A Single Golden Pellet Swallowed into the Belly

Nuwa created the Human Race and attained sainthood; Grand Pure Dao Venerable spread the Dao among the Human Race and achieved the Saint's Fruition!

To remain by this man's side and lead the way for him—even if it was only to lead an ox—what an immense stroke of fortune that was!

How many primordial beings could beg for such a blessing and never obtain it, yet it had simply fallen onto his head!

Without a second thought, Yellow Dragon said in a trembling voice, "It is this disciple's blessing to lead the way for you."

Yellow Dragon hurried forward several steps, his movements careful yet eager, his gaze falling upon the gleaming silver-white nose ring looped through Azure Ox's large nostrils.

He had no idea what material the nose ring was made of. Strange patterns were carved across its surface.

This... this is the Diamond Bracelet that smashed the Great Sage in the head, Yellow Dragon muttered to himself.

"This disciple will lead your ox at once." Filled with curiosity, he reached out and gently grasped the cold, smooth ring.

Azure Ox looked at this fellow who had no sense of boundaries. Without even asking whether the ox was willing, he had just naturally taken hold of it!

Twin streams of white vapor immediately burst from its nostrils, while its two curved, black-jade-like pointed horns dipped slightly downward!

Its two bulging eyes stared fixedly at Yellow Dragon's swaying backside.

With just a light thrust, it could send this ignorant little bug with no sense of boundaries flying several hundred li away.

Just as the tips of those horns were about to ram into Yellow Dragon—

Grand Pure Dao Venerable, seated upon the ox's back as though dozing with his eyes closed, let a faint smile cross his lips.

From within the wide sleeve of his Daoist robe, he extended a palm and, as if dusting off ashes, lightly, lightly patted Azure Ox's broad back.

"Pa, pa, pa."

Three soft sounds, almost inaudible.

Azure Ox unwillingly tossed its head, snorted, and shook its large head, returning to its slow, solid manner.

Only those eyes still remained fixed on Yellow Dragon's back.

Yellow Dragon noticed nothing at all. He only felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

His steps paused instinctively. Frowning, Yellow Dragon twisted his neck in puzzlement and looked around.

"Oh, I must have been chased too hard by that giant beast earlier. My mind was drained, and with the aftereffects of having space frozen, I got so excited that I imagined it." He quickly found an explanation for himself.

After all, Grand Pure Dao Venerable was right beside him. In this primordial world, what could possibly threaten him?

He even unconsciously tugged harder on the ring, pulling Azure Ox forward.

With that thought, the chill vanished as well.

Yellow Dragon steadied himself, straightened his back, and, holding Azure Ox by the nose ring, led Grand Pure through the void. With each step crossing a thousand li, they reached the edge of the Human Race's territory.

It had also been several thousand years since Yellow Dragon had last set foot in the lands of the Human Race.

Yellow Dragon transformed into a young boy clad in coarse hemp clothing. Holding Azure Ox, whose divine abnormalities had been restrained, as it carried Grand Pure with his faintly immortal bearing, they crossed layer upon layer of mountains and rivers, traveling through one Human Race tribe after another.

They watched Human Race tribes arise, develop, and grow strong. They also encountered several tribes struck by natural disasters and beast calamities. Yellow Dragon intervened to save the humans and helped them rebuild their tribes.

One day, they arrived at the Human Race's largest, strongest, and most prosperous tribe—the Suiren tribe.

The outskirts were enclosed by rows of massive timber barricades, with squads of Human Race warriors patrolling outside.

People flowed in and out through the tribe's gates. Countless humans had gathered here to barter goods, and there was already a faint air of civilization.

Yellow Dragon and Grand Pure looked upon the thriving tribe and entered with the crowd.

At the central platform of the tribe, an enormous sacred fire burned without extinguishing all year round. Its flames danced, radiating warm light and heat that enveloped the entire tribe.

This was where Suiren had "drilled wood to make fire," the second sun of the Human Race.

Grand Pure transformed into a kindly old man with graying beard and hair, dressed in worn linen robes, and settled in the Suiren tribe under the identity of a "healer."

