Mount Sumeru, the forbidden heart of the rear mountain.
After a long, dusty journey, they had finally returned to their impregnable old home.
Taiyuan casually waved his hand. The Innate Gourd Vine he had "snatched" amid the crowd of powerful figures on Buzhou Mountain drifted down onto the floor of fine white jade like a mere fire poker.
It landed with a soft clatter, a sound so feeble it was almost embarrassing.
The divine vine that had once borne seven Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures and sparked a fierce battle between the Three Pure Ones and the Demon Emperor looked utterly wretched now.
Without the nourishment of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, and with the seven gourds having nearly drained its last trace of essence as they ripened, it was yellowed and shriveled, its skin even blackened in places. It looked like the bark of an ancient tree that had been dried by the wind for countless eons, utterly devoid of life.
Zhunti squatted down and gingerly poked the vine with a finger. With a crack, a small piece of its skin crumbled away and turned to ash.
"Elder Brother, can this thing really be a treasure?"
Zhunti looked disgusted and couldn't help complaining. "It's dried up to this state. Forget using it as a Magic Treasure—I doubt it'd even make good firewood. The smoke would be awful. How about I use it to kindle the Alchemy Furnace? It's an Innate Spiritual Root, after all, so it should burn pretty well. Maybe it'll even add a little wood-element law to our pills."
Jieyin said nothing, but his brows were knitted tight. The thing looked completely lifeless, utterly ruined. Even watering it with Merit Water might not be enough to save it.
"Shallow."
Taiyuan glanced at them, the corner of his mouth curling into an inscrutable smile, calm as one who held the truth in his grasp.
"Who says it's dead? It's only pretending."
"And even if it were dead, here in the Western Lands, if I, Taiyuan, wanted it alive, it would come back to life—and live more gloriously than ever."
As he spoke, Taiyuan bent down, picked up the Withered Vine, and headed straight for the super Merit Pool he had just lavishly renovated. Chaos bubbles were still burbling on its surface.
The pool was entirely different now, the most luxurious bathhouse in the Primordial World.
A thick layer of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil lined the bottom. Its water was Three Lights Divine Water mixed with Chaos Airflow brought back from Purple Firmament Palace, and a newly sprouted Chaos Green Lotus sat in the center, radiating the Dao's profound aura. In an environment this lavish, even a stubborn rock could become a spirit after soaking for a few years, let alone an Innate Spiritual Root.
"Go on."
Taiyuan tossed the vine in.
It hit the water with a splash, sending up golden waves and scattering the pool's spirit fish in fright.
At first, nothing happened.
The Withered Vine bobbed on the surface like a dead piece of wood, rising and falling with the Chaos bubbles. It showed no sign of life.
Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged glances, confusion in their eyes. Had Elder Brother misjudged it this time?
"System, exchange for [Myriad Things Revival Liquid]."
Taiyuan silently spoke in his mind, using a bottle from an earlier system reward that he had kept in reserve.
Though this item couldn't match the incredible standing of Three Lights Divine Water, it had an exceptionally potent property: it was a cure-all for bringing withered wood back to life, especially for Innate wood-element Spiritual Roots. Its revival effect operated at the level of laws.
A drop of liquid, vivid green as if it held the life force of an entire forest, slowly gathered at Taiyuan's fingertip. It radiated the dense aura of the Law of Life before falling.
It landed precisely on the Withered Vine's most shriveled node.
Hum—
In an instant, a sudden transformation began.
The lifeless vine shuddered violently, like a dying man jolted awake by a shot of adrenaline.
Then, like a colossal dragon parched for countless eons suddenly meeting life-giving rain, it let out a soundless roar that shook the soul.
Gurgle!
The water churned violently, as if boiling.
The Withered Vine seemed to come alive and began devouring the surrounding Three Lights Divine Water and Chaos Primordial Qi. It did so at such speed that a small vortex of spiritual energy formed on the pool's surface.
"It's alive! It really came back to life!"
