Halfway up Buzhou Mountain, the moment the innate formation shattered, the long-suppressed aura of treasure erupted like a volcano, shooting straight into the ninth heaven.
On the cliff face, a lush green vine as thick as a water barrel, gnarled like a dragon, clung tightly to the rock. Seven gourds of different shapes and brilliant colors swayed gently on its length.
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple.
Seven-colored divine light intertwined, bathing the whole area in a dreamlike glow. A unique aura of laws and Dao surrounded each gourd: some radiated an astonishing killing intent, some brimmed with boundless creation, and some seemed capable of devouring all things.
Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures!
And seven of them had appeared at once!
At that moment, every mighty cultivator's breathing grew ragged.
In the early days of the Primordial World, treasures of this caliber were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, aside from those that came into being alongside their owners. Whoever seized one would gain the foundation for their path to enlightenment.
"Treasures have a spirit. They belong to those with virtue!"
Before Primordial Heavenly Lord could finish his grandiloquent opening, the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi in his hand had already transformed into a streak of golden light. With unquestionable dominance, it shot toward the Purple Gold Red Gourd radiating an aura of chaos.
"Hmph! We'll see who has virtue after we fight!"
Tai Yi had a fiery temper and no interest in playing fair. The Chaos Bell in his hand boomed as it rang.
Dong—!
The bell tolled, suppressing space and time.
Seizing the instant when the bell's toll stunned everyone, he and Di Jun joined forces. One wrapped himself in True Sun Fire, while the other wielded He Tu Luo Shu. Like two tigers descending a mountain, they pounced on the golden Immortal Slaying Gourd and the yellow Monster Summoning Gourd.
"The red one is destined for me!"
Ancestor Hong Yun was usually a good-natured man, but he didn't hold back when it came to fighting over treasures. Riding his Fiery Cloud Escape Technique, he sped toward the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd.
In an instant, the mountainside of Buzhou Mountain descended into chaos.
Divine arts collided and magic treasures thundered. What had begun as sightseeing had turned into an all-out brawl.
"Elder Brother! We should get in there too!"
Zhunti's eyes were practically red with envy. The Sky-Turning Shovel in his hands creaked under his grip, and he looked ready to charge in and hit everyone with a grand slam. "If we don't hurry, there won't be a single hair left!"
Jieyin was just as anxious. The golden lotus beneath his feet spun rapidly, and he had clearly been tempted as well.
"What's the rush?"
Taiyuan pressed down on the restless Zhunti, his gaze almost unnervingly calm.
He looked at the crowd fighting to the death over the gourds and shook his head before sending them a telepathic message:
"Those seven gourds may look tempting, but each is bound up in immense Karma with Heaven's Dao. Laozi will take one to make pills, Nuwa will use one to summon demons, and Tai Yi will use one to slay immortals... These are all predestined."
"If we try to seize them by force, we'll not only fall out completely with the Three Pure Ones and the demon clan, we'll also be manipulated by Heaven's Dao into returning them someday."
"We won't make a deal that costs us more than it's worth."
"So... we just stand here and watch?" Zhunti asked, unwilling to accept it. "That's a terrible loss!"
A sly smile tugged at Taiyuan's lips.
"Who said we're just watching? If we're going to take something, we'll take the real treasures at the very heart of this place—the ones that look as if nobody wants them."
As he spoke, his gaze settled on the Gourd Vine, which was beginning to wither and lose its luster as the gourds ripened, and the patch of soil at its roots, glowing with a faint yellow light.
That was the Innate Gourd Vine itself, along with the Essence of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil that had nourished it for countless years!
In the future, when Nuwa Creates Humans, without those two things, the clay figures would be nothing but heaps of mud. They wouldn't even stand upright.
"Come on. Let's pick up the real bargains."
Taiyuan led the other two without charging straight into the heart of the battle. Instead, using his Space Folding ability, he slipped silently along the edge of the battlefield like a nimble fish.
At that moment, the fighting was at its fiercest.
Relying on the subtleties of the Law of Creation, Nuwa had managed to protect a cyan Monster Summoning Gourd, despite not being skilled in combat.
Just as she was about to put the gourd away and retreat, Taiyuan's warm voice suddenly reached her ears.
"Congratulations on your treasure, Fellow Daoist Nuwa."
Nuwa started in surprise and turned around. Somehow, Taiyuan had appeared in the shadows behind her. He was looking at her with a smile.
"Daoist Taiyuan?" Nuwa asked, puzzled. "Aren't you going to fight over the remaining gourds?"
"Those gourds have no connection to the Western Lands."
Taiyuan shook his head, then changed the subject, his tone turning mysterious. "But I can see that you need something else. This item... is tied to a great opportunity for you to prove Dao and become a Saint in the future."
"Become a Saint?!"
Nuwa's beautiful eyes widened, and she missed a breath.
Ever since Taiyuan had guided her, her understanding of the Dao of Creation had indeed reached a bottleneck. Hearing those words now, how could she possibly remain calm?
