Deep within the cave dwelling, all was silent.
Yang Chen sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, his entire body shrouded in a faint yet pure golden radiance.
Several days were but the blink of an eye in the primordial world, yet for him, they had been a complete rebirth.
He could clearly "see" the golden river within his body, condensed from immense merit. It was no longer as turbulent and surging as before. It had become gentle and tranquil, like a tamed divine dragon, flowing slowly through every reconstructed and widened meridian in an endless cycle.
Golden energy seeped meticulously into every inch of his bones and every particle of his body.
The nature of his bones was changing, transforming from mortal fragility toward the lustrous purity of immortal jade. Fine, natural Dao patterns had even begun to emerge across them.
His Dao foundation, once riddled with holes from the corrosion of boundless karmic force like a sieve leaking from every side, had now been completely filled, fused, and reinforced by the power of merit.
An unprecedented sense of solidity rose from the depths of his dantian's sea of qi, supporting the very existence of his life.
This feeling brought him far more peace of mind than his skyrocketing cultivation. This solidity is what truly belongs to me. I won it back by overturning the board myself. No one can take it away.
Peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
Only one final step remained before the indestructible Great Luo Dao Fruit.
Yet this was not the end. It did not even count as the beginning.
Yang Chen slowly opened his eyes, and the light within the cave dwelling warped for an instant with the opening and closing of his gaze.
He knew very well that his current safety was a distorted balance built upon fear.
The Six Sages feared his death.
The Heavenly Dao feared his death.
Thus, they compromised, bestowed treasures, and sent down merit.
But such fear had an expiration date.
Ten yuanhui.
To mortals, this unit of time was an unimaginable eternity. Yet to Sages who casually entered seclusion for several kalpas, it was no more than a nap. Once the deadline arrived, the Heavenly Dao's lightning punishment of reckoning would still descend.
The patience of the Six Sages would eventually be exhausted as well.
The more hypocritical the smiles of those lofty Sages were now, the more brutal their reckoning would be in the future. They would never tolerate an existence capable of threatening them living forever.
When that time came, if he did not possess the strength to contend against the entire primordial world, everything he had gained today would be reclaimed a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
He had to grow stronger.
Not merely to live, but to continue "living" like this forever.
To live as he pleased, to live in a way that kept every creditor awake at night.
The system had already pointed out the path to strength.
Confront his creditors head-on and refuse to repay his debts.
This was the fundamental Great Dao that would allow him to gain a foothold in this primordial world. You want me to cultivate obediently? What a joke. Even if I were given endless years, I could never catch up to a Sage by following the usual path. Only this road is my path to the heavens.
Just as he was sorting through his plans for the future, an unusual palpitation suddenly rose from the deepest depths of his Divine Soul without warning.
That boundless ocean of karmic force, forcibly suppressed by the Golden Light of Merit—that cursed abyss that should have been utterly dead—suddenly rippled.
Hmm?
This time, it was no longer the chaotic, noisy, irrational wailing formed by the gathering of countless dead souls.
Within that dark Sea of Karmic Force, three wills broke free from the suppression of merit and stubbornly emerged.
One will was domineering and majestic, filled with the imperial aura of ruling the Four Seas and Eight Wastes, yet mixed with endless unwillingness and rage.
Dragon's Roar.
An illusory yet incomparably real Dragon's Roar did not come from outside. It exploded directly within his True Spirit.
Immediately afterward, another will rose.
It was supreme pride, a fierceness that could burn away the Eight Wastes, and the nobility of the king of all birds.
Phoenix Cry.
A shrill, piercing Phoenix Cry carried resentment venomous enough to burn everything, scorching his Divine Soul.
Finally came a will as heavy as the earth.
It contained the majesty to suppress mountains and rivers and the benevolence to bear all things, but at this moment, all that remained was the weight and sorrow of betrayal and annihilation.
Kirin's Roar.
The three powerful grudges were like three black probes, piercing through the barrier of Golden Light of Merit and locking precisely onto his origin.
Yang Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.
He understood at once.
So that was it. The composition of this boundless karma was even more complicated than I had imagined.
The boundless karma he carried was not a muddled account.
It was a massive collection of debts.
The Heavenly Dao and the Six Sages were the largest creditors, the "head office."
And beneath them were countless "subcontractors."
The dragon, phoenix, and kirin clans were the three most prominent among them.
He had just temporarily forced back the debt collectors from the "head office" by overturning the table.
But seeing that the largest creditors had lowered their banners, these "subcontractors" had instead grown restless and begun to stir.
[Ding!] [A new karmic fluctuation has been detected. The resentment of the dead souls of the dragon, phoenix, and kirin clans is gathering.] [Host, please prepare to welcome new "Treasure Delivering Boys."]
Treasure Delivering Boys.
Those four words were like a boulder dropped into the calm lake in Yang Chen's eyes.
He froze for a moment. Then an irrepressible delight surged up from the depths of his heart, making his entire body feel at ease.
Just when I get sleepy, someone brings me a pillow. Just when I need results, someone delivers heads to my doorstep.
This system was becoming more and more to his liking.
He had been worrying that relying solely on the Heavenly Dao and the Six Sages, those major creditors, made the frequency of fleece-shearing far too low. Ten yuanhui sounded long, but who knew whether those Sages would pull some trick ahead of time.
He needed to reduce expenses and increase revenue—no, to broaden his sources of wealth.
And now, wasn't it here?
"Treasure Delivering Boys..."
Yang Chen murmured the four words, the curve of his lips growing wider and wider until he could barely restrain himself from laughing aloud.
Those former overlords who had fought to the death in the previous kalpa, shattered the primordial continent, and ultimately ended with their clans declining and their True Spirits forever sinking into the sea of karmic force had now become system-certified couriers.
If word of this got out, the few remaining old dragons in the East Sea Dragon Palace would probably be so enraged that they died on the spot all over again.
What irony.
How... eagerly anticipated!
The laziness and leisure in his eyes vanished, replaced by the burning heat of a hunter discovering new prey.
"So there's more than one creditor."
Yang Chen rose to his feet and stretched his limbs. The power of a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal surged through his body, sounding like rushing rivers.
He strolled to the entrance of the cave dwelling and gazed at the drifting clouds outside, his voice carrying pure amusement.
"Now this is great."
"The head office has been temporarily appeased, but these small-loan companies from the branch offices can't sit still instead?"
"Fine. All of you are welcome. I, Yang Chen, refuse no one."
He extended a hand, as though he intended to grasp the entire primordial world in his palm.
"I'd like to see what good things the discarded equipment of you former-version overlords can bring me!"
Before you continue