Beneath the gourd vine, seven primordial deities quietly awaited the gourd's ripening.
They may have discovered Hu Le's presence, or they may not have; they all remained silent.
Hu Le, as the person involved, could no longer remain calm; these individuals were, to him, deadly threats.
He can now be considered a spirit born from the innate gourd. Once he is removed, let alone take human form, it would be a miracle if his mind wasn't erased.
It's likely that no one would want their crafted treasures to have independent consciousness, since all living beings in the world are born yearning for freedom and instinctively want to break free from the control of others.
Even if we assume the other party is merciful and their intelligence isn't erased, once they're used as a magical artifact for sacrificial purposes, their life and death are in the hands of others—it's worse than death...
Of course, if he could transform into human form first, that would be a different story.
Unfortunately, although he had accumulated enough cultivation and magical power, he was just lacking a spark of inspiration and was unable to take human form for a long time.
Just as Hu Le was getting anxious, the first gourd had already ripened.
Suddenly, a golden gourd shone brightly, its light illuminating the heavens. After swaying a few times, it floated down from the gourd vine.
"Gentlemen, this treasure is destined for this old Taoist."
Master Taiqing stepped forward, and with a flick of his wrist, the golden gourd transformed into a beam of golden light before it even hit the ground, and flew into Taiqing's hand.
Master Taiqing glanced at the gourd indifferently, then casually slipped it into his sleeve.
He was born from Pangu, the head of the Three Pure Ones, and possessed countless treasures. Naturally, he didn't care much about a mere innate spiritual object.
Later, after returning to Kunlun, he slightly refined the gourd and used it as a container for storing elixirs. To the many innate deities of the primordial world, Taiqing's actions were nothing short of a waste of a precious resource...
Just as Taiqing put away the gourd, another white gourd matured and fell from the vine. Yuqing Yuanshi reached out and beckoned, and the gourd flew into his hand.
Yuanshi glanced at the gourd, nodded to himself, and then put it away.
In the future, he refined this gourd, turning it into a Hunyuan Treasure Box.
The Hunyuan Treasure Box first appeared during the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods. The Three Immortal Maidens of the Jie Sect set up the Nine Turns Yellow River Formation, sweeping away the disciples of the Chan Sect and blocking the path of Xiqi to attack Shang. Yuqing Yuanshi had no choice but to personally descend the mountain.
Yuanshi Tianzun's actions were naturally extraordinary. He broke through the great formation with a flick of his finger, summoned the Hunyuan Treasure Box, and easily took Bixiao Niangniang and her mount into the treasure box, which turned into a puddle of pus in the blink of an eye.
This demonstrates the ferocity of this treasure...
Then, the Tongtian Sect Leader stepped forward and took the gourd that was destined for him.
This gourd was later placed in the treasury of Biyou Palace and rarely appeared in the world, so it is not famous in later generations...
The Three Pure Ones were the first to collect the gourds that were destined for them, and did not leave immediately. Next, it was Nuwa's turn.
This time, the matured item was a green gourd. After obtaining it, Nuwa refined it into a secret treasure called the Demon-Summoning Banner, which allowed her to control the fate of the demon race.
Just as Nuwa put away the gourd, a red gourd ripened and fell to the ground.
Master Hongyun chuckled, cupped his hands to everyone, and then beckoned with his hand, the red gourd obediently falling into his grasp.
The Taoist Hongyun stroked the gourd, his heart filled with joy.
He is no match for the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa.
The Three Pure Ones possess the legacy of Pangu, and Nuwa received a portion of the Dao Fruit from the Earthly Sovereign Yue Jianshi; both are wielding great treasures.
At this moment, he was penniless, possessing neither a supreme treasure nor even a single ordinary innate spiritual treasure.
Now that he has obtained the red gourd, with the gourd's own inherent mysteries, he can refine it into a deadly treasure, the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd. How could he not be satisfied?
