The gifts from Tongtian were astonishing enough, and after the initial shock, everyone looked towards Nuwa!
The gifts from the Sanqing, who were the patriarchs of the Human Race, were not insignificant. The crowd was eager to see what the matriarch of the Human Race, Nuwa, would offer as a congratulatory gift!
Even though they wouldn't receive the gifts, it didn't stop them from satisfying their curiosity! After all, these would be topics of idle chatter for future occasions, and a good opportunity to understand the foundation of the Human Race in advance! Besides, everyone had a bit of gossip in them.
Nuwa saw everyone looking at her. The pressure from the Sanqing was considerable! After all, she had created the Human Race, and her status as the matriarch of the Human Race was held in slightly higher regard by her people than that of the Sanqing! Now that the Sanqing had presented such substantial gifts, it would be embarrassing for her if she offered something trivial! People would surely comment on how stingy the matriarch of the Human Race was towards her creation!
Taihao looked at Nuwa with a hint of worry. He knew very well what offering a gift this time meant! A slight misstep could leave his sister with a bad impression! However, his three masters' gifts were too generous, and his sister did not possess the same deep reserves as the Sanqing. The Sanqing, with their vast fortunes, could afford to be extravagant, while his sister had to be frugal.
Nuwa pondered for a long time. She knew she didn't have a gift that could overshadow the Sanqing's offerings. So, she decided to just go with the flow and not try to compete. After all, she was a Saint; anyone who dared to spread rumors would have their tongue cut out, and they wouldn't be able to gossip anymore!
With this thought, Nuwa's mind cleared. It was better to forgo fame and fortune by sacrificing a precious treasure to compete with the Sanqing. She would just offer something modest to appease them! Even if she gave away the Shanhe Sheji Tu, it might not outshine the Sanqing's prestige. That Shanhe Sheji Tu significantly boosted her own power. Without it, her strength would be greatly diminished! After all, her own strength was the only thing that truly mattered!
With this in mind, Nuwa, under Shen Nong's expectant gaze, casually tossed out a perfectly ordinary-looking stone to Shen Nong!
Shen Nong looked at it, utterly bewildered. He examined it from all sides but could not discern any extraordinary heavenly material or earthly treasure. It looked like any ordinary stone found by the roadside!
The crowd, seeing Nuwa present a stone, also assumed it was some peerless material. However, it looked completely ordinary, with no hint of being a treasure of heaven and earth!
The Saints, looking at the stone, twitched their lips. Was Nuwa giving up? Was she simply picking up a common stone from the roadside as a wedding gift for Shen Nong? What about the dignity of the Human Race's matriarch? What about her dignity as a Saint?
Taishang looked at the ordinary stone and couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at Nuwa! He hadn't expected Daoist Nuwa to be so enlightened, unbothered by superficial fame. Even his own cultivation of the Way of Non-Action couldn't compare.
Nuwa felt a pang of discomfort at Taishang's admiring gaze. What was this old Daoist priest up to? Was it not enough that she felt inferior? She had already conceded defeat, what more did he want? What was with that look of admiration?
The crowd, noticing the unusual expression on Taishang's face, all assumed the stone must be something extraordinary that they, with their mortal eyes, couldn't perceive! Even the Saints doubted their own judgment, wondering if they had misidentified this "grand gift"!
After carefully observing for a moment, the Saints also concluded that it was just a stone found anywhere on the ground, with no peculiar characteristics! They then looked back at Taishang and, seeing his continued admiration, sincerely lamented their limited knowledge! How could they not recognize this "returned to simplicity" object? At the same time, they were secretly impressed by Taishang's vast knowledge; out of so many people, only he recognized it! It made sense, how could a Saint like Nuwa offer something ordinary?
Everyone looked at Nuwa expectantly, hoping she would explain. Nuwa, as if hearing their thoughts, slowly spoke amidst Shen Nong's inquisitive gaze: "This is an extraordinary treasure. You should use it wisely!"
Shen Nong: ???
That's it?
Is that all?
It was truly like hearing a speech that said nothing at all! Nuwa, despite her attempt to be casual, couldn't bear to say it was just an ordinary stone. That would be openly embarrassing herself! So, she uttered those words.
Taishang watched Nuwa earnestly spouting nonsense and was dumbfounded, realizing he had overthought it. However, he didn't expose Nuwa. The crowd, seeing Taishang's expression, became even more certain that the stone must be extraordinary! Even Tongtian, who had never seen Taishang display such an expression before, wondered if it was a Chaos Spirit Treasure!
Shen Nong, upon hearing this, happily put it away. This was something that even Saint Father Taishang was amazed by, so he must keep it safe and study it later! Nuwa hadn't expected her simple stone to have such an effect! It seemed she hadn't been ridiculed, nor had she been overshadowed by the Sanqing! Only Taihao understood that his sister didn't have any rare treasures. That stone was probably just an ordinary stone. Did they not know her financial situation after being together for so long? However, it didn't seem to harm his sister, and he wouldn't be foolish enough to say it was just a common stone.
The crowd was stunned by the gifts from the Sanqing and Nuwa. The subsequent gifts from others were comparatively ordinary! They were mostly Innate Spirit Treasures. After having their eyes dazzled by the unknown "extraordinary treasures" from the Sanqing and Nuwa, the crowd felt that the gifts from the other Saints were nothing special. However, for Shen Nong, they were all rare treasures, as the Human Race possessed few decent spirit treasures at the moment.
When it was Jieyin and Zhunti's turn to present their gifts, the crowd was truly shocked. These two were not only famous for being "debt kings" in the Primordial World but also incredibly poor! Despite being Saints, they were practically penniless and extremely stingy! The crowd was surprised that these two actually offered two Innate-level Spirit Treasures! Even Taishang was greatly surprised. He knew how poor they were; normally, they would treasure even a mere Acquired Spirit Treasure, yet here they were, offering two Innate-level Spirit Treasures! Taishang had initially thought they came merely to mend relations with the Eastern Saints, but now it seemed they also intended to forge a good relationship with the Human Race. Taishang thought about it, the Human Race's luck had greatly increased, something visible to beings at their level. Without the large number of disciples from the Jie teaching sect filling the Western sect's coffers during the Investiture of the Gods tribulation, they had no choice but to turn to the Human Race. However, this would also be beneficial to the Human Race, and Taishang wouldn't interfere.
After everyone had presented their gifts to Shen Nong, the wedding ceremony was nearly concluded, and the guests began to depart one by one. During this time, many people wished to join the Sanqing's disciples. Tongtian was somewhat inclined to accept, but Taishang directly refused! Taishang couldn't understand why Tongtian hadn't corrected this bad habit of accepting anyone who came to him! Seeing Taishang's resolute refusal, the crowd knew there was no hope of becoming disciples of the Sanqing. Some ambitious individuals, finding no avenue through Taishang and Tongtian, set their sights on Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun, and Taihao. Zhenyuanzi had Qingfeng and Mingyue from Wuzhuang Temple under his tutelage, and Hongyun also had a young attendant who had followed him from Huoyun Cave into Kunlun. Furthermore, since Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi were inseparable, neither of them had any intention of taking on new disciples. As for Taihao, being alone, he accepted four disciples: the young master of the Azure Dragon tribe, the young master of the Black Tortoise tribe, the young master of the White Tiger tribe, and the young master of the Vermillion Bird tribe.