Primordial Era: The Great Celestial Venerable on the Road to Mythology

Chapter 81 The Great Dao is Manifested, Nuwa Abandons Sainthood

The news that the restrictions imposed by Heaven had been lifted spread quietly throughout the primordial world, like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain.

Those with profound cultivation were naturally the first to notice. They clearly felt that the Daoist aura between heaven and earth had become much richer, and the laws that were previously obscure and difficult to understand were now faintly visible, as if a corner of a veil that had covered countless years had finally been lifted.

Many cultivators who had been stuck at a bottleneck for years suddenly felt that the bottleneck was loosening, and were overjoyed.

The primordial world was in an uproar.

Wuzhuang Temple.

Beneath the ginseng fruit tree, a Taoist priest with an air of otherworldly wisdom stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the sky. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling his Taoist robes, but he remained completely unaware.

Zhen Yuanzi. Ancestor of Earth Immortals, peak Quasi-Saint.

He sensed the information emanating from the Heavenly Dao, and his heart was first filled with doubt, then shock, and finally ecstatic joy.

"This is—why are the laws of heaven and earth so clear? Have the restrictions of the Heavenly Dao—been lifted?"

He closed his eyes, using his divine sense to probe the Dao of Heaven, carefully comprehending its workings. A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming with a sharp light.

"When one cultivates the Great Dao to its perfection in the primordial world, and one's own Great Dao merges with heaven and earth, one can become a sage? The position of sage—is there one in three thousand?"

Zhen Yuanzi took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. Although he was a peak Quasi-Saint, had already severed his two corpses, and possessed extraordinary combat power, he had been trapped at the gate to Sainthood for countless years, unable to find the way in.

He only achieved 80% of the Great Dao he cultivated, but due to the suppression of the Heavenly Dao, he was never able to push the Great Dao to perfection.

Now, the restrictions have been lifted.

"A tremendous opportunity! An incredible opportunity!" Zhen Yuanzi murmured to himself. He immediately sat cross-legged under the ginseng fruit tree, closed his eyes, and began to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth.

However, he also had a slight worry in his heart: Why were the restrictions of Heaven suddenly lifted? Was it permanent or temporary? If it was the latter, he had to hurry.

Moreover, he also had to be wary of the existing saints—there were already six saints in the primordial world, plus Haotian of the Heavenly Court and Pingxin of the Netherworld, making eight players in total. Would they allow a newcomer to become a saint?

"Never mind, let's focus on perfecting our cultivation first." Zhen Yuanzi suppressed his distracting thoughts and immersed his mind in the Great Dao.

The ginseng fruit tree drooped down with thousands of branches, their spiritual light flowing around it, protecting his entire body.

Beiming, the Kunpeng Dojo.

Since being defeated by Lu Ya and Yao Ji, and having the Hetu and Luoshu stolen, Kunpeng has remained in seclusion. His injuries have not yet healed, and he dares not make any rash moves, so he can only hide deep within the Northern Sea, silently healing his wounds.

However, he sensed the moment the restrictions imposed by Heaven were lifted.

Kunpeng suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them, which then turned into greed.

"The opportunity to become a saint—" he muttered to himself, his mind racing. He was originally an ancient demon master with profound cultivation, but due to the suppression of the Heavenly Dao, he had never been able to achieve perfection. Now that the opportunity had arrived, how could he let it slip by?

"If I can become a saint, Lu Ya, that brat, the Heavenly Court—" Kunpeng gritted his teeth and immediately closed his eyes to comprehend.

Blood Sea, the Daoist temple of the Styx Ancestor.

The Styx Ancestor sat cross-legged deep within the sea of ​​blood, surrounded by four killing swords, their murderous aura soaring to the heavens. Sensing the changes in the Heavenly Dao, he was first taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! With the Heavenly Dao unleashed, becoming a saint is within reach!"

Before his laughter had even faded, he had already immersed himself in cultivation.

Throughout the primordial world, countless powerful beings went into seclusion. At this moment, no one wanted to waste a single second.

Inside the Heavenly Court, however, the scene was quite different.

Having attained the Dao of the World, the immortals all went into seclusion to cultivate, using their primordial spirits to evolve the world within their bodies.

The methods passed down by Haotian are profound and unpredictable, completely different from the traditional cultivation methods of the prehistoric world. Although they are beginners, they progress extremely quickly due to the blessing of the Heavenly Court's authority.

Besides cultivating, Yaochi also separated half of her Yin essence and merged it with the Yang essence given to her by Haotian in order to conceive offspring.

She carefully protected that primordial energy within her dantian, nourishing it with innate spiritual energy, and it already faintly showed signs of life.

Yao Ji had long since vanished. Along with her disappeared Zhao Ling'er, and the Heaven-Opening Axe within the Lingxiao Palace.

Haotian was certainly aware of this, but he didn't care; as long as no one was in danger, that was fine.

Lu Ya, Taibai Jinxing, Zhao Gongming, and other cultivators who have reached the Great Luo realm are all practicing the Dao of the World.

Although they did not have Haotian personally help them replenish their origin and create the world like Yaochi and Yaoji, they each used their own origin and the Great Dao to generate the prototype of the world within their bodies.

The Thirty-Third Heaven, the Palace of Nuwa.

