A Guest at Phoenix Perch Mountain, Tongtian's Opportunity

"Dao Brothers, Nuwa greets you. I did not expect this opportunity here to have been claimed by you first. I apologize for the intrusion."

Nuwa, with her human body and snake tail, entered this place. Her beautiful eyes swept over the purple-blue Monster Summoning Gourd once. Though reluctant in her heart, she still gave Xuanyuan and Tongtian a slight bow, her attitude warm and friendly, with no intention of fighting for the opportunity.

"Daoist Nuwa, this..." Tongtian put away the Qing Ping Sword, but found himself at a loss for words.

That was just how he was. If you came at him hard, whether he knew you or not, he'd swing his sword without a second thought.

But Nuwa was so polite, making it clear from the start that she wouldn't contend for the opportunity—this left Tongtian somewhat flustered.

Simply put, Tongtian yielded to softness, not hardness.

"Meeting is fate. Daoist Nuwa, your words are a bit too distant."

"Since you have come here, it is destined that you have an affinity with this treasure. A gentleman does not take what another cherishes. This gourd and the gourd vine shall be yours to take. My brothers and I will not interfere."

Xuanyuan thought for a moment, then spoke with a smile.

To be honest, he was not lacking in a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure or two. Unless it was something like the Chaos Gourd, which aligned with his own Great Dao, everything else was just icing on the cake—nice to have, but not essential.

Comparatively, he had already been thinking about how to push Nuwa toward creating humanity, so naturally, he wouldn't take the gourd vine.

The Monster Summoning Gourd was fine, but at this moment, it contained no Monster Summoning Banner. Its value was far from comparable to the Kongtong Seal.

Since it was a chicken rib, he might as well make a favorable turn and give it away as a gift.

When these words were spoken, Tongtian was a bit surprised but said nothing. As for Nuwa, she was overjoyed. She took the gourd vine along with the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil beneath it.

Afterward, Nuwa mentioned that Fuxi was waiting outside and invited Xuanyuan and Tongtian to visit their newly relocated Dao field, Phoenix Perch Mountain.

Xuanyuan and Tongtian had originally set out this time to gain experience and exchange insights with fellow cultivators, thereby perfecting their own Great Dao. Now that they had received Nuwa's invitation, they followed the trend and agreed.

And so, the three left the empty special time-space, greeted Fuxi outside, and headed toward Phoenix Perch Mountain in the Eastern Land.

Not long after they left, two streams of pure Qi pierced through the special time-space that had hidden the gourd vine—the Grand Pure Qi and the Jade Pure Qi.

As the two streams of Qi intertwined, the figures of Laozi and Yuanshi slowly emerged.

The two had just returned from the depths of Chaos, their bodies still entwined with lingering chaotic energy. On their way back, a spiritual insight had struck them, sensing the Innate Spiritual Charm of the gourd vine, so they had followed the trace here.

"The Innate Restriction here remains, but the spiritual light of the treasure is gone. What a pity." Laozi raised his hand and swept it across the void, his Spiritual Sense spreading out to absorb all the residual Dao rhythms in the space. His tone carried a hint of regret.

Yuanshi, with sharp eyes, swept his gaze over the pit marks left by the gourd vine and frowned slightly. "It seems a Great Divine Power was here and took the spiritual gourd. My brothers and I returned from Chaos, but in the end, we were a moment too late. We have missed this opportunity for nothing."

"I wonder who it was, scraping the ground clean three feet deep—truly shameless!"

The two exchanged glances, both seeing a trace of regret in each other's eyes.

"Oh well. This trip to listen to the Dao in Purple Firmament Palace was still greatly rewarding. Besides, we obtained some Lesser Star Fruits, which can be bestowed upon our disciples."

Yuanshi shook his head, but in his heart, he thought of Xuanyuan and Tongtian, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

The two had missed the Purple Firmament Palace Preaching, so they surely hadn't obtained Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots like the Star Fruit Tree or the Immortal Apricot, right?

With that thought, the slight regret from arriving late and missing out faded into nothing.

"Since we are here, let us make the best of it."

Though he hadn't obtained the spiritual gourd, the residual Innate Restriction here still held value for contemplation. Laozi decided to sit cross-legged beneath the vine, using the lingering essence of this spiritual root to continue studying the Great Dao.

"Good."

Yuanshi nodded and closed his eyes to begin his own contemplation.

On the other side, Xuanyuan and Tongtian had already followed Fuxi and Nuwa to the Eastern Land, naturally unaware that Laozi and Yuanshi were still at Buzhou Mountain, picking at the meager leftovers.

The four Great Divine Powers set foot on Phoenix Perch Mountain. The mountain was shaped like a phoenix spreading its wings to soar. Above, it bore the clear heavens; below, it rested on Houtu. The mountain range stretched endlessly, its beginning and end unknown. Within the mountain, the mechanisms of Yin and Yang and the principles of creation were contained. Spiritual springs gurgled among the peaks, ancient wutong trees shaded the sky and sun, and Innate Spiritual Qi swirled like mist and clouds—truly worthy of being one of the rare Top-level Blessed Lands in the Primordial World.

