A Sliver of Vitality

Di Kun's eyes widened as he stared intently at the Primordial Jade Lotus, refusing to miss even the slightest detail. His gaze was like an X-ray, piercing through the lotus's surface and delving into its inner structure, attempting to decipher the abilities and transformations contained within.

Di Kun pondered silently, "This Primordial Jade Lotus possesses the purest power of creation. Aside from inheriting the past experiences of the Chaos Green Lotus, it does not seem particularly extraordinary. Then why are the Chaos Gods and Demons so determined to target it?"

Following that train of thought, he muttered, "If it is merely because of the power of creation, then doesn't Nuwa possess that power as well? Shouldn't she also be plotted against by the Chaos Gods and Demons?"

Suddenly, Di Kun seemed to have been struck by lightning. A flash of insight crossed his mind, and he instantly grasped the heart of the matter. His gaze fixed tightly upon the image of Pangu being nurtured by the Primordial Jade Lotus and Pangu's figure as he created the world, as though at that very moment, every mystery had been effortlessly unraveled.

Di Kun suddenly felt as though enlightenment had been poured into his head, and the puzzle in his heart was finally solved. He could not help sighing, "Hongjun, Hongjun... your schemes truly are exquisite!"

He realized that the reason the Primordial Jade Lotus had displayed no miraculous qualities in later ages was likely because Hongjun and the others had discovered and sealed it away. Moreover, the reason they had been so eager to seal it—even destroy it, unwilling to let it exist for even one more second—was because they feared the image of Pangu contained within would be known to and recorded by heaven and earth. After all, Nuwa's creation of humanity itself had been based on Pangu's image, while the transformation of beings such as themselves into innate Dao bodies was precisely caused by the influence Pangu's body had left upon heaven and earth.

Without the Primordial Jade Lotus, Nuwa's creation of humanity would likely have achieved only a resemblance in form, not in spirit. However, if Nuwa could obtain the Primordial Jade Lotus and comprehend its mysteries, then the human race might be completed and made even more perfect. In that case, plotting against humanity would be far from easy, because the birth of the human race was itself an inevitable result of heaven and earth's workings—something even Hongjun would likely find difficult to stop.

With that thought, Di Kun's conviction grew firmer. He felt certain that his conjecture could not be wrong. Moreover, when he recalled that Fuxi and Nuwa had descended into the world without carrying any treasures, that detail made him even more certain that the legendary treasure could only be the Primordial Jade Lotus.

Yet the Primordial Jade Lotus had been sealed away by experts such as Hongjun, making it impossible for Nuwa to obtain it. After all, according to legend, Fuxi and Nuwa's Daoist sanctuary was located halfway up this very mountain. How could Nuwa have casually passed up such an important treasure?

Not only that, Di Kun also noticed a crucial detail—there was some sort of shared origin between the Three Pure Ones and the Primordial Jade Lotus. It was precisely because of this that Hongjun could use the Three Pure Ones' power to achieve his aims. Had it been the Witch Clan instead, the plan would likely have failed. After all, the Witch Clan possessed no primordial spirits and thus would naturally not be affected by him.

Furthermore, if the Witch Clan had discovered the Primordial Jade Lotus, they would likely have brought it back to their tribe and guarded it with the utmost care. The Chaos Green Lotus had nurtured Pangu, while the Primordial Jade Lotus had inherited the Chaos Green Lotus's legacy and contained Pangu's image within it. The Witch Clan would surely have been delighted. So, beyond all this, what else had he yet to consider?

Di Kun furrowed his brow. His sea of consciousness churned like an overturned river and sea as he linked every piece of information he currently knew together like a puzzle, trying to uncover other hidden secrets. Yet despite racking his brains, he found nothing.

Di Kun was somewhat unwilling to accept this. He refused to give up just like that and decided to continue deducing. Just as he was fully focused, Zhou Jun suddenly appeared before him without any warning.

Zhou Jun stared at Di Kun, the corners of his lips curving slightly as he said with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Don't you think the Primordial Jade Lotus is rather special?"

Di Kun froze, staring blankly at Zhou Jun with confusion filling his eyes. He did not understand why Zhou Jun had suddenly brought up the Primordial Jade Lotus, much less the deeper meaning behind his words.

