Within the central hall of Star Ruins Base, the strand of Primordial Violet Qi obtained from Hong Yun had grown stronger under the nourishment of the Chaos Bead. Purple light now flowed through it in wisps, resonating faintly with Tongtian's Primordial Dao Fruit. Tongtian could feel the foundation of sainthood being slowly analyzed and transformed by the Chaos Origin. Full comprehension, let alone the ability to use it, was still far off, but every bit of progress deepened his understanding of the "Way of Creation" and "Heaven's Mandate," indirectly advancing the perfection of the Primordial Dao.
As he immersed himself in these profound insights, a sudden stirring touched his heart. Through the Star Ruins Array, he sensed an extremely subtle aura approaching Star Ruins through the Chaos, one imbued with supreme creation and compassion. He knew it well—indeed, it was quite familiar. It belonged to the Human Race Holy Mother, Demon Race Emperor, Heavenly Dao Saint, Empress Nuwa!
Had she actually found this place? Or had she sensed it long ago, only choosing to appear now?
Tongtian immediately grew wary, but he wasn't all that surprised. Empress Nuwa was unlike the other Saints. Though she had established the Human Teachings and attained sainthood, she rarely meddled in the affairs of the Primordial World. She stood apart from worldly concerns, maintaining the balance of creation. Perhaps she had found Star Ruins thanks to her unique Way of Creation and some special connection to the Chaos.
He didn't activate the defensive array to stop her. Instead, he straightened his robes and waited calmly. What was meant to come would come.
Before long, the space in the center of the hall rippled like water. A graceful figure in palace robes appeared without a sound, surrounded by an aura of compassion and creation. It was Empress Nuwa. She carried no treasures and displayed none of a Saint's might. Like an ordinary visitor, she calmly surveyed the hall before turning her gaze to Tongtian.
"Fellow Daoist Tongtian, it's been a long time." Empress Nuwa's voice was clear, touched by a hint of wistfulness. "I never imagined you could carve out such a sanctuary in the Chaos, or embark on a path like none before it."
Tongtian cupped his hands in greeting, neither servile nor arrogant. "Senior Sister Nuwa's insight is extraordinary—you found this place. May I ask what brings you here today?"
He still used the familiar form of address, maintaining the courtesy of old times, though he remained wary. Nuwa seemed placid, but she was a Heavenly Dao Saint, and her loyalties were difficult to discern.
Empress Nuwa didn't answer directly. Instead, she walked slowly to the remnant soul of Hong Yun, still sleeping and nourished by Chaos Spiritual Qi. She gazed at it for a moment and sighed. "Fellow Daoist Hongyun ultimately couldn't escape his tribulation. He was a guest at Zixiao Palace back then, kind by nature, yet met such an end. It's tragic, truly tragic."
She turned to Tongtian, her gaze profound. "You reclaimed Hong Yun's legacy, gathered the dragons and demons, made plans beyond the borders of the Primordial World, and possess a Chaos Supreme Treasure and the Law of Strength. It seems you've resolved to carve out your own path through this Great Tribulation."
Tongtian felt a faint chill in his heart. Nuwa seemed to know more about him than he'd expected. He kept his expression neutral. "The Heavenly Dao is unjust, and the Saint Position is a prison. I only want to fight for my freedom and protect those I wish to protect. Nothing more. As for the Great Tribulation, it is both a crisis and an opportunity."
"Freedom? Protecting others?" Empress Nuwa shook her head slightly, a complicated smile on her face. "Do you realize how much karma your actions have stirred? The Dragon Race is entangled in ancient grudges, the Demon Race in old debts from the war between the Liches and Demons, and Hong Yun's legacy has set many forces on edge. As for you, you're the greatest variable in the eyes of the Saints and the Heavenly Court. The 'freedom' you seek won't come easily."
"Did you come to persuade me to surrender or to warn me?" Tongtian's gaze turned cold.
"Neither." Empress Nuwa's tone remained calm. "I'm simply stating the facts. I came to discuss 'karma' with you, and speak of the 'Great Trend.'"
