Chapter 17: The Heavenly Gate Knows Cause and Effect, Nüwa Thinks of Creating Humans

  Penglai Island, in the secret room where Tongtian was located, was now a sea of flames. In front of him was the Qiankun Ding he had obtained from Houtu. Tongtian struck out with his hands, casting countless seals, and shouted: "Done!" The flames disappeared, and a purple treasure pagoda flew out of the Qiankun Ding - it was the Divine Dragon Pagoda that Tongtian had refined. At this point, the Divine Dragon Pagoda had been transformed by the Qiankun Ding into a pre-heavenly spiritual treasure. Tongtian held the Divine Dragon Pagoda in his hand, and saw that after its transformation, it was surrounded by a purple aura, shining brightly with treasure light, and was no less than his own 12th-grade Black Lotus. Tongtian thought for a moment, then infused the merit he had obtained when establishing the Heavenly Court into the pagoda. Instantly, the purple aura surrounding the Divine Dragon Pagoda took on a hint of mysterious yellow energy, and it became a Merit Treasure. From now on, if great merit were added to it, it might even become a Supreme Merit Treasure.

  Looking at the Divine Dragon Tower, Tongtian was overjoyed. For this first spiritual treasure he had refined himself, he felt some unusual emotions in his heart. Then, he put away the Divine Dragon Tower. Afterwards, he didn't refine any more treasures, but instead tidied up a bit. Ever since the Dao Ancestor merged with the Dao, Tongtian had been troubled by the matter of cause and effect. The Exterminating Immortal Sword Array bestowed by the Dao Ancestor and the spiritual treasure obtained from the Divide Treasure Cliff, he had all put away without even looking at them. Now that he had some time, he eagerly took out all the spiritual treasures he had obtained, wanting to admire them for a bit.

  Tongtian had obtained many treasures in the Zixiao Palace, not to mention those given by the Daoist Ancestor. Among them, there were over 50 items from the Fenbao Cliff, including the famous Horse Toilet Law Treasure and the Hunyuan Golden Dipper of later generations. This was originally the Mountain Guardian Spirit Treasure of Yunxiao Xianzi, Tongtian's future disciple, so it was also reasonable for him to obtain it. There were also 24 Dinghai Divine Pearls, Fenbao Cliff, Sifang Ta, Zixia Crown and other spirit treasures. What surprised Tongtian the most was that among them was actually the Xuanyuan Controlling Water Flag from the Five Elemental Flags. According to Tongtian's knowledge, the Xuanyuan Controlling Water Flag was a spirit treasure of the Blood Sea Ming River Daoist, so how did it end up on the Fenbao Cliff? This left him puzzled and perplexed.

  Actually, the Xuan Yuan Controlling Water Flag is not a spiritual treasure of Minghe. Minghe indeed has a flag-like spiritual treasure in his hand, but it's the Shura Blood Slaughter Flag, which doesn't belong to the Five Elemental Flags. It's a pre-heavenly spiritual treasure born from the bloody sea, with sharp attacks and power no less than any of the Five Elemental Flags. Tongtian isn't too concerned about this either; he's not as worried about cause and effect as he used to be.

  Originally, when Tongtian learned that the previous plans to deal with the Hunyuan Bell had not been successful, he made another plan and went to the Heavenly Court to find Emperor Jun. After a conversation, Tongtian directly asked Emperor Jun to go to the North Ming Sea to subdue Kunpeng, which could also increase the strength of the Heavenly Court. Emperor Jun, who had cooperated with Tongtian twice before, firmly believed in his words and brought Taiyi and a group of demon saints to the North Ming Sea, forcing Kunpeng to join the Heavenly Court. Kunpeng, however, was a powerful deity from the Zixiao Palace who had listened to the three great calls, and although he did not say anything, he harbored resentment in his heart. Emperor Jun and Taiyi, in order to win over Kunpeng, appointed him as the Master of Ten Thousand Demons, ranking only below themselves.

  After completing this matter, Tongtian returned to Penglai Island again. However, after this trip, he had some doubts in his heart. Could doing so really resolve the karma of the Hunyuan Bell? To be honest, he had done so much for the demon tribe that even if the Hunyuan Bell's effect on the demon tribe was enormous, it should have been offset. Yet, the karma still existed. Was it simply because he had disrupted the grand trend of the Heavenly Way? Tongtian sat alone on a meditation cushion in his secret chamber, rapidly thinking through various possibilities.

