When Tongtian saw Nuwa's expression, he breathed a sigh of relief. The matter was settled.
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, the Sanxiao Fairies will follow you from now on. Once the child in your womb is born, they can return to Kunlun Mountain."
"This..."
Nuwa was delighted when she heard this and wanted to agree. She had been terribly bored at Mount Buzhou all these years, and having three lovely girls by her side would naturally be wonderful.
But they were Tongtian's disciples, and she could not steal them away from him. Besides, she was not good at teaching disciples, and keeping them by her side might delay the Sanxiao Fairies' cultivation. She began to hesitate.
Shen Hongfei sensed Nuwa's hesitation and grew anxious. He spoke up, "Mother, the three older sisters are so pretty. I like them a lot. Can we let them stay and play with me?"
Hearing the baby's words, Nuwa lightly bit her lip and made up her mind. She cupped her hands toward Tongtian and said, "Then thank you, Fellow Daoist Tongtian."
"Hahaha!"
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, there's no need to be so polite."
With the matter settled and the treasure having found its owner, the Three Pure Ones intended to leave. After giving the Sanxiao Fairies a few more instructions, they prepared to depart.
Just then, a faint fragrance wafted through the air, causing everyone present to feel invigorated. Streaks of blue light blossomed from somewhere on Mount Buzhou. Purple qi rose into the sky, immortal cranes flew together, and golden radiance filled the heavens. Clearly, a spiritual treasure was about to emerge.
A powerful premonition arose in the hearts of the Three Pure Ones. The treasure that was about to emerge would be of immense use to them.
"Why is it at Mount Buzhou again?!"
The Three Pure Ones roared inwardly. If this had been anywhere else, they would have been overjoyed and rushed over to claim the treasure. But this was Mount Buzhou, and that brat was right in front of them. There was a good chance he would demand it again.
Shen Hongfei was delighted when he saw this scene as well. If he was not mistaken, the treasure about to emerge was the Twelve-grade Fortune Green Lotus. There was also a spiritual pool there filled entirely with Three-Light Divine Water, one of the indispensable treasures Nuwa would need to create humanity.
Shen Hongfei also recalled that in his previous life, when the Three Pure Ones encountered the Twelve-Grade Fortune Green Lotus and prepared to pick it, it had suddenly split into three, transforming into three treasures: Laozi's shoulder pole, the Primordial Heavenly Lord's Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, and Tongtian's Qingping Sword. A poem had even echoed through the air: "The red flower, white lotus root, and green lotus leaf—the Three Pure Ones were originally one family."
When Shen Hongfei had heard this legend back then, he had found it ridiculous. At that time, the Three Pure Ones had not yet split apart and had no intention of doing so. Yet because of this incident, they believed it was ordained by destiny. After returning, they separated, and their relationship gradually grew distant. That was what led to the later scene of the Four Saints joining forces to attack Tongtian during the Investiture of the Gods.
He secretly speculated that someone must have been manipulating matters behind the scenes, all to divide the Three Pure Ones. In the Primordial World, the only person capable of scheming against the Three Pure Ones without being discovered was Hongjun. He cursed inwardly, That rotten old man is truly vicious!
In this life, the Three Pure Ones had treated him well. He could not let history repeat itself. He secretly glanced at the Three Pure Ones and thought, I can only apologize to you. I'm going to take your things again, but this is for your own good.
"Three uncles, why have you stopped again?"
After making up his mind, Shen Hongfei continued pretending to be cute and asked the Three Pure Ones in an innocent voice.
Before the Three Pure Ones could speak, Shen Hongfei deliberately dragged out his words, as though he had suddenly realized something. "Ah~ I know! You want to steal my family's things too!"
"Waaah!"
"Uncle Fuxi, come back quickly! Someone else is trying to steal our family's things again!"
"Dao Ancestor Hongjun, open your eyes and look! Someone is bullying children and women!"
When the Three Pure Ones saw Shen Hongfei using the same trick again, they could not help feeling a headache coming on. They wanted to drag the brat out and give him a thorough beating, but that was clearly impossible. They could only wait until the brat was born.
Primordial Heavenly Lord glanced at the location of the phenomenon, gritted his teeth, and decided not to take the treasure. He would simply treat it as a protective treasure for his disciple. Having made up his mind, he said, "Child, don't cry. No one will take your things."
Hearing this, the corners of Laozi's mouth twitched slightly. It was not that he did not want to give in. He was actually quite satisfied with Shen Hongfei and wanted to take him as a disciple. However, Primordial Heavenly Lord had been the first to express his intention to accept him, so Laozi could not openly compete for him.
He had originally planned to approach the child secretly. If he could persuade the child to take him as his master of his own accord, Primordial Heavenly Lord would have had nothing to say. But now, he and Tongtian had given up quite a few benefits, allowing Primordial Heavenly Lord to play the good person in front of the child while receiving all the credit, whereas he himself had gained no practical benefit at all. Thinking of this, he felt stifled.
"Really?"
"You really won't take my family's things?"
Shen Hongfei's innocent voice continued, filled with suspicion.
"Of course. How could I, your master, lie to you?"
