Chapter 199: Nüwa Trapped, the Theory of the Witch Gods

The Heavenly Realm is now stable; it seems it's also time to head to Mount Buzhou. I just don't know how Taiyi and the others are preparing.

Qi whispered in the quiet chamber, rose and walked to the desk, his fingers twitched, and several sheets of paper began to show golden characters, flying off toward the distance.

Since we invited them, several great cycles have passed; occupying the Western Three Waters and connecting the East and West Continents—I suppose it must already be completed.

However, to be safe, I'll still send a message to inquire, just in case.

Otherwise, affecting the grand plan would be minor; if it endangers the Wilderness, that would be a great sin.

The Four Rivers and Eight Streams, though they did not reach Mount Buzhou, participated in forcefully opening the Heavenly Gate, but their responsibility is so great that it even exceeds that of the participants.

Even a slight disturbance could become a great catastrophe affecting the Wilderness; we must therefore be extra careful.

Qi sighed, saying that although there was no audience, some things only after being spoken aloud can one have the space to think carefully.

Great God Hongjun has also given him some tasks lately; the Four Great Ferocious Beasts may not be much use, but they are ultimately of the Mixed Origin Dao realm and cannot be dealt with lightly.

Whether sealing or banishing, both require considerable time; I suppose Great God Hongjun should have no time to respond.

The Heavenly Realm is of utmost importance; such a vast expanse of heaven and earth, with such a special position, must certainly hold secrets unknown to us.

I just don't know how much advantage this operation will bring; regardless of whether we can forcefully open the Heavenly Realm's gate, the Starry Sky must step onto the stage.

Qi made up his mind: if this Heavenly Realm affair fails, then we will occupy Mount Buzhou as our base; as the core of the Wilderness continent, the Heavenly Pillar Mount Buzhou must not be lost.

Qi gazed into the distance toward Tian Ji; Di Jun has already set out for Mount Buzhou, his situation unknown, and I only hope everything goes smoothly without hindrance.

As long as Di Jun's side goes smoothly, we only need to summon the Star Gods thereafter; they have long been practicing formations in the Starry Sky, awaiting only the summons.

He waved his hand, and a light curtain appeared before Qi, showing the approximate terrain of the Wilderness and the main distribution of each tribe's forces.

Naturally, the peoples appearing in this light curtain are all currently the top of the Wilderness, at the very least possessing an Innate Divine Saint overseeing them.

Some of them gained fame in the previous Great Calamity, such as the Tiger, Lion, and Leopard tribes among beasts; the Eagle and Falcon tribes among birds of prey; and the Snake and Lizard tribes among scaled armor.

They are widely distributed throughout the Wilderness; now they are the prominent tribes of the Wilderness, found both among mortals and among strange beasts.

There are also some who did not participate in the Great Calamity, obscure in reputation, yet equally formidable in strength, such as the Qingqiu Fox, macaques, and the cattle-and-deer ilk.

Although their distribution range is small and rather concentrated, their strength should not be underestimated.

Qi recorded all of these in the light curtain, and they will be a priority focus after he and Di Jun et al. take the stage.

As for the remaining small tribes, such as the deer-, horse-, and snake-peoples among the beastfolk, they simply do not appear in it.

Although they are similarly widespread, their strength is low; even in the Wilderness they are hardly seen, mostly living in mountains and forests, amounting to nothing.

Besides that, there are individual specks scattered across the map; these are the mountains and rivers where an Innate Divine Saint might exist.

They have not established their own clans; mostly they are just occasional gatherings of a few friends, and even their Dao lineage is rarely passed down.

Although they are spread throughout the Wilderness, they can actually be ignored; these single‑minded seekers of the Dao are not rivals of Qi and company.

Qi gazed at the light curtain before him, lost in thought—how vast the Wilderness is, and how arduous the Dao.

Mount Buzhou.

At this moment, Di Jun has already met with Taiyi and the others, and they begin to advance toward the summit of Mount Buzhou.

The Four Extremes of Heaven and Earth return to their places, the Starry Sky merges with the Heaven, and the summit of Mount Buzhou, which had never been opened before, finally unveils its mysterious veil to the Wilderness.

The aura of Great God Pangu permeates the whole heaven and earth, making Di Jun, Taiyi, and their steps arduous, yet it cannot block their forward pace.

Although the pressure of Mount Buzhou is strong now, it cannot stop us from moving forward.

As long as many Innate Divine Saints go together afterward, the Dao resonance they leave behind will be enough to blaze a road to the Heavenly Realm's gate for those who follow.

Di Jun's voice rang out among them, his gaze blazing, and he already felt the possibility of establishing a power on Mount Buzhou.

Fuxi spoke up from the side, adding:

Moreover, this remaining pressure can also display our dignity; this is almost a heaven‑given treasure—occupying the Heavenly Realm is what truly gives us the foundation for unity.