  Suddenly, he had an epiphany and thought of a possibility. The so-called "Mandate of Heaven" was actually the great war between the two tribes of witches and demons, both of which would withdraw from the world, leaving humanity as the main protagonist, as determined by the Mandate of Heaven. In that case, the rise, development, war, and final battle of the two tribes were all predetermined by the Mandate of Heaven. Although he had taken away the Chaos Bell, which went against the Mandate of Heaven, his current actions still clearly violated the Mandate of Heaven. Even if he resolved the previous karma, he would again create new karma with the Mandate of Heaven, and the Mandate of Heaven would not create karma with a small shrimp like him who had not yet become a saint. At most, it would give him a heavenly punishment or a calamity. Therefore, all the karma created with the Mandate of Heaven would be added to his previous karma.

  If he had slightly understood the cause and effect after obtaining the Chaos Bell, the Heavenly Way would have responded and changed its previous settings for the Witch and Demon tribes. After the two tribes decided to fight, Dong Huang Taiyi died, and this cause and effect would have been settled naturally. However, he repeatedly intervened, causing the Heavenly Way to change again and again, making it impossible to eliminate the cause and effect.

  The main reason is that he misunderstood what the founder of Taoism said to him at the time of listening to the Tao in Zixiao Palace, "The great trend of the Heavenly Way cannot be changed, and the small trend can be changed." His original understanding was: which cause and effect violates the great trend of the Heavenly Way, then it is a major cause and effect. In fact, it's not like that. What kind of cause and effect can change the great trend of the Heavenly Way? That's not a cause and effect, but against the heaven. Therefore, he repeatedly plotted to end this cause and effect, which was completely superfluous.

  This possibility is very great, and it's also the only reasonable explanation. The more Tongtian thinks about it, the more possible it becomes, until finally he makes up his mind about the cause and effect of the Chaotic Bell. After thinking it through, he feels extremely complicated in his heart, thinking that he was following the will of heaven, but not realizing that he was actually going against the heavens. The Heavenly Way is indeed unpredictable.

  "Grass, after much hardship, what's the point of it all? The great men of the past were right! 'One must see through to the essence of things', how did I not think of that? Alas, being uncultured is truly frightening." With a sigh, he no longer bothered with cause and effect, and began to cultivate his inner treasure.

  Emperor Jun and Taiyi, after forcing Kunpeng to join the Heavenly Court, felt that the top combat power of the demon tribe was far inferior to that of the witch tribe. So they went down to Mount Buzhou, wanting to ask for help from two other powerful demons, Nuwa and Fuxi. However, this time they did not dare to force them, because Nuwa was after all a disciple of the Dao ancestor, and they were afraid of offending the Dao ancestor. Nuwa devoted herself to cultivation and rejected Emperor Jun and Taiyi's invitation without much thought. Fuxi, on the other hand, was slightly moved, as he still had deep feelings for the demon tribe. After some consideration, he discussed it with Nuwa and then followed Emperor Jun and Taiyi to the Heavenly Court. Emperor Jun appointed Fuxi as Xi Huang, and although Nuwa did not come, Emperor Jun still appointed her as Wa Huang.

  After a while, Emperor Jun came to find Nüwa again. However, Nüwa was somewhat unhappy, thinking that Emperor Jun had come to persuade her to join the Heavenly Court again. But she guessed wrong. This time, Emperor Jun wanted Nüwa to be the matchmaker and marry off the Moon Goddess Xihe and Taiyi would marry Changxi. After the two explained their intentions to Nüwa, she agreed after a moment's consideration. Then, Nüwa went to the Taiyin star to find the two goddesses Xihe and Changxi. Afterwards, everything went smoothly, and the two goddesses also agreed.

