While Chen Song lived a cultivation life on Kunlun Mountain where he could neither keep grinding nor properly lie flat, a vast, indescribably profound tremor swept through every corner of the primordial world like a server-wide announcement from the Primordial Realm.
At the peak of Kunlun Mountain, the Three Pure Ones opened their eyes at the same time.
The pill in Laozi's hand stopped spinning. Lord of the Beginning's hand paused slightly as he wiped the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, while Sect Master Tongtian leaped straight to his feet. "Damn! This disturbance! It's Junior Sister Nuwa! She's about to become a saint?!"
Yuanshi wore a complicated expression. "I never expected our youngest junior sister to be the first to take this step."
Laozi's gaze was unfathomably deep as he said slowly, "The Dao of Creation is exceptionally mysterious. Junior Sister Nuwa being the first to comprehend her own Dao is also her Karma. We should go and witness the occasion. The first saint of the Mystic Sect is about to emerge; we cannot be absent."
The Three Pure Ones exchanged a glance and instantly reached an agreement—this spectacle had to be witnessed!
With a sweep of Laozi's sleeve, a Taiji Golden Bridge radiating Yin-Yang Dao Charm appeared out of thin air. Just as the Three Pure Ones were about to step onto the bridge, a figure pounced over in a flash and tightly hugged Laozi's... thigh?
"Master! Martial Uncles! Take me with you! I promise I'll behave and definitely won't cause trouble!" Chen Song looked up with a face full of thirst for knowledge, his sincere eyes practically dripping with earnestness.
Tongtian laughed. "Hahaha, does Senior Disciple Nephew want to witness history too?"
Chen Song nodded fiercely. "Absolutely! This is a precious chance to watch a saint being born firsthand. It's more useful than hearing Martial Uncle explain sword Dao theory ten thousand times!"
Yuanshi frowned. "Nonsense! At an occasion like this, what could a junior like you possibly understand?"
"Let him come." Laozi spoke calmly. "Witnessing the birth of a saint will also benefit his cultivation."
Chen Song was overjoyed. He hurriedly thanked him, then dragged over Big White, who had been drooling from afar. "Come on, come on. I'm taking you out to broaden your horizons!"
The Taiji Golden Bridge carried the Three Pure Ones, Chen Song, and Big White, transforming into a streak of golden light that instantly crossed endless void. In but a moment, the snowy scene of Kunlun Mountain shifted to the towering grandeur of Buzhou Mountain, and they descended directly outside Nuwa's Daoist grounds.
The Daoist grounds were much quieter than before. Ever since Fuxi had joined the Demon Race Heavenly Court and been entrusted with important duties by Di Jun and Taiyi, this doting older brother had become fiercely career-driven. He spent every day busy in the Heavenly Court and rarely returned to the Daoist grounds on Buzhou Mountain, leaving Nuwa alone here to cultivate in peace.
At the center of the Daoist grounds, Nuwa was staring blankly at a clump of soil glowing with nine-colored radiance. This soil was no ordinary thing—it was the innate spiritual soil, the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil!
"Strange. I can clearly sense that the opportunity for Creation lies within this soil, so why can't I find the way in?" Nuwa's willow-like brows furrowed as her delicate hands unconsciously kneaded the Breathing Soil, trying to draw inspiration from it. With her brother absent and no one to discuss it with, she grew even more agitated.
The Three Pure Ones landed silently nearby with Chen Song and Big White.
Tongtian suppressed a laugh and sent a message through divine sense. "Junior Sister Nuwa is... playing with mud? Fuxi isn't around, so no one's keeping an eye on her now, huh?"
Yuanshi looked solemn. "This is the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, the soil of innate creation. Junior Sister Nuwa's opportunity to become a saint is indeed tied to it."
Laozi's eyes shone brightly as he said slowly, "She is searching for the specific form of the opportunity for Creation."
Chen Song watched with great interest. This was the live-action prequel to Nuwa creating humanity! It was even more thrilling than a 3D movie!
Yet a melody involuntarily rose in his mind...
Doo doo loo doo doo loo da da da... It's so cold, I'm playing with mud in the Northeast...
Shaking his head, Chen Song finally flung the strange things in his mind away.
