Chapter 4

This made her rather curious.

With a slight stir of thought, Nuwa left her cave dwelling to take a look.

The sights along the way left her staring, dumbfounded—

Snow-white jade rabbits were sporting exaggerated rooster-comb hairstyles, while immortal cranes had had their feathers plucked clean and were dressed in ridiculous suspenders.

What a mighty, awe-inspiring creature.

But you were clearly a rabbit—why were you imitating a rooster?

Perceiving Nuwa's gaze, the little animals all showed aggrieved expressions.

Those looks were clearly accusing: It was all that little devil's doing!

Nuwa's temples throbbed faintly.

She urgently wanted to know just what Lin Fan had done to the immortal island during the days she had been in seclusion.

Her divine sense swept out, and Nuwa arrived by the sea.

She saw Lin Fan sprawled on his back atop an ancient tree that towered into the sky, his chubby little hand gripping a huge soup ladle as he scooped soup from a cauldron and drank it down heartily.

The scene was rather comical.

Smelling the meaty aroma drifting from the pot, a vein jumped at Nuwa's temple.

You were transformed from a Chaos Spirit Fruit—how could you be so obsessed with such worldly flavors?

"Would Eldest Sister like a taste?"

Noticing Nuwa's arrival, Lin Fan remained lying there lazily and enthusiastically waved the soup ladle.

"A cultivator ought to keep a pure heart and few desires."

Nuwa shook her head and sighed. Seeing him wolf it down, she could not help pinching his round little belly.

"How can such gluttony be proper?"

"It's super—delicious!"

Lin Fan blinked his big eyes and stressed the point.

Nuwa guided him patiently. "Since you have already stepped onto the Immortal Path, you should wash away all worldly dross. These mortal foods are too heavy with turbid qi..."

After cultivating into an immortal, she had not touched mortal food for a very long time.

Lin Fan had never believed there was anything so wonderful about these worldly flavors. Seeing Nuwa nag on and on without stopping, he simply scooped up a spoonful of hot soup and brought it to her lips.

Nuwa instinctively wanted to refuse, but the instant the soup touched the tip of her tongue, she froze. That rich, mellow freshness was like storm waves crashing against the shore, sweeping over her entire sense of taste in an instant. Her pearly teeth bit down unconsciously, and the tender, slippery meat turned into nectar between her lips and teeth, ten thousand flavors blooming layer upon layer.

When she swallowed the soup, she nearly bit her tongue.

"Again." Nuwa's eyes changed abruptly, her fingertips unconsciously tightening around the rim of the bowl.

"Didn't Sister say she looked down on these vulgar things?"

Nuwa's expression did not change. "I look down on the ingredients. I never said I looked down on the cooking."

This crooked logic made Lin Fan want to sigh.

The pot of thick soup was soon emptied. Nuwa rubbed her slightly bulging belly and secretly calculated that from now on, she simply had to make this little fellow cook every day. Thinking of this, she suddenly discovered spiritual energy surging around Lin Fan—

"You broke through again?"

A moment ago, she had only been focused on savoring the food; only now did she realize he had already reached the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm. How long had it been since his last breakthrough? She had merely been in seclusion for several thousand years, yet this little monster had actually advanced so much again.

"I gained something by chance while sitting in meditation." Lin Fan said it lightly.

Lin Fan blinked his lively eyes, his face full of innocence.

Nuwa was instantly rendered speechless. As an Innate Divine Demon, her foundation far surpassed all living beings of the Great Wilderness; even breaking through a single minor realm required her to spend hundreds of thousands of years.

Was this the talent of the Chaos level? It was truly appalling to hear.

Nuwa once again felt defeated in her heart.

"Didn't Sister break through too?"

Lin Fan asked, his big eyes fluttering.

"How did you tell?"

Nuwa looked astonished.

"Sister is even more beautiful than last time."

Lin Fan spouted nonsense casually.

