"Clang—clang—clang—"
The bell rang out from Chaos, its toll echoing across the Primordial World.
Lu Chen had just escaped a thousand miles from Buzhou Mountain when he heard it. His heart jolted.
"Purple Sky Palace has opened!"
According to the original story, Hongjun's first lecture would be on the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal. But what mattered more to Lu Chen was that Three Thousand Red Dust Guests had gathered in Chaos, leaving the Primordial World in a brief "vacuum"!
The leaders of the Three Clans and powerful figures from every side would go listen to the lecture, leaving their homes poorly defended.
"An opportunity!" Lu Chen's eyes lit up.
The Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Kirin Clan were all hunting him. The Primordial World was vast, but there was nowhere he could hide. Rather than keep running from place to place, he might as well seize the chance to pull off an even bigger heist!
"I haven't hit the Kirin Clan's treasury yet... No, the Kirin Clan's Ancestral Land Treasure Vault!"
He remembered the Elder Token and the secret site marked on the jade map: Kirin Cliff. That was where the Kirin Clan kept its true reserves, and perhaps even the greatest secret behind the war between the Three Clans.
"To Kirin Cliff!"
Lu Chen changed course and flew toward Kirin Cliff, west of Buzhou Mountain.
Along the way, he checked on Little Golden Phoenix in his arms.
The little one was still asleep, but its breathing was steady. The three golden feathers on its head glimmered faintly, suggesting it was digesting the power it had just awakened.
"Time stasis... What kind of innate talent is that?" Lu Chen marveled.
The Golden Crow ruled the sun, while the phoenix commanded rebirth. Who would have thought their combination would give rise to a time-based supernatural ability? It only lasted for an instant and took a tremendous amount of energy, but it could save a life at a critical moment.
"I'll call you 'Little Gold' from now on." Lu Chen patted its head.
Little Golden Phoenix chirped, rubbed against his finger, and went back to sleep.
Three days later, Lu Chen arrived at Kirin Cliff.
The cliff towered ten thousand feet high, its sheer face as sharply cut as a blade. It was ochre from top to bottom and radiated the heavy aura of Wuji earth. A palace belonging to the Kirin Clan stood atop the cliff, but it was silent now—the clan's leaders had evidently gone to Purple Sky Palace.
"There shouldn't be many guards."
Lu Chen concealed his presence and followed the jade slip's directions to a hidden crevice at the foot of the cliff.
A natural formation concealed the crevice. Without the map, it would have been impossible to find. He formed several hand seals, and the opening widened to reveal stairs descending underground.
"The Kirin Clan's ancestral land lies deep beneath this cliff..."
He was about to enter when a sudden sense of danger seized him!
"Vmmm—"
Countless ochre runes lit up around the crevice, forming a deadly trapping formation!
"As expected, it's an ambush!" Lu Chen reacted instantly, and the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner sprang up to protect him.
"Boom!"
The formation activated. Countless divine Wuji-earth bolts of lightning rained down, each powerful enough to kill a Golden Immortal.
Lu Chen withstood several strikes. His blood and qi roiled, but he could still hold on. He summoned the Black Brick, its Golden Light of Merit blazing, and smashed it into a formation node.
"Break!"
The formation shuddered violently, and cracks appeared.
Just then, a figure emerged from deep within the crevice.
"I've been waiting for you, little thief."
Lu Chen's pupils contracted.
Shi Qilin!
No—the aura was wrong... Was this a Grand Unity clone?
The "Shi Qilin" before him had a hazy form and only a third of the original's power, but it was still at the Great Luo level!
"He left a clone behind to guard the place?" Lu Chen's heart sank.
"My true self went to listen to the lecture and left me to guard the ancestral land." The clone sneered. "I didn't expect you'd actually dare to come. You stole my Kirin Seal Replica and killed my Third Elder. Today, you'll die here!"
Before the words had even faded, the clone spat out the genuine Kirin Seal!
At the sight of the real seal, the replica trembled, and the pressure on Lu Chen increased sharply.
"I can't fight it head-on..." His thoughts raced, and he suddenly remembered the Elder Token.
The token could grant free entry to the Ancestral Land Treasure Vault. Maybe it had other uses as well?
He took out the token and infused it with magical power.
"Vmmm—"
The token lit up and resonated with the genuine Kirin Seal.
The clone froze, suspicion in its eyes. "The Third Elder's token? How did you..."
"The Third Elder entrusted it to me before he died!" Lu Chen improvised on the spot. "He said there was a traitor in the Kirin Clan, and that the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan had secretly allied. He sent me to the ancestral land to retrieve something and hand it to the clan leader!"
