Unexpected Treasure

"Waaah! I can't stop!"

Su Miao squeezed her eyes shut in terror, her little arms and legs flailing wildly. Wind howled past her ears, while the cold, hard Jade Wall rapidly loomed larger in her senses!

At that critical moment, the Chaos Bead that had been quietly floating deep within her Sea of Consciousness, only preliminarily refined, suddenly erupted with radiance!

It was not dazzling brilliance, but a deep, restrained chaotic glow that flashed fiercely like the beat of a heart!

An indescribable, faint Dao resonance that seemed capable of disrupting space-time and twisting the Rules instantly spread out. It was neither an active attack nor defense, but rather...

An instinctive interference to protect its master!

The instant before Su Miao crashed into the Jade Wall, the space a foot before her strangely creased, so slightly it was nearly imperceptible!

It was as though an invisible, intangible film that distorted light and shadow had appeared for an instant, then vanished.

"Puff—"

A muffled thud rang out. It was not the sound of striking a hard Jade Wall and shattering, but rather like crashing into a cool, slick mass of water with extraordinary resilience.

Su Miao felt an enormous yet gentle force envelop her entire body, absorbing and dissolving all the force of her forward charge. It even carried a reverse supporting force, setting her steadily back on the ground without a single injury.

Still shaken, she opened her eyes and instinctively reached forward with her little hand.

What met her fingers was not the cold Jade Wall, but a triangular small banner floating before it. It was roughly palm-sized, deep and dark blue all over, its banner seeming to be condensed from the essence of ten thousand waters. Mysterious black lotus patterns were embroidered across it.

At that moment, the little banner swayed gently without wind, radiating a soft water-blue glow and a tranquil aura that seemed capable of commanding all the waters beneath heaven.

What had saved her just now was precisely the mass of Innate Water Essence Qi formed when the banner unfurled on its own.

[Profound Origin Water Control Banner! One of the Five Innate Flags. It obscures Qiankun and blankets the sky, driving back all evils; ten thousand arts cannot breach it!]

A segment of Inherited Memories surfaced automatically, explaining the banner's illustrious renown.

"A banner?"

Su Miao blinked and curiously poked the soft banner surface with a finger.

The little banner swayed lightly. It seemed not to reject her at all, instead sending her a faint, affectionate thought.

It had originally been formed from the water essence of the Innate Five Elements. Sensing the incomparably pure aura of the Pure World White Lotus Origin upon Su Miao, and with their water attributes being similar, it was naturally drawn close to her.

"You saved me? Thank you!"

Su Miao's face immediately lit up with joy. She thought this little banner was both pretty and powerful—and it had even saved her.

She tried using the method from when she had refined the Chaos Bead, separating off a thread of weak Spiritual Sense and sending it toward the little banner.

Sure enough, the Profound Origin Water Control Banner did not resist. Instead, it actively guided her Spiritual Sense, allowing her to leave an imprint upon its core Restriction with incredible ease. The process was far simpler and smoother than refining even the first layer of the Chaos Bead's Restriction!

After all, their attributes were similar, and it had saved her life.

With a thought, the Profound Origin Water Control Banner transformed into a water-blue streak of light and entered her body, quietly floating beside the Chaos Bead as it slowly nurtured itself.

"This is so fun!"

Having gained another Treasure, Su Miao was delighted beyond measure.

Recalling the strange occurrence when she had crashed over earlier, she raised her head to look at the Jade Wall.

At the spot where the Profound Origin Water Control Banner had floated, a narrow crack just wide enough for one person to pass through had unexpectedly appeared in the Jade Wall behind it, previously concealed by the banner's aura!

Faint five-colored radiance shone from within the crack, emitting an aura even more enticing and vaster than that of the Dragon Blood Flame Heart Fruit.

Her curiosity instantly overwhelmed her lingering fear.

Hunching over, Su Miao cautiously squeezed into the crack.

Beyond it was a small, naturally formed jade chamber.

At the center of the jade chamber stood a Stone Platform. There was nothing else atop it, only twenty-four Soul-Absorbing Orbs the size of dragon eyes, round and lustrous, blooming with five-colored radiance.

