Is This Also a Kind of Dao?

"Changsheng?"

Outside the formation, Nuwa softly repeated the name.

In the Primordial Land, the names of living beings often contained their aspirations for the Dao or the characteristics of their own origins.

For instance, her brother Fuxi; his name exuded the domineering spirit of one who would govern the heavens and earth and deduce the myriad phenomena of the universe.

Or the Ancestral Dragon, the Primordial Phoenix, and the First Qilin—they had inscribed the supreme glory of their respective races directly into their names.

But the two characters "Changsheng"—Longevity.

It sounded far too plain, perhaps even... lacking in ambition.

"Immortal and ageless, living as long as the heavens."

Nuwa smiled slightly, her voice passing through the formation.

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, your title is certainly straightforward. However, we who practice the Dao all know that cultivating immortality is an act of defying the heavens."

"The opportunities, the destiny, and even the fruit of longevity in this world must be fought for amidst tribulations and seized through magical combat."

"Only by contending with the heavens for one's life can one truly attain longevity."

Although Nuwa possessed a gentle temperament, as an Innate Divine Being, the pride of the strong remained etched in her bones.

In her view, Lu Changsheng's behavior—cowering within a formation, afraid to face the storms outside—was fundamentally contrary to the essence of the Great Dao.

"Contend?"

Inside the cave dwelling, Lu Changsheng heard Nuwa's remarks, which perfectly embodied the mainstream values of the Primordial Land, and could not help but roll his eyes.

If it were any other cultivator hearing the teachings of a future Saint, they would likely have knelt in fear and trembling to receive instruction.

But who was Lu Changsheng?

He was a man who treated the Dao of Cowardice as his faith!

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, I'm afraid I cannot agree with your words."

Lu Changsheng's voice drifted out through the formation, carrying a tone that was both irreverent and exceptionally firm.

"What do you mean by contending with the heavens for life? What do you mean by seizing things amidst tribulations?"

"Those are the actions of brutes!"

Lu Changsheng sat on the white jade bed, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You Innate Divine Beings always feel that if you don't go out to fight, don't go out to seize territory, and don't go through several life-or-death crises, you are somehow failing your cultivation."

"But have you ever thought about it?"

"The Primordial Land is vast, and great tribulations follow one after another. A batch died in the Ferocious Beast Tribulation, and now the Dragon-Phoenix Clans are fighting until their brains are practically spilling out; who knows how many more will die in the future?"

"Of those who go out to contend and seize, how many truly live to the end?"

Lu Changsheng let out a cold snort.

"If your life is gone, what use is your cultivation! What talk of longevity is there then!"

Nuwa was stunned by Lu Changsheng's twisted logic.

In her understanding, no one had ever dared to frame the fear of death in such a refined, unconventional, and righteous manner.

"But..."

Nuwa frowned slightly, retorting, "If one does not contend for the opportunities of heaven and earth and instead shuts oneself away to work in isolation, how can one's cultivation progress? If a tribulation truly descends, what will you use to resist it?"

"Who said I don't resist?"

Lu Changsheng asked back, full of righteous indignation.

"Are these three thousand layers of formations of mine just for show? Is the defense I reinforce day and night a joke to you?"

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, your understanding of the word 'longevity' is far too narrow."

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, his tone becoming profound, as if he were imparting some supreme Great Dao.

"True longevity is not about how many enemies you have defeated."

"It is..."

"When your enemies have all died of old age, been struck down by heavenly lightning, or turned into dust in the great tribulations."

"And you, you are still living well, perhaps even sipping hot tea in front of their graves."

"As long as you live long enough, you are the greatest winner in this world!"

"To not contend is to be invincible; to not die is to attain longevity!"

As Lu Changsheng's final eight words landed with a resounding thud, the area surrounding the Nameless Low Mountain fell into absolute silence.

Nuwa stood beside a giant boulder, a complex light flickering within her beautiful eyes.

Absurd!

Utterly absurd!

This is the philosophy of cowards, through and through!

But...

Why did it feel like, behind this absurdity, it faintly resonated with the most simple and fundamental laws of survival in the world?

Isn't the existence of life for the sake of continuation?

The Dao of Creation she cultivated was precisely about nurturing life and creating all things. And isn't the primary task of life to avoid death and preserve oneself?

Nuwa slowly closed her eyes.

She no longer argued.

Her Dao heart, which had become clear after swallowing the Red Sun Fruit, was now like a stone dropped into a pond, sending ripples of profound mystery outwards.

She sat cross-legged on the giant rock again.

Wisps of green light, representing the Law of Creation, began to appear out of thin air around her.

Inside the cave.

Lu Changsheng watched Nuwa on the water mirror, who had once again closed her eyes to meditate. He smugly stroked his chin.

"Little one, you've been fooled, haven't you?"

"This is a supreme truth verified by countless ancestors of the Dao of Cowardice in my past life. It's a dimensional reduction attack against you Primordial Land natives who are full of nothing but fighting and killing."

And so.

Through three thousand layers of thick and vulgar formation light screens.

The most bizarre and uniquely styled Dao discussion in the Primordial Land unfolded in an extremely special manner.

The great female deity outside the door was comprehending the vitality of creation within the philosophy of turtling.

The miser inside the door was gleefully counting the Three Lights Divine Water he had acquired.

In this secluded corner, isolated from the world, there were no flashing swords or clashing treasures.

Only the gentle breeze blowing through the ruins, only the spiritual fruit trees slowly growing within the formations.

Time flowed on.

In the blink of an eye.

Another eight hundred years quietly passed.

For the Innate Divine Beings who would meditate for an entire epoch, eight hundred years was not even enough to comprehend a single incomplete law.

But on the ruins surrounding the Nameless Low Mountain.

As Nuwa, who was sitting cross-legged on the giant rock, slowly opened her bright eyes.

The moment she opened her eyes, within a hundred-mile radius, the withered yellow weeds instantly burst forth with boundless vitality.

They shot up from the ground at a visible speed, even blooming with specks of colorful flowers.

A profound and mysterious Dao charm, far surpassing the peak of a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, rippled out from Nuwa.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena, nor did any heavenly tribulations descend.

It was a natural sublimation that came as a matter of course, in accordance with the workings of the Heavenly Dao.

Nuwa stood up, tidied the hem of her green Flowing Cloud Skirt, and felt the magic power within her body that had undergone a transformation, faintly touching the fundamental rules of heaven and earth.

A genuine joy appeared on her exquisite face.

The Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm!

Although she had only half-stepped into the threshold of Zenith Heaven, making her a half-step Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

This meant she had crossed a chasm that billions of beings in the Primordial Land could never overcome in their entire lives, truly possessing the capital to establish herself in this world.

"The principle of survival, the method of avoiding calamity, is the foundation of creation."

Nuwa looked at the massive formation group still shimmering with colorful lights before her, and let out a long sigh.

Over the past eight hundred years, she had repeatedly verified Lu Changsheng's seemingly cowardly words of avoiding battle with her own Dao of Creation.

Finally, she saw the clear sky through the clouds.

Creating all things was not just about bestowing life, but more importantly, about allowing life to continue in this perilous world.

Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and protecting oneself, was the most fundamental path to survival for all beings in the world!

Blindly scrambling for opportunities and accumulating karmic sin would instead lead to a disadvantage, making one easily turn into a mere illusion during tribulations.

Having understood this, Nuwa's Law of Creation finally completed its most crucial link.

"Lu Changsheng..."