Dividing the Gourd Vine

"But I see that all of you Dao Brothers are merely waiting here, yet not claiming this opportunity. I wonder why?"

Hearing this, Hongyun, the most forthright by nature, laughed heartily and explained, "What you do not know, Daoist, is this."

"We too were guided by the Heavenly Dao and learned that the spiritual root here was about to ripen and an Innate Spiritual Object was about to emerge, which is why we came in advance to wait."

"But the opportunity has yet to reach complete fruition. The treasures on this vine must still absorb the final trace of Heaven and Earth Essence before they can ripen and fall, taking full form."

"Therefore, everyone is quietly waiting for the proper moment."

"So that is how it is. Many thanks to Fellow Daoist Hongyun for clearing my confusion." Haotian showed a look of realization and nodded his thanks.

At this moment, Eastern Emperor Taiyi beside them furrowed his brow slightly. His voice carried the sharp edge unique to a Golden Crow as he said, "Seven gourds grow together upon this vine. At present, six are about to ripen."

"We had already reached an understanding before this."

"Of these six gourds, the Three Pure Ones shall each take one. Of the remaining three, Fuxi and Daoist Nuwa shall take one, Zhenyuanzi and Daoist Hongyun shall take one, and my brother and I shall take one."

"Now that Daoist Haotian has suddenly arrived, how should this distribution... be handled?" His gaze swept toward Haotian, carrying an unspoken hint of scrutiny.

Upon hearing this, Haotian smiled without hesitation. "If that is the case, then I shall take the remaining gourd."

Hongyun hurriedly said, "What you do not know, Daoist, is that Heaven has its fixed decrees. The final gourd on this gourd vine was not meant to be born into the world."

"Thus, not only has this Purple-Black Gourd yet to fully develop, but once the other gourds leave the vine, it will wither away."

"Such a thing exists?" Haotian revealed a surprised expression, then fell into thought.

Of course, he knew about this.

Moreover, his true target had never been the gourds.

But he had to put on a troubled appearance. Otherwise, he would have no way to maximize his gains.

Seeing Haotian sink into thought, the atmosphere around them immediately became subtle.

Of the six useful gourds, the Three Pure Ones held three, while the remaining three were divided among the other three parties.

Thus, everyone understood that if Haotian were to ask for one, it would surely have to come from the mouths of the Three Pure Ones.

The Three Pure Ones knew this as well.

Moreover, they had secretly agreed that if Haotian spoke up, Primordial Lord of Heaven's gourd would be given to him.

As for not giving Haotian a share... no one had even considered that option.

No one dared refuse face to a disciple of Saint Hongjun.

After all, they were all still waiting for him to impart the Immortal Dao that followed.

After pondering for a long while, amid everyone's differing thoughts, Haotian smiled openly. "Dao Brothers, since you arrived first and have already settled upon an agreement, it only shows that Heaven's will and karmic fate favor you more."

"How could This Daoist, having arrived later, have any reason to fight for it by force?"

"To do so would not only be discourteous, but would also go against my Dao."

"Very well..."

His gaze fell upon the Purple-Black Gourd, whose aura was weak and languishing, and he said frankly, "Since you Dao Brothers have already decided the ownership of the gourds, This Daoist shall only take this remaining gourd vine, as well as the spiritual soil that nourishes it. I shall treat them as mere scraps to console myself for this journey. What do you think?"

The moment these words were spoken, everyone was surprised.

A trace of admiration and praise even rose involuntarily in their hearts.

In this primordial world, where the strong devoured the weak and treasures stirred men's hearts, with the first Saint between Heaven and Earth as his backing, he did not use his position to bully others.

Instead, he voluntarily yielded and chose what appeared to be useless "scraps."

Such bearing and character were truly rare.

Primordial Lord of Heaven in particular secretly let out a sigh of relief.

At this time, he had yet to experience Treasure Distribution Cliff, and his possessions were not especially abundant.

This treasure gourd that was about to fall into his hands came from the Innate Gourd Vine, a Top-grade Innate Spirit Root ranked among the Top Ten Spiritual Roots of the Primordial World. At the very least, it was a high-grade Innate Spiritual Object.