Nuwa sat alone on her cloud bed, her eyes closed and her mind focused. Her spirit sank into the Heavenly Dao, where the golden primordial purple energy, like a silken thread, tightly connected her true spirit with the Heavenly Dao.

For countless ages, she has used this thread to invoke the power of the Heavenly Dao, thus becoming a supreme saint and receiving the worship of all spirits.

Now, she is going to sever it herself.

Nuwa did not hesitate. She transformed her primordial spirit into a blade and slashed fiercely at the golden thread.

The heavens trembled.

In the primordial world, suddenly winds rose and clouds surged, with distant thunder rumbling. All living beings looked up at the sky, bewildered by what was happening. Several sages also sensed something amiss and began to calculate with their fingers, but because the Heavenly Court shielded celestial secrets, they were unable to ascertain the details.

Nuwa let out a muffled groan, her face instantly turning deathly pale. The instant the Primordial Purple Qi was severed, her true spirit broke free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao and returned to itself.

At that moment, she clearly felt that the long-lost "freedom" was no longer a puppet of the natural order, no longer bound by rules, but her true self.

Even saints, though high above, are not free to control their own destiny.

Now, she is finally free.

But at the same time, she also felt weak. The power of a sage originates from the Way of Heaven.

When she was no longer a saint, that immense power receded like the tide, leaving only her own cultivation level—the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, with ninety percent of the Creation Laws.

Seemingly only a hair's breadth away from a sage, the difference is worlds apart. A sage can wield the power of the Heavenly Dao, inexhaustible and boundless. A Primordial Golden Immortal, however, can only rely on their own power. This single hair's breadth is like heaven and earth.

A wisp of purple energy emerged from her body and hovered in her palm. It was the Primordial Purple Energy, the foundation for becoming a saint, a treasure coveted by countless cultivators.

Nuwa looked at it for a long time.

It was this tiny wisp of purple aura that made her a saint, reigning supreme for countless years. It was also this aura that bound her to the laws of Heaven, preventing her from ever being free.

She sighed and tucked it into her sleeve. Though it was now useless, she couldn't simply discard it. Perhaps it would be useful again someday.

Next, it's time to choose the path forward.

A sage? A primordial being?

Nuwa already knew the answer in her heart. She wasn't one of the great beings in the primordial world; she understood the advantages of being a sage versus a primordial being. Sages depend on the world and are bound to the Heavenly Dao; primordial beings are rejected by the world and cultivate slowly in chaos. If there were no other choice, being a sage might be better.

But she has.

The Way of the World.

Strictly speaking, the Way of the World is also a type of Hunyuan, but it is completely different from ordinary Hunyuan. It involves creating a world within the body and using the evolution of that world to drive the growth of one's own Great Dao. Progress is slow, but the potential is limitless.

If one cultivates alone, progress in the Dao of the World is indeed slow. But if one relies on the Heavenly Court or the Supreme Heaven, the situation becomes entirely different.

She can travel to all the heavens and worlds to gather resources and strengthen her inner world. Haotian can also help her replenish her origin and accelerate her evolution.

Both in terms of potential and cultivation speed, they far surpass those of Saints and Primordial Beings.

Then what's the point of choosing?

Nuwa immediately sat cross-legged and began to create her inner world using her own origin and the Great Dao of Creation.

Although she was no longer a saint, she was still at the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, her mastery of the Laws of Creation nearly perfected. Using this as a foundation, creating a world would be twice as effective. That world slowly took shape within her body, from a state of utter chaos, to the separation of purity and turbidity, and then to the initial emergence of Yin and Yang, from which all things began to sprout—

Just then, a vast and boundless power of creation descended from the sky and flowed into her body.

That power shared the same origin as hers, yet it was purer and more boundless, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, rapidly replenishing the energy she needed to evolve the world. The speed of the world's evolution suddenly accelerated.

Nuwa knew without even guessing whose handiwork it was.

She felt grateful, but remained silent, continuing to evolve the world.

After an unknown amount of time, that world finally began to take shape. Though not as vast as the primordial world, it was still a world of its own, with its laws beginning to emerge. Heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, sun, moon and stars, though simple, truly existed.

Nuwa opened her eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

She stood up, feeling the immense power within her body and the slowly evolving inner world, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She is no longer a saint, yet she is freer than any saint. She has lost the power of the Heavenly Dao, but she possesses an infinite future.

"Senior sister, how are you feeling?"

A familiar voice rang out. Haotian had appeared beside her at some point, standing with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.

Nuwa looked at him and bowed solemnly: "Junior brother, I cannot thank you enough. If the Heavenly Court ever faces any trouble in the future, I will do my utmost."

Haotian waved his hand and smiled, "Senior Sister, you're too kind. The Heavenly Court and Nuwa Palace are allies."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared.

Nuwa gazed in the direction he had left, remaining silent for a long time.

Outside the palace, the clouds rolled and unrolled in the thirty-three heavens, and the stars shone brightly.

Inside Nuwa's palace, the inner world of Nuwa is still slowly evolving, like a newborn universe, waiting for her cultivation.

Meanwhile, in the primordial world, countless cultivators are still racing against time to comprehend the Great Dao. The position of Saint is limited to three thousand; whoever can seize it first will have an opportunity that lasts for eternity.

A silent competition has begun.