SWDnovel Chapter 2 Planning for the Future: Challenges
Chapter 2 Planning for the Future: Challenges
Haotian immediately perked up. Although there was no direct cultivation method, throughout history, which mythical Great Luo Immortal attained enlightenment by learning someone else's method? No, they all achieved it through self-enlightenment and self-development, step by step.
Let's take it slow. The great calamity of the Lich King has just subsided, so there's no immediate danger.
Haotian grew increasingly excited as he thought about it, and was about to delve deeper into the Primordial Ancestral Qi when he suddenly heard a clear and melodious sound:
"Haotian, are you alright? Although the Heavenly Court is severely damaged, we can rebuild it slowly and steadily in the future."
Haotian turned his head in response and saw a pretty face full of concern.
Yaochi. The person Haotian knows best and is closest to.
The Purple Cloud Palace sits alone amidst the chaos, far removed from the primordial world. The Dao Ancestor Hongjun has been in seclusion for many years, seeking enlightenment, and it is only through the company of these two that he has been able to endure the daily solitude.
This time, the two were both bestowed titles by the Dao Ancestor, becoming the Heavenly Emperor and the Queen Mother of Heaven.
But at this moment, her pretty face was full of sorrow.
Haotian turned his head and glanced at the Heavenly Court before him, his expression somewhat wistful.
However, the stars in the heavens still exist, and the pure spiritual energy remains, so the Heavenly Court is still the most prestigious fairyland in the primordial world.
As for those spiritual roots, immortal plants, and exotic birds and beasts, so be it if they're gone. We can always collect them slowly in the future.
Unfortunately, with the collapse of Mount Buzhou, the ability to transform innate spiritual energy disappeared. From then on, innate spiritual energy will gradually dissipate, while acquired spiritual energy will grow. The Lich Calamity was far more destructive than the previous calamity that damaged the prehistoric world.
Haotian couldn't help but sigh as he thought of this.
Yaochi, unaware of his thoughts and clearly feeling unwell herself, still offered words of comfort: "Haotian, don't be discouraged. We can take it slowly, and we can also ask our fellow disciples for help."
Upon hearing this, Haotian couldn't help but chuckle.
Fellow senior brothers... are the six great saints: the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti. It's just a pity that Yaochi thought too simply.
They were merely two attendants, not disciples of Hongjun. Leaving aside whether the Six Sages would even acknowledge them as junior brothers and sisters—what a crucial place the Heavenly Court was! What a special position the Heavenly Emperor held!
Countless people throughout the primordial world coveted this position, including the Six Sages.
Unfortunately, the throne of the Heavenly Emperor fell into the hands of this mere child, Haotian. It would be a miracle if these people didn't cause trouble; why would they help?
Yaochi has lived in Zixiao Palace since birth, and apart from Haotian, she has almost never interacted with outsiders, which inevitably makes her somewhat naive. It's not her fault; it's just that in the primordial world, there is deceit, treachery, and greed.
There is also Hongjun Daozu. In fact, Haotian's feelings towards Hongjun are quite complicated: on the one hand, he is grateful for his enlightenment and protection, and on the other hand, he knows that all of this is fate.
Hongjun enlightened them and arranged for them to become the Heavenly Emperor and the Queen Mother; it was all fate.
The Great Way is ruthless, and the sage is merciless!
Haotian even doubted whether Hongjun truly possessed any emotions.
To be honest, Haotian had already resigned himself to his fate, intending to lie down and be a puppet. But now, suddenly possessing a cheat code, the flame in his heart has begun to burn fiercely!
Human life is fleeting, like grass in autumn. Since we've come into this world, let's give it our all! Even if we die, let's die a glorious death!
What's more, he also has such a powerful cheat!
Haotian closed his eyes, then opened them again. His expression had returned to calm, but a blazing flame burned within them.
"Yaochi, don't worry. This will be our home from now on. We will rebuild the Heavenly Court with our own hands and conquer every inch of this primordial land!"
"Until one day, this world will belong to us all!"
"Let all races and living beings submit to me, and I will rule over all the gods and immortals!"
"To become the true master of the primordial world!"
"what?"
Yaochi didn't actually have such grand ambitions, but looking at Haotian's confident and spirited demeanor, she couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.
Strangely enough, although Haotian's words were clearly extremely arrogant, she inexplicably felt that they were not exaggerations, but a statement of future reality. What a blessing it would be to truly rule the primordial world and enjoy the worship of all living beings!
"Yes, I believe you." Yaochi nodded gently, her expression seemingly calm.
Haotian's lips curled slightly. He knew in his heart that if there was only one person left in this world he could entrust with his trust, it would undoubtedly be Yaochi. And he would never betray that trust.
In truth, they could have simply asked Hongjun to repair the Heavenly Court. But relationships are fleeting; once used, they diminish. Why waste them on such a trivial matter?
Moreover, Hongjun has already aligned himself with the Heavenly Dao, and every bit of affection he has is precious. He would never speak unless absolutely necessary.
Moreover, Hongjun did not abandon the two of them; he bestowed upon them many treasures. They are now like disciples who have just graduated from their apprenticeship. If they cannot stand on their own, they might as well accept their fate and obediently become puppets.
"Alright, let's plant the peach trees first, then we can start the restoration work..."
Just as Haotian was about to work with Yaochi to rebuild the Heavenly Court, a beam of celestial light suddenly pierced through the void and landed on the ruins.
A miracle has occurred!
