“So, Earth used to be this huge. No wonder the history recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas was inaccurate. It recorded what happened from the Primordial age, but the Earth was already created way before that, during Time Immemorial .Now my doubts are clarified. So, divine beasts such as the Peng really existed, but the Earth at its current state cannot sustain them. I believe that the Kun will not be able to swim even in the four great oceans.”

“During the Primordial Age, how many people stood at the apex of cultivation in Tao? The 10 gods of world creation, as well as those unknown demonic gods, were the most powerful on this plane, but it was in turn at the lower tier amongst other planes. There are even greater civilisations out there. How many secrets are contained in the universe exactly?”

After taking a look around, Wang Bugui could feel his emotions stir. During the Primordial Age, immortals were as common as mortals. There were gods who could create worlds, unknown evil deities, Greater Deities, Dijun, the Buddha himself, the Queen Mother of the West, the Divine Emperor Taiyi and many others… To many, it was a Golden Age that was attractive and terrifying at the same time.

“The viewer of the painting of Nuwa mending the skies, you’re the person chosen by the pendant. If you medidate seriously here and gain enlightenment, you’ll be rewarded with a divine skill,” an ancient and weary voice said. It was directly transmitted into his consciousness, and it sounded like an old man who was on the verge of dying.

Wang Bugui opened his eyes immediately. “May I be so bold as to enquire who you senior are?” he asked suspiciously.

“Haha… I’m just a dead person, my name and seniority means nothing. I’m just a remnant thought that is left behind to wait for the chosen ones to appear. My task is to guide them toward their true destiny, that’s all. Unfortunately, they perished before they could shine. Person of destiny, do you dare to accept your fate and face it?” the old man’s voice drifted slowly over.

“Did you know my father, Wang Xuanming? Was he also one of the chosen few?” Wang Bugui asked.

“So, that’s how it is; you’re the son of the last person who came here. He wasn’t one of the chosen, but he willingly took the pendant away to look for someone who was truly destined to possess it. I didn’t expect that you would be his son. This is… really ironic!” the old man lamented.

Wang Bugui felt his emotions stir after knowing that his father was not one of the chosen few. “What is this pendant exactly? How come none of the Chosen survived after coming here to inherit the divine skill?” he continued to ask.

“I’m just a remnant thought, and I’ve long forgotten about such ancient past events. I can only vaguely remember that the artifact is also a responsibility that its wielder has to bear. Only true talents of their respective generations can take on such a duty, and if they do not possess the requisite power, they will perish.”

“What you just saw was merely what happened on this plane; even the 10 gods of world creation hadn’t achieved peak power. There were more terrible battles on the higher planes, only I haven’t had the privilege of witnessing them!”

The old man said, his voice filled with indignity and frustration. He seemed to regret being unable to witness the splendor of powerful beings with said power, as well as mourning the fate of the Chosen. Their talents should be put to better use, but unfortunately they died in the prime of their lives.

“That wasn’t Lady Nuwa at the peak of her powers?!” Wang Bugui could not help but exclaim in surprise. “How could the power to patch up so many shattered stars not take up all of her might?” he thought.

“Of course. At that time, Lady Nuwa had not fully ordained, and the 10 gods of creation had not completely gained a firm footing in Tao. They have done so now at the highest plane, and they are now watching over the universes of all the planes.”

“These lands are also inherited from her line, and of course there is also the system of the Supreme Goddess of us Chinese people. It’s your decision whether you’d like to inherit it or not. If you do, you’ll have to bear the responsibility that comes with the pendant. You’ll have to protect the Chinese people and rid the world of evil and demons,” said the old man, his respect of Nuwa evident in his tone.

“I’ll accept this heavy responsibility! The Earth exists today because of Lady Nuwa. Not only did she create us, she even protected us. As one of her people, I should do my part!” Wang Bugui replied firmly without even thinking.

“Have you really thought about it?” came the old man’s voice again.

“Yes, there have always been demons hiding on the Earth, especially in the West, where they roam about freely. I’ll end up trying to rid the world of them anyway, and it’ll be great if I can receive aid from Lady Nuwa herself!” Wang Bugui said resolutely.

The space in front of him warped just as he finished speaking, and an old man appeared. He was dressed in grey, and he had white hair but looked young. His eyes were lively, and he looked very much like an immortal. He fixed his gaze on Wang Bugui for a while before speaking, “Good chap. I can see that your foundation in Tao is incredibly strong, stronger than anybody I’ve seen in millennia! Your Innate Prana Power is incredibly rich, and your physique is extremely strong. You’re worthy of being the descendant of the Palace of the Human Emperors of the Kunlun clan.”

“You’re too kind, senior. I finished building my foundation only at age 14,” said Wang Bugui with a laugh.

