Chapter 63: The Birth of the Human Race

Nuwa slowly stood up and flew away from Mount Buzhou.

A month later, Nuwa returned from parts unknown carrying soil that was delicate in texture and brimming with intense vitality.

Nuwa cupped the soil gently in her hands, and the dao rhythms of the Great Dao of Creation surged forth. The soil, which was already rich with vitality, now radiated an even more exuberant life force.

Then, Nuwa's hands began to move slowly, and the soil continuously changed its shape within her grasp.

Soon, a clay figurine appeared in Nuwa's hands. Channeling the Great Dao of Creation, Nuwa breathed a mouthful of celestial breath onto the figurine.

The clay figurine instantly took on a vibrant, living appearance.

Yet, Nuwa frowned slightly. Looking at the figurine she had so meticulously crafted, a trace of doubt and disappointment welled up in her heart.

For while the figurine looked lively, it was actually completely devoid of true spirituality. Its lifelike appearance was merely a projection of the Great Dao of Creation manifesting according to Nuwa's own will.

Overcome with disappointment, Nuwa gave a casual wave of her hand, and the clay figurine dissolved into the wind.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, ordinary soil, no matter how wondrous, will likely find it difficult to carry your Great Dao of Creation," Bai Jing, who had been watching from the side, offered as a reminder.

Hearing this, Nuwa's eyes lit up. With a thought, a lump of spiritual substance imbued with thick laws of earth appeared in her hands—it was none other than the Nine Heavens息壤 (breathing soil) from beneath the gourd vine.

The very moment Nuwa produced the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, the Grand Purple Qi within her spiritual platform trembled suddenly, as if celebrating that Nuwa had found the correct path.

Since Bai Jing had helped her once again, Nuwa's eyes turned, and she decided to return the favor. She said to Bai Jing, "Does Fellow Daoist Bai Jing happen to have any Three-Light Divine Water?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Jing understood Nuwa's intent instantly. She wanted to share a portion of the merits of creating humanity with him!

"Naturally, I do." With a thought, Bai Jing retrieved a basin-sized mass of Three-Light Divine Water from the Yuanyang Cauldron and presented it before Nuwa.

Seeing such a massive mass of Three-Light Divine Water, a flash of shock crossed Nuwa's eyes.

This Three-Light Divine Water was a supreme healing treasure in the Primordial World, capable of bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bones. No matter how severe an injury was, as long as the victim had a single breath left, the Three-Light Divine Water could save them.

Nuwa herself possessed only a small vial containing about fifty drops of the Three-Light Divine Water, which she had always regarded as an ultimate treasure. After all, it was a life-saving item; how could she not treasure it?

Compared to Bai Jing, who produced such a massive mass so casually, even Nuwa—whose temperament was usually serene—felt a twinge of envy and jealousy. Houtu couldn't help but cast a few extra glances at Bai Jing as well.

Bai Jing smiled. He possessed as much as half a pond of Three-Light Divine Water, so what he had just brought out was merely a drop in the ocean and of no real consequence.

Nuwa took a deep breath and steadied her mind. She mixed the Three-Light Divine Water with the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil to form clay, then casually pinched off a small lump. Her nimble hands quickly molded this small piece of clay into the shape of a Primordial Dao Body, which looked quite adorable.

Following that, Nuwa used the Great Dao of Creation to awaken the clay figurine's spiritual intelligence and fashion its divine soul.

Within a short moment, the facial features of the clay figurine in Nuwa's hands became distinct. It was a man with an extraordinarily handsome and heroic demeanor.

Nuwa gently placed the clay figurine on the ground, then reached out her right hand to lightly touch the center of the figurine's brows.

The dao rhythms of the Great Dao of Creation flowed from Nuwa's fingertips and landed on the clay figurine. Instantly, brilliant five-colored light erupted around the figurine, as though some supreme treasure was about to be born to the world.

Seeing this, Houtu sighed with emotion, "This clay lump uses the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil for its flesh, the Three-Light Divine Water for its blood, and the Great Dao of Creation to forge its soul. It is truly unimaginable just how terrifying the innate talent of a race forged from such treasures will be."

Hearing this, Bai Jing thought to himself, "If not for this, how could the human race ever be worthy of the position of the protagonists of heaven and earth?"

A moment later, the right hand of the clay figurine seemed to twitch suddenly. Then, rapid transformations began across its entire body: the clay turned into flesh and blood, and the divine water turned into blood. Within its eyes, this time, a light of true spirit finally burst forth!

The clay figurine... no, at this moment it could no longer be called a clay figurine. It was already a human, the very first human in this world.

"Greetings, Holy Mother!" the human man bowed respectfully toward Nuwa.

The materials used to craft the clay figurine all belonged to the innate category; thus, the moment this figurine was born, it shared the same innate classification as the materials used to shape it.

Since he was an innate living being, he naturally possessed extraordinary wisdom. Even without instruction, he knew gratitude and understood how to thank his creator.

Looking at the human man bowing before her, Nuwa's face was filled with joy.

She reached out and patted the human man's head, saying, "You are the most perfect creation I have fashioned in these tens of thousands of years. Let your name be Human! Your race shall be the Human Race. Step aside for now, and I will create your fellow clansmen for you."

Hearing this, the human man stood up, walked to the side, and watched as Nuwa continued to create his kinsmen.

At this moment, his eyes were filled entirely with reverence and respect for the Holy Mother.

The appearance of the human race filled Nuwa with boundless drive. She consecutively molded three thousand clay figurines. The men were all exceptionally handsome, their appearances inferior to none of the Primordial Dao Bodies transformed by innate divine beings.

The women grew more and more breathtaking one after another, each possessing the beauty to put the moon to shame and make flowers blush.

Looking at the three thousand humans before her, Nuwa felt both gratified and troubled in her heart.

Her gratification stemmed from the fact that ever since the human race was born, Nuwa could sense an ineffable connection between herself and them, as if they were kin bound by blood.

Her trouble stemmed from the realization that if she molded every single one of them by hand like this, it would simply consume far too much mental energy. According to the prompt of the Grand Purple Qi, she needed to create one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred humans for her merit to be complete. If she continued to mold them one by one, it would consume far too much time and energy.

Just as Nuwa was pondering how to speed up the process of creating humans, Bai Jing spoke up once again: "Could Fellow Daoist Nuwa be growing tired of molding?"

Nuwa smiled and replied, "It is not that I am tired. It is just that if I wish to attain complete merit, I must create one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred humans. Molding them one by one is ultimately a bit too slow."

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa might as well try a different method of creation."

"What kind of different method?"

"The flesh and blood of these humans are transformed from the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil and the Three-Light Divine Water, and their divine souls are endowed by your Great Dao of Creation. Thinking about it this way, Fellow Daoist Nuwa does not actually need to mold the humans one by one."

Hearing this, Nuwa's eyes brightened. What Bai Jing said made complete sense.

With a thought from Nuwa, a withered vine appeared out of thin air in her hand.

This vine was none other than the Gourd Vine, one of the top ten innate spiritual roots of the Primordial World.

Back then, after the first lecture at Zixiao Palace, the gourds on this Gourd Vine were plucked by various mighty figures. None of the mighty ones present at the time took the Gourd Vine itself away.

This was because it displayed no spiritual light, and the power of the dao it contained had already been entirely absorbed by the seven gourds; taking it yielded no significance.

Only Nuwa felt that this Gourd Vine seemed to have a fated connection with her, so she uprooted it and kept it. It was also at that very time that she had discovered the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil.