I Am Daoist Dikun

Zhou Jun narrowed his eyes and pondered his next move. Shen Ni had emerged, yet he was still some distance from Mount Sumeru at the heart of the west. If he did not make plans early, his scheme would likely be disrupted. After all, he still wanted to gain something from this Kalpa of Calamity.

Zhou Jun glanced toward Mount Sumeru, connected with the Earth Veins, and returned to the Wuyi Mountain Grotto-Heaven in an instant. Arriving beneath the Big Red Robe tree, he summoned the Pure World White Lotus and sat cross-legged within it. Laws circulated in his eyes as he clearly calculated something.

"Now that Shen Ni has emerged, a great battle could erupt at any moment. If I continue westward, I will clearly miss the final decisive battle! Relying on myself alone truly leaves me stretched too thin." Zhou Jun's eyes flashed. "That's right! How could I have forgotten avatar techniques? There are quite a few such techniques in the Primordial Continent, and many of them are powerful. Not to mention Hongjun's Three Corpses, Laozi's One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, and Minghe's Blood God Sons are all rare, supreme avatar divine abilities. In my previous life, I seemed to have read that Hongjun withheld something regarding the Three Corpses method. Some believed that Hongjun used his own body as the vessel for the Three Corpses, allowing them to merge into one."

"After all, Hongjun's true form is an earthworm, which naturally possesses the ability to regenerate from a severed body. If his Three Corpses were transformed from his true body, then they would share the same origin. Their fusion into one would be perfectly reasonable."

With that thought, Zhou Jun began examining himself. "Sure enough, I have this ability too. I merely overlooked it. Since I was human in my previous life, I instead neglected my own instincts. With this ability to create an avatar, I can do many more things. Heaven and earth shall be the chessboard, all living beings the pieces. Hehe, I—I, this scheming old fox, will play a game of chess as well."

At that instant, a flash of insight seemed to cross Zhou Jun's mind, as if he had suddenly comprehended something immensely interesting. The corners of his lips curled upward into a smile, which swiftly spread into booming laughter.

His laughter echoed through the air, as though the entire world had been infected by his joy. Yet at the peak of that laughter, Zhou Jun suddenly closed his eyes, as if entering a world belonging solely to him.

Within that world, he began comprehending the mysteries of his own existence. His thoughts moved like lightning, constantly racing through his mind as he explored the secrets buried in its depths.

As his comprehension deepened, subtle changes began occurring to Zhou Jun's body. He no longer maintained human form, instead returning to his earth dragon body. He coiled into a circle, head and tail joined, while yin and yang qi circulated within him. Earth Vein qi rose from underground and spiraled around him.

It gradually wrapped around Zhou Jun, as though he had returned to the moment of his transformation. The yin and yang qi within slowly circulated, sometimes intertwining and sometimes separating. The Pure World White Lotus also slowly closed, encasing Zhou Jun before flying into the Lotus Pond.

At that very moment, deep within the vast and boundless Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in the north, within a place filled with mystery and danger—the Ferocious Beast Lair—a shocking scene was unfolding.

Beast Emperor Shen Ni was a name known throughout the Primordial World. With immense strength and majesty, he ruled this land. At that moment, he stood steadily atop the head of the Ferocious Beast Hundun, Soul Devouring Spear in hand. Qiongqi, Taotie, and Taotie guarded him from behind, while the Four Ferocious Beasts all submitted beneath his feet, as though the entire world lay under his control.

All around them, dense ranks of Ferocious Beast armies stood in perfect formation. Some were savage giant beasts, while others were nimble hunters, every one of them exuding a powerful aura. It was no exaggeration to say that the elite of the Ferocious Beasts had gathered here. This was truly a land of the strong.

Those Ferocious Beasts with slightly lesser strength had no qualifications to enter this place at all. This was the stage of the strong; only the most powerful beings could stand here and display their strength and glory.

Shen Ni looked over the powerful Ferocious Beasts around him, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes. Raising the Soul Devouring Spear high, he declared, "Go forth, destroy the Primordial Wilderness, and recreate Hundun!" The moment his words fell, the Ferocious Beast army roared toward the heavens, as if proclaiming its resolve. Then, without looking back, it charged out, and the Ferocious Beasts along its path followed as it rushed into the distance.

