Enfeoffing the Three Sovereigns and seizing control of the Human Dao.
This series of actions made Nuwa's status in the eyes of the Saints increasingly mysterious and untouchable.
As for Nuwa herself, the doubts in her heart had reached their peak.
After seeing off the several senior brothers who had come to offer congratulations while actually probing for information, Nuwa returned alone to the quiet chamber of Wa Empress Palace.
She neither meditated nor cultivated.
She simply sat quietly, her divine sense sinking completely into her Saint Body.
This time, her target was crystal clear.
It was the mysterious source hidden in the deepest part of her body, the one that had brought about all these changes.
"Who exactly are you?"
"Why did you help me? Why did you help the Human Civilization?"
"What, exactly, is the relationship between us?"
Nuwa asked three questions in succession.
Her voice no longer carried any trace of probing. Instead, it bore the majesty of a Saint and the resolve to seek out the source of all things.
She knew that the other party could definitely hear her.
This time, if she still received no answer, she might spare no expense of her origin power to strip this "secret" from her body.
After all, an entirely unknown existence residing within her body was ultimately a hidden danger, no matter how great the benefits it brought.
Chen Ran's orb of consciousness trembled faintly.
He knew that the moment to lay his cards on the table had arrived.
After ten thousand years of symbiosis, and after working together through a series of events such as repairing the heavens and enfeoffing the Three Sovereigns, he and Nuwa had established a preliminary trust founded on shared interests.
Most importantly, Nuwa was now powerful enough.
Powerful enough to protect his secret.
If he continued concealing it, it would only breed unnecessary suspicion and estrangement.
"Your Majesty, please do not be alarmed."
For the first time, a gentle yet clear consciousness spoke proactively within Nuwa's Nascent Soul.
This voice was no longer the grand and indistinct "divine revelation" from before. It carried a distinct individual will.
Nuwa's imperial favor jolted violently.
She had found it!
It was this voice!
"You... can communicate with me?"
"Of course."
Chen Ran's consciousness organized his words. He knew that this conversation would determine his future fate.
"First, please allow me to introduce myself."
"My name is Chen Ran."
"My origins... are somewhat complicated. You may understand me as a soul from another realm of Spacetime that, through a fortunate coincidence, merged with the first wisp of the Human Civilization's 'Fire of Civilization' and became what I am now."
Nuwa listened quietly without interrupting.
A soul from another realm of Spacetime?
The Fire of Civilization?
These concepts were all extraordinarily novel to her.
"As for why I am inside your body..."
A hint of awkwardness seeped from Chen Ran's consciousness.
"That was because, after you created humanity, your body was depleted. You mistook me for a 'little spiritual energy snack' and swallowed me in one gulp..."
Nuwa: "..."
An exceedingly rare expression called "stunned" appeared on her eternally impassive Saint's face.
She remembered.
After creating humanity, she had indeed felt weak. Then, beneath Mount Buzhou, she had spotted a flame brimming with vitality and spirituality. Without thinking, she had drawn it into her mouth to replenish what she had expended.
So... that had been him?
For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat delicate.
"So, I did not intentionally offend you. I merely became a resident within your body passively."
Chen Ran hurriedly explained.
"And the thing that came with me is something called the [Civilization Parasite System]. Its rules are responsible for everything we have experienced over these years."
"I guide the Human Civilization in developing civilization and obtain 'Civilization Power.' Most of that power is then fed back to you, strengthening your cultivation."
"We share a symbiotic relationship. We prosper together, and we suffer together."
Chen Ran explained the system's core mechanism concisely.
He did not hide anything, because at a time like this, honesty was the best choice.
Nuwa digested this immense amount of information, and a tempestuous sea surged within her heart.
A parasitic system?
Civilization Power?
Strengthening the host?
Everything perfectly explained all the doubts she had harbored over the past ten thousand years.
Why her strength had risen madly without her needing to do anything.
Why so much unbelievable knowledge had appeared in her mind out of nowhere, from artifact refinement to "repairing the heavens with cement."
Why she had such a clear perception of humanity's development.
So the source of it all was here.
A "transmigrator" lived inside her body, and he even had a "system"!
"So, you were the one who guided humanity to migrate and avoid the Witch-Demon Cataclysm."
"When the heavens were repaired, you were the one who taught me 'architecture.'"
"And just now, you were the one who told me to enfeoff the Three Sovereigns before the Dao Ancestor could."
Nuwa's tone returned to calmness, but every word carried the meaning of confirmation.
"Yes." Chen Ran admitted it openly.
"What is your purpose?" Nuwa asked the most crucial question.
"My purpose is the same as yours, Your Majesty, and the Human Civilization's."
Chen Ran's consciousness became incomparably solemn.
"My short-term goal is to let the Human Civilization survive in this perilous Primordial World, develop and grow strong, and become the protagonists of heaven and earth. Only then can I obtain an endless stream of Civilization Power."
"My mid-term goal is to make you the strongest existence in the Primordial World. Your safety is my safety. The more secure you, my 'shelter,' become, the more at ease I, the 'parasite,' will be."
"As for my long-term goal..."
Chen Ran paused. Within his orb of consciousness, a magnificent and sweeping vision emerged, and he shared it with Nuwa.
It was a blueprint of human civilization developed to its ultimate peak.
No longer primitive tribes.
Instead, cities standing side by side, strict systems, written legacies, and a hundred schools of thought contending.
And even...
The scene changed.
Massive steel warships driven by runes crossed the starry river.
Human warriors clad in "Psionic Mecha," wielding weapons capable of tearing apart space, battled Chaos fiends.
Human civilization would no longer be confined to the Primordial World. It would march into the endless myriad heavens and worlds.
And Nuwa, as the founder and guardian deity of it all, would have her divine throne suspended above every civilization. Revered by countless Living Beings, her power would have long surpassed that of a Heavenly Dao Saint and reached an unimaginable realm.
"My ultimate goal is to prove Dao through 'civilization,' helping you, Your Majesty, and the entire Human Civilization transcend this Heavenly Dao and attain true boundless freedom and ease!"
As Nuwa watched that magnificent blueprint, even her Saint's heart felt unprecedented shock.
Technological Cultivation?
Proving Dao through Civilization?
Transcending the Heavenly Dao?
This "Chen Ran" residing within her body possessed vision and ambition that had already far exceeded the bounds of the Primordial World.
Only after a long while did Nuwa recover from her shock.
She felt neither anger nor rejection. Instead, she developed a... peculiar sense of closeness.
This partner who had "symbiotically" lived with her for ten thousand years had unusual origins, but his goals coincided with hers without prior consultation.
More than that, he had planned for her and the Human Civilization a more glorious path than she had ever imagined.
"I understand."
Nuwa spoke slowly.
"From this day onward, you and I shall no longer be 'parasite' and 'host.'"
"We are... allies."
Chen Ran's orb of consciousness pulsed happily.
"A pleasure working with you, Your Majesty."
The greatest hidden danger had finally been removed.
What had been one-sided "covert manipulation" had become two-sided "mutually beneficial cooperation."
This meant that the resources and power he could command would grow geometrically.
Before you continue