A Person in Primordial Chaos, Just Recognized a Father, Great Dao Level

In a land where chaos was yet to be distinguished and the primordial world had not yet been divided, there was no up or down, no east or west, no past or present.

Li Ping'an's consciousness felt like it had been stuffed into an infinitely vast yet incredibly crowded cotton ball. It was warm and soft, but he couldn't move or think. The last clear thought he had was of that damned, incessantly ringing alarm clock and the greasy face of his project manager, spewing saliva as he harangued him about project proposals.

Who am I? Where am I? Did I forget to transfer rent to my landlord, and that's why I've been thrown out?

Countless chaotic thoughts, like bubbles rising from a drowning person, surfaced only to be gently swallowed and assimilated by the immeasurable, intoxicatingly warm Primordial Violet Qi surrounding him.

Just as he felt he was about to completely melt away, becoming part of this warm background, a grand, gentle, slightly lazy voice—how to describe it, like a casual yawn after waking up—resonated directly in the deepest part of his consciousness, making his remaining awareness hum:

"Mmm... waited so long, and finally, someone decent has arrived..."

"Kid, you're lucky."

"This Great Dao is in a good mood today. I find you pleasing, so I shall grant you a fortune."

"From today onwards, you shall be my Primordial Great Dao's... hmm, let's just say my son."

Li Ping'an: "???"

Wait, what? Hold on! I've seen people force their way into being someone's father, but this is the first time I've been forcibly adopted! And by a Great Dao-level being? Isn't that a bit too high-spec? Do all these super-powerful beings nowadays just love spreading their fatherly love everywhere? What about the process? The ceremony? At the very least, shouldn't there be a DNA test report?

Before he could voice his existential questions, a majestic power, indescribable in any language, gently yet irresistibly surged into his consciousness.

It wasn't strength; it was "Dao" itself! It was the source code of the universe, the foundational rules of all things!

In an instant, Li Ping'an felt his "vision" elevate infinitely. It pierced through the so-called cotton ball, revealing countless interwoven threads of rules, the birth and death of stars, the cycles of the universe, time flowing like a long river, and space unfolding like a scroll... A sense of omnipotence and omniscience arose, almost causing him to lose himself in this supreme state.

Of course, an illusion was still an illusion. It was as if he had been force-fed a cosmic encyclopedia. He knew it existed, knew it was incredible, but he couldn't open a single page. He could only feel its weighty presence and a fleeting sense of "I seem very powerful."

Countless mysterious purple Dao patterns condensed in the core of his consciousness, forming an intricate and exquisite imprint that shimmered and floated. A sense of intimate connection, like an extension of his own body, arose, linking him to the entire Primordial Chaos space. It felt as if with a single thought, he could open up this chaos, or... continue its chaotic state?

Simultaneously, several obscure yet naturally understood Great Dao truths were branded into his soul, as if innate:

[Primordial Dao Child, Immunity to All Magic.]

[Destined by Fate, Fortune and disaster intertwined.]

[Father is tired, going to take a nap. The Primordial World is quite fun, go explore it yourself...]

The last sentence was particularly clear, carrying a perfunctory tone of a hands-off manager, even a hint of impatience like, "Here's your new toy, go play by yourself and don't bother me."

Li Ping'an was completely dumbfounded. Was this adoption process too rushed? Where's the after-sales service? The beginner's guide? A travel guide and safety manual for the Primordial World? All I get is an Immunity to All Magic passive buff and a Destined by Fate gacha mechanism? This dad is too unreliable! Doesn't even drop any starter gear?

Before he could finish his internal rant, the warm Primordial Violet Qi surrounding him suddenly fluctuated, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake.

The next moment, he felt a gentle push from a soft force, as if an invisible hand found him bothersome and was sweeping him out of the house.

"Go!"

Whoosh!

The world spun, space warped. It felt like being stuffed into a high-speed rotating washing machine, set to the strongest spin cycle.

When Li Ping'an could see again and his churning, seasick dizziness subsided, the scene before him had completely changed.

It was no longer the monotonous space of pure violet Qi. Instead, it was a vast and boundless land. The sky was high and distant, and the spiritual energy was so abundant it was terrifying. Taking a breath made his soul leap with joy, and every pore on his body seemed to expand. Distant mountains undulated, ancient trees towered, and many strange, never-before-seen plants grew vigorously. The air was filled with an ancient, wild, vibrant, yet perilous aura. The low, powerful roars of ferocious beasts echoed faintly from the depths of the mountain range, making his heart tremble.

Did I... did I really arrive in the Primordial World?

