Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

Kong Xuan stood before the crack, day after day, month after month, like a stone statue.

Xing Tian visited twice during that period.

On their first trip, they brought a flask of wine, and the two of them drank a few sips while in the clouds.

Xing Tian didn't stay long; after finishing his drink, he shouldered his axe and left.

On his second trip, he brought nothing and just stood there with Kong Xuan for an hour.

As he was leaving, he said, "You've lost weight."

Kong Xuan remained silent.

Xing Tian waved his hand and descended on a cloud.

After some time, the Queen Mother of the West arrived.

She brought a basket of moonfruit and placed it on the cloud at Kong Xuan's feet.

Without saying anything more, he turned and left.

Kong Xuan looked down at the basket of fruit and took one.

Moonfruit has a sweet taste and a cool, yin-like quality.

He tucked the rest into his sleeve and continued standing.

On this day, a soft sound suddenly came from the crack.

It was very light, like a pebble falling into water.

Kong Xuan looked up.

Something is approaching from the depths of the white light.

It's not big, about the size of a palm.

The outline gradually became clearer.

It's a red-gold bird, very similar to the previous one, yet not quite the same.

This one is smaller, with softer feathers, and looks like it has just learned to fly.

It flew out crookedly through the white light.

It flapped its wings with some difficulty, as if it wasn't quite skilled yet.

It flew to Kong Xuan, landed on his shoulder, and gripped his clothes with its claws, standing still.

Kong Xuan tilted his head to look at it.

It tilted its head and looked at him.

"Chirp."

The voice was thin, as if it were squeezed out from the throat.

Kong Xuan looked at it.

The eyes of this golden bird are bright and clear, like freshly washed pebbles.

It hopped on his shoulder and chirped.

Kong Xuan reached out a finger and gently touched its head.

It squinted and rubbed against his fingertips.

"where do you come from?"

The golden bird tilted its head, as if it didn't understand.

But under its claws, it seemed to be holding a thin blade of grass.

The grass stems were extremely short, yet they were as green as newly sprouted buds, with a glimmer of light still clinging to the tips of the leaves.

Kong Xuan raised his hand, and the grass stem was lifted by a gentle force of Dao and floated into his palm.

The grass stems are warm to the touch and emit a faint, delicate fragrance.

Seeing that he had collected the grass stems, seemingly having completed some task, the golden bird flapped its wings and flew away.

It circled Kong Xuan once, passed through the white light, and disappeared over there.

Kong Xuan looked down at the grass stem in his palm.

The grass stems are very thin, not much thicker than a needle.

Tender green. A drop of dew clings to the tip of a leaf.

The dew reflected a white light, as if it contained a small piece of the sky.

Kong Xuan stared at it for a long time.

Then he tucked the grass stems into his sleeve as well.

There were already a few leaves, a feather, and a withered flower in my sleeve.

He put the grass stems in, next to them.

Through the fabric, you can barely feel its weight.

Kong Xuan straightened up and looked ahead.

The white light remains, the wind remains.

He stood there, his robes fluttering in the wind.

Several more days passed, but the dark figure did not appear.

Then something else floated out from the white light. It was a seed.

The seeds are small, not much bigger than sesame seeds.

It is perfectly round and has a very faint warm glow.

After passing through the white light, it landed in Kong Xuan's palm and lay there quietly.

Kong Xuan looked down at the seed.

The seed has a very fine line on its surface, like a leaf vein or some kind of ancient script.

He didn't rush to plant it; he simply kept it safe.

As night fell, the stars above the clouds were like dust.

Kong Xuan remained standing before the crack, while the Golden-Winged Roc, who had returned from the primordial era, landed beside him.

His crimson robe billowed in the night wind, and the golden phoenix pattern on his forehead glowed faintly in the darkness.

"Big brother, did they give you something else over there?"

Kong Xuan took the seed out of his sleeve.

The seed gleamed warmly in the moonlight, like a tiny amber.

The Golden-Winged Roc leaned closer to examine it: "What is this?"

"have no idea."

"Shall we try planting it?"

Kong Xuan remained silent for a moment, then raised his hand and cut a slit in the clouds in front of him.

The power of Tao seeped into the clouds, transforming into a small patch of soft land.

He placed the seeds in the soil and covered them with a thin layer of cloud-like material.

The ground lit up the moment the seed was planted.

Like a lamp being lit.

The light lasted only a moment before sinking into the earth and disappearing.

Kong Xuan squatted down and looked at the patch of soil.

A moment later, a very thin sprout emerged from the soil.

It was a light green color, just like the grass stem I received last time.

The Golden-Winged Roc crouched down as well: "It's alive."

Kong Xuan looked at the tender sprout but didn't reply.

The tender bud trembled slightly in the wind, then slowly unfurled, revealing a leaf smaller than a fingernail.

The edges of the leaves were tinged with a faint golden hue.

