Just as Nuwa was feeling utterly helpless and falling into self-isolation,
Qingxuan's thoughts rang out again.
[Come to think of it, Nuwa really has treated me well.]
[Hongjun is still competing with Luohu for the position of Heavenly Dao's representative, and Hongjun hasn't distributed the treasures at Treasure Distribution Cliff yet. The Great Powers of the Primordial World are probably all penniless right now, except for Ancestor Minghe and those two birds on Sun Star.]
[This Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure is probably one of the few treasures Nuwa herself has.]
[Not to mention that she even gave me her inheritance cultivation technique.]
Nuwa proudly lifted her head.
Good. At least this rebellious disciple still has some conscience.
Who would have thought that Qingxuan's next words would shatter her defenses.
[Sigh, the affection of a beautiful woman is truly the hardest thing to bear!]
The veins on Nuwa's forehead throbbed.
It's a teacher's affection, a teacher's affection!
Bastard!
[Forget it. Who told me that you were the first person I met after emerging into the world?]
[From now on, I'll protect you. I absolutely won't let anyone scheme against you again.]
Hearing this, Nuwa's Dao heart trembled slightly.
Looking at Qingxuan's handsome features and gentle gaze, she unconsciously tensed.
She instinctively shifted her gaze away, no longer daring to meet Qingxuan's eyes.
Rebellious disciple. All you know is how to make grand claims.
You're only at the Heavenly Immortal realm, yet you want to protect me?
[Whoa, why is Master blushing? So cute.]
[The way you look really goes against the image of Empress Nuwa.]
Nuwa pursed her lips.
"Your teacher is tired. Stay here and cultivate properly."
With that, Nuwa vanished before Qingxuan's eyes.
"Farewell, Master."
Qingxuan sat cross-legged atop a cloud, his eyes tightly shut.
He looked as though he was cultivating, but in truth, he simply couldn't focus.
That was perfectly normal.
After all, Qingxuan was Tongtian Jianmu. Ever since Pangu created the world, he had remained inside the great formation. After transmigrating here, Qingxuan no longer knew how much time had passed.
For such a long time, no one had spoken to him, no one had accompanied him, and he had been trapped alone inside the great formation.
The fact that Qingxuan hadn't gone mad was already quite impressive.
That was why his thoughts were so active. He had truly been holding them in for far too long.
After who knew how much time, he had finally met a living being—and she was none other than the peerlessly beautiful Empress Nuwa.
If Qingxuan could calm down, it would practically be a ghost story.
Qingxuan's thoughts were drifting when he suddenly heard the voice of the Primordial Slacker System in his mind.
[Host, Nuwa's troubles are far from ordinary. With your current strength, you're still nowhere near capable of protecting her.]
Qingxuan curled his lips.
"I know, of course. Several Sages are joining forces to scheme against her, and that old bastard Hongjun is pulling the strings from behind the scenes."
The system continued.
[Host, you're mistaken. The one who truly wants to scheme against Nuwa is the Heavenly Dao.]
"The Heavenly Dao?"
Qingxuan was stunned for a moment.
He quickly understood.
"Because of Humanity."
Though it was phrased as a question, Qingxuan was basically certain that this was the reason.
The system's reply confirmed his guess.
[That's right, Host. When the Heavenly Dao was born, because of Great God Pangu's negligence and because the Chaos Demon Gods who had perished during the creation of the world were unwilling to accept their fate, they gathered together and polluted the Heavenly Dao with their lingering wills. This caused the Heavenly Dao to be incomplete and gave rise to self-awareness.]
[It wanted to devour the other two Daos to complete itself.]
[In the Primordial World, only Nuwa primarily cultivated the Law of Creation, giving her the possibility of awakening Humanity and becoming the Lord of Humanity.]
[Therefore, the Heavenly Dao made Nuwa become a Heavenly Dao Sage. As long as Nuwa became a Heavenly Dao Sage, she would never be able to control Humanity.]
