Nuwa's heart was rocked by stormy waves, yet her expression remained unchanged.
But the ripples in her deep eyes took a long time to subside.
Innate Breathing Soil! Innate Gourd Vine! Buzhou Mountain!
These three words engraved themselves into her mind like brands.
Especially the words "create humans." They stirred an indescribable tremor deep within her Dao heart, as though she had touched some heavenly mandate vitally connected to her very life.
And Qingxuan's inner voice had once again accurately predicted her actions.
She had indeed sensed something. It seemed that a treasure fated to be hers was about to emerge in the direction of Buzhou Mountain, which was why she had planned to enter seclusion, adjust her condition, and investigate.
He even knows exactly what treasure it is... and even knows what it does?
Nuwa looked at Qingxuan's face, which said, "I just woke up and don't know anything," and felt that it was both utterly absurd and utterly shocking.
[But wouldn't it be a little too early for Master to go to Buzhou Mountain now?]
[Isn't that place the territory of the Kirin Race? Although the Kirin Race is currently being harshly suppressed by the Dragon Race and Phoenix Race working together, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. There'll definitely be plenty of trouble.]
[Besides, that gourd vine isn't ready to emerge yet. Master had better not make a wasted trip or run into danger.]
Hearing the concern in his inner voice, Nuwa's shock eased slightly, replaced by a trace of warmth.
This rebellious disciple still has a bit of a conscience.
Her original plan had indeed been to head straight to Buzhou Mountain, but Qingxuan's inner voice had reminded her.
Although the Kirin Race had declined, its ancestral land, Buzhou Mountain, was still not a place one could wander into at will. Moreover, the emergence of a treasure could trigger a struggle over it.
"My senses tell me something is there. I need to enter quiet seclusion for a while and stabilize my state of mind before I can proceed."
Nuwa temporarily changed her explanation.
"You'll be staying here alone. Don't cause trouble."
"This disciple will obey Master's orders!"
Qingxuan obediently agreed.
[Seclusion is great. Once Master enters seclusion, I can completely lie flat and peacefully activate my personal Primordial Spirit Gathering Array! Hehe, a personalized cheat gifted by the system. Just thinking about it gets me a little excited.]
The corner of Nuwa's eye twitched again. Primordial Spirit Gathering Array? What was that? It sounded much more advanced than her brother's Spirit Calming Dao Infusion Pearl. The secrets surrounding this rebellious disciple truly emerged one after another.
She gave Qingxuan a deep look without saying anything more. Her figure transformed into specks of flowing light and vanished on the spot, clearly returning to her core cave abode to enter seclusion.
After confirming that Nuwa had left, Qingxuan immediately jumped to his feet.
"System, system! Hurry! Where's my Primordial Salted-Fish Lying-Flat—ah, no, my Primordial Spirit Gathering Array? How do I activate it?"
[Ding! The host has been detected to possess an independent, safe environment. The requirements for 'lying flat like a salted fish' have been met. The Primordial Spirit Gathering Array (Basic) has been automatically activated. The host only needs to maintain a relaxed state of body and mind—adopting a lying position is recommended—to enjoy the array's enhancement.]
"So intelligent? Five-star review!"
Qingxuan immediately fell backward without a second word, lying comfortably on the warm bluestone and striking the standard "collapsed salted fish" pose.
Almost the instant he lay down, spiritual energy a hundred times denser and purer than before silently gathered around him. Rather than surging in violently, it seeped into his limbs, meridians, and acupoints in gentle streams, even directly nourishing his Primordial Spirit.
This improvement was not forced infusion. It was more like the natural evolution of life's essence, proceeding smoothly and naturally without the slightest stagnation.
[Wow! This feels great! Is this the joy of going AFK? I don't even need to circulate my cultivation method. My cultivation just keeps rising on its own!]
[System, is this array reliable? Won't Master or Big Brother-in-Law discover it?]
[Ding! The host can rest assured. The array produced by this system is bound to the host's soul and draws upon the qi of the Primordial Source. It is silent and traceless. In the eyes of cultivators in this world, they will only believe that the host possesses extraordinary talent, is an Innate Dao Body, and resonates with the Great Dao, which is why his cultivation advances so quickly.]