They slowly circled and danced along some mysterious trajectory. Within every orb seemed to lie a vast, boundless ocean world—heavy and majestic, yet with its radiance held inward.

[Twenty-Four Sea Calming Beads! Innate Spiritual Treasure. They emit five-colored radiance, dazzling an enemy's spirit and five senses. Their might is immense, akin to the Four Seas Power!]

The Inherited Memories once more dutifully provided an explanation.

"Wow! So many pretty marbles!"

Su Miao's huge eyes were instantly filled with five-colored radiance. In her eyes, these terrifying Spiritual Treasures capable of smashing a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal until their head was covered in bumps were no different in essence from the glittering stones she had picked up earlier. They were merely prettier and rounder!

She stretched out her chubby little hand, intending to grab them.

The Twenty-Four Sea Calming Beads seemed to sense a stranger approaching. Their five-colored radiance immediately surged, and a mountain-heavy pressure spread outward, enough to instantly crush an ordinary True Immortal flat!

Yet Su Miao merely felt a little "crowded," as if she had entered a room packed with people and felt slightly uncomfortable, nothing more.

The Bellyband formed from the Ninth-Rank Pure World Lotus Petal upon her body silently flowed with a flash of pure white light, protecting her.

More importantly, the Chaos Bead in her Sea of Consciousness gave another faint tremor. A thread of chaotic aura spread out, and the five-colored radiance that could have dimmed the sun and moon, upon touching that trace of chaotic aura, became as docile as ministers before their sovereign. Its pressure vanished completely!

Utterly unaware of this, Su Miao smoothly seized all twenty-four beads one by one in her hands. They were cool and slick, and felt wonderful to hold.

Her playful nature stirred, and she even tried tossing and catching them twice like pebbles, finding these "marbles" pleasingly weighty and substantial.

Once she had played enough, a thought sent the twenty-four Sea Calming Beads—which would make most of the Prehistoric World fight until their heads bled—and the earlier Innate Geng Metal Essence, Cinnabar Fruit, and other "junk" together, taking up a tiny corner of the Chaos Bead's space.

Satisfied, Su Miao crawled back out through the crack. Looking at the sky, she discovered that without her noticing, the heavens had already begun to darken.

The sky above the Immortal Island did not darken. Instead, it turned a deep lapis purple. Hundreds of millions of stars began to emerge, set into the velvet curtain like diamonds. Their starlight complemented the misty Spiritual Qi drifting across the island, beautiful as a dream or illusion.

But no matter how beautiful the view, it could not overcome the waves of drowsiness washing over her.

After a whole day of playing, being frightened, and reaping rewards, immense exhaustion surged into her heart.

She gave a little yawn and rubbed her eyes.

Sleep!

It was time to sleep!

But... where was she supposed to sleep?

Though the island had many pavilions and towers, they all seemed so far away—and empty, cold, and lifeless.

Her little head whirred, and her gaze finally settled on the pool from which she had come, where the warm and comfortable Sun-Moon-Star Divine Radiance still flowed.

That was where she had taken form. It felt like home.

An idea came to her in a flash.

She ran back to the pool's edge, trying hard to recall the feeling of "returning to the origin" from when she had taken form. Then, she attempted to circulate her mana in reverse.

—Not turning into a human, but changing back into... a lotus!

The origin of the Pure World White Lotus within her stirred, releasing a pure, gentle white radiance.

The next moment, the little girl standing by the pool in her warm orange bellyband swiftly blurred and faded. At last, she transformed into a Twelve Petals Pure World White Lotus roughly three feet tall, crystalline white from root to tip, its buds yet to bloom. Swaying softly, it slowly sank into the Three Lights Divine Water, its roots naturally spreading out and taking root once more in the Spiritual Vein at the bottom of the pool.

Warmth, comfort, and safety enveloped every petal, every thought.

It was as though she had returned to the warmest cradle.

The vast, gentle energy in the pool spontaneously nourished her body and soul, mending those minute traces of damage.

The white lotus swayed lightly, as if nodding, and soon fell into a deep, sweet sleep.

