Chapter 14: The Innate Gourd Vine

Houtu had come to an agreement with the siblings Fuxi and Nuwa one after another.

Emperor Cang took the initiative to remove his own spiritual imprint from the “Twelve-Petal Lotus of Creation,” handing this supreme innate spiritual treasure over to Nuwa and her brother intact and unblemished.

The siblings were overjoyed beyond measure.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Nuwa, in front of both Houtu and Emperor Cang, immediately refined the lotus, greatly enhancing her magical power and dramatically increasing her defenses.

With heartfelt enthusiasm, Fuxi said, “If the Wu tribe seeks the highest-grade innate spiritual root, the Gourd Vine, I, who am versed in innate divination, can aid you with my peerless skills.”

The Ancient Emperor Fuxi could truly be called the most honest of honest men. Although this matter began with the Wu tribe themselves seeking the treasure from Fuxi’s abode, he was clear-eyed and just.

First, he believed that though the treasure had ended up in their domain, neither he nor his sister had discovered it first, which suggested that perhaps fate did not intend it for them.

Second, the Wu tribe had acted with utmost sincerity, willing to exchange a supreme innate spiritual treasure for the siblings’ cooperation.

Moreover, the power of the Twelve-Petal Lotus of Creation was perfectly in harmony with Nuwa’s own strength.

“Since we have accepted the Wu tribe’s treasure,” Fuxi mused inwardly, “we must do our utmost to help them fulfill their wish. How could we let them pay such a price in vain?”

Thus, Fuxi personally stepped forward, deploying his innate divination to calculate the precise location, while the two ancestors of the Wu, Dijang and Candle Nine Yin, extended their power through time and space, slowly probing the boundless territories within the Xuanhuang Peak.

Before long, they all sensed a strange spatial fluctuation within Xuanhuang Peak of Buzhou Mountain.

The twelve ancestral Wu were all elated.

Candle Nine Yin exclaimed with delight, “Just as we suspected, the Gourd Vine is indeed hidden within this very peak!”

“Indeed!” the others agreed. “This is the place!”

Dijiang turned to Candle Nine Yin. “Brother, let the two of us lay down a temporal and spatial barrier here to seal off the area. Once the treasure is revealed, its divine radiance may be too intense and could attract troublesome powers, leading to conflict.”

Once all preparations were complete, they gradually opened the chaotic secret realm before them.

In an instant, an innate spiritual root appeared before the twelve ancestor Wu, Fuxi, Nuwa, Emperor Cang, and the others.

They were all stunned, for what greeted them was nothing like what they had imagined.

They had expected that a supreme innate spiritual root growing in the chaos would have massive roots, an unfathomable body, each leaf shrouded in the mist of chaos, capable of drawing upon the chaotic energy of the world, transforming it into nourishment for its fruit—a force of earth-shaking power.

Yet, before their eyes, the Gourd Vine was merely as tall as a man, only slightly taller than a grown man.

Its roots and vines were withered and gray, exuding a faint aura of decline.

As for its leaves, the entire vine had produced seven fruits and only a few green leaves could be found; only three gourd leaves glowed with emerald vitality, mingling with the chaotic aura and manifesting countless wonders. The rest were withered and yellow, as if on the verge of decay.

“What is this…” Nuwa and Fuxi were both shocked.

“This is not good!” Of the twelve ancestor Wu, Jumang was lost in thought for a long time before suddenly understanding and explaining to the others, “The seven fruits nurtured by this Gourd Vine are simply too extraordinary. Even with its supreme ability to absorb the power of chaos, it cannot truly sustain the creation of seven such miraculous fruits.”

“The Gourd Vine was originally lacking, and so it has forced itself to exhaust all its life essence to support the ripening of these seven fruits!”

“If my guess is right,” Jumang continued, “the very moment these seven fruits ripen will also be the moment when the Gourd Vine’s life essence is utterly spent and it perishes completely.”

At these words, all twelve ancestor Wu were shaken.

Such a rare spiritual root, now in their hands, was too precious to lose forever.

And yet, some among them fixed their gaze on the seven ripening gourds, their eyes glimmering with desire.

Houtu spoke, “Heaven’s workings allow for forty-nine, always leaving one thread of hope. Perhaps the Gourd Vine’s original intent was to exhaust its own life to nurture seven fruits, but since we have discovered it before its purpose is fulfilled, this may be a sign that its fate is not yet sealed.”

With a gentle smile, she continued, “With so many mighty beings and endless means at our disposal, surely we can revive a spiritual root that has not yet perished.”

“My friends,” said Houtu, “a supreme innate spiritual root is a treasure of the primordial world. If we can save it, the merits and benefits will be boundless. Let us put our heads together and devise a way to preserve it. What say you?”

“Agreed!” Fuxi and Nuwa immediately nodded in approval.

The twelve ancestor Wu also nodded one after another.

Jumang said, “If this were two great kalpas later, when the current catastrophe had reached its midpoint, by then the Gourd Vine would have already spent its essence, fusing all its life force into the seven gourds. At that point, even if Father God returned, he might not be able to save it.”

“But now, we have discovered this two kalpas earlier. There is much that can be done.”

“I, as the ancestor Wu of wood, innately command the life force of all plants. I can use the unity of heaven and earth to draw upon the essence of all vegetation and help the Gourd Vine restore its life force. In this way, it need not exhaust itself to ripen the seven gourds, and the fruits can still mature perfectly.”

Jumang continued, “To accomplish this, two things are necessary.”

“First, the chaotic secret realm before us, though a fitting place for hiding and nurturing the Gourd Vine, is not vast or powerful enough. It must be expanded to be grand and boundless.”

“Second, we must transplant countless ordinary spiritual roots and plants into the secret realm. By harnessing the unity of all life within, I can gather their scattered vitalities to nourish the Gourd Vine and grant it new life.”

Upon hearing this, Houtu and the other ancestor Wu were overjoyed.

Dijiang said, “That’s simple. Previously, when we found the Thunder Tree, the Four Symbols Banana Tree, and the Twelve-Petal Lotus of Creation, each was accompanied by a chaotic secret realm. We can refine the chaotic divine earth we’ve acquired into this secret realm to sustain the Gourd Vine’s vitality. The rest can be discussed later.”

“In addition,” said Dijiang, “we can temporarily transplant two high-grade innate spiritual roots here as well, borrowing their life potential to nurture the Gourd Vine.”