The main quest issued by the system and its generous rewards were like a shot of adrenaline for Xuan Wazi. What had once been mere petty mischief now finally had a clear goal and powerful motivation.
"Chaos Bead, Creation Green Lotus... and the blood essence of the Three Clans' progenitors!" Xuan Wazi licked his slightly dry lips, his eyes gleaming with the light of mischief. "System Bro, this quest is exactly to my liking!"
No longer content with causing small disturbances on the outskirts, he began systematically infiltrating sensitive regions where the territories of the Three Clans overlapped and conflicts frequently broke out. With the marvels of the Heavenly Secret Concealment Mask and his late Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, he moved through the shadows of the Primordial World like an invisible ghost.
For his first stop, he chose a vast forest where the Shore of the East Sea met the central lands. Resources were abundant there, and the Dragon Clan's aquatic forces often clashed with Kirin Tribe beasts over spirit mines and spirit veins.
Xuan Wazi concealed himself among the clouds and looked down upon a battlefield where a small skirmish had just erupted. The corpses of dozens of Dragon Clan soldiers and Kirin Tribe warriors lay scattered across the ground. The stench of blood filled the air, while lingering fluctuations of spiritual power stirred the surrounding spiritual energy. The main forces of both sides seemed to have only just withdrawn, leaving behind a handful of men to clean up the battlefield and collect their comrades' bodies, all while warily guarding against the other side returning for another attack.
"Now's the time!" Xuan Wazi seized the opportunity. His figure flickered, and flowing light flashed across his mask. In an instant, he had transformed into a high-ranking Kirin Tribe general who had fallen in the earlier battle. Even the wounds from combat and the Dragon Clan aura clinging to his body were imitated flawlessly.
He "staggered" out from a patch of scorched earth, "struggling" to rise. With his aura "withered," he let out a grief-stricken roar at several Dragon Clan soldiers who were gathering Dragon Clan corpses. "Shameless mud loaches! You killed my comrades! This hatred cannot be borne beneath the same sky! My Kirin Tribe will never be done with you!" His voice was hoarse and filled with bone-deep hatred.
After shouting, he did not wait for the Dragon Clan soldiers to react. He raised his hand and hurled a seemingly formidable earth-element spell at them, though it was all thunder and no rain, blasting up a cloud of dust. Then, pretending to be exhausted and severely wounded, he spat out a mouthful of "blood," turned, and "fled" miserably toward Kirin Tribe territory. Yet he kept his speed at just the right level—enough for the Dragon Clan soldiers to recognize him as a "Kirin Tribe general," but not enough for them to catch him.
"It's General Shi Yue of the Kirin Tribe! He isn't dead!"
"Chase him! Don't let him get away!"
"Hurry and report this to the commander!"
The Dragon Clan soldiers were both shocked and enraged. They left two men behind to report the matter while the rest immediately gave chase.
After "fleeing" for some distance, Xuan Wazi sensed the pursuers behind him and a rapidly approaching aura belonging to a Dragon Clan Profound Immortal farther away. He immediately concealed every trace of his presence. His mask changed again, this time turning him into a wisp of Qingfeng that silently blended into the forest, leaving the Dragon Clan forces raging helplessly in place.
Almost at the same time, near a mountain rich in fire-attributed spirit jade at the border between the Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan in another direction—
Xuan Wazi transformed into Ao Qing, whom he had disgusted before, and swaggered up to the outskirts of the mine with a group of "shrimp soldiers and crab generals" created by scattering beans into soldiers. He arrogantly ordered the Phoenix Clan guards stationed there:
"This mine has caught the Dragon Clan's eye! If you know what's good for you, get lost at once. Otherwise, don't blame this prince for flattening this place and taking your bird feathers to make dusters!"
The leader of the Phoenix Clan guards was a mid-stage Profound Immortal fire phoenix. Flames surged over his body in fury at those words. "Ao Qing! How dare you! This is Phoenix Clan territory! How can you Dragon Clan vermin be allowed to lay a hand on it?"
"Hmph! Treasures of the Primordial World belong to those capable of taking them! Seize it!" Xuan Wazi, transformed into Ao Qing, waved his hand. The conjured "shrimp soldiers and crab generals" charged forward with howls, battling the Phoenix Clan guards in a chaotic melee. Xuan Wazi himself exchanged several "fierce" moves with the fire phoenix leader. Their spells collided, filling the area with dazzling flashes and spectacular effects. They appeared evenly matched, but everything was under his precise control. He made sure not to truly injure the other party, though the destruction and spectacle they caused were more than shocking enough.