Otherwise, if we rely on the Star Gods to stand in the Wilderness, we will surely dissatisfy the Wilderness's beings, and after occupying the Heavenly Realm, the name of our power can also be based on the Heavenly Realm.

Rather than later only being able to base ourselves on the Starry Sky, cutting ourselves off from the Wilderness's beings, we could lead the Wilderness instead of ruling it through the Starry Sky.

Taiyi asked, somewhat puzzled:

The things we do are all the same; what difference is there between these two? Aren't we just unifying the Wilderness?

Di Jun laughed and said:

To rule and to lead differ by only one character, but their meanings are worlds apart.

To rule is to rely on strength or power, forcibly exercising control and management.

To lead, however, emphasizes organization, coordination, and guidance; with so many strong ones in the Wilderness, forcible rule would only bring lifelong setbacks.

Although in the end we will ultimately shift from leading to ruling, starting with leadership will give us plenty of time for the Wilderness's beings to adapt.

Of course, this also gives us time to adapt and change; if too harsh, it will only invite a deadly blow from enemies.

Sometimes slowing the pace a bit is not a bad thing; we must lay a solid foundation before we can go farther.

Taiyi seemed to half‑understand, silently pondering the crux; Di Jun and Fuxi did not interrupt, leaving him to his thoughts.

Nüwa was not beside the three; earlier, on the way up the mountain, she suddenly sensed something, as if an opportunity had arrived, and she bade farewell to the three and went off alone.

Di Jun, Taiyi, and Fuxi originally wanted to follow, but Nüwa refused, saying that only the four of them were in Mount Buzhou, there was no danger, and there was no need to go together.

Let them not delay their own important affairs; first priority is to locate the Heavenly Realm's gate.

If they are really uneasy, they can all four first go look for the gate, and after returning, then search for the opportunity.

After a brief hesitation, Di Jun and the others directly proposed to split forces: Di Jun and Taiyi would go seek the gate, while Fuxi accompanies Nüwa.

Nüwa thought a moment, but still felt that she alone going was enough.

Seeking the gate is no easy task; lacking one person already falls short of the needed number—how could we let the elder brother also accompany?

She bluntly refused: 'I have sensed the opportunity; the required time should be short; I am no weak woman; Mount Buzhou is familiar to me in an extraordinary way—why would I need to consume another person?'

'You have no sense of it; even if you accompany me, it would be of little use, merely wasting time.'

'If you are truly uneasy, we can all together first seek the gate, then look for that opportunity.'

'Heavenly Realm matters are no trifle; priorities must be weighed. We have already spent too much on this, expending extraordinary manpower and material—do not let everyone's efforts go to waste.' Everyone resigned; in the end, Di Jun decided that opportunities wait for no one and cannot be delayed, so they split into two groups, letting Nüwa go alone to seek it.

And they continued to climb Mount Buzhou, seeking the location of the heavenly gate.

At this moment, as the crowd chatted, it had already been a thousand years since they had last seen Nüwa.

But at this moment, Nüwa was trapped within the formation, unable to exit or enter.

This formation is truly strange; it actually gives me a feeling as if I had entered the Primordial Cloud Dream Great Formation!

Nüwa, somewhat flustered, said, "Having been trapped in this formation for several hundred years, though unharmed, this feeling of not knowing the way ahead truly vexes me."

What Nüwa could see was all bizarre and wondrous; located within Mount Buzhou, with the formation suppressing her, she could not rise and fly, her divine sense could not expand, and she could find no way out.

Nüwa felt a headache coming on, and couldn't help but sigh:

"If I had known earlier, I should have studied formations in Cloud Dream Marsh, or at least brought Fuxi along; otherwise I wouldn't have ended up in this predicament."

Since you let me sense where the opportunity lies, why still have the formation guard it? Surely you can't be having second thoughts!

Unfortunately, no matter how long Nüwa's muttering continued, what she could see remained unchanged.

Even concentrating her divine power in her eyes only allowed Nüwa to see clearly a few zhang ahead; she could not break free from the formation's range at all.

Fortunately, the formation before her had no offensive effect; it merely trapped people, yet it could still accommodate Nüwa wandering about inside, preserving the chance of a blind cat finding a dead mouse.

Continuing to rush about randomly within the formation, Nüwa occasionally unleashed a few divine abilities, striking randomly around; this caused the formation to reveal a slit, which she then seized to advance a bit further.

But Nüwa did not realize that her random wandering was merely pacing back and forth at the formation's edge, still very far from the central location where the spiritual treasure lay.

At this rate of her formation‑breaking method, even after another ten thousand years she would at most approach the outer rim, still a hundred and eight thousand li from the core.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Mount Buzhou, the twelve Wu gods had gathered together, also discussing something.

