Stepping out of the restriction and truly entering the Primordial World, Lin Dong—now he should be called Xuan Wazi—finally felt firsthand just how vast and desolate this world was.
As the pillar of heaven, Mount Buzhou connected sky and earth, towering and majestic as it radiated an awe-inspiring pressure. Mountains stretched endlessly around it, ancient trees pierced the heavens, and exotic flowers and strange herbs carpeted the ground. Clouds of spiritual energy, so dense they seemed impossible to disperse, curled through the mountains. In the distance came the roars of unknown savage beasts, shaking the wilds. Occasionally, he could sense several powerful auras sweeping past from extremely far away, each at least at the True Immortal or Profound Immortal level.
"As expected of the newly opened Primordial World. These resources, this environment... tsk, tsk." Xuan Wazi took a deep breath. His Primordial Dao Body activated on its own, drawing enormous amounts of spiritual energy into his body and converting it into pure magic power. His cultivation actually improved by an almost imperceptible amount. "Just breathing here is equivalent to arduous cultivation."
He did not rush to travel far. Instead, he first familiarized himself with the power of a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal. His divine sense spread out like a tide, covering hundreds of millions of miles in an instant. He could vaguely perceive the mountains and rivers, the distribution of living beings, and even some hidden nodes of spiritual veins. With a thought, his body could merge into the void and perform short-range teleportation, far faster than riding the clouds.
"Not bad, not bad. If I can't beat them, I can still run. My safety is somewhat guaranteed now." Xuan Wazi nodded in satisfaction before taking out the [Heavenly Secret Concealment Mask]. It felt cool to the touch, neither metal nor jade. It bore no patterns, yet gave off an unfathomably deep feeling.
With a slight thought, he imagined the appearance of a certain immortal-like old deity he had seen in his previous life. A flash of flowing light passed over the mask, and it silently covered his face. The next moment, his figure, appearance, and aura underwent earth-shaking changes. He became a lean old Daoist with white hair and beard, a rosy complexion, and a Fly Whisk in hand. Even the magic power fluctuations around him had stabilized at the Heavenly Immortal realm.
"Wonderful!" Xuan Wazi, transformed into an old Daoist, looked at his new appearance in the Water Mirror technique and chuckled. "From now on, when I stir up trouble... ahem, when I travel the Primordial World, I'll be relying on you."
He did not head straight for the core territories of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Tribes. Instead, he wandered through the relatively remote outskirts of Mount Buzhou first. On one hand, he wanted to familiarize himself with the surroundings. On the other, he wanted to see whether he could pick up some "junk." After all, the Primordial World had only just opened. Many innate materials rare enough to be nearly impossible to find in later generations might be as common as roadside weeds now.
Sure enough, relying on the divine sense of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal and his Primordial Dao Body's keen perception of spiritual objects, he quickly found several low-grade Innate Spiritual Roots, a few ores containing innate aura, and even scooped up a handful of innate true water from an inconspicuous mountain stream.
"Not a bad haul." Xuan Wazi happily stored everything in the space that came with the system—a small bonus included in the beginner's gift package. It was not large, but it was enough. Just as he was preparing to change direction and continue "sweeping up goods," a powerful energy fluctuation and angry shouts suddenly came from the distant horizon.
"Hm? Something interesting happening?" Xuan Wazi's eyes lit up. He concealed his aura and silently approached with an escape technique.
Above a valley, two azure divine dragons clad in dense scales and crowned with imposing horns were besieging a phoenix with magnificent wings and Southern Bright Leaving Fire swirling around her body. Both divine dragons had late-stage Profound Immortal cultivation, while the phoenix was only at the middle stage of the Profound Immortal realm. Though she barely held on with her flame-based divine abilities, she was already struggling desperately. Several wounds deep enough to expose bone had appeared on her body, and much of her gorgeous plumage had been scorched black by dragon breath.
"Fire Feather, hand over that Blazing Immortal Lotus if you know what's good for you! Otherwise, today will be the day your body and soul are destroyed!" one of the slightly larger azure dragons roared. His Dragon's Roar made the valley hum.
"Ao Qing, don't even think about it! My Phoenix Clan discovered this lotus first. How can we allow your Dragon Clan to seize it by force?" Fire Feather cried mournfully, her voice clear yet unyielding.
"Hmph! Treasures of the Primordial World belong to the virtuous! My Dragon Clan rules the four seas, and all scaled creatures submit to us. Taking one immortal lotus from you is doing you an honor!" the other azure dragon, Ao Chi, sneered. He spewed out a stream of icy dragon breath, which collided with Fire Feather's Southern Bright Leaving Fire and sent mist filling the sky.
Xuan Wazi watched clearly from the side. That so-called Blazing Immortal Lotus was merely a mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root. It was nothing much to him, but for creatures at the Profound Immortal realm, it was a rare treasure. The Dragon Clan's domineering conduct was plain to see.
"Tsk. Broad daylight, under the clear sky, and two giant worms are bullying a little bird. They really aren't being people." Xuan Wazi stroked his fake beard, his eyes rolling as an idea surfaced in his mind.
He silently moved to the rear flank of the battlefield. When Ao Chi opened his mouth to spew dragon breath again, Xuan Wazi flicked a finger. A thread of Primordial Chaos Magic Power, so fine it was nearly impossible to detect, wrapped around a trace of foul swamp mud he had casually picked up by the roadside and shot precisely into Ao Chi's open dragon mouth.
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!" Ao Chi had been about to unleash his dragon breath with full force when his throat suddenly caught. An indescribably fishy and filthy substance slid into his stomach, choking him into violent coughing. The dragon breath he had gathered failed to come out, leaving him red-faced from holding it in.