Kong Xuan stood up.

The wind rushed in through the crack, stirring up the clouds.

The tender shoot swayed gently in the wind, but its roots were firmly planted and remained motionless.

The Golden-Winged Roc said, "Brother, this thing will grow into a tree someday."

"A tree that grew out of a crack."

Kong Xuan neither nodded nor shook his head.

He simply watched the tender shoot tremble gently in the night breeze.

Then he turned around and looked back at the white light.

The tender bud above the clouds trembled slightly in the night breeze.

The golden edge of the leaf shimmered slightly, as if responding to Kong Xuan's gaze.

Kong Xuan looked at it for a moment, then turned to look at the white light.

He shifted slightly to the side, glancing at the seedlings out of the corner of his eye.

At that moment, he saw a flickering light appear at the tip of the leaf.

It flickered like a firefly for a moment, then went dark again.

As night deepened, the stars slowly moved across the sky.

The white light shining through the crack was softer than during the day, like flowing milk, still and warm.

Kong Xuan neither sat in meditation nor closed his eyes.

He simply stood there, like a wedge driven into the void.

The warmth of the little bird was no longer on his shoulder; the golden-winged roc had not landed on him tonight.

Instead, it circled once further away in the clouds before transforming into human form and landing back beside him.

Kong Xuan didn't turn around, but simply asked, "Finished looking around?"

The Golden-Winged Roc flicked his wrist: "I've traveled through half the primordial world."

Ao Xin, the dragon from the Eastern Dragon Palace, is healing his wounds. Although he hasn't fully recovered, he's already plotting revenge against that thing.

But he's quite energetic, and even has the leisure to curse.

Kong Xuan offered no comment.

The Golden-Winged Roc turned its neck again, as if stretching its muscles and bones: "That three-headed dragon in the west is really behaving itself, coiled up in the swamp without moving."

It looked up at me as I flew over its head, but didn't get angry.

Kong Xuan listened quietly without responding.

The golden-winged roc paused for a moment, then suddenly turned its head and saw the tender sprout emerging from the new soil above the clouds.

He leaned closer, squatted down, and blinked: "It's grown half a leaf."

Kong Xuan turned his gaze to the sapling.

The leaves were indeed a little more stretched out than before.

The gold patterns on the edges are also more pronounced.

It seems to have its own pace, neither too fast nor too slow, yet it is constantly changing.

The Golden-Winged Roc stretched out a finger, intending to touch the leaf, but stopped just before its fingertip touched it, withdrawing it: "Don't break it."

He didn't rush to get up after he finished speaking. He just squatted down next to the seedling and gently brushed away some of the cloud-like clouds with his fingertips.

The night wind rushed in from the crack, ruffling his hair.

Kong Xuan stood there, neither urging nor speaking.

A moment later, the Golden-Winged Roc stood up, dusted off imaginary dirt from his hands, and said, "I'll go hunt some more tomorrow."

Kong Xuan did not stop him.

That night, the white light never dimmed.

The tender buds on the clouds stretched out a little more during the night.

Dewdrops clung to the tips of leaves, and moonlight shone through the water droplets, casting tiny, firefly-like lights on the ground.

The next morning, as the first rays of light appeared on the horizon, the Golden-Winged Roc had already spread its wings and flown far away.

Kong Xuan stood alone in front of the white light, looking down at the soil above the clouds.

The buds have grown taller than last night, and the leaves have fully unfolded, reaching about half the size of a thumb.

The gold lines along the edges of the leaves solidified, appearing as if drawn or painted.

There is a very shallow vein in the center of the leaf, like a leaf vein, or like a tiny rune.

Kong Xuan squatted down.

He stared at the seedling for a long time, the wind surging from the white light, ruffling his hair.

I brushed past the tips of the seedling's leaves, and the leaves swayed gently, as if greeting me in their own way.

Kong Xuan straightened up and turned back to the white light.

A golden bird flew over from the distant sea of ​​clouds.

It moved slowly, as if it were on a journey or strolling around, its wings occasionally gliding and occasionally fluttering.

After passing through the clouds, it landed on the wispy clouds in front of Kong Xuan and folded its wings.

Kong Xuan looked at it.

It tilted its head to look at him, then lowered its head and gently pecked at the soil on the cloud with its beak.

As if looking at a tender bud, she looked up and called out softly to Kong Xuan.

Then it turned around, flapped its wings, and flew back to the other side of the crevice.

A few days later.

Occasionally, leaves would drift out from the crack and land beside Kong Xuan.

There was dew, flower petals, and tiny grass seeds.

Like the wind that blows by unintentionally, without any particular direction, yet each time it lands precisely where he can see.

Kong Xuan put all these things into his sleeve.

The withered flower was still pinned to his lapel, its petals shriveled into thin, brown flakes; he hadn't picked it.

The leaves in the sleeves were stacked together, and the grass stems were next to the seeds.