Yet these words made Nuwa beam with delight. She let out a melodious laugh and said smugly:

"Sister is now in the late stage of Golden Immortal of the Origin. Impressive, right?"

Hearing this, Lin Fan's thoughts stirred slightly.

Late stage Golden Immortal of the Origin—only one step away from a Saint.

Perhaps he ought to think of a way to help Nuwa attain the Dao and become a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin.

With a wisp of Divine Breath of the Great Dao and the merit of creating humans, he was certain this would not be difficult.

If Nuwa could attain sainthood, then in the future, he would have an even more powerful backer.

Thinking of this, Lin Fan said, "Sister, since you've already reached the late stage of Golden Immortal of the Origin, why not follow the momentum and attain the Dao to become a saint?"

Nuwa rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Do you think attaining the Dao and becoming a saint is that easy? It requires an opportunity."

"Besides, Sister intends to walk the path of the Dao of Law. That makes it even harder."

Lin Fan deliberately put on a mysterious air and said, "I do have an idea."

Nuwa thought he was joking and could not help smiling.

"Little cutie, hurry and tell me."

Lin Fan said solemnly, "Sister mainly cultivates the Great Dao of Creation. Why not try to Create Beings?"

Nuwa, whose expression had originally been relaxed, suddenly froze, as if thunder had exploded in her sea of consciousness.

A flash of inspiration appeared.

"Create Beings?"

Lin Fan's words made everything suddenly become clear to her.

In that moment when fortune reached her heart and spirit, Nuwa's eyes erupted with dazzling radiance, soul-stirring and captivating.

She cupped Lin Fan's little face and planted a heavy kiss on it.

"Little cutie, Sister loves you to death!"

Afterward, Nuwa brought Lin Fan gracefully to the shore of the East Sea.

She took out Nine Heavens Breath Soil and Three Lights Divine Water. Facing the boundless sea, she slowly fused the two together. With a light lift of her fair hand, clumps of moist earth formed in her palm, then were casually cast onto the coast.

Specks of spiritual light flowed around Nuwa's fingertips. Each wisp sank into the lumps of mud, and those dead things abruptly came alive. Beasts could be seen leaping up, tigers sprouting twin wings, horses treading the waves, all holding their heads high and shaking with vigor, wondrous beyond the ordinary. She then casually kneaded out eighteen kinds of weapons; their cold gleams reflected the sea's color, adding three parts sharper ferocity.

Lin Fan stood to the side, itching to try, and in the end could not help speaking up. "Can I try too?" Nuwa smiled and agreed, watching to see what she would do. The girl grabbed a lump of mud and kneaded it a few times, first making it into the shape of a **ball, then molding it into a bird with a pointed beak and short tail. Though it had the form, it lacked the spirit, so she held both things up in a huff. "What happens if a basketball meets a chicken?"

Nuwa was startled when she first heard this, but once she saw the crooked clay figure, she suddenly understood. With a casual pinch, she made a rooster with a red comb and golden feathers. The moment it landed, Lin Fan chased it all over the place with the round ball, making it flap and flee in panic. Seeing this scene, Nuwa shook her head and laughed, but her gaze suddenly fixed on Lin Fan's running figure—as if thunder had streaked across her heart in an instant.

Using Lin Fan's figure as a model, Nuwa held the earth in her hands and began to shape it. After the lump of mud was kneaded into form in her hands, she cast it toward the earth.

The first human was thus born.

The newborn human immediately displayed extraordinary wisdom and knelt in devout worship. "Greetings, Holy Mother. Thank you for bestowing life upon me."

The first creation satisfied Nuwa, and she continued to devote herself to the work of creation. In the blink of an eye, hundreds and thousands of humans were born one after another.

To speed up the process, Nuwa took out a spiritual whip and scattered the mud. As the whip-shadows swept out, mud specks filled the sky and fell to the ground, transforming into human figures.

