Liu Mang had no idea that Yuanshi had been watching him for quite some time.
Although Yuanshi did not know what Liu Mang was looking at, one glance at those shifty eyes told him that the fellow was definitely up to no good.
Yuanshi could not help but sigh. "Such a decent person—why did he have to grow a pair of eyes?"
When Liu Mang looked serious, he was indeed a rare handsome youth in Hong Huang. Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a chiseled nose, and a dashing, heroic bearing made him every bit the elegant young man.
Yet this handsome youth had the looks of Erlang Shen—in the style of Jiao Enjun—but often wore the expression of the Howling Celestial Dog. Was that not utterly irritating?
As the first Human Race member created by Nu Wa, he had cost her no small amount of effort. Whether in care or materials, he had received only the finest.
But Liu Mang always acted like a hooligan. If he was not taking advantage of someone, then he was on his way to do so.
He had not inherited even a trace of the refined air of a handsome youth of Hong Huang, but he had fully acquired the roguish swagger of a street loafer.
Yuanshi not only disliked Liu Mang; he even looked down on him somewhat. But for the sake of attaining the Dao, Yuanshi could no longer worry about such things.
Yuanshi would endure this humiliation!
Yuanshi thought to himself, If it comes down to it, I'll take him as my disciple first and slowly straighten him out afterward. At worst, I'll expel him from the sect!
In any case, things definitely could not go on like this. Yuanshi could not afford to lose that much face.
Although Yuanshi knew that Jieyin and Zhunti were also determined to obtain Liu Mang, he believed that if he made a move, they would not dare say anything.
He, Yuanshi, was not Kunpeng or Hong Yun. What was not his to yield, he would never yield—not even if it killed him.
Even if a fight broke out, Yuanshi was not afraid. If all else failed, he would unleash Third Brother.
Meanwhile, at the place where Nu Wa was creating humans.
Countless newborn members of the Human Race already knelt around Nu Wa. Looking into the distance, they formed an endless, densely packed sea.
The boundless Merit that had been gathering for so long spun like a typhoon around its eye, and Nu Wa stood at the very center of that eye.
As more and more Merit gathered and thickened, Nu Wa's entire body was dyed golden. Every circulation of the laws stirred the Merit above her head into ceaseless rolling waves.
Even the gourd vine in Nu Wa's hand, which she used to create humans, had been infused with the power of Merit until it shone with golden light.
Nu Wa dipped the gourd vine into the last clump of Breathing Soil on the stone platform, then immersed the Breathing Soil in the Three Lights Divine Water. With a wave of the gourd vine in her hand, one hundred and eight thousand humans swelled with the wind and came into being upon touching the ground.
The newborn Human Race had now reached the number of ten huiyuan—one million two hundred and ninety-six thousand people.
However, compared with the three thousand humans Nu Wa had personally molded, the remaining humans were far inferior in both physique and aptitude.
Nu Wa seemed to sense that she had reached a limit. She stopped moving and closed her eyes.
All living beings created by Nu Wa seemed to sense something. They bowed to her in unison, and Liu Mang and Xuan Du were no exception as they said together.
"Thank you, Holy Mother, for the grace of creation."
The voices of the Human Race were clearly not loud, yet together they were like ten thousand thunderclaps, spreading through every corner of Hong Huang.
Just as some beings of Hong Huang wondered who this Holy Mother was, a voice rang out beside their ears.
"The Human Race shall be established!" Nu Wa opened her eyes and gazed gently at the humans bowing before her as she spoke slowly.
The moment Nu Wa finished speaking, the Heavenly Dao proclaimed it to the world.
In the next instant, every living being in Hong Huang knew that a new race had been added to Hong Huang: the Human Race, created by Nu Wa.
At the same time, the Merit that had been brewing for so long where Nu Wa stood descended as though it had received an edict, carrying a Dao aura capable of suppressing the eight directions.
Eighty percent of all Merit fell upon Nu Wa, ten percent fell upon the Human Race, and the remaining ten percent scattered among the people and objects present.
No one had expected that merely witnessing Nu Wa attain the Dao would earn them a share of Merit. Clearly, the Heavenly Dao believed they had rendered merit by protecting her path.