During the fight, he deliberately exposed an opening, allowing a streak of Southern Bright Leaving Fire from the fire phoenix to graze "Ao Qing's" robe and scorch a patch of "dragon scales."
"You feathered beast! You dare injure this prince! Just you wait!" Xuan Wazi pretended to be shocked and enraged, threw down those harsh words, and led the increasingly illusory "shrimp soldiers and crab generals" away in "disarray." Before leaving, he also "accidentally" dropped a jade token engraved with the Dragon Clan emblem—a counterfeit.
The fire phoenix leader picked up the jade token. Seeing the unmistakable Dragon Clan aura upon it and Ao Qing's personal seal—the mask had copied the aura—he trembled with fury. "It really was that bastard Ao Qing! He has gone too far! This must be reported to the elders. We will demand an explanation from the Dragon Clan!"
Meanwhile, the real Ao Qing was likely sulking in some corner of the Dragon Palace over being berated by a "mysterious senior" at the foot of Mount Buzhou, as well as the faint discomfort in his stomach. He suddenly sneezed, utterly unaware that a massive black pot had fallen from the heavens and landed firmly on his back.
Similar scenes continued to play out across the Primordial World over the following centuries.
Sometimes, Xuan Wazi disguised himself as a member of the Phoenix Clan, attacked Kirin Tribe caravans, stole their goods, and "accidentally" left behind several gorgeous phoenix feathers.
Sometimes, he disguised himself as a member of the Kirin Tribe and "dumped" all sorts of "filth" upstream from Dragon Clan waters, polluting their water source while leaving behind Kirin Tribe hoofprints.
Sometimes, he even disguised himself as a member of the Three Clans who had long since died, but who had either possessed considerable prestige in life or inspired immense hatred. He would appear at an enemy clan's memorial ceremony or other important occasion, deliver a string of provocative remarks, then "self-destruct" and vanish, leaving behind endless suspicion and fury.
His methods grew ever more skillful, and his timing ever more precise. Every provocation was like adding another measure of force to an already taut string. The friction among the Three Clans escalated from small border skirmishes into confrontations between organized armies and fierce regional battles.
As for Xuan Wazi, he was like a diligent "gardener," darting between the wars he had ignited. Relying on his powerful divine sense and the Primordial Dao Body's ability to sense treasures, he specialized in picking up spirit treasures and materials that had been damaged or left behind in battle, or whose owners had just died and left them unclaimed.
A low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure sword that had been blasted away during a great battle between the Dragon Clan and the Kirin Tribe fell into his hands.
Several scales and feathers containing pure energy, severed during clashes between the Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan, were quietly collected by him.
Once, a Kirin Tribe elder and a Dragon Clan commander perished together. Their storage artifacts were damaged in the self-destruction, scattering their contents everywhere. Before the reinforcements of both sides arrived, Xuan Wazi slipped through the chaos like a phantom and swept away several of the most precious Innate Spirit Materials, along with a bottle of Profound Origin Heavy Water treasured by the Dragon Clan.
[Ding! Obtained one low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure: Green Scale Sword.] [Ding! Obtained one Golden Immortal-level Dragon Clan Reverse Scale and three Phoenix Clan True Feathers.] [Ding! Obtained Innate Spirit Materials: Star Iron, Ten Thousand Year Jade Marrow, and one bottle of Profound Origin Heavy Water.]
The system notifications sounded from time to time. Though most were not top-tier treasures, small gains accumulated into an astonishing fortune. More importantly, he could sense that the dense tribulation aura and mutual hatred among the Three Clans were rising at an alarming rate.
"Fight. Fight! The more fiercely you fight, the better." Xuan Wazi hid within a temporary cave dwelling he had created, counting his spoils with an uncontrollable smile on his face. "Once you fight with real fire and bring about a great tribulation, that's when the truly abundant treasures will be left behind!"
He seemed to already see the Chaos Bead and Creation Green Lotus beckoning to him.
Yet he did not know that while he was busily "cultivating" discord among the Three Clans, Demon Ancestor Luohu stood upon the western lands, watching the killing intent and resentment spreading through the Primordial World because of their slaughter. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Meanwhile, within Jade Capital Mountain, Daoist Hongjun frowned slightly and calculated with his fingers, only to find the heavenly secrets utterly muddled.
The stage of the Primordial World had been set. Xuan Wazi, one of its protagonists, was working hard to "warm up the crowd," and an enormous storm destined to sweep across heaven and earth was about to arrive.
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