"Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi" clung to Zhou Ming like maggots to bone, frantically battering his fragile nascent Primordial Spirit.
Every impact brought a tearing pain that reached deep into his soul.
It felt as though, in the very next moment, his consciousness would sink completely into the boundless fiend qi.
Zhou Ming's nascent Primordial Spirit flickered erratically like a dying candle in the wind, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
The excruciating pain constantly tested the limits of his endurance.
"Can't... can't give up!" Zhou Ming desperately clung to his last trace of clarity.
Once he lost himself, his Primordial Spirit would completely dissipate. The advantage of his transmigration, his modern memories, his foreknowledge of the Wu Clan's future... all of it would vanish like smoke.
At that critical moment, the System Core fused deep within his True Spirit emitted a gentle yet profound ripple.
That ripple was like an unbreakable dam, struggling to withstand the impact of the fiend qi flood.
At the same time, the insight into the Law of Strength belonging to Father God Pangu, engraved deep within his True Spirit, also lit up with a faint glimmer.
Though it was merely a trace of a Law imprint, it carried supreme majesty and exerted a natural suppression over the violent fiend qi.
"Now!" Zhou Ming keenly seized this slim chance of survival. Enduring the agonizing pain of his Primordial Spirit being torn apart, he mobilized every ounce of his focus.
Using the System Core as a shield, he protected his Primordial Spirit from perishing. Using his insight into the Law of Strength as a guide, he tried to direct and refine the all-pervading Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi.
This was an immensely difficult and painful process.
The fiend qi was incomparably violent, its very nature one of destruction and chaos.
Every attempt at refinement felt like sawing at his soul with a blunt blade.
Failure, then another attempt.
Failure, then another attempt.
His consciousness repeatedly teetered between clarity and collapse. Yet only one thought remained in his heart: survive and preserve himself!
Who knew how much time passed? It seemed like an instant, yet also like countless millions of years.
A faint tremor came from the depths of his Primordial Spirit.
A wisp of Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi was finally refined and absorbed with great difficulty.
Though negligible, that refined wisp of fiend qi transformed into pure energy and nourished his nascent Primordial Spirit.
A tiny breach consequently appeared in the originally raging flood of fiend qi.
The pressure on his Primordial Spirit abruptly eased!
Zhou Ming gained a brief chance to catch his breath, and his consciousness cleared considerably.
"Success... the first step!"
With this successful beginning, Zhou Ming's confidence surged. He continued to endure the pain, immersing himself in the great task of refinement.
His Primordial Spirit was like a starving sponge, greedily absorbing that energy and gradually growing stronger.
Time passed amid the tedious and painful refinement. Perhaps several years had gone by, perhaps several Epochs; Zhou Ming had completely lost track of time.
At last, the final wisp of fiend qi was thoroughly refined and merged into his Primordial Spirit.
Zhou Ming's nascent Primordial Spirit had now expanded severalfold, radiating an unprecedented stability and vitality.
As the fiend qi within his body was refined, his perception also improved and began spreading outward.
Through the thick blood cocoon and the barriers of Pangu Hall, he could faintly sense a trace of the outside world.
It was an aura of... chaos, slaughter, boundless bloodshed, and resentment!
Vaguely, thunderous dragon roars, Phoenix Cries, and Qilin Howls seemed to travel across endless time and space, exploding beside his ears!
Those sounds were filled with savagery and madness.
"Dragons... phoenixes... qilins?" Zhou Ming's heart sank sharply.
Combined with the fragments of Primordial Wilderness memories in his mind, a terrifying term instantly surfaced—
The Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation!
The dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans were fighting for dominion over heaven and earth, slaughtering until the skies darkened and blood flowed into rivers, with countless living beings falling!
No wonder the outside world's fiend qi was so dense, its murderous aura nearly solidifying into substance.
Zhou Ming's heart sank completely to the bottom.
The Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation! This was a terrifying Tribulation that had crippled even the Innate Three Clans, caused countless Great Powers to perish, and reshaped the very order of heaven and earth!
