Honghuang Fuxi: Nuwa, I need your help to cultivate

Jieyin and Zhunti immediately shot toward the western heavens of the Primordial World, terrified that Fuxi might change his mind and block them again.

"Fuxi, We shall remember this day's humiliation!"

The two Westerners' voices were shrill, carrying extreme resentment.

But Fuxi only smiled and said loudly, "Many thanks to you two Daoist friends for the gifts. You people of the West truly are generous. I never expected to obtain Innate Spiritual Treasures; I thought I'd be satisfied with a couple of Acquired ones."

"Heh, who would've thought—you Westerners really are wealthy and bold."

From the void came the furious roars of Jieyin and Zhunti; Fuxi's words had directly broken their composure.

Still, everything Fuxi said was true. He truly hadn't expected Jieyin and Zhunti to hand over those two Innate Spiritual Treasures.

Although the two hadn't introduced the treasures to him, Fuxi still guessed their names.

That string of emerald beads should be the Buddhist Prayer Beads that Jieyin would later use.

And that small golden pestle should be the Auspicious Vajra Pestle that Zhunti would later wield.

Both of these Innate Spiritual Treasures had displayed their might during the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods.

For instance, the Buddhist Prayer Beads would later be used by Jieyin to suppress Guiling Holy Mother of the Jie Sect; the Auspicious Vajra Pestle would be wielded by Zhunti against Kong Xuan and Sect Master Tongtian.

Now that both Innate Spiritual Treasures had fallen into Fuxi's hands, who knew whether they would affect the Primordial World's Investiture Tribulation in the future.

While Fuxi was extorting Jieyin and Zhunti, many Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals had not left the void but were watching from nearby.

During this sermon at Zixiao Palace, Fuxi's reputation had soared; he had become the fiercest figure among the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

Even if Jieyin and Zhunti were no match for him, they were still mid-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal experts—yet before Fuxi, they could only bow their heads, hand over their treasures, and beg for mercy.

As for the Three Pure Ones, all three were late-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals and renowned overlords, yet even they had no confidence in defeating Fuxi and chose to retreat.

When faced with Hongjun's invitation to become a disciple, Fuxi had directly refused to take a master, giving up the serendipity of being a Saint's student.

Though no one understood why Fuxi had rejected Hongjun, the name Fuxi was deeply engraved in the hearts of those three thousand-plus Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

Many famous figures of the Primordial World came to bid Fuxi farewell, expressing their friendliness and respect.

Even Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun, who were both profound in cultivation but indifferent by nature, spoke politely to Fuxi as they left: "Daoist friend Fuxi, we shall take our leave first."

And major Demon Race leaders like Eastern Emperor and Di Jun also stepped forward to greet Fuxi warmly, hoping to befriend him through their shared Demon Race identity.

But Fuxi's attitude toward them was somewhat cold, which left the two greatly puzzled.

To that, Fuxi could only say that he wanted no karma or connection with the Demon Race whatsoever.

Having read so many Primordial World novels, Fuxi was very clear about the cause of his own death.

If he wanted to live, he had to stay far away from both the Demon Race and the Witch Clan, and absolutely not get involved.

He had no confidence in surviving the great tribulation that would shake heaven and earth during the war between the Witch Clan and the Demon Race, so he simply chose not to participate.

"Sister, let's go back."

Fuxi and Nuwa walked side by side, heading back toward Buzhou Mountain.

Fuxi planned to first return to his Daoist sanctuary with Nuwa, then go search for the Chaos Gourd Vine.

"Elder Brother, what exactly are you looking for?"

Nuwa and Fuxi were deep in Buzhou Mountain, searching everywhere, and she asked curiously.

Fuxi smiled mysteriously and said, "I feel that there is a serendipity waiting for me within Buzhou Mountain."

Nuwa said, somewhat dazedly, "I seem to feel something too."

"It seems this might be a serendipity for both of us."

Fuxi nodded.

That Nuwa could sense the Chaos Gourd Vine was within his expectations.

After all, in the Primordial World novels, Nuwa had obtained a green Monster-Summoning Gourd, as well as the gourd vine, Xirang, and the Three Lights Divine Water.

But this time, Fuxi wanted to gather all seven gourds from the Chaos Gourd Vine together. He didn't plan to give the green gourd to Nuwa; he would only give her the vine and such.

According to the original development of the Primordial World, the seven gourds grown from the Chaos Gourd Vine had all been taken by different people, each refined into a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

Fuxi had a plan: to smelt all seven gourds together and forge a single great treasure that would shake the entire Primordial World.

Although doing so would put Nuwa at a disadvantage, Fuxi had already given her the string of beads he had taken from Jieyin, letting her refine them for self-defense—a form of compensation.

About a dozen years later, Fuxi and Nuwa finally discovered the Chaos Gourd Vine in a narrow valley deep within Buzhou Mountain.

The gourd vine was not yet mature; on the surface, it looked like an ordinary gourd vine, and the small gourds growing on it were still very dull.

But when Nuwa and Fuxi placed their hands on the vine, Nuwa felt her mind shake, and she also sensed the vine's extraordinary nature.

"Elder Brother, this seems to be an extraordinary spiritual root."

Nuwa exclaimed in awe.

Although Fuxi had already mentioned a serendipity, she hadn't expected the serendipity he spoke of to be this great—the grade of this spiritual root was terrifyingly high.