Primordial Heavenly Lord spoke with absolute certainty.
"Haha, you're so nice. I like you."
"Mother, let's go quickly. If we're too late, someone might try to steal our family's things again."
Seeing this, Shen Hongfei hurriedly urged Nuwa on. Nuwa was both amused and exasperated when she heard him. She gave the Three Pure Ones an apologetic look, then took the Sanxiao Fairies toward the place where the spiritual energy was gathering.
The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances where they stood, sighed softly, and transformed into three streaks of escaping light as they followed. It was not that they regretted their decision; they simply could not accept leaving without seeing the spiritual treasure with their own eyes.
Soon, Nuwa brought the Sanxiao Fairies to a small valley. Spiritual energy swirled within it, immortal cranes danced gracefully in the sky, and hazy treasure light shimmered across a pool. A green lotus radiating azure light stood at the center of the water.
Every detail was perfectly clear, and fragrance filled the air.
"The Twelve-grade Fortune Green Lotus!"
It was the Three Pure Ones, who had arrived behind them, crying out in shock. Having been transformed from Pangu's Nascent Soul, they knew some secrets from their inherited memories. This object had been formed from one of the seeds of the Chaotic Green Lotus and contained supreme mysteries.
At that moment, the Three Pure Ones regretted their decision so deeply that their guts turned green. The aura revealed by the Twelve-grade Fortune Green Lotus was very likely that of an Innate Supreme Treasure, an existence comparable to the three treasures that had created the world. Yet they had simply given it away with a few words!
If they had known it was this spiritual treasure, they would never have made such a promise so easily. But they had already agreed, so they could only swallow their regret. They decided that next time, they absolutely could not let this brat lead them astray so easily.
"Hehe."
Shen Hongfei chuckled softly, then said to Nuwa, "Mother, let's move this entire pool away too. We can put it at Mount Fengqi so you can use it to bathe."
"And this lotus too. Pick off its petals and put them in the pool. Then you'll smell nice after bathing."
Hearing this, the Three Pure Ones cursed furiously inwardly. The water in the pool was Three-Light Divine Water, which possessed supreme creative power. Using it for bathing was an extreme waste, let alone breaking off the petals of an Innate Supreme Treasure to bathe with. Could anyone even break those petals off?
Nuwa's face flushed red, and she complained inwardly, Why does this child tell everyone everything?
The Sanxiao Fairies, however, had different thoughts. They wondered whether bathing in it might truly be possible, and thought that would be an excellent thing.
Unable to withstand the baby's urging, Nuwa came to the edge of the pool and waved her hand, releasing a streak of arcane light that enveloped the entire pool. She pulled it out, and a huge pit immediately appeared in the ground.
When the Three Pure Ones saw this, they thought that with this child around, the Primordial World would never be peaceful again. One huge pit after another would surely appear.
With everything here settled, the Three Pure Ones intended to leave. They still had many insights from listening to the Dao at Zixiao Palace that they had yet to digest, and they planned to return and continue their meditation.
"Sanxiao, you must serve Fellow Daoist Nuwa well. If Fellow Daoist Nuwa encounters danger, immediately crush the jade slips I gave you."
Tongtian looked toward the Sanxiao Fairies nearby and instructed them.
"This disciple understands!"
The Sanxiao Fairies all cupped their hands and bowed in response.
Tongtian nodded slightly and exchanged a glance with Yuanshi and Laozi. Together, they cupped their hands toward Nuwa and said, "Since that is the case, we shall take our leave. Until we meet again!"
Nuwa hurriedly returned the gesture. "Nuwa thanks the three Fellow Daoists once again. Until we meet again."
"Mm."
The Three Pure Ones nodded slightly. Five-colored auspicious clouds rose beneath their feet, carrying them into the air and out of the valley. A five-colored rainbow stretched across the sky as they headed toward Kunlun Mountain.
"Mother, let's go."
Shen Hongfei watched the Three Pure Ones leave, then spoke to Nuwa.
"Mm."
Nuwa looked at the pool above her head. Since she had no treasure capable of storing it, she could only ride an auspicious cloud while dragging the pool toward Mount Fengqi. From a distance, it looked like a small floating island drifting through the sky.
After returning to Mount Fengqi, Nuwa found an empty plot of land and used her magic power to create a large pit. She placed the pool inside it and planted the gourd spiritual root beside the pool before taking the Sanxiao Fairies back to her cave abode.
"Sanxiao, you may open cave abodes for yourselves here at Mount Fengqi. You need not trouble yourselves with anything in your daily lives. You only need to cultivate diligently."
Nuwa sat at the head of the cave abode and instructed the Sanxiao Fairies.
"If you have any questions about cultivation, you may come and ask me."
"Thank you, Senior."
Shen Hongfei felt that the way they addressed her sounded awkward, so he could not help speaking up. "From now on, just call Mother 'Goddess.'"
The Sanxiao Fairies nodded in agreement after hearing Shen Hongfei's words, then left Nuwa's cave abode to find places to live.
"Baby, you took all these treasures this time without giving any of them to the Three Pure Ones or the other great powers. What if you offended them?"
Before you continue