It was an age before Sages emerged, when Great Principles walked everywhere and Taiyi were worth less than dogs.
The Primordial Wilderness at this moment was a massive, bloody, and cruel meat grinder!
The brutal Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation reminded him of the Witch-Demon Tribulation, a Tribulation in no way inferior to it. The Primordial Wilderness shattered, the heavenly pillar collapsed, and the Wu Clan was nearly exterminated.
An immense sense of crisis instantly drowned Zhou Ming.
The Wu Clan's tragic future seemed to become a tangible shadow that enveloped his heart.
Zhou Ming forced down the shock and fear in his heart and quickly assessed his circumstances.
His advantages were obvious:
He possessed knowledge beyond this era and understood the direction of the Primordial Wilderness's greater currents. He had the System Core refined by Father God Pangu protecting his Primordial Spirit, granting him affinity with the Great Dao and boundless potential.
He had inherited a trace of Father God Pangu's insight into the Law of Strength, giving him a profound foundation. He was within Pangu Hall, the Wu Clan's sacred ground and a natural refuge, so he was safe for the time being.
But his disadvantages were equally fatal:
He was currently weak, had not even completed his transformation, and was only at the beginning stage of refining fiend qi.
Looking across the Primordial Wilderness, he stood alone without a single ally.
What worried him even more was that refining Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi was already so difficult and perilous for him. What about the other twelve Ancestral Wu in the future?
They had no System Core protecting their True Spirits, nor did they possess clear consciousness from a later age.
Could they truly have a chance to give birth to Primordial Spirits?
Would they ultimately become like the historical records described—"brutes" who acted solely on instinct and strength, hot-tempered and lacking calculation?
Zhou Ming did not dare imagine it.
If all twelve Ancestral Wu failed to give birth to Primordial Spirits and could not engage in deeper thought and planning, then the Wu Clan's fate would likely be difficult to change! How could he alone contend against the entire tide of the Primordial Wilderness?
"No! I have to find a way!"
He not only had to survive himself, but also protect these twelve blood-related "younger brothers and sisters"!
To change the Wu Clan's fate, he had to solve the problem at its root!
And this Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi was the greatest shackle restraining the Wu Clan!
The System Core could protect his True Spirit... so could it perhaps assist others in some way as well?
Since insight into the Law of Strength could naturally suppress fiend qi at its root... could he derive a more universally applicable method to help the other Ancestral Wu suppress, or even refine, fiend qi and condense Primordial Spirits?
Though doing so would divide his attention and slow his own cultivation progress, Zhou Ming did not hesitate in the slightest.
After all, he was not confident he could Prove the Dao and become a Saint before Hongjun. Whether he was early or late might not be the key; the Wu Clan's collective future was what truly mattered.
A preliminary plan gradually took shape in his mind.
First, he had to increase his strength as quickly as possible and transform early!
Second, he had to study the System Core and the Law of Strength, deriving a method that could help the other Ancestral Wu refine fiend qi and condense Primordial Spirits! Even if it only increased their chances by a sliver, he had to try!
Lastly, and most importantly: lie low! Before he possessed enough strength to protect himself, he absolutely would not casually step out of Pangu Hall. He would quietly build his fortune, accumulate strength, and wait for the right opportunity!
He cautiously extended his consciousness, which had only recently regained clarity, toward the other twelve enormous blood cocoons within Pangu Hall's Blood Pool.
His consciousness was like a stone cast into the sea, instantly drowned by the equally violent and chaotic fiend qi within the blood cocoons. Yet he still caught twelve weak but potential-filled sources of life.
They were all asleep, instinctively absorbing Pangu's Essence Blood and the Blood Pool's energy as they nurtured themselves.
Yet they were also unconsciously enduring the erosion of Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi.
"Wait for me..." Zhou Ming silently withdrew his consciousness.
"No matter how difficult it is, I will try to fight for a different future for our Wu Clan."
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