Entering Penglai Immortal Island, Long Zang felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surging toward him like a tide.

"What should the Phoenix Clan do next?"

Yuan Huang's voice held a hint of uncertainty. She wanted to know what course her people should take in Long Zang's eyes.

Long Zang looked at her and smiled faintly. "Learn from the Ferocious Beast Clan. You can establish a Divine Dynasty of your own or create a Holy Land. It's unrealistic to vie for supremacy over the Primordial World, but there's no problem with dominating one region. Especially since your Phoenix Clan has the advantage of favorable terrain."

His words made Yuan Huang nod.

Indeed, the Southern Region was full of volcanoes and saturated with Southern Bright Li Fire.

Apart from a handful of races that could withstand this flame, the vast majority of the Ten Thousand Races of the Great Desolation dared not set foot here.

This land was a natural stronghold for the Phoenix Clan.

As long as they held this region, they could remain invincible.

Long Zang suddenly rose to his feet and smiled freely. "I'm going out for a stroll. Perhaps I'll head to the Infinite Sea Domain and see if I can find the legendary Three Immortal Islands."

His tone was casual, but that nonchalant attitude of "if I find them, I'll settle there" left Yuan Huang momentarily stunned.

For beings of their level, a million years in seclusion passed in the blink of an eye. A journey lasting several million years was no different from a mortal taking a walk along a mountain path.

Romance? In the eyes of Supreme Experts, it was more of a burden.

So Yuan Huang didn't try to stop him. She simply watched in silence as he walked away.

After Long Zang left, Yuan Huang contacted Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin at once.

She didn't mention anything Long Zang had said. She only stated calmly that she had no intention of attacking the Ferocious Beast Clan again and wished only to hold a corner of the Southern Region.

Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin were naturally unwilling to accept this. They earnestly tried to persuade her to join them in wiping out the Ferocious Beast Divine Dynasty once and for all.

But no matter how they tried to convince her, Yuan Huang remained unmoved.

She knew all too well that even with the Three Innate Races allied, the cost would be unbearable.

Besides, Long Zang had already opened her eyes to the truth. She no longer wanted to walk that old path of blood and fire, over and over again.

In the end, Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin had no choice but to give up.

Without the Phoenix Clan's help, they could still destroy the Ferocious Beasts, but the price would leave them severely weakened as well. It simply wasn't worth it.

Meanwhile, at the Fierce Beast Royal Court,

a hint of surprise showed in Shen Ni's eyes.

He had thought the Three Innate Races had already mobilized their armies and were preparing for a final, all-out assault.

But now, the rumors of war had quieted.

"Was it you?"

He looked toward the Southern Region, Long Zang's figure appearing in his mind.

This anomaly, this wildcard, seemed to have won the Ferocious Beast Clan a brief respite.

He knew all too well that his people were but one step away from extinction.

The Three Innate Races halting their attack was nothing short of a lifeline.

Yet at the same time, a heavy shadow settled over his heart.

If Long Zang really was pulling the strings behind the scenes, then he was far more terrifying than Shen Ni had imagined.

Shen Ni pondered for a moment, then looked toward the Western Land.

"Luohu... it seems your scheme has failed."

A cold smile touched his lips.

In the West, deep within a Divine Mountain,

Luohu sat cross-legged, his expression dark as could be.

His original plan had been to use the Three Innate Races to destroy the Ferocious Beasts, then secretly stir up conflict and spark the second Immeasurable Calamity.

But who could have guessed that a single sentence from Long Zang would make Yuan Huang withdraw from the conflict!

Everything had veered off course.

"Bastard!"

Luohu gritted his teeth, rage surging through his heart.

If Long Zang hadn't interfered, his pieces would already have been safely in place.

Now, he could only redraw his plans.

At another Divine Mountain, in its Dao Field,

Hongjun sat quietly. A damaged Jade Plate above his head radiated boundless, profound light, while immortal radiance intertwined behind him and countless Immortal Dao worlds revolved into view.