"Please, enlighten me!"
Taiyuan pointed to the withered vine that everyone had ignored, and the soil beneath it.
"That vine may have withered, but it still contains the principle of ceaseless creation. That soil is Essence of Innate Wutu Soil. To others, these two things are worthless, but to you..."
Taiyuan paused, his eyes meaningful. "They're priceless treasures."
"I'll get them for you, but for this favor... you'll owe me one, agreed?"
Nuwa was clever and immediately understood what Taiyuan meant.
Although she couldn't yet see the specific use of these two things, she trusted Taiyuan's ability to foresee the future. She nodded almost without hesitation.
"Agreed! If things are as you say, I'll repay you generously!"
They had a deal.
Nuwa immediately stopped fighting. She brought out the Red Embroidered Ball, which transformed into a sky full of red ribbons. It looked as if she were blocking the attacks around her, but in reality, she was cleverly shielding Taiyuan from everyone's view.
Taiyuan didn't hesitate.
He flashed to the roots of the Gourd Vine.
Most people were focused on the gourds flying through the air. No one paid any attention to the scraps on the ground.
Except one person.
It was Sovereign of Heaven, who had just seized a purple-yellow Water Fire Gourd with his Immortal Slaying Sword Qi.
He was straightforward by nature. Once he had a treasure, he didn't get greedy. He was just looking for a place to show it off when he turned around and saw Taiyuan crouching on the ground, digging at the soil like a thief.
"Elder Brother Taiyuan, what are you doing?"
Sovereign of Heaven came over, curious. "There are perfectly good treasures to fight over, and you're over here playing in the dirt?"
Taiyuan jumped, then relaxed when he saw that it was Sovereign of Heaven.
"Shh—"
Taiyuan made a gesture for silence and lowered his voice. "Brother Tongtian, this is the good stuff. Look at this soil and this vine. They may seem unimpressive, but they're the very source that nurtured seven top-grade spiritual treasures!"
"As the saying goes, fallen petals aren't heartless; they turn to spring soil to protect the flowers. The Dao contained in these things runs far deeper than in those gourds."
Sovereign of Heaven's eyes lit up.
He hadn't quite understood the poem, but it sounded convincing.
"Interesting! I like this idea of taking what nobody else wants!"
Sovereign of Heaven chuckled and swept his sleeve. Qingping Sword Qi formed a barrier, discreetly enclosing the area.
"Dig quickly, Elder Brother. I'll keep watch! I'll cut down anyone who comes near!"
With Nuwa and Sovereign of Heaven—the two mighty cultivators—covering him,
Taiyuan moved with astonishing speed.
He swung the Sky-Turning Shovel. The patch of soil, as large as a millstone and rich with the Essence of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, came up together with the withered but still incredibly sturdy Innate Gourd Vine.
Without the slightest hesitation, he stowed them deep inside the System Space.
When he was done, Taiyuan brushed the soil from his hands, stood up, and winked at the other two.
"Done."
By then,
the battle in the sky was also nearing its end.
Laozi had claimed the Purple Gold Red Gourd through sheer strength.
Primordial Heavenly Lord had seized the Three Treasures Gourd, shaped like a jade ruyi.
Di Jun and Tai Yi had taken the Immortal Slaying Gourd.
Hong Yun had struck it lucky and found the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd.
But the last gourd, which should originally have belonged to Haotian, was snatched away amid the chaos by a sinister black shadow.
Kunpeng!
The fellow had been lurking in the shadows. At the last moment, he had ambushed the others and run off with the gourd, leaving no one time to react.
With each of the seven gourds claimed, the tense atmosphere on the mountainside of Buzhou Mountain gradually eased.
Everyone looked delighted as they examined the treasures in their hands.
The process had been a little chaotic, but at least they had all gained something.
Only the trio of Taiyuan, Jieyin, and Zhunti appeared to have come away empty-handed.
Zhunti gazed enviously at the treasures in everyone else's hands and sidled up to Taiyuan to mutter:
"Elder Brother, all we got was this junk? Those gourds looked really nice..."
Taiyuan glanced at him and patted him on the shoulder, smiling like a fox that had stolen a hen.
"Third Brother, you need to look further ahead."
"Some things don't seem like much now, but later... their value will make the people who seized those gourds regret it so much they'll wish they could crawl out of their own skin."
"No matter how good those gourds are, they're just dead objects, useful only for fighting."
"But this vine and this soil we have are the keys to creating an entirely new race—and even to influencing the future course of Heaven's Dao."
Zhunti still didn't quite understand, but seeing how confident Elder Brother looked, he chose to trust him instinctively.
After all, Elder Brother had never made a bad deal.
"Come on. Let's go home."
Taiyuan straightened his robes and nodded to Nuwa and Sovereign of Heaven, indicating that they would meet again later.
"We still have a great gift to prepare for Fellow Daoist Nuwa."
"Once we give her this gift, we'll be able to throw our weight around in the Eastern Lands."
Before you continue