She swept her sleeve, and a point of Spiritual Light flew from her fingertips, unfolding into a hazy scroll in the air. It depicted no specific scene, but a web of countless interwoven threads of karma. Several thick, blood-red strands stretched in from beyond the borders of the Primordial World, tangled with many threads within it, and shook the entire web with their collisions.
"This is a glimpse of the future I've perceived through the Way of Creation." Empress Nuwa pointed to the blood-red strands. "The Otherworld Invasion is inevitable. Its momentum is fierce, far exceeding that of any Great Tribulation before it. This is the 'External Cause.'"
Then she pointed to several strands within the Primordial World, which shimmered with gloom, greed, and scheming. "Within the Primordial World, some wish to use the calamity to purge their rivals, some hope to profit from the chaos, some cling to old rules, and others, like you, seek to break free. This is the 'Internal Cause.' The two are intertwined—that is the full picture of this Immeasurable Tribulation."
Tongtian stared at the web of karma and said gravely, "Are you saying I'm part of this tribulation, perhaps even someone hastening it?"
"Yes, and no." Empress Nuwa withdrew the scroll. "You're a variable, a boulder stirring stagnant waters. Your existence has certainly intensified the conflict, but it has also brought new possibilities. Without you, the Primordial World might have been crushed by internal and external pressures, sinking along its predetermined course. With you, perhaps it can fight for a sliver of hope."
She paused, her gaze fixed on Tongtian. "I'm not as obsessed with the fortune of our teachings as Senior Brother Sanqing, nor as consumed by conversion and expansion as the Two Western Ones. What I seek is the survival of the Primordial Beings and the balance of creation. If your path can protect more beings through this Great Tribulation and keep Heaven and Earth from falling, I'll be glad to see it."
Tongtian was shaken. He hadn't expected Empress Nuwa to say such a thing. It was almost tacit approval—perhaps even a measure of support.
"Senior Sister, you mean—"
"I won't openly help you, nor will I form an alliance with you," Empress Nuwa said plainly. "But sometimes, silence is an attitude in itself. Some information may be shared. For instance..." She changed the subject. "Do you know why the Otherworld Passage has suddenly grown unstable? Beyond its own natural course, could certain beings within the Primordial World also be fanning the flames?"
Tongtian's eyes sharpened. "Are you saying—"
But Empress Nuwa said no more. She only offered a meaningful remark. "A Great Tribulation is also an opportunity. Some see destruction, others see rebirth, and still others see a shortcut to transcendence. You possess a Chaos Supreme Treasure and the Law of Strength. You must know that strength at its utmost can break through cunning—and bear all things. Take care."
As she spoke, her figure gradually turned translucent, then scattered into flecks of Spiritual Light, as though she'd never appeared. Only her final words echoed through the hall.
"This place is good, but it cannot serve as a permanent foundation. The Chaos is vast. Why not truly open a Dao Field there, one that embraces all laws and stabilizes the universe?"
Silence returned to the hall. Tongtian stood motionless for a long time, absorbing the information Empress Nuwa had brought.
Her visit and her attitude had been ambiguous. She had pointed out the approaching danger and the schemes within, while subtly expressing a degree of approval—and even pointing him toward his next step: opening a true Dao Field of his own in the Chaos!
"Fanning the flames... someone within the Primordial World fanning the flames..." Tongtian turned the words over in his mind, a chill rising in his heart. Who was it? And why? Who would benefit from hastening the Otherworld Invasion? Could it really be, as Nuwa implied, for some so-called "shortcut to transcendence"? It was madness!
Whatever the truth, Nuwa's warning was right. Star Ruins was a fine base, but at its heart it was only a fragment of an Ancient Battlefield, not a truly independent world. If he wanted genuine freedom and the means to withstand any threat, he had to open his own "Primordial Dao Field" in the boundless Chaos!
That would embody his Primordial Dao and become the true foundation from which he could resist the Saints and face the Great Tribulation!
Once the idea had taken root, it spread like wildfire. He had the Chaos Bead as the World Embryo, the Law of Strength as his axe for World Creation, and his Primordial Dao Fruit as the Dao Core. The conditions were all in place!
He didn't hesitate any longer. His divine sense instantly connected with the Chaos Bead and the entire Star Ruins Array.