Seeing that Di Kun still had not grasped it, Zhou Jun hurriedly added, "That is Twenty-Four Petals! Among the ten Innate Spiritual Roots, only the Creation Green Lotus surpassed its limits and gained heaven and earth's recognition. So it is not that heaven and earth cannot tolerate it—it is that the Chaos Gods and Demons cannot tolerate it. It is a one-of-a-kind existence. More than that, it is the symbol of creation. Don't you think it is that sliver of vitality between heaven and earth?"

Zhou Jun's words struck Di Kun like a thunderbolt, and a deafening boom rang through his mind. "A sliver of vitality for heaven and earth..." he murmured, as though he had suddenly understood something.

This sliver of vitality was not merely a sliver of vitality for all living beings—it was also a sliver of vitality for the Primordial Wilderness to transcend!

It should originally have been the key to assisting Nuwa in creating humanity and completing the creation of the Primordial Wilderness. With its body, it would shape the first human of the Primordial Wilderness, symbolizing the arrival of that sliver of vitality. No! That was not right! The true situation should be that the birth of humanity, once integrated into the Primordial Wilderness, represented the fulfillment of that sliver of vitality and the beginning of transcendence. Only then could the Primordial Wilderness possibly advance further, and only then could Tongtian's Sect of Interception firmly seize hold of that sliver of vitality.

However, matters were far from that simple. Perhaps it was precisely because Hongjun and the others fundamentally refused to allow any living being to transcend that they bestowed the Four Swords of Zhu Xian upon Tongtian, leaving him with no other spiritual treasure to suppress Fortune. Even if Tongtian acquired numerous spiritual treasures at Treasure Distribution Cliff, it would all be useless! Moreover, the Creation Green Lotus had split into three and fallen into their hands, while their identities happened to represent Pangu's lingering will. All of this seemed to hint at the final outcome—Pangu would never permit living beings to transcend!

Such an exquisite scheme was truly astonishing!

Di Kun clicked his tongue inwardly. As expected of the Chaos Gods and Demons—their schemes ran incredibly deep. They had likely already known the future when they fought Pangu. After all, they were the beginning of the Dao; wherever the Dao existed, so did they. They had likely all been suppressed by Pangu during World Creation, which was why they could not revive in later ages and could only use certain powers and methods to contend with Pangu.

At that thought, Di Kun suddenly turned his head, his gaze landing directly on Zhou Jun. There was an indescribably strange look in his eyes. Zhou Jun immediately understood, and a smug smile could not help appearing on his lips. "I'm a genius, after all!"

Di Kun was unimpressed by Zhou Jun's self-praise. He merely rolled his eyes, turned away, and ignored Zhou Jun as he continued thinking about other matters. Zhou Jun was not discouraged by his reaction. Smiling faintly, he slowly shifted over and sat cross-legged beside Di Kun.

"There's still one question you haven't considered," Zhou Jun said softly, a trace of teasing in his tone.

Di Kun's heart stirred at those words. He turned to look at Zhou Jun, waiting for him to continue.

Delighted inwardly, Zhou Jun continued, "Did Hongjun Merge with the Dao merely to replace the Heavenly Dao? Perhaps he did not do so to replace it at all, but to occupy the position of that sliver of vitality? After all, novels about the Primordial Wilderness often say that the Heavenly Dao is incomplete, and Hongjun merged himself with the Dao. Then could that so-called 'incompleteness' have been a place reserved for the Creation Green Lotus?"

After all, as a part of heaven and earth, that sliver of vitality should have intermingled with and depended upon the other elements. Yet Hongjun occupied that crucial position while completely disregarding the concept of that sliver of vitality. It was like blocking off a road leading to life, sealing and cutting that road off.

Moreover, he had destroyed the Creation Green Lotus, utterly severing the existence of that sliver of vitality. As a result, the Heavenly Dao was no longer whole, leaving behind flaws and loopholes. When Hongjun chose to Merge with the Dao, even if the Heavenly Dao later noticed the problem, it was already powerless to do anything. The position that had originally belonged to that sliver of vitality no longer existed, leaving no room for remedy.

Furthermore, did completing the Heavenly Dao truly mean attaining a state of absolute perfection? It did not. Everything in the world had its imperfections, and it was precisely those imperfections that drove things to evolve and develop without end. If everything were already flawless and perfect, where would the impetus for evolution come from? Would such a world not become a stagnant pool, utterly devoid of life?