Tongtian chuckled, "Junior Sister Nuwa, you must have something important to discuss by coming to Kunlun this time. Feel free to speak your mind."
He was a straightforward person, disliking unnecessary detours.
Nuwa smiled warmly, "Thank you, Senior Brother Tongtian, for your understanding.
I have come to Kunlun today to seek guidance from Senior Brother.
Before our esteemed Master attained Dao, Senior Brother was his eldest disciple and the leader of the Daoist sect. You must surely have a profound understanding of the great trends of the Human Dao.
I wish to know the past and present of the Human Dao. I implore Senior Brother for your guidance!"
Yuanshi's expression flickered with surprise but he remained silent.
Tongtian's eyelids twitched. After a moment's thought, he too kept his counsel.
Laozi, whose face was usually as placid as ancient waves, finally showed emotion. He spoke slowly, "Junior Sister Nuwa, when you ask about the great trends of the Human Dao, is it not more accurate to say you are asking about the matter of Fellow Daoist Fuxi?"
Nuwa maintained her smile, "For me, these two matters are one and the same."
Laozi nodded and pondered for a long while.
A pin drop could be heard in the grand hall. The silence stretched on.
Nuwa gazed at Laozi, awaiting his words.
Tongtian's gaze shifted between Nuwa and Laozi.
Yuanshi was the most patient. He simply closed his eyes to rest.
Finally, Laozi spoke again.
"Since Junior Sister Nuwa has asked, I shall tell you. However, these are secrets of heaven and earth. I hope you will speak of them with caution!"
Nuwa nodded, "Junior Sister understands the gravity of the matter."
Laozi's cloudy eyes slowly opened, transitioning from dimness to clarity, a light kindling within them.
"The origin of the Human Dao began with the Great Dao of the Primordial Chaos. The first to manifest was the Great God Pangu!
Beneath Pangu, the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods all governed the Human Dao.
Pangu created heaven and earth. The Dao of Heaven and the Dao of Earth emerged from the Human Dao. Upon Pangu's demise, the first era of the Human Dao concluded.
Pangu perished in the Great Desolation, transforming into all living beings and initiating the second era of the Human Dao. The Human Dao became the heart of the Dao of Heaven and the Dao of Earth. The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin tribes contended with the Heavenly Dao for the Great Desolation and were defeated. Thus began the third era of the Human Dao, which continues to this day.
In truth, whether it was the completion of the Heavenly Dao or the emergence of the Earthly Dao, both were achieved because of 'humans'!
Before Master attained Dao, even with his immeasurable divine abilities, he was a living being within heaven and earth, also part of the Human Dao.
When Master unified with the Great Heavenly Dao, he proclaimed the division of the three Daos. The Heavenly Dao was the strongest, followed by the Human Dao, and the Earthly Dao was the weakest.
The emergence of the Earthly Dao was also instigated by the Lord of the Eastern Wasteland, manifesting in the Great Desolation and entering the fray of the three Daos: Heaven, Earth, and Human."
Nuwa was stunned. Countless principles and truths were reordered in her mind concerning the tripartite system of Heaven, Earth, and Human. Indeed, without the Human Dao, there would be no myriad living beings, no supreme powers in all the heavens, and all would be reduced to nothingness. Above was Heaven, below was Earth, and all was differentiated by sentient beings.
The Heavenly Dao reigned supreme in the firmament, overlooking all beings.
The Human Dao encompassed all sentient and spiritual beings, serving as the core for the existence of the Heavenly and Earthly Daos.
The Earthly Dao lay hidden in the Nine Netherworlds, nurturing the unknown.
She rose and bowed, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for imparting this knowledge. Previously, I only knew that the Primordial Chaos gave birth to the Great God Pangu who created heaven and earth and died to transform into all things, thus marking the ebb and flow of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Daos.
Now, I have gained new understanding. May I ask if Senior Brother could offer convenience in the future?"
Laozi rose and said, "Since Junior Sister understands, that is good. However, whether convenience can be offered is not solely up to me."
Nuwa said solemnly, "As long as Senior Brother has the will, that is enough!"
Laozi nodded silently.
Nuwa smiled, "Thank you, Senior Brother. Nuwa takes her leave!"
With that, she rose and departed without hesitation.
Outside Mount Kunlun, a golden phoenix chariot soared into the sky, heading towards Mount Sumeru in the west.
Within a single day, Nuwa had visited the abodes of all five Saints and returned to her mountain to enter seclusion.