The immortal light shone like Eternity.

"Has the Heavenly Secret changed?" Hongjun murmured to himself, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"I wonder whether it's for the better or worse."

But soon, his expression returned to calm.

He understood the overall currents of the Primordial World better than anyone.

The Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Dao's Forty-Nine, and the One That Escapes.

A change in the Heavenly Secret only meant that minor trends could be altered. The major course of events remained unshakable.

The cause and effect of the Primordial World were peculiar.

They did not go "cause first, effect later," but rather "effect first, cause later."

The outcome had already been determined. The process merely paved the way for it.

Causes could change, and the process could take different forms, but in the end, the result would inevitably be the same!

So although Hongjun was somewhat surprised, he wasn't the least bit rattled.

He knew in his heart:

What was meant to happen would happen.

The fruit that was meant to form would still come to be!

The endless sea of the Primordial World stretched boundlessly, its waves crashing against the stars as if they would never end.

Compared with the struggles among the myriad races on land, this sea was practically the Dragon Clan's private domain.

They had held sway here for countless eons, amassing immeasurable wealth and power. No one could shake their rule.

Long Zang traveled alone above the sea. Waves churned beneath his feet, yet not a single drop splashed against his toes.

He had no destination in mind, simply following his whims.

In the eyes of others, such aimless wandering might seem like a pointless waste of time.

But for Long Zang, it was the approach that suited him best.

He had no primordial spirit and couldn't divine the Heavenly Secret. He could only rely on his own senses, slowly tracing the marks left by heaven and earth.

It was clumsy, but it was also a stubbornness unique to him.

Several hundred thousand years passed like this.

To mortals, that was an unimaginably long time. But to Supreme Experts in the Primordial World, it was no more than the blink of an eye.

Over those endless years, the Ferocious Beast Clan had long since fallen into decline. Driven back by the Dragon Clan and the Qilin Clan, they had retreated to their Ancestral Court and clung to survival.

New beings continued to rise, and new legends gradually supplanted the old tales of blood and fire.

And Long Zang kept searching.

Until one day...

Above the East Sea, the void quivered faintly, sending out a ripple of spatial energy.

The ripple was so subtle that no one could have detected it unless they had a profound level of cultivation like Long Zang.

His eyes lit up, and he smiled. "After hundreds of thousands of years of waiting, I've finally... found it!"

His method was simple.

Others could divine its location or search for its formation, but he couldn't do either.

His way of breaking through was just as simple:

Step one: pick up a weapon.

Step two: build up strength.

Step three: bring it down!

To others, such brute force seemed absurd. But in Long Zang's hands, it was the most direct and effective answer.

The void collapsed, and a hidden immortal island emerged.

The island moved restlessly, as if deliberately avoiding the world.

Long Zang sneered. "So it's a moving immortal island. No wonder it was so hard to find."

He strode inside.

This was none other than one of the legendary Three Immortal Islands... Penglai!

The Three Immortal Islands had formed from fragments of primordial chaos when Pangu created the world. Enveloped by the Innate Three Talents Array, they concealed themselves from heaven and blocked divination. Even Sages couldn't locate them through divination.

Thus, they had never been under the control of the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World.

Finding them depended not on the Heavenly Secret, but on strength and luck.

Upon entering Penglai Immortal Island, Long Zang felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surge toward him like a tide.

Spiritual light shimmered among the plants and trees, where plant spirits played freely.

Some ginseng roots had taken the form of children and frolicked in the woods; some lingzhi mushrooms, steeped in an ancient air, quietly cultivated.

They belonged neither to the Demon Clan nor to the Innate Demon Gods. They were another kind of pure existence... the Spirit Race!

Long Zang swept his gaze over them, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Just as I thought. A paradise beyond the world."

Suddenly, he stopped, strange light flickering deep in his eyes.

A uniquely powerful aura filled the air, stirring an instinctive resonance within him.

It was... the Qi of Creation!