Gourd Babies, Gourd Babies, Seven Flowers on One Vine

The clamor at Treasure Distribution Cliff had settled. The mighty figures, each carrying either joy or worry in their hearts, were preparing to return to their respective homes and digest what they had gained from this sermon—especially the method of becoming a saint and the spiritual treasures they had just acquired.

At that moment, from the chaos that had yet to fully disperse, Dao Ancestor Hongjun's indifferent yet majestic voice once again resounded through every corner of the primordial world. Whether in the chaos beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens or the barren reaches of the primordial land, every living being heard it clearly:

"High upon the ninefold clouds I recline, on a cattail cushion I realize the true Dao.

Beyond Heaven and Earth's dark and yellow, I alone hold the honored teaching seat.

Pangu gave birth to the Supreme Ultimate; the Two Principles and Four Images followed.

The Mystic Gate's glory is all beneath me; one breath transforms into Hongjun."

As the chant fell silent, an indescribably vast heavenly might spread forth from the direction of Purple Cloud Palace, instantly enveloping the entire primordial world! The laws of Heaven and Earth trembled and resonated. All living things felt awe arise in their hearts and could not help lowering their heads.

"I am Hongjun, and now I have attained the Dao. Sensing that the Heavenly Dao is incomplete, that all beings endlessly struggle and slaughter one another, that karma is tangled, and that a great tribulation approaches, I shall now merge my body with the Dao, complete the Heavenly Dao, and govern the order of Qiankun. Unless the great trend of Heaven and Earth changes, unless an immeasurable tribulation arrives, this shall not be undone. From this day onward, the Heavenly Dao is Hongjun, yet Hongjun is not the Heavenly Dao."

"Buzz—"

The entire primordial world seemed like a lake into which a stone had been tossed, sending out invisible ripples. Every mighty figure could clearly sense that the Heavenly Dao existing in the unseen had become clearer, and more "owned." An invisible shackle of order seemed to descend in silence, yet it also seemed like a more complete form of protection.

"Merge with the Dao!"

Those final two words were like the ringing of a great Dao bell, striking the hearts of every living being. Immediately afterward, the light from Purple Cloud Palace completely withdrew, vanishing into the depths of chaos, leaving not the slightest trace to be sensed.

From that day on, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had merged with the Heavenly Dao, becoming the primordial world's "background administrator" and "ultimate rule-maker." In common terms—the chairman had gone into seclusion, leaving the company to several "saintly CEOs," while the system itself—the Heavenly Dao—had been upgraded with greater intelligence and authority.

All beings of the primordial world, whether ignorant little demons or guests of Purple Cloud Palace, understood this at that moment. For a time, countless spirits across the land knelt in worship and cried, "Dao Ancestor is merciful!"

The Three Pure Ones wore solemn expressions and bowed toward Purple Cloud Palace. Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti did the same.

Chen Song scratched his head and muttered inwardly, Damn, the chairman directly turned into the system AI? Great, now everything I do will be under the surveillance of the 'Hongjun System'? Feels like we went from 'Free Primordial World' into the 'Heavenly Dao Era'... But with someone so powerful backing us, could I go around saying, 'My dad is Hongjun'... Ah, no, 'My grandmaster is the Heavenly Dao.' Wouldn't that make me even more overbearing?

He patted Big White beside him, who was still drooling at a glittering ore. "Stupid dog, stop staring. The chairman's gone into seclusion, and the system has had a major update. There'll be more rules from now on. Be careful when you're stealing chickens and dogs. Don't let the administrator ban your account."

Big White raised his head blankly. "Woof? What's an account ban? Can I eat it?"

Chen Song said, "...Forget I said anything."

After Hongjun merged with the Dao, the primordial world entered a brief and delicate period in which "the saints had yet to emerge, but the Heavenly Dao had already been established." The mighty figures returned to their respective Daoist grounds, entering seclusion to digest their gains and refine their newly acquired spiritual treasures. Those who had obtained Primordial Violet Qi, especially, put all their effort into becoming saints as soon as possible.

Chen Song followed the Three Pure Ones back to Kunlun Mountain. Perhaps due to the pressure of the Heavenly Dao brought by Hongjun's merging with the Dao, or perhaps because being caught last time had given him a little more "motivation," he was unusually quiet for a while. He mainly studied that "prototype Eight Trigrams Furnace" and sorted through the miscellaneous junk he had scraped up from Treasure Distribution Cliff.

Seeing that he had finally stopped spending all day teasing dogs and walking cows, Laozi was slightly more satisfied. He would occasionally offer Chen Song some guidance.