Li Ping'an stood unsteadily, feeling his own body. It was solid, with fully formed limbs. He was just a bit lightly dressed—in a set of seemingly ordinary but subtly flowing with faint purple radiance, made of unknown material, cloth clothes. The Great Dao imprint in his sea of consciousness remained quiet, proving it wasn't a hallucination. He indeed had a Great Dao-level father now, albeit a rather irresponsible one.

He, Li Ping'an, former Earth office drone, now the biological son of the Primordial Great Dao (self-proclaimed, his dad didn't object), had officially landed in the Stone Age of the Primordial World!

The immense shift in identity and the environmental shock left him momentarily dazed, then an indescribable excitement and ambition surged in his heart.

"Haha! Hahaha!" Li Ping'an couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and laugh, his voice sounding somewhat abrupt in the vast wilderness. "Primordial Chaos is my dad! This Primordial World is mine to roam! What about Pangu, the Three Pure Ones, or the Two Sages of the West? When they see me, won't they have to politely call me... Brother Dao Child?"

Invincible from the start, I know this script! From now on, it'll be a happy life of eating, drinking, playing, teasing... uh, befriending immortal goddesses, punching those who refuse to submit, and kicking those who provoke the witches!

His triumph lasted less than three seconds.

He tripped over something. "Ouch!" he yelped, nearly falling face-first. He barely managed to maintain the "Dao Child" image he had just established.

"What the heck?" He looked down and saw, amidst the dense, faintly glowing weeds, a rusty, chipped broken axe half-buried in the ground. It was what he had tripped over.

The axe had an ancient (or rather, crude) design. Even a scrap metal collector on Earth would hesitate to pick it up.

"Bad luck!" Li Ping'an raised his foot to kick it away. "The infrastructure in this Primordial World is terrible. Why are they littering everywhere..."

Just as his toe was about to touch the broken axe, the Great Dao imprint in his sea of consciousness vibrated ever so slightly, creating a barely perceptible ripple.

A feeling of sudden enlightenment, a whim, surged through him.

He inexplicably stopped his foot, bent down, and with a mix of disdain and curiosity, reached out and grasped the cold, rough axe handle.

It felt cold and heavy, with a solid grip... but that was all.

"So... I sensed it wrong?" Li Ping'an muttered, preparing to casually toss it away.

The next moment, a drastic change occurred!

The rust on the axe suddenly peeled off, like a snake shedding its skin, revealing a dark, restrained wooden handle and a blade as dark as chaos beneath! The axe burst forth with chaotic light, and an unparalleled aura of splitting chaos and establishing heaven, earth, fire, and water erupted into the sky. Though it lasted only a flash, all living beings within a radius of ten thousand miles, from ignorant plant spirits to ferocious ancient species, instinctively prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling with fear originating from the depths of their souls!

The brilliant light instantly vanished, and the axe returned to its dilapidated, unremarkable appearance, even more unremarkable than before, as if the earth-shattering phenomenon had been a mere illusion.

But in Li Ping'an's mind, a clear message appeared: [Pangu's Sky-Opening Axe · Remnant Blade (Imitation)]. Although it was merely an imitation generated by the Primordial World's self-initiated imprinting of the Sky-Opening Axe's Dao Rhyme, and it was incomplete, its power was less than one ten-thousandth of the original. However, the trace of True Meaning of Sky-Opening contained within it still made its power far surpass that of ordinary Houtian spirit treasures. With one strike, even a Profound Immortal would have to consider it carefully, and a Golden Immortal could suffer a great loss if not paying attention.

Li Ping'an: "!!!"

He stared dumbfounded at the unremarkable, even more worn-out axe in his hand, then felt the Great Dao Imprint in his sea of consciousness, which had only fluctuated slightly before falling completely silent, as if it hadn't done anything at all.

Magical treasures... just picked up randomly?! Kick a stone while walking and find a super divine weapon?!

"Primordial Father! My dearest father!" Li Ping'an was so excited he almost shed tears. He hugged the axe and kissed it fiercely, not caring about the rust. "This cheat is too real! From now on, I'll be the sweeping monk of the Primordial World, specializing in collecting junk... bah, specializing in collecting divine weapons!"

As he was pondering how to use the axe, whether carrying it would look imposing or keeping it hidden would be more low-key, suddenly—

A cold, dead, terrifying aura filled with endless killing and destruction, appeared behind him without warning, instantly locking onto him!

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, becoming viscous and heavy. The plants underfoot withered and died at a visible rate, turning into black ash. The earth became dark and cracked, as if all life had been instantly drained and stripped away, a scene of doomsday.

