Chapter Eighty-Three: The Gourd of Heaven and Earth

  Buzhou Mountain is a valley surrounded by a circle of immortal energy, it's also the birthplace of Nüwa. Countless spiritual roots are planted and spread throughout the valley, which is thousands of miles in circumference. The valley is filled with flowing water and rare spiritual roots everywhere. Moreover, in the center of the valley, there is a small spring that constantly floats with pre-heavenly spiritual energy, forming clouds, mist, and haze. The halo and auspicious clouds accompany each other, truly wonderful beyond words.

  Two divine lights shot out from Hongjun's eyes, instantly making the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dormant, and the auspicious clouds dispersed.

  Na Fuxi took a big step forward and slightly bowed: "Daozhang, I have a question, I don't know if you can answer?"

  "Hong Jun nodded and said: 'Fellow Taoist is also a person with great fate, a wise man.'"

  Fu Xi said: "Good! Daozhang, please listen. The first question is, what is heaven?"

  Hong Jun thought for a moment before responding: "I am now sitting here, I am Heaven!"

  "Fuxi coldly snorted: 'How arrogant and ignorant! This heaven gives birth to all living things, this heaven silently protects all living things. We were born in this world, grew up in this world, received the great kindness of heaven and earth, yet dare to falsely claim to be heaven. This is a great rebellion against the natural order!'"

  "Hong Jun said: 'Where did this heaven come from? Where did this kindness come from.'"

  Fuxi said: "The great god Pangu opened up the sky and earth, and his body transformed into all things. This kindness is as great as that of one's parents, yet you do not see it."

  Hong Jun said: "Before Pangu the Great opened up the sky, what was the sky? Originally there was no sky in the world, but with a sky in one's heart, this sky naturally existed. If the sky is like a cage, then all living things are just ants living inside it."

  Not only did Fuxi calm down for a moment, but Nuwa also furrowed her brow, constantly thinking.

  Two people pondered the profound meaning of this sentence, that the sky and earth are just a small space, we are all bound by the sky and earth as tiny ants, without freedom, and have no right to be arrogant. Before the creation of the world, where was the sky? After the creation of the world, this sky is just one side of space, what's outside the sky? The vastness of the universe is boundless, above it there are heavenly bodies controlling the operation of the sky and earth, all living things under the control of the sky, are just tiny ants. Only today did I realize that there is still a sky beyond the sky.

  Fuxi broke out in a cold sweat and hastily bowed to Hongjun, saying: "I still hope that the teacher will teach me how to break free from this cage."

  Hong Jun smiled but did not speak.

  Fuxi felt ashamed in his heart, thinking to himself that he was indeed arrogant, having clearly listened to someone else's lecture and benefited greatly from it, yet still putting on a pretentious air. He hastily bowed to Hongjun and said: "Your disciple dares not make unreasonable demands, but only asks to follow the teacher and serve him in person, so as to be able to listen to the Supreme Great Way."

  Hong Jun said: "You and I have a master-disciple relationship, but no distinction between master and disciple. Alright, you can temporarily stay by my side for now, I'll take you as a nominal disciple."

  Fuxi knew that this was definitely Hongjun's limit, and being able to accompany him for many years, no matter how long, was a great opportunity. He hastily paid his respects, saying: "Disciple Fuxi pays homage to the teacher."

  Two people busily sought a secluded place, contemplating the Tao passed down by Hongjun.

  Hongjun Pan sat in the valley, silently deducing that the heavenly machine was a bit obscure and the calculation was extremely difficult. However, he also vaguely calculated that he had some opportunities in the vast wilderness. He saw two people waking up from their closed cultivation. Opening his mouth, he said: "I've heard that there are countless heavenly materials and treasures in the vast wilderness, with boundless scenery, especially this Zhōu mountain is the most exceptional. As your master, I'll take you on a tour."

  Fuxi's heart was stirred with excitement, for the treasures of Zhoushan, Tian Di Lingbao and Tian Di Zhibao still existed. Most of them were blocked by the Tian Di Array, making it impossible to delve deeper, leaving him feeling suffocated and anxious.