Although the amount of Merit was small, everyone beamed with joy. After all, with the order of Hong Huang still unsettled and its rules not yet established, obtaining Merit was like searching for a needle in the sea.
Some objects also received a portion of the power of Merit, such as the stone platform used to create humans and the gourd vine.
Yet compared to all that, Nu Wa drew the most attention.
When the Merit descended, Nu Wa's entire body was enveloped in an ocean of golden light, as though she were the center of heaven and earth. Endless might erupted with a roar, sweeping in every direction.
The heavens changed color, time and space froze, and heaven and earth trembled.
Under this pressure, every living being in Hong Huang could not help but shudder.
Though they all knew this pressure was not directed at them, they still could not stop trembling, like legs shaking uncontrollably.
Even the Three Corpses Quasi-Saints could not help but turn their attention toward this aura. It was so powerful that words could not describe it, leaving them unable to suppress their fear.
The people originally gathered around Nu Wa were forcibly pushed a thousand miles away by the aura she unleashed.
Even after assuming their true forms, each of them still had to exert all their strength just to barely withstand that overwhelming might.
"Is this the might of a Saint?" Yuanshi stared at Nu Wa in the distance, his gaze growing even hotter.
Under that pressure, even though he was already a mid-stage Quasi-Saint, he still felt as insignificant as an ant.
Tongtian gripped the Qingping Sword and stood at the very front, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
The Ancestral Wu had already returned to their original bodies, each more than a hundred meters tall. Some of the Ten Great Demon Gods had also transformed into their true forms to resist that aura.
The only ones faring well were Liu Mang and Xuan Du. Both possessed the first share of Merit from Nu Wa's creation of humans and were not excessively rejected by the Merit. Xuan Du also had Taishang looking after him, making things even more comfortable for him.
By comparison, Liu Mang was in far worse shape.
Nu Wa's aura erupted, and he was the closest one to her. No one had the spare attention to look after him.
The key was that he was unwilling to leave. Foolishly lying prone on the ground, he was pressed by Nu Wa's aura into a massive human-shaped crater.
His entire body was buried in the pit, and even his back was almost out of sight.
[Ah, Mother, hurry up! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!]
Just when everyone in Hong Huang believed Nu Wa's attainment of the Dao was already assured, Nu Wa, wrapped in endless Merit, slowly opened her eyes.
She expressionlessly looked at Liu Mang, who was pinned to the ground, and thought to herself, I do not know who you really are, but you recognize me as your mother. No reincarnated great power should be so shameless. Then... should I trust you?
"Is attaining the Dao through the Three Corpses truly feasible?" Nu Wa murmured. "Or should I refuse to absorb this Merit and continue pursuing the Three Corpses path?"
As Nu Wa hesitated, a strand of purple qi appeared above her head.
"Hongmeng Purple Qi? Why did it suddenly emerge?"
Before Nu Wa could react, the Hongmeng Purple Qi floating above her head began madly absorbing Merit before channeling it into her body. Nu Wa's delicate body trembled. The situation she had feared most had still come to pass.
Nu Wa tried repeatedly to control the Hongmeng Purple Qi and stop it from absorbing Merit, but every attempt ended in failure.
Inside the Purple Heaven Palace, Hongjun smiled and spoke to the empty space before him. "Heavenly Dao, just as I expected, you did not want Nuwa to attain the Dao through merit. Good thing I prepared in advance, or you really would have succeeded."
After speaking, Hong Jun received no response. He was not angered. He merely smiled faintly and entered meditation once more.
Looking at the out-of-control Hongmeng Purple Qi and the increasingly abundant Merit within her body, Nu Wa showed no trace of panic.
Liu Mang had previously said that there was a problem with the Hongmeng Purple Qi. Although she did not entirely believe him, she could not possibly have been completely unprepared.
"So that one truly intends to force me to become a Saint through Merit." Nu Wa looked at the Hongmeng Purple Qi, then gave a bitter smile and murmured softly.
"Since you want it, then I shall grant your wish!"
Before you continue