Shen Ni's gaze was dark as he murmured, "Could it really have come to this?"
He knew in his heart that if he couldn't find a way, the Ferocious Beast Clan would eventually be destroyed.
This was fate—and the price they had to pay.
But he wasn't willing to accept it!
Time flowed on, and the Primordial Era finally passed into the distance.
Millions of years rolled by, and the Primordial World emerged from the surging tide of primordial chaos into a new era: the early ancient period.
Life surged across the world like a tide. The myriad races competed, each displaying their Divine Abilities.
One new race after another appeared, as if the lands of the Primordial World had finally become a stage for heroes to rise together.
The Primordial World seemed more prosperous than ever, but beneath the surface, undercurrents churned.
The Ferocious Beast Clan, once a tyrant that had ravaged the world, seemed to have been forgotten.
Only the occasional cultivator passing through the border between the Southern Region and the Western Region would catch sight of the towering, ancient Fierce Beast Royal Court and feel a jolt in their heart:
"They haven't been wiped out yet."
But their continued existence no longer carried the might they had once commanded. It was little more than a sign that they were barely clinging to life.
Just then, strange phenomena erupted across the highest heavens.
The phantom of a True Dragon appeared, spanning heaven and earth!
Each dragon scale seemed to uphold an entire world.
A dragon's roar exploded, piercing the past, present, and future, shaking the entire Primordial World.
"I am Ancestor Dragon. Today, I establish my clan! From this day forth, the Dragon Clan shall be foremost among all scaled creatures! I shall suppress its fortune with the Ancestor Dragon Pearl. Heavenly Dao, bear witness!"
As his voice fell, the Heaven Tribulation rumbled, and purple lightning split the firmament.
The Heavenly Dao manifested, acknowledging Ancestor Dragon's proclamation.
From that moment on, the Dragon Clan truly stood in the Primordial World!
This was more than the continuation of a bloodline; it was a claim to rule over all scaled creatures.
At that moment, Ancestor Dragon's ambition was laid bare!
A clear phoenix cry rang out next, like a heavenly melody echoing through the ages.
"I am Yuan Huang. Today, I establish my clan! From this day forth, the Phoenix Clan shall be foremost among all flying creatures! I shall suppress its fortune with the True Phoenix Sword. Heavenly Dao, bear witness!"
Thunder descended once more, and the Heavenly Dao acknowledged the Phoenix Clan's status.
From then on, the Phoenix Clan commanded all the flying races!
Then heaven and earth shook again, and a Qilin phantom appeared.
"I am First Kirin. Today, I establish my clan! The Kirin Clan shall be foremost among all beasts that walk the earth! I shall suppress its fortune with the Kirin Seal. Heavenly Dao, bear witness!"
Three proclamations and three peals of thunder—the Three Innate Races had together ascended to the summit of power in the Primordial World!
Heavenly Dao Merit descended, like golden waterfalls pouring into the bodies of Ancestor Dragon, Yuan Huang, and First Kirin.
Their auras surged higher and higher, finally settling at the peak of Da Luo.
That meant... the three of them had officially entered the ranks of the Supreme Experts!
Yet this honor made countless Great Supernatural Beings throughout the Primordial World secretly uneasy.
"Foremost among the scaled, the flying, and the beasts that walk the earth... Are you planning to unite the Ten Thousand Races of the Great Desolation?"
No one was willing to admit they were inferior, and even the weakest race refused to have the Three Clans rule over them.
But the Three Clans were at the height of their power, and no one dared to be the first to stick their neck out.
No matter how much resentment they felt, they could only hold it back for now.
On the surface, all seemed calm. In truth, this had planted the seeds for the dynasties that would rise and the Holy Lands that would clash in the future.
On Immortal Volcano, Yuan Huang stood quietly.
Her eyes flickered, her feelings complicated.
Establishing the Phoenix Clan had been on her mind for a long time.
But ruling over all flying creatures had never been part of her original plan.
Still, when Ancestor Dragon had declared that all scaled creatures belonged to the Dragon Clan, wouldn't she seem inferior if she didn't respond?
Yet she had never forgotten what Long Zang had told her.
"Look after your own little patch of land. That's enough."
Had she thought about competing for dominion over the Primordial World? Yes.
But whenever she thought of the old monsters still hidden from sight, fear stirred in her heart.
