Zhunti Wants to Shake the People, the Idea King Nuwa

Mount Sumeru.

A hundred years slipped quietly away like sand running through one's fingers.

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Daoist Zhunti—six of the Primordial Wilderness's foremost Great Powers—looked at one another, every face bearing the same two words: out of options.

Pooling the strength of all six, they had painstakingly contemplated it for a hundred years, yet failed to comprehend so much as a fart.

The Hongmeng Purple Qi remained the Hongmeng Purple Qi, suspended deep within their primordial spirits without the slightest stir.

"What... what exactly is going on?"

Daoist Zhunti was the first to lose patience, his face so bitter it seemed water could be wrung from it.

"A hundred years! A whole hundred years! The six of us joined forces, yet we haven't even touched a single hair of this Hongmeng Purple Qi!"

His words voiced everyone's thoughts.

Laozi slowly opened his eyes. A trace of puzzlement, rare indeed, rippled through those eyes that should have been as still as an ancient well.

Shaking his head, he said, "A hundred years of bitter effort, flowers in a mirror and moonlight on water."

Yuanshi's expression darkened, and he snorted coldly.

He had always been proud, calling himself Pangu Orthodox and believing destiny itself had chosen him.

Yet this mere strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi had stymied him for a hundred years, and an unnamed fire had long been smoldering in his heart.

"Since that is the case, there is no need for us to sit here wasting away."

Laozi spoke, his voice even and devoid of discernible joy or anger.

"I intend to return to the Kunlun Mountains and seek another method."

Nuwa also let out a soft sigh. "I too am preparing to return to Phoenix Nest Mountain."

Clearly, there was no meaning in continuing like this.

Everyone was thinking of leaving.

"Fellow Daoists, wait!"

Just then, Daoist Zhunti suddenly called out, his voice urgent as he stopped them.

His eyes spun, and his face took on an expression that said, "I have a brilliant idea."

"Three Daoist Brothers, Senior Sister Nuwa, the six of us have contemplated the Hongmeng Purple Qi for a hundred years without result."

"Could it be... because there simply aren't enough of us?"

The moment those words fell, everyone was stunned.

Nuwa's delicate brows drew together as she looked at Daoist Zhunti. "What do you mean, Daoist Friend?"

Jieyin, too, looked at his junior brother in confusion.

Daoist Zhunti gave a chuckle.

"Back then, at Purple Cloud Palace, our teacher bestowed a total of seven strands of Hongmeng Purple Qi."

"Besides the six of us, isn't there still one in Kunpeng's hands?"

"Since the six of us cannot manage it, why not invite Kunpeng as well?"

"Perhaps only when all seven strands of Hongmeng Purple Qi gather together will their true mystery reveal itself!"

As soon as he said this, the scene fell silent.

Thoughtful looks appeared in Nuwa's and Jieyin's eyes.

This proposal sounded... perhaps, seemingly, sort of... like it had the tiniest bit of sense?

Laozi furrowed his brow slightly but said nothing.

"Preposterous!"

Yuanshi, however, flew into a rage and slapped the table as he rose to his feet.

"Zhunti! Stop spouting nonsense!"

"Whose hands hold the seventh strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi? Kunpeng's!"

"What is Kunpeng supposed to be? Does he deserve to contemplate the foundation of sainthood alongside us?"

The more Yuanshi spoke, the more worked up he became, his spittle nearly spraying Daoist Zhunti's face.

"We are all our teacher's direct disciples. This Hongmeng Purple Qi was personally bestowed by our teacher!"

"What about Kunpeng? Hong Yun was simply foolishly kind and yielded to him an opportunity that was never his to begin with!"

"Something acquired through another's charity—does he deserve to lay a finger on the Saintly Dao?"

"Furthermore, which one among the six of us does not possess deep foundations and peerless comprehension?"

"If even the six of us cannot make heads or tails of it, what use would one more Kunpeng be?"

"What a joke!"

Daoist Zhunti's face shifted from green to white under Yuanshi's barrage. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He had only been thinking of trying a dead horse as if it were alive.

Who would have thought Yuanshi would react so fiercely?

At that moment, Laozi slowly spoke as well.

"What Second Brother says is not without reason."

"The mysteries of Hongmeng Purple Qi do not seem to be something that can be unraveled simply by having more people."

"If one does not know the proper method, then no matter how many people there are, it will likely all be in vain."

Once Laozi spoke, Zhunti's proposal was practically handed a death sentence.

If even Laozi said so, then there was basically no hope for this matter.

Zhunti's face fell completely.

