Jieyin and Zhunti immediately sped toward the lands of the western Hong Huang World, afraid that Fuxi would change his mind and stop them again.
"Fuxi, we will remember today's humiliation!"
The voices of the two westerners were somewhat shrill, filled with intense hatred.
But Fuxi merely smiled and called out, "Many thanks to you two Daoist friends for gifting me these treasures. You westerners really are generous. I hadn't expected to get Innate Spiritual Treasures—I'd thought two Acquired Spiritual Treasures would be enough."
"Heh, I never expected you westerners to be so wealthy and extravagant."
Jieyin and Zhunti's furious roars echoed through the void. Fuxi's few words had completely shattered their composure.
However, Fuxi was speaking the truth. He truly had not expected Jieyin and Zhunti to hand over these two Innate Spiritual Treasures.
Although the two had not introduced the treasures to Fuxi, he had still guessed their names.
This string of emerald-green beads should have been the Buddhist Prayer Beads Jieyin would use in the future.
And that Golden Mini Pestle should have been the Auspicious Vajra Pestle Zhunti would use in the future.
Both Innate Spiritual Treasures had displayed their power during the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods.
In the future, Jieyin would use the Buddhist Prayer Beads to suppress Guiling Holy Mother of the Interception Sect, while Zhunti would use the Auspicious Vajra Pestle against Kong Xuan and Sect Master Tongtian.
Now that both Innate Spiritual Treasures had fallen into Fuxi's hands, who knew whether this would affect the future Canonization of the Gods in the Hong Huang World.
While Fuxi had been extorting Jieyin and Zhunti, many Grand Unity Golden Immortals had not left the void. Instead, they watched from nearby.
After this sermon at Zixiao Palace, Fuxi's fame had surged, and he had become one of the fiercest figures among the Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
No matter how lacking Jieyin and Zhunti might have been, they were still mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal powerhouses. Yet before Fuxi, they could only lower their heads obediently and hand over treasures to beg for mercy.
As for the Three Pure Ones, those three late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortals, which one of them was not a renowned giant? Even they were not confident they could defeat Fuxi, so they chose to retreat.
When faced with Hongjun's offer to accept disciples, Fuxi had actually refused to become his disciple, giving up the opportunity to become a Saint's disciple.
Though no one understood why Fuxi had rejected Hongjun, the name Fuxi was deeply engraved in the hearts of those three thousand-plus Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Many famous figures of the Hong Huang World came forward to bid Fuxi farewell, expressing their goodwill and respect.
Even figures like Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun, whose cultivation was profound but whose temperaments were indifferent to worldly matters, politely said to Fuxi before leaving, "Daoist Fuxi, we shall take our leave first."
Eastern Emperor and Di Jun, the two great figures of the demon race, also came forward enthusiastically to greet Fuxi, hoping to befriend him through their shared demon race identity.
However, Fuxi's attitude toward them was somewhat cold, leaving both of them greatly puzzled.
As for that, Fuxi could only say that he did not want to become entangled with the demon race in any way.
Having read so many Hong Huang novels, Fuxi naturally knew very well how he had died.
If he wanted to survive, he had to stay far away from both the demon race and the Witch Clan. He absolutely could not get involved with them.
Fuxi had no confidence that he could endure a great calamity that affected heaven and earth, such as the war between the witches and demons, so he simply chose not to participate.
"Little sister, let's head back."
Fuxi and Nuwa traveled side by side toward Buzhou Mountain.
Fuxi planned to return with Nuwa to their Daoist Sanctuary first, then search for the location of the Chaos Gourd Vine.
"Big brother, what exactly are you looking for?"
Nuwa searched through the depths of Buzhou Mountain alongside Fuxi and asked curiously.
Fuxi smiled mysteriously and said, "I feel that an Opportunity is waiting for me within Buzhou Mountain."
Nuwa said hazily, "I seem to feel something too."
"Then this may be an Opportunity for both of us."
Fuxi nodded.
It was within his expectations that Nuwa could sense the Chaos Gourd Vine.
After all, in the Hong Huang novels, Nuwa had obtained a green Monster-Summoning Gourd, as well as the Gourd Vine, Xirang, and Three Lights Divine Water.
However, this time, Fuxi wanted to gather all seven gourds from the Chaos Gourd Vine together. He did not intend to give the Green Gourd to Nuwa and could only give her things like the Gourd Vine instead.
According to the original course of the Hong Huang World, the seven gourds grown by the Chaos Gourd Vine had been divided among various people, each refined into a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
Fuxi had a plan: he wanted to fuse all seven gourds together and refine a great treasure that would shake the entire Hong Huang World.
Although this did put Nuwa at a slight disadvantage, Fuxi had already given her the string of beads he had obtained from Jieyin, allowing her to refine them for self-defense. That could be considered compensation.
Around a dozen years later, Fuxi and Nuwa finally discovered the Chaos Gourd Vine within a narrow valley deep in Buzhou Mountain.
The Gourd Vine had not yet matured. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary vine, and the small gourds it bore were still dim.
However, when Nuwa and Fuxi placed their hands on the vine, Nuwa felt her mind tremble and sensed the extraordinary nature of this Gourd Vine.
"Big brother, this seems to be an incredible Spiritual Root."
Nuwa exclaimed in amazement.
Although Fuxi had already said there was an Opportunity here, she had not expected it to be this great. The grade of this Spiritual Root was frighteningly high.
