A fierce struggle was taking place inside Lin Shen's little head.
On the left was a fragrant, soft, unbelievably beautiful big sister. Her embrace was so warm and comfortable, carrying the fresh scent of grass and flowers that made one want to fall asleep the moment they smelled it.
On the right was his heroic Third Master, who, though bearded and scruffy, treated him the best—well, one of the best. He held a little sword toy that glowed and changed colors, and had promised to take him somewhere a hundred times bigger than the "Tongtian Amusement Park," where fire-breathing dragons roamed and rivers of honey flowed!
H-How was he supposed to choose?
Why did a three-year-old baby have to bear such an unbearable burden in life?
Lin Shen was so torn that his little face scrunched into a ball. He looked at Nuwa, then at Tongtian Jiaozhu. His two chubby hands scratched unconsciously through the air as he made troubled little "yiyah, yiyah" noises.
Yet to Nuwa and the Three Pure Ones, his adorably conflicted appearance carried completely different meanings.
Holding Lin Shen and feeling his little body squirm, Nuwa felt even more tender toward him. She spoke softly, like a spring breeze brushing willow branches. "Little Lin Shen, what's wrong? Did Third Master's toy scare you? It's all right. Big Sister is here. Big Sister will protect you."
As she spoke, she cast Tongtian Jiaozhu a provocative glance, as though saying: See? You scared the child!
Tongtian Jiaozhu's heart went ice-cold.
He looked at the Seven-Colored Flowing Light Sword Balloon he had painstakingly made, then at his own face filled with eager expectation that seemed to say, "Come play!" He felt deeply insulted.
Scary? What was scary about my toy? It was obviously full of childlike fun and affection!
He roared wildly into his two brothers' minds through divine sense. "Big Brother! Second Brother! Did you hear that? This woman actually slandered me!"
"She actually said my loving toy was scary! This is blatant provocation! A trampling of my aesthetic taste!"
Yuanshi Tianzun replied icily through divine sense, "Isn't your aesthetic simply making everything as big and bright as possible?"
"How is that any different from a vulgar nouveau riche? Utterly tasteless!"
"The disciple's hesitation means he is struggling between beauty and ugliness. That is a good thing. It proves my usual teachings have worked."
Taiqing Laozi, meanwhile, looked perfectly composed as he calmly advised through divine sense, "Third Brother, don't be hasty. Second Brother, say a little less as well."
"Our little disciple is pure of heart. He is merely considering whether to choose spiritual joy or material satisfaction."
"This is a conflict of great Dao. We need only watch quietly and see how it unfolds."
Taiqing Laozi spoke with profound mystery, but in truth, he was making calculations of his own.
Go ahead and fight. The fiercer the better. Once the two of you are both wounded, the little disciple will naturally realize that my place, where all is Pure and Inactive, is the safest.
While the three brothers bickered through divine sense, Tongtian Jiaozhu decided to take the initiative and break the deadlock!
He could not lose! Especially not to some outsider who had just arrived!
He shook the Seven-Colored Flowing Light Sword Balloon even more vigorously. Its radiance became even more dazzling, accompanied by a pleasant tinkling sound.
"Beloved Disciple! Come on! Hurry over to Third Master!"
"Third Master promises you, beside that river of honey, there are fruit trees that grow roasted chicken wings!"
In his efforts to lure his disciple over, Tongtian Jiaozhu had begun speaking without restraint, making up nonsense on the spot.
Fruit trees that grew roasted chicken wings?
Lin Shen's eyes lit up at once!
The temptation was simply too great!
The beautiful sister's embrace might be comfortable, but it could not fill his stomach!
Roasted chicken wings... they had been one of his favorite junk foods in his previous life!
With difficulty and great reluctance, he poked his little head out of Nuwa's warm embrace.
His chubby little hand trembled as it reached toward Tongtian Jiaozhu.
Seeing this, Tongtian Jiaozhu was overjoyed!
I won! I won!
I knew it—there was nothing a serving of roasted chicken wings couldn't solve! And if there was, then two servings!