"Awesome! The system is incredible!"
Qingxuan was completely reassured. He closed his eyes contentedly and felt his cultivation grow bit by bit.
[Since I'm idle anyway, why not take a nap? I've heard that the Great Powers of the Primordial World can sleep for several Epochs. When I wake up from this nap, I won't have become a Golden Immortal directly, will I?]
He genuinely fell asleep, his breathing even and a satisfied smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.
The bluestone beneath him had been warmed by the hot spring's steam. Spiritual energy swirled around him, flower fragrance filled the air, and wind chimes tinkled. It was simply the perfect sleeping environment.
In secret, Nuwa had been watching this place through a wisp of Divine Sense. At this moment, she was utterly dumbfounded.
She had not been at ease leaving Qingxuan alone, so she had left behind a wisp of Divine Sense to protect him in secret.
Then she witnessed an incredibly bizarre scene.
Her disciple, who claimed he would "work hard at cultivation," had lain down the instant she left.
And then... then he had fallen asleep?!
Just as she thought this rebellious disciple had succumbed to laziness again and was about to reveal herself and teach him a lesson, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
Although Qingxuan was asleep, the spiritual energy gathering around him had not diminished. Instead, it had become incredibly dense and pure, even forming a faint, nearly invisible spiritual mist that enveloped him.
His aura was growing at a steady and astonishing rate!
Heavenly Immortal mid-stage... Heavenly Immortal late-stage... Heavenly Immortal perfection...
In a mere few days, his cultivation had soared all the way up without encountering the slightest bottleneck!
Nuwa was completely bewildered.
She had never seen, nor even heard of, such a method of cultivation!
He could become stronger just by sleeping? What kind of heaven-defying foundation and fortune was this?
Could this be the effect of the "Primordial Spirit Gathering Array" he had mentioned?
The word "Primordial" represented the chaotic era before Heaven and Earth had been formed!
Just what was this rebellious disciple's background?
She recalled Qingxuan's inner voice mentioning "Innate Dao Body" and "resonating with the Great Dao."
Looking at the scene before her, it seemed... there really was something to it?
Nuwa withdrew that wisp of Divine Sense and continued her seclusion with complicated feelings.
She discovered that she still knew far too little about this disciple.
Still, that seemed like a good thing.
Time passed, and the Primordial World knew no years.
Nuwa's seclusion this time did not last long. She mainly adjusted her condition and sought to deduce the obscure opportunity.
Several months later, she emerged from seclusion.
The first thing she did was sweep her Dao Field with her Divine Sense, searching for Qingxuan's figure.
He was still by the hot spring, still on that same piece of bluestone.
That boy really was still sleeping...
Hmm?!
Nuwa's Divine Sense suddenly focused, and an incredulous expression appeared on her exquisite face.
A True Immortal! And a mid-stage True Immortal at that!
How long had it been? Not even half a year at most!
From a minor cultivator who had only just entered the Heavenly Immortal realm to a mid-stage True Immortal Great Power in one leap?
This cultivation speed was simply horrifying!
Even traveling from the Chaos to the flying shuttle wasn't this fast!
With a flash, she appeared beside the hot spring.
Qingxuan seemed to sense someone approaching. He opened his bleary eyes and, upon seeing Nuwa, yawned and lazily sat up.
"Master, you've come out of seclusion?"
[Yaaawn~ I slept so well. Why does Master's gaze look so strange? She looks like she saw something unbelievable.]
[Is there a flower on my face? Or did I drool?]
Nuwa drew a deep breath, forcefully suppressing her shock, and asked as calmly as possible,
"Qingxuan, your cultivation..."
Qingxuan's heart lurched.
[Oh no. I was so focused on lying flat and leveling up that I forgot my cultivation rising too quickly would arouse suspicion!]
Qingxuan composed himself and put on a few traces of confusion and innocence.