Above the pool, only the graceful phantom of a lotus remained, tranquil and beautiful beneath the glow of starlight and divine water.

At an endlessly lofty height, the will of the Primordial Heavenly Dao silently watched everything.

It watched as that Little Ancestor finally settled down, returned to her original form, and fell asleep;

It watched as she stuffed the Twenty-Four Sea Calming Beads and the Profound Origin Water Control Banner away as though she were collecting junk;

It watched as, though ignorant and reckless, she had ultimately relied on the protection of her own origin and that strange bead to emerge from danger unscathed—and even possessed Deep Fortune.

[At last... some peace.]

Within that intangible, incorporeal will, there seemed to be a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterward, that strand of will which had been closely watching Mount Fangzhang slowly withdrew, no longer keeping a constant eye on the sleeping white lotus.

It was not that it would no longer watch over her. Rather, after observing her for the day, it had tentatively confirmed that although this anomaly could certainly stir up trouble, her nature was not bad. She possessed Deep Fortune, as well as the means to protect herself and the destiny to grow.

The Primordial World was vast, with tides of tribulation surging beneath the surface. As the Heavenly Dao, it had to maintain the balance of heaven and earth, sort through countless Laws, and preside over many major matters. It could not forever keep its eyes on a single hatchling.

Especially when it considered the current state of the Primordial World, the Heavenly Dao's vast, detached, impartial will grew ever more solemn and majestic.

Though the Dragon-Han Primordial Tribulation had come to an end, the damage caused by the bloody war among the three clans and by the conflicts stirred up by Devil Ancestor Luohu had already sunk deep into the foundations of the Primordial World.

The Spiritual Veins of the West lay shattered, the earth was scarred everywhere, the resentment of All Spirits had yet to dissipate, and countless karmic threads were tangled together like a chaotic skein, urgently awaiting sorting and pacification.

These were all wounds upon the world Pangu had opened. If they were not guided and mended, even greater calamities might arise.

And though Devil Ancestor Luohu had been defeated by Hongjun, his body and Dao extinguished, the demonic thoughts he left behind still lurked in the dark corners of the Primordial World. The conflict of the demonic path had not been completely brought to an end.

The Heavenly Dao was utterly impartial, treating all things as straw dogs. Yet the deeds of the demonic path defied Heaven and violated reason, existing solely for destruction and ruin. If allowed to grow unchecked, it would surely lead the Primordial World toward extinction. That was absolutely not a sight the Heavenly Dao wished to see.

Thus, it subtly guided fate, granting Hongjun an opportunity and allowing him to obtain those damaged fragments of the Creation Jade Disk.

For he had been born from clear qi, upheld the Righteous Path, held all living beings in his heart, and possessed great perseverance and great wisdom. He was the one and only choice to complete the Heavenly Dao, enlighten the Primordial World, and resist the demonic miasma.

The Heavenly Dao was without emotion and did not show favoritism for private desires;

Yet the Heavenly Dao was also utterly impartial, choosing for the continued existence of heaven and earth.

Hongjun's path was the sliver of life the Heavenly Dao had deduced amid countless tribulations, and it was also an inevitability in the evolution of the Primordial World.

[The vastness of the Primordial World and the tribulations of all living beings are what matter most at present. This place... shall be left as it is for now.]

After one final "look" at the Pure World White Lotus sleeping serenely amid starlight and divine water, the Heavenly Dao's vast will completely withdrew, merging into the unseen Great Dao. It continued to turn the Rules, balance yin and yang, and lay out the long game of chess that concerned the future of the Primordial World.

Outside Mount Fangzhang, the light of the invisible Primordial Guardian Array flickered faintly. Soundlessly, it strengthened itself by another degree, concealing the entire Immortal Island more tightly amid the waves of the East Sea and the turbulent currents of the void, sealing off within and without.

Within the island, all was silent. Only starlight spilled down, divine water murmured, and a white lotus gently unfurled its leaves in its dreams.

Within the Chaos Bead, the Twenty-Four Sea Calming Beads and the Profound Origin Water Control Banner floated silently, their treasure-light contained within.