal cultivation, yet the aura he had revealed just now could actually rival a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

Could it be that all beings born of chaos were this extraordinary?

This completely overturned her understanding of cultivation realms.

Amid her shock, Nuwa secretly rejoiced as well.

Lin Fan's aptitude was probably something even the Sanqing could only watch from the dust behind.

This time, she had truly taken in a fine disciple.

With a little nurturing, his future would surely be boundless.

Thinking of this, Nuwa smiled and said to Lin Fan:

"Since you've broken through your realm, how about Sister personally teaches you the Way of Creation?"

"Sure!"

Lin Fan answered readily.

Since he had nothing to do anyway, he might as well take the opportunity to comprehend this sister's Dao arts.

The two came to the cave dwelling and sat facing each other. As Nuwa explained, strange phenomena arose one after another within the cave, with illusory golden lotuses flickering in and out of sight.

After the lesson ended, Nuwa asked:

"How much did you comprehend?"

"Only ten out of ten, I suppose."

Lin Fan feigned regret.

Seeing his manner, Nuwa could not help laughing.

"You little thing, you're quite good at boasting. You actually comprehended it all?"

Though she teased him aloud, the more she listened, the more alarmed she became.

Lin Fan had not only understood it completely; he could also bring forth the new through the old.

In particular, Lin Fan's exposition and expansion of the Way of Creation gave her the feeling of enlightenment poured over her head like clarified butter.

Such comprehension was truly astonishing.

Nuwa Gazed at Lin Fan and asked in surprise:

"You comprehended all of this on your own?"

"Not all of it. Some of it is my own experience."

Lin Fan answered.

A strange feeling rose in Nuwa's heart.

Could it be that Lin Fan's understanding of the Way of Creation had already surpassed her own? It was only that he had not Perceived it.

But with another thought, she found it absurd.

How could a junior who had only just taken form possibly penetrate such profound principles of heaven and earth?

After pondering for a moment, Nuwa probed:

"Little brother, Sister has recently encountered obstacles in her cultivation and has many points of confusion regarding the Way of Creation. Why don't we spar and discuss the Dao?"

Lin Fan was slightly startled.

Why had the ever-proud Nuwa suddenly become humble? Could it be that she had sensed something?

Still, it was only a discussion of the Dao, so there was no harm in it. He nodded and said:

"Very well."

Nuwa broke into a smile.

In an instant, Creation Dao Charm filled the cave dwelling.

Nuwa soon immersed herself in it. Many of her confusions were solved as easily as a blade splitting bamboo, and the bottleneck in her cultivation even showed faint signs of loosening.

Astonished, she suddenly came to a realization.

Why was the Dao method Lin Fan described so familiar?

This was precisely the Great Dao True Meaning recorded on those nine-leaf golden patterns!

Only, Lin Fan's inheritance was even more complete and profound.

By comparison, what was recorded on the golden leaves seemed more like a fragmentary chapter.

At the thought that she was about to obtain the complete method of attaining the Dao, Nuwa's eyes shimmered with excitement, and she looked at Lin Fan full of expectation.

"Little brother, could you teach Sister the complete incantation?"

"No."

Lin Fan refused flatly.

It was one thing for her to greedily drink his spirit fruit juice, but she even wanted the true transmission for nothing?

In this world, no one had ever gotten benefits from him for free.

Nuwa's heart suddenly went cold.

"Why not?"

"This is my Companion Secret Scripture. How could I lightly pass it on?"

Lin Fan lazily spread out his arms and legs and lay back facing upward.

It was actually a companion scripture?

Nuwa's pupils shrank slightly, and in an instant, everything became clear—

No wonder this person had taken form with the bearing of a Hunyuan being.

So he was an Innate Spiritual Being favored by the Great Dao.

"Not even Eldest Sister may know it?"

Her fair hand gently rubbed the little child's belly, Nuwa's eyes holding autumn waters.

"No."

Lin Fan shook his head with an iron face.

All at once, he felt his body leave the ground—he had been lifted up.

"What are you doing? Put me down, quickly!"

Remembering how he had been bullied before, the child flailed all four limbs wildly.

Nuwa gave a sly little laugh, her fingertips fluttering like butterflies.

His tendons and bones loosened, as though he were lying among the clouds.

"A little higher... yes, three parts lighter with the pressure..."

His spiritual apertures cleared, and he felt as if he were floating toward immortality.

By the time she withdrew her hands, Lin Fan had gone limp as mud.

