When Ling Xiao learned that the matter of his Clone had been exposed to the world, he found himself caught between laughter and a sigh of exasperation. While it was hardly a state secret, he had not anticipated that it would spread through the Honghuang World with such furor, inciting a tidal wave of public outcry.
Is all this truly necessary?
By his estimation, such a spectacle ran somewhat counter to his "Steady Path."
It was far from low-profile!
With a single thought, Ling Xiao accessed the interior of the Chaos Pearl. He took the Chaos Green Lotus seed—a prior reward from the System—and placed it within the Pearl's depths to begin its long-term cultivation.
"I wonder if this can gestate another Pangu..."
Ling Xiao mused to himself. If the Chaos Green Lotus were to one day birth another Pangu, would the resulting entity split the Chaos Pearl asunder to create a new world?
The sheer absurdity of the thought made him chuckle at his own imagination. A divine treasure of the Chaos Green Lotus rank would take eons beyond counting—until the very end of time—before it would ever dream of blooming or bearing fruit.
After planting the seed within the Chaos, Ling Xiao cast a glance toward the Black Gourd. The object grew more terrifying by the day, its form brewing with a surging, violent Qi; it showed the distinct signs of reaching maturity.
"I wonder what this Black Gourd will eventually give birth to?"
While the Green Lotus seed was a long-term mystery, this gourd was something to be truly expectant of, as it seemed poised to manifest in the world before too long.
Beyond the Black Gourd, the Yellow Core Plum he had planted using the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil was also thriving, showing the first faint buds of flowering.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
Ling Xiao withdrew his consciousness from the Chaos Pearl and sank into a meditative state to begin his Cultivation. He chose not to dwell on the minor episode regarding his Clone.
Meanwhile, within the Honghuang World, the rumors of the Clone had left the gathered mighty experts feeling an immense, renewed pressure. They fell into a state of frantic, desperate Cultivation.
The Dao Ancestor's three lectures had concluded; there were no more shortcuts to be taken. They were forced to tread the long, honest road of solitary practice.
Time flowed like a river, and the years shifted in a constant cycle. The Honghuang World remained a place of endless war and flickering flames.
In the blink of an eye, several tens of thousands of years drifted by.
To the experts locked in deep seclusion, this span of time was but a brief nap.
However, for the Wu Race and the Yao Race, these millennia were marked by blood. They had fought countless battles, both great and small.
Several of the Yao Race's elite commanders—Bai Ze, Gui Che, and Jiu Ying—had successfully crossed the threshold into the Quasi-Saint Realm one after another.
On the side of the Wu Race, every single one of the Ancestral Witches had achieved the status of a Quasi-Saint without exception. Among them, Di Jiang had even ascended to the Middle Stage of the Quasi-Saint Realm.
This created a mounting, suffocating pressure for the Yao Race. Throughout the tens of thousands of years of conflict, they had suffered more defeats than they had tasted victories.
The Wu Race was born for war, and their offensive was relentless and savage. They had beaten the Yao Race until they could scarcely raise their heads.
When facing the Ancestral Witches in direct combat, the Yao elites found themselves unable to secure any advantage, often being forced to flee in every direction to preserve their lives.
Seeing the living space of the Yao Race shrink with every passing century, Nuwa was gripped by a genuine sense of urgency.
Atop one of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, Nuwa stood in absolute silence. She remained motionless for days and nights, her mind constantly deducing the shifting secrets of the heavens.
It had been tens of thousands of years since she established the Yao Race and reaped the initial Karma. Yet, her cultivation remained stagnant; she had failed to slay her second corpse.
Witnessing the Yao Race's constant retreat and the dwindling of their territory, she realized she could no longer afford to sit idly and wait.
Only by slaying the second corpse—or perhaps by Attaining Sainthood—could she hope to invert the current balance of power.
She Deduced the heavenly secrets without pause, attempting to comprehend the Primordial Violet Qi in the hopes of grasping a final enlightenment.
At this moment, Nuwa's Dharma Body was crystalline and translucent. Her serpent tail glided through the interface between the Void Realm and reality, the scales reflecting every hidden mystery of the cosmos!
She appeared like a perfect mirror, refracting the subtle complexities of all things in the world and the intricate textures of the Great Dao itself.
This was a perfect Physical Body—an Innate divine form that possessed no discernible weakness or flaw.
"Where... where is my Opportunity?"