"Th-then... what are we supposed to do?"

His voice carried a sobbing note.

"We have exhausted our efforts and contemplated it for a hundred years, yet we have not even found the door."

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"How exactly is this Hongmeng Purple Qi supposed to be used?!"

"Could it be that we truly have no affinity with the Saint Position?"

By the end, Zhunti's voice even carried a hint of despair.

The west was barren. He had finally waited for such a foundation for becoming a saint; if it simply became an ornament, he would never accept it, even in death!

The hall fell deathly silent once more.

A huge boulder weighed upon every heart.

A Saint Position!

Who did not yearn for one?

But this thing was fucking tormenting!

Just as everyone was furrowing their brows in worry.

Nuwa, who had been frowning in deep thought all this time, suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Kunpeng... Hong Yun... Hongmeng Purple Qi... Wu Ming!

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Fellow Daoists!"

Nuwa's voice was crisp and pleasant, like heavenly music, instantly shattering the gloom and oppression within the hall.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"I have thought of someone. Perhaps... he knows some secrets concerning Hongmeng Purple Qi."

"Oh?" Laozi looked at her. "Who does Junior Sister mean?"

Nuwa gathered her thoughts.

"Wu Ming of the Wu Clan."

The moment that name was spoken, the hall fell silent again.

The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of surprise in the other's eyes.

Wu Ming of the Wu Clan.

That unfathomably mysterious Wu, whom even they could not see through.

"Why does Junior Sister Nuwa say so?" Laozi looked at her. His tone remained calm, but there was an added hint of inquiry in his gaze.

Nuwa sorted through her thoughts and began to explain.

"Fellow Daoists, do you still remember what happened to Fellow Daoist Hong Yun?"

"The reason Fellow Daoist Hong Yun gave Hongmeng Purple Qi to Kunpeng back then seemed to be because Fellow Daoist Wu Ming had advised him to do so."

"Moreover, what concerns me most is that when Fellow Daoist Wu Ming mentioned this matter, it seemed to be before the teacher of Purple Cloud Palace bestowed Hongmeng Purple Qi!"

"He... he seemed to have already foreseen who Hongmeng Purple Qi would belong to, and even foreseen Hong Yun's calamity!"

"Therefore, I believe Fellow Daoist Wu Ming may know some secrets concerning Hongmeng Purple Qi."

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the hall wore different expressions.

A gleam flashed through Laozi's eyes as he sank into thought.

Primordial Lord Tianzun, however, frowned tightly. His feelings toward the Wu Clan had always been complicated. Although the Ancestral Wu had now cultivated Primordial Spirits, and no major conflict had erupted between the two sides for the time being, asking someone from the Wu Clan for help... was somewhat hard to stomach in terms of pride.

Tongtian stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Zhunti's eyes darted rapidly, and he was the first to speak.

"Senior Sister Nuwa, will that Wu Ming... tell us?"

"After all, if we remain unable to attain sainthood, that would be a tremendous boon to the Wu Clan!"

"Why would he help us, his potential rivals?"

"If he doesn't kick us while we're down or stab us in the back, that alone would count as noble character!"

Those words were realistic—and painfully piercing.

Nuwa said, "I cannot guarantee this either."

"But this is our only lead at present."

"Trying is still better than sitting here wasting away, waiting to die."

"Even if... even if we must pay some price, this little sister is willing to give it a try!"

She looked at the Three Pure Ones, then at Jieyin and Zhunti. "What do you all think?"

Daoist Jieyin sighed. "If there truly is a method, then though the West is barren, it is only right that we pay some price."

He had made his stance clear. So long as they could attain sainthood, everything else was negotiable.

Tongtian had always been forthright.

"There's no harm in asking!"

"That Wu Ming truly is exceedingly mysterious. Perhaps he really does know something."

"It's still better than us blindly racking our brains here!"

Primordial Lord snorted coldly and said nothing, but neither did he openly object.

He, too, was weighing it in his heart. Wu Ming was indeed unfathomable.

If he truly knew the mysteries of Hongmeng Purple Qi, then asking him about it was not out of the question.

It was merely a matter of pride...

Laozi finally nodded slowly. "Good. Wu Ming is indeed no ordinary person."

"Since Junior Sister Nuwa has proposed it, let us make a trip to Buzhou Mountain and ask him."

"If he can truly point us out of this maze, we will naturally repay him."

His words gave everyone ample room to save face.

The group reached a consensus.

Without further delay, six figures shot out from Mount Sumeru, flying straight toward Buzhou Mountain.