"Was that service to your satisfaction?"

Nuwa lightly tapped the child on the tip of his nose.

More than satisfactory—

This skill deserved to be called Creation Hand.

"Fine, I'll pass it on to you for now."

Lin Fan flicked a finger, and Primordial Divine Script spread across the air.

The five words "Primordial Creation Scripture" blazed with dazzling light.

Nuwa swept over them with her divine sense and immediately felt her soul shake.

It pointed straight to the Origin of Creation; compared with the methods of becoming a Merit Saint and the Three Corpses Path to Dao taught by the Dao Ancestor, it was more than countless times more profound.

Nuwa's heart leapt with joy. Her eyes shining, she gazed at Lin Fan, unable to hold back her delight.

She pulled Lin Fan into her arms and, without the slightest courtesy, planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Good little brother, you really are Sister's little lucky star!"

"Don't touch me!"

Lin Fan felt guilty inside and twisted his body with all his might, but with his current strength lacking, he could not break free from her control at all.

Only after kneading and fiddling with Lin Fan for a good while did Nuwa stop in satisfaction.

"Little brother, cultivate properly here. Sister is going into seclusion for a while, so don't go running around, all right?"

"Keep these spiritual fruits and enjoy them slowly."

With a casual beckon, dozens of rare spiritual fruits floated before Lin Fan's eyes.

"Got it. Sister, hurry up and go into seclusion."

"I'll behave."

Looking at the fragrant spiritual fruits before him, all the resentment filling Lin Fan's belly instantly vanished like smoke and clouds.

He waved his little hand and deliberately blinked his eyes, pretending to be obedient.

Nuwa only felt her heartbeat quicken, so charmed by his cuteness that her soul nearly turned upside down, and even her voice softened:

"Uu... Little Fanfan, Sister really doesn't want to be apart from you."

Little Fanfan?

The corner of Lin Fan's mouth twitched, and he nearly choked on that form of address.

But in the end, Nuwa still placed cultivation first. Suppressing her reluctance, she turned and left.

Finally gaining some peace and quiet, Lin Fan stretched comfortably.

Walking out of the cave, he came to the seaside and gazed at the boundless rosy clouds and emerald waves.

He crossed one leg and gently swung it, casually grabbed a top-grade Immortal Peach, and bit down hard.

Sweet juice burst across the tip of his tongue, and he narrowed his eyes in contentment.

A man should strive to strengthen himself; spiritual fruits moisten the heart and gut.

Immortal spiritual energy as vast as a galaxy instantly surged into his body.

Lin Fan remained unhurried. Crunch, crunch—he swallowed more than a dozen spiritual fruits in succession before finally sitting cross-legged.

With a slight movement of his will, the Primordial Creation Scripture and the True Explanation of the Limitless Great Dao circulated at the same time, and the spiritual power within his body flowed ceaselessly like a vast sea of stars.

His expression turned solemn as he devoted his full attention to guiding the two powers of the Great Dao.

The trajectories of the two powers crossed yet did not interfere with each other, and in the end, they blended together like water and milk, inseparable.

The winds and clouds in the sky changed abruptly. A massive vortex rolled with purple lightning, like a giant dragon soaring into the air.

Spiritual energy surged like a mad tide, and the essence of heaven and earth across hundreds of millions of miles rushed and gathered toward the center of the storm.

The entire Immortal Island trembled without cease, and countless living beings prostrated themselves, shivering.

Divine light poured around Lin Fan like a waterfall, and profound laws appeared upon the bones within his body, transforming into a web of laws woven in warp and weft. A spiritual-energy vortex like an overturned galaxy poured down; such a whale-swallowing momentum would make even the mighty beings of the Great Wilderness lose their color in horror.

Immortal power surged like rivers, and the Fate Wheel spun without rest. His top-grade Chaos Root gave off a hazy radiance, as if about to break through its shackles.

Suddenly, a Divine Breath of Creation soared into the heavens like the heavenly Dao lowering its light. All spirits on the Immortal Island bathed in this clear radiance—spiritual herbs sprouted branches and spat out stamens, Acquired Spiritual Roots were wreathed in purple qi; the bodies of a hundred beasts swelled, and awe was reflected in their eyes.

At this moment, the Dao fruit of Primordial Unity Golden Immortal first took shape. The River of Time manifested above Lin Fan's head, and his divine sense traced the current upstream. He saw countless Rules interweaving: droplets reflecting karma, surging waves bearing reincarnation, fate like a net, time as the shuttle, flowing ceaselessly from antiquity toward the boundless realm.