  Hong Jun's journey through the vast wilderness wasn't a problem, as many of the strongest treasures in the world had been gathered into his sleeves. Thinking about it, Luo Hua was quite pitiful - things from his own territory were all taken away by others, and in the end, those same things were used to attack him.

  Two people followed Hong Jun strolling on the top of Buzhou Mountain, slowly touring around. The two also gained a lot of insight, but perhaps due to insufficient fate, they could not break through that barrier and take that step forward.

  Just as the three of them were constantly searching for opportunities, they suddenly felt a surge of spiritual energy gathering in the distance. Fuxi and Nüwa couldn't help but quicken their pace. The spiritual energy was gathering extremely quickly, it seemed like there was some kind of spiritual treasure.

  The two quickly arrived at the place where the spiritual energy gathered, but there seemed to be a heavenly barrier existing there. Fuxi knew that this barrier was an array of heaven and earth's nurturing, which could both attack and defend, with extraordinary power.

  Generally impenetrable, unless one has great spiritual power or is destined to enter. Probably thinking that his own cultivation has made significant progress, Fuxi took out the companion-born Lingbao Wuxian Guqin, whose material is neither paulownia nor wood. The five strings have the power of the Five Elements and can transform the energy of yin and yang.

  The five strings: the metal string is in charge of killing, with a golden sword and an iron spear, everywhere is the sound of killing; the fire string is in charge of attacking, with a chaotic heart and soul, the effect of rapid fire attacking the heart; the earth string is in charge of defending, thick and heavy like a mountain, defense to the extreme; the wood string is in charge of giving birth, surging and endless new life; the water string is in charge of quietness, gurgling flowing water, clear mind and insight.

  Only the golden flames of the two strings moved, bursting with killing intent, mixed with the power of heaven and earth, suddenly attacking that defensive formation. However, the formation also showed strong killing power, not only repelling Fuxi's attack in full, but also doubling it, momentarily causing Fuxi's formation to be in great disorder.

  Fuxi wanted to strengthen his attack, but was pulled back by Nüwa, who bowed to Hongjun and said, "Please, teacher, take action."

  Hong Jun nodded secretly, thinking to himself: "This Nuwa understands the way of advancing and retreating, indeed a person with great destiny. This formation looks simple, but it's incredibly powerful, not only can it reflect all physical attacks, but also condense the soul to attack."

  Hong Jun's whole body was wrapped in a mysterious yellow aura, and he lightly passed through the formation. For Fuxi and Nüwa, they left behind a passage. In the middle of the formation, there was a calabaza vine, with seven calabazas hanging on it. Six were already fully ripe, leaving only one still absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, its color becoming deeper and deeper. It seemed that it would soon be ripe.

  Hong Jun said: "The gourd vine of Xuantian is not in the five elements, nor does it belong to the pre-heaven. It is the root of chaos, and although it is said that the opening of heaven was a tribulation, the seven gourds it nurtured are all pre-heavenly things."

  Fuxi was deeply moved after hearing this, a gleam of inspiration flashed in his eyes, and he hastily walked forward, wanting to pick one.

  "Hold on"

  Fuxi turned his head and saluted: "The disciple was rude, please let the teacher go first"

  Hong Jun shook his head, watching the changes in the calabaza vine. Only to see that the surrounding spiritual energy gathered at a faster speed, constantly surging towards the roots of the Xuan Tian calabaza vine. The gathering speed of the spiritual energy became faster and faster, forming a spiritual vortex, and all kinds of light flashed on the entire calabaza vine.

  As the various lights flashed, the branches and leaves of the calabaza vine also trembled constantly. The seven calabazas shook continuously, with each color deepening one by one. The calabazas continued to quiver, their amplitude growing larger and larger. First, the first calabaza fell from the calabaza vine, its entire body a deep purple-gold color. After falling, it spun constantly before flying directly into Hong Jun's hand. Hong Jun looked at the calabaza in his hand without much concern, directly putting it away in his sleeve.

