Chapter 2

Time flies.

While familiarizing himself with the proficiency of the Twelve-Grade World-Ending Black Lotus.

The system's notification sound rang in his mind.

"Ding!"

"Detected that Nuwa's birthday is approaching. Di Xin is about to go to the Nuwa Temple to offer incense. A selectable event has been triggered. Please make a choice, Host."

"Option One: Go to the Nuwa Temple to stop Di Xin from writing the poem. Reward: The Human Clan's supreme treasure, the Kongtong Seal!"

"Option Two: Go to the Nuwa Temple to witness Di Xin writing the poem from start to finish. Reward: One Memory-Shadow Pearl! (A tool capable of automatically sensing surrounding scenes and recording them.)"

(Friendly reminder: This is the Host's first mission. A special newcomer privilege is granted. Upon successful selection, the reward will be issued immediately. Please complete the mission as soon as possible. If the time limit expires, the mission will be judged a failure, the system reward will be retracted, and the Host will be punished.)

Seeing the options and the prompt before him, Gu Xiu couldn't help but complain.

"This system is too user-friendly; there's even a newcomer privilege to get the reward in advance."

But these options also made it difficult for him to choose for a moment.

The Human Clan's supreme treasure, the Kongtong Seal, was very tempting.

But everyone knew that Di Xin's sudden act of writing a poem to blaspheme the statue of Nuwa was a scheme by the two Western Saints, who had instructed Maitreya to use a special Zen incense from the Western Sect while Di Xin was offering incense, causing Di Xin to temporarily lose his mind.

If he chose the second option, he could record the evidence of their crime and hand it over to Nuwa.

The Chan Sect wanted to drag Nuwa into the water, having her send the three demons to disrupt the imperial court, and their indirect plan would then fall through.

Although the Kongtong Seal was good, the help it provided was too low. Thinking of this, Gu Xiu decisively ruled it out.

"System, I choose option two."

"Ding!"

"Selection successful. Mission time limit is three days. Because the newcomer privilege was triggered, the reward is issued in advance. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Memory-Shadow Pearl!"

Having made his choice, Gu Xiu didn't think much more and immediately set off for Zhaoge.

Zhaoge.

Nuwa's birthday.

Outside the Nuwa Temple, colorful flags fluttered.

The ministers were lined up neatly on both sides, solemn and respectful.

Di Xin, wearing a luxurious royal robe embroidered with gold patterns and a crown on his head, walked into the Nuwa Temple with steady steps.

Inside the temple, it was magnificent and spectacular, with dozens of thick, round pillars supporting the high roof.

The enshrined stone statue of Nuwa was surrounded by curtains, standing tall; she had a human head and a snake body, with a kind and dignified face.

The walls were covered with exquisite murals, recording stories such as Nuwa molding earth to create humans, refining stones to patch the sky, cutting off the turtle's legs to establish the four poles, killing the black dragon to save Jizhou, and piling up reed ashes to stop the floods.

However, a fat man in cloth clothes had turned into a small person and had long been hiding behind the Nuwa statue, waiting for Di Xin's arrival.

Di Xin respectfully picked up the incense candles, lit them, held them with both hands, bowed his head slightly, and looked pious.

"Holy Mother, have mercy. May you bless my Yin-Shang dynasty with peace and prosperity, and my people with wealth and a happy life."

The incense smoke rose in curls, lingering around the statue.

Suddenly, an evil wind blew through the hall, lifting the curtains hanging around the statue.

Di Xin was puzzled, raised his head, and his eyes widened sharply.

He saw the stone statue of Nuwa gradually becoming tangible, revealing her true form.

A peerless face, a graceful figure, eyebrows like distant mountains, and eyes containing autumn waves.

Di Xin was completely stunned.

In his life, he had never seen a woman who moved him so much.

He immediately ordered someone to bring pen and ink, and wrote that blasphemous, filthy poem on the wall.

The ministers present were terrified and condemned Di Xin for his lack of virtue.

Di Xin came to his senses and was also startled.

He had actually been so bold and lustful as to write such a poem in the Nuwa Temple.

He immediately ordered it to be wiped off and returned to the palace, feeling uneasy all the way, always feeling that a great disaster was imminent.

After everyone had left the Nuwa Temple.

Gu Xiu quietly snuck into the Nuwa Temple and took the Memory-Shadow Pearl placed behind the stone statue.

After checking it, he saw that it had completely recorded the scene of Maitreya committing the crime.

He was very satisfied.

"Maitreya, you are dead meat now."

On Nuwa's birthday, she would always go to Huoyun Cave to see Fuxi.

