"Enough," Kong Xuan said, "Master's command. We should return as well."
Hua Shuo said unhappily, "Uncle-master, we've only just left. Bei Gulu Continent is vast, and we still have much to explore."
Kong Xuan didn't even look at the two children's expressions. "How vast is Bei Gulu Continent? Master merely ordered us to create a place for humanity to prosper, not to slaughter every fierce beast in Bei Gulu Continent. The rest will be up to humanity itself."
"Announce to all disciples to return to the mountain!"
Chai Daohuang nodded and smiled, "Precisely! I too must return to the Heavenly Court."
"The Heavenly Court?" Kong Xuan was startled. "Return to the ruins of the Heavenly Court for what?"
Chai Daohuang shook his head. "The new lord of the Heavenly Court is already gathering the old gods. The new Heavenly Court will appear before long."
In the distant Dongsheng Shenzhou, there was a vast wilderness and marshland where a powerful immortal was rumored to live in seclusion.
On this day, thunder rumbled in the marsh, and storms raged across the barren lands.
The human tribes living nearby were all in a panic. Their elder was named Hua Xu, possessing the cultivation of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, and was one of the humans created by Nuwa herself. She entered the thunder marsh to investigate and discovered an incredibly large footprint.
Hua Xu fell into it to investigate but could only detect the rapidly dissipating lightning power within!
Using this opportunity of lightning's birth and death, Hua Xu broke through the profound mysteries of Da Luo that had troubled her for tens of Yuanhui, achieving Da Luo Golden Immortal.
In an instant, the wind and rain of heaven and earth ceased, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sky became clear and new.
After breaking through to Da Luo, Hua Xu found herself pregnant.
Her face instantly turned pale. Having never known intimacy, how could she possibly be pregnant?
Hua Xu understood that she had likely been manipulated by some powerful being!
In Wa Huang Palace, Nuwa watched Hua Xu's every move in the water mirror before her, remaining silent.
Beside her, Jin Feng smiled and said, "Your Highness, Lord Fuxi has already reincarnated. You should be happy."
Nuwa raised her head and smiled. "I wonder if elder brother is willing to accept becoming human? His Thunder God avatar has also been repurposed by me, and he can no longer enter the cycle of reincarnation."
Jin Feng dared not respond. Ling Zhuzi asked curiously, "Will Uncle-master be unhappy? Can't we find someone to accompany him and be happy together?"
Nuwa's heart stirred, and she smiled, "You unlearned fellow, look at your senior brother, who is about to achieve Da Luo."
Ling Zhuzi grinned, "I'll just stay by my master's side and go nowhere. Even if my cultivation is low, no one will dare bully me."
In the blink of an eye, ten thousand years passed.
A distinguished guest arrived at Fuyu Mountain.
Qing Ling emerged from his seclusion and met the Queen Mother of the West in Fuluo Palace.
The Queen Mother bowed, "Greetings, Sage."
Qing Ling smiled, "Friend Daoist, you are too polite. We can interact as equals."
The Queen Mother chuckled, "With the status of a Sage, how can I be your equal?"
Qing Ling shook his head, "Friend Daoist, you are too humble. In the Hunyuan realm, you will always have a place."
The Queen Mother was shocked. "Why?"
Qing Ling smiled, "Simply because you are the Queen Mother, the leader of all female immortals in the world. No matter who becomes the Immortal King or Celestial Venerable, they will have to consult you."
The Queen Mother remained silent for a long time, then bowed, "Thank you for your guidance, Friend Daoist."
After thanking Qing Ling, the Queen Mother leisurely descended the mountain.
Some time later, a young man appeared outside Fuyu Mountain, kneeling without getting up, seeking to become a disciple.
At the mountain gate, the stone statue formed by the Boar Beast drooled and said to the newly arrived Tapir, "Brother, this kid's flesh looks so tender."
The Tapir Beast indifferently transmitted, "He's just a Heavenly Immortal, what's so delicious about him?" He swallowed the saliva in his mouth.
The Boar Beast sighed, "You don't know, I've been guarding the mountain gate for several Yuanhui, and I haven't had any meat."
The Tapir smiled, "Isn't that to atone for your past sins? Bear with it!"
The young man at the gate looked at the words "Fuyu Mountain" floating in the sky, his resolve growing stronger. He wanted to cultivate, to become powerful, and to seek freedom in the world.
So he came here, enduring immense hardships, crossing half of Bei Gulu Continent.
He knelt for over a hundred years. Immortals came and went from the mountain gate, but they treated him as if he were invisible. This was because there were too many like him.
When Fuyu Mountain was first established, countless immortals came daily to seek discipleship solely because of the title of Sage, kneeling without getting up.
But none were ever accepted. Over time, no one came to kneel anymore.
This young man had knelt for a hundred years and could barely stand. He saw two streams of water flow down the stone statue at the gate. He was overjoyed, thinking that even the stone statue was moved by his sincerity and shed tears. The young man's previously disappointed heart was rekindled.
Little did he know that he was like a plump piece of meat, dangling in front of two ravenous beasts for over a hundred years.
What he saw were not tears, but the saliva of man-eaters.
The young man knelt at the gate for three hundred years. The white jade steps of the mountain were just within reach, yet he could not take a single step onto them.
Kneeling at the mountain gate, the young man unknowingly drifted into sleep.
He didn't know how long he slept before he suddenly heard a childish voice in his ear, "He's not going to die, is he?"
A female voice said, "How pitiful. Let's bury him then."
"Burying him would be such a waste. Why not use him as fertilizer for the flowers?"
He suddenly woke up. The life force that had disappeared from his body instantly revived. Sleep was a small death, and after a small death, one could truly live!
Golden light blazed from the young man's body. Three hundred years of kneeling before the three characters "Fuyu Mountain" of the Sage, enduring the baptism of sun, moon, wind, and rain, had stripped away all worldly dust.
He had already reached the realm of Xuan Xian!
The young man raised his head and saw two children beside him, smiling, "Thank you."
Hua Shuo exclaimed in surprise, "He's alive! He's alive!"
Hua Ze giggled, "Then come up the mountain with us."
"Up the mountain?" The young man was startled, then overjoyed. "I can enter the mountain?"
Hua Shuo nodded, "The Great Master ordered us two to guide you up the mountain."
The young man joyfully said, "Thank you, Sage!"
Then, he kowtowed a bow at the mountain gate and, with difficulty, stood up.
Along the way, all he saw were palaces and temples, wondrous immortals, and magnificent scenes, which stirred his heart.
Until he saw Fuluo Palace amidst a sea of blood-red flowers.
Nestled within a swaying sea of blood-red flowers stood a vast, ancient, and majestic palace.
He pointed at the sea of flowers in shock and said, "Is this the legendary Luo Sheng Flower Sea?"
Hua Shuo smiled, "Indeed. It wasn't this extensive before, but some disciples and Uncle-masters would bring Luo Sheng flowers back from outside whenever they returned to the mountain and plant them here. Over time, it spread and became a sea of flowers."
The young man was shocked. "Here, does every flower represent an immortal?"
Hua Ze giggled, "The blooming of every Luo Sheng flower signifies the demise of a Golden Immortal."
Upon hearing this, the young man suddenly felt that the two children beside him were somewhat terrifying.
Finally, the three arrived at Fuluo Palace. As soon as the young man entered the palace, he bowed, "Humanity, Li Chang Geng, pays respects to the Sage, and congratulates the Sage on his eternal life!"