Fuxi was also somewhat excited as he explained, "This spiritual root is called the Chaos Gourd Vine, one of the Ten Innate Spiritual Roots, on the same level as Zhenyuanzi's Ginseng Fruit Tree."

"On the same level as the Ginseng Fruit Tree? Elder Brother, we've struck it rich! I never imagined you could even calculate the location of a treasure like this."

Nuwa exclaimed in surprise.

Fuxi cleared his throat lightly, a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, this act of divination fit his persona well enough to serve as a constant excuse.

If he had been reincarnated into one of those Witch Clan members whose muscles outran their brains, acting so mysteriously prescient would have been rather odd.

Chapter Eleven: The Lost Three Pure Ones

Though he had found the Chaos Gourd Vine, Fuxi did not celebrate too soon.

For now, the vine still had several centuries before it would ripen, leaving ample room for variables.

For instance, other Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals might come exploring and stir up trouble.

Or, when an Innate Spiritual Root like the Chaos Gourd Vine matured, it would produce heavenly phenomena that drew countless onlookers.

At that point, to protect the treasure, he would likely have to fight those Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

Fuxi had not forgotten how many had participated in the struggle for this gourd vine.

Whether it was the Three Pure Ones, the Demon Race, or Hongyun, all were formidable opponents who required serious handling.

Even though Fuxi's current cultivation still stood at the pinnacle of the Hong Huang World, he was not confident he could hold off so many Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

Thus, Fuxi needed to make preparations to increase his odds of guarding the treasure.

For example, before the gourd vine matured, he could set up hundreds or thousands of layers of arrays and illusion formations outside this valley to obscure the Heavenly Secrets, ensuring no one could detect the Chaos Gourd Vine through perception ahead of time.

As for how to guard the treasure once the vine ripened, Fuxi planned on one hand to minimize the fluctuations of the phenomena, and on the other to do his utmost to raise his own strength.

If his power was sufficient, even if the Three Pure Ones joined forces, he and Nuwa could hold the treasure and even make them suffer a bit.

With Nuwa's help, Fuxi quickly set up a great number of illusion formations to obscure the Heavenly Secrets around the valley.

When these formations were complete, far away on Kunlun Mountain, the Three Pure Ones, Hongyun, and the Eastern Emperor all felt a tightening in their hearts, as if they had lost something important.

Taishang Laojun furrowed his brow and said to Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian: "I seem to have lost some Opportunity, and it appears to be at Buzhou Mountain."

Yuanshi Tianzun and Sect Master Tongtian spoke in unison: "I seem to feel the same."

"Shall we go investigate?"

Taishang Laojun asked.

"Well said."

The Three Pure Ones left Kunlun Mountain and began exploring the vicinity of Buzhou Mountain.

However, the layers upon layers of formations set by Fuxi and Nuwa left the Three Pure Ones wandering around Buzhou Mountain like headless flies.

After ten years passed, the Three Pure Ones left Buzhou Mountain empty-handed, somewhat regretful.

Within the formations, Fuxi had long noticed the figures of the Three Pure Ones. In fact, Hongyun had also come near, but all of them returned without success.

After the Three Pure Ones left, the weight lifted from Fuxi's heart.

He and Nuwa both concealed themselves within the valley and began to cultivate in seclusion.

When the gourd vine ripened and the seven gourds emerged, causing heavenly phenomena, many Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals would surely come to seize the treasure.

Whether he could successfully guard this Innate Spiritual Root would depend on Fuxi's strength at that time.

Only a few decades had passed since Hongjun's lecture, and during this period, the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals of the Hong Huang World were mostly digesting the insights they had gained from listening to the Dao at Zixiao Palace in their own Daoist Sanctuaries.

Hongjun's lecture had accelerated the progress of all Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals in the Hong Huang World. Their understanding of the Great Dao deepened, and their cultivation steadily advanced.

Fuxi and Nuwa were also earnestly digesting what Hongjun had taught. Their path to Zenith Heaven advanced daily, showing faint signs of a breakthrough.

Though guarding the gourd vine was important, Fuxi cared more about cultivation.

No matter how sharp the blade, it is only a divine weapon if the wielder has strength.

Likewise, only when Fuxi's cultivation grew stronger could he refine the gourds on this vine into higher-quality spiritual treasures and unleash their true power.

Moreover, there were many motivations driving Fuxi to improve his cultivation.

To protect the gourd vine, he had to ensure his strength could hold off the Three Pure Ones, the Demon Race, Hongyun, and other Zenith Heaven experts.

And only with greater power could Fuxi gain more from Hongjun's lectures.

Next time, Hongjun would speak on the path to the Quasi-Saint realm, but there were currently no Quasi-Saints in the entire Hong Huang World.

Listening to the Quasi-Saint Dao at the Zenith Heaven realm naturally meant the higher one's cultivation, the clearer the understanding, and the greater the harvest.

Fuxi's current cultivation was late-stage Zenith Heaven, nearly perfected. Though he led others, he was not satisfied.

If he could reach the peak of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, he would surely gain far more from Hongjun's lecture.

Thus, during the years waiting for the gourd vine to ripen, Fuxi continuously digested the content of Hongjun's lecture, steadily raising his cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, five hundred years had passed.