Before long, word of the "old physician who had come traveling" spread far and wide.

That old physician possessed remarkable medical skill. Often, he only needed a few inconspicuous wild grasses or stones picked up beside a stream. After mixing or grinding them and applying them to mangled wounds, he could stop bleeding and ease pain, even allowing wounds deep enough to expose bone to heal rapidly.

At Grand Pure's instruction, Yellow Dragon taught the Human Race how to identify, gather, and prepare certain common medicinal herbs.

Time silently passed amid the daily life of the Suiren tribe, like the little stream that flowed day and night. In the blink of an eye, several years had gone by.

One day, watching the unending stream of humans coming to Grand Pure for treatment, Yellow Dragon could not help but sigh. "The Human Race... though created by Lady Nuwa, born with Dao bodies and exceptional intelligence, are physically frail. They cannot compare to the myriad races of the primordial world, and they have no method of cultivating the Great Dao. Survival is difficult indeed!"

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.

Hearing Yellow Dragon's words, Grand Pure slowly raised his head. Yin and yang flowed within those profound eyes, as though they reflected the birth, death, rise, and fall of all living things.

"Good." Grand Pure smiled at Yellow Dragon.

Grand Pure said no more. He slowly closed his eyes, and an indescribable aura quietly spread from his seemingly ordinary body.

It was not a heaven-shaking pressure, but a vast, profound, all-embracing resonance of the "Dao."

The sun rose and set; stars shifted and constellations turned.

Grand Pure sat like this for a full three years.

When Grand Pure opened his eyes again, two streaks of clear light flashed through them. An invisible ripple of Dao resonance abruptly spread outward from him, like a giant stone cast into a still lake, instantly filling the entire Suiren tribe.

At that very instant, a figure appeared beside Yellow Dragon and Grand Pure. It was none other than Suiren, foremost among the Three Ancestors of the Human Race.

Suiren looked at Yellow Dragon and Grand Pure Dao Venerable as they revealed their true appearances. Clearly recognizing Yellow Dragon, he respectfully bowed and said excitedly, "Immortal Master, you have finally returned."

Yellow Dragon gave Suiren a slight nod. "You have now reached the Zenith Heaven realm. There is no need to address me so deferentially."

He then introduced Suiren to him. "This is Grand Pure Dao Venerable, one of the foremost innate sacred beings of the primordial world, and also Empress Nuwa's senior brother."

Suiren hastily bowed respectfully to Grand Pure Dao Venerable. "Greetings, Grand Pure Dao Venerable."

"No need for such ceremony. I see that the Human Race still lacks a method for cultivating the Great Dao. I have specially created a cultivation method for the Human Race. In three days, I will expound the Dao here," Grand Pure Dao Venerable said to Suiren.

Suiren was beside himself with excitement. Though he possessed the cultivation of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, it had been forcibly raised through Heavenly Dao merit, and he possessed no divine abilities for attack or defense. He had long wished to create a cultivation method suited to the Human Race, yet had never been able to bring it to fruition.

Three days later, at the center of Suiren's tribe, the enormous sacred flame gave off a gentle radiance, its dancing tongues of fire seeming almost alive.

Led by Suiren, Ziyi, and Youchao, several dozen people sat in a circle. Most had been shaped by Nuwa's own hands when she created humanity; the rest were the most gifted group Suiren had personally selected from more than a hundred Human Race tribes.

"To cultivate the Great Dao, the human body is the furnace, the soul is the firewood, and Heaven and Earth are the craftsmen." Grand Pure Dao Venerable's calm voice rang out, yet it was like the toll of a great bell and a mighty chime, every word clearly engraved upon the hearts and minds of Suiren and the others.

"Gather essence and qi; refine essence into qi, refine qi into spirit, refine spirit to return to emptiness, refine emptiness to unite with the Dao. Temper the body with divine fire, discard the dross and preserve the pure, return to the source... Form within the body a single Great Dao Golden Pellet, and you will comprehend the mysteries; the Great Dao will lie within reach."

As the final word fell, clear light blazed brilliantly throughout Suiren's tribe!