The Lost Ancient Era

"Then let's continue. Little one, do you have any questions? I can answer them for you."

The surrounding demon beasts looked at Red Fox. Most of them had always believed that she merely flirted around powerful demon beasts to obtain resources and status. They had never expected her own strength to be so formidable.

"What exactly is this Darkness Riot you speak of? Why is there no record of it in our human memories?"

Hearing Red Fox's question, Lu Chen was somewhat bewildered. Feng Tiancheng's memories contained no account of the Darkness Riot these demon beasts spoke of. Yet Feng Tiancheng's memories did indeed mention a period of decline in the Cultivation World. He could no longer tell whom to believe.

Lu Chen sent Wind Dragon a voice transmission. "Wind Dragon, have you heard of the Darkness Riot before?"

"I am merely condensed from pure wind elemental energy. This is the first time I've heard of these secrets as well."

"I know demon beasts preserve history through Bloodline Inheritance, but every demon beast shares an understanding regarding the secrets of Bloodline Inheritance: even in death, they will not reveal them to others. Human inheritance consists only of words, books, or Shadow Stones. Such inheritances are eventually ground away by time."

"They once regarded these memories as taboos. I do not know why they are willing to tell you today."

Wind Dragon paused, seemingly recalling something. "I remember that when the Beast King was searching for demon beasts, he discovered ancient texts left behind from the Ancient Era. The writing and cultivation methods recorded within were entirely different from those of today, and their power far surpassed current methods. Afterward, these demon beasts sought out the Beast King and seemed to have reached some agreement with him."

Lu Chen said, "Wind Dragon, I don't know what to do either. I want to hear what this secret is first, then decide what to do."

The moment Lu Chen finished speaking, his body seemed to be controlled by some special power within the Heavenly Pool. Holding the Primal Chaos Greatsword, he walked to the center of the crowd, swung it in a circle, and planted it into the ground.

"The innate has formed; I am Yin and Yang." Divine light flashed around Lu Chen's ankle.

Lu Chen stepped forward with his left foot. A phantom of the Azure Emperor Divine Tree emerged beside him. This was a divine ability bestowed upon him by the face from before; he merely used it according to his thoughts.

Lu Chen's body gradually dissipated and merged into the Small World.

The Innate Eight Trigrams Diagram emitted an azure-blue radiance that spread outward with the Azure Emperor Divine Tree at its center. A fiery-red phoenix circled above the treetop.

Lu Chen's strength was limited, and the Innate Eight Trigrams Diagram only expanded to a radius of thirty feet.

Mountains, rivers, and the sky naturally formed beneath the Azure Emperor Divine Tree. A virtual Small World gradually took shape, enveloping everyone within.

"This... this scene." Bai Ze suddenly dropped to his knees and stared at Lu Chen ahead. "I was not mistaken. This is the very scene. I have searched for it for a full thirty thousand years. He is the one who can help me recover the Ancient Era."

The scene before him perfectly overlapped with the vision produced by the first Divination Spell he had cast thirty thousand years ago. That spell had told him this person could restore the lost Ancient Era.

Bai Ze had searched for a full thirty thousand years. He had never expected to see it in such a manner, much less that the person in the vision had already appeared before his eyes.

"Bai Ze, what is going on?" Kui Niu plucked a leaf from the Azure Emperor Divine Tree. "Is this a real world?"

Bai Ze rose to his feet and looked at the Azure Emperor Divine Tree. "Yes. This is the embryonic form of a new world. I can now be certain that Lu Chen is the one who will lead us to recover the Ancient Era."

"What is this? An imprint? My body is being restrained." The leaf in Kui Niu's hand flew up, transformed into a small imprint, and entered his body.

At that moment, seventeen more leaves fell from the Azure Emperor Divine Tree. All of them transformed into imprints and merged into the bodies of the remaining demon beasts.

Golden Giant Dragon extended a dragon claw, his gaze trembling as he caught a leaf. "Yes. This is both an imprint and a blessing—a blessing from heaven and earth upon cultivators. We are the pioneers of this world. I can now confirm that Lu Chen is that person."

Bai Ze stared at Golden Giant Dragon's claw. A strange white light flashed through his eyes, as though he had seen something.

Bang...

Lu Chen's spiritual energy was exhausted, and he collapsed to the ground. The Small World suddenly crumbled, and everyone returned to the third floor of Beast King's Mansion.

Sky Devouring Rat said, "We're back? The imprints are still here. Are we truly the pioneers of a new world?"

"They are indeed still here. From this day onward, I, Kui Niu, am willing to call him King." Kui Niu felt the new imprint between his brows. It carried an immense restraint, yet it also seemed to bring him some subtle changes.

"Phew... where am I?"

Lu Chen woke up to find himself lying on the central Dragon Throne, surrounded by a crowd staring straight at him.

"King, you're awake?" Red Fox stepped forward and helped Lu Chen up.

Lu Chen asked, "What happened? What is wrong with me?"

Wind Dragon said, "Little Lu, they have already acknowledged you as their King. You have quite a few secrets on you. You have actually formed the embryonic shape of a Small World."

"What does that mean? I don't really understand."

Lu Chen was deeply puzzled. He had only planted the Primal Chaos Greatsword into the ground, and when he woke up, everyone was calling him King.

"Ask them about the rest. They are willing to tell you everything. I must rest for a while. Wake me when you wish to enter the next floor." As he spoke, he controlled the Primal Chaos Greatsword back into Lu Chen's body and began to rest.

