Time in this world seemed to have frozen. Wende treated the power of Yin and Yang like modeling clay, molding this and that. But after sculpting for a long time, only when the scene before him matched the one in his memory did Wende gently sit down beneath the golden tree, looking up at the blazing star.
To be thorough, he even used Yang energy to form an atmosphere, so the planet wouldn't be completely exposed to the star. This was one of the fundamental requirements for life.
But... what was still missing?
The system screen had said he could only leave once he found a certain 'point' in his creation. But what was that point?
Everything necessary for life to exist? He had it all here, simple things manifested from Yin and Yang. But he hadn't seen the slightest sign of the exit the system screen had mentioned.
"Are you messing with me?"
Lying under the golden tree, Wende asked the system screen, feeling exhausted.
[Believe it or not, it's up to you. Anyway, if you can't grasp that level of understanding, you can forget about getting out of here.]
The system screen also seemed to have gone limp. Perhaps for It, encountering a guy like Wende, whom It could neither out-talk nor out-sass, was a rather unfortunate event.
Seeing that this guy wasn't going to be of any help, Wende decided to go limp as well. He conjured a lounge chair out of thin air from Yin and Yang energy, lay down on it, propped his hands behind his head, and gently closed his eyes, looking completely relaxed and at ease.
"This guy isn't really giving up, is he?" the system screen thought with some concern, quietly materializing among the branches of the golden tree.
In reality, giving up wasn't Wende's style. He just wanted to close his eyes and think things through properly.
What exactly was missing? Since that system screen said the key lay in the world he had created...
Wende thought hard, his eyes tightly shut. The key was the world he had created...
An eye quietly materialized above the entire world. The giant pupil seemed to want to take in every sight of this world, every blade of grass, every flower, every tree.
Rustle...
The wind blew gently, carrying a hint of late autumn's chill. The golden leaves collided with each other in the breeze, making a crisp sound.
These were all things Wende had created from his memory. Did he have to create something specific?
But the world and all its myriad things were vast and boundless. How could he find that one key among an infinity of things?
"I wonder how Tingyun and Jingliu are doing outside."
Wende pondered. What was it that he had forgotten?
Rustle...
"That's right. The only sound here is the wind blowing through the leaves. It's a bit too monotonous, isn't it? Could the key to getting out be the diversity of life?"
With this thought, Wende took on another part-time job: the work of "Nuwa." But unfortunately, he didn't create humans directly. Instead, he turned to making some animals and insects. Of course, things like mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches were better off not appearing on a planet of his own creation.
In an instant, the life on the entire planet began to blossom with color and variety. The sounds in the air became a busy, overlapping symphony. But the exit portal Wende had imagined still didn't appear.
Alright, so that wasn't it either.
"What could be missing?"
Wende once again fell into a state of confusion and doubt.
Time flowed on as Wende thought, and he continued to search for that so-called key. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep...
He slept very comfortably, as if he had returned to his childhood. He didn't dream, and he felt as if his entire body had become much lighter.
"..."
When he awoke, the star was still hanging in the sky. The leaves were still rustling above his head, stirred by the wind...
"I think... I know what it is."
Staring at the glaring star, Wende muttered to himself.
[Oh ho, the young master finally figures out what he forgot! Let's see what crucial element this genius of a guy managed to overlook!]
The system screen suddenly appeared, dumping a load of trash talk on the just-awakened Wende like a professional heckler.
"If you have nothing to say, you can go to sleep, or do something else meaningful. Don't bother me here."
Wende, having now grasped the "true essence," closed his eyes, not forgetting to throw some shade back at the system screen.
He understood what this world was missing. If this world were described as a newborn baby, then the world Wende had created possessed all the necessary elements for a world teeming with life.
But from the very beginning, Wende's perspective had been focused on the very long term. He hadn't calmed down and considered what a world truly needed to be alive...
"Rules, or perhaps... Order."
This time, Wende didn't separate the Chaos energy into Yin and Yang. Instead, he used the most fundamental Chaos to shape something intangible...
For example... Time.
For example... the laws of nature.
The surging Chaos energy in Wende's hands merged into all things. From this moment on, the golden leaves no longer just rustled against each other, making a crackling sound. They began to drift gently down from the branches.
The entire world began to slowly turn under the river of time. The sky began to darken, and clusters of fiery clouds appeared on the canvas of the sky.
"This is..."
Wende gently reached out his hand, moving a wisp of Chaos energy. He was surprised to find that the wisp of Chaos energy he held seemed to be attached to a leaf that was drifting down...
It hung motionless in the air, as if time had been paused for it.
When Wende released that wisp of Chaos, it resumed its descent.
"This is... the power of rules?"
[That's right... This is the true meaning of rules, the true meaning of Order. It is the fundamental essence of things from the very beginning.]
The system screen added for Wende's benefit.
"You said, 'One gives birth to Two...'"
"Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things..." Wende finished the sentence.
[Your understanding is still confined to this point. But to have made such progress so quickly is already quite good. At the very least, you've grasped a key point that wasn't highlighted... As for the rest, you may need to discover it on your own in the future.]
[In short, do not bring shame to Order. Do not bring shame to yourself...]
After saying these few words, the system screen disappeared, leaving Wende still pondering where he stood, along with a... "sphere"? The very same one he had passed through to arrive here.