Deep within the cave abode, all was silent.
Yang Chen sat cross-legged, his body shrouded in a faint yet pure golden radiance. It was the Heavenly Dao merit he had yet to fully refine.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Yet to him, they had been a complete rebirth.
He could clearly "see" the golden river within him, condensed from towering merit, no longer as turbulent as it had been at first. It had become tame and tranquil, like a divine dragon that had been thoroughly subdued, flowing slowly and endlessly through every meridian that had been reshaped, widened, and reinforced.
Golden energy seeped delicately 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 upon them.
His Dao foundation—the foundation once corroded by boundless karmic sin until it was riddled with holes like a drafty sieve—was now completely filled, fused, and reinforced by the power of merit.
An unprecedented sense of solidity rose from the depths of his dantian sea of qi, supporting the entirety of his existence.
This feeling reassured him far more than the explosive increase in his cultivation.
Grounded.
This is what truly belongs to me.
I overturned the chessboard myself and forcibly won this back from the Heavenly Dao and the Six Sages. No one will ever take it away.
The peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Only one final step remained before the indestructible Great Luo Dao Fruit.
Above his head, the phantom of the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda hovered at all times, with countless streams of profound yellow qi descending to isolate him from all external killing intent and prying eyes.
Absolute safety.
Utter comfort.
The feeling of trampling the entire prehistoric world beneath his feet was truly... addictive. So what if they were Sages? So what if it was the Heavenly Dao? They still had to obediently offer tribute to him.
Yang Chen had thought such days could continue for a long time. At the very least, he could peacefully fleece them again next time.
However, he was wrong.
Just as his mind settled and he prepared to further consolidate his cultivation—
Buzz—
An abnormal sound suddenly erupted. It did not come from the outside world, but directly from the depths of his primordial spirit, from that ocean of boundless karmic sin forcibly suppressed beneath the Golden Light of Merit.
That cursed abyss, which should have been deathly still, suddenly rippled.
Then came a second ripple, then a third...
The chaotic, deafening, irrational wails formed by countless billions of dead souls began to change.
A Dragon's Roar suddenly pierced through every other sound.
"Roar—!!"
It was not a roar of power, but a blood-soaked cry filled with betrayal and unwillingness.
A blood-red illusion instantly engulfed Yang Chen's vision.
He "saw" an invincible army formed of billions of dragons, their scales shattered and their horns broken. The noble heads that had once ruled the Four Seas had been severed, while scorching dragon blood dyed the entire Eastern Sea of the prehistoric world crimson.
A tyrannical and majestic will, laced with endless fury, transformed into a black probe that pierced through the barrier of Golden Light of Merit and stabbed precisely at his True Spirit.
[Why?! My dragon clan was the protagonist of Heaven and Earth. You inherited our cause—why do you not repay us!]
Before the illusion could fade, a scorching tide followed close behind.
"Cry—!"
A shrill, piercing Phoenix Cry carried venomous hatred that could burn all things, scorching his Divine Soul.
He "saw" endless Southern Bright Lihuo extinguished, magnificent Wutong Divine Wood reduced to charcoal, and proud phoenixes falling from the heavens one after another. Their beautiful wings were ignited by karmic fire, and they turned to ash in despair.
It was the ultimate pride, the dignity of the king of all birds, now entirely transformed into an undying curse.
[I am an immortal phoenix! You inherited our result, so you must suffer the agony of my clan's karmic fire burning your body for all eternity!]
Finally, a will as heavy as the earth pressed down upon him.
There was no sound, only a deathly, desolate sorrow.
He "saw" the earth split apart and mountains and rivers collapse. Countless benevolent qilins lay fallen in pools of blood. From eyes that should have borne all creation flowed not tears, but disappointment and hatred toward the entire world.
The majesty that suppressed mountains and rivers, the benevolence that bore all things—only the crushing weight of betrayal and annihilation remained.
[Guarding the earth, only to see our clan destroyed... You must repay this karma!]
Dragon's Roar.
Phoenix Cry.
The sorrow of the qilins.
The three powerful resentments emerged completely, like three poisoned blades, intertwining into a spiritual prison aimed solely at him.
They were no longer background noise.
They had become tangible spiritual attacks.
Unceasing, day and night.
Yang Chen was forcibly jolted awake from meditation. He slowly opened his eyes, and all the laziness and contentment he had enjoyed for days had vanished without a trace.
His brows furrowed tightly.
How noisy. I just dealt with the big ones, and these little ones are already scrambling to jump out? A bunch of failures who can't even piece together their own corpses dare make noise in my ear?
So that's how it is.
The composition of this boundless karma is even more complicated than I imagined.
The Heavenly Dao and the Six Sages are the biggest creditors—the "head office."
And beneath them are countless "subcontractors."
The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans are the three most prominent among them.
He had just overturned the table and temporarily forced back the "head office's" debt collectors, making them obediently hand over their "Protection Fee."
But these creditors of the "installment loans," seeing that even the largest creditor had fallen silent, refused to be left out and began coming to collect their debts.
This unending spiritual harassment could not inflict fatal harm upon him for the time being.
After all, with the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda protecting him, no technique could harm him.
But it was annoying!
Fucking annoying!
It was like having three flies buzzing endlessly by his ears day and night—impossible to drive away, impossible to kill, leaving him utterly unable to calm his mind.
He had wanted to cultivate peacefully and experience the thrill of his surging power.
Now it had all been ruined by these failures who had been eliminated in the last great calamity.
Yang Chen's expression gradually darkened.
A cold, fierce glint flashed through his eyes.
It seems the commotion I caused a few days ago wasn't big enough. I only intimidated those living Sages.
Yet it gave these wandering ghosts, dead for who knew how many years, some unrealistic delusions.
Such delusions were terrifying—and fatal.
Do they really think they're still the protagonists of Heaven and Earth? What a joke. The rules of the prehistoric world changed long ago. Now, I am the rule.
Did they truly think they were still the protagonists of Heaven and Earth, the ones who could make the prehistoric world tremble with a single stomp?
Did they truly think that with this little lingering resentment, they could reclaim their blood debt from Yang Chen?
Did they truly think Yang Chen was some kind-hearted man who would let others manipulate him however they pleased?
Fine. He had been worrying about how to continue fleecing them, and they had delivered themselves right to his door.
Let him see what good things these former overlords could drop for him.
These overlords were nothing more than tools.
Before you continue