  The Emperor Jun and Taiyi of the Heavenly Court were overjoyed when they heard the news, and then ordered their subordinates to start preparing for the wedding, inviting all the gods and goddesses of the Primordial Chaos. Unfortunately, this time, all the great gods and goddesses of the Primordial Chaos politely declined. Although all the gods and goddesses of the Heavenly Court had attended last time, the affairs of the Heavenly Court were closely related to them, so they had no choice but to go. This time, however, was a private matter between Emperor Jun and Taiyi, and it had nothing to do with them, so naturally, they didn't want to attend, and they might even offend the Witch Clan if they did, which made them even less willing to go. As a result, all the gods and goddesses made excuses not to attend, and the grand wedding of Emperor Jun and Taiyi was somewhat deserted.

  At the time of the grand wedding, the Heavenly Way once again bestowed virtue and merit, which was also an unexpected joy. Emperor Jun Taiyi not only reported beautiful women, but his cultivation also made great progress, and the demon clan's luck also increased greatly because of this.

  After the grand wedding, the momentum of the Heavenly Court was even stronger than before, and with the help of Kunpeng and Fuxi, two great gods of the demon tribe, its strength suddenly surpassed that of the Wu tribe. However, Emperor Jun knew that after years of cultivation, the Wu tribe's strength had far exceeded what it was before, and he also heard about the significant progress made by the eleventh ancestor, Wu Xiu. Therefore, even though the demon tribe's strength had greatly increased, they still did not dare to make a move lightly. Although Donghuang Taiyi advised Emperor Jun every day to go take revenge on the Wu tribe, Emperor Jun still refused to do so.

  Nüwa herself had also gained merit since the grand wedding of Emperor Jun and Taiyi, her cultivation had made great progress, and she had eliminated the benevolent corpse. After Fuxi left, Nüwa was alone with nothing to do but cultivate, so out of boredom, she went on a tour of the vast wilderness.

  At this time, the Witches were naturally the overlords of the Desolate Continent, while the Demons became their food and punching bags. Nüwa traveled along the way, seeing countless demons being slaughtered by the witches. Her eyebrows furrowed tightly, after all, she was also a demon. Seeing the witches' behavior, her heart was not pleased. At this time, she felt that both demons and witches were so alien to each other. In this desolate world, although there were billions of living beings, except for the witches and demons, everything seemed monotonous. Nüwa couldn't help but think: "The struggle between heaven and earth is endless, and life is dwindling day by day. I should create a new species to stand alongside the witches and demons."

  As she thought of this, the Hongmeng purple energy inside her body suddenly merged with her primordial spirit. Nüwa's heart moved and she began to calculate intensively on the spot. After a long time, she calculated out her own destiny for achieving enlightenment and was overjoyed. She immediately found a place with beautiful scenery and prepared to create humans on the spot. Nüwa picked up a lump of clay and placed it in the palm of her hand. Then, according to her own appearance, combined with the great law of creation she had comprehended, she pinched out a mud man. She then spat out a mouthful of her true primordial energy onto the mud man's body. A flash of light flickered across the mud man's body, transforming it into a lifeless human form that could not feel even a hint of vital energy.

  "Why can't it be done? Is there something lacking?" Nüwa thought deeply but couldn't figure it out.

  Nüwa put the muddy man aside, sighing at how great the difference was between what she had done and what she had thought. After careful consideration, Nüwa came up with another plan and immediately set out to implement it.

  Nüwa took out another handful of mud, kneaded it slightly, and then spat a few drops of her divine blood onto the mud ball. She blew on it again with her vital energy, following the great law, and created another mud man. Although he was not wearing clothes, he had flesh and blood. Nüwa saw him and was overjoyed at first, but when she saw that he didn't move for a long time, she went closer to look and found that he still didn't have any signs of life or intelligence. Nüwa looked at him, her joyful eyes suddenly dimmed, and after thinking carefully, she also didn't know where the problem lay.

  Nüwa tried various methods, but none succeeded. Feeling stifled, she returned to Mount Buzhou. Back in her cave, Nüwa began to meditate and reflect on what she had gained, but found nothing. Concerned about her own chances of achieving enlightenment, Nüwa did not dare to slack off. After some thought, she got up and left the cave, heading towards the outside of the Thirty-Three Heavens, intending to seek guidance from the Ancestor of Dao.

  Before long, the Zixiao Palace arrived, and Haotian Tongzi was already waiting there. Seeing Nüwa arrive, he immediately went forward to greet her, saying: "Greetings, Master Sister, the Daozu has invited you." Nüwa's heart was urgent for her own chance at enlightenment, so she didn't respond, directly following Haotian into the Zixiao Palace. There, Hongjun Laozu was sitting on a high platform, his aura completely merged with the great hall, without any external exposure.

