Sadly, Father God Died Too Soon

Since even a verbal agreement would have the Heavenly Dao as its guarantor and be binding enough, and given Yangmei's strength and abilities, it would be difficult for Hongjun to scheme him to death.

Thus, the patriarchs Yin-Yang, Heaven and Earth, and Five Elements had all been schemed to death, while Yangmei remained alive and well. Only when Hongjun became a sage, began preaching the Dao, and joined the Heavenly Dao did Yangmei have no choice but to leave the Primordial World.

According to unofficial accounts, after attaining the Dao as a Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal, Yangmei had a fight at the Purple Heaven Palace with Hongjun, who was a Heavenly Dao Sage.

Though he narrowly won by half a move, he ultimately had to flee the Primordial World.

Presumably, as Hongjun joined the Heavenly Dao and grew stronger in both control and suppressive power, the validity of Yangmei's Primordial World "visa" kept getting shorter.

That raised the question: why had Yangmei come looking for him in such a hurry?

"So, big brother, you agreed to lend Hongjun a hand?"

Yangmei slowly shook his head, looking perfectly composed. "I told him to give me some time to think it over. I came here to ask you for a little advice, young friend."

Advice? What the hell can I advise you on? I have neither strength nor ability.

That was how Xiang Dong grumbled to himself, but as he grumbled, realization suddenly dawned on him.

The hundredfold comprehension buff had not worn off yet, so Xiang Dong's mind was exceptionally sharp. After turning it over, he gradually began to see what was going on.

Well, well, this old fox is shopping around!

Putting it together with the earlier probing, Xiang Dong more or less understood. Yangmei, that old fox, had come to him under the pretext of seeking his opinion and asking for advice.

In truth, he was probing desperately to find out whether Pangu was still around and what Pangu's stance on the matter was.

Compared with Hongjun, Yangmei trusted Pangu more.

If Pangu would make his stance known, why bother making a deal with Hongjun?

Could what Hongjun offered possibly be as appealing as what Pangu offered?

Clearly, there was no comparison between the two.

Having thought it all through, Xiang Dong had a plan in mind. He cleared his throat.

"Since you've asked so sincerely, then I'll... ahem, well, tell you in a couple of days."

He had nearly blurted out "mercifully," so Xiang Dong hurriedly changed his wording.

It was only a little time, and Yangmei could afford to wait, so he had no objection. He settled down nearby to wait.

Fuxi was not nearly as carefree as Xiang Dong, who could chat and laugh with a mighty figure like Yangmei, a peak Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, and even ask him for two jin of tea leaves.

With such a great god staying in his own Daoist sanctuary, Fuxi felt uncomfortable all over, the pressure weighing on him like a mountain. If he needed sleep, he probably would not have been able to sleep soundly.

Xiang Dong waved a hand, signaling for them to relax.

Yangmei had a fairly good reputation and cared quite a bit about his dignity. He could not bring himself to casually attack a junior.

Having sent Yangmei off, Xiang Dong finally had some time to himself to enjoy playing with his phone.

Xiang Dong walked alone to a corner of the spirit field. With a thought, the Acquired Merit Treasure Taichu had given him appeared in his hand.

It was rectangular, with a screen on the front—the very screen of light he had created. The back was as smooth as a mirror, with a ring of cameras.

It felt warm and smooth to the touch, was black all over, and had golden merit light flowing along its edges, giving it the unmistakable flashy gold look of a rich man's device. It was the phone he remembered so well.

Moreover, its shape and color were not fixed; they could change according to his thoughts. It even had a phone case, which could also change however he wished.

Xiang Dong gently pressed the screen. After sensing the power of his Primordial Spirit, the phone switched on.

The screen gradually brightened, and a soft light bloomed. Then a logo appeared: twelve petals slowly unfolded. What else could it be but the Twelve-Rank World-Cleansing White Lotus?

"Tsk, this is a bit troublesome!"

This Acquired Merit Treasure used the screen of light he had made as its display, while the Twelve-Rank World-Cleansing White Lotus, golden merit light, and Heavenly Dao Power made up the motherboard—that is, chips like the cup core processor.

He had said before that once he completed the great task of purification, he would give the Twelve-Rank World-Cleansing White Lotus to Nuwa. After all, once the great task was done, it would not be much use anymore.

But now that the Twelve-Rank World-Cleansing White Lotus had become an important chip in the phone, he could not take it out.

"The Pure World White Lotus is gone, so what's left? The Merit Golden Lotus?"

The World-Destroying Black Lotus and the Karmic-Fire Red Lotus were not quite suited to Nuwa. The only one he could think of that seemed suitable was the Merit Golden Lotus.

But that thing was closely tied to the two sages of the West, so it did not seem easy to get either.

What other lotus throne was left, then? The Creation Green Lotus?

"Oh, right, right! There's also the Twenty-Four-Rank Creation Green Lotus."

The Twenty-Four-Rank Creation Green Lotus was an Innate Supreme Treasure and the strongest lotus throne, but it too was not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao. So the Heavenly Dao used the Three Pure Ones to split it into three Top-grade Innate Spirit Treasures.

That was the origin of "red flower, white lotus root, and green lotus leaf, one family loving one another."

The lotus flower, or red flower, became Taiqing's Coiled Dragon Flat Crutch; the white lotus root became Yuqing's Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, which later also became his Dao-attaining Spirit Treasure; and the green lotus leaf became Shangqing's Green Duckweed Sword, likewise a Dao-attaining Spirit Treasure.

"The Three Pure Ones have only just emerged, so this Innate Supreme Treasure probably hasn't been tragically dismembered yet. I might have a chance to intercept it. I'll snatch it and give it to Nuwa. The Creation Green Lotus is also a fairly good match for Nuwa's Dao."

As he spoke, Xiang Dong convinced himself, and the matter was happily settled.

Now it was time to get serious about playing with his phone. Oh, no, to get serious about exploring the functions of this Merit Treasure.

After the twelve-rank lotus throne slowly spun in the center of the screen, the main screen appeared. Its background was a vast starry sky, but there was no time or date. After all, years were not counted in the Primordial World, so they would have meant little.

Once he entered the interface, brightly colored icons appeared neatly arranged on the screen.

Ah, what a familiar layout, what familiar icons! They were almost identical to the ones he had used in his previous life.

For a moment, the sight actually stirred Xiang Dong's emotions, and an indescribable ache welled up in his heart.

"What a wonderful Father God. Afraid I wouldn't be used to it, he even adjusted the system to look familiar, so I could get the hang of it quickly. It's just a pity..."

It's a pity Father God died so soon.

If Pangu were still around, how could there be so many vexing matters in the Primordial World? Xiang Dong would not need to pit his wits and courage against those old schemers either.

After calming himself down, Xiang Dong began exploring the phone's functions, naturally starting with the browser. When he opened it, he found that the page displayed a 404 error: the page had crashed.

Oh, it was not connected to the internet.

He opened network and connections. The only network available now was the Heavenly Dao Network, which was currently at the level of a 2G network, and the signal strength was only one bar. The internet speed was naturally nothing to write home about either, because the power of his Primordial Spirit was not strong enough.

Signal strength and internet speed were both tied to the strength of his Primordial Spirit. In this age when Great Luo immortals were worth less than dogs, a Taiyi Golden Immortal really did not amount to much.