Chapter 18

"Last time we fought, he had indeed held back. If he had attacked with his full strength, I would probably have long since been obliterated in body and soul." King Father of the East thought to himself, breaking out in a cold sweat.

The Three Pure Ones beside him wore extremely grim expressions.

Pangu's Three Pure Ones possessed extraordinary talent, yet Dao Ancestor Hongjun had already attained the Dao before them.

Then another mysterious Hunyuan powerhouse had appeared, and they had accepted that as well.

But Li Peng, who had once listened to the Dao alongside them in Purple Sky Palace, had actually surpassed them by far.

Even more unacceptable was that he possessed an Innate Supreme Treasure!

Such strength, such fortune!

In an instant, the Three Pure Ones' confidence and pride suffered a severe blow.

The other great powers were also utterly stunned, unable to recover for a long while.

The next moment, the Chaos Yin-Yang Pagoda flew out on its own and met the Chaos Bell head-on.

Boom—!

After the deafening impact, everyone saw the Chaos Bell sent flying away, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Tai Yi spat out blood, his face filled with disbelief.

Clearly, he had suffered no minor injuries from that strike.

Seeing this, Di Jun hurried forward and asked, "Tai Yi, how are your injuries?"

"It is nothing, just a minor wound." Tai Yi waved a hand and forced himself to remain composed.

The great powers present were all deeply shocked by the sight.

"The Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Bell, was actually knocked away in a single blow? Could Li Peng's pagoda be even stronger than the Chaos Bell?" an unknown peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal cried out.

Laozi sighed and said, "It is not that the Chaos Bell is inferior to that pagoda. Rather, Fellow Daoist Li Peng's cultivation is far above Tai Yi's."

After saying that, he told Yuanshi and Tongtian, "Second Brother, Third Brother, let us go."

Yuanshi did not understand. "Big Brother, why are we leaving?"

Tongtian also revealed a puzzled expression.

Laozi sighed helplessly. "Fellow Daoist Li Peng's strength is already beyond our ability to oppose. Even if every great power here joined forces, the outcome would not change."

Unwilling to accept this, King Father of the East shouted, "Fellow Daoist Laozi, you think too highly of him! I refuse to believe that so many of us cannot do anything to him alone!"

Laozi shook his head. "Even the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Bell, could not break that pagoda's defenses. Can you? Or is there anyone present who can?"

King Father of the East immediately fell silent.

He, too, recalled the terrifying defensive power of the supreme treasure in Li Peng's hands.

"Let us go." Laozi's tone was indifferent.

With that, he rode a cloud and flew directly toward Kunlun Mountain.

Yuanshi and Tongtian had originally wanted to test whether the combined strength of everyone could break through that pagoda-shaped supreme treasure's defenses.

But seeing that their eldest brother had already left, they could only give up.

Laozi's long-standing authority meant that Yuanshi and Tongtian did not dare defy their elder brother's wishes.

The two followed Laozi away on clouds.

Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun exchanged a glance. Without saying much, they too departed on clouds.

When the great powers present saw that top figures such as the Three Pure Ones, Zhen Yuanzi, and Hong Yun had all left,

they all turned their gazes toward Di Jun, Tai Yi, and King Father of the East.

Li Peng also looked at them.

Facing everyone's attention, Di Jun and Tai Yi's expressions changed several times. In the end, they could only sigh and depart on clouds.

Seeing that Di Jun and Tai Yi had also left, King Father of the East felt helpless and departed as well.

Seeing that the top great powers of the prehistoric world had all gone, Li Peng turned his gaze toward those Grand Unity Golden Immortals and cultivators who had only recently entered the Quasi-Saint realm.

"You also wish to contend with me for these Innate Gourds?" Li Peng's tone was filled with killing intent.

Hearing this, the remaining people did not dare linger and hurriedly fled on clouds.

In the blink of an eye, only Li Peng and Nuwa remained.

Seeing Li Peng frighten off the assembled heroes with a single sentence,

a look of admiration could not help appearing on Nuwa's face.

At the same time, she sighed inwardly over her insufficient cultivation, which had left her unable to help Li Peng at all.

While she was lost in thought, Li Peng walked over and said, "Take a look. Which of these gourds is your destined opportunity?"

The meaning was clear. As long as Nuwa chose one, he would give it to her.

Moved, Nuwa thought, So Big Brother Li seized all these gourds so forcefully for my sake.

Though touched, she still said reservedly, "Big Brother Li risked his life to obtain these. I cannot accept one."

She did not notice that the way she addressed Li Peng had already changed from "Fellow Daoist Li" to "Big Brother Li." Clearly, what had happened earlier had greatly increased her affection for him.

