He Stands at the Pinnacle Before the Sages, Just One Step from Hunyuan.

Shen Ni's gaze was dark and deep as he murmured to himself, "Must it truly come to that step?"

He knew in his heart that if no solution was found, the Ferocious Beast Clan would ultimately be destroyed.

This was fate, and also the price.

But he refused to accept it!

Time passed slowly, and the Primordial Era eventually faded away.

Millions of years flowed by, and the Great Desolation surged from the torrent of Chaos's dawn into a brand-new early ancient era.

Living beings across heaven and earth emerged like tidal waves; the ten thousand races contended, each displaying their own powers.

New races arose one after another, as if the land of the Great Desolation had finally welcomed a stage for heroes to rise together.

At this time, the Great Desolation seemed incredibly prosperous, yet beneath the surface, undercurrents churned.

The Ferocious Beast Clan, once a tyrant that rampaged across heaven and earth, now seemed forgotten by all.

Only occasionally would a cultivator passing the border between the Southern and Western Regions glance at the towering, ancient Fierce Beast Royal Court and feel a jolt in their heart:

"They haven't been wiped out yet."

But this existence no longer held the might of old; it was more a symbol of barely clinging to life.

Just then, a sudden anomaly appeared across the nine heavens.

A phantom of a True Dragon spanning heaven and earth materialized!

Every single dragon scale seemed to support an entire world.

A dragon's roar exploded, piercing through past, present, and future, shaking the entire Great Desolation.

"I am the Ancestor Dragon! Today, I establish my clan! Henceforth, the Dragon Clan shall be the foremost of all scale-bearing beings under heaven! Let the Ancestor Dragon Pearl suppress our fate—Heavenly Dao bears witness!"

As the words fell, heavenly tribulation thundered, and purple lightning tore across the sky.

The Heavenly Dao manifested, acknowledging the Ancestor Dragon's proclamation.

Thus, the Dragon Clan truly stood within the Great Desolation!

This was not merely a legacy of bloodline, but a dominion over all "scale-bearing kinds."

The Ancestor Dragon's ambition was laid bare in that moment!

Immediately after, a Phoenix Cry rang out, clear and transcendent, like an eternal celestial melody.

"I am Yuan Huang! Today, I establish my clan! The Phoenix Clan shall henceforth be the foremost of all flying beings under heaven! Let the True Phoenix Sword suppress our fate—Heavenly Dao bears witness!"

Heavenly thunder struck again, and the Phoenix Clan's status was recognized by the Heavenly Dao.

All flying beings among the ten thousand races would henceforth honor the Phoenix as supreme!

Then, heaven and earth trembled once more, and a Kirin phantom manifested.

"I am the First Kirin! Today, I establish my clan! The Kirin Clan shall be the foremost of all walking beasts under heaven! Let the Kirin Seal suppress our fate—Heavenly Dao bears witness!"

Three proclamations, three peals of thunder—the Three Innate Races thus stepped together to the pinnacle of power in the Great Desolation!

Heavenly Dao merit descended thereafter, like a golden divine waterfall, pouring into the bodies of the Ancestor Dragon, Yuan Huang, and the First Kirin.

Their auras surged higher and higher, finally settling at the peak of Da Luo.

This meant... the three of them had officially entered the ranks of Supreme Experts!

Yet this glory secretly alarmed countless Great Supernatural Beings across the Great Desolation.

"Foremost of scales, foremost of flying beings, foremost of walking beasts... Do you intend to unify the Ten Thousand Races of the Great Desolation?"

No one was willing to admit themselves inferior—even the weakest clans refused to be crushed under the weight of the three races.

But at this moment, the three races were at the height of their power, and no one dared to be the first to stick their neck out.

All discontent could only be temporarily swallowed.

On the surface, this situation seemed calm, but in truth, it laid the groundwork for future dynasties and holy lands to contend for supremacy.

On the Immortal Volcano, Yuan Huang stood quietly.

Her gaze flickered, her heart tangled with complex emotions.

Establishing the Phoenix Clan had long been her intention.

But ruling over all flying beings under heaven was not part of her original plan.

Yet, since the Ancestor Dragon had already declared all scale-bearing beings under the Dragon Clan, if she did not respond, would she not be seen as inferior?

Still, deep in her heart, she always remembered Long Zang's words.

"Just guard your own little patch of land—that's enough."

Conquer the Primordial World? She had thought about it.

But recalling those ancient monsters lying dormant in hiding, fear crept into her heart.

