Seclusion and Bitter Cultivation, Three Clans Vie for Hegemony

In the Primordial World, years went uncounted; cultivation knew no passage of time.

In the Depths of Pangu Hall, the Blood Pool still churned with dense blood qi and fiend qi. Compared to when Zhou Ming had first awakened, it had grown several degrees thicker and more violent, as though even the Blood Pool could sense the contamination of the chaotic, murderous aura outside.

Zhou Ming sat cross-legged within the blood cocoon that had nurtured him, his mind wholly immersed in cultivation.

Refining Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi and consolidating his primordial spirit had become his foremost task after awakening—his only task.

Ever since successfully refining that first wisp of Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi, he had found the method.

Using the system core—what Zhou Ming now preferred to call the "Dao Origin Divine Pearl"—to suppress and protect his primordial spirit, he used the Law of Strength as a guide to refine, strand by strand, the violent fiend qi eroding it.

The process was exceedingly tedious and accompanied by indescribable pain, but Zhou Ming relished it as sweet nectar.

With every bit of fiend qi he refined, his primordial spirit grew stronger, and his control over himself deepened.

The Dao Origin Divine Pearl was indeed an Innate Supreme Treasure personally forged by Father God Pangu. Every rotation stirred traces of the Great Dao's aura, imperceptibly improving Zhou Ming's Foundation and comprehension, allowing him to comprehend the Law of Strength with twice the result for half the effort.

Though he was still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from truly mastering it, merely grasping a sliver of its surface had already made his foundation increasingly profound and solid.

"Phew..."

Zhou Ming slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Feeling the pure energy flowing through his primordial spirit and the increasingly solid state of that spirit, he felt a touch of satisfaction.

Yet while Zhou Ming cultivated in single-minded seclusion, deaf to all that lay beyond his window, the Primordial World had already become a maelstrom of rising winds and gathering clouds, with slaughter spreading everywhere.

Beyond Buzhou Mountain lay the vast Primordial World.

The Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Clans were like three resplendent suns rising into the sky, illuminating the entire Primordial World!

Under the leadership of Ancestral Dragon, the Dragon Clan had completely conquered the Four Seas. Billions of aquatic tribes had all submitted, while boundless dragon might swept through the seas and Fortune surged together like tidal waves.

With Primordial Phoenix as their sovereign, the Phoenix Clan ruled the skies. Countless birds bowed in worship, true phoenix fire blazed across the heavens, and their Fortune transformed into seven-colored auspicious clouds that shrouded the Undying Volcano.

Shi Qilin stood upon the earth, commanding all beasts. Countless land creatures lay prostrate before him as he suppressed the eight directions, their Fortune condensing into dense auspicious qi that permeated the Central Land.

As the tribes they conquered grew more numerous and their territories expanded ever wider, the Fortune of the three clans swelled madly like a snowball rolling downhill!

When Fortune gathered upon them, the benefits reflected back onto their tribes as a rapid rise in overall strength.

Countless clan members broke through their realms, and Grand Unity Golden Immortals emerged one after another.

And as the leaders of the three clans, Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Phoenix, and Shi Qilin gained even more unimaginable benefits!

Propelled by immense Fortune, their cultivation soared onward in triumphant strides. Within an extremely short time, they successively broke through their bottlenecks and entered in one stroke the realm countless living beings looked up to—the Quasi-Saint realm!

They became the foremost existences in the Primordial World, second only to those old monsters who remained hidden from the world!

The birth of three Quasi-Saints completely ignited the three clans' ambition to contend for dominion over heaven and earth!

They had all clearly realized the immense benefits Fortune brought, and understood that if they wished to climb another hundred-foot pole and take one step further—even to glimpse the legendary Great Dao of Chaos—they had to monopolize the Fortune of the Primordial World and become the true protagonists between heaven and earth!

To fight for territory, Spiritual Veins, Innate Spiritual Roots, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and even the enslavement of other tribes, the conflicts among the three clans grew increasingly fierce.

Thus, the friction that had once been somewhat restrained swiftly escalated into an all-out war with no end until death!

