"Master, what's special about this stone?"
The young man leaned closer, curiously examining the black brick in the old man's hand—which was none other than Lu Chen.
The old man stroked his beard and pondered. "It looks ordinary, yet it contains a trace of... the aura of the world's creation. How strange. This place is on the edge of the Primordial World. How could an artifact from the creation of the world be here?"
Lu Chen's heart tightened.
I'm done for! This old man's eyes are too sharp! He frantically reined in the auras of the axe-handle fragment and the Merit. The faint golden glow on the brick's surface vanished at once, leaving it dull and inconspicuous.
The old man probed it with his Divine Sense for a while longer, then shook his head. "Never mind. Perhaps my senses were mistaken. Still, this stone is hard. It should make a good support for a pill furnace back at the mountain."
A support for a pill furnace?!
Lu Chen nearly spat blood. I'm a transmigrator, for heaven's sake! I started out as a brick that struck Pangu's Axe, and now you want me to prop up a pill furnace?!
But the situation was stacked against him. The old man's aura was as deep as the sea; he was at least a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. The young man was a True Immortal, too. Lu Chen was just a newly awakened brick. Resisting would be suicide.
"Endure! I have to endure!"
Lu Chen forcibly suppressed his agitation and let the old man slip him into his sleeve.
Universe in a Sleeve.
All around him was darkness. He could only sense the wind rushing past as they moved. After about half a day, the wind died down. The old man seemed to have landed.
"Disciple, wait here for a while. I need to determine the direction of Jade Capital Mountain."
"Yes, Master."
Lu Chen felt himself being set down on a flat stone. Carefully, he released a thread of awareness—
It was a valley brimming with spiritual energy, filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs. A waterfall cascaded in the distance. The old man sat cross-legged ten yards away, eyes closed as he calculated. The young man was gathering spiritual herbs not far off.
A perfect chance!
Lu Chen's thoughts raced. If he didn't escape now, it would be too late once he was taken back to prop up a pill furnace. But how could he get away? Flying off would make too much noise.
As he pondered, the old man suddenly opened his eyes and looked east.
"Hm? What's that...?"
Lu Chen followed his gaze with his awareness. In the eastern sky, a stream of purple energy stretched thirty thousand miles, surging forward. Wherever it passed, lotus blossoms appeared in the void and golden springs welled up from the earth.
A figure was faintly visible within the purple energy, dressed in a plain Daoist robe. His features were indistinct, and every step he took resonated with the rhythms of the Heavenly Dao.
"Dao Ancestor Hongjun!" the old man cried, hurriedly rising to bow.
The young man quickly knelt as well.
Lu Chen's heart surged. Hongjun! The future spokesman of the Heavenly Dao, the first Saint of the Primordial World—he was right there before him!
Hongjun seemed to sense something and glanced in their direction.
With just that one glance, Lu Chen felt as if he'd been seen through, inside and out. Even the axe-handle fragment nearly gave itself away. Fortunately, at the critical moment, the fragment concealed itself, the Golden Light of Merit drew inward, and the brick's disguise remained flawless.
Hongjun's gaze paused on Lu Chen for a moment. His brow creased slightly.
"Strange stone..."
The Dao Ancestor murmured to himself, but didn't stop. He continued onward. As he passed the valley, his steps faltered slightly, as if the ground beneath his feet felt uneven. He casually kicked at it—
"Whoosh!"
Lu Chen went flying, tumbling through the air in an arc before plunging into a spirit spring in the distance with a splash.
The old man: "..."
The young man: "..."
Lu Chen: "???"
The hell! The Dao Ancestor just kicked me like I was a rock?!
The spring water was cool and infused with rich spiritual energy. Lu Chen sank to the bottom, both angry and helpless. But soon, he realized something was off—this spring was no ordinary one!
Threads of innate spiritual energy seeped through the brick and blended with the Golden Light of Merit from the axe-handle fragment. A soft crack rang from within the brick, and his intelligence grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"This is... my chance to take human form!"
Lu Chen was overjoyed. He hadn't dared to take human form before, afraid that the disturbance would attract powerful beings. But now, with the aura left by Dao Ancestor Hongjun's "passing by" masking him, and the spirit spring nourishing him, this was a heaven-sent opportunity!
"I'm going for it!"
He no longer hesitated, and channeled the Merit within the axe-handle fragment with all his strength.
Golden light shone from within the brick, turning the entire spring gold. The water churned, forming a whirlpool. Nourished by the Merit, Lu Chen's intelligence began to transform at a frantic pace.
Time passed, second by second.
Outside, the old man and the young man had long since left. With the Dao Ancestor having appeared, they were eager to hurry to Jade Capital Mountain and secure a spot. Who would still care about a mere stepping stone?
Three hours later.
At the bottom of the spirit spring, the surface of the black brick was covered in cracks.
Crack—
The brick shattered completely, turning to dust. Within the golden light, a human figure slowly took shape.
First came the bones, then the flesh, then the skin. The Golden Light of Merit became a plain black robe, draped over the newborn body.
Lu Chen opened his eyes.
He lowered his gaze to his hands—slender and fair, with five distinct fingers. A sweep of Divine Sense revealed his reflection on the water: the face of a handsome young man, around seventeen or eighteen, though his eyes held a weariness beyond his years.
"I did it!"
He felt the power surging within him—Early True Immortal! Thanks to the Merit of the world's creation and the innate spiritual energy, he had skipped the stages of drawing in energy and refining the spirit, directly attaining an immortal body.
But what delighted him even more was that the black brick hadn't vanished from the depths of his Primordial Spirit. Instead, it had become his natal magic treasure, floating in his dantian. Many mysterious patterns had appeared on its surface, and its aura was more than ten times stronger than before.