He proudly lifted his chin at Nuwa and his two brothers, his expression seeming to say: See that? This is what it means to cater to his preferences! All your empty nonsense can't compare to a single chicken wing of mine!
However, just as he was about to reach out and receive his treasure of a disciple, who had "changed his mind"—
Nuwa moved.
Unlike the Three Pure Ones, she did not use material things to tempt him.
She merely lowered her head and quietly looked at Lin Shen with those beautiful eyes that held endless creation and compassion.
Then her crimson lips parted, and her voice was so gentle it seemed capable of melting ancient glaciers.
"Little Lin Shen, if you stay with Big Sister—"
"Big Sister will tell you stories every day and make little clay figures with you. All right?"
As she spoke, she extended a slender jade finger. At its tip, a wisp of Qi of Creation brimming with life slowly circulated.
That wisp of energy rapidly condensed and transformed at her fingertip.
In the blink of an eye, it became a lifelike, palm-sized, fluffy... little kitten?
The little kitten was snow-white from head to toe, without a single stray hair. Its sapphire-blue eyes blinked curiously as it stuck out its pink little tongue and licked its paw, then let out a soft, sweet "Meow~."
The little kitten, formed from pure Qi of Creation, hopped right in front of Lin Shen and gently rubbed its fluffy head against his cheek.
Lin Shen's hand, which had been reaching toward Tongtian Jiaozhu, froze in midair.
His eyes locked onto the little kitten, utterly fixed upon it.
A cat!
A living cat! It could move! It could meow! It even rubbed against people!
As an office worker in his previous life who had lived amid concrete and steel and could only admire cats online—
Creatures like cats held a fatal attraction for him!
What were roasted chicken wings? Something edible!
But what were cats? They were Spiritual Food!
Before Spiritual Food, all cravings of the mouth were but fleeting clouds!
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Shen yanked back the hand he had extended toward Tongtian Jiaozhu like lightning.
Then he scooped the little kitten into his arms.
"Meow~"
The kitten rolled around comfortably in his embrace, purring away.
Lin Shen happily narrowed his eyes, rubbing his little face back and forth against the kitten's soft fur.
"Yiyah! Cat! Cat!"
He cried out excitedly, his voice filled with boundless joy.
At that moment, roasted chicken wings and giant amusement parks were all cast Beyond the Ninth Heaven.
Tongtian Jiaozhu, meanwhile, was completely petrified.
He remained in the pose of reaching out, the smile on his face still frozen, but his eyes had already gone hollow.
The Seven-Colored Flowing Light Sword Balloon in his hand also lost its glow. With a snap, it fell to the ground and shattered into several strands of chaotic sword qi.
He had lost.
Lost completely.
Lost so thoroughly that nothing remained.
His proud "food temptation strategy" was utterly fragile before Nuwa's unreasonable "adorable pet attack"!
"Pfft—"
Tongtian Jiaozhu felt as though his heart had been stabbed again.
This time, it was the Immortal Slaying Sword, steeped in deadly poison.
He staggered back two steps, glaring at Nuwa as though she were a class enemy.
This woman! She was far too underhanded!
She had actually used such an extraneous trick!
No martial honor at all!
Yuanshi Tianzun and Taiqing Laozi looked at each other in dismay.
Nuwa's move had stunned them as well.
Using Qi of Creation to conjure a living Spirit Beast out of thin air as a toy?
What... what an extravagant display!
And what a precise strike!
They suddenly realized that on the path of "competing for favor," Nuwa possessed an innate advantage that the three brothers could never match.
She was a woman, and naturally understood far better than rough men like them how to please children.
She commanded the Dao of Creation and could create all kinds of novel, adorable little lives at will.
How were they supposed to compete with that?
She was simply not an opponent on the same level!
For the first time, an emotion known as "a sense of crisis" arose in the Three Pure Ones' hearts.
They felt that their status as Kunlun Mountain's foremost "disciple-spoilers" was facing an unprecedentedly severe challenge!
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