Lady Nüwa, Have You Ever Considered That There Might Be Another You?

The moment she stepped through the entrance.

Nüwa sensed something different.

How should she put it?

In two words:

Ordinary!

It was truly too ordinary.

She didn't even need to compare it with the Immortal Mountain outside the courtyard or that Willow Tree.

Everywhere in the Primordial Wilderness she had passed on her way here

was more wondrous than this place!

By comparison,

this place was simply...

terrifyingly ordinary!

It made her wonder if her senses were failing.

Was it an illusion?

Nüwa was a little dazed.

Or was that Willow Tree the real highlight?

As she thought,

Nüwa continued forward,

heading deeper into the Academy.

The Academy wasn't complicated.

There were pavilions and towers,

as well as rocks, streams, and flowing water.

The first thing Nüwa focused on was the stream arranged in the courtyard.

Instinctively,

she felt there was something extraordinary about it.

A mysterious glow seemed to circulate faintly in the water.

Just like the Willow Tree,

it was impossible to see through.

"Another divine treasure?"

Nüwa's heart gave a slight jolt as she looked into the water.

There,

a golden fish came into view.

At once,

Nüwa's red lips parted in astonishment.

"Chaotic Qi!"

"How can a mere fish be surrounded by Chaotic Qi?"

"This fish must have quite an extraordinary origin!"

Nüwa was still marveling

when she suddenly froze.

In that instant, she had clearly sensed an immense pressure descend around her.

The pressure was incomparably profound.

By comparison, it seemed even greater than the peak of the Immortal Mountain?

It could even rival

that Willow Tree!

Hiss~

Nüwa drew in a sharp breath.

She discovered where the pressure came from.

It was actually...

that fish in the stream?

Did that mean

this fish also had Hunyuan cultivation?

For a moment,

Nüwa was dazed.

What left her even more at a loss was that, for just an instant, the fish seemed to give her a disdainful look.

It didn't seem inclined to bother with her, either.

With a flick of its tail,

it disappeared beneath the water.

"Confirmed!"

"It's Hunyuan!"

After the fish left, the pressure lingering in her heart vanished.

Nüwa breathed a sigh of relief,

but she couldn't calm down.

However,

before she could think it through,

she suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Her heart tightened.

Her scalp prickled.

She even...

swallowed hard.

Her heart beat a little faster, and she could clearly feel herself getting nervous.

Nüwa realized something.

"Ordinary might only be a facade!"

"Or rather, maintaining an ordinary appearance in the Primordial Wilderness is itself extraordinary!

"So..."

"These seemingly mundane things could all contain something exceptional."

"Like that fish?"

After realizing this,

Nüwa grew nervous.

This meant

there might be more than one existence like that fish!

For instance...

even some random Spirit Plant in the courtyard might be just like the Willow Tree! As she thought about it,

Nüwa looked around.

But now,

what she saw nearby made her pupils contract sharply.

At some point,

a large circle of beings of all shapes and sizes had gathered around her.

There were Spirit Beasts and birds,

as well as Spirit Roots and Spirit Plants.

There were even grasses, trees, mountains, and stones!

Without exception, they all gave off waves of consciousness, along with...

terrifying pressure.

Clearly,

these beings were all comparable to Hunyuan cultivators!

At that moment,

Nüwa was stunned.

Her worldview had been challenged.

How could there be so many Hunyuan cultivators in the Primordial Wilderness?

By a rough count,

there were hundreds.

That's right.

There were hundreds of Hunyuan cultivators here!

That number

was beyond imagining.

Even with Nüwa's steady temperament, she couldn't remain calm now.

The entire courtyard

was actually...

filled with Hunyuan cultivators?

Just then,

a purple Nine-Tailed Fox walked over from that area behind her that she couldn't sense.

The cultivators were quick to react and parted to make way,

allowing the fox to come forward.

Along with it

came a peculiar force that brought Nüwa back from her shock.

Once she'd recovered,

Nüwa hurriedly bowed.

"You must be the senior who rules this place!"

"This junior is Nüwa! Greetings, senior!"

"If I've caused you any trouble, please forgive me!"

Nüwa could clearly feel that,

compared with the other cultivators,

this Nine-Tailed Fox had an aura far more terrifying than theirs.

And recalling how the others had made way for it,

it was obvious

that its status was above theirs.

Based on those clues,

Nüwa assumed that this Nine-Tailed Fox was the master of the courtyard.

She hurriedly apologized.

Unexpectedly,

the Nine-Tailed Fox shook its head and said softly, "Seeker of the Dao, welcome to Seeking Dao Academy."

"My name is Zi Ling. I'm not the master of this place! The master here is Lei Jun Tianzun!"

"Come with me. Tianzun has been waiting for you in the courtyard for quite some time!"

Hearing this,

Nüwa first froze, then gasped in surprise.

What?

This divine fox had such profound cultivation,

yet it wasn't the master of this place?

There was someone even greater?

And that person...

had been waiting for her to arrive?

For a moment,

Nüwa felt both anxious and delighted.

But anxiety outweighed everything else.

After all...

being noticed by such an existence put a lot of pressure on her.

