The Dawn of Dao and Demon

So during these tens of thousands of years of cultivation, he would often find himself missing things from his previous life.

What he missed most of all was the hotpot famous in Fog City. In his past life, as a native of Fog City, Qing Xuan's favorite thing to eat was that hotpot, so he had always harbored the idea of refining a cooking pot.

Unfortunately, he had always been without a cauldron or materials for refining tools, until he obtained the Gathering Origin Cauldron—then Qing Xuan couldn't hold back any longer.

Using the newly acquired Innate Profound Gold as the main material, Qing Xuan threw in various auxiliary materials to begin refining, and finally tossed in the corpses of a dragon and a phoenix. After refining for forty-nine days, he succeeded in creating a mid-grade acquired spiritual treasure, naming it the "Spirit-Rich Twin Pot!"

Originally, Qing Xuan wanted to name it after the dragon and phoenix, but after thinking of his two disciples, he dropped the idea. The pot was hard and full of spirit, with dragon and phoenix spiritual patterns coiling around its body—the dragon pattern winding along the red broth side, the phoenix pattern encircling the clear broth area.

There was no divider in the middle of the pot, yet the red and white were naturally distinct. Tossing ingredients into the red broth gave a rich, heavy flavor—spicy, numbing, and fragrant—while putting them into the clear broth yielded a fresh, delicious taste full of umami.

Not only that, but the red broth could also enhance the user's physique and strength, while the clear broth could cleanse impurities and negative statuses from the body. Moreover, the pot contained its own internal space, so no matter how many ingredients were thrown in, they would fit, and the pot would never spoil.

As soon as this treasure was refined, Qing Xuan couldn't resist starting to cook. Using the flames of the Southern Lidi Flame Light Banner for heat, the two treasures floated before him as he added all kinds of seafood and ingredients to simmer.

As for the chopsticks in Qing Xuan's hand, they were a grade-less spiritual treasure casually refined from Innate Spirit Wood.

"Delicious, delicious—Kirin meat is good too. Looks like I need to stock up on meat now; after the tribulation, it won't be so easy to get."

Qing Xuan ate the Kirin meat, then tossed Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals caught in the West Sea into the clear broth, along with some other marine ingredients.

Looking at the Kirin egg in his hand, Qing Xuan thought it over, then suppressed the urge to make boiled eggs and threw in some Lingzhi Mushrooms, ginseng, and other spirit medicines, planning to eat some vegetarian fare.

And so, after feasting to his heart's content, Qing Xuan lay down on the ground.

"Ah! That feels great. It's useless for cultivation, but it satisfies the soul. Hotpot really is a wonderful thing."

Qing Xuan patted his belly and muttered to himself in satisfaction. After a moment's thought, he took out a bamboo stalk, stuck it in his mouth, and started sucking on it.

At Qing Xuan's current level of cultivation, the benefits of the Spirit-Rich Twin Pot were negligible; its only use was to satisfy his cravings.

"Hmm... should I refine another spiritual treasure like this?"

The more Qing Xuan sucked, the less satisfying it felt—after all, it didn't have the taste of his past life. After thinking it over, he put away the bamboo and went to sleep.

After resting a while, Qing Xuan flew westward, planning to scavenge some ingredients from the Three Clans' battlefield for later use.

And so, Qing Xuan's days grew even better. He gathered corpses as he traveled, occasionally picking spirit grass and medicine from the ground, and whenever the mood struck, he'd cook up a hotpot—very comfortable.

What Qing Xuan didn't expect, however, was that the Dragon-Han Tribulation had already reached its decisive battle.

"Roar! Who are you? How dare you ambush me!"

The First Kirin was covered in wounds, his heart blazing with fury, but he warily retreated to the side, staring at the sudden arrivals.

Even the Ancestral Dragon and Yuan Feng gradually stopped their divine abilities, observing this group.

"Hehehe, we are the Twelve Demon Generals under the Devil Master, here to send you to your deaths." Boshun sneered.