“That’s alright. Who says building your foundation late is shameful? In my opinion, that may not be true. The stronger one’s foundation in Tao is, the smoother one’s journey in cultivation will be. First, unleash your Innate Prana Power for me to see,” the old man said. Wang Bugui agreed and unleashed the blood prana power in his body, and it surged out in huge amounts.

“Sheesh!! You, you managed to go on the path of combining your blood and prana power?!” the old man exclaimed, as he took in a cold breath of air to calm himself down. “So many from the Palace of Human Emperors have failed, but has this really been made possible by you? No, it’s still hard to tell at such an early stage. We’ll know if you’ve succeeded or not only after you pass the Trial of Emperors.”

“I didn’t expect you to know about blood prana power, senior. Yes, I’ve chosen to take this path. My master learned from the trials that our seniors went through, and he was close to success but failed during the Emperor phase because his foundations were not strong enough. He passed the skill on to my father, but he died for the survival of the human race many years ago. As such, Master placed his hopes on me and spent all his resources on me, swearing that he would help me succeed.”

Wang Bugui explained seriously. The old man frowned slightly upon hearing the youth and nodded before replying, “Ooh, if this path can really be completed, it’ll really be an apt way of becoming immortal in the Era of the Late Arts. You’ll be a vessel of Tao and unrestricted by the Laws of Nature in this era. However, this path will be ardous. I think you have already understood this after having progressed to this stage. People from the Palace of Human Emperors are indeed resolute; either they succeed and attain immortality, or they fail and perish.”

“Haha, rest assured, Senior, that I’ll not let all of you down. The Era of the Late Arts will not hold me back. I believe that humans can write their own destiny!” said Wang Bugui with a confident laugh.

“Haha, it’s good to have such high spirits! Then I shall not delay your time. Hold the pendant while you try to comprehend the painting. Whatever technique you gain will be up to your fate,” replied the old man as he laughed as well.

Wang Bugui immediately drew out the pendant and emptied his mind before trying to understand the painting once more. The old man stood behind him and used his magic to create a formation that would aid the youth in his task. It took Wang Bugui less than 10 minutes to enter a meditative state. This time round, he saw a different image; there were no immortal or ferocious beasts, and there were no signs of any deities, gods or demons.

Only a broken world was left, and all forms of life were extinguished. A deathly silence pervaded the air, and a huge opening had been torn apart in the skies. Terrible looking cracks had appeared in the space surrounding this planet, and Wang Bugui observed the scene quietly. This was likely how the Earth looked before Nuwa mended the Heavens. War had laid waste to the entire planet.

After that, Wang Bugui saw an immensely beautiful female deity with a snake’s body appear. Even though he was not strong enough to see her features clearly, he was sure that her beauty was of the earth-shattering kind. When she appeared, he could feel a warmth course through his body from out of nowhere.

Without a doubt, this was Lady Nuwa herself. All living things began to kowtow to her as they pleaded in unison, “We humbly beg our Supreme Goddess to save all the living beings on Earth!”

There were mortals, practitioners, normal wild beasts and huge spiritual beasts, but all of them kowtowed to her when they saw her. She let out a long sigh as she saw how pitiful they were, and then she carried a huge Spirit Stone of five colors up toward the shattered skies.

Five divine lights began to circle around her, as her snake like body turned into that of a human. She shot up toward the Heavens, and her wonderful figure looked so overwhelmingly powerful at this moment. It was an unforgettable sight. To all living things, she was a tender and beautiful mother figure, but now she had transformed into a powerful goddess to mend the skies for them.

Eventually she finished her task, and everything reverted back to its original state. The living beings rejoiced and celebrated, as they kept chanting titles such as ‘Emperor Nuwa’, ‘Lady Goddess’, ‘Lady Emperor’. What had appeared before them, however, was just a manifestation of her real self, and it smiled casually at them before disappearing back into the world.

Wang Bugui took it all in silently, and the image disappeared with Nuwa’s departure. It transformed into line after line of profound ancient text and they imprinted themselves onto the void surrounding him. He hurriedly tried to remember the words before attempting to comprehend their meaning slowly. They were very profound, and they were of an ancient script.

This must be the system that Nuwa’s line had passed down from the Ancient Era, and because it originated from her, Wang Bugui was shown the image of her repairing the skies. The youth did not understand the ancient words, however. He had just learned how to read script written from about the 50th century of Chinese civilisation, but this was text written from the days when the Earth was just created.

He could only try to comprehend it slowly. After all, Tao techniques were interlinked- they came from the same source. No matter how varied they were, they tapped on the same source for energy, therefore all of them could be considered as being of the same family. It was always tough trying to understand such powerful skills from the immortals, and it would take a long time. As such, the old man erected a barrier outside of the cave and stood guard over Wang Bugui silently as he continued meditating.