Primordial Era: I am a treasure trove, full of magical treasures.

As time passed, Nuwa snapped out of her reverie, her eyes sparkling like stars, her entire being seemingly enveloped in a warm halo. Looking at Xuanbao, a rare expression of almost eager anticipation appeared on her face, completely unlike her usual dignified and aloof demeanor.

"Nephew Xuanbao," Nuwa spoke, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement, "what you just said makes perfect sense! Harmony, nourishment, and the bestowal of new life... I wish to emulate this principle and create a race!"

Xuanbao's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the almost fanatical light in Nuwa's eyes. Was Nuwa about to create humanity directly? "Uncle-Master... what kind of... being do you plan to create?"

Nuwa waved her jade hand, and spiritual energy automatically gathered before her, outlining several blurry shapes: "I have thought it through! The creatures of the primordial world have many flaws. Although the demon race has intelligence, they are often wild and untamed, with countless appearances and no sense of order; the witch race has a strong physical body, but they do not cultivate their primordial spirit, and their nature is also somewhat reckless."

Nuwa paused, then pointed to the first outline of spiritual energy: "Look, I have created a creature with dragon horns on its head, a qilin armor on its body, phoenix fire on its feet, wings on its back that can soar through the heavens, and Xuanming True Water that can nourish the earth... Combining the strengths of all races, it will surely be perfect!"

Xuanbao stared at the strange shape formed by the spiritual energy, resembling a grand gathering of primordial beasts. His lips twitched, and he whispered a reminder: "Uncle-Master... isn't this shape... a little too complicated? When fighting, should we use the horns to attack first, or spray water first? When the wings flap, won't the Qilin armor get stuck?"

Nuwa paused, carefully examining her envisioned "perfect being." The combination of dragon horns, qilin armor, and phoenix wings was indeed... a bit crowded. She coughed lightly and waved her hand to dispel the wisp of spiritual energy: "Hmm... you're right, the greatest truths are the simplest. Let's try another one!"

Nuwa waved her hand again, and a new outline of spiritual energy appeared. "This time, I've given them the elegance of cranes, the longevity of tortoises, the intelligence of foxes, and the agility to traverse the mountains and forests like snakes." Xuanbao looked at this design, which combined multiple characteristics, and felt dizzy. "Uncle-Master, the crane's long beak and the tortoise's shell don't seem to match quite well, and the fox's agility and the snake's slithering movements are also difficult to coordinate." Nuwa frowned slightly, staring at the outline of spiritual energy carefully, and had to admit that Xuanbao's words were true.

Seeing Nuwa's eager expression as she came up with these nonsensical combinations, Xuanbao sighed inwardly and quickly advised, "Uncle-Master, perhaps simplicity is better. Don't strive for perfection."

Xuanbao hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking up to remind her, "Has Aunt Nuwa considered that the beings she created are acquired beings, unlike the primordial beings of today who are born with immortal bodies and can breathe in innate spiritual energy on their own? Acquired beings don't need to consider how powerful they are; they only need to have a means of survival."

"Adventurous creatures are more complex... They not only have to move, but also hunt, sleep, and possess a whole complex set of survival mechanisms."

Upon hearing Xuanbao's words, Nuwa's fervent gaze subsided slightly, transforming into focused contemplation. She nodded slightly and said softly, "Postnatal beings... means of survival... survival mechanisms... make sense."

She waved her jade-like hand again, and the spiritual energy before her flowed like water, beginning to gather and take shape. This time, her movements were noticeably more cautious, no longer pursuing exaggerated fusion, but rather carrying an almost experimental exploration.

The spiritual energy first outlined a... long, winding, smooth strip. It twisted a couple of times, quite agile.

Xuanbao: "This is... a snake!"

Nuwa said earnestly, "Since we are living beings, we must first have a basic form. I will create it according to my own form." As she spoke, she lightly tapped her fingertip, and the long strip of spiritual energy became more solid, even sticking out its tongue.

