For a long time, Zhou Yan couldn't grasp the reasoning and could only awaken from his conscious state.
Opening his eyes, he saw Fuxi standing before him, like an elder brother, asking, "You're awake."
"You're awake too," Zhou Yan suddenly looked at a giant turtle behind Fuxi and exclaimed, "Where did this big turtle come from!"
"I had some insights from the turtle shell and comprehended a formation diagram. Do you still remember the Profound Turtle I held before?" Fuxi asked.
"Don't tell me it's that little turtle that transformed," Zhou Yan said.
"Precisely. It has deep fortuitous encounters. I've named it Xuanwu. What do you think?" Fuxi smiled and stroked Xuanwu's head, which seemed to enjoy it immensely.
"This name is excellent. It can be one of the Four Sacred Beasts," Zhou Yan replied.
"Four Sacred Beasts?"
Fuxi had just comprehended the Taiji diagram and hadn't delved deeply into it, so he didn't understand Zhou Yan's words.
Zhou Yan said, "The Azure Dragon of the East guards the heavenly gate."
"The White Tiger of the West guards the mysterious gate."
"The Vermillion Bird of the South guards the yellow gate."
"The Xuanwu of the North guards the earthly gate."
"With the four directions gathered, heaven and earth are boundless, capable of resisting enemies from all sides!"
Fuxi mused, "It seems your insights are greater than mine."
"No, it should be thanks to your kindness. The Yin and Yang energies that entered my body earlier were also of great help to me," Zhou Yan said.
Fuxi smiled slightly at this, and he too had benefited from Zhou Yan's words.
"Brother Fuxi, Brother Zhou Yan, you're awake!"
The Empress and Nuwa arrived from a distance, looking very happy.
Fuxi said, "The Empress seems very fond of you. If you are interested, I can inquire about the Empress's feelings."
"Ah, this, Brother Fuxi, absolutely not. I... alas, how should I put it, I might not be able to stay here for long, so it's better not to let her down," Zhou Yan replied.
Fuxi looked at Zhou Yan carefully and said, "Truth or falsehood, reality or illusion, how do you know it's not just a dream?"
"What do you mean by that, Brother Fuxi?"
Zhou Yan felt there was more to Fuxi's words. When he looked at him, Fuxi smiled mysteriously and offered no explanation.
In the days that followed, Zhou Yan continued to discuss the principles of heaven and earth with Fuxi as usual, learning some profound and esoteric things from him.
He seemed to have comprehended something, yet at the same time felt as if he had comprehended nothing.
They learned from each other, and both gained much from the other.
The Empress became even more attentive, her gaze towards him becoming very special. Zhou Yan didn't dislike her, but he wasn't from this space, or perhaps not from this era.
He couldn't make promises he couldn't keep.
He could only try to avoid the Empress and think about how to end this trial sooner.
Fuxi's understanding of the Taiji and Bagua deepened over time. Although Zhou Yan played a role, it was primarily due to Fuxi's own talent and comprehension.
Fuxi taught him wholeheartedly and began to create cultivation methods for humans, hoping to strengthen them and protect them from the raids and assaults of fierce beasts.
On this Great Desolation Continent, humanity was still very weak. A single giant exotic beast could devour an entire tribe, a brutal and gruesome fate.
Human tribes often faced the crisis of extinction. Fuxi's endeavor was solely to make humanity stronger, so they wouldn't become mere food for these desolate ancient beings.
This act was one of great merit, carrying profound significance for humanity.
Zhou Yan, on the other hand, hadn't learned any cultivation techniques, but his knowledge of the body and unique understanding were things Fuxi lacked.
He began to assist Fuxi in refining the most ancient cultivation methods for humans. Though it was slow, neither of them was weary, often forgetting to eat or sleep.
This repeatedly displeased Nuwa and the Empress.
However, their physical constitutions were very strong, and with the dense spiritual energy of this place, even staying awake for seven days and seven nights wouldn't affect them significantly.
Time flew by. By the middle of the half-month, they had perfected the first ancient scripture for humanity.
But Zhou Yan felt that such ancient scriptures needed to be recorded. Thus, he began to guide Fuxi, saying, "Oral transmission of ancient scriptures will eventually be forgotten. It would be even better if they could be described in written form."
"Writing, what is that?" Fuxi asked curiously.
"It's recording these things in the form of images, so that the entire tribe can learn and pass them down. Even if future generations forget, as long as the writings remain, the inheritance won't be broken." Zhou Yan explained.
"This is a great deed!"
Fuxi was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Thus, the two began to create characters. They first started by drawing them on the ground. However, Zhou Yan found that modern characters couldn't be written down, as if they had been forgotten in his mind.
This astonished him. He clearly knew, yet he couldn't write them.
He seemed to understand that heaven and earth did not yet permit such characters to exist; they had to evolve from the most ancient forms.
This meant they had to rely on the two of them to create characters. Zhou Yan could only suggest to Fuxi that they depict characters based on the shapes of animals.
After the characters were decided upon, Zhou Yan further suggested inscribing them on turtle shells.
Thus, the first oracle bone inscriptions were formed.
The moment this set of ancient human scriptures was inscribed, a golden light erupted from the turtle shell, forming golden characters. A seven-colored light enveloped heaven and earth, falling upon the two of them.
Zhou Yan and Fuxi once again fell into a state of emptiness, similar to the previous time Fuxi comprehended the Taiji and Bagua.
This time, Zhou Yan returned to that chaotic space. On the seven-colored ancient scroll, characters began to appear, precisely the characters he and Fuxi had created.
"So this is how this ancient scroll is used."
He seemed to understand something.
But he also felt it wasn't that simple.
For this was formed from his Seven-Colored Lord's Heart and the Yin and Yang energies.
He felt something was missing, likely because it hadn't been completed.
He believed that if this ancient scroll were to be completed, it would signify the moment his trial was over.
A profound realization surged into his mind. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth transformed into a sea of spiritual energy, constantly flowing into his body.
Fuxi experienced the same. The two of them were like black holes, greedily absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The Xuanwu beside them also benefited greatly, its eyes closing in bliss as it began to revel in the vast, sea-like spiritual energy.
A phoenix cry echoed, and a fiery bird circled the heavens, finally coming to rest beside the two, beginning to enjoy the ocean of spiritual energy.
Then, from above the clouds, a giant green dragon sensed something, descended from the sky, shrank to a few meters in size, and lay down beside the two.
In the primeval forest, a majestic white tiger, with wings and piercing eyes, soared into the air and landed beside them. They were remarkably intelligent, each guarding one side of the two, as if protecting them.
After the four auspicious beasts fell asleep beside them, two Taiji formation diagrams formed within their bodies.
Finally, they evolved into a single Taiji formation diagram.
Fuxi served as the Yin eye, Zhou Yan as the Yang eye, the four sacred beasts guarded the four directions, and the heavens and earth returned to their rightful places. Heaven and earth descended the light of the Heavenly Dao, causing all living beings in the Great Desolation to inexplicably sense an extremely formidable power emerging, awakening!
Something monumental seemed to be occurring on the Great Desolation Continent.