This Isn't Greatness, It's Stupidity

"Little Gourd Vine, how do you plan to handle that drop of Pangu Marrow? I can sense that if you merge it into your body, it will be a great opportunity."

"Not only will it let your cultivation break through to the Zenith Heaven Realm, but it will also allow you to truly take form with your main body. No need to keep walking the world through a clone."

Nuwa was right—this was Pangu's marrow. What were Innate Spiritual Roots or Nine Revolutions Golden Elixirs compared to it? They weren't even dust.

So for Qing Xuan, this was an outright temptation, and one he couldn't refuse at that.

Qing Xuan looked at the Pangu Marrow in his hand, then finally shook his head at Nuwa. "You saw it just now—inside Pangu's Twelve Thoracic Vertebrae, there should be twelve drops of Pangu Marrow."

"Those were left by Pangu for the Twelve Ancestral Witches, to help them condense their Primordial Spirits. Unfortunately, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, greedy for those merits, missed their great opportunity."

"Even the Sanqing, likewise tempted by merits, left the warm bed Pangu prepared for them ahead of time."

"That's why Pangu called them ones who forsake the root and pursue the tip—only seeing the present, blind to the long term, unfilial children."

"The result is that the Twelve Ancestral Witches ended up as they are now, cultivating only their physical bodies without Primordial Spirits. And the Sanqing lost the Three Treasures of World Creation, which were transformed from Pangu's Axe."

"But Pangu also said the Great Dao would give them another chance at this opportunity. Whether they can seize it depends on Their Fortune."

"If I use this drop of Pangu Marrow, it would be like cutting off one Ancestral Witch's chance to gain a Primordial Spirit."

"All it saves me is time. After all, whether it's the Zenith Heaven Realm or taking form with my main body, for me, it's just a grindstone effort."

Nuwa nodded. "Facing such a great temptation, Little Gourd Vine, you can still hold back. That truly impresses me."

"Even if you took this Pangu Marrow, you wouldn't incur karma with the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Under those circumstances, if you still give it up, that's not greatness—that's foolishness."

Hearing Nuwa seriously call him foolish, Qing Xuan pretended to be angry and reached out to tickle her. For a moment, the two started roughhousing on Buzhou Mountain.

Just then, a woman in a yellow dress arrived in the area where Qing Xuan and Nuwa were.

"I clearly sensed it, but why did it suddenly vanish? It seems this single remnant soul of mine isn't enough."

As the Yellow-Clad Woman felt dejected, she also spotted Nuwa and Qing Xuan playing around. Especially when she saw Nuwa, a glint of golden light appeared in her eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, I didn't expect to run into you here. Come, come, let's fight again—let's see if you've improved any."

Hearing someone call her, Nuwa looked toward the voice, a helpless expression flashing across her face. She couldn't help muttering to herself.

"How did I run into her here too? This crazy girl wants to fight me the moment she sees me. I have no idea what's in her head."

Meanwhile, Qing Xuan had also noticed the Yellow-Clad Woman and had roughly guessed her identity. Even so, he still asked Nuwa.

"Who is she? You know her? It feels like you don't like her much?"

Nuwa nodded, then shook her head. "She's Houtu, the Earth Ancestral Witch among the Twelve Ancestral Witches."

"But it's not that I dislike her—it's just that this girl loves fighting too much. I fought her for a full two hundred years."

After confirming her identity, Qing Xuan couldn't help looking at the drop of Pangu Marrow in his hand and silently thought to himself.

"So I'm the one who took Houtu's opportunity. I wonder if, without me, she could have gotten this drop of Pangu Marrow."

"But from the original Primordial World Trajectory, Houtu never obtained a complete Primordial Spirit. In the end, she only condensed one by transforming into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, boosted by Heavenly Dao Merit—but she lost her Ancestral Witch True Body."

"From that, it's clear that even without me, she couldn't have gotten this drop of Pangu Marrow. Instead, because of me, she's gained this opportunity. Has she already incurred a karma debt to me?"

As Qing Xuan pondered this, Houtu had already walked up to them. But her gaze wasn't on Qing Xuan—it was fixed directly on Nuwa.

Nuwa could see the combative gleam in Houtu's eyes and immediately shook her head at her. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not fighting you."

Hearing that Nuwa didn't want to fight, disappointment flickered in Houtu's eyes. But she didn't force the issue.

Just then, Qing Xuan let out a helpless sigh. "The Twelve Ancestral Witches really are all battle-hungry—even the most steady one, Ancestral Witch Houtu, is no exception."

This made Houtu turn her gaze to Qing Xuan. Recalling how he'd been roughhousing with Nuwa, she asked Nuwa.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, last time you came to the Ancestral Witch Hall seeking Three Lights Divine Water and Nine Heavens Breathing Soil—was it for this fellow Daoist?"

Nuwa nodded. "That's right. He's the Little Gourd Vine I told you about. He's successfully taken form now."

Nuwa wasn't about to tell Houtu that Qing Xuan's main body was still on Phoenix Perch Mountain, and this was just an Outer Incarnation. After all, that was Qing Xuan's biggest secret.

By then, Houtu had turned her gaze back to Qing Xuan. After sizing him up, she said something that made his scalp tingle.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa accompanied me for two hundred years for your sake. Now that you've taken form, how about you take her place and fight me?"

Qing Xuan was covered in black lines. He was about to refuse, but then he thought it might be a good chance. So he smiled at Houtu and said.

"Fighting you is no problem, but I don't like fighting without a reason. How about we add some stakes?"

Houtu nodded without hesitation and said, "Don't you need Nine Heavens Breathing Soil? I know where to find more."

"If you beat me, I'll take you to find it. But if you lose, what will you give me?"

Qing Xuan slowly opened his palm, revealing the crystalline drop of Pangu Marrow before Houtu's eyes.

"If I lose, I'll give you this. Does Ancestral Witch Houtu find that acceptable?"

Seeing the Pangu Marrow in Qing Xuan's hand, the perception that had just vanished reappeared in Houtu's mind.

She now knew that the opportunity she'd sensed was in this person's hands. So she nodded without hesitation.

At the same time, she assumed a combat stance, her hands beginning to gather the yellow Earth Law.

But Qing Xuan made a stop gesture at Houtu. "Ancestral Witch Houtu, hold on. My cultivation is only at Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. If I fight you with just my physical body, I have no winning chance."