"One seems a bit lonely..." Nuwa murmured to herself, then sculpted another similar one, letting the two spirit snakes intertwine and play. "Hmm, a pair, in harmony with yin and yang." She nodded in satisfaction, as if she had accomplished some great feat.

Xuanbao looked at the two spirit snakes that seemed to do nothing but wriggle around, and resisted the urge to facepalm: "Uncle-Master, didn't you say we needed to have a means of making a living? What... how do they survive?"

"Oh right!" Nuwa suddenly realized, and then fell into a new thought, "Predation...sleeping..." Her gaze swept across the distant mountains and forests, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck her.

The next instant, Xuanbao saw the spiritual energy in front of Nuwa begin to "dance wildly like demons".

She sculpted a strange little beast with rabbit ears but a squirrel's tail, reasoning that "its keen hearing makes it easy to be on alert, and its fluffy tail can be used as a blanket to keep it warm while sleeping."

Nuwa then conjured a round, spiky ball, explaining, "When this thing encounters an enemy, it curls into a ball, using its spikes for self-defense. Normally, it rolls forward, saving energy and moving quickly!" The ball of spirit rolled a long way before getting stuck in a crevice in a rock, unable to move.

She even tried to create a "bird": she gave it long legs like a crane, but short wings like a hen and a flat beak like a duck. "Long legs make it easier to wade and forage, a flat beak is suitable for filtering food, short wings... well, it won't fly too high so it won't fall too hard." Nuwa thought she had considered everything very thoroughly. The "bird" tried to flap its wings a couple of times, but ended up plunging headfirst into a nearby puddle of spiritual energy, its long legs kicking wildly and bubbles coming out of its flat beak.

Xuanbao, looking at the scene that was increasingly resembling a "Primordial Failed Invention Expo," finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Uncle-Master! The great way is simple, the great way is simple! Look at these... the functions are piled up, but they're all awkward to live in! What if that snake had rabbit ears and got stuck while crawling through a hole? What if that ball, while rolling, found the slope it wanted to climb was too steep, wouldn't it just keep rolling back? And that bird that's 'incapable of being inhabited by land, water, and air' probably can't swim fast in the water, can't run steadily on the ground, and... can't even get up in the sky!"

Nuwa was somewhat bewildered by Xuanbao's barrage of questions. She looked at her strangely shaped "creations": a stuck ball, a drowning bird, a snake with exaggerated ears that didn't know where to go... The eager expression on her face was finally replaced by a hint of embarrassment.

"This..." She coughed lightly, dispersing most of the spiritual energy creations, leaving only the two original, smooth snakes that were playfully slapping each other's heads with their tails. "It seems that more characteristics are not necessarily better. Inclusivity is important, but harmony and unity are also essential."

Xuanbao quickly pressed his advantage: "Uncle-Master is wise! Think about it, the simplest things are often the most versatile and have the greatest potential. Why not take the most basic and balanced form as the foundation, and endow it with the most fundamental spirituality, learning, and creative abilities? Let them adapt to the environment and evolve their own way of survival. This, perhaps, is the true meaning of 'creation' and 'rebirth'."

Upon hearing this, Nuwa's eyes lit up again, this time not with fervor, but with a clear and enlightened understanding. She looked down at the two silly-looking spirit snakes, then looked up at Xuanbao, and suddenly smiled. The smile was like the sun breaking through the clouds, cool yet vibrant like never before.

"I understand, Junior Sister Xuanbao." Her voice softened. "I was too fixated on 'giving' and forgot the beauty of 'leaving blank space.' True perfection may begin with simplicity, giving possibilities, and then... leaving it to time and life itself to write."

Nuwa gently raised her hand, and the two intertwined spiritual snakes turned into specks of light and dispersed, instantly reappearing two real snakes in the spot. After all, they were creatures she had first researched. Nuwa's gaze turned to the vast land in the distance, her eyes deep and serene, as if she had already seen the outline of a simple yet magnificent future.

Xuanbao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to pull Nuwa back a little from the design path of a "prehistoric Frankenstein's monster." As for the two snakes used as "enlightenment tools"... well, let's just consider them a different species from the prehistoric world?