Although the King of Henggu could activate a water-element shield, he could not withstand the scorching heat of volcanic magma.
Upon hearing the cry, Shui Miao immediately expanded his divine awareness and sensed deep within the volcano, thousands of meters below, a giant purple bird, much smaller than the Fenghuang, was flying out. This purple bird was incredibly fast, exuding a powerful aura of purple fortune. It was leading a massive surge of magma, erupting with astonishing momentum.
“King of Henggu, step aside! Focus on dealing with the Fenghuang!”
Shui Miao waved his hand, ordering the King of Henggu to retreat far away.
The King of Henggu did not dare to delay and immediately fled into the distance.
Volcanic lava, deeply buried underground, was intensely hot—so much so that even immortals and deities could not manipulate it with ease.
Shui Miao pondered, puzzled. How could this purple bird control the lava? Even with immense magical power, one could not command all the lava so skillfully.
Could it be a primordial spirit bird?
Shui Miao speculated that this purple bird must possess some mysterious supernatural power.
“Hu!”
In the blink of an eye, the purple bird shot out with a “whoosh”—and the volcanic lava erupted behind it. Crimson-red magma surged into the sky, forming a massive deep-purple pillar that turned the heavens red. Strangely, instead of scattering like normal volcanic eruptions, the magma seemed to transform into a fiery dragon, chasing directly after the distant King of Henggu.
“How is this possible!?”
Shui Miao was once again stunned by the bird’s supernatural power and immediately activated the Wheel of Karma to attack the purple bird.
“Shui Miao, this is no ordinary purple bird. This is the legendary divine creature, the Ziluan. But not the Ziluan of the Three Realms—this is the Ziluan born after Pangu separated the heavens and the earth. It is said that the Ziluan is a primordial deity, possessing extraordinary supernatural powers. It can summon all types of spiritual energies in the world and even control your法宝 (treasures). In our world, the Ziluan was tamed by the Daoist Patriarch Hongjun, supposedly through the power of his spirit!” Upon seeing the Ziluan, the erudite Emperor Wenchang urgently warned Shui Miao.
Ziluan was a divine creature. If they weren’t careful, they could all perish.
“Primordial divine being…”
Shui Miao’s mind stirred as he immediately reached out with his spiritual power to make contact with the Ziluan.
Anger!
Pure, immense, indescribable anger.
As soon as Shui Miao extended his spiritual force, he sensed the Ziluan’s fury.
Realizing this, Shui Miao immediately shouted to the distant King of Henggu, “King of Henggu, release the Fenghuang now, quickly!”
“Release…?”
The King of Henggu hesitated for a moment, but seeing the fiery dragon chasing behind the Ziluan, he quickly released the Fenghuang and fled.
The Fenghuang remained crimson red, seemingly gravely injured, frozen like a statue of a red bird.
In a flash of lightning and thunder, a golden net suddenly caught the Fenghuang, preventing it from falling into the water again.
This net had been forged earlier by Shui Miao together with Shui Weng, originally intended to capture the Ziluan and Fenghuang.
Now, however, Shui Miao changed his plan, using the net to catch the Fenghuang. The Fenghuang struggled for a moment before a faint flame began to rise from its body—it was beginning to recover.
“Ya…”
The Fenghuang cried weakly toward the Ziluan.
The Ziluan flew over and immediately exhaled a stream of purple energy onto the Fenghuang. The flames reignited, and after a few flaps of its wings, the Fenghuang soared into the sky once more.
Seeing the Fenghuang revived, the King of Henggu was terrified and quickly accelerated his escape.
At this moment, Shui Miao reached out again with his spiritual force to communicate with the Ziluan. This time, he immediately entered the Ziluan’s consciousness—its thoughts were simple: joy, ease, and happiness.
Such a powerful divine being had such pure thoughts!
Shui Miao was stunned.
“Who are you? Why did you come here? Why did you harm my friend?”
In Shui Miao’s mind, a child’s voice echoed.
Shui Miao immediately responded mentally, “My name is Shui Miao. I am a friend from another world. It was just a misunderstanding. Your friend was too powerful, and we were afraid the fire would reach us, so we fought back.”
“Oh, okay then. Everything is fine now. You can leave.”
The Ziluan was very easygoing and bore no grudge.
Shui Miao’s mind stirred as he quickly said, “I came here especially to find you. You should be able to sense that I am protected by the aura of purple fortune.”
“You?”
The Ziluan scanned Shui Miao and transformed into a red-clothed boy. After observing Shui Miao, he smiled and shook his head. “Friend, you are not protected by the aura of purple fortune. However, someone has placed a charm of purple fortune on you. That person must be quite powerful. But I think I can handle them.”
With a wave of the boy’s hand, all the magma returned underground. At the same time, a chill was drawn from Shui Miao’s pores. Looking closely, he saw a purple talisman floating before him.