Fuxi was somewhat excited as well. He explained,
"This Spiritual Root is called the Chaos Gourd Vine. It is 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? Big brother, we've struck it rich! I never expected you could even calculate the location of such a treasure."
Nuwa cried out.
Fuxi coughed awkwardly twice. Fortunately, divination suited the image he had established for himself, so he could keep using it as an excuse.
If he had reincarnated as one of those Witch Clan members whose muscles were more developed than their brains, it would have been rather strange for him to act so all-knowing.
The Disappointed Three Pure Ones
Although they had found the Chaos Gourd Vine, Fuxi did not celebrate too early.
There were still several hundred years before the Gourd Vine matured, and unforeseen changes could easily arise.
For example, other Grand Unity Golden Immortals might come searching and stir up trouble.
Or perhaps, when an Innate Spiritual Root like the Chaos Gourd Vine matured, it would produce a phenomenon that changed heaven and earth, attracting countless people to watch.
When that happened, he would likely have to fight those Grand Unity Golden Immortals in order to protect the treasure.
Fuxi had not forgotten how many people would participate in the struggle over this Gourd Vine.
Whether it was the Three Pure Ones, the demon race, or Hong Yun, all of them were formidable opponents who had to be taken seriously.
Even though Fuxi's cultivation was still among the peak ranks of the Hong Huang World, he was not confident he could stop so many Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Therefore, Fuxi needed to make some preparations to improve his chances of protecting the treasure.
For instance, before the Gourd Vine matured, he could set up hundreds or thousands of formations outside the valley to obscure Heavenly Secrets and create illusions, ensuring that no one could discover the Chaos Gourd Vine ahead of time through their senses.
As for how to protect the treasure once the Gourd Vine matured, Fuxi planned, on one hand, to reduce the disturbance caused by its phenomenon as much as possible, and on the other, to improve his own strength as much as he could.
As long as he was strong enough, even if the Three Pure Ones joined hands against him, he and Nuwa could still protect the treasure—and perhaps even make them suffer a little.
With Nuwa's help, Fuxi quickly arranged a great number of illusion formations that obscured Heavenly Secrets around the valley.
Once these illusion formations were complete, the Three Pure Ones far away at Kunlun Mountain, along with Hong Yun, Eastern Emperor, and the others, all felt their hearts tighten, as though they had lost something important.
Taishang Laojun frowned and said to Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian, "I seem to have lost an Opportunity. It appears to be at Buzhou Mountain."
Yuanshi Tianzun and Sect Master Tongtian spoke in unison, "We seem to have the same feeling."
"Shall we go investigate?"
Taishang Laojun asked.
"Very well."
The Three Pure Ones left Kunlun Mountain and began searching the area around Buzhou Mountain.
However, the layers upon layers of formations arranged by Fuxi and Nuwa left the Three Pure Ones wandering all over Buzhou Mountain like headless flies.
After ten years, the Three Pure Ones left Buzhou Mountain empty-handed, somewhat regretful.
Fuxi, hidden within the formations, had long discovered the Three Pure Ones' presence. In truth, Hong Yun had also come nearby, but all of them had returned without success.
After the Three Pure Ones left, Fuxi finally relaxed.
He and Nuwa both concealed themselves within the valley and began cultivating in seclusion.
Once the Gourd Vine matured and the birth of the seven gourds triggered a phenomenon, many Grand Unity Golden Immortals would certainly come to seize the treasure.
Whether they could successfully protect this Innate Spiritual Root would depend on Fuxi's strength at that time.
Only several decades had passed since Hongjun's sermon. During this period, the Grand Unity Golden Immortals of the Hong Huang World were basically all within their own Daoist Sanctuaries, digesting the gains they had obtained from listening to the teachings at Zixiao Palace.
Hongjun's sermon had accelerated the progress of all Grand Unity Golden Immortals in the Hong Huang World. Their understanding of the Great Dao had deepened, and their cultivation was steadily improving.
Fuxi and Nuwa were likewise earnestly digesting Hongjun's teachings. Their understanding of the Grand Unity path grew ever more refined, and they faintly showed signs of a breakthrough.
Although guarding the Gourd Vine was important, Fuxi cared even more about cultivation.
No matter how sharp a blade was, it could only be called a divine weapon if the person wielding it had the strength to use it.
Likewise, only after Fuxi's cultivation became stronger could he refine the gourds on the Gourd Vine into Spiritual Treasures of higher quality and bring out their power.
Moreover, Fuxi had many motivations to improve his cultivation.
To protect the Gourd Vine, he had to ensure that his strength was sufficient to stop Grand Unity powerhouses such as the Three Pure Ones, the demon race, and Hong Yun.
Furthermore, only by becoming stronger could Fuxi gain more from Hongjun's sermons.
The next time, Hongjun would expound upon the path of the Quasi-Saint, yet there were currently no Quasi-Saints in the entire Hong Huang World.
Listening to the path of the Quasi-Saint while at the Grand Unity realm naturally meant that the higher one's cultivation, the more thoroughly one could understand it and the more one could gain.
Fuxi's current cultivation was only close to the completion of the late Grand Unity realm. Though he was ahead of the others, Fuxi was not satisfied.
If he could reach the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, he would certainly gain even more from Hongjun's sermon.
Thus, during the years he waited for the Gourd Vine to mature, Fuxi continued digesting the contents of Hongjun's sermon and improving his cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, five hundred years passed.
Before you continue