Chapter Fifty-Two: A Century Passes, Returning Once More to Mount Buzhou

When Pangu recognized the origin of the bead, Chenxing was not surprised.

“It’s a pity that it was so badly damaged at the time of creation. Restoring it will be rather troublesome,” Pangu sighed, frowning.

Upon hearing Pangu say that repairing the bead would be troublesome, the two women, Nuwa and her companion, grew anxious. If even the great Pangu could not repair it, then things were truly dire. They hurriedly looked to Chenxing.

Yet Chenxing did not appear troubled by Pangu’s words. Smiling, he flipped his left hand, and two strands, glowing with a violet light, appeared in his palm.

Seeing these two strands, Pangu’s pupils contracted. He gave a wry smile and said, “Isn’t the price you’re paying for this too high, my friend?”

Chenxing chuckled and replied, “You should have guessed by now—I came here precisely to repair the Chaos Pearl. This treasure is of great use to me; this price is worth it.”

Pangu nodded thoughtfully. He could not divine Chenxing’s purpose in seeking him, but upon seeing the Chaos Pearl, he had guessed somewhat. Still, he had not expected that, to restore a single chaos spirit treasure, Chenxing would use two of his own hairs.

Do not underestimate those two hairs—Chenxing, as the Lord of All Ways, had a body composed entirely of the patterns of the Dao. Using these two strands to mend the Chaos Pearl was almost inconceivable to Pangu. With them, the restored treasure’s power would even surpass an undamaged primordial Chaos Pearl.

After a moment of silence, Pangu sighed and said with a grimace, “My friend Chenxing, I fear that repairing the treasure in this way may bring some… less than desirable consequences.”

Chenxing nodded. “I am well aware. But I am not asking you to simply restore the treasure—I also want you to open a small world within it after the repair. I have great need of it, but its original purpose cannot be hindered. Can you do that?”

“With those two Dao-body hairs, it’s no problem. But isn’t it rather wasteful?” Pangu glanced at the two women, puzzled.

Chenxing shook his head and explained, “My time is limited, and this is a last resort. As for what you’ve said—” Chenxing smiled proudly, “Do you think anything is difficult for me?”

Pangu could only smile wryly. He had momentarily forgotten who stood before him—his own father, Lord of All Worlds.

Originally, the Chaos Pearl, restored with two Dao strands, could endure two creations of the world, enough to grant two beings the highest Dao achievements. But if Pangu opened a world within it, only one more creation would be possible—a bit wasteful, perhaps, but given Chenxing's presence, the attainment of the highest Dao was almost a joke.

Though the two women at the side hardly understood the exchange, upon hearing Pangu say he could repair the Chaos Pearl, they felt much relieved. They stood quietly by Chenxing, asking nothing more.

Chenxing nodded and waved his hand. “Go. I want to see the Chaos Pearl whole within a hundred years.” Pangu said no more, bowed to Chenxing, and turned, vanishing before the three of them.

Once Pangu was gone, Chenxing gave a grand wave, and he and the two women disappeared into the chaos. Silence returned to the boundless void.

At the foot of Buzhou Mountain, several figures strolled up the winding path to the summit. It was Chenxing of Fangzhang Island, accompanied by Nuwa, Xiaoyao, and a burly man, chatting as they walked.

“Tell me, little Zhengwei, how is it that after just ten thousand years, you’ve gone from an adorable boy to such a rough brute?” It was Chenxing speaking, his tone mischievous, teasing Niu Zhengwei, who had insisted on coming to Buzhou Mountain to look for Fuxi.

Though he couldn’t understand Chenxing’s words—“adorable boy” and “rough brute”—Niu Zhengwei still scratched his head sheepishly and replied in his gruff voice, “I don’t know what the lord means.”

At first glance, one might think this fellow a simpleton, easily duped, but for the cunning glimmer that occasionally flashed in his eyes.

Nuwa and her companion, watching the two men’s banter, rolled their eyes, speechless.

“I’ll wager you’ve fooled quite a few people over the years,” Chenxing remarked, knowing Niu Zhengwei’s character well—he was the very image of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Heh heh!” Niu Zhengwei did not answer directly. Instead, he grinned, a flash of light in his hand producing a pair of massive hammers. With pride, he said, “Lord, have you ever seen such treasures? I got these in the Eastern Sea. Heh heh!” His face shone with satisfaction.

Chenxing smiled wryly. He could see at a glance that the hammers were fine innate spirit treasures; Niu Zhengwei was quite fortunate to have acquired them.

Nuwa, however, snapped angrily, “You’ve got some nerve! A grown man tricking a little girl—aren’t you ashamed?”

At her rebuke, Niu Zhengwei shrank his bull-like head, no longer daring to appear smug. Chenxing, surprised by Nuwa’s words, turned to Xiaoyao and asked her what had happened.

As it turned out, a few centuries before, Niu Zhengwei had left the island to visit the Eastern Sea. By then, Fangzhang Island was renowned throughout the land and seldom troubled by others. But that time, bad luck befell him. While wandering, he accidentally injured a young girl. Fearing Xiaoyao’s scolding upon his return, he was about to slip away when the girl’s companions surrounded him, intent on seizing him for questioning.

Though already at the late Golden Immortal stage, Niu Zhengwei was hesitant to fight, since there were several other Golden Immortals on the opposing side, and after all, it was his mistake.

With no other option, he picked up the unconscious girl he had injured and used her as a hostage to force his way out, “using the emperor to command the lords,” so to speak.

This alone would have been nothing, but what truly infuriated Nuwa was that the girl, upon waking, had not seen who had hurt her. Seeing only the honest-looking Niu Zhengwei, she assumed he had saved her and thanked him profusely, even gifting him the spirit treasure hammers in gratitude. Niu Zhengwei had shamelessly accepted the gift.

After hearing Xiaoyao's story, Chenxing glanced at the unrepentant, even smug, Niu Zhengwei, and with a laugh and a scold, said, “Utterly shameless!”

Still, he was not truly angry; after all, Niu Zhengwei’s actions were not excessive. In the primordial world, killing and robbing for treasure was commonplace. The fact that Niu Zhengwei had not slain the girl and stripped her of all her possessions when she offered the hammers was already a mark of mercy.

As the group continued joking and chatting, they reached the summit of Buzhou Mountain, arriving at the former cultivation ground of Fuxi and Nuwa. Reaching the hidden formation, Nuwa performed her incantation, revealing the site. They entered together, but when Chenxing scanned the area with his divine sense, he found no trace of Fuxi, and was taken aback.

Nuwa, too, looked at Chenxing, her eyes showing disappointment—she had used her spiritual sense and realized her brother was not present.

Chenxing had come to Buzhou Mountain because his relationship with Nuwa had been settled; he wanted to greet her only family member, Fuxi.

This was, in fact, a habit Chenxing had picked up on Earth—having courted someone’s sister, he could not in good conscience neglect to tell her family, hence this visit.

As Nuwa was growing disappointed at not finding her brother, Chenxing, forming a hand seal, divined Fuxi’s whereabouts. With a wry smile, he said to Nuwa, “Your brother has been invited to Yujing Mountain by that fellow Hongjun.”

“Why did Fellow Daoist Hongjun have to invite my brother right now!” she stomped her foot, pouting. She had finally truly come together with Chenxing and wanted to tell her brother, but now this—she was quite displeased.

Chenxing could only smile wryly and added, “What worries me is that your brother may be in danger on this trip.”

“What? How can that be? Wasn’t he invited by Fellow Daoist Hongjun? Unless—Hongjun…” Nuwa exclaimed, her face turning pale with alarm.