If there were some way to measure affection, it would surely show that Nuwa's affection for Li Peng had already surpassed ninety. All that remained was a confession for good things to come to fruition.

Hearing Nuwa refuse, Li Peng smiled. "What nonsense are you talking about? I seized these treasures for you in the first place."

As he spoke, he gently stroked Nuwa's hair.

Hearing this and feeling the warmth of his palm,

Nuwa's cheeks immediately flushed crimson.

Seeing that Nuwa did not resist at all, Li Peng knew that she truly had feelings for him.

Otherwise, how could she permit him to make such an intimate gesture?

However, he did not go too far. His hand only lingered briefly in Nuwa's hair before withdrawing.

After all, he still did not know exactly how much affection Nuwa had for him.

When the warmth atop her head suddenly vanished, a faint and indescribable sense of loss swept through Nuwa's heart.

However, that strange feeling disappeared in an instant.

She approached the row of gourds and carefully sensed them. In the end, she pointed at a purple-blue gourd. "This one seems to share the deepest fate with me."

Li Peng glanced at the gourd and said with a smile, "Since you are fated with it, take it when it matures."

As he spoke, he placed the already mature purple-red gourd into his system space.

Time passed, and 2,450 years slipped away quietly.

Six of the seven gourds on the vine had fully matured and were collected separately by the two of them.

The purple-black gourd before them was the last one, yet it was much smaller than the previous six and appeared underdeveloped. Even the seven-colored Gourd Vine showed signs of withering.

" The Gourd Vine's origin is nearly exhausted. I fear this last one cannot be fully nurtured." Nuwa sighed softly.

Li Peng smiled faintly and took out a jade bottle from his system space.

He stepped forward and poured several drops of water from the bottle, each gleaming with golden, silver, and purple light.

Nuwa was still wondering what he intended to do when she saw the tri-colored droplets sink into the roots of the Gourd Vine.

In an instant, the previously wilted vine regained vigorous vitality, while the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth surged toward it like a tide.

"Th-this is Three Lights Divine Water!" Nuwa cried out in disbelief.

She never imagined that Li Peng could casually take out even such a supreme healing treasure.

Seeing Li Peng nod calmly, Nuwa hurriedly grabbed his wrist. "Stop! Do you know how precious Three Lights Divine Water is?"

Li Peng pretended not to understand. "Is this thing very rare?"

"Of course! Every single drop is priceless!" Nuwa said firmly.

"But I have an entire lake of Three Lights Divine Water. I always thought it was nothing rare, and I often use it to make tea!" Li Peng said with an innocent expression.

Hearing this, Nuwa froze in place, the words "an entire lake" and "make tea" repeatedly echoing in her mind.

Li Peng ignored her reaction and continued watering the Gourd Vine.

After a while, Nuwa finally came back to her senses.

The moment she saw that Li Peng was still watering the Gourd Vine, she immediately reached out and snatched the jade bottle from his hand.

"You have watered it for so long already. The Gourd Vine has long since recovered. Something this precious cannot be wasted anymore." Nuwa clutched the jade bottle tightly, her face full of distress.

Seeing her like this, Li Peng could not help teasing, "Have you noticed that you look exactly like a housekeeper now?"

"A housekeeper? What does that mean?" Nuwa asked in confusion.

"A housekeeper is..." Li Peng explained with a smile.

After hearing his explanation, Nuwa's cheeks immediately turned red. Covering her face, she turned and walked away.

Seeing how adorable she looked, Li Peng could not help laughing loudly.

Time flew by, and six hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. The final purple-black gourd finally matured.

Li Peng directly dug up the Gourd Vine together with the soil beneath it.

Nuwa was somewhat puzzled by his actions, but she did not ask.

Not long afterward, Li Peng had dug out the entire Gourd Vine and all the soil.

At the moment he dug out the Gourd Vine and soil, the system's notification sounded:

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining seven gourds, the Gourd Vine, and the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil beneath the Gourd Vine. Choice Three completed!

Reward obtained: Twelve-Grade World-Destroying Black Lotus, Yin-Yang Laws each increased by 20%."

As the system's voice fell silent, countless insights into the Yin-Yang Law flooded into Li Peng's mind.

In an instant, he sank into comprehending the Yin-Yang Law.

At that moment, Yin-Yang energy throughout heaven and earth surged toward Li Peng, while waves of Yin-Yang Law fluctuations spread from his body.

Seeing him like this, Nuwa immediately understood that he had entered a state of enlightenment.

