Zhou Xiaoqin had no idea how much time had passed before he woke up groggily.
Wasn't he dead? What was going on? Had he arrived in the Underworld? Did the Underworld really exist?
He began examining himself. Everything around him was filled with silvery-gray light, and strands of silver light turned into mist as they gathered around him.
Transparent? Holy crap, he really was a soul! Zhou Xiaoqin could not help shaking his soul. This state was far too miraculous.
Suddenly, strange patterns began appearing across his soul. The patterns flickered in and out of sight, as though shielding him from some approaching danger.
Xiao Qin had read novels all the time when he was in university. He was an old bookworm. This looked exactly like the kind of experience a protagonist was supposed to have.
He had transmigrated? Was this his golden finger?
But he was not an orphan. His family was still alive, and only he had died. That was not the treatment a protagonist was supposed to get. Zhou Xiaoqin began feeling conflicted.
Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it!
He looked beyond the silvery-gray ribbons and discovered that he was drifting atop a silvery-gray river.
"The River of Time!"
Zhou Xiaoqin shouted. He did shout, but no sound came out. The river made no sound as it flowed either. It seemed sound could not travel here.
That had to be the River of Time. That was how novels always described it.
His lucky break had come. He had not died from his terminal illness and had even encountered such an opportunity.
"Chirp!"
Suddenly, the river churned. Something like a fragment rushed into Zhou Xiaoqin's soul. Before he could react, he fainted again.
"Great Dao above, I am the Time Demon God—Shichen, controller of the Law of Time..."
A voice that sounded like a declaration to the Great Dao appeared beside Zhou Xiaoqin's ears.
What the hell? This was Chaos?
Zhou Xiaoqin was utterly dumbfounded.
It had actually sent him all the way to Chaos? This Box was too outrageous!
Zhou Xiaoqin froze. The Chaos Demon Gods had only just begun to be born, Pangu had yet to emerge, and Heaven-Opening was still far away. If he calculated the time...
One times three was three.
Two times three was six.
March 8 was International Women's Day.
Forget it, forget it. How long would that take? He could die countless times and still not live to see the Prehistoric Era appear!
That just now must have been the language of a Chaos Demon God. He seemed unable to understand it, yet once the Dao words entered his mind, he understood their meaning.
There was no writing in Chaos. There was nothing to carry writing, and none of the Chaos Demon Gods bothered considering such things because they were useless to them!
"If I can understand them, does that mean I can become a Chaos Demon God like them?
"No, no. If I become a Chaos Demon God, will Pangu split me apart when he opens Heaven and Earth?"
Wouldn't that mean certain death? Zhou Xiaoqin became conflicted, lost, and helpless.
Great God Pangu would split Heaven and Earth, killing all the Chaos Demon Gods. He definitely would not be able to withstand it. Yet if he did not grow stronger, he would surely dissipate in Chaos. Either way led to death.
Didn't they say that those below the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm could not survive in Chaos? How was a mortal soul like his completely fine?
He hurriedly inspected his soul, only to discover that he was no longer in soul form. He had been unconscious for an unknown length of time, and he had now become a silvery-gray orb of light.
"Hm?"
There was even a little Box surrounding him. Was he something akin to the True Spirit of myth, or something else?
If it could protect him in Chaos, then the little Box above him had to be some supreme treasure of Chaos!
Zhou Xiaoqin began sinking his consciousness into the depths of the light orb, but he found nothing. Holy crap, could he really just be a mortal soul?
No, that was not right. This seemed to be the True Spirit from novels. Otherwise, how could he understand the Dao words of Demon Gods?
Then why was there no inheritance or cultivation technique, nothing aside from the memories of his previous life?
What if he swore an oath to the Great Dao? If the Great Dao acknowledged him, it should work, right? With that thought, Zhou Xiaoqin began swearing an oath.
"Great Dao..."
However, the instant he spoke those two words, he sensed danger descending upon him. His entire light orb began trembling uncontrollably.
Damn it, novels were all lies. How could he swear an oath here? If he continued, he would be dead for sure.
This was terrifying. What should he do?
Zhou Xiaoqin hurriedly stopped. A long time passed.
Hah, it was fine. The Great Dao had not done anything to him.
It seemed he could only think of another way. He turned his attention back to the little Box on the light orb.
Slowly, Zhou Xiaoqin felt as though his entire consciousness had been pulled into an unknown world. A massive amount of information flooded into his mind.
At once, he felt as though explosives had been stuffed into his head and were about to detonate. The intense pain caused him to faint.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Xiaoqin woke up and began examining the information that had appeared in his mind.
"Dao Coffin of Time and Space."
A Chaos Exotic Treasure.
Sigh, he had never heard of Chaos Exotic Treasures in the Prehistoric Era novels from his previous life. Still, anything named after Chaos had to be incredible.
It turned out that the Dao Coffin of Time and Space could not only suppress the River of Time and Space, but also travel upstream through it within Chaos. It even suppressed a fragment of Supreme Destiny within it.
The two had been engaged in Dao Contention throughout the endless River of Time and Space. Time and Space originally could not defeat Supreme Destiny, but unfortunately, Supreme Destiny was left with only a fragment.
The fragment of Supreme Destiny had been dragged into the Dao Coffin's true body. Fighting on someone else's territory naturally put it at a disadvantage, so the two had continued battling until now.