In an instant, all the ruins vanished, and celestial palaces rose from the ground, with countless immortal herbs and flowers blooming in profusion, and numerous celestial birds and beasts flying about. The air was filled with ethereal immortal energy and spiritual mist.
The Heavenly Court has been restored to its former glory, now displaying an even more magnificent and beautiful splendor.
"This...this is Master! Thank you, Master!"
Yaochi was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and bowed deeply in gratitude. She had just been worrying about how to rebuild, but Hongjun had intervened and solved their problem.
"Thank you, sir." Haotian was also moved and bowed.
He didn't want to trouble Hongjun, but in the end, it was Hongjun who lent a helping hand. Not only was the Heavenly Court repaired, but the peach trees were also planted.
A flash of green light appeared, and seedlings sprouted from the soil, quickly growing strong and healthy. Streams of primordial spiritual energy rapidly gathered, flowing into the trunk, where they took root, sprouted, and branched out. Pink peach blossoms bloomed one after another, and as the flowers faded, the branches were laden with plump, juicy peaches.
There were 1,200 peach trees in the first grove, 1,200 in the middle, and 1,200 in the last, totaling 3,600 trees. The peaches in each grove were of different grades, with the quality increasing as you went further in. The entire Heavenly Court was filled with a fresh and sweet fragrance.
Yaochi looked at the peach orchard behind her and couldn't help but take a sniff, exclaiming happily, "These are the peaches? They smell so good!"
Haotian led Yaochi over, casually picked one and handed it to her, and picked one for himself to taste.
"Try it."
The taste is not bad, well, that's my opinion.
Although the peaches of immortality are one of the ten great spiritual roots, the original effects of the peaches have long since disappeared when they are divided into so many at once. For the two of them, who are Great Luo Golden Immortals, it's just a taste.
However, it is still a good treasure for other low-level cultivators.
Looking at the vibrant peach orchard and then at the magnificent Heavenly Court, Yaochi's mood improved considerably. All of this seemed to foreshadow the Heavenly Court's resurgence and its return to power over the world.
Thinking of this, she said, "Haotian, I want to take a good look at the Heavenly Court and our territory."
Since their enlightenment, they had resided in the Purple Cloud Palace. This was their first time arriving in the primordial world, and they now possessed their own territory—the legendary Heavenly Court. Yaochi was naturally filled with curiosity.
Haotian nodded: "Go ahead, I'll stay here for a while."
Yaochi didn't think much more about it and happily flew towards the celestial palaces to begin inspecting the land that belonged to them.
Haotian stayed behind to carefully inspect the Peach Garden.
The Peach Tree is one of the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots of the Primordial World, so its strategic value is considerable. Although the Primordial World is rich in resources and abundant with rare and precious materials, it has been ravaged by several great calamities and plundered by the five major races of dragons, phoenixes, qilin, witches, and demons, leaving very few resources remaining, and most already possessed by their owners. For most living beings, cultivation resources are extremely rare.
This is why the importance of the Peaches of Immortality is becoming increasingly apparent. As long as one firmly controls the Peaches of Immortality, one can attract a group of independent cultivators, or even start cultivating them from scratch.
Each peach represents a future celestial soldier or general. These celestial soldiers and generals may not be particularly strong, but they are trained by the author, so their loyalty is not a concern.
If Haotian wants to become the true Heavenly Emperor and not a puppet, he must have loyal subordinates, and the peaches of immortality are a crucial bargaining chip.
Sages are not benevolent. Hongjun specially planted peaches for them and accelerated their ripening, which can be described as the epitome of benevolence and righteousness towards the two of them.
However, the peaches of immortality can only alleviate the immediate problem, not truly eradicate the predicament. Haotian still faces several extremely difficult troubles.
Ultimately, it comes down to the current situation.
Since Pangu separated heaven and earth, the primordial world has experienced three great calamities: the Calamity of the Ferocious Beasts, the Calamity of the Dragon and Han Dynasties, and the Calamity of the Witch and Demons. After these three great calamities, the power structure was reshuffled time and again, and countless forces, large and small, struggled to survive in the cracks.
Today, the resources and talent of the primordial world have long been divided up by various forces.
Especially when the Three Pure Ones and the other six saints attained sainthood, the situation became completely solidified, and all races and beings had their own affiliations.
Where can Haotian recruit talent? How can a puppet emperor who descended out of nowhere be compared to the Six Sages of the Primordial World? He is even far inferior to some veteran powerhouses.
"Sigh, do we have to wait until the Investiture of the Gods begins?" Haotian sighed, then immediately dismissed the idea.
The Investiture of the Gods seemed to be a quick way to fill the void in the Heavenly Court, but the problem was that most of those listed were disciples of the three religions, and it was impossible for them to truly submit to him.
Although there are independent cultivators and mortals, they are equally difficult to trust. The three religions of Humanity, Chan, and Jie, the Western Religion, the remnants of the Wu and Yao races, and even the resurgence of the previous Celestial Court... are all possibilities.
In the end, he didn't gain a single true confidant, but instead gained a bunch of traitors.
Instead of going to great lengths to distinguish between the real and the fake, it's better to just ignore them altogether.
The Investiture of the Gods was also a calamity for Haotian.
If he had a choice, he would rather the Heavenly Court remain empty than invite trouble upon himself.
However, the grand scheme of things in the primordial world is irreversible, and the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods is destined to arrive. The only thing he can do is to cultivate as many true confidants as possible to avoid being sidelined when the time comes.
Human! Still a human!
What's most important in the new era? Talent!
Haotian was extremely frustrated: Where should he go to recruit people?