At that moment, the powerhouses of the Primordial World all felt something.
The secrets of heaven... had changed.
Within Purple Heaven Palace, Hongjun utilized the Jade Register of Creation to deduce the fates of all living beings. To his astonishment, he discovered that the path of certain death belonging to the Wu tribe had, at some unknown point, shifted slightly.
The Dao Ancestor pinched his fingers to calculate. What was he to do?
This was the handiwork of his ideal future disciple.
But as for the Heavenly Dao... would It allow the Wu tribe this extra sliver of hope?
Sigh, this old Daoist is worried sick. Why hasn't the Earthly Path manifested yet?! Is there no immortal in charge of this? Just when will the Primordial World finally stabilize completely?!
Eh?!
“Heavenly Dao! What are you doing? That is this old Daoist's beloved future disciple!”
“No striking her!”
“No, no, absolutely not!”
“Achoo—”
How vexing! Who was talking about her behind her back again?!
Before Yuan Heng could ponder it further, the Ancestral Witch Houtu excitedly hugged her. “Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng, we do not even know how to thank you!”
The remaining eleven hulking men also wore joyous expressions. Seeing Zhurong about to deliver another slap as large as a cattail leaf fan to show his friendliness, Jumang raised a hand to block him.
Zhurong rubbed his nose sheepishly. “Hey, I was just too excited!”
Yuan Heng struggled to free herself from the Ancestral Witch Houtu's somewhat broad embrace. “Fellow Daoist... there is no need to be polite. Consider this sea of flowers my meeting gift upon my first visit to the Wu tribe~”
There was a hint of joy in her tone. As she watched the children playing freely in the sea of flowers, her eyes were filled with gratification.
Tender, young lives would one day grow resilient. Passing down generation after generation—this was the beauty of life.
There was withering, and there was also new birth.
Thinking of new birth, Yuan Heng's gaze landed on Houtu, who was closest to her. She secretly glanced at the sky before speaking in a casually feigned tone. “Fellow Daoist Houtu, you specialize in the Dao of Earth. Have you ever pondered the wondrous uses of the earth?”
“Just like this sea of flowers... the birth of a life is symbolized by a new flower, yet the death of a life will also cause a flower to wither and decay.”
“But whether they live or die, they remain upon this earth, and new lives will always be born again.”
Come on, fellow Daoist! Birth, death, and birth again—what is this process called?
Yuan Heng looked with sparkling eyes at the pensive Houtu, but she was still bound to be disappointed.
Houtu looked back at her, a trace of agony flashing in her eyes. She felt as though she was just a hair's breadth away, yet this tiny gap was precisely what she couldn't wrap her head around no matter how hard she tried.
Just now, when Yuan Heng spoke, she could feel her Dao foundation resonate for an instant... yet she couldn't grasp a single thing.
Pah! She hated it! That sort of itchiness where one desperately wanted to grasp something but simply couldn't... It was incredibly agonizing!
“Sigh...”
Seeing that Houtu's face was practically contorting from overthinking, Yuan Heng sighed softly. She reached out and patted Houtu's shoulder. “Never mind. Perhaps the time is not yet ripe. You should stop thinking about it for now, Fellow Daoist.”
Look at that. How could such a beautiful face be contorted so? Oh, the guilt she felt.
Yuan Heng looked at the sea of flowers before her, and then at the Ancestral Witches, who were trying their best to suppress their urges to pluck them despite their intense curiosity.
To be honest, she found it somewhat hilarious.
Hahaha, could anyone imagine the sight of a fierce tiger sniffing a rose, or hulking brutes carefully protecting green flowers?
Yuan Heng looked at the Ancestral Witch Dijiang, her eyes filled with gentleness. “Fellow Daoist Dijiang.”
“Each of these flowers represents a life within the Wu tribe.”
“But please do not worry. Life is not that fragile. The flowers will only wither alongside the demise of the corresponding Wu tribe member's life.”
So, Ancestral Witch Zhurong, please stop reaching out to touch one and then quickly snatching your hand back.
And Gonggong, Rushou, Yuezi, Tianwu, Shebishi... can you guys learn from Ancestral Witch Xuanming? Admire the flowers calmly! Don't start pinning them onto each other's heads just because you heard they aren't fragile! Hey!
Hulking, dark-skinned men with giant green flowers tucked behind their ears... Heavens, the sight was too glorious to behold!
Yuan Heng closed her eyes and continued, “Furthermore, even if the flowers are damaged or destroyed, it will not affect the lives of the Wu tribe.”
Dijiang let out a sigh of relief. Heaven knew he had been terrified that Yuan Heng might say the Wu tribe shared their lives with these flowers. If that were the case, they wouldn't even need to go to the frontlines of the battlefield.
If Dijun and Taiyi, those two Golden Crows, merely came over and sneezed out some True Fire of the Sun, the entire Wu tribe would be finished.
Yuan Heng did not notice Dijiang's expression; she was still busy wrapping up her plan.
She casually performed a hand seal, and thousands of spiritual butterflies materialized before everyone. Under Yuan Heng's guidance, those glowing, colorful little butterflies flew straight into this sea of life flowers unique to the Wu tribe.
“My spiritual butterflies will remain here to continuously nourish the vitality of the Wu tribe. These flowers carry my Dao patterns and a sliver of the power of the White Lotus of World Cleansing.”
“Here, they can neutralize the Earthly Evil Qi from the ley lines. This way, the Primeval Spirit will no longer be eroded, and the spiritual consciousness can gradually achieve perfection.”
As for whether they chose to follow the path of tempering the physical body with evil Qi or the method of attaining the Dao through the Primeval Spirit, that would depend on the choices of the Wu people themselves.
Thinking of the future of the Wu and Demon races, Yuan Heng ultimately could not bear it. “The Ancestral Witches may leave a drop of essence blood to be nurtured within the flowers. It might bring you unexpected rewards~”
Dijiang stared blankly at the flowers blooming all over the ground, and then at the thoroughly gentle Yuan Heng. His hands trembled slightly, and for a moment, he actually didn't know what to say.
Yuan Heng's voice continued, carrying a hint of reminiscence. “In the past, the Great God Pangu showed me great kindness. Today, I have somewhat repaid a portion of it.”
A trace of playfulness suddenly flashed in her eyes. “By the way, every one of you looks remarkably like the Great God Pangu.”
Every single one of you is built like a brick wall~
The Twelve Ancestral Witches: !!!
This person has met Father God! We thought she was a youngster, but she's actually an old monster?!!
Yuan Heng: No thinking that!
That is very impolite.
“You have met Father God before, Fellow Daoist?!?”
Ah, there was nothing to hide. “At that time, I hadn't even taken form yet. It was... just a chance encounter, a chance encounter.”
Put away your dangerous thoughts!
She really is quite small!
Yuan Heng stretched her limbs and looked at the hulking men who were lost in thought. Having repaid a bit of the Great God Pangu's kindness, she felt rather happy.
“Fellow Daoists, the matters here are mostly settled. I will not disturb you any longer and shall take my leave.”
Yuan Heng was a bit in a hurry. After visiting her fellow Daoist Nuwa, she needed to quickly head back and go into secluded cultivation. For some reason, after this trip to the Wu tribe, she felt as if her Dao foundation had become much more complete.
Hehehe, just the thought of her cultivation base leaping forward by another massive chunk made her feel utterly delighted~
To her surprise, upon hearing that she was about to leave, one after another, the Ancestral Witches disagreed.
“No way! We of the Wu tribe always repay our debts of gratitude. We haven't repaid your kindness yet, so you can't leave!” The one speaking was Zhurong, who possessed a fiery temperament.
The more gentle Jumang said, “Fellow Daoist, it is a rare occasion for you to visit the Wu tribe, and you have helped us immensely. At the very least, let us play host so we do not appear rude.”
“Indeed, Fellow Daoist Yuan Heng...”
“You should also stay to experience the charm of our Wu tribe~”
“...”
With all the clamoring, Yuan Heng couldn't take it anymore. She was practically drowning in the sheer enthusiasm of the Ancestral Witches.
Finally, with a grand wave of the Ancestral Witch Dijiang's hand and the Ancestral Witch Houtu immediately agreeing, they decided to gift the Wu tribe's treasury to her!
Yuan Heng: !!!
This, this, this—does this still count as her repaying the Great God Pangu's kindness?
While Yuan Heng stood dumbfounded, the Ancestral Witches escorted her to the Wu tribe's treasury. With a sweep of his hand, Dijiang told her to take it all.
Yuan Heng stared at the massive collection of treasures, some dusty and gray, others glowing with brilliant luster, and fell into deep thought.
Ah... was this really necessary?
“Do not be polite, Fellow Daoist. Just take everything!”
The Ancestral Witch Dijiang's tone was incredibly overbearing, exuding the strong vibe of a wealthy landowner who had struck it rich overnight.
Yuan Heng felt that her little plan to repay her debt of gratitude was going to be completely ruined. Besides, she wasn't particularly good at using magic treasures anyway; she hadn't even fully figured out her own intrinsic magic treasures yet.
Thus, she quickly declined. “Fellow Daoists, how about I just choose a few pieces?”
“A few pieces?! How could that possibly offset the massive favor you did for our Wu tribe?!”
“Are you looking down on us?!”
Yuan Heng: No, absolutely not!
After declining several more times, Yuan Heng even resorted to saying, “The children will still need to use them in the future! We must plan for the new Wu who will be born with Primeval Spirits!”
Only this managed to stem the Wu tribe's overwhelming enthusiasm. Thus, holding back tears, Yuan Heng swept away half of the treasures in the Wu tribe's treasury, after which she was “enthusiastically” escorted to Mount Buzhou by the Ancestral Witches.
Yuan Heng: Ah~ I kept saying I didn't want them, but they insisted on giving them anyway. It's really quite embarrassing~
Once Yuan Heng departed, the Ancestral Witches shed their previous enthusiasm, their expressions turning incredibly solemn.
They turned to look at the calm-faced Ancestral Witch of Time, Zhu Jiuyin. “Second Brother, how is it?!”
Within Zhu Jiuyin's eyes, the River of Time suddenly surged with violent torrents as he peered through the endless future. “Our Wu tribe's destiny... has changed...”
The sliver of hope foreseen in Pangu Hall had finally come to fruition.
Rate on N.U.