"It'll be much easier to catch people off guard from now on..." Lu Chen chuckled.
Just as he was celebrating, his heart suddenly clenched.
A vast, heavenly pressure descended, enveloping the entire valley.
Hongjun!
Lu Chen was so frightened that he nearly lost his wits, thinking the Dao Ancestor had doubled back to deal with him. But when he sensed more carefully, the pressure was coming from a thousand miles to the east. Hongjun had stopped there.
Not only had he stopped, he seemed to be talking with someone...
"Daoist Brother, the Three Clans have slaughtered too many, and their karma is weighing them down. The Calamity is near."
The voice was old. Lu Chen had never heard it before, but anyone who could speak to Hongjun as an equal had to be one of the Primordial World's most powerful beings.
Hongjun's voice was calm and unruffled. "The Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Clans are fated to face a calamity. This is the will of Heaven."
"And what of your lectures at the Purple Skies Palace, Daoist Brother...?"
"Three thousand years from now, it will open at Jade Capital Mountain. Three thousand with affinity; seven Saint Positions."
Boom!
Lu Chen's head rang.
The three thousand disciples at the Purple Skies Palace! Seven Saint Positions! One of the most closely guarded secrets of the Primordial World, and he'd just heard it?!
He held his breath, slowing his heartbeat to a crawl for fear of being discovered.
The old voice asked again, "Daoist Brother, what of that stone, the anomaly...?"
"Fifty of the Heavenly Dao, with one escaping. The anomaly has its own destiny. There's no need to interfere."
That was the end of the conversation. The pressure faded, and Hongjun and the mysterious great power departed.
Lu Chen slumped down beside the spirit spring, his back drenched in cold sweat.
That was thrilling! If he got caught eavesdropping on the Dao Ancestor, he'd die without even knowing how.
But the gains were immense, too.
First, the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity was about to erupt. The Three Clans were doomed, making this the perfect chance to fish in troubled waters.
Second, he knew the time and place of the lectures at the Purple Skies Palace: Jade Capital Mountain, three thousand years from now. He had to go!
Third, the Dao Ancestor seemed to have tacitly accepted an "anomaly" like him. That "there's no need to interfere" was practically a protective charm!
"Looks like I'm in the clear..." Lu Chen calmed himself and began to plan.
He was an Early True Immortal now, near the bottom of the Primordial World's pecking order. Forget the Purple Skies Palace; he couldn't even enter Chaos. He had to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
How? By seizing opportunities!
As a transmigrator, he knew all too well what treasures the Primordial World held: the gourd vine on Buzhou Mountain, the Immortal Apricot on Kunlun Mountain, the Fusang Tree on the Solar Star...
But those places were either claimed or protected by layers of restrictions. With his current strength, going there would be like delivering himself on a platter.
"Wait—the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity..."
Lu Chen's eyes lit up. A war between the Three Clans would inevitably leave countless dead and wounded. The slain dragons, phoenixes, and kirins would all be treasures! Dragon Pearls, phoenix feathers, kirin horns—picking up any one of them would give him enough to cultivate to the Golden Immortal realm.
More importantly—there were the Three Clans' treasuries!
The Dragon Clan stored its treasures in the Eastern Sea, the Phoenix Clan's treasury was in the Immortal Volcano, and the Kirin Clan's treasury was at Kirin Cliff. In the later stages of the war, the Three Clans would decline and their treasuries would be less guarded. That would be the perfect time to strike.
"First, a modest goal: reach the Golden Immortal realm before the war ends, then visit the Three Clans' treasuries... and borrow a few things."
Lu Chen grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.
The smile made him look just like a fox that had stolen a chicken.
He stood up and brushed the water off his black robe. A sweep of Divine Sense found several newly sprouted acquired spiritual herbs in the valley. He casually tucked them into his sleeve—every little bit helped.
He was just about to leave when he suddenly stopped.
Something seemed to be embedded in the soil where Hongjun had stood.
Lu Chen walked over and brushed the dirt aside. He found a palm-sized jade tablet. It was smooth and warm to the touch, with mountains and rivers carved across its surface.
"Is this... a map of the Primordial World?"
He infused it with a wisp of magic power. The tablet lit up, revealing countless marked points:
[East Sea Dragon Palace · Treasury Pavilion]
[Immortal Volcano · Nirvana Pool]
[Kirin Cliff · Ancestral Land]
[Jade Capital Mountain · Purple Skies Palace]
It even briefly recorded the locations of some innate restrictions and how to open them!
"I hit the jackpot! Did the Dao Ancestor drop this by accident, or did he leave it for me on purpose?"
Lu Chen's heart raced. With this map, the Primordial World was an open back garden to him!
He carefully put the tablet away, then bowed respectfully in the direction Hongjun had left.
"Dao Ancestor, Lu Chen will remember your kindness. Even if you did kick me once... well, one thing has nothing to do with the other."
After bowing, he turned and looked west.
"First stop: the Kirin Clan's battlefield. Time to pick up the bodies!"
The black-robed youth transformed into a streak of light and disappeared among the mountains.
He didn't notice the pair of indifferent eyes watching his departure from a thousand miles above.
Hongjun stood with his hands behind his back and murmured, "With an anomaly in the game, the Primordial World should become more interesting. Let's see how far you can go..."
As he spoke, the Dao Ancestor faded away, as if he had never appeared.
Lu Chen didn't know that deep in the valley he'd just left, at the bottom of the spirit spring, there was still an almost imperceptible mark—the coordinates Hongjun had left behind.
And ten thousand miles to the west, the Kirin Clan and Dragon Clan vanguard forces had already collided, leaving blood and flesh flying.
Even more coincidentally, in an inconspicuous cave at the edge of the battlefield, the aura of an Innate Spiritual Treasure was emanating...
Before you continue