On the other side, Randeng had no idea that Luohu had appeared on Sun Star and tried to tempt the two Golden Crows into cultivating the art of fortune. Had he been there, he would have cursed Luohu for harboring ill intentions.
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He and the Three Pure Ones sat cross-legged in the valley, refining the Banana Fans each had obtained. Roughly ten thousand years later, Randeng finally finished the initial refinement of his fan, refining ten Innate Restrictions.
Only after they had initially refined the Banana Fans did they learn that the four fans, when brought together, could form an Innate Great Formation called the Four Symbols Chaos Formation. It could recreate the chaotic scene from the creation of the world, when Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire surged and churned. Its power was immense.
Perhaps because only two Innate Banana Fans had appeared in his previous life, this formation had never come into existence either.
After finishing his refinement of the Banana Fan, Randeng went to where the Innate Banana Tree had once stood. He found only a withered stump remaining, devoid of any spiritual essence, though it had not died completely. Perhaps after countless ages, it might produce four Banana Fans once more.
Once the Three Pure Ones had finished refining their spirit treasures as well, Randeng left the valley with them, and they began exploring Buzhou Mountain.
Randeng had intended to search for the Innate Gourd Vine with the Three Pure Ones, but perhaps it had not yet fully matured, because the four of them failed to find even the slightest trace of it.
As expected, many of the Primordial World's supreme spirit treasures depended on fate and affinity. They would not appear until the time was right.
The four abandoned their search for treasures on Buzhou Mountain and headed instead for Fuxi and Nuwa's cave dwelling.
Randeng remembered that at the last Ginseng Fruit gathering, Fuxi had told him the name of the mountain where he and Nuwa lived: Phoenix Perch Mountain.
Drawing on the memories contained in his Earth Book, Randeng soon led the Three Pure Ones to the foot of the mountain.
"Fellow Daoist Fuxi, Fellow Daoist Nuwa, Randeng and the Three Pure Ones have come to pay you a visit."
They sent their Spiritual Senses into the protective formation around Phoenix Perch Mountain.
Before long, a warm, clear voice came from within the formation.
"Haha! What wind blew today to bring Fellow Daoist Randeng and the Three Pure Ones to my Phoenix Perch Mountain together?"
A Daoist with sharply defined features and a gentle, deep gaze emerged. It was Fuxi.
Randeng presented the Enlightenment Tea he had prepared as a gift. Seeing this, the Three Pure Ones regretted that they had not thought to bring gifts of their own.
So they gathered some fruits from their Innate Spiritual Roots and offered them to Fuxi.
Fuxi accepted each gift with a smile. These fruits from spiritual roots all benefited cultivation, and the Enlightenment Tea Leaves from Fellow Daoist Randeng were especially remarkable. Just smelling them cleared his Spiritual Platform and sharpened his comprehension.
"Sorry to trouble you, Fellow Daoist. We were traveling with Fellow Daoist Randeng and happened to pass this way, so everyone suggested we visit you and your sister together."
Taishang smiled as he explained. Of the Three Pure Ones, he was closest to Fuxi. They had discussed the Way of the Eight Trigrams and Yin-Yang before, and their Great Paths were particularly well suited to each other.
"I'm delighted to have you visit Phoenix Perch Mountain. But there's someone else here at the moment."
Fuxi paused, then explained.
"Which fellow Daoist is it? Would you be willing to introduce us?"
Tongtian was especially excited. Of all things, he loved meeting fellow Daoists from across the Primordial World.
"A fellow Daoist from the Witch Clan, a friend of my younger sister's."
Fuxi glanced at the Three Pure Ones. The Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Three Pure Ones had argued for ages over who could claim the title of Pangu Orthodox.
"Is it Fellow Daoist Houtu or Fellow Daoist Xuanming?" Yuanshi asked. Only Houtu and Xuanming among the Witch Clan were close to Nuwa; Fuxi had told him as much before.
"You truly see everything coming, Fellow Daoist. It is indeed Fellow Daoist Houtu."
As he led them into the formation, Fuxi introduced them to Houtu.
Though the Three Pure Ones had long argued with the Twelve Ancestral Witches over who represented Pangu Orthodox, they actually knew very little about the Witch Clan.
According to Fuxi, Ancestral Witch Houtu was not like the other Ancestor Witches: she was neither overbearing nor an ignorant brute who knew only how to absorb baleful qi. Houtu was even said to have the potential to condense a Primordial Spirit.
Randeng, meanwhile, wondered: Why was Houtu here? Shouldn't she be discussing matters with the other Ancestor Witches among the Witch Clan?
Could the other Ancestor Witches have rejected the suggestion he'd made to Houtu?
When they arrived at Fuxi and Nuwa's cave dwelling, Randeng saw Houtu again, dressed in a dark yellow Daoist robe.
Houtu was surprised to see Randeng, and delight colored her voice.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng, what brings you here?"
The other five all turned to look at Randeng, curious about how he knew Houtu.
"I was traveling around Buzhou Mountain with the Three Pure Ones, Fellow Daoists, and we happened to come by to visit Fellow Daoists Fuxi and Nuwa."
Randeng remained calm, seemingly oblivious to their curious gazes.
"Younger Sister Houtu, why didn't you tell me you knew Fellow Daoist Randeng?" Nuwa asked, her expression teasing. She seemed to be chiding her good friend for not sharing the news with her.
"Elder Sister Nuwa, I only met Fellow Daoist Randeng recently. I just haven't had the chance to tell you yet."
Houtu answered honestly. She had known Randeng for less than ten thousand years, which was hardly any time at all in the Primordial World, where seclusion could last tens of thousands of years.
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Randeng, after I returned, I gave the method you told me, along with that spiritual root, to my elder brother Dijiang. After discussing it, the Ancestor Witches all agreed to try it."
Houtu beamed as she shared the news about the Witch Clan with Randeng.
"My elder brother is very grateful to you. They also said that if you ever get the chance, I should invite you to visit the Witch Clan. They'll make sure you're well received."
Randeng was a little surprised. He had merely provided an edible Innate Spiritual Root and a few methods for raising food, yet the Witch Clan valued his help so highly.
What he did not know was that, at the time, the Witch Clan had not yet devised a way to use the blood pool in Pangu Hall to create clan members quickly.
The Witch Clan was small in number and could only grow through natural reproduction. They treasured every member, and it pained them to send their people into battle against the Demon Clan.
That was why the Innate Spiritual Root and food-raising methods Randeng had provided were so important. They could supply the clan with food without fighting the Demon Clan, while also allowing the Witch Clan to expand continuously.
But when Houtu invited Randeng, the Three Pure Ones took it as the Witch Clan trying to recruit him.
Tongtian secretly sent a message to Taishang. "Big Bro, we can't let those brutes recruit Fellow Daoist Randeng."
Quite apart from the bond they shared with Randeng, he was among the top Innate Divine Saints in both cultivation and spirit treasures. If he chose to side with the Witch Clan, it would be extremely disadvantageous to the Three Pure Ones.
Yuanshi fully agreed with Tongtian. "Exactly, Eldest Brother. Fellow Daoist Randeng and we get along so well. We can't let the Witch Clan bewitch him."
What Taishang had not expected was that Randeng was not only gifted in cultivation, but also had such good relationships with so many Innate Divine Saints.