After a long time, Nuwa opened her eyes and whispered the question to the wind. She felt a faint glimmer of realization, yet she could not quite grasp its essence.
It felt as though she were but a hair's breadth away from the truth.
"Wait... Karma!"
Nuwa's eyes brightened with a sudden light. She recalled the massive Heavenly Dao Karma that had descended when she first established the Yao Race.
Perhaps that was the true key to her Opportunity.
"But... how can I obtain more Karma?"
Nuwa sank into thought, her brow furrowing slightly. The Heavenly Dao was no fool; it did not distribute Karma casually.
In these past tens of thousands of years, those who had successfully reaped Heavenly Dao Karma could be counted on one's fingers. One had to contribute something of immense value to the development of the world before the heavens would respond.
Furthermore, Karma was divided into scales; the greater the contribution, the more massive the resulting reward.
Nuwa pondered deeply, sensing that her Opportunity was right before her eyes, separated only by a single step. Within her phoenix-like eyes, divine sigils flashed as she Deduced the past and searched for an answer.
"Hm?!"
Suddenly, her heart stirred. A red globe—the Red Marriage Globe—materialized before her. It shimmered with a crimson, auspicious glow, bobbing rhythmically in the air.
"The Red Marriage Globe?!"
This Spirit Treasure was a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, gifted to her by Hongjun after his lectures. It possessed the power to validate the three marriages of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
In this moment, the Red Marriage Globe seemed to be guiding her. Its radiance grew increasingly intense, emitting waves of rhythmic fluctuations.
"Could this... be my chance for Sainthood?"
As Nuwa sensed the globe's resonance, her mind grew increasingly clear. The scattered thoughts began to coalesce into a vivid plan.
Finally, she raised her head abruptly, her gaze fixing upon the Sun and Moon in the firmament. Her eyes shone with a light of sudden, joyful realization.
"Stabilize the Yin and Yang. Establish the three fundamental bonds. When the Sun and the Moon are united, one can Attain the Heavenly Marriage! This shall serve as a model for all future generations, establishing the laws of ethics and union. This is surely a matter of massive Karma!"
"The Sun and the Moon are the most fitting candidates for the Heavenly Marriage. Solitary Yin cannot sprout, and solitary Yang cannot grow. The harmony of Yin and Yang is the fundamental truth of the Great Dao."
"And if I serve as the witness to this union, I shall naturally reap the corresponding Karma!"
At this thought, Nuwa's face bloomed with a look of joy. The heavenly secrets had become transparent; her chance for Sainthood was anchored in this divine matchmaking.
She wasted no time, returning immediately to the Yao Race headquarters to present her idea to Fuxi and seek his counsel.
After listening to her proposal, Fuxi remained in deep thought for a long while before slowly speaking: "Sister, the idea itself is magnificent. But the question is... will the Lords of the Sun and Moon agree to it?"
"The Lord of the Sun Star is the master of the Three Crows!"
He believed the logic was sound—ordering the Yin and Yang and setting a precedent for ethics would certainly draw massive Karma.
But the issue was the consent of the parties involved.
Nuwa paused for a moment before replying, "Attaining the Heavenly Marriage provides them with immense benefits as well. Surely they won't simply cast aside such Karma?"
"The union of the Moon and the Sun, the blending of Yin and Yang—it carries a multitude of advantages. I believe they will not refuse."
She spoke with a voice full of confidence, convinced that the plan would succeed. After all, who would turn away from free benefits and Heavenly Karma?
Attaining the Heavenly Marriage was a win-win scenario for all parties involved and did not infringe upon anyone's interests.
It was a joy for everyone; why would they refuse?
Fuxi listened to his sister's reasoning and eventually nodded his head in thought.
Indeed, the logic was sound.
Framed that way, there were truly no flaws in the plan; it was grounded in reason and evidence.
This union would benefit both the Sun and the Moon. And though the Sun Star's Three Crows were notoriously unpredictable, even they had no reason to reject such a boon.
At this thought, Fuxi grew elated. If his sister could Attain Sainthood through this merit, the current plight of the Yao Race would be solved in an instant.
They had been beaten nearly into a stupor by the Wu Race for tens of thousands of years; it was finally time to invert the board!
Shortly after, Nuwa departed the Yao Race headquarters, flying toward the heavens with a heart full of confidence.
She was going to validate the Heavenly Marriage!