The waters ran too deep. If even Shen Ni couldn't make it work, how could she dare act recklessly?
If she truly followed the example of the Ferocious Beast Clan, the outcome would surely be the same... decline under the backlash of Karma!
So her intentions were simple:
She established the clan to protect the Phoenixes;
She claimed supremacy so she wouldn't be outdone;
As for uniting the Primordial World, that idea could only be hidden in her heart. She didn't dare hope for it.
Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin, however, felt very differently.
The moment the Heavenly Dao acknowledged them, a seed called "ambition" took root in their hearts.
They had merely taken charge of the creatures in their own territories, yet they had already gained such immense fortune and Merit.
What if they united the entire Primordial World?
How vast would that sea of fortune be?
They hardly dared to imagine it.
But once ambition took root, it would never die out.
From that moment on, Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin had embarked on the path to uniting the Primordial World.
At the same time, on Emperor Venerable Island.
After sleeping for millions of years, Long Zang finally opened his eyes at last.
On the island shrouded in the Three Divine Lights, his eyes blazed like countless Great Suns rising, illuminating the past, present, and future.
An undying aura swept across the four corners of the world, as if a Chaos Demon God had awoken from slumber.
"That was... a very comfortable sleep," Long Zang murmured.
He gave his body a slight shake. The passage of time, the shifting of space-time, and the cycles of countless ages all shattered and reformed amid the tremors of his physical body.
This was no illusion. It was reality.
Long Zang's physical body had reached a realm without precedent.
Nourished by the Three Divine Lights, he had advanced another step, becoming all but indestructible.
A cold glint flickered in his eyes.
His millions of years of slumber had not been wasted. Instead, they had allowed him to build up an astonishing reserve of power.
Now that he had awakened, it was time to stir up the game unfolding across the Primordial World once more!
A wisp of Eternal Light could nurture an undying being;
a wisp of Origin Light could give rise to primordial treasures;
a wisp of Creation Light could even open up a great world.
But Long Zang had absorbed the Three Divine Lights throughout millions of years of slumber, taking in nearly limitless amounts.
That was why his physical body had become so unimaginably powerful, as if even heaven and earth could scarcely shake him.
Long Zang slowly drew in his aura. Deep, ancient radiance flowed through his eyes.
He murmured, "The three clans have emerged."
As soon as the words left his mouth, his divine sense crossed boundless space-time and gazed toward Immortal Volcano in the Southern Region.
Yuan Huang abruptly opened her eyes, and True Phoenix Fire blazed.
Her heart jolted as she sensed that unhidden gaze.
The power behind it was far too direct, without the slightest attempt to conceal itself.
She instinctively wondered: Who was it?
Soon, Long Zang smiled and glanced back at Emperor Venerable Island.
Countless black Great Dao markings appeared across the island, interweaving into destructive runes that enveloped the entire immortal island.
This wasn't a formation. It was the most direct way for him to protect his territory—with his own Dao and methods.
Long Zang had no primordial spirit and didn't understand divination, but he had the most direct means at his disposal... using his fists and strength to suppress everything!
At that moment, he left behind his own mark, and in doing so, told the Primordial World: This island has a master!
When he appeared again, he was already standing in the Small World of the Phoenix Clan.
Yuan Huang stared at the figure before her, momentarily dazed.
"Was that... you just now?" she asked softly.
Long Zang nodded, his expression calm.
"No wonder," Yuan Huang said, her eyes flickering.
That gaze had been far too direct, without concealment or any trace of soul fluctuations.
She had initially thought it was someone spying on her, but only now did she finally understand.
This was Long Zang. He never hid himself, and he had no need to.
"You've broken through," Yuan Huang said, sensing him closely. Her heart trembled.
Long Zang before her was like an unfathomable abyss, and also like a Great Dao stretching across the past and present.
His aura was deeper than before, as if it had no end.
Long Zang smiled faintly. "Broken through? You could say that. But I haven't truly entered that realm yet."
His voice was calm, but carried a hint of coldness.
How could reaching that final step be easy?
Long Zang had already surpassed Da Luo and entered an indistinct realm.
In the Immortal Dao system of later generations, it could be called "Quasi-Saint";
but in their era, when the Immortal Dao had yet to be fully developed, this realm was known as "Sublime Saint" or "Supreme."
In short, he had already reached the absolute pinnacle before Sainthood. He was just one final step away from Hunyuan.
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