Seeing that he seemed a little more "steady," Yuanshi's expression also improved considerably.

Tongtian, however, felt that his senior disciple nephew was being so quiet that it was unlike him. From time to time, he came over to ask whether Chen Song felt unwell and even tried to drag him outside to "stretch his limbs." Chen Song sternly refused—what a joke. Who knew how many jealous people outside had their eyes on him? Although he had thrown away the Primordial Violet Qi, who knew whether someone might think he had gotten benefits from Treasure Distribution Cliff and want to knock him out from behind?

And so, peaceful days—at least for Chen Song—passed for a while.

Then one day, a peculiar wave of spiritual energy came from the direction of Buzhou Mountain. The energy was upright and harmonious, yet it carried the vigorous vitality of innate yin wood and a unique pulling force, as though some extraordinary innate spiritual object was about to mature.

Inside the Thatched Hut on Kunlun Mountain, the Three Pure Ones opened their eyes at the same time.

"Hm? This aura... is it that Innate Gourd Vine?" Lord of the Beginning calculated with his fingers, and understanding flashed through his eyes.

Sect Master Tongtian rose directly to his feet, brimming with excitement. "Haha, those seven gourds are about to ripen! We discovered long ago that they possessed extraordinary spiritual energy, but their time of maturity had not yet come. It seems the time is now! Elder Brother, Second Brother, shall we go take a look? Perhaps there may be treasures fated for us!"

Laozi gave a slight nod. "What an Innate Spiritual Root bears naturally has its karma. It would be good to take a look."

Chen Song's ears immediately perked up!

The Innate Gourd Vine! Seven gourds! The second famous treasure-distribution scene of the primordial world! The first was Treasure Distribution Cliff!

This was a legendary scene! He absolutely had to join the fun!

Gourd Babies, Gourd Babies, seven flowers on one vine! Wind and rain could never scare them! Ahem, wrong channel.

"Master! Martial Uncles! Take me with you!" Chen Song sprang up at once, his face clearly saying, "I want to watch the show."

Laozi glanced at him. Thinking that Chen Song had been fairly well-behaved lately, and that this was not as solemn an occasion as the Dao Ancestor's Sermon, he nodded. "You may. But remember well: spiritual objects have owners. Do not force matters, and do not cause trouble again."

"Understood, understood! I'll just watch. I won't say a word!" Chen Song thumped his chest loudly, then casually kicked Big White, who wanted to follow along. "Watch the house! And keep an eye on the two cows! If even one pill goes missing, I'll stew you when I get back!"

On Buzhou Mountain, the Innate Gourd Vine growing upon the steep cliff was now radiating ten thousand rays of rosy light and a thousand streaks of auspicious brilliance. Its vines were like coiling dragons, lush and emerald-green. Seven gourds of different colors hung from it, each blazing with treasure light. They had fully matured and emanated enticing Dao rhythms.

Beneath the gourd vine, quite a few figures had already gathered.

Empress Nuwa and Fuxi had arrived together. Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun stood nearby. Di Jun and Taiyi had taken human form, their gazes blazing. Even Kunpeng, who was always gloomy, lurked in the distant void with flickering eyes.

What made Chen Song's eyelids twitch even more was that the two "people of fate" from the west—Jieyin and Zhunti—had also appeared right on schedule. They pointed at the seven gourds, unable to hide the longing on their faces that said, "This treasure is fated for our West."

Damn, all the prominent mighty figures of the primordial world had come. Even those who did not cultivate the primordial spirit and focused only on the flesh had arrived. After all, the Wu Tribe's settlements lay at the foot of Buzhou Mountain. With so many people coming, how could they not join the fun? Maybe they could even make someone miserable along the way. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The mighty figures of the primordial world had almost all arrived! Beneath the gourd vine, the stars had gathered—no, the mighty figures had gathered!

The arrival of the Three Pure Ones naturally drew everyone's attention. They exchanged greetings, and though the atmosphere appeared harmonious, undercurrents surged beneath the surface. Everyone's eyes drifted from time to time toward the seven treasure gourds, each radiating a different Dao rhythm.

The Purple Gold Red Gourd—later used by Laozi to store pills; the Purple Red Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd—Hong Yun's; the Purple Green Demon Summoning Gourd—the raw material for Nuwa's Demon Summoning Banner; the purple-yellow gourd—Lu Ya's Immortal Slaying Flying Knife?; the Chaos Gourd—??; another was taken by Yuanshi for some unknown purpose; and the last seemed to have been taken by Tongtian, though he never explained what it was for?