A voice, with a hint of wickedness, playfulness, and nonchalance, sounded softly, piercing directly through his eardrums and echoing in the depths of his soul:

"Tsk... such pure Dao Rhyme, such interesting origins. Little friend, you... don't seem to belong here, do you?"

Li Ping'an's hair stood on end, his heart stopped, and his limbs instantly turned cold and stiff, like a frog stared at by a venomous snake. He slowly, extremely laboriously, turned around.

Not far away, a mass of ink-like black mist, which seemed to absorb all light, floated quietly. Within the black mist, a vague silhouette could be vaguely seen. A pair of scarlet, cruel eyes, filled with a desire to explore, gazed at him with great interest through the mist, as if examining a novel and fragile toy.

The terrifying pressure from that gaze far surpassed any existence he had faced in his more than twenty years of life. It even caused the noble and aloof Great Dao Imprint in his sea of consciousness to spontaneously light up slightly, emitting a faint purple ripple that quietly dissolved the terrifying oppressive force, which was all-pervasive and almost crushed his soul, into nothingness.

The being in the black mist seemed to have keenly sensed this extremely subtle Dao Rhyme fluctuation. It let out a soft sound, and the interest in its scarlet eyes suddenly increased by several levels.

It looked Li Ping'an up and down, especially glancing at the now-unadorned broken axe in his hand and the seemingly ordinary cloth robe on his body, which flowed with a faint purple rhyme.

After a moment of agonizing silence, the wicked voice spoke again, with an almost lazy tone, yet containing undeniable dominance and disdain:

"Uncommon origins, and good fortune too. This Ancestor has recently been in need of a boy to serve tea and water, and tend to the garden. Little friend, are you willing to enter my Demonic Path and join me in... destroying this uninteresting Primordial World?"

Li Ping'an's mind buzzed, as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Demonic Path? Destroy the Primordial World?

This opening line, this tone, this grandeur... could this dark, ominous fellow be...?

A notorious name, one that made all beings in the Primordial World tremble and children cry themselves to sleep, suddenly flashed into his mind—

Demon Ancestor Luohu?!

What to do when cornered by the ultimate BOSS of the Dragon-Han Tribulation version at the start? Waiting online, it's urgent! The kind that can kill people!

Li Ping'an's heart pounded wildly, almost instinctively wanting to throw the Sky-Opening Axe (Imitation) in his hand at the other's face—though he knew it would likely only tickle the opponent.

But at this extremely tense, almost suffocating moment, the last message left by his irresponsible Primordial Father in his sea of consciousness, like a life-saving straw, or perhaps a bullet comment, floated by: [Dad's sleepy, going to take a nap. The Primordial World is quite fun, you go explore it yourself...]

Explore? Is this something you can just casually explore, Dad?! This is hell difficulty from the start! A max-level great demon king is lurking at the entrance of the beginner village!

In a flash, Li Ping'an, whose potential was fully unleashed by the threat of death, had an epiphany. He forced a smile onto his face that was uglier than crying, with seven parts innocence and three parts confusion, looking harmless. Carefully, from his embrace... the inner lining of that purple-rhymed cloth robe (who knows when it appeared), he slowly took out a piece of paper... seemingly condensed from the purest Primordial Violet Qi, illusory and unstable, yet exuding supreme Dao Rhyme.

He held the light yet mountain-heavy piece of paper with both hands, as if holding a death-exemption token and an imperial decree. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke weakly, word by word, with utmost sincerity, to the suffocating black mist:

"Um, that... hello, Demon Ancestor big shot... My, my dad said... the Primordial World is too deep, he, he's sleeping first... told, told me to play by myself..."

After finishing, he timidly, trying to widen his eyes, added, attempting to increase its credibility: "So... about forming a team for raids... can, can you wait until I get familiar with the map and do some beginner quests?"

Black mist: "..."

The rolling, surging black mist, exuding endless destructive aura, seemed to freeze for a moment due to this extremely unexpected and absurd answer.

The scarlet eyes within the black mist clearly paused, then flashed with extreme surprise and... a deep sense of absurdity.

He stared at the paper in Li Ping'an's hand, which exuded pure, supreme Primordial Dao Rhyme and couldn't be faked, then looked at Li Ping'an's "I'm weak, I'm obedient, my dad doesn't care about me, but my dad is awesome" innocent appearance, falling into a strange silence.

The destructive aura around, the killing intent that was almost solidified, all paused slightly.

(End of Chapter 1)