"Wudang, Yun Xiao, Qiongxiao, Bixiao, Ao Guang, Kunpeng!" His voice reached every core member through their Nascent Soul connection. "Set aside everything you're doing and gather in Star Ruins' central hall at once! Kui Niu, guard the core and keep the array running at full capacity!"
Before long, one figure after another arrived through the teleportation array or by tearing through the air, gathering in the hall. Seeing Tongtian's solemn expression and restrained aura, they knew something momentous had happened. They all held their breath and waited.
"The time has come." Tongtian's gaze swept over them, his voice steady and resolute. "I intend to use the Chaos Bead as my foundation, the Law of Strength as my guide, and my Primordial Dao Fruit as the core to open a Primordial Dao Field of our own in this boundless Chaos!"
Everyone was stunned. To open a Dao Field in the Chaos? That was a power only Great God Pangu had possessed! Yet as they looked at Tongtian's unwavering, confident gaze and sensed the increasingly profound, boundless aura about him—one that seemed to share the Chaos's very origins—indescribable excitement and spirit rose within them.
"Please give us your orders, Master!" they replied in unison, their eyes burning.
"Good!" Tongtian took a single step and appeared in the chaotic void beyond Star Ruins. The others followed close behind.
He brought forth the Chaos Bead. Now it no longer concealed its radiance; instead, it burst with unprecedented brilliance. The tiny Chaos Vortex inside the bead spun and expanded wildly, like the embryo of a universe about to be born!
"Chaos Bead, you contain myriad worlds. Now, let this place evolve from you as the source into my Dao Field!" He held his hands before him as his Primordial Dao Fruit roared at unprecedented speed. Vast Primordial Unity Magic Power surged into the Chaos Bead like a river breaking its banks. At the same time, he urged the Law of Strength to its utmost—not to destroy, but to "open" and "shape"!
"Law of Strength, open Heaven and Earth, stabilize the universe!" He brought two fingers together like an axe and fiercely "cut" through the boundless Chaos before him!
There was no sound, yet Dao Sound of World Creation seemed to explode deep within everyone's soul! An indescribable trajectory, imbued with the absolute essence of "strength," extended from his fingertips and fell upon the brightest point of light blazing from the Chaos Bead!
Rumble!!! Like the first thunderclap at the birth of the universe! With the Chaos Bead at its center, endless Chaos Qi was forcibly swept aside, subdued, and transformed! Clarity and turbidity separated. Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind surged and roared, only to be forcibly restrained and shaped under the absolute command of the Law of Strength!
The embryo of a world was being born and expanding from the Chaos at a visible rate!
Tongtian stood at the heart of the storm of creation, his figure seeming to grow immeasurably vast, like a giant propping up Heaven and Earth. He kept swinging his arms, using the Law of Strength as a chisel to shape the framework and veins of this newborn world. Mountains rose, riverbeds were carved, and the void was stabilized.
Wudang, Sanxiao, Ao Guang, Kunpeng, and the others poured out their magic power to the limit, stabilizing the barrier between the newborn world and the outside. They fed the vast resources accumulated at Star Ruins into it, supplying the nourishment it needed to evolve.
The process consumed an immense amount of focus and magic power. Even with Tongtian's cultivation, his Nascent Soul began to feel increasingly weak. Yet his eyes remained bright, and his resolve never wavered.
No one knew how long it took before the rumble of creation gradually died down. A newborn world, roughly a million li across, now floated quietly in the chaotic void. Mountains and rivers had taken rough shape; Chaos starlight shimmered in the sky, while Chaos Spiritual Veins took root deep beneath the land.
Though still barren and primitive, it emanated the unique Dao Resonance of Tongtian's Primordial Dao—solid, weighty, and containing boundless power and potential!
Tongtian's face was pale, his aura weak, but as he gazed at the world he had opened with his own hands, his eyes filled with indescribable joy and accomplishment.
"This world shall be called the Primordial Realm!" As his voice rang out, the newborn world trembled faintly, as if answering to its name.
The Primordial Realm was born! Yet at the very moment of its creation, the Saints within the Primordial World and certain beings deep in the Outer Realm Demonic Abyss all sensed it, turning their attention to this new domain in the Chaos.
A new storm was already brewing, quietly stirred by this newborn world.
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