Zhunti's eyes widened. The vine's formerly blackened, shriveled skin quickly sloughed away, revealing new flesh as green as jade. Its color was so pure it seemed ready to drip.
Its withered, curled branches began to unfurl, swimming through the water as if alive and greedily absorbing every scrap of nourishment.
More astonishing still—
The Vines didn't grow new gourd leaves or bear any more fruit. Instead, countless intricate, mysterious Dao Runes surfaced across its entire body.
The runes held no power of attack. Rather, they radiated a unique Dao aura of "procreation," "creation," and "inheritance." Flowing across the Vines, they seemed to tell the story of the origin of life.
Crack!
A crisp whip-crack rang out without warning.
The fully revived Vines, now crystalline and more than three zhang long, suddenly shot out of the water like a green dragon rising from the sea and flicked through the air.
It unleashed no world-destroying might, nor did it stir the slightest ripple of magical power.
Yet a single lash split the incredibly sturdy void above Mount Sumeru, leaving a visible crack!
And the blow didn't harm the flesh. It struck straight at the depths of the soul, inspiring a shudder and awe that came from the very source of one's spirit.
Zhunti felt his scalp prickle. He instinctively ducked and rubbed his bald head. "Good heavens! If that lash hit someone, even a Grand Luo Golden Immortal would be left battered and dazed, their soul reeling, wouldn't they? How does this thing feel even more sinister than those gourds?"
Taiyuan beckoned with one hand.
The Vines flew obediently back to him, settling into his palm. They felt smooth and warm, like fine jade, and even seemed to carry a hint of ingratiating affection.
"This item is called the Human Creation Whip."
Taiyuan gently stroked the runes along the Vines, his eyes gleaming with the wisdom and confidence of one who had seen through the future. "It doesn't harm the flesh. It strikes the soul, and commands the authority of creation and procreation."
"One day, it will be the Human Race's first teaching whip, and the first Postnatal Merit Supreme Treasure between heaven and earth."
"With it, even a Saint will not dare lightly incur that Karma. For a lash from this whip won't strike a person—it will strike the Human Race's fortune and slap the Heavenly Dao in the face."
Jieyin and Zhunti were utterly lost. They didn't understand a word of it: the Human Race, a teaching whip—what did any of that mean?
But that didn't stop them from worshipping their Elder Brother.
To turn a fire poker into such a supreme treasure was nothing short of turning decay into something wondrous! If Elder Brother said it was a treasure, then it had to be more precious than an Innate Supreme Treasure!
"Elder Brother is mighty!" Zhunti immediately heaped on the flattery, his eyes alight. "Now we have another treasure to guard our teachings! Let's see who dares call the Western Lands poor after this!"
Taiyuan smiled and was just about to put the treasure away to nourish it properly.
Suddenly—
A faint but somewhat hesitant and hopeful ripple came from the Mountain Protection Array at the outermost edge of Mount Sumeru.
Someone was knocking.
And it was someone familiar.
Taiyuan swept his divine sense outward, piercing layer after layer of mist, and saw the scene beyond the mountain gate. His smile deepened, as if he had been waiting for this moment all along.
Beyond the gate, amid the gray mist that never lifted and served to disguise the region's poverty, stood a graceful figure in five-colored robes. She was breathtakingly beautiful and dignified.
She held several storage bags that looked quite valuable. A hint of hesitation crossed her face, as if she couldn't decide whether to disturb them—or worried that her arrival might cause trouble for her "impoverished" fellow cultivators in the Western Lands.
Nuwa.
"Look."
Taiyuan pointed toward the mountain gate and raised his brows at the two junior brothers still examining the Vines. "Our generous benefactor's here to hand out money—er, merit!"
"Come on, let's welcome this future Saint."
"Remember, act natural when we see her. Don't make her think we're showing off, but don't overdo the act either. We want to give her the feeling that this is just our plain, everyday life."
Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged glances and grinned.
Act natural?
Got it.
Bring out our best stuff, then pretend it isn't worth much.
They knew that routine well!
Before you continue