Watching the Ferocious Beast army scatter in all directions, Shen Ni waved his hand and sent the Four Ferocious Beasts outside to stand guard. Within the empty Ferocious Beast Lair, Shen Ni sat cross-legged and gazed toward Mount Zhou. He muttered, "Pangu, the Primordial Wilderness you created will ultimately become the path of my Dao. The day the Primordial Wilderness is conquered and destroyed by me will be the day I attain the Dao. I will surely take the step you never managed to take!" With that, Shen Ni closed his eyes and began comprehending the Laws. As long as the Ferocious Beasts ran rampant and destroyed everything in their path, his Dao path would grow stronger. He did not need to act personally at all.

Elsewhere, the powerful figures among the Innate Races and the Innate Gods and Demons solemnly watched the direction of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. They could sense powerful Ferocious Beast auras spreading outward from those mountains, and they knew it must have been caused by Shen Ni's birth.

The powerful figures within the alliance also knew that this enormous force was beyond their ability to resist. Thus, they used every method at their disposal to send a message into the heavens and earth of the Primordial Wilderness, spreading it in all directions. They invited the powerful figures of the Primordial Wilderness and some mighty Innate Races to discuss the Dao and deliberate on how to deal with the Ferocious Beasts.

At this time, everyone knew there was no avoiding it. If they did not unite, they would likely have no way at all to resist the Ferocious Beast army in the end. Thus, many Innate Races and Innate Gods and Demons began heading toward the Innate Alliance. Among the former Chaos Gods and Demons, powerful figures such as Five Elements Daoist, Yin Yang Daoist, and Qiankun also headed toward the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

On Mount Sumeru, Demon Ancestor Luohu calculated with his fingers, his gaze flickering slightly. He mounted the Twelve-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus and headed north. Meanwhile, atop Jade Capital Mountain in the eastern lands, Immortal Dao's Hongjun held the Creation Jade Butterfly Fragment above his head. Dao charm flowed within it, as though it were communicating with something. Only after a long while did Hongjun open his eyes, wave a hand to put away the Creation Jade Butterfly Fragment, and head north.

Time was chaotic. The four seasons were indistinguishable, and the sun and moon existed together. One moment brought violent wind and rain, the next a blanket of white snow. After an unknown span of years, Zhou Jun awakened from within the World-Purifying White Lotus on Wuyi Mountain. Beside him sat another person. Unlike Zhou Jun, whose body was entwined with Earth Vein qi and carried a heavy, solid presence, this person resembled an immortal god, surrounded by pure qi that also contained traces of Earth Spirits qi and brimmed with vigorous life.

This was the avatar technique Zhou Jun had comprehended during this seclusion. It could also be called a Life-Bound Avatar. As long as one of them did not perish, even if the other died, he could be revived. The two shared the same memories; though their thoughts differed, they were still two sides of the same whole.

At that moment, the Daoist opposite Zhou Jun opened his eyes, looked at him, and said with a smile, "I am Daoist Dikun. Greetings, Original Self." Zhou Jun waved his hand and replied with a smile, "You and I are two sides of the same whole. Why speak of an Original Self?"

Daoist Dikun smiled and teased, "I am called Daoist Dikun, yet you are called Zhou Jun. It truly does not fit the style of this era of the Primordial Wilderness." Zhou Jun burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Since we have become one whole, what if your current Daoist title originally belonged to me? I simply did not care about it before, so it became your title now. Is this not also an obsession with my own name?"

Upon hearing this, Di Kun lowered his head in thought. After a long while, he raised his head and smiled. "Hongjun created the Three Corpses to divide goodness, evil, and obsession. As two sides of one whole, perhaps we can likewise be divided into the Original Self and the True Self. If we can continue comprehending this, it may very well become a method for attaining sainthood."

Zhou Jun was stunned. He had merely wanted an avatar technique; he had never considered so much. After recovering himself, Zhou Jun lowered his head and began calculating. Seeing this, Di Kun also closed his eyes to comprehend and deduce. After a long time, they opened their eyes, met each other's gaze, and said, "Good!" at the same time. Then both of them burst into laughter.