Refining Baleful Intent, the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation

"Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi" clung to him like maggots to bone, frantically battering Zhou Ming's fragile Primordial Spirit seed.

Every impact brought a tearing agony 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 Primordial Spirit seed flickered erratically, like a dying candle in the wind, liable to be snuffed out completely at any moment.

The excruciating pain ceaselessly tested the limits of his endurance.

"Can't... can't give up!" Zhou Ming clung desperately to his last shred of clarity.

Once he lost himself, his Primordial Spirit would completely dissipate. The advantages 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 warm, profound ripple.

Like an unbreakable dam, that ripple struggled to withstand the crashing torrent of fiend qi.

At the same time, deep within his true spirit, the insight into Father God Pangu's Law of Strength lit up with a faint gleam.

Though it was merely a trace of a Law imprint, it carried supreme majesty, naturally suppressing the violent fiend qi ever so slightly.

"Now!" Zhou Ming keenly seized this sliver of life. Enduring the agonizing pain of his Primordial Spirit being torn apart, he marshaled every ounce of his focus.

Using the system core as a shield, he protected his Primordial Spirit from extinction. Using his insight into the Law of Strength as a guide, he attempted to direct and refine the all-pervading Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi.

This was an incomparably difficult and painful process.

The fiend qi was incomparably violent; its very essence was destruction and chaos.

Every refinement was like sawing through his soul with a dull 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 retain himself!

No one knew how long passed. It seemed like an instant, yet also like hundreds of millions of years.

A faint tremor came from deep within his Primordial Spirit.

At last, a wisp of Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi was painstakingly refined and absorbed by him.

Though negligible, once refined, that wisp of fiend qi transformed into pure energy that nourished his Primordial Spirit seed.

The originally violent torrent of fiend qi now had a tiny breach in it.

The pressure on his Primordial Spirit suddenly lessened!

Zhou Ming gained a moment 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 work of refinement.

His Primordial Spirit was like a parched sponge, greedily absorbing this energy and gradually growing stronger.

Time passed amid the tedious, agonizing refinement. Perhaps several years had gone by; perhaps several Epochs. Zhou Ming had utterly lost track of time.

Finally, the last wisp of fiend qi was completely refined and merged into his Primordial Spirit.

Zhou Ming's Primordial Spirit seed had now expanded several times over, radiating an unprecedented stability and liveliness.

As the fiend qi within him was refined, his perceptive ability also improved and began extending outward.

Through the thick cocoon of blood, through the barriers of Pangu Hall, he could vaguely sense a trace of the outside world's aura.

It was an aura of... chaos, slaughter, boundless bloodshed, and resentment!

Faintly, earth-shaking dragon roars, phoenix cries, and qilin howls seemed to travel across endless time and space, exploding beside his ears!

Those sounds brimmed with brutality and madness.

"Dragons... phoenixes... qilin?" Zhou Ming's heart sank sharply.

Combined with the memory fragments of the Primordial Wilderness 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 went dark and blood flowed into rivers, with countless living beings perishing!

No wonder the fiend qi outside was so dense, the aura of slaughter nearly congealing into substance.

Zhou Ming's heart sank completely to the abyss.

The Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation! This was a terrifying tribulation that had crippled even the Innate Three Clans, caused countless Great Powers to fall, and reshaped the very order of Heaven and Earth!

An era before Sages emerged, when Great Luo were everywhere and Taiyi were 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 the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation—where the Primordial Wilderness shattered, the pillar of Heaven collapsed, and the Wu Clan was nearly exterminated.

An overwhelming sense of crisis instantly drowned Zhou Ming.

The Wu Clan's tragic fate seemed to become a tangible shadow, shrouding his heart.

Zhou Ming forced down the horror and fear in his heart and swiftly began sorting through his situation.

The advantages were obvious:

He possessed knowledge that transcended this era and knew the direction of the Primordial Wilderness's greater currents. With the system core refined from Father God Pangu protecting his Primordial Spirit, he possessed an affinity with the Great Dao and limitless potential.

Having inherited a trace of Father God Pangu's comprehension of the Law of Strength, his foundation was profound. He was within Pangu Hall, the Wu Clan's sacred ground—a natural sanctuary, safe for the time being.

Yet his disadvantages were equally fatal:

His strength was currently feeble. He had not even completed his transformation, and was still at the beginning stages of refining fiend qi.

In the vast Primordial Wilderness, he stood alone, without a single ally.

What worried him even more was this: if refining Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi was already so difficult and perilous for him, then what about the other twelve Ancestral Wu in the future?

They had no system core to protect their true spirits, nor did they possess the clear consciousness of someone from a later age.

Would they truly have a chance to give birth to Primordial Spirits?

Would they ultimately become just as history recorded—reckless brutes who acted solely on instinct and strength, hot-tempered and devoid of calculation?

Zhou Ming did not dare imagine it.

If all twelve Ancestral Wu failed to give birth to Primordial Spirits, unable to 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!"

Not only did he have to survive himself, he also had to protect these twelve blood-connected "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... then could it perhaps assist others in some way as well?

Since comprehension of the Law of Strength could inherently suppress fiend qi at its very essence... could he derive a more universally applicable method to help the other Ancestral Wu suppress, or even refine, fiend qi and condense Primordial Spirits?

Although 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 that he could Prove the Dao and become a Saint before Hongjun. Being a step earlier or later 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 raise his strength as quickly as possible and complete his transformation at the earliest opportunity!

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 the possibility by a thread, he had to try!

Lastly, and most importantly: lie low! Before he possessed sufficient power to protect himself, he absolutely could not casually step out of Pangu Hall. He would keep his head down and make a fortune in silence, accumulate strength, and wait for the right moment!

He tried to cautiously extend his consciousness, which had only recently regained clarity, outward. He probed 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 hold of twelve faint life sources brimming with potential.

They were all asleep, instinctively absorbing Pangu's Essence Blood and the Blood Pool's energy, nurturing themselves.

Yet at the same time, they were 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."