“I am not protected by the aura of purple fortune?”
“Someone placed a charm of purple fortune on me?”
“Who could that be?”
“Could it be… even now, I am still just a pawn used by someone else?”
Shui Miao was deeply shaken, unable to believe this truth.
“May I enter your mind and learn your story?”
The Ziluan sensed Shui Miao’s mental fluctuations and became interested in his experiences, his origins, and everything he had gone through.
“Yes…”
Instinctively, Shui Miao nodded. If he wanted the Ziluan’s help, he had to be honest.
“Great!”
Suddenly, the Ziluan transformed into a stream of purple energy, enveloping Shui Miao.
Shui Miao was instantly overwhelmed by a warm, comfortable feeling, and memories of the past began to surface—his joys and sorrows, his many doubts, and his journey through the Three Realms in search of primordial divine treasures…
“Shui Miao, I want to help you uncover these mysteries. May I?”
“Of course, of course! Having your help is my greatest wish…”
“Alright then. I will first reside inside your realm planet. Pretend I’m not there. I will lie low and help you find the one who has been manipulating you…”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“No, it should be me thanking you. From you, I have learned so much—so many new things, so much experience. I have grown, and I see that your heart is kind. Your goal is to save the people of the Three Realms. For that alone, I should help you. Before, you were not protected by the aura of purple fortune, but now, you are.”
After speaking, the boy split into two streams of purple energy. The real Ziluan entered Shui Miao’s realm planet, while a false avatar transformed back into the purple bird and flew into the volcano.
The false avatar’s departure was meant to create a false impression for those outside.
Now, the Ziluan would help Shui Miao uncover the hidden manipulator. He trusted no one—not even Emperor Wenchang.
The Ziluan was a divine being, drawn to purity and stories, with a compassionate and helpful nature.
In the Three Realms, the Ziluan had been moved by Hongjun’s deeds and thus allowed itself to be tamed.
Here, the Ziluan was moved by Shui Miao’s story and chose to stay.
The Ziluan always chose those with great fortune.
Shui Miao’s connection with the Ziluan was also tied to the charm of purple fortune placed on him.
The Ziluan transformed into an ordinary immortal and settled inside Shui Miao’s realm planet.
Shui Miao opened his eyes and looked toward the mouth of the volcano.
“Shui Miao, what just happened?”
“Yeah, Shui Miao, why did the Ziluan leave so suddenly?”
…
Emperor Wenchang and the Holy Mother Shuitiayi looked at Shui Miao, puzzled and confused.
“He saw that I meant no harm, so he spared us!”
Shui Miao sighed, glancing at everyone before turning his gaze to the Fenghuang. The Fenghuang cried out toward the distant King of Henggu, circled once, and landed back at the volcano’s mouth.
“Let’s go. I don’t wish to disturb them anymore.” Shui Miao sighed again, sending a mental message to summon the King of Henggu to leave with him. “Besides, the King of Henggu has already absorbed quite a bit of spiritual energy. He should be able to refine some Yuan stones now.”
…
Hearing this, the others had nothing more to say, though they felt some regret—unable to tame the Ziluan, their journey had been in vain.
Moreover, they were somewhat disappointed to learn that Shui Miao was not truly protected by the aura of purple fortune.
Silently, they began heading north.
According to the King of Henggu’s memories, the north was the domain of monstrous water-dwelling giants, descendants of powerful beings from other worlds. Though Shui Miao did not lack water Yuan stones, considering that Xuankong’er and the others would go there, he had to go as well.
※※※
The north was rich in moisture, with mist and water droplets obscuring the view. Though the chaotic energy was thin, visibility remained extremely poor.
Shui Miao and his companions rode atop the King of Henggu, flying swiftly through the skies with a terrifying aura. Weaker creatures, unable to evade in time, scattered in all directions.
Thus, their journey north was smooth.
The Light-Chasing Mirror showed that Xuankong’er was moving quickly, having forged a massive water-element flying chessboard, tirelessly searching for Yuan stones. Purple Immortal followed closely behind, also forging a treasure. Her treasure was particularly interesting—it looked like a water droplet, highly concealable, yet fast and defensive.
Seeing how quickly Purple Immortal had adapted and grown within this world, Shui Miao marveled at the wonder of life. A sudden thought struck him—could he himself be a puppet or a fragment of a supreme being’s spirit? After all, weren’t all humans created by the Goddess Nuwa essentially her puppets?
Of course, Nuwa could not control every single puppet. Once puppets gained their own thoughts, they became new lives.
Then… who created Nuwa?
At the beginning of life, what created everything?
Clearly, primordial chaos alone could not accomplish this.
Unintentionally, Shui Miao found himself trapped in a question with no clear answer, yet one that was undeniably profound—a question that consumed his thoughts endlessly…
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