Wind Dragon had already become an Artifact Spirit and had little desire for these secrets. Moreover, he had consumed too much of his origin recently and could no longer hold on.

"King, is there anything you wish to ask? We can answer all of it for you." Seeing that Lu Chen's aura had stabilized, Bai Ze stepped forward to ask.

"I want to know what the Darkness Riot you mentioned means, and what the Ancient Era means as well."

"King, we have prepared everything. Once we release the Restoration Technique, you will understand the reason behind it all."

Bai Ze led Lu Chen before the large array that had been prepared earlier. Golden Giant Dragon and the others had been waiting there already.

"King, you have come." Golden Giant Dragon stepped forward to support Lu Chen.

Having received the blessed imprint, Golden Giant Dragon had long since placed the hope of reviving the Golden Giant Dragon clan upon Lu Chen.

Golden Giant Dragon said, "Bai Ze, begin quickly."

The eighteen people in the arena all transformed into their demon beast forms and surrounded Bai Ze in the center.

Golden Giant Dragon, Nine Revolutions Sky Devouring Rat, Nine-tailed Red Fox, Kui Niu, Four-winged Shu Hu... each one could become the ruler of a region if placed in the outside world.

Bai Ze said, "King, we are beginning. Watch carefully."

Bai Ze was the first to spray the Essence Blood within his body onto the center of the array that had been drawn in advance. The surrounding demon beasts simultaneously dripped their Essence Blood onto the outer edge of the array, and the blood slowly spread along the array lines until it filled the entire formation.

Heaven and Earth Borrowing Power, Spell Returns to Heaven, Array Rises.

Bai Ze chanted the incantation. A cloud of mist rose from the array and formed a Virtual Scene before Lu Chen.

Lu Chen stared at the Virtual Scene before him. "What is this? It feels as though something in my heart has been stirred."

"King, watch the changes within carefully. This is the secret within our demon beast bloodlines."

The Virtual Scene was filled with emptiness and chaos. The only point of light was a Giant Tree floating at the center of the chaos.

As Lu Chen watched the contents of the Virtual Scene, he could sense time flowing rapidly within it.

The branches and leaves of the towering Giant Tree withered and flourished. A hundred thousand cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter passed. Leaves fluttered down in a rustling shower, covering the ground and becoming the ground itself. In the end, five flowers remained upon the trunk.

Slowly, the Giant Tree's branches and leaves continued to wither and flourish. Another hundred thousand cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter passed. The distance between the treetop and the base of the tree had reached ninety million feet. Leaves fluttered down in a rustling shower, covering the ground, while five fruits remained upon the trunk.

The branches transformed into continuous mountain ranges stretching thousands of miles, while the leaves covered the ground and became all kinds of spirit plants and medicinal herbs, growing rapidly.

Another hundred thousand cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter passed within the Virtual Scene. This time, two fruits upon the trunk fell to the ground.

The eastern fruit fell first. It split open, and from within emerged a human-like demon beast filled with wisdom. It swiftly occupied the entire east, gathering herbs in the north, nurturing plants, and building houses.

The southern fruit fell to the ground, and from within emerged a massive Fire Phoenix demon beast. It soared ten thousand miles south, then roamed ten thousand miles west before flying back to the Giant Tree and falling into slumber, waiting for the remaining fruits to fall.

These two kinds of demon beasts did not know what they were supposed to do within this chaos. They could only repeat the same life every day.

A hundred thousand years later, the third fruit descended from the north, carrying a frigid aura. A demon beast with a human face and a snake's body emerged from it, and the alternation between brightness and darkness in heaven and earth began to be controlled by Candle Dragon.

The human-like demon beast, Fire Phoenix, and Candle Dragon began fighting over territory. The ground tipped and cracked, flames covered the surface, and vegetation was burned to ash.

Another hundred thousand years later, the western fruit fell. A creature shrouded in void emerged, accompanied by lightning and rain that flowed into the cracks in the earth, joining the battle between the three kinds of demon beasts.

The four demon beasts possessed no special techniques. They merely relied on bodily instinct to fight without end, producing members of their own kind from their bodies and forming tribes and races.

The four demon beasts stared at the final fruit on the Giant Tree. All of them wanted to obtain it to fight for their own territory.

Bang...

A hundred thousand years later, the final fruit exploded, and a greatsword flew out from within.

The four types of demon beasts flew into the sky at once, seeking to seize the greatsword.

The human-like demon beast was closest to the greatsword and obtained it first.

Turning around, it struck Fire Phoenix's wings with a single slash, sending Fire Phoenix flying. Fire Phoenix's blood fell upon the southern land; one portion transformed into raging flames, while another became all kinds of demon beasts.

The Void Creature seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack from behind. Lightning struck the human-like demon beast, and it snatched away the greatsword before turning and cleaving Candle Dragon's eyes from his head.

Human Essence Blood scattered across the earth, and all kinds of human beings were born from the blood.

Candle Dragon's eyes fell beneath the towering Giant Tree, where they formed a black-and-white Yin-Yang Diagram. The changes between darkness and light in heaven and earth became even more distinct and orderly.

At this moment, among the four demon beasts, only the Void Creature had suffered no injuries and was in the best condition.

The human-like demon beast, Fire Phoenix, and Candle Dragon joined forces, relying on pure physical strength as they swiftly charged toward the Void Creature.