To him at present, it was absolutely an important opportunity. Naturally, it was best if he could keep it.

Haotian's actions greatly increased Primordial Lord of Heaven's favorable impression of him, and even much of the displeasure from having been used in Purple Firmament Palace earlier dissipated.

Hongyun directly clapped his hands in praise. "Daoist Haotian is truly righteous!"

"Broad-minded and free-spirited, unwilling to take what others cherish."

"Worthy indeed of being a Saint's disciple. Your character is noble and pure, earning This Daoist's admiration!"

Faced with such praise, Haotian repeatedly responded modestly, saying that he had merely followed his True Heart.

With the distribution settled, the atmosphere in the area eased considerably.

Everyone once more turned their attention to the treasure gourds that were about to ripen, quietly awaiting the right moment.

Three hundred long years passed in the blink of an eye...

On this day, the Dao resonance within the valley suddenly boiled over!

Brilliant light burst forth from the gourd vine.

Black, yellow, gold, red, white, cyan, and blue—seven colors of divine light shot into the heavens, each radiating the embryonic form of a different Great Dao!

Vast Innate Spiritual Aura and the rhythms of the Great Dao spread outward, making the Dao Hearts of all the Great Powers present resonate.

"The time has come!"

Everyone's hearts shook in unison.

The next instant, six dazzling streams of Treasure Light broke free from the vine, streaking like meteors toward the directions with which they had long felt an affinity!

These treasure gourds had fully matured, their spiritual natures complete.

Moreover, now that the time for their birth had arrived, all their power had awakened. They were anything but ordinary.

Yet their opponents were also the foremost Great Powers of the Primordial Wilderness.

With a sweep of his sleeve, Hongyun sent streams of rosy clouds, like mist and haze, gently wrapping around the purplish-red Treasure Light.

A phantom of the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda flashed above Grand Supreme Elder Lord's head. The Dao resonance of tranquil non-action spread forth, and the purplish-gold Treasure Light obediently fell into his sleeve.

The phantom of the Chaos Bell in Eastern Emperor Taiyi's palm trembled faintly, and time and space seemed to freeze for an instant. He seized the purplish-white Treasure Light in one grasp.

Nuwa lightly raised her slender hand, and Life Force of creation transformed into cyan spiritual cords that ensnared the purplish-cyan Treasure Light.

Tongtian Sect Master held two fingers together like a sword. A fierce Sword Qi struck later yet arrived first, cutting off the path of the purplish-blue light.

Primordial Lord of Heaven transformed his Yuqing immortal light into a giant hand, steadily grasping the purplish-yellow Treasure Light.

The six treasures each returned to their rightful owners.

Only the final Purple-Black Gourd, at the instant the six treasures left the vine, saw its spiritual light rapidly dim and its vitality drain away at a visible pace.

The portion of the Innate Gourd Vine connected to it also began to yellow and wither. It was on the verge of completely drying up and turning into ordinary soil.

At that moment, a sharp gleam flashed through Haotian's eyes as inspiration struck!

Without the slightest hesitation, he summoned the Treasure Dropping Gold Coin from his Primordial Spirit.

The coin's phantom rotated. A thread of the profound power of the "treasure-dropping" rule, accompanied by the sacrifice of a small measure of fortune, silently enveloped the Innate Gourd Vine and the Purple-Black Gourd.

Buzzz!

An invisible force brushed past them.

The faint spiritual nature within the gourd vine and Purple-Black Gourd, newly born and restless, which had nearly sought self-destruction in order to be born, seemed as though someone had pressed a pause button. In an instant, it sank into a deep state of "sealed slumber."

The withering halted abruptly!

This scene once more shook the minds of the Great Powers, who had only just collected their treasure gourds and were still initially suppressing their treasures as they savored their delight!

Their gazes all fell upon the ancient coin phantom before Haotian.

"A Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!" With their discernment, they instantly recognized the grade of the Treasure Dropping Gold Coin.

They recalled Haotian's lavish display of "drinking tea" during the Dao discussions at Purple Firmament Palace.