"Big brother, do you really think we should create our own race? I just feel it's not reliable."

Shēbǐshī did not approve of this act of creating a race; he felt quite content as he was and did not want a race to drag him down.

But since there are those who do not want to create a race, naturally there are also those who wish to create one.

For example, Xuánmíng retorted:

"How is it not reliable? Don't you feel the area around Mount Buzhou is too empty? With just us twelve, there's some interest, but how could those other beasts communicate with us?"

Moreover, if we create a race and nurture it with care, we might even rival the three tribes!

The might to overawe the wilderness—what grandeur! How could someone like you, who only knows how to sleep all day, possibly understand?

In the course of speaking, Xuánmíng even threw in personal attacks, and indeed there are very few living beings within the region of Mount Buzhou.

Although the spiritual energy and vital essence are abundant, Pangu's overwhelming deterrent makes it rare for any living being to linger long.

Most of those who enter the region of Mount Buzhou do so to flee disaster; once the outside world returns to peace, they quickly leave Mount Buzhou.

Hòutǔ hesitated slightly, then also cast a vote in favor, saying, "I have no intention to overawe the wilderness, but there are indeed too few living beings in Mount Buzhou; lacking vitality, when bored and wanting to pass the time, one cannot find anyone to talk to."

Moreover, your personalities differ vastly—you sleep for eons at a stretch, or you fight upon meeting; besides, your ways of life are much the same, leaving little for us to talk about.

Saying this, he glanced at Zhùróng and Gònggōng, then at Shēbǐshī; it was obvious who he meant by those who sleep and fight.

Zhùróng laughed heartily and said, "Sister Hòutǔ, it's not that I want to contend with Gònggōng; I simply cannot stand his awkward character, and life is dull, so sparring is a way to find some fun."

Gònggōng glared fiercely at Zhùróng, his anger instantly ignited, and he shouted:

"You're nothing but my amusement; if it weren't for our brotherly bond, I would have already beaten you to death."

He then turned to Hòutǔ and said:

"Sister Hòutǔ, just look at his punch‑worthy face—am I really trying to contend with him? Clearly it's he himself who's mouthy and asking for a beating."

Hòutǔ gave them a white‑eye look and said nothing.

Dìjiāng, seeing that several were about to go off‑topic, could only interject to bring the discussion back to whether to create a race, saying, "You'd better not waste your breath arguing; let's first decide whether to create a race—whatever the case, we need a framework."

"Zhújiǔyīn, you have always been the wisest among us; please share your opinion."

Zhújiǔyīn had been weighing the pros and cons while everyone spoke earlier; upon Dìjiāng's prompting, he did not remain silent but directly voiced his view, saying:

This matter has its advantages and disadvantages; creating a race is not something we can simply do by talking, for we lack the innate divine means that outsiders possess to easily produce our own kind.

Furthermore, we do not cultivate the primordial spirit nor comprehend the Great Dao, so we cannot, like those innate divine races, sustain ourselves by cultivating on wind and dew.

The race we create will necessarily be like us, cultivating through bloodline and flesh, wielding the power of laws.

But merely cultivating on wind and dew cannot satisfy the growth of blood and qi; there are hardly any living beings in Mount Buzhou to sustain such consumption.

Even for us, wanting to have a full meal in Mount Buzhou is no easy feat; if we create a race, where would their food come from—we certainly can't just watch them starve.

If we create a race, in the end we will inevitably have to leave Mount Buzhou to contend with the myriad tribes of the wilderness and vie for prey.

Zhùróng suddenly interjected, disdainfully saying:

Then let's contend; I fear them not, each relying on their own means—I'd like to see who ends up eating whom.

The race we create will certainly not be inferior to those of the wilderness; if we truly cannot prevail, we still have ourselves.

Zhújiǔyīn's words were cut off; he suddenly forgot what he wanted to say, and could only explain, "If we create a race, it naturally could not be inferior to the outside world's living beings; I am not afraid of contending with them, I am merely stating the facts simply."

Seeing Zhùróng causing trouble, Dìjiāng, without further ado, punched him into the ground, then told Zhújiǔyīn, "You needn't mind him; continue with your remarks."

Zhújiǔyīn could only reorganize his thoughts again, recalling what he had intended to say.

Húfěi crossed over into the world of Liaozhai, embarking on a wondrous journey of demons and immortals.

This is the human world, yet immortals and ghosts mingle; ghosts are more complicated than humans, humans are scarier than ghosts, and immortals also have oddballs.

Demons have their demonic composure; foxes have their fox-like stubbornness.

Hu Fei in his small shrine practiced the Great Dao of helping others, granting every wish.

He's just a little fox immortal—what evil thoughts could he have? Nothing more than his golden finger is:

Take wishes as seeds; plant beans, get melons.

Mainly about granting every wish! (End of chapter)