Qing Ling knew that when Nuwa emerged from seclusion, it would be her opportunity to attain Sainthood!
The tide of the Saint era was once again surging, and supreme powers, those at the Half-Step Hunyuan, would likely have to take a backseat to the Saints.
Several Yuanhui after Nuwa returned to her mountain, the Solar and Lunar stars once again displayed their celestial might.
The Heavenly Emperor Di Jun returned, the Empress Xi He returned, and the Eastern Emperor Taiyi returned.
The era governed by the Demon Master had come to an end. Although it lasted only ten Yuanhui, it had laid the foundation for the eternal legacy of the demon race.
The demon race had already enfeoffed over three hundred Demon Saints and ten Demon Gods. With the exception of the Demon God Bai Ze, all were supreme powers of heaven and earth.
Beneath the Heavenly Emperor, there were the Ten Directions Heavenly Armies and hundreds of millions of demon subjects. The Heavenly Court had been in a period of quiet development for ten Yuanhui. Kunpeng had painstakingly managed affairs for ten Yuanhui, spreading the teachings to myriad demons, allowing the demon race to fully recover from the grievous injuries sustained in the previous war.
Although Di Jun had recovered from his injuries upon his return, his cultivation could advance no further due to the destruction of his Good and Evil corpses during the previous war!
Even Hongjun, who once wielded the Jade Disc of Creation, had to expend immense effort and undergo forty-nine Yuanhui to mend his fractured first corpse.
Di Jun, though possessing great fortune, could not compare to the Dao Ancestor.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Court's foremost combatant, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, had fully recovered from his injuries and had not damaged his Great Dao, still possessing the potential to achieve Hunyuan.
Upon the return of the Taiyi brothers, Kunpeng relinquished his authority and resided in the Demon Master's Palace, still retaining a portion of the Heavenly Court's core power. Many Demon Saints served under him, and he had numerous followers. All demons in the world who had received his teachings and methods even referred to themselves as his disciples.
Fortunately, both Kunpeng and Di Jun were extraordinary individuals, and there was no such thing as overwhelming power, vying for control and profit.
Di Jun resumed command and began the grand arrangement of the Zhou Tian Star Array.
He dispatched over a hundred Demon Saints to inhabit the main stars of the Zhou Tian, with countless Taiyi Demon Lords and Golden Immortal level great demons guarding each star, both large and small. The Ten Great Demon Gods took up residence on ten principal formation stars, dividing the four directions of the array and reconfiguring the Zhou Tian.
Traces of the demon race could be found on countless stars. Each star, large or small, was equipped with star formations crafted from precious materials. There were countless minor stars, a million major stars, and the three hundred and sixty-five principal stars served as the core. The ten principal formation stars acted as auxiliaries, and the four Imperial Stars were paramount. With the added power of the Heavenly Court's authority, the orthodox Zhou Tian Star Dou Array of the demon race finally emerged!
However, the four Imperial Stars were occupied by Taiyi, Di Jun, Kunpeng, and Xi He. If Nuwa and Qing Ling were also to be included, the Star Array would not be able to accommodate more star masters, and instead, more flaws would arise.
Even an array formed by four Emperor-level beings, coupled with the true stellar bodies of hundreds of millions of stars, would be sufficient to contend with the Twelve Celestial Gods and Demons Array of the Wu clan! The complexity of the Zhou Tian Star Dou Array was immeasurable, with endless transformations and infinite combinations, truly making it unparalleled in the world.
Therefore, it took a full thirty Yuanhui for the demon race to complete the deployment of the Zhou Tian Star Dou Array.
The demon race did not possess three hundred and sixty-five Demon Saints, so the Eastern Emperor personally led an expedition to the Great Desolation, conquering over a hundred supreme powers and forcing their essence souls to merge into the Monster Summoning Banner, vowing allegiance to the demons and enfeoffing them as Demon Saints.
Thus, over a hundred supreme powers were unwillingly drawn into the calamity of the Wu and Demon clans.
And after thirty Yuanhui, the Earth God of Dugguang finally fulfilled his mission, traveling across the mountains and rivers of the Great Desolation, and recording a map of the Great Desolation that stretched for a hundred thousand li when unfurled.
Qing Ling roughly verified the authenticity of this map with his divine sense. Dugguang, as an Earth God at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, possessed a deeper understanding of the land and mountains than ordinary supreme powers.
Qing Ling, carrying this map of ten thousand li of mountains and rivers, descended from the Jianmu Tree.