She thought of the Chaos Fertile Soil she had treasured. The clansmen she had created earlier by mixing Nine Heavens Breath Soil with Three Lights Divine Water all possessed high intelligence; if she switched to Chaos Fertile Soil, the result ought to be even better.

Nuwa took out a portion of Chaos Fertile Soil and fused it with the divine water, then scattered it all with the long whip. In an instant, one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred newborn humans appeared upon the earth, all of them excellent clansmen no inferior to innate beings.

Because the first three had been carefully molded and received the most care and effort, their cultivation was the most outstanding, and they were honored as the Three Ancestors of the Human Race. Under the leadership of the Three Ancestors, all the clansmen knelt and cried out in unison, "We kowtow in thanks for the Holy Mother's grace of creation! Empress Holy Mother's mercy is immeasurable!" The sound waves echoed across the East Sea.

Heaven and earth abruptly changed color. The waves of the East Sea surged violently, the stars and moon lost their light, and the entire Great Wilderness shook fiercely. Countless phenomena appeared in the firmament, and golden light shone everywhere. The mighty experts of the Great Wilderness all looked up, only to see immeasurable golden clouds of merit descending from the sky over the East Sea, dyeing the long heavens through.

The Three Pure Ones gazed toward the East Sea from Kunlun Mountain. Sect Master Tongtian exclaimed in astonishment, "Such grand providence! Combined with Hongmeng Purple Qi, could it be that Nuwa is about to attain the Dao and become a saint? This pace is truly beyond expectation." Venerable Yuanshi likewise revealed an emotional look.

Hongjun's sermon at the altar had only just ended, and everyone had not yet had time to comprehend that Hongmeng Purple Qi, yet Nuwa had already glimpsed the mystery of becoming a saint.

Even Laozi, who had always been indifferent, could hardly hide the envy in his words at this moment. "Master once said that Nuwa's fortune was profound and that she was favored by fate. Presumably this sudden enlightenment is also caused by Heaven's Will."

Inside Zixiao Palace, Hongjun suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze turned toward the shore of the East Sea, and a trace of astonishment flashed across his brow. According to the Heavenly Dao's deductions, the time for the Human Race to emerge should have been hundreds of thousands of years later. How could signs have appeared ahead of time? He counted with his fingers and calculated carefully, only to discover that Nuwa's fate had begun to change somewhere in the South Sea, while the reason within was like gazing at flowers through fog.

On the shore of the East Sea, golden light of merit poured down from the sky. The Hongmeng Purple Qi within Nuwa's Spiritual Platform abruptly surged. She already knew that if she borrowed the power of the purple qi at this moment, she could become a saint on the spot, but she would forever lose the chance to attain the Dao of the Origin. What Master had said—that saints were stronger than those of the Origin—had already become doubtful to her after she comprehended the Primordial Creation Scripture. Heavenly Dao Power could indeed be borrowed, but how could there be any taking in this world without paying a price?

Just as she hesitated, she suddenly saw Lin Fan waving from afar. Nuwa gathered the Immeasurable Merit into the River and Mountain Spell Painting and drifted gracefully over. "What instruction does Little Daoist Friend have?" Lin Fan lifted a wisp of Great Dao charm in his palm. Nuwa focused and examined it closely, unable to keep a startled and doubtful look from appearing on her face.

Gazing down at that purple aura, Nuwa's pupils contracted violently—this clearly contained the essence of the laws of the heavens.

Deep within the purple haze, countless Great Dao patterns were intertwining and tangling together.

"This thing..." Her fingertips trembled slightly, and even her voice changed pitch. "Where did you get it?"

A faint, ethereal purple radiance appeared at Lin Fan's fingertip. "This is True Qi of Dao Origin, born from my own Spiritual Platform. I thought it might help Sister comprehend the wondrous realm of the Origin."

"Born from your own Spiritual Platform?" Nuwa's red lips parted slightly.