"Just you? Five Quasi-Saints and seven Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals at perfection, and you dare meddle in the affairs of us Three Clans?"

The Ancestral Dragon suddenly spoke, dismissing Boshun and the others with contempt.

"Hehehe, just us."

"Brothers, form the array!"

The Twelve Demon Generals spread out in a circle, arranged according to the twelve earthly branches, trapping the First Kirin in the center.

This array was called the Twelve Heavens Destruction Great Array. Based on the Twelve Demon Generals, their spiritual power intertwined and merged, an energy vortex spinning continuously, absorbing the world's spiritual energy, Sha Qi, and all free-floating energy.

The twelve streams of power converged, forming an indestructible energy shield at the array's edge that could absorb and convert enemy attack energy, then spew black light pillars filled with endless destruction at the enemy within the array.

To break this array, one had to destroy all Twelve Demon Generals at once with absolute power. But given their cultivation levels, doing so in one blow was as hard as reaching the heavens.

"Ancestral Dragon, what do you think?"

Yuan Feng stared at the array and asked the Ancestral Dragon.

"I think with my eyes." The Ancestral Dragon said flatly. It was the First Kirin trapped in there—whether he lived or died, what did that have to do with a dragon?

"Are you brainless? These people are clearly coming for us. Once the First Kirin dies, you and I are next."

Yuan Feng was furious at the Ancestral Dragon's stupidity. Such a simple, obvious matter, and he couldn't see it.

The Ancestral Dragon glanced at Yuan Feng and teased.

"I just need to hide in the sea—who could find me? But you, the Southern Bright Undying Volcano can't run."

"Bastard!"

Yuan Feng's eyes blazed with rage as she fired a fire-element divine ability at the Ancestral Dragon.

"Damn it! You mangy bird, have you lost your mind? Forget the array?"

"Forget it! Today I'm going to kill you!"

Hongjun and his group flew down from above, watching the two of them fighting again with exasperation.

"Seems like neither beasts nor demonic beasts have much of a brain," Yang Mei pointed at them and said to the others.

"Calm... calm down." Hongjun took a deep breath inwardly, then spoke.

"Leave them for now. First, break the array and rescue the First Kirin."

With that, a ruler appeared in Hongjun's hand, covered in merit energy. Named the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler, it was one of only two innate merit supreme treasures in the Primordial World. Hongjun swung the ruler, and a beam of golden light shot toward the array.

"Boom!"

The golden light clashed against the Grand Array, locked in stalemate, but the golden radiance gradually dimmed until it finally merged into the array.

Hongjun frowned, realizing that this formation could only be broken by brute force.

"Fellow Daoists, this array likely requires taking out the Twelve Demon Generals in one go. Let us strike together and aim to shatter it in a single blow."

"Agreed!"

Yang Mei, Creation, and Qian Kun stood at Hongjun's side, each summoning their spiritual treasures. A willow branch appeared in Yang Mei's hand, while before Creation and Qian Kun hovered a small tripod each—the Creation Cauldron and the Qian Kun Cauldron, their respective companion treasures.

The Creation Cauldron was ancient and solemn, with three legs and two ears, its body radiating a mysterious light of creation. The Qian Kun Cauldron, on the other hand, had eight equal facets on its outer surface, composed of trigram symbols, with two ears and four legs, symbolizing the Two Principles and Four Symbols.

The four figures and four treasures jointly unleashed a divine technique. The spell converged in the air, transforming into a Five-Colored Divine Dragon that charged at the Grand Array with an unparalleled Aura.

"Boom!"

A sudden thunderous roar shook heaven and earth as the Grand Array and the dragon collided, exploding into a burst of golden light and smoke.

Not far away, Qing Xuan stood protected by the Myriad Heavens Celebration Cloud, the World-Purifying White Lotus beneath his feet, the Western Suseo Cloud Realm Banner above his head, and the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls scattered around him. He stared wide-eyed at the mushroom cloud rising in the distance.

"What the hell, who set off an atomic bomb in the Primordial Wilderness!"