Her expression instantly turned serious. She formed seals with both hands, preparing to set up a concealment formation and a simple defensive formation here to prevent any great power from taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

However, Nuwa had barely begun arranging the formations when Li Peng awoke.

Although only a brief moment had passed outside, within the state of enlightenment, Li Peng felt as if he had experienced countless millennia and had comprehended an additional twenty percent of both Yin and Yang Laws.

Li Peng had wanted to remain immersed in the state of enlightenment, but the system detected that his Yin-Yang Laws had increased by twenty percent and forcibly pulled him out. No matter how he tried, he could not return to that state.

"Why did you wake up so quickly? Did I interrupt your enlightenment?" Nuwa asked somewhat **.

"No. I had already finished my enlightenment." Li Peng smiled and shook his head.

"It ended that quickly?" Nuwa's face was full of disbelief.

"Yes." Li Peng nodded with a smile.

But Nuwa thought Li Peng was comforting her. After all, when great powers in the prehistoric world entered enlightenment, it often lasted thousands or even tens of thousands of years. How could anyone finish in a mere moment like him? She became convinced that she had disturbed Li Peng and caused him to awaken early, and her heart immediately filled with guilt.

Seeing Nuwa's guilty expression, Li Peng did not know how to explain it, since he could not reveal the matter of the system. He could only change the subject. "This time, the harvest was truly enormous!"

As he spoke, he waved the Gourd Vine and the soil beneath it before Nuwa. At first, Nuwa did not pay attention, still caught up in self-reproach. But when she clearly saw the soil, shock immediately appeared on her face.

"This is Nine Heavens Breathing Soil!" Nuwa exclaimed.

"That is right." Li Peng nodded with a smile.

"How did you know there was Nine Heavens Breathing Soil underneath?" Nuwa asked curiously.

"I did not know." Li Peng answered frankly.

"You did not know? Then why did you dig up the soil too?" Nuwa looked unconvinced.

"Think about it. How could the soil beneath a place capable of nurturing seven Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures be ordinary?" Li Peng spread his hands, his tone calm.

Nuwa was speechless for a moment. She had not thought of such a simple truth.

Seeing Nuwa's dazed expression, Li Peng smiled and patted her head before taking her back to Three Immortal Island.

Time passed, and three thousand years went by in a hurry.

During these three thousand years, Li Peng used the Twelve-Grade World-Destroying Black Lotus to sever his Evil Corpse. His primordial spirit cultivation smoothly broke through to the Quasi-Saint Mid-stage.

His attribute panel was now as follows:

Name: Li Peng

Species: Golden Winged Great Peng

Dojo: Three Immortal Islands Overseas

Aptitude: Top-tier Chaos Demon God Aptitude

Cultivation Techniques: Ancestral Phoenix Art, Nine Revolutions Profound Technique (seventh layer, late stage), Yin-Yang Rotation Technique, Chaos Yin-Yang Art (not cultivated), Three Corpse Slaying Method (two corpses severed)

Three Corpse Avatars: Self-Corpse White Lotus Daoist, Evil-Corpse Black Lotus Daoist

Divine Ability: Innate Yin Yang Destruction Divine Light

Primordial Spirit Realm: Quasi-Saint Mid-stage

Physical Realm: Quasi-Saint Late Stage

Comprehended Laws: Law of Yin (60%), Law of Yang (50%)

Treasures: Innate Supreme Treasure Yin-Yang Pagoda, Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Merit Ruler, Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures Yin Yang Twin Swords, Yin Yang Two Forms Lamp, Yin-Yang Pearl, Twelve-Grade Purifying White Lotus, Purple Gold Gourd, Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd, Water-Fire Gourd, Immortal-Slaying Gourd, Purple-Green Gourd, Chaos Gourd, High-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures Universe Ruler, Purple Lightning Hammer, twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, and more.

Spiritual Roots: The foremost of the ten great Innate Spiritual Roots, Yellow Middle Plum, Gourd Vine, Tongtian Jianmu, Enlightenment Tea Tree, Purple Jade Fruit, Kirin Melon, and more.

Items: One drop of Pangu's Essence Blood, Nine Heavens Breathing Soil.

Evaluation: The strongest beneath the Saints.

Li Peng looked at his attribute panel and nodded in satisfaction.

He was now immensely wealthy. He possessed three treasures comparable to Innate Supreme Treasures, along with as many as nine Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures.

With such wealth, perhaps no one besides Dao Ancestor Hongjun could rival him.

Just as Li Peng was taking stock of his gains, Nuwa, Fuxi, Changxi, and Xihe arrived before the mountain peak where he had been in seclusion.