But no matter how much pressure she felt,

she couldn't back down. After taking a deep breath,

Nüwa followed Zi Ling

deeper into the courtyard.

As she left, Nüwa didn't forget to pay attention to the presences around her.

She felt slightly relieved.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Nüwa noticed that these beings, whose cultivation far surpassed hers,

seemed to regard her with a hint of...

Envy?

So... this was an opportunity?

Following Little Fox, Nüwa felt uneasy.

Though she had a premonition

that this might be an opportunity,

she still couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

There was nothing she could do about it.

After all, she was the weakest one in this courtyard.

Point at anything on the ground—

even a blade of grass—

and she wouldn't stand a chance against it.

It was absurd.

So much so that even now, Nüwa could hardly believe it was real.

Nüwa had thought that with her current cultivation, she would at least count as a mighty figure once she returned to the Primordial Wilderness.

The kind with few rivals beneath the Hunyuan realm.

She had never imagined

that the Primordial Wilderness contained a place like this.

It could be called...

a land of Da Luo cultivators!

They passed several pavilions.

Before long,

they reached their destination, another pavilion.

But compared to the others,

it was much larger.

It occupied the most space in the courtyard.

"Celestial Venerable, I've brought her!"

Little Fox called out.

Just then,

a voice came from inside the pavilion.

It was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

"Zi Ling, you may leave."

Little Fox nodded at that.

She first bowed,

then withdrew.

But before leaving, she couldn't help glancing at Nüwa.

That one glance,

however, only made Nüwa more puzzled.

She was even a little dumbfounded.

What was going on?

Even this Nine-Tailed Fox, whose cultivation was a level above that of the other beings, was envious of her?

Nüwa didn't have long to ponder it.

Because in the next moment,

the pavilion opened.

Almost as if in a trance, she stepped inside.

Before she could think it through,

the supreme Dao Sound rang out once more.

But what it said

left Nüwa utterly astonished.

"Come to think of it,

"this is the first time you and I have met. The last time, you were still an Origin!"

Huh?

Nüwa froze.

When had she ever come into contact with a being like this?

As she wondered,

something seemed to click in her mind. A great power unlocked a set of Shackles in her heart.

At once,

a memory that had been erased resurfaced in Nüwa's mind.

Boom!

It happened in an instant.

Nüwa went from dazed to enlightened,

then jolted with shock.

She was utterly astonished.

"Senior!

"What exactly is going on?

"Why is it that I..."

Nüwa didn't finish her sentence.

But Lei Jun understood exactly what she meant.

What else could it be?

It was the problem of her missing memories.

More precisely,

it wasn't her memories that were missing, but the traces of Lei Jun's existence in the Primordial Wilderness.

She couldn't remember Lei Jun.

That was merely a side effect.

The reason Nüwa was so shocked was simple.

Though she had only been in contact with Lei Jun for a brief moment back then,

she had never let go of that sliver of insight.

And after taking form,

she had used it to leave Fuxi far behind in cultivation.

Clearly,

without that sliver of insight, that would have been impossible.

So,

in theory,

she should never have forgotten Lei Jun, the one who had granted her that opportunity.

Lei Jun didn't offer any further explanation.

He only smiled faintly

and said,

"Why not try to guess?"

Nüwa didn't hold back.

Before,

she had thought this was some unfamiliar mighty figure. Now, it seemed they weren't complete strangers.

At the very least...

she herself had admired him from afar for a long time.

Nüwa ventured a guess.

"Sage Hongjun?"

As soon as she said it, Nüwa dismissed the idea herself.

It was impossible.

How long had it been since Hongjun became a Sage?

Besides...

did he possess such power?

He couldn't have done it.

Then, in the entire Primordial Wilderness, besides Hongjun, there could only be...

"Heavenly Dao!"

Nüwa furrowed her delicate brows.

That was the only possibility.

After saying it,

she looked at Lei Jun, hoping he would confirm her guess.

In truth,

she couldn't think of any other being besides Heavenly Dao.

But then,

Lei Jun shook his head.

"Yes and no!

"Heavenly Dao did indeed erase the traces of my existence in order to correct the course of Fate.

"But do you know...

"who wrote that course of Fate? And why did it need to be corrected?

"Even if it came into being innately, there should still be traces to follow, right?

"What do you think?"

Lei Jun's words left Nüwa utterly dumbfounded.

There was simply too much information.

So much so that, at first,

she couldn't even begin to process it.

What was the course of Fate?

Was there a being above Heavenly Dao...

And then there was Lei Jun's final question: "What do you think?"

Nüwa fell silent.

She didn't know how to respond.

What was she supposed to say?

Was this even a topic she could speak on?

She wasn't even Hunyuan yet!

Nüwa knew her own limits.

Her tone was humble

as she answered honestly,

"Nüwa is too dull to grasp the hidden meaning in the Celestial Venerable's words!

"Please enlighten me, Celestial Venerable!"

Lei Jun thought for a moment

before speaking again.

"Nüwa, have you ever considered...

"that there might be another you?"

Huh?

At those words,

Nüwa stood frozen in place, her beautiful eyes wide.

She hadn't gained any understanding.

Instead, she was even more confused.

And even...

panicked.

The revelation was too shocking.