The five people each collected the gourds, leaving only two on the vine: one yellow gourd and the other purple gourd.
Of those present, only Donghuang Taiyi and Lu Ya, the hermit of Xikunlun, remained.
As the second Heavenly Emperor after Cangli, Donghuang Taiyi ruled the Heavenly Court and held the power to create all living beings. Naturally, his treasury was full of treasures. Although the Innate Gourd was wonderful, he did not necessarily need it.
Therefore, he remained very calm and did not care much about gains or losses.
As for Lu Ya, the hermit of West Kunlun, although he was born from the essence of the innate fire, he was considered to have a noble origin among all the innate deities.
Unfortunately, like the Taoist Hongyun, he didn't have many useful treasures, making him quite poor.
This kind of rare and precious creation, which can be refined into an innate spiritual treasure with just a little refinement, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him, and he naturally doesn't want to miss it.
And so, under Lu Ya's intense gaze, the yellow gourd ripened first.
Lu Ya was overjoyed. He raised his hand and the yellow gourd flew straight into his arms.
Later, he refined this gourd into a supreme weapon of destruction, named the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, which shone brightly in the Investiture of the Gods...
At this moment, only one purple gourd remained hanging on the vine, swaying gently in the breeze.
Donghuang Taiyi was not in a hurry. He just watched quietly. After all, with his status and cultivation, probably few of the gods in the entire prehistoric world would dare to compete with him for the treasure.
Unlike Donghuang Taiyi's leisurely pace, Hu Le, trapped in the gourd, was getting increasingly anxious.
At the critical moment of life and death, he received a glimpse of divine secrets and in an instant knew the fate, fortune, and misfortune that lay ahead for him.
The heavenly secrets reveal that this gourd is clearly connected to Donghuang Taiyi.
His arrival clearly stole the fortune that belonged to Donghuang Taiyi, thus creating a karmic connection with Donghuang Taiyi.
If he cannot transform into human form in time, even if Taiyi is merciful and does not erase his consciousness, he has already missed the opportune moment and will never be able to achieve self-perfection again.
In the future, let alone being unable to transcend and achieve freedom, even the dream of cultivating an immortal Dao fruit will be nothing but wishful thinking...
In the blink of an eye, the gourd had matured, but Hu Le still couldn't grasp the clue to its transformation, and despair began to creep into his heart.
"Alas! Heaven is unjust!"
"Am I destined to have my billions of years of cultivation amount to nothing but empty promises?!"
Just as Hu Le was in despair, the small bell hanging on Donghuang Taiyi's waist suddenly began to sway gently.
"Knock knock knock!"
A melodious bell rang out, its sound reaching the heavens and the universe. Billions of stars trembled slightly, and the endless flow of starlight paused for a moment.
Suddenly, a thunderclap resounded from the depths of Hu Le's true spirit within the gourd, and a fleeting, elusive, indescribable, and mysterious spiritual energy, drifting within and without the mind, vanished in an instant.
"Wonderful!"
Hu Le was overjoyed, seizing this opportunity.
After pondering this, he burst into laughter, realizing why he had been unable to take human form for so long...
At this moment, upon hearing the Chaos Bell ring, Daoist Taiqing was the first to understand.
He chuckled, bowed to Taiyi, and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist is indeed compassionate; this old Daoist admires it."
Taiyi shook his head, "If we're talking about compassion, who in the entire prehistoric world can compare to you, Brother Dao?"
He wasn't exaggerating. After Taiqing Daoren transformed into human form, he comprehended the profound principles of the Great Dao and had already attained the Great Luo Dao Fruit. When he traveled through the prehistoric world, he pitied the gods of the prehistoric world who did not have the true Dharma. Therefore, he transformed into countless identities to preach the Dao, spread the Dharma, enlighten all living beings, and accumulate immeasurable merit.
After all, the title of Dao Ancestor is not something that can be obtained easily.
Claiming to be the patriarch of Taoism and genuine acceptance from all living beings are two completely different things...
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