On the East Sea Coast, the Dragon Clan's aquatic armies and the Phoenix Clan fought until heaven and earth were darkened. The seawater was dyed red, and countless feathers and scales drifted down.

"Kill! Kill these mangy birds!"

"Tear these long worms to pieces!"

Across the central lands of the Primordial World, the Kirin Clan clashed fiercely with the Dragon Clan's and Phoenix Clan's branch forces. Mountains and rivers shattered, and the earth cried out in grief.

"Those who invade our territory—die!"

"For the glory of the kirin!"

The entire Primordial World was engulfed in war!

The immortal mountains and blessed lands that had once been peaceful, tranquil, and rich in Spiritual Qi had now become blood-soaked battlefields.

Countless living beings wailed in misery, and countless tribes were exterminated.

The weaker tribes either chose to submit to one of the three clans and become cannon fodder in the war, or were casually wiped out by them, their Fortune seized.

Slaughter!

Conquest!

Pillage!

Endless slaughter brought endless resentment, which transformed into Tribulation Fiend Qi so dense it could not be dispersed!

Tribulation Qi spread throughout the Primordial World.

Inside Pangu Hall.

Zhou Ming briefly separated a thread of his mind from his deep cultivation, sensing the murderous intent and resentment outside that had nearly condensed into substance.

His brow furrowed tightly.

"The Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation... has indeed already gone completely mad."

"The three clans are courting death like maniacs..."

Though he knew the course of history, the terror of a Tribulation still made his heart pound.

Frowning deeply, he sank his mind into the Dao Origin Divine Pearl and tried to extend his perception outward.

Through Pangu Hall's protection, he vaguely "saw" the scene outside.

Though he could not see clearly, the earth-shaking cries of battle, the violent surges of energy, and the blood-colored tribulation clouds blanketing heaven and earth all proclaimed one thing—the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation had already entered its most fevered stage!

"Damn... aren't these guys fighting a little too viciously?"

Zhou Ming sucked in a cold breath, his heart involuntarily racing.

Was this the terror of a tribulation in the Primordial Wilderness?

Quasi-Sage Great Powers personally charging into brutal combat, countless billions of living beings treated like blades of grass!

He could even faintly hear Ancestral Dragon's roar, Primordial Phoenix's cry, Shi Qilin's furious bellow, and the despairing wails of countless beings before their deaths!

Tragic! Too tragic!

This was practically a colossal meat grinder!

"Good thing... good thing I'm inside Pangu Hall."

"Still, the fiercer the struggle for supremacy among the three clans, the denser the fiend qi becomes. Could that actually offer a bit of 'help' in refining Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi and tempering my primordial spirit?" Of course, that "help" was premised on his being able to withstand the fiend qi's erosion.

"But I need to speed things up too!"

The Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation had already reached this point—what about the Witch-Demon Tribulation?

The Wu Clan's future fate weighed upon his heart like an enormous boulder.

He had to raise his strength as quickly as possible and Transform and Emerge as soon as he could!

Not only for self-preservation, but also so that before his twelve bargain-bin "younger siblings" entered the world, he could find a way to resolve the Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi and fight for a different future for the Wu Clan!

"Lay low! Build up! Build up quietly—don't throw!"

Zhou Ming took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and cast aside every distracting thought.

The outside world could fight to the death—what the hell did that have to do with him?

His top priority now was to increase his strength, at any cost!!

He closed his eyes once more, sinking his mind into cultivation.

The Dao Origin Divine Pearl shimmered as his comprehension of the Law of Strength flowed slowly through his primordial spirit like a stream.

Refining fiend qi, strengthening his primordial spirit, comprehending Law.

Like the most devout ascetic, Zhou Ming silently accumulated power within the novice protection zone that was Pangu Hall.

He knew that he did not have much time left.

The end of the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation would mark the era when Dao Ancestor Hongjun emerged into the world and began his lectures at Purple Cloud Palace.

When that time came, the landscape of the Primordial Wilderness would undergo another earth-shaking transformation.

And the Wu Clan would also step onto the stage of the Primordial Wilderness.

Before then, he had to make every possible preparation!