They found a green stone platform and sat cross-legged. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, stirred by the auras of the four, converged spontaneously, forming an invisible barrier of Dao rhythms that isolated the disturbances of the outside world.

Fuxi was the first to raise his hand. His fingertips traced across the void, and Black and White Qi intertwined, evolving a phantom of the Innate Eight Trigrams.

The trigram symbols of Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui flickered. As the Yin and Yang lines flowed, they evolved the trajectories of all things in heaven and earth, yet they always exuded a trace of imperfection.

Fuxi's fingertip swept over the trigram diagram, and he let out a helpless sigh. "My Innate Eight Trigrams contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, but they lack a treasure to bear the origin and harmonize Yin and Yang. They are always one step short of the opportunity for perfection."

Hearing this, Xuanyuan fell into thought, a few guesses forming in his mind.

Though Fuxi had created the Innate Eight Trigrams and would later become Xi Huang of the Yao Race Heavenly Court, his Great Dao was in truth incomplete, lacking perfection. Thus, he was destined to face a calamity in the future.

Later, during the Witch-Demon War, he would suffer Death and Dao Annihilation. Only after passing through that disaster would a turning point come. A wisp of his true spirit would reincarnate into the human race, and in his second life, he would become one of the Three Sovereigns of humanity, enjoying the fortune of the human race and attaining the status of a Sub-Saint.

If, before the final great war erupted and the Yao Race Heavenly Court collapsed, he could use the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure River Diagram and Luo Book to suppress his fortune, he would surely walk a steadier path and would not need to undergo a second trial.

Hearing this, Nuwa furrowed her delicate brows. The Lesser Yin Qi at her fingertips merged into the hexagrams, blending with Fuxi's Lesser Yang Qi.

As the two Qi intertwined, the eight trigram symbols emitted a soft spiritual light. The mystery of Yin and Yang giving birth to each other flowed through the air, faintly merging, fully revealing the profound wonder of mutual generation.

Yet, still lacking a Treasure for Proving the Dao to bear it, the imperfection remained unfilled, and the vision gradually dissipated.

"When Chaos first parted, Two Forms were born; Four Symbols flowed and laid the Dao's foundation."

"Great Yin congeals, reflecting the moon's soul; True Fire hides cold, concealing deep mystery."

"Great Yang blazes, burning heaven and earth; the Golden Crow rides flames, ruling the myriad lands."

"Lesser Yang first rises, issuing wood's Qi; the Azure Dragon dives and leaps, stirring life's vigor."

"Lesser Yin slowly gathers, containing metal's essence; the White Tiger sinks in stillness, guarding the empty void."

"Extreme Prosperity Declines by Heavenly Law; Waxing and Waning, the Dao Does Not Shift."

"Yin and Yang Mutually Aid, Generating All Things; Four Symbols Shine Together, Stabilizing the Primordial."

Just then, Tongtian's aura suddenly surged, his eyes tightly shut as Grand Unity Magic Power and Yin Yang Qi wildly intertwined within his body. Watching Fuxi and Nuwa evolve Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang, he experienced a sudden enlightenment!

He was about to use Yin and Yang to evolve the Four Symbols, taking his own Dao Path a step further!

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Xuanyuan clapped and laughed.

Tongtian had already touched the threshold of the Golden Immortal of the Origin, merely lacking some opportunity and accumulation.

Earlier, atop Buzhou Mountain Peak, he had obtained the Water Fire Gourd of Yin Yang Mutual Aid, and now he was stirred by the Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang that Fuxi and Nuwa had evolved together.

It seemed that once he awoke, he would step into the realm of the Golden Immortal of the Origin.

Clang!

The 129,600 Zhang Yin Yang Ancestral Witch True Body rose from the ground, Black and White Dao Patterns coiling around it. His left eye reflected the softness of Lesser Yin, his right eye the firmness of Lesser Yang.

The fusion of Yin Yang Law aura and Ancestral Witch bloodline approached perfection, shaking the Wutong Leaves on Phoenix Perch Mountain into a fluttering descent.

"To borrow the deduction of us two siblings for enlightenment—Brother Tongtian's Dao Affinity is truly profound!"

Fuxi looked at Tongtian's Ancestral Witch True Body, his eyes filled with shock. Nuwa also gently nodded, the Lesser Yin Qi around her trembling slightly, clearly amazed by this sudden enlightenment.

What also astonished them was Tongtian's current cultivation—it was precisely the limit of Grand Unity Golden Immortal Perfection.

Such cultivation, even among the Three Thousand Purple Firmament Guests attending lectures at Purple Firmament Palace, none of the Great Divine Powers born in this era possessed it—except for ancient beings like Candle Dragon!