  Nüwa dismounted and bowed down, saying: "Disciple Nüwa pays respects to Master, wishing Master a holy longevity!"

  Hongjun Laozu didn't have any expression, and said lightly: "No need for courtesy." Then he also didn't ask Nüwa what was going on, sitting still on the high platform.

  Nüwa's heart was urgent, and she directly asked the Taoist ancestor: "Master, the disciple has already realized the opportunity to achieve the Tao, but why is it still not possible? Please point out."

  "It's easy to create people, but hard to find good land."

  "Good soil? Please instruct me, teacher, where can I find good soil?"

  "There is a predestined connection on the East Sea, you can go." After finishing speaking, Hong Jun Lao Zu had already disappeared from the high platform, as if he had never appeared before.

  Nüwa saw that the Taoist ancestor had left, and she could only leave too. In her heart, she thought: "The East Sea? How can there be good soil on the sea? What does the teacher mean?" However, Nüwa still listened to the Taoist ancestor's words and left the Purple Cloud Palace, heading directly for the East Sea.

  Arriving at the East Sea, Nüwa gazed out at the vast expanse of water, at a loss for what to do. So she began to wander aimlessly above the East Sea, constantly pondering the words of her ancestor. Good earth, where is there any earth on the East Sea? Even if there were some, it would only be on small islands, but how many countless small islands are there on the East Sea? How could she find it?

  "Good earth, good earth, Hou Tu? Could it be that the good earth Teacher spoke of is in the hands of Hou Tu Shijie? I recall that Hou Tu Shijie and Tong Tian Shixiong's Dao field seems to be somewhere above the Eastern Sea." Thinking of this, Nüwa felt a surge of great joy, but immediately she was disappointed again, because he didn't know where Tong Tian and Hou Tu's Dao field was located. The Eastern Sea is vast, how could it be found in an instant? Helpless, Nüwa had no choice but to wander above the Eastern Sea once more, however this time she had a goal, that being the Dao fields of Tong Tian and Hou Tu.

  Penglai Island, in the secret room where Tongtian was located, at this time Tongtian began to cultivate after refining and tidying up. Although his plans on the Hunyuan Bell were all in vain, it could be said that he had gained a blessing in disguise, which made him understand the Heavenly Way more deeply, making him feel that his good fortune had already been cut off. Therefore, he did not dare to slack off and immediately began to cultivate.

  Only to see Tongtian's body emitting a sorrowful and mournful aura, the three flowers on his head appeared, with two figures above them. One was the evil corpse that Tongtian had beheaded, while the other figure was the good corpse that Tongtian was about to behead. The three flowers on Tongtian's head were blown by the air waves from Qingyun, constantly rolling over. At this time, all the spiritual energy on Penglai Island rushed frantically towards the secret room where Tongtian was located. Meanwhile, Tongtian's aura rose high, and the figures above the three flowers gradually became clear. Another wave of rolling, only to see a person jumping down from Tongtian's head, laughing and saying: "Nice to meet you, fellow Taoist." Tongtian also smiled and said: "We are one body, why be so polite?"

  "It's gone, that poor Dao." After saying this, it flew into Tongtian's body and disappeared. Tongtian felt a wave of relief in his heart, having finally beheaded the two corpses. If he could behead one more corpse, then all three would be beheaded, just like the founder of the Dao. Tongtian thought excitedly, but thinking about how difficult it was to behead himself made him feel somewhat disheartened.

  "It's nothing, it's nothing. In the past, I was able to become a saint with just two kills, at least in my heart I'm already like them." Tongtian comforted himself, but suddenly he looked up at the ceiling of the secret room with a puzzled expression, his eyes seeming to see right through it, and muttered to himself:

  "How could she come to Donghai?" Suddenly, Tongtian's face changed and he got up and left the secret room.

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  (I was going to post the first update, but I didn't expect yesterday's chapter to cause such controversy among everyone. I posted a thread hoping for discussion, but no one responded, leaving me embarrassed. From now on, I'll just respond to comments and not post again, it's too humiliating)