With a wave of the woman's delicate hand, a great cauldron appeared, took root on the ground, and grew immense.
Mountains and rivers, stars, the sun and moon, beasts and birds were carved into its body, giving it an ancient, imposing air.
With the great cauldron there, even the ceaselessly rushing river seemed to quiet considerably.
The woman took out a fist-sized lump of soil glowing yellow and tossed it toward the cauldron.
The soil expanded the moment it left her hand, reaching the size of a hundred mu in the blink of an eye before falling into the cauldron.
Then Qian Renxue saw the woman take out water shimmering with three kinds of fluorescence. The instant it appeared, the vegetation within ten thousand li of her began growing rapidly.
In an extremely short time, it became an ancient forest, and then the woman poured the water into the cauldron.
"Just what divine treasures are these?"
Qian Renxue's eyes widened, unwilling to miss even the slightest detail.
"Come."
The woman beckoned, and the great cauldron spun as it shrank and settled into her palm, already filled with soil suffused with rosy light.
A smile appeared on the face of the woman called Empress Wa.
She reached in to knead the mud, patiently shaping it in fine detail, sculpting the body, torso, head, and even the brows and eyes with care.
Soon, the Primordial World's first clay human was born.
By now, Qian Renxue was already certain that what she was seeing was Goddess Nüwa creating humans.
Nuwa tossed the clay figure to the ground. It grew taller as soon as it landed, flesh and blood forming from its clay body until it became a living being.
"Greetings, Holy Mother."
The first human was born and bowed to Nuwa.
Nuwa did not respond, immediately molding a second human, then a third...
More and more people knelt around her, but Nuwa was still dissatisfied with her speed.
At last, she remembered something and took out a withered vine. She dipped it into the cauldron, coating it in muddy water, then flicked it toward the ground amid rippling fluorescent light.
With her movements, the number of humans increased rapidly.
Finally, the soil in the great cauldron ran out, and the number of humans reached three thousand.
Nuwa stopped what she was doing and slowly raised her head toward the sky.
"Heavenly Dao above."
Thunder rumbled. As she spoke, boundless thunder rolled across the heavens, purple qi streamed thirty thousand li from the east, celestial flowers rained down, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth.
On the Primordial World Continent, every intelligent being stopped what they were doing and looked toward Nuwa.
At that moment, the entire world listened to her speak.
"I, Nuwa, have lived through the Ferocious Beasts and the Dragon-Han Calamity, entered the Purple Heavens Palace, and obtained the Primordial Purple Qi. I have felt deeply that the lands of the Primordial World were incomplete."
"After traveling the Primordial World for ninety-seven thousand years, today I have created the human race to complete the Primordial World. I hereby proclaim this to heaven and earth and the myriad races of the Primordial World."
"Let the human race be established!"
"Let the Human Dao emerge!"
Boom!
Boundless Xuanhuang Merit gathered and descended into Nuwa, sublimating her entire being in an instant.
Her robes, jewelry, and all other external adornments were formed from merit. Behind her, golden merit light blazed brilliantly, making even the sun seem considerably dimmer.
"We of the human race bow in gratitude to Goddess Nüwa for creating us."
The three thousand humans called out together.
Nuwa nodded slightly. "You are the Innate Human Race. For one primordial assembly from this day forward, no other race may disturb the human race as it rests and flourishes."
A Sage's mouth held heaven's decrees; her words became law.
At that very moment, all living beings in the Primordial World nodded in assent.
Nuwa looked gently at the three thousand humans again.
"Without weathering wind and rain, you will never truly grow up. From now on, you must strive unceasingly to better yourselves."
As her words fell, Nuwa suddenly looked up toward a certain direction in the void and met a pair of eyes.
Still immersed in shock, Qian Renxue abruptly snapped out of it.
"Goddess Nüwa saw me?"
Qian Renxue hurriedly bowed.
"This junior of the human race, Qian Renxue, pays her respects to Holy Mother Nuwa."
There was no telling how many years ago Nuwa had created humans, yet she had met her eyes across that endless span of time.
At that moment, even the shock of witnessing Nuwa create humans firsthand faded considerably.
Di Tian also knelt.
"Di Tian pays his respects to Empress Wa."
Di Tian was not human, so he could only count himself among the demons.
Seeing Empress Wa of the Demon Race create humans left Di Tian with extremely complicated feelings, but his reverence for Nuwa also climbed steadily.
To think the Demon Race had such a mighty backer.
At that very moment, all of Douluo erupted.
"Nuwa Creates Humans! We actually witnessed the entire process of humanity's birth!"
"It's truly unbelievable. Humans really were molded out of mud by someone."
"Show some respect! That is Goddess Nüwa, the Holy Mother of Humanity!"