The Dao Coffin of Time and Space was a variable nurtured by the Great Dao. It should have evolved into a Chaos Spiritual Treasure, but for some unknown reason, it had become an Exotic Treasure instead.
Zhou Xiaoqin did not understand the difference between a Spiritual Treasure and an Exotic Treasure. In any case, now that it was in his hands, it was his. With such an Exotic Treasure protecting him, he should be able to survive in Chaos.
Back then, he had intruded upon the Dao Contention between the Dao Coffin of Time and Space and the fragment of Supreme Destiny, cursing both of them right to their faces!
Well, that was great. The two that had been fighting immediately dragged him into the battlefield, and Zhou Xiaoqin's soul became their new battlefield.
As the new round of Dao Contention began, Zhou Xiaoqin's soul gradually transformed into a True Spirit under the influence of both sides.
It had even fused with a strand of Supreme Destiny and Time and Space. It should no longer be called a True Spirit, but an Indestructible Primordial Spirit.
Those born in Chaos were all Primordial Spirits, things only Primordial Grand Luo Golden Immortals could condense.
He did not understand why Destiny was called Supreme Destiny, but both of those things belonged to him now.
However, if he could not be certain that the Exotic Treasure could protect him, he might be killed by the aftermath of battles between Demon Gods.
Since the Great Dao would not let him swear an oath but had not destroyed him either, could he cultivate?
Without an inheritance, he would try the methods from novels in his previous life.
He began recalling the scriptures from those novels, especially the most famous Dao De Jing of Earth Star.
He had never been able to memorize such things before, but now the scenes from back then surfaced vividly in his mind. Still, there were only a few simple lines.
"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.
"The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
"..."
He wanted to say them aloud, but he could not. He could only recite them repeatedly in his mind.
Sigh, why was there no reaction?
After reciting them silently for a long time, nothing happened in Chaos. It seemed this path would not work.
Helpless, he began thinking of other methods.
What about visualizing the human body? Wasn't Pangu in human form? Perhaps he could comprehend the mysteries of the human body.
Many more years passed like this, but Zhou Xiaoqin's Primordial Spirit did not change at all, nor did he gain any new insights.
"Great Dao above, I am the Space Demon God—Yang Mei..."
"Great Dao above, I am Destiny..."
Suddenly, more Great Dao Oaths appeared in Chaos.
Immediately afterward, several more Chaos Demon Gods were born one after another. Zhou Xiaoqin was going crazy. The Chaos Demon Gods had already appeared, yet he was still useless. How would he face the dangers of Chaos in the future?
Although he could not feel the passage of time in Chaos, many Kalpas should have already passed. Yet he still had not found any method.
Zhou Xiaoqin was only a mortal. Although he had become a Primordial Spirit, his mentality remained the same as before, and he felt as though he had only lived for a little over twenty years. After all, he spent very little time awake in Chaos.
Slowly...
Zhou Xiaoqin truly went mad. His reason began to collapse, and his Primordial Spirit began shattering.
At that moment, a flash of light appeared, and the power of the Dao Coffin of Time and Space began pouring into Zhou Xiaoqin's Primordial Spirit.
The fragment of Supreme Destiny also began emitting strange golden light. The two had fought for countless ages, yet now they were both sending power into Zhou Xiaoqin.
Thus, Zhou Xiaoqin's Primordial Spirit continuously shattered, then continuously healed.
The intense pain left him delirious, and he could only occasionally regain a tiny bit of awareness.
Countless ages passed in Chaos, and he vaguely heard the oaths spoken at the births of many Demon Gods.
Finally, one day, he woke up. He had changed completely. As he calmed himself and sensed his condition, he discovered that he possessed spiritual power.
The Dao Coffin of Time and Space had also become compatible with him, and he could now use the power of the Spiritual Treasure.
He slowly released his spiritual power outward. A silvery-gray force from the Dao Coffin of Time and Space enveloped it, protecting his consciousness from being eroded away by Chaos.
He could not distinguish directions within Chaos. Everywhere was a murky gray expanse.
The power of Chaos raged everywhere, terrifying him. Although he now possessed spiritual power, he was still a complete rookie without any cultivation.
However, with the Dao Coffin of Time and Space protecting him, he was no longer afraid.
Afterward, he began controlling himself as he drifted through Chaos. Since he had no way to grow stronger, he might as well wander around. Having come to Chaos, he could not waste the trip. He wanted to see the Chaos Demon Gods and the sights of this place.
Chaos was a murky gray expanse that appeared to contain nothing. He drifted through it for forty-nine Kalpas.
(In Chaos, one Chaos Tribulation equaled fifty thousand Kalpas. One Yuan equaled twelve Hui, while one Kalpa equaled 129,600 years.
At this time, there were no sun, moon, or stars to mark the years. Here, eight thousand years counted as spring and eight thousand years as autumn. One year in Chaos was roughly thirty-two thousand modern years.)
Novels all said that countless Chaos Spiritual Treasures and Chaos Spiritual Roots were nurtured in Chaos, yet he had not encountered a single one.
Countless more ages passed. The Chaos Demon Gods had all been born, and 129,600 Chaos Beings were born one after another.
(Brothers, the opening is a little long-winded. There is no helping it; I wanted to explain things in more detail, as well as show the protagonist's changes. After all, he is a mortal ascending to the heavens in a single step!)
If you want to criticize the author, do it here!
Flame squad, assemble!
Before you continue