She thought of the Primordial Creation Record that had accompanied this youth when he transformed, and now, seeing him give rise to such a divine object, a sense of absurdity welled up within her.

How was this picking up a younger brother? This was clearly picking up a living treasury of Dao charm!

If those ancient monsters of the Great Wilderness learned of this... cold sweat beaded on Nuwa's back. She bit her lip in secret, determined to let this matter rot forever in the depths of her heart.

"Good little brother!" She suddenly pounced forward and pecked the youth twice on the cheek.

High above in the sky, Nuwa sat cross-legged among the clouds. With her left hand, she drew forth the vast merit within the River and Mountain Spell Painting; with her right, she held up that wisp of True Qi of Dao Origin.

Golden radiance poured down like the Heavenly River, flooding the meridians throughout her body. Bathed in the Golden Light of Merit, the God-Striking Whip actually transformed into the acquired supreme treasure of merit—the Life Creation Whip.

Suddenly, a profound, mysterious aura leapt out from the River of Destiny.

The Hunyuan Dao Fruit had formed!

She clearly perceived: at this moment, all creation across the heavens rested within her grasp, and the entire Great Dao of Creation answered to her command.

A strange brilliance rose in Nuwa's eyes. It was indeed as the Dao Ancestor had said: the Hunyuan realm far surpassed sainthood. Though she could not borrow the mighty power of the Heavenly Dao, the Origin of Creation bestowed by the Great Dao... how could a mere Heavenly Dao compare?

Moreover—the Great Dao endured forever, while the Heavenly Dao... would one day fall into extinction.

The Great Dao existed from time immemorial. As a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, Nuwa had already become one with the Great Dao of Creation, attaining an eternal, indestructible body.

Above the East Sea, purple qi stretched on for hundreds of millions of li.

Across the vast firmament, wondrous phenomena arose one after another. Supreme pressure enveloped heaven and earth, shaking all the myriad worlds.

Heaven and earth *** trembled because of it, and all living beings erupted in uproar.

The phenomena just now had clearly already dispersed, so why had they appeared again?

Could it be that Empress Nuwa had already attained sainthood?

"Congratulations to Empress Nuwa on proving the Dao and becoming a saint."

Within the void, countless streams of light circled and danced.

Many mighty figures of the Great Wilderness appeared one after another to offer their congratulations.

Within the Western Spiritual Mountain, the two saints Jieyin and Zhunti showed surprise on their faces.

The heavenly signs had clearly calmed just now. How could a sudden change arise?

Nuwa had actually already proved the Dao? Only, this process seemed rather winding?

Nuwa truly possessed profound fortune. Not only had she obtained many supreme treasures from the Treasure Division Cliff, now she had even become the first to attain sainthood. The Heavenly Dao and the Dao Ancestor were truly far too partial to her.

Sensing the change over the East Sea, a trace of doubt flashed through Hongjun's eyes.

Though Nuwa had already become a saint, there was something strange about this matter.

Within the Heavenly Dao void, he could not sense Nuwa's saintly imprint at all. Could it be that she had not used that strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi?

At this thought, Hongjun could no longer sit still.

With one step, he crossed endless void and descended in an instant upon the shore of the East Sea.

Seeing the Dao Ancestor arrive in person, Nuwa hurried forward and bowed.

Greetings, Master.

Hongjun's expression was indifferent as he said:

"Nuwa, do you know why I have come?"

Nuwa's expression stilled slightly. She shook her head and replied:

I do not know.

Hongjun sighed softly.

"I have come especially to tell you that you have missed a heaven-sized opportunity."

"Opportunity? What sort of opportunity?"

Confusion appeared on Nuwa's face.

Hongjun said regretfully:

"You were originally destined for sainthood by Heaven. If you could have comprehended the Hongmeng Purple Qi and proved the Dao through it, in the future, you might have ascended to the supreme realm."