A smile of interest tugged at Nuwa's lips. "I can send you back right now. But before that, is there anything you need? Since I was indirectly responsible for your coming here, I'm willing to grant you one compensation."
Liu Bing had gradually recovered from his earlier bewilderment. He also realized that going back now would be like walking straight into a trap. He had been about to ask Empress Nuwa for help, but he hadn't expected her to generously offer compensation on her own.
A bold idea came to him, and he asked outright, "Could Empress Nuwa make me an immortal right here and now?"
"Oho, you've got quite the ambition." Nuwa teased him, then shook her head. "No. The path of cultivation is long and arduous. Only through your own unwavering effort can you truly achieve anything. Relying on outside help won't improve your own strength; it could even cause endless harm. You've heard of pulling up seedlings to help them grow, haven't you? So choose a different compensation."
After Nuwa's firm refusal, Liu Bing couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, but he quickly rallied. Still, aside from becoming an immortal, he couldn't think of anything else worth asking for. After all, he'd come to the Primordial World and had been offered compensation by Empress Nuwa. It would be a real shame not to pursue cultivation.
After all, only power you held in your own hands was truly yours. Any other compensation was insubstantial.
As Liu Bing racked his brains, inspiration suddenly struck. He looked at Nuwa and asked, "Empress Nuwa, if you can't make me an immortal right away, could you let me enter the Primordial World and cultivate?"
If you can't make me an immortal right away, could I cultivate on my own instead? As for the danger of entering the Primordial World, surely that wouldn't be a problem for Nuwa. She should be able to deal with it easily.
"That's possible. As long as you put in the effort yourself, I'll send you to the Primordial World and give you a cultivation manual. How far you get will be up to you." Nuwa nodded and waved her hand. Liu Bing vanished.
Houtu came over and asked, "Sister Nuwa, what's so interesting about that little fellow? You're actually willing to help him?"
"Hehe, you saw it too, didn't you? Why else would you have added so many interesting things when you reshaped his soul just now?" Nuwa glanced sidelong at Houtu.
Houtu presided over reincarnation and saw things even more clearly than Nuwa. Nuwa could see through reincarnation as well, but certainly not as effortlessly as Houtu. After all, Nuwa presided over Fortune.
Time passed, and ten thousand years slipped by in the blink of an eye. Yet, in the small space Nuwa had created, it felt as if only a moment had passed. Then Liu Bing appeared there once more.
Nuwa looked at Liu Bing, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Hmm, not bad. Reaching the immortal realm in just ten thousand years means you've got some talent."
Liu Bing gave a simple, sheepish grin, then bowed to Nuwa and thanked her respectfully. "Thanks to Empress Nuwa's kindness and help, I've been able to achieve what I have today. I'm truly grateful!"
Nuwa gently flicked her sleeve, and an invisible force enveloped Liu Bing.
"All right, enough with the pleasantries. Now that you've received your compensation, I'll send you back. One more thing: being bound to a system isn't entirely bad. As long as you can keep it under control, you can still get some benefits out of it. Some systems even sell Pangu Components. They're all fake, of course, but the energy and Dao contained in them are the real deal. You shouldn't pass up a bargain."
Liu Bing's mouth twitched. Pangu Components, really? After spending ten thousand years in the Primordial World, Liu Bing wasn't the clueless novice he'd been before. He knew at least a few things. For instance, Pangu, that great power, wasn't dead. He was still alive and doing very well. At least, when Liu Bing met him, Pangu had Liu Bing serve as his cook and housekeeper for a while.
As soon as Nuwa finished speaking, Liu Bing's vision blurred, and he vanished.
When Liu Bing came to, he found himself safe and sound in his bachelor apartment. He looked around at the familiar furnishings, overcome by the feeling that he'd returned from another lifetime. After all, it had been ten thousand years.
Those ten thousand years had seemed to pass in a flash, but they'd been incredibly eventful for Liu Bing.
It seemed that everyone in the Primordial World knew Nuwa had sent him there to cultivate. As a result, all the famous figures looked out for him to some extent.
During that time, he'd met many great powers—or, rather, those great powers had come out of their way to meet him and strike up a friendship.
For example, there was his old pal Sun Wukong. To Liu Bing's surprise, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who had once fought against the heavens and the earth, wasn't in the Heavenly Court or Western Heaven. Instead, he was holed up on Flower-Fruit Mountain, which he'd turned into a scenic attraction. He'd even opened a restaurant there called Old Sun's Farmhouse Restaurant.
His life was quite comfortable. Every so often, Tang Sanzang and the others would drop by Flower-Fruit Mountain for a visit and a meal. Liu Bing had even been lucky enough to drink with the master and his disciples.
And it wasn't just Tang Sanzang and the others. With Sun Wukong's connections, Liu Bing got to meet plenty of immortals at Flower-Fruit Mountain, thanks to Old Sun's Farmhouse Restaurant.
Then there was Erlang Shen, Yang Jian. In the Primordial World, Yang Jian hadn't suffered the tragedy of losing his parents and elder brother. Even his sister Yang Chan hadn't had a son, Chenxiang—the future troublemaker who'd give his uncle a headache—with a mortal named Liu Yanchang. The whole family lived happily together in Guangjiang Pass, enjoying a peaceful and comfortable life.
Even more astonishing to Liu Bing was that he'd actually run into the legendary Demon Ancestor Luohu! Luohu hadn't died either!
When Liu Bing saw the Demon Ancestor, once feared throughout the Primordial World, he could hardly recognize him. After all, who would associate a dashing, powerful CEO with the mighty Demon Ancestor?
Luohu had started a company called Demon Abyss Entertainment, controlling most of the entertainment industry across the Primordial World. He was a true overbearing CEO.
Just as Nuwa had said, nobody in the Primordial World fought to the death. Everyone lived together in harmony.
Liu Bing had seen the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Tribes playing together, and the Witch Tribe and Demon Tribe sitting at the same table, playing drinking games and knocking back drinks...
Whether they were famous figures everyone knew by heart or complete nobodies, all of them lived together peacefully and in harmony.
Liu Bing silently savored these strange and wonderful experiences. A faint, relieved smile appeared on his lips, and he shook his head, clearing away the thoughts in his mind. He knew he could only stay in the Primordial World for ten thousand years. If he stayed any longer, he'd be assimilated by it, branded with the mark of the Primordial World.
Although that might be a good thing, it would mean he couldn't return to save his own world. He didn't have the ability to leave the Primordial World like Nuwa and the others. He'd become its prisoner.
A phone appeared suddenly in his hand. It was the phone he'd used in the Primordial World. That's right—the Primordial World had phones, and even internet access. After all, it wasn't the old-fashioned ancient cultivation world people imagined, but a blend of the modern and the ancient.
He checked the time displayed on his phone. Once it connected to the internet, he found that it was the same time as when he'd transmigrated. Had Empress Nuwa sent him back to the very moment he'd first arrived?
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