A hundred thousand years.
To some ascetics of the Primordial World, that was nothing at all.
After all, in the Primordial World, time was measured in tens of thousands of years.
During those hundred thousand years.
Hongjun preached the Dao, and the Primordial World fell silent, returning to peace.
In all those years, Mu Chen had encountered only one incident like Kunpeng hunting down Hong Yun.
For all the gods and demons had begun secluded cultivation, striving for the seat of a Sage.
Yet the only ones who could truly become Sages were Hongjun's six disciples who possessed Primordial Purple Qi.
Unfortunately, only Mu Chen knew this.
And just like that, a hundred thousand years passed.
"Detected the end of one hundred thousand years of fishing. The host has fished up the Demon Suppression Pagoda!" "Checking current attributes." "Host: Mu Chen." "Race: Rootless Body [one opportunity to choose a race of the Primordial World]." "Realm: Seventh Layer of the Taiyi True Immortal Realm." "Divine abilities: Dharma Heaven and Earth, Heaven Beyond Heaven Incarnation, Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Arts, True God Lightning Control Method." "Cultivation methods: low-grade breathing technique, high-grade breathing technique." "Weapons: Four Swords of Immortal Slaying [replicas], Demon Suppression Pagoda." "Treasures: one drop of Pangu's Essence Blood, Soul-Scattering Gourd."
Looking at his attribute panel.
Mu Chen nodded in satisfaction.
He had earned all of this by patiently grinding away, bit by bit!
Moreover, while fishing, the Fishing System would occasionally reel in quite a few heavenly treasures and cultivation pills.
At first, Mu Chen had not caught on.
Once he understood, he would pull the fishing rod out of the pool every ten years to see whether there were any treasures.
And without exception, he had eaten all those pills to increase his cultivation speed.
In short.
He had grown stronger!
Above his head, a red cloud drifted lazily through Mu Chen's sea of clouds.
Suddenly, it cast a warm beam of red light down upon Mu Chen.
It seemed to be celebrating too.
Just as Mu Chen was feeling immensely pleased with himself.
A being radiating a gentle yet powerful presence approached the sea of clouds.
Mu Chen sucked in a breath of cold air.
Another Quasi-Sage?
And in the current Primordial World, by all rights, there should have been no Quasi-Sages other than Hongjun's few disciples.
Yuanshi Tianzun?
Cult Leader Tongtian?
Or Taishang Laojun?
No, I've never had any dealings with them.
Mu Chen held his breath and focused.
He sealed off the surrounding sea of clouds completely.
He made up his mind to play dead unless it was something important.
Outside the Cloud Sea Grand Formation.
A figure slowly materialized.
With a human head and a snake's body, she had incomparably beautiful features and an unrivaled grace, brimming with matchless nobility.
Yet now, as she rode the wind over, a faint trace of sorrow lingered on her face.
She slowly spoke.
Heaven and earth echoed her voice.
"May I ask if you are here, fellow Daoist?"
Mu Chen was surprised.
It's actually Nuwa?
Then he could not help feeling delighted.
After all, the shaman and demon races now dominated, and this was precisely the time when Nuwa would create the human race.
He was still waiting for the human race to be established so that he could use Pangu's Essence Blood to shape his body.
That way, he could rid himself of his Rootless Body, and perhaps his cultivation speed would also increase dramatically.
At once, he spoke.
"I'm here!"
With that, the Cloud Sea Grand Formation opened on its own.
Mu Chen stood above the sea of clouds, his hands clasped behind his back, and said with a broad smile.
"What brings you to see me, fellow Daoist?"
Upon seeing Mu Chen, Nuwa's gaze flickered slightly.
A Quasi-Sage?
No, he also seems to be in the Taiyi True Immortal Realm.
As expected of someone Master holds in such regard. Even at the peak of the Quasi-Sage realm, I cannot see through him.
At this thought, she bowed in greeting.
"I have come because of a certain matter. Please resolve my doubts, fellow Daoist."
Mu Chen asked curiously.
"What is it?"
Nuwa sighed.
"It is like this. During Master's second preaching, for some reason, he specifically instructed me to leave seclusion, gather the soil of all things, and use it to comprehend the Dao."
"I missed the second preaching at the Purple Cloud Palace. After ten thousand years of effort, I have now collected all the divine soils of all things, yet I have gained no insight whatsoever, wasting my opportunity to attain the Dao."
"Unable to make sense of it despite pondering it a hundred times over, I was told by Master to come here and seek your guidance, young fellow Daoist."
"May I ask what opportunity this soil holds for me to attain the Dao?"
Nuwa truly felt miserable.
Not only had she missed her master's second preaching, but her cultivation had fallen far behind her senior brothers'.
Now, the other gods and demons even mockingly called her Lady Soil and Mud.
Had it been anyone else, she, Nuwa, would have flown into a rage long ago.
Yet these were her master's instructions, and she had no choice but to obey.
Hearing this.
Mu Chen broke into a sheepish sweat.
Didn't I just want her to create humans a little sooner...
How could this Old Jun be so stupid? He actually sent his disciple off to dig up mud.
At the thought that he had caused Nuwa to miss the preaching, Mu Chen suddenly felt a little alarmed.
Wait.
If I say there's no opportunity at all, will Nuwa slaughter me on the spot?
This is an enmity over the Great Dao!
At this thought, Mu Chen could only give a dry cough.
"Er... fellow Daoist Nuwa, have you ever heard of the Mother of the Earth?"
Nuwa frowned and asked in confusion.
"The Mother of the Earth?"
Mu Chen smiled faintly.
"Of the two words, heaven and earth, heaven governs the Primordial World, hence the Heavenly Dao."
"And what can represent earth? Soil, naturally!"
"You must understand that soil is the root of the earth. It can be molded into myriad forms and transformed into all things. This is earth."
"Now heaven has opened, while earth remains in chaos. If someone could observe soil and command the transformations of the earth, would that not make them the Mother of the Earth?"
Yes.
Mu Chen was simply talking nonsense.
It was all just things he had heard, anyway.
Yet upon hearing these words.
Nuwa froze.
Immediately afterward, countless flashes of insight streaked through her mind, and her entire presence began to seethe.
"Soil is the root of the earth..."
"It can be molded into myriad forms and transformed into all things..."
"The Mother of the Earth..."
At this moment, Nuwa felt that something had finally clicked.
There was nothing special about soil.
Yet it was the root of the earth, and it could shape all things.
Was this not the supreme Great Dao?
Nuwa's long hair stirred without wind, her presence sublimated further, and even heaven and earth faintly began to glow with rosy light.
She bowed respectfully to Mu Chen and said joyfully.
"I have suddenly gained insight. Thank you for imparting the Dao, young fellow Daoist."
"Once I become a Sage, I will return to thank you, young fellow Daoist."
With that, she hurried away.
Watching this scene.
Mu Chen looked utterly bewildered.
Why is she just like Hongjun?
They space out in the middle of a conversation, then slip away as soon as they're done.
Don't they have any manners?