The waters ran too deep. Even Shen Ni couldn't blaze a path through them—how could she dare act rashly?

If she truly followed the Ferocious Beast Clan's example, the outcome would be the same... decline and fall under the backlash of Karma!

So, her thoughts were simple:

Establishing a clan was to protect the Phoenix;

Claiming supremacy was to not lose to others;

As for unifying the Primordial World—that notion could only be buried deep in her heart, never dared to hope for.

The mindsets of Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin, however, were completely different.

The moment the Heavenly Dao acknowledged them, a seed named "ambition" was planted deep in their hearts.

Merely ruling over one race of living beings had already reaped such vast fortune and merit.

Then, what if they unified the entire Primordial World?

How boundless would that sea of fortune be?

They didn't even dare imagine it.

But once ambition arose, it would never be extinguished.

From this moment on, Ancestor Dragon and First Kirin had already set foot on the path of plotting to unify the Primordial World.

At the same time, on Emperor Venerable Island.

Long Zang had slumbered for millions of years, finally opening his eyes slowly on this day.

On the island shrouded by the Three Divine Lights, his pupils blazed like billions of Great Suns rising, illuminating the past, present, and future.

An undying aura swept across the four poles, as if a Chaos Demon God had awakened from its slumber.

"That nap... was quite comfortable," Long Zang murmured softly.

He gently shook his body. Years flowed, Space-Time shifted, and ten thousand cycles of reincarnation shattered and reorganized amid the tremors of his flesh.

This was no illusion—it was reality.

Long Zang's physical body had reached an unprecedented realm.

Nourished by the Three Divine Lights, he had advanced further, approaching true immortality and indestructibility.

A cold, sharp gleam flickered in his eyes.

The millions of years of slumber were not wasted; they allowed him to accumulate power to a terrifying degree.

Now that he was awake, the chessboard of the Primordial World needed stirring once more!

A single thread of Eternal Light could nurture an immortal existence;

A single thread of Origin Light could give birth to primordial ancient artifacts;

A single thread of Creation Light could even open up a vast world.

And Long Zang, in his slumber, had absorbed them for millions of years, devouring the Three Divine Lights to near infinity.

It was precisely for this reason that his physical body was now so monstrously strong, as if even heaven and earth could hardly shake it.

Long Zang slowly reined in his aura, his eyes swirling with a radiance as deep as ten thousand ages.

He murmured softly, "The three clans have emerged."

As his words fell, his divine sense crossed endless Space-Time, gazing toward the Immortal Volcano in the Southern Region.

Yuan Huang abruptly opened her eyes, the True Phoenix Fire blazing fiercely.

Her heart jolted as she detected that utterly undisguised gaze.

That power was too blatant, with not a trace of concealment.

Instinctively, she wondered: Who is it?

Soon, Long Zang chuckled, glancing back at Emperor Venerable Island.

Countless black Dao patterns surfaced across the island, interweaving into seals of Destruction, shrouding the entire immortal isle.

This was not a formation—it was his own Dao and law, the most straightforward way to protect his territory.

Long Zang had no Primordial Spirit and understood no deduction, but he had the most direct method... with fists and force, to suppress everything!

In that moment, he left his own mark, and it also told the Primordial World: This island has an owner!

When he appeared again, he was already standing within the Phoenix Clan's lesser world.

Yuan Huang's mind wavered slightly as she stared at the figure before her.

"Just now... was it you?" she asked softly.

Long Zang nodded, his expression calm.

"No wonder." Yuan Huang's eyes flickered.

That gaze had been too direct, without concealment, without any ripple of divine soul.

She had originally thought it was some peeping observer, but only at this moment did she fully understand.

This was Long Zang; he never hid, nor did he need to.

"You've broken through." Yuan Huang sensed carefully, her heart trembling faintly.

The Long Zang before her was like a bottomless abyss, or like a great path spanning past and present.

His aura was deeper than before, as if inexhaustible.

Long Zang chuckled lightly. "A breakthrough? You could say that. But I haven't truly stepped into that realm yet."

His words were calm, yet carried a trace of cold sharpness.

To set foot on that step—how could it be easy?

The current Long Zang had already surpassed Da Luo, dwelling in a vague realm.

In the later systems of the Immortal Dao, it could be called "Quasi-Saint";

But in their era, the Immortal Dao was not yet perfected, and this realm was known as "Sublime Saint" or "Supreme."

In short, he now stood at the extreme peak before Sagehood, only one final step away from Hunyuan.