Nuwa tried molding the Breathing Soil into all sorts of shapes. Sometimes it resembled a bird spreading its wings, sometimes a running beast, and sometimes even a swimming fish. Each time, she used the Creation Divine Ability and gently blew on the clay figure, hoping to bring it to life.
Yet the results were always the same—the clay birds flapped twice before falling apart, the clay beasts ran a few steps before reverting to their original forms, and the clay fish dissolved the moment they entered water.
Irritation appeared on Nuwa's breathtaking face. The Creation Dao Charm around her became restless, causing the surrounding grass and trees to sway wildly as if they were dancing at a disco.
"No! None of this is right!" Nuwa was nearly driven mad. "The primordial world already has similar living beings in these forms. Even if I create them, it would merely be icing on the cake. How could I gain great merit?"
She felt that her opportunity to become a saint was right before her eyes, yet it was as though she were looking through frosted glass, unable to see it clearly no matter what. If her brother were here, he might have been able to offer some advice, but now...
At that moment, Nuwa's gaze inadvertently swept past the outer edge of the Daoist grounds... and she happened to see the Three Pure Ones, who had arrived at some unknown time, as well as Chen Song beside them. When she saw Chen Song, she suddenly recalled how, long ago, this interesting junior had given her a branch containing Five Elements creation.
Although that branch had been of average quality due to Chen Song's shallow cultivation at the time, the Five Elements energy within it had made it somewhat special. This thought struck her like lightning, making her feel that this junior might possess some unique insight.
She abruptly looked at Chen Song, her eyes filled with scrutiny and anticipation. "Martial Nephew Chen Song! Tell me, if one wishes to accomplish the Merit of Creation and gain supreme merit, what should one create?"
Suddenly being called out by the future Saint Nuwa, Chen Song jolted in fright and nearly dropped the five-spice pine nuts he had hidden in his arms for a snack.
The Three Pure Ones' gazes also fell upon him in unison.
Tongtian looked ready to enjoy the show, Yuanshi's eyes carried scrutiny, while Laozi remained as calm as an ancient well.
Chen Song swallowed, knowing the critical moment had arrived. He organized his thoughts, tried his best to put on a serious thinking expression, and began his performance.
"Martial Uncle Nuwa," he said, respectfully bowing, "the birds and beasts you just tried to create already exist in abundance in the primordial world. Even if you create them, it would only be icing on the cake. It would be difficult to earn Heaven's favor."
He paused and studied Nuwa's expression. Seeing that she seemed thoughtful, he continued, "Look at the myriad races of the primordial world—the demon race possesses spirit but is arrogant, the witch race is powerful but does not revere Heaven, and races such as the dragons, phoenixes, and qilin each have their own limitations. After the war of the three races, they have even withdrawn from the world."
Then Chen Song revealed the dagger at last and spoke the most crucial sentence. "Under Heaven's Dao, could there be a lack of a certain kind of living being? A kind of... entirely new race that is born weak yet holds reverence in its heart; frail in body yet naturally intelligent; numerous in number yet able to reproduce endlessly; capable of carrying the fortune of Heaven and Earth while also comprehending the mysteries of the Great Dao?"
His eyes shone as he looked at Nuwa. "And perhaps this race should be born in the form of an... Innate Dao Body?"
"Innate Dao Body... born weak yet reverent... frail in body yet naturally intelligent..." Nuwa murmured. Chen Song's words were like a thunderclap from chaos, instantly tearing apart all the mist in her heart!
That was right! Every race in the primordial world had its flaws, and beneath Heaven's Dao, there truly lacked an entirely new living being capable of compensating for those flaws! A living being that could revere Heaven and Earth, comprehend the Great Dao, reproduce endlessly, and carry fortune!
And the Innate Dao Body was precisely the form most suited to the Great Dao!
"I understand!" Unprecedented light burst from Nuwa's eyes. She finally knew what she needed to create!
Without hesitation, she seized the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil. In her heart, she envisioned the form of the Innate Dao Body, as well as the traits of the living beings Chen Song had described—weak yet reverent, frail yet wise...
Mysterious Creation Dao Charm flowed from her fingertips. She was no longer molding the soil at random, but like a true creator, bestowing life with its genuine meaning.
A clay figure with distinct features, complete limbs, and the full form of an Innate Dao Body gradually took shape in her hands...
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