"From today onward, I'm going to kneel before Goddess Nüwa. First, I'll have a statue made to put at home."
"Wait, the first people were molded by the Goddess's hands, while the later ones were flicked out as drops of mud. Am I this ugly because she didn't flick properly?"
"You're overthinking it. You think you're worthy of being flicked out by Goddess Nüwa herself? Your father flicked you out."
"Face reality. Your ugly face isn't the Goddess's fault."
At that moment, everyone on the Douluo Continent knelt.
Spirit Hall.
"Quick, go and adjust the Holy Mother statue I previously ordered erected. Remember, a human head and a serpent's body. Assign people to wipe it down and offer incense every day."
Qian Daoliu issued his orders immediately. At this moment, he was immensely glad that he had ordered a statue erected upon hearing of Nuwa creating humans.
"Big brother, those are things we already do every day."
"Then build an even bigger one. I want everyone in Spirit City to see Goddess Nüwa's statue whenever they step outside each day."
Qian Daoliu felt that no amount of care in honoring this Holy Mother of Humanity could be excessive.
"Right, don't forget to make another batch of small statues and distribute them to the people living in Spirit City. Everyone should worship Goddess Nüwa. We mustn't forget our roots."
Spirit Hall moved quickly, and the other factions were no slower.
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi found the finest jade in the storehouse and had people carve a statue of Nuwa.
"Truly unbelievable..."
Even after arranging everything, Ning Fengzhi still wore an expression as though he had heard a fantastical tale.
But he, too, had accepted reality: Goddess Nüwa had to be worshipped.
Anyone human had to worship her. Otherwise, they might as well stop being human.
The Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire both began producing statues of Nuwa on a grand scale.
Nuwa's importance rose to the highest level.
Blue Tyrant Academy.
The atmosphere was awkward for a time, because Yu Xiaogang had once refused to believe that humans had been molded from mud by Nuwa.
He had demanded evidence then. Now the evidence had arrived, slapping him resoundingly in the face.
But Yu Xiaogang had always possessed the virtue of throwing heavy punches at his own side. Apart from Tang Hao, he feared no one present.
So he placed one hand behind his back and the other before his chest, turning toward Flender as though casually.
"Flender, why are you still standing around here? Hurry up and have a statue cast for Goddess Nüwa."
"Well..."
Flender had not expected his good brother to pull this, but he said nothing more about it. "We do need one. I'll go contact someone now."
"Mm, don't be stingy. Take out all your Gold Soul Coins."
Yu Xiaogang added another instruction.
Did he truly respect Goddess Nüwa? Not at all.
He had little affection even for his father, who had delayed his own cultivation to help him improve, let alone Nuwa, who was countless generations removed.
But this was a mighty backer. How could he, Yu Xiaogang, remain unmoved?
We're all human. If something happens to me, you, Nuwa, ought to help me, right?
"Once I'm together with the Princess of the Heavenly Court, with the Holy Mother of Humanity backing me as well, even that Great Heavenly Venerable wouldn't dare provoke me, would he?"
Yu Xiaogang recalled Qian Xunji. Hadn't he driven him out of Spirit Hall precisely because his backing had not been strong enough?
This time, he would make every preparation.
Elsewhere, Tang San, a champion of feudalism who had heard a few myths before, had some other ideas.
"Daddy, should we have a small one made specially, too? It would be easy to carry."
Tang San's thinking was simple. Things were fairly stable at Blue Tyrant Academy now, but who knew whether they might suddenly have to leave someday?
Besides, it would be useful once they reached the Primordial World. Carrying a statue around would hardly be excessive.
"We can do that, but Little San."
Tang Hao looked rather pleased with himself. "You need to think clearly about whether you're worshipping the Holy Mother or Empress Wa."
"The Holy Mother or Empress Wa?"
Weren't they the same person? But when he saw Tang Hao's slightly smug expression, he immediately understood.
"Daddy, could you mean..."
"Exactly. Even if they are the same person, you should worship Empress Wa, not the Holy Mother of Humanity."
"Don't forget, your mother is the Blue Silver Emperor. In the Primordial World, she would belong to the Demon Race."
Tang Hao was brimming with confidence. "You saw it just now. Nuwa was Empress Wa first, and only became the Holy Mother afterward."
"Think about it. If you were Nuwa, would you care more about your own race, or a race you casually molded?"
"As expected of Daddy. You even noticed that."
Tang San grew excited after only a moment's thought.
The human race? In Nuwa's eyes, they might be little different from pets. How could they compare to her own race?
So he, Tang San, was done being human.
"Thank you, Daddy, for giving me such a good background."
Tang Hao grinned, revealing his large yellow teeth, keeping his achievements and renown hidden.
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