"Reporting to Master, this disciple doesn't know why either. I simply cultivated step by step as usual. Occasionally, when I fell asleep, I seemed to gain a better understanding of the principles of Heaven and Earth, and my cultivation rose without me realizing it. Perhaps the Spirit Calming Dao Infusion Pearl Martial Uncle gave me is especially effective?"
He shifted the blame to Fuxi's gift and his own constitution.
Nuwa fell speechless.
Although the Spirit Calming Dao Infusion Pearl was excellent, it absolutely could not possess such heaven-defying effects!
As for comprehending the Dao while asleep? That was even more unheard of!
But when she looked at Qingxuan's sincere yet slightly uneasy gaze and recalled his mysterious, unfathomable inner voice, she suddenly felt that any strange thing happening to him could be understood.
Perhaps this was his Dao.
A Dao of the salted fish that could grow stronger just by lying down?
Nuwa suddenly found it somewhat amusing, and somewhat relieving.
She no longer questioned him and merely said flatly,
"Hmm. It seems you truly are fated with this treasure, and it is also quite compatible with your constitution. This is your good fortune. Continue as you are."
Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, Master!"
[I passed! As expected, Master is so easy to fool... ah, no, I mean, Master is truly understanding!]
The corner of Nuwa's mouth twitched slightly. She decided to ignore the words "so easy to fool."
Her gaze swept across the area beside the hot spring. Suddenly, she waved her sleeve, and several unruly stones by the spring automatically reshaped themselves into a simple stone table and stone stools.
She took out a set of white jade tea utensils and some fragrant spiritual tea leaves.
"Sit down."
Nuwa took a seat on a stone stool first.
"Now that your cultivation has reached the True Immortal realm, you can be considered to have entered the hall. You need to consolidate your realm and comprehend the path ahead. Today, I will explain the key points of the True Immortal realm to you, along with some of the essentials of the path to Golden Immortality."
Qingxuan hurriedly sat down obediently.
[Master is personally brewing tea and giving me a lesson?]
[But True Immortal, Golden Immortal, and all that—can't I reach them just by lying down?]
Nuwa's hand paused slightly as she poured the tea, nearly spilling it.
She forcibly restrained the urge to knock him on the head and began explaining.
She explained the subject in a clear yet profound manner, expounding on the relationship between the laws of Heaven and Earth and the condensation of one's own Dao Fruit.
Sunlight passed through the hazy steam and fell across her serious profile, as though coating it in a sacred halo.
At first, Qingxuan was somewhat absent-minded, but as he listened, he was involuntarily drawn in.
As an Innate Divine Being, Nuwa's understanding of the laws of the Great Dao far surpassed his own. Many of her insights gave him the feeling of suddenly seeing the light, and even allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the power granted by his system.
[So that's how it is. A True Immortal is the initial condensation of the Dao Fruit, resonating with the laws of the outside world.]
[Master explains things so well!]
Hearing this inner voice, a trace of a smile passed through Nuwa's eyes, and she explained things with even greater care and detail.
Tea fragrance drifted through the air, while the sound of the Dao flowed like murmuring water.
The master and disciple sat facing each other and discussed the Dao—though Nuwa did most of the talking and Qingxuan did most of the listening. The atmosphere was unexpectedly more harmonious and tranquil than ever before.
As Nuwa looked at her disciple, who sometimes pondered and sometimes suddenly understood, and at the haze surrounding him that even she could not see through, she felt his inconceivably rapid cultivation. The initial desire to use him in her heart gradually faded, replaced by genuine master-disciple affection tinged with curiosity and protectiveness.
Perhaps accepting this disciple had truly been the most interesting—and most correct—decision of her long life.
Meanwhile, Qingxuan drank the Dao-awakening tea his Master had brewed, listened to a top-tier Great Power give him a private lesson, gazed at his Master's exquisite face, and felt his cultivation continuing to rise automatically.
[This salted-fish life is simply perfect!]
[Why does Master seem prettier and more pleasing to the eye every day? What should I do?]
Nuwa's hand trembled almost imperceptibly as she held the tea. A faint blush quietly spread across her jade-like earlobe.
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