Even if heaven and earth collapsed and all things were annihilated, its operation would never cease.

All the myriad forms of sentient beings found it hard to escape the shackles within, and in the end, all would go to their destined paths.

Lin Fan's divine consciousness merged with the Primordial Pearl, and the pearl transformed into a raft of time, carrying him upstream along the River of Time.

As he journeyed upstream through the vastness, the torrents gradually congealed, finally coming to a standstill. A rift suddenly appeared, and radiance of the Great Dao surged out.

Stepping into it, he saw only eternal night devouring all things, broken walls mixed with bloodstains and fragments of supreme treasures, searing his eyes with pain.

Dark Sha Qi suddenly descended. The Primordial Pearl bloomed with blazing light, wrapping around Lin Fan and retreating at speed. When he opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the Immortal Island.

His shock had yet to settle, and Lin Fan still remembered that blood-colored chaos. In the era before time had opened, what kind of strangeness was hidden?

As he pondered, a wisp of Divine Breath of the Great Dao suddenly appeared in his palm, purple qi coiling around it, Source Power interweaving.

This breath had condensed from the long river of time and was born as his realm broke through—each time the Fate Wheel increased by one year, the Dao rhythm thickened by one inch.

Compared with Hongmeng Purple Qi, although both belonged to the Foundation of the Great Dao, the difference between them was like cloud and mud.

Hongmeng Purple Qi was derived from the Heavenly Dao of the Great Wilderness. Those who became saints through it were bound by heaven, like puppets in a play of strings.

Divine Breath of the Great Dao could help a person directly prove the Great Dao and attain the Hunyuan Saint Realm.

Free and unfettered, without restraint or bonds.

The true spirit would be eternally firm, undiminished through calamities.

Even if the Great Wilderness overturned and immeasurable calamity descended again, it would still be hard to shake it in the slightest.

If Sister Nuwa could be a little more obedient, granting her a wisp would not be out of the question.

As Lin Fan pondered.

Two white waves suddenly appeared on the distant sea, and a giant turtle came treading over the breakers.

It was like a mountain floating on the waves.

When the turtle caught sight of the Acquired Spiritual Root on the Immortal Island, radiant clouds flowing around it, its little mung-bean eyes abruptly shone with a keen light.

In its excitement, it paddled with all its might, speeding toward the island.

After two and a half years of arduous travel, it finally reached the shore. The turtle raised its head high, beside itself with joy.

A hundred-zhang giant pot suddenly dropped from the dome of heaven. Before it could react, its shell was struck heavily, and it fainted, sinking to the bottom.

Lin Fan's figure emerged from the void.

He flipped the turtle over and skillfully prepared the ingredients.

The turtle meat merged with the water, transforming into a profound delicacy—Black Tortoise Broth.

With a light lift of his fair hand, immortal radiance flowed.

Elemental essence condensed in the void, transforming into star anise, fennel, and all manner of spices.

Once the proportions were right, they all sank into the soup cauldron.

In moments, the boiling water churned, and an extraordinary fragrance filled the sky.

The Creation Spiritual Breath lingering around Lin Fan could not only create all things, but also wash away the turbid and preserve the pure.

After being tempered by it, the ingredients' flavor climbed to an unimaginable realm.

Thus, an ordinary turtle broth transformed into a supreme delicacy.

Lightly sniffing the soup mist, Lin Fan took up a spoon and tasted a little.

Deep within the cave abode.

Nuwa sat upright on the Jade Platform.

The aura around her rose by tier after tier.

Above her head, myriad strange phenomena of creation manifested.

Suddenly, a mysterious divine breath arose in hazy curls.

Her bright eyes snapped open, brilliant as a river of stars.

Late-stage Golden Immortal of the Origin, achieved.

Only after obtaining the complete Primordial Creation Scripture did she understand that the Way of Creation she had cultivated before was so shallow, riddled with flaws at every turn.

As she comprehended this supreme classic, the omissions in her Daoist arts were gradually perfected.

The current her was already a Golden Immortal of the Origin in both name and truth, no longer in that quasi-sage realm of the past.

Compared with before, her cultivation could be said to differ as heaven and earth.

I wonder how that little fellow is doing now?

Thinking of Lin Fan, a smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of Nuwa's mouth.

During her seclusion, she could sense that many wondrous changes had occurred on the Immortal Island.