Trade

Nuwa and Dao Ancestor Hongjun met within the river of time.

Hong Jun looked expressionlessly at Nuwa, a faint, indistinct aura brewing around him.

Even time trembled, seeming ready to cease flowing beneath the pressure that surpassed Da Luo and had begun to merge with the Heavenly Dao, leaving the Primordial Wilderness with no future.

Such an aura was immensely terrifying even to Nuwa, yet she did not retreat.

First, she had indeed promised to protect her disciple. Second, she had confidence.

That confidence came from when she had achieved Da Luo and traveled backward through time, seeing Great God Pangu during the Heaven and Earth Splitting.

From that moment on, she knew that some things could not be changed in the Primordial Wilderness where Great God Pangu's Will truly remained.

For instance, the Three Pure Ones could not die. Formed from Great God Pangu's primordial spirit, they were inheritors of Pangu's Will. Whoever dared move against them might have to face the Pangu Axe cleaving down from the battlefield of the Heaven and Earth Splitting.

Otherwise, why had Hong Jun, Luohou, and the previous generation of the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Three Races not gone to Kunlun Mountain, refined the still-unformed Three Pure Ones, and extracted the Heaven-Opening Merit from their bodies?

Was it because they disdained Heaven-Opening Merit? They simply did not dare!

Those below Da Luo might not know of the Three Pure Ones' existence, but would those few Da Luo not know?

And then there was herself. Nuwa could not die either. She vaguely sensed that the future Primordial Wilderness would be closely tied to her choices.

Nuwa looked solemnly into Dao Ancestor Hongjun's eyes. Ignoring the immense terror he held in reserve, she raised her hand and extended two fingers.

"Dao Friend, you owe me twice."

The first was during the dispute over seats in Purple Heaven Palace. Nuwa's cultivation had been sufficient for her to take the first seat, so that in itself meant little. What truly made Hong Jun owe her karma was that Nuwa had not voiced any opinion about the seats afterward.

Otherwise, with a single word from Nuwa, who would have dared obstruct Fu Xi? Especially those two from the West.

The second was that the Da Luo mysteries Hong Jun had discussed in his sermon differed somewhat from the Da Luo mysteries of Three Thousand Yuan Hui ago.

Likewise, Nuwa chose silence.

That made two times.

Now, Nuwa placed this bargaining chip on the table, then slowly withdrew one finger.

Hong Jun's gaze flickered slightly. After a long while, he gave a faint nod. "Good."

Hong Jun's figure faded from view, and Nuwa also let out a sigh of relief before returning to Purple Heaven Palace to listen to the Dao.

Her listening to the Dao did not itself affect the Yinguo of those two instances. After all, she had already paid the price from the very beginning.

Like the other Innate Divine Saints, she had acknowledged Dao Ancestor Hongjun. The portion of Primordial Wilderness fortune represented by her own existence had become sustenance for Hong Jun's Dao Integration.

As things stood, Hong Jun still owed all Innate Divine Saints two sermons.

Fang Xun looked up at the gradually dissipating Golden Immortal Tribulation and quietly sighed in relief.

Ye Fan: "Be careful!"

Meng Qi: "Your real tribulation is still ahead."

Ji Ning: "Prepare to fight your way back from certain death."

Hong Yi: "In your story, this will be your greatest hurdle before Da Luo."

What story? Fang Xun blinked. He had forgotten there was even a Primordial Wilderness novel that recorded his exploits!

Hadn't it been dropped? Why was there still more!?

Hong Yi: "Being dropped is relative. The novel's plot has progressed to the point before you achieve Da Luo."

Hong Yi roughly knew what Fang Xun was thinking and spoke up to explain.

Ji Ning: "This is Dao Ancestor's attempt to probe your origins. You may need to use power connected to us."

Meng Qi: "I suggest mainly using my power. My side is connected to the Primordial Wilderness, after all."

Ye Fan: "If that doesn't work, bring out the Yin Yang Creation Mirror on you."

