Goal Achieved

"Have you told your master about this?" Nüwa Niangniang asked Hong Ze after some thought.

Hong Ze shook his head at Nüwa Niangniang. "I have not mentioned it to Master yet. Even if I did, he might not believe it.

"In Master's eyes, red flowers, green leaves, and white lotus roots—the Three Teachings are one family. How could his two senior brothers possibly harm him?"

Nüwa Niangniang nodded after hearing this. After all, she knew the relationship among the Three Pure Ones very well.

She then asked Hong Ze again, "How do you intend to deal with this? Are you simply going to let it unfold?"

"Ever since I failed in my attempt to alter the River of Fate, I have been pondering this question.

"After tens of thousands of years of thought, I finally came up with a way to deal with it not long ago.

"Our grandmaster once said in Zixiao Palace that the great trend of the prehistoric world cannot be changed, but minor trends can be altered.

"In other words, the Heavenly Dao only cares about the prehistoric world's ultimate direction of development, not the process by which it arrives there.

"So long as we make sufficient plans throughout that process, the eventual outcome will certainly change."

Nüwa Niangniang shook her head at Hong Ze. "You yourself said that the great trend cannot be changed.

"If the great trend cannot be changed, then humanity's fate has already been decided. How can you possibly alter everything?"

Hong Ze looked at Nüwa Niangniang and smiled. "It seems that not only I, but even Holy Mother, have fallen into this misconception.

"This was also a question that troubled me for tens of thousands of years. Only recently did I come to understand what the Heavenly Dao Trend truly was.

"The so-called Heavenly Dao Trend is the normal operation of the Heavenly Dao. It does not permit any race or individual to become a threat to it.

"In other words, so long as humanity's development does not threaten the Heavenly Dao, even if it threatens a Saint, the Heavenly Dao will never interfere.

"As for which Saint is the strongest, that is even less something the Heavenly Dao would concern itself with.

"Everything displayed in the River of Fate is not caused by the Heavenly Dao, but by the struggle for fortune among the Saints.

"Why would the Heavenly Dao care whether the Jie Sect prospered or the Western Sect rose to greatness?"

Nüwa Niangniang could not help but reveal a bitter smile. "I, a Saint of the prehistoric world, see things less clearly than you, a mere True Immortal.

"Since you already have a complete plan, how do you need me to act within it?"

"Holy Mother does not need to deliberately do anything, lest the other Saints discover it and alter their response.

"At that point, we would lose our foreknowledge and be unable to formulate countermeasures in advance.

"Of course, if there comes a time when I need Holy Mother to act, I will find a way to notify you.

"But there is one thing Holy Mother must remember: the only one who can help you is my master, Master Tongtian."

Nüwa Niangniang nodded, then reached into the void. A divine lamp appeared in her hand.

"This treasure is called the Precious Lotus Lamp. You need only light it, and I will know that you are summoning me.

"I will come to see you immediately, sparing you the trouble of being unable to reach Wa Huang Palace beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens due to your insufficient cultivation."

Hong Ze nodded awkwardly, then directly reached out and accepted the Precious Lotus Lamp from Nüwa Niangniang.

"Rest assured, Holy Mother. So long as I, Hong Ze, still draw breath, I will never allow the other Saints to harm Holy Mother or my master."

With that, he put away the Precious Lotus Lamp and did not forget to bow to Nüwa Niangniang in thanks.

Nüwa Niangniang nodded at Hong Ze, then mounted Golden Phoenix and turned to return to Wa Huang Palace.

However, Nüwa Niangniang's state of mind was now vastly different from before.

When the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had originally been decided in Zixiao Palace, Nüwa Niangniang had believed that she owed Yuanshi Tianzun a favor.

She had always thought that she must find an opportunity to repay it.

But things were different now. Not only did Nüwa Niangniang no longer believe she owed Yuanshi Tianzun anything, she hated him to the bone.

And this was precisely what Hong Ze wanted. As he watched Nüwa Niangniang's departing figure, a smile inevitably appeared on his face.

Mother Wu Dang had no idea about the conversation between Hong Ze and Nüwa Niangniang. At this time, she had already arrived at Hua Xu's side.

She accompanied Hua Xu back to the Hua Xu Tribe.

Then she lived in the tribe together with Hua Xu.

As time passed, news of Hua Xu's pregnancy spread throughout the tribe.

At that time, humanity still lived knowing only their mothers and not their fathers. The concept of marriage had yet to emerge.

Thus, Hua Xu's pregnancy did not strike the tribespeople as improper in the slightest. After all, there was no such term as having a child out of wedlock then.

Unfortunately, as time passed, Hua Xu's situation grew increasingly awkward.

Human women carried their children for ten months before giving birth, but Hua Xu remained pregnant for a full three years without delivering.

This inevitably caused the tribespeople to regard Hua Xu as an inauspicious person. Some even proposed burning her to death.

Had Hua Xu not been the daughter of Clan Leader Huang Long, she would likely have been reduced to ashes in the flames.

Even so, Hua Xu was driven out of the Hua Xu Tribe and moved alone into the Deep Mountain dozens of miles from the tribe.

Fortunately, Mother Wu Dang remained by her side, ensuring that Hua Xu's life was not overly bitter.

Later, an extraordinary phenomenon appeared. A qilin brought Hua Xu food every day, and this continued for another full three years.

News of the qilin bringing food to Hua Xu soon spread back to the Hua Xu Tribe.

The qilin was no longer the overlord it had been during the great war of the Dragon, Phoenix and Qilin Tribes.

Now, the appearance of a qilin represented the arrival of auspicious fortune.

Since an auspicious qilin was bringing food to Hua Xu, who would still dare call her an inauspicious person?

Thus, some in the Hua Xu Tribe proposed bringing Hua Xu back, hoping to receive the qilin's blessings through her.

Deep down, Hua Xu resisted. After all, the tribespeople had once driven her out and nearly burned her alive.

However, Mother Wu Dang persuaded Hua Xu to return to live in the tribe.

Hua Xu could not help but feel deeply confused, and she spoke to Mother Wu Dang.

"Elder Sister Wu Dang, have you forgotten the faces of those people in the tribe? Why should I return now?

"I only wish to cultivate with you in this Deep Mountain. I no longer want to see those ugly faces."

Mother Wu Dang smiled as she said to Hua Xu, "If it were only for your sake, I would have taken you to Golden Turtle Island long ago.

"The reason I did not take you to Golden Turtle Island and instead stayed here to teach you the Shangqing Immortal Art is for the child in your womb.

"The child in your womb will become humanity's future Heavenly Emperor. He will unite the humans of the prehistoric world and allow humanity to truly begin developing.

"So you must return to the tribe now, because as his mother, you must lay the foundation for your child.

"When your child is able to stand on his own, I will take you to Golden Turtle Island to cultivate."

Hearing Mother Wu Dang say this, Hua Xu could not help reaching out to touch her already swollen belly.

She nodded at Mother Wu Dang. "Everything will be as Elder Sister says."