  Fuxi's heart moved, and it turned out that the gourd could automatically choose its master. He wondered which one he would get, but what he didn't expect was that the remaining six gourds shook violently, fell from the gourd vine, and flew in all directions. The gourds on the vine fell one by one, and the vine seemed to have fulfilled its nurturing mission, turning yellow and withering.

  Fu Xi hurriedly rushed out to block it. Hong Jun stopped him and said, "The treasure has a spirit, don't force the cause and effect."

  Fuxi gazed at the withered Heavenly Gourd Vine, feeling a pang of desolation in his heart. His mind elsewhere, he absent-mindedly looked at Nüwa, but she was fixated on the withered vine beside her. Suddenly recalling what their teacher had said - that within Mount Buzhou there existed an opportunity for two people - Fuxi thought to himself: it's said that Nüwa came empty-handed, yet would surely gain something, while he...

  Hong Jun stretched out his hand and pointed at Fu Xi, saying: "Foolish child, this formation's strength is rarely seen in the world." Fu Xi's heart moved, and his entire being suddenly calmed down. He walked to the foot of the great formation and began to carefully comprehend it.

  Hong Jun nodded, thinking to himself: This Fuxi still needs some tempering, his mind is floating and restless, his temperament is not stable, lacking a calm and composed demeanor. As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and transmitted a divine thought, mixed with the comprehension of array techniques.

  Nüwa soon noticed that at the root of the gourd vine, there was a faint and elusive flow of primordial energy, which contained a very strong vitality, and also had a thread of creative power, but all of these were very weak.

  Nüwa gently came to the side of the calabaza vine, gently stroking the calabaza vine, feeling the creative power within. This calabaza vine was indeed not a simple object, even if it withered, its hard degree was still innate spiritual treasure. A thread of life energy emanated from the roots, and a thread of creative power emanated from the rhizome.

  Hongjun gazed at the two who were immersed in their epiphany, nodding his head. He quietly approached Nuwa's side, a divine sense enveloping the Dao of Creation, slowly merging into Nuwa's Sea of Consciousness.

  This divine consciousness transformed into a majestic appearance in the Nuwa recognition sea, surrounded by a vast aura that enveloped its body. Countless spiritual energies of immortals fluttered about. This divine consciousness began to expound on the principles of creation and transformation, as petals of heavenly flowers rained down, golden lotus flowers burst forth from the earth, and countless ethereal sounds materialized out of thin air.

  Vital energy poured into her body, and threads of insight burst forth in her mind. The Way of Creation transformed into heavenly symbols that were imprinted on Nüwa's heart. The creative forces between heaven and earth were constantly being absorbed by these heavenly symbols, merging with Nüwa's body, continuously replenishing and reshaping her physical form.

  It was unknown how long it took, but the violent heavenly spiritual energy had already calmed down. Fuxi had woken up and was constantly shuttling back and forth in the array, exploring its secrets.

  Nüwa woke up in contemplation and bowed to Hongjun, saying: "Thank you, Master. The matter here is settled. May I ask when we will leave?"

  Hong Jun opened his eyes and said calmly: "Abandoning the fundamental to pursue trivialities, many have already lost their way."

  Nüwa's blessing reached her heart, and she suddenly understood that there was still a chance in this place, not on the Xuantian calabaza vine, but in the place where this strange calabaza vine was born. With a wave of her hand, the mud on the ground scattered, revealing a layer of soft and strange light, and the particles of soil emitted a thick aura of creation, nine particles shining like stars, forming a strange array.

  Nüwa pinched up one, only to feel a weight of over a thousand jun, as if a strand of life was wriggling in her hand, emitting a strong aura of creation.

  Nüwa asked: "Teacher, what is this thing?"

  Hong Jun said, "The Nine Heavens' Soil Breath is closely related to your verification of the Tao. Think deeply about it." As he spoke, he put away the Xuan Tian calabaza vine and refined it into a staff, its entire body resembling a sturdy and powerful dragon.