On this day, the Golden-Winged Roc returned.

As he landed, he brushed the dew off his shoulders: "There's a new little tree on that barren hill to the north."

It possesses spiritual energy, but it's quite different from the spiritual trees of the primordial world.

The leaves are thicker than these, and the veins are pale golden.

Kong Xuan did not respond.

The Golden-Winged Roc glanced at him: "Was that from a seed?"

"no."

The Golden-Winged Roc glanced at him again but didn't ask any further questions.

He walked over to the sprout, squatted down, glanced at it, and then turned away: "The color of the leaves has changed."

Kong Xuan also glanced at it.

The leaves of the tender buds have indeed changed, from the initial light green to a more mellow turquoise, and the golden lines along the edges have become brighter.

The veins in the center of the leaf are also clearer, like a very thin river flowing slowly on the leaf surface.

"Does it look like the flowers over there?" asked the Golden-Winged Roc.

Kong Xuan looked at the golden veins on the leaf and thought of the white flower on the mountaintop.

The stamens are pale gold, matching the color of the leaf veins.

"Somewhat similar."

The Golden-Winged Roc paused for a moment, then stood up again: "Will it bloom too?"

"have no idea."

The Golden-Winged Roc rubbed his hands together: "Then I'll wait."

It was very windy that day.

The white light remained steady and unwavering in the wind.

The seedlings on the clouds were bent over by the wind, their leaves touching the ground, but as soon as the wind passed, they straightened up again, as if nothing had happened.

Kong Xuan stood in front of the white light, looking at the seedling.

"It will survive."

The Golden-Winged Roc, crouching at a distance, didn't turn around upon hearing this, but simply said, "Then I won't need to hunt anymore; I can just wait for it to bear fruit."

Kong Xuan did not answer him.

Night falls. Stars fill the sky, and the white light shining through the cracks appears as warm and gentle as the moon in the night.

The seedlings on the clouds shimmered with a faint glow under the moonlight.

The gold lines along the edges of the leaves are especially clear in the dark, as if they were drawn with extremely fine gold powder.

Kong Xuan sat down next to the seedling.

When he sat down, his black robe was spread out on the cloud-like fabric, and the hem of the robe landed right at the roots of the seedling.

The leaf gently touched his clothes and did not retract.

Kong Xuan looked down for a moment, but did not move the corner of his clothes.

The Golden-Winged Roc leaned against a cloud pile not far away, its eyes closed, breathing evenly, whether it was truly asleep or just dozing off, it was hard to tell.

The night wind blew out from the crack, passed between the two people, and brushed against the seedling.

Kong Xuan raised his head and looked at the white light.

He didn't speak, but his gaze was fixed on the depths of that white light, as if looking at a very distant place.

There is a flower there, white, with five petals.

Standing atop the mountain, the wind has blown for countless years.

Kong Xuan withdrew his gaze.

"It's still open," he said.

The voice was extremely soft, as if talking to oneself.

The night wind carried those two words away, drifting them in an unknown direction.

He neither expected nor needed a response.

Starlight fell on his shoulder.

The seedlings on the clouds trembled slightly, as if they were turning over in a dream.

Kong Xuan sat for a long time, until a thin layer of dew condensed on the leaves of the seedlings on the clouds.

Dewdrops rolled down the veins of the leaves and seeped into the wispy clouds.

He rose, his robe brushing against the roots of the seedling.

It was not disturbed.

The white light at the edge of the crack flickered slightly, as if something was approaching from there.

It's not heavy, not sluggish, and lighter than the previous ones.

Kong Xuan looked up.

A figure emerged from the white light, tall and thin, wearing a gray robe and holding a blade of grass in his hand.

It is a gateway to heaven.

He looked back as he stepped out of the crevice, as if to confirm how he had gotten there.

Then, turning back, Chu Kong proudly waved the grass stem in his hand.

"Walking through that door was quite a novel experience."

Kong Xuan looked at him: "Why did the Sage come from that direction?"

Tongtian sat on the clouds, crossed his legs, and put a blade of grass in his mouth.

"Having nothing to do, I went for a stroll."

"There was a boy over there, standing at the edge of the woods, waving at me."

"I told him I was looking for someone, and he said he knew."

"Then they showed me the way and told me to come through this door."

Kong Xuan did not respond.

Tongtian spat out the grass stem, tilted his head to look at him: "That boy said he had been waiting for a long time."

"I've been waiting for you."

"Don't wait for me to come."

The wind rushed out from the crack, blowing the two men's robes.

Kong Xuan asked, "What did he say?"

Tongtian thought for a moment and said, "He said that when Pangu planted that flower, he buried two seeds."

"A single seed blooms atop the mountain."

"He took the other one."

"They brought back this land."

After Tongtian finished speaking, he patted the grass clippings off his hands.

The boy said, "That seed is within you."