Fang Xun naturally did not doubt the judgments of the big shots in the group. He immediately entered the Divine Strike state, drew the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit into his body, and guarded against the heavenly tribulation that might descend.

The Golden Immortal Tribulation had dispersed, but the tribulation clouds continued to pile up thicker and thicker, clearly surpassing the number of One Yuan—a sign of a great calamity and catastrophe!

Heavenly might grew ever denser, and frightening purple radiance began flashing within those heavy tribulation clouds.

"Purple Heaven Divine Thunder?!" Fang Xun's expression turned grave. This was truly fatal!

Fang Xun raised a hand and summoned the Pure Yang Immortal Sword. Its blade trembled lightly as it slowly gathered a point of gray Sword Light embodying Collapse Ritual Annihilate Dao. The Four Great Sword Sutras of Zhu Xian from Meng Qi's world were ready to strike.

But just as Fang Xun could no longer resist taking the initiative, the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder actually dissipated!

Fang Xun blinked, instantly realizing something.

"Was it Teacher?"

The only one with both the motive and ability to save him was Nuwa.

Fang Xun: "Having a teacher is wonderful. Having Teacher Nuwa is even better."

Fang Xun boasted in the group chat. See? Other than Ji Ning, none of you could come up with a powerful teacher!

Meng Qi: "Heh, don't celebrate too soon. Nuwa is still only Da Luo and can't stop Hong Jun. Most likely, she has some means that makes Hong Jun wary, but it can work once or twice, not a third time."

Even separated by a Primordial Wilderness, someone like Meng Qi had terrifying intuition.

Ye Fan: "In the end, you still have to rely on yourself."

Ji Ning: "Of course, we can also discuss how to make Empress Nuwa even stronger."

Hong Yi: "That will be difficult. Even those Innate Divine Saints don't know where the road ahead lies. We are not people of the Primordial Wilderness, after all."

After Nuwa achieved Da Luo, what she needed was Hong Jun's method of Slaying Three Corpses—the path to becoming a Sage.

Meng Qi: "Indeed. Both the Path of the Sage and the Primordial Da Luo Golden Immortal seem to possess an unknowable quality."

Meng Qi: "I suspect this may involve the concepts of 'Nothingness' and 'emptiness.'"

All things were born from existence, and existence was born from Nothingness.

The myriad Daos of All Heavens led to the same destination. Upon reaching a certain realm, "existence" became complete, and one had to pursue "Nothingness."

The Method of Reducing to Seek Emptiness before the Dao Fruit Realm in Meng Qi's world followed this principle.

Ye Fan: "My Dao methods and experience are unsuitable... In your worlds, the Sacrifice Dao Method is equivalent to suicide."

Ye Fan was somewhat embarrassed. He had truly attained the true meaning of "Nothingness," but the Sacrifice Dao Method was utterly incompatible with the style of the other worlds. It was simply too fierce and domineering.

Other than Ye Fan, the other three seemed to remain within the scope of "existence."

Ji Ning: "As for the Path of the Sage, it is somewhat similar to mine, but the Primordial Wilderness ultimately depends on Primordial Violet Qi."

Ji Ning himself was also an Ultimate Supreme, but unlike the others, he controlled a Chaos Universe, allowing him to stand a level higher.

The principle behind a Sage seemed much the same: using Primordial Violet Qi as a foundation to link with the vast Primordial Wilderness, then using its boundless power to elevate one's realm by another level and become a Sage.

Hong Yi: "Mine is even less suitable. My path is to continuously expand the realm of 'existence.' So far, I have no need for 'Nothingness.'"

Hong Yi's Great Vow was too grand. "All Beings Are Like Dragons, all reaching The Other Shore"—its difficulty was simply beyond the heavens. Before fulfilling his Great Vow, his "existence" had no end and would continue expanding.

Meng Qi: "...Then what am I? So rich that I've weighed myself down?"