"Ao Chi, what's wrong?" Ao Qing froze, and his assault slowed unconsciously.
Though Fire Feather had no idea what had happened, she seized the opportunity. With a flap of her wings, Southern Bright Leaving Fire transformed into flaming feathers that filled the sky, forcing Ao Qing back slightly and giving her a moment to catch her breath.
"Who?! Who dared to plot against me?!" Ao Chi finally caught his breath, feeling the nauseating turmoil in his stomach as he glared furiously around him. As a Profound Immortal, he naturally guessed that someone was behind this.
Xuan Wazi hid in the void, covering his mouth as he snickered. This little trick could not truly harm Ao Chi, but it was enough to disgust him for a while.
"You sneaky rat! Get out here!" Ao Chi roared, sweeping his dragon tail and shattering a nearby hill in an attempt to force out his attacker.
How could Xuan Wazi let him have his way? He struck again, this time targeting Ao Qing. He simulated an extremely faint trace of Phoenix Clan aura and condensed it into an invisible needle. While Ao Qing's attention was on Ao Chi, he silently pricked the tip of his dragon tail.
"Hm?" Ao Qing abruptly turned and looked at Fire Feather, suspicion filling his eyes. "You have accomplices?" He had clearly felt a trace of the Phoenix Clan's distinctive flame aura attack him just now. It had not hurt, but the sensation had been very real.
Fire Feather looked equally bewildered.
"No!" Ao Chi shouted through his nausea. "That filthy thing from before was definitely not a Phoenix Clan method!"
While the two azure dragons were uncertain and suspicious of each other, their offensive greatly weakened. Xuan Wazi struck for the third time. This time, he used a superficial grasp of the Law of Space—not to attack, but to influence space. He lightly altered the spatial structure of a small area in front of Ao Qing.
Ao Qing was about to pounce on Fire Feather when he suddenly felt his body grow heavy, as though he had fallen into an invisible swamp. His movement stalled for an instant. At that exact moment, a stream of Southern Bright Leaving Fire that Fire Feather released instinctively, which had originally been aimed at empty space, struck squarely into his dragon face because of Ao Qing's "timely" delay!
Boom! The flames exploded. Though they did not cause much damage, they burned away all the dragon whiskers and brows on half of Ao Qing's face, leaving him in a thoroughly miserable state.
"Fire Feather! You're courting death!" Ao Qing was completely enraged, believing Fire Feather had done it.
Fire Feather was stunned too. She had not expected her casual attack to actually hit him.
Ao Chi, watching his elder brother's sorry state while feeling his own stomach churn, was momentarily at a loss as well.
Xuan Wazi saw that the timing was about right. If he kept playing, that Little Phoenix might truly be unable to hold on. He altered his voice, imitating an aged and imposing tone. Carrying a trace of Grand Unity Golden Immortal pressure, it boomed forth:
"Hmph! Young Dragon Clan brats, how dare you act so recklessly at the foot of my Mount Buzhou? Bullying the weak and seizing things by force—you truly aren't being people! Leave this place within three breaths and flee ten thousand miles away, or do not blame this old man for disciplining you on Ancestral Dragon's behalf!"
His voice rolled like thunder, carrying unquestionable authority. That trace of Grand Unity Golden Immortal pressure made both azure dragons' spirit souls tremble!
A Grand Unity Golden Immortal! Such beings were among the foremost great powers in the current Primordial World! Though the Dragon Clan was powerful, they did not dare casually offend an expert of this level, especially when the other party had mentioned His Majesty Ancestral Dragon!
Ao Qing and Ao Chi exchanged looks, each seeing fear in the other's eyes. Though unwilling, they had no choice but to bow to the situation.
"Please calm your anger, Senior! We'll leave at once!" Ao Qing endured the burning pain on his face and the humiliation in his heart. He quickly bowed, grabbed Ao Chi, who was still dry-heaving, and transformed into two streaks of azure light. They fled in disgrace without looking back, not even bothering with the Blazing Immortal Lotus.
Having survived the ordeal, Fire Feather was both shocked and delighted. She hurriedly bowed toward the void. "Thank you for saving me, Senior! Fire Feather of the Phoenix Clan will be forever grateful!"
"No need for such courtesy." Xuan Wazi maintained the bearing of a lofty expert. "This is not a place to remain for long. Leave quickly."
"Yes, Senior!" Fire Feather bowed again in thanks, carefully picked the Blazing Immortal Lotus, and flapped her wings away.
After they had all left, Xuan Wazi revealed himself. Looking toward the direction in which the Dragon Clan had departed, he stroked his conjured beard with a delighted smile on his face.
"Hehe, sowing discord, tripping them up in secret, and earning gratitude besides... This feeling of Not Being a Person is really not bad!" He felt that his path of mischievousness had become smoother somehow.
[Ding! Detected that the host successfully pranked Dragon Clan members, causing them intense resentment and frustration. This qualifies as Not Being a Person behavior. Reward: Acquired Spiritual Treasure 'Dragon Binding Rope' crafting blueprint ×1, proficiency in the divine ability 'Stealth and Concealment' increased.]
"Oh? There's an extra reward too?" Xuan Wazi's eyes brightened even further. "It seems I can do more of these 'drawing my blade to help when I see injustice'... while pranking them along the way."
He looked toward the broader lands of the Primordial World. There, friction between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Tribes was constant—an ideal stage for him, Xuan Wazi, to show off his skills.
"Next stop, perhaps I should wander through the Kirin Tribe's territory? I hear First Kirin is quite honest and kind. I wonder whether he can withstand the test of not being a person..."
With a flicker, Xuan Wazi, still in the guise of an old Daoist, merged into the void once more. All that remained in the valley was a scene of devastation and the faint, cheap aura of his laughter.
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