Just as she returned to the Wa Palace, a thought stirred, and she perceived Di Xin's act of writing the poem. Her holy face was furious, and she immediately decided to go to Zhaoge to punish Di Xin.

Gu Xiu waited outside the imperial city of Zhaoge.

Before long, Nuwa rode on auspicious clouds and arrived in an instant, reaching the sky above Zhaoge.

Suddenly, the sky changed, and thunder rolled.

This strange celestial phenomenon made the people in the city fearful.

Nuwa's willow eyebrows stood up, and anger burned in her beautiful eyes.

Looking down at the Zhaoge Imperial Palace, just as she was about to go and punish Di Xin.

Gu Xiu stepped forward and bowed: "Please hold your hand, Lady Nuwa."

Nuwa frowned slightly; a junior actually dared to stop her.

"Who are you? How dare you stop this Emperor from punishing this lawless, muddled monarch!"

Gu Xiu was neither humble nor arrogant, and bowed again: "Lady, please calm your anger. I am Gu Xiu, a third-generation disciple of the Jie Sect. There is a hidden story behind Di Xin's poem. Lady Nuwa, if you act rashly, you may fall into someone else's scheme."

"Tong Tian's grand-disciple?" Nuwa was puzzled. Tong Tian's grand-disciple was too bold, and not afraid of offending her.

Feeling that the boy at the Heavenly Immortal realm before her was a bit interesting, her expression softened quite a bit.

"Tell me how this Emperor fell into someone else's scheme. If you cannot give a reason, even if you are Tong Tian's grand-disciple, this Emperor will never spare you!"

"Please, Lady, use your power to conceal the heavenly secrets here." Gu Xiu did not offer any extra explanation.

Nuwa was puzzled; how big a secret could a Heavenly Immortal realm boy have? But she still waved her hand, concealing the heavenly secrets of this place, and looked at Gu Xiu.

"Now can you speak?"

"Lady, you can check the scene recorded in this Memory-Shadow Pearl."

Taking the Memory-Shadow Stone, Nuwa displayed the images stored inside.

After watching, her delicate body trembled slightly, and anger erupted from her beautiful eyes.

"Maitreya, you are courting death!"

"Lady, the Investiture of the Gods is currently approaching. The Dao Ancestor has required the three sects to enter the calamity and be invested as gods. The Ren and Chan Sects have already united with the Western Sect. They want to drag you into the water as the beginning of the Investiture of the Gods, which is why they schemed against you, arranging for Maitreya to use the Western Sect's special Zen incense to confuse Di Xin's mind when he was offering incense."

Nuwa's moth-like eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"This Emperor will investigate this matter. If it is truly as you say, go back and tell your Grandmaster to rest assured. This Emperor will never stand on the side of the Chan Sect. Now, this Emperor is going to settle the score with Maitreya. When there is time, I will have your Grandmaster bring you to the Wa Palace."

After speaking, her figure flashed and disappeared from where she was.

Gu Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. Nuwa would not become an aid to the Chan Sect for the time being.

But the Western Sect was likely to suffer.

He thought about the next factor.

It was currently only the first year of the Investiture of the Gods.

Nezha would be born in the second year of the Investiture of the Gods.

In the ninth year of the Investiture of the Gods, he would return from the Golden Light Cave of Mount Qianyuan, go back to Chen Tang Guan, and then wreak havoc in the East Sea.

This year was also the time when Jiang Ziya would descend from the mountain.

The time was still quite ample.

But there was one thing that gave Gu Xiu a headache.

Even if he knew the plot of the Investiture of the Gods and could ruin the Chan Sect's plans, the hard flaw in his cultivation could not be made up.

Cultivating to the Heavenly Immortal realm in over a hundred years.

Without the help of the system, he was already considered gifted.

But now it was the period of the Investiture of the Gods, and there was no time for him to grow slowly.

He could only hope that the system would provide some spiritual pills and medicines that could improve his cultivation later.

Otherwise, when Jiang Ziya descended from the mountain, he could only hide on Dou Dao and be a strategist, keeping a low profile.

Putting away his thoughts, he thought about the personnel composition of the Chan Sect.

The Twelve Golden Immortals of Jade Void, the face of the Chan Sect, were already famous, and everyone in the Primordial world knew them, so there was nothing to say.

As for the third-generation disciples, the fiercest was Yang Jian, the recognized number one among the third-generation disciples of the Chan Sect, whose background was a bit complicated, being a half-human, half-god.

The nephew of the Heavenly Emperor.

He didn't know if Yang Jian had been taken in as a disciple by Master Yuding at this time.

If possible, Gu Xiu wanted to strike first and snatch people from the hands of the Chan Sect.

Thinking of this, he headed to Yang Jian's hometown, Guanjiangkou.