After hearing the system's explanation, Qingxuan nodded in understanding.
That made everything fit together.
In the original course of events, the Human Race was slaughtered by the demon race to refine the Witch-Slaying Sword.
Of the ten billion members of the Human Race, fewer than one in ten survived.
Nuwa couldn't possibly have been unaware of such a major event. By then, she was already a Heavenly Dao Sage.
Therefore, the Heavenly Dao forbade her from intervening.
Otherwise, Nuwa knew that she had achieved Sagehood by creating the Human Race, and that the Human Race was the foundation of her Dao. How could she have allowed the demon race to slaughter the Human Race at will?
Because of this incident, the Human Race's faith in Nuwa was greatly reduced.
As the Human Race's faith diminished, the destiny she obtained naturally weakened as well, making it even less likely that Humanity could be awakened.
Perhaps Nuwa had already discovered the Heavenly Dao's conspiracy at that time.
That was why she arranged for Fuxi to reincarnate as a Human Sovereign.
Unfortunately, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were jointly imprisoned by the Five Sages in Fire Cloud Cave.
The subsequent Investiture of the Gods Tribulation further weakened the Human Race's destiny.
The Ninety-Nine Human Sovereigns were reduced to the Ninety-Five Heavenly Sons.
The Human Race bowed its head to Heaven.
From that point onward, Humanity had completely lost any possibility of rising again.
Thus, although Nuwa had been the second Sage after Hongjun and possessed the destiny of the entire Human Race, she eventually became the weakest among the Six Sages.
That was why she had secluded herself in Wa Huang Palace and no longer emerged.
After thinking through all these matters, Qingxuan's gaze grew profound.
[Don't worry. This time, you have me. I definitely won't let the Heavenly Dao's conspiracy succeed. I'll protect you and won't let you end up in that state.]
Nuwa, who secretly heard Qingxuan's thoughts, felt ripples spread through her heart.
This rebellious disciple is quite reassuring when it comes to major matters.
Qingxuan continued pondering how to resolve the Heavenly Dao's conspiracy.
After much thought, the simplest method was to prevent Nuwa from sitting on one of the six fate-appointed meditation cushions.
As long as she did not become a Sage controlled by the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao would have no way to control Humanity.
But if he did that, there was a high chance that old bastard Hongjun would kill him on the spot.
The second method was to bypass the Heavenly Dao and directly summon the Great Dao when Nuwa created the Human Race and attained Sagehood.
The Great Dao was impartial and selfless. If they could do that, she could also escape the Heavenly Dao's control.
But how could that be easy? The Great Dao was lofty beyond measure. It wasn't something that could be summoned just because one wanted to summon it.
Just as Qingxuan was worrying, the Primordial Slacker System spoke again.
[Host, I do have a method. Tongtian Jianmu is inherently connected to the Great Dao. You can use your faint connection with the Great Dao to try to draw down the power of the Great Dao at the critical moment when Nuwa creates the Human Race and attains Sagehood.]
Qingxuan's eyes lit up. This might actually work.
But he also understood that the risks were enormous. If anything went wrong, both he and Nuwa would be doomed forever.
Still, for the sake of protecting Nuwa and breaking the Heavenly Dao's conspiracy, he decided to give it a try.
Once he had settled on the plan, Qingxuan's mood relaxed as well.
[Master, I've gone to such lengths to plan for your sake. You'd better repay me properly in the future.]
[Giving birth to eight or ten children for me wouldn't be too much, would it? Di Jun on Sun Star had ten children in a single birth.]
Nuwa gave a light spit. What does he mean, eight or ten? That's far too many.
No, wait. Who would want to give birth to his children?
This rebellious disciple.
Although she cursed him endlessly in her heart, Nuwa had already begun imagining the children she and Qingxuan might have.
They would surely be incredibly adorable children.
Time quietly passed amid the wild thoughts of master and disciple.
Soon.
They arrived at Nuwa's Dao Field.
Before you continue