Chapter Fifty: Creating Man to Attain Sanctity

Nuwa knelt by the riverbank, her snow-white hands scooping up a clump of yellow clay. She summoned her divine power and gently kneaded the clay, shaping it according to her will into the form of a human. Then, Nuwa leaned forward and softly breathed upon the clay figure, and, as if awakened, it came to life and took two tentative steps forward.

Yet Nuwa frowned and, with a wave of her hand, returned the clay figure to yellow earth. It possessed no sense of self, no spark of consciousness—at best, it was a mere puppet, nothing more.

“How can I create true life?” she mused.

Feeling the joyous stirrings of the primal purple energy within her, Nuwa knew that her chance for enlightenment lay in creating a new kind of being—one born with an innate connection to the Dao itself. When she first shaped that clay figure, she’d felt an urge, a sense that she was close to some great revelation. Yet in the end, she failed, unable to comprehend where she had gone wrong.

“It’s not the method that’s at fault, but the material itself...” Li Tian stood quietly behind her, offering an offhand remark.

He did not wish to intervene directly in Nuwa’s endeavor to create mankind, for doing so might cost him a share of the merit, and if his interference jeopardized Nuwa’s enlightenment, it would be troublesome indeed.

“The material is wrong?” Nuwa’s eyes lit up at his words. In a flash, she soared tens of thousands of miles away to a hidden paradise, where she gathered a large clump of soil brimming with spiritual energy. With hope in her heart, she began to mold it.

Soon, a clay figure took shape, this one more refined than before. Yet though it possessed a glimmer of spirit, it had only the base instincts of a wild beast—still far from the perfect being Nuwa envisioned.

Disheartened, Nuwa wondered if her idea was flawed.

“You already possess the finest earth; why go searching far and wide?” Li Tian, watching from the side, couldn’t help but feel anxious for her, so he offered another hint.

Nuwa, not quite understanding, looked at Li Tian in confusion. “Senior brother, do you know something?”

Li Tian, resigned, could not reveal the truth outright. After a moment’s thought, he produced the gourd vine, set it upon the ground, and turned away, ignoring Nuwa’s pleading expression.

Left with no choice, Nuwa stared at the gourd vine, deep in thought. “The finest earth...” she murmured, when suddenly her eyes brightened—she recalled the special soil she had found beneath the vine: the legendary Nine Heavens Spirit Earth!

Overjoyed, Nuwa fetched the Spirit Earth and placed it in the river. At the touch of water, the Spirit Earth expanded, swiftly blocking the flow of the river. To prevent it from being swept away, Nuwa sealed off that stretch of water, then used her power to mix the soil.

In moments, the entire section of river became a muddy mire. Nuwa grabbed a handful of this sacred clay and molded another figure. When she breathed her immortal breath upon it, the clay figure came to life, blinking intelligent eyes. It glanced at Nuwa, then at Li Tian, and immediately bowed.

“Greetings, Holy Mother. Greetings, Holy Father.”

Nuwa, delighted by the intelligence and awareness of her creation, used her power to lift the clay figure and said kindly, “No need for such formality.”

Feeling the surge of primal energy within, Nuwa knew she was on the right path. She set to work, molding figure after figure, each one coming to life, bowing in gratitude to Nuwa and Li Tian, and then joining the others.

In no time, she had created more than a hundred clay people. Yet, gazing at the vast muddy pool, Nuwa felt her pace was still too slow. Scanning her surroundings, she spotted the gourd vine left by Li Tian. Her eyes lit up. She picked up the vine, infused it with her power, and dipped it into the muddy pool. As she flicked it, each drop of mud that fell from the vine onto the ground flashed with white light, transforming into a living clay figure.

With this method, Nuwa’s creation of mankind accelerated dramatically. Before long, the muddy pool was drained dry. By then, she had created millions of clay people, standing in dense ranks, all gazing at her with reverence and awe.

Nuwa beamed with pride at the lives she had created. She approached Li Tian as though presenting a precious treasure and asked with a smile, “Aren’t I amazing?”

Li Tian wanted to say, “Is it really proper to reveal such a side of yourself before your people?” Yet, looking at the honest, innocent faces of the new humans, he simply nodded and uttered a soft “Mm,” for even before the people, he had to allow the Holy Mother her dignity.

“What should I name them?” Nuwa asked joyfully.

“That is for you to decide, since you are their creator,” Li Tian replied.

After all, the name “humankind” was inevitable, no matter who spoke it. The less he involved himself, the better.

Nuwa nodded thoughtfully, her white hand cupping her chin. Suddenly, inspiration struck. She gazed at the crowd before her and said softly, “Since you are born with the innate Dao within you, you shall be called ‘the Human Race.’”

Human—signifying the highest among all creatures, and also representing those born with the innate Dao body. Even immortals and sages bear the mark of humanity in their titles.

As her words fell, heaven and earth trembled. Auspicious clouds rolled across the sky, golden flowers rained from above, and a vast pillar of merit descended—its grandeur unprecedented.

Nuwa paused in amazement, then looked up at the sky.

“So this is my great merit...”

While she stood in awe, the pillar of merit split into three parts: eighty percent entered Nuwa’s body, ten percent flowed into Li Tian, and the remaining ten percent sank into the gourd vine. The vine underwent a series of transformations, eventually becoming a powerful treasure of merit—the legendary Binding Immortal Rope. Li Tian promptly claimed it, then turned his gaze to Nuwa.

Having absorbed the majority of the merit from creating mankind, Nuwa felt wondrous changes within. Her manifestations of good and evil, her “two corpses,” flew from her spiritual center and merged with her primal purple energy, transforming into a pure, mysterious force that entered her body.

At the same time, Nuwa’s very essence began to ascend. She felt her body and soul undergo a profound and blissful metamorphosis—a rebirth no less than that of a mortal becoming immortal.

When all was finished, Nuwa opened her eyes. Now, her entire being radiated warmth and nobility; a gentle, sacred aura flowed naturally from her.

In that moment, she had truly become the Mother of the Earth.