"A traitor?" The clone's gaze flickered. "What thing?"
"The Third Elder didn't say. He only told me to find it in the vault myself." Lu Chen put on a convincing look of grief. "If you don't believe me, you can come in with me and see for yourself!"
The clone fell silent.
It had indeed received a message from the Third Elder saying he had an important matter to report, but the Third Elder had died soon after. Could it really have something to do with a traitor?
"Fine." The clone eventually nodded. "I'll go in with you. Try anything, and I'll kill you!"
"I wouldn't dare." Lu Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
They entered the depths of the crevice, one after the other.
The stairs wound downward, stretching ten thousand feet underground. The farther they went, the denser the Wuji-earth spiritual energy became, and the greater the pressure.
Half an hour later, the passage opened into a vast space.
It was an enormous underground cavern. A hundred-foot altar stood in the center, with an ochre great seal floating above it—the Kirin Ancestral Seal, an Innate Spiritual Treasure that suppressed the Kirin Clan's fortune!
Treasures lay piled all around: mountains of innate Wuji-earth essence, tens of thousands of Houtian Spiritual Treasures, and countless jade slips, pills, and spirit herbs.
"So this is the Kirin Clan's true wealth..." Lu Chen was stunned.
But his attention was quickly drawn to something beside the altar—
A broken Kirin corpse lay there. It was nothing but bones, yet its entire skeleton was as translucent as jade and radiated an aura of Chaos.
"This is..." Lu Chen's pupils shrank.
"The remains of the Kirin Ancestor, the Chaos Demon God—the Wuji-earth Kirin." The clone spoke with a complicated expression. "Our clan rose to power by refining a sliver of its essence."
The remains of a Chaos Demon God!
Lu Chen's heart pounded like a drum. This was more valuable than any Innate Spiritual Treasure! If he could refine even a sliver of its essence, the earth element in his body would be complete in an instant!
"What are you here to take?" the clone asked.
Lu Chen suppressed his greed and pointed to one corner of the altar. "That jade slip."
An ancient jade slip lay there, labeled [Three Clans' Pact: Secret Records of the Dragon-Han Era].
The clone frowned. "Why do you want that?"
"The Third Elder said the traitor's identity is in there," Lu Chen bluffed.
After hesitating for a moment, the clone nodded. "Take it."
Lu Chen stepped forward and picked up the jade slip. A sweep of his Divine Sense confirmed that it really did contain evidence of the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan's secret alliance, as well as compromising information about several Kirin Clan leaders.
But what he truly cared about was the small piece of bone beneath the jade slip—a finger bone from the Chaos Kirin's remains!
He pretended to examine the jade slip, then secretly swept out the Qiankun Diagram and took the finger bone.
"Are you done?" the clone urged.
"I am." Lu Chen turned around.
But the instant he did, something unexpected happened!
"Vmmm—"
Little Golden Phoenix suddenly woke in his arms and let out a sharp chirp.
Time stopped!
It lasted only a tenth of a breath, but that was long enough for Lu Chen!
With the Black Brick in hand and the Golden Light of Merit blazing at full force, he slammed it into the clone's forehead.
"Thud!"
Caught off guard, the clone was struck so hard its Primordial Spirit shuddered and its body froze.
"Seize it!"
The Qiankun Diagram unfolded and sucked the clone into its small world, where it was suppressed. A Great Luo clone, even with only a third of its original strength, would be a tremendous tonic once refined!
With that done, Lu Chen had no time to look around. He frantically ransacked the place.
He took seventy percent of the innate Wuji-earth essence!
He took three hundred choice Houtian Spiritual Treasures!
He took the high-grade pills and spirit herbs!
He copied every jade slip and cultivation manual!
Finally, he looked at the Chaos Kirin's remains.
"I can't take all of it... So I'll take what matters most!"
He rushed to the bones and found the heart. There lay an ochre crystal, the size of a fist and brimming with the essence of Wuji earth.
"The Kirin Heart Core!"
He was about to take it when the skeleton suddenly trembled.
A lingering consciousness awoke. "Who... disturbs my sleep..."
The remnant consciousness of a Chaos Demon God!
Lu Chen's scalp prickled, but he had come too far to stop. He summoned the fragment of an axe handle, and the Golden Light of Merit from Sky-Opening Merit burst forth.
"Forgive me, senior. I'm borrowing this treasure!"
The Golden Light of Merit resonated with the Wuji-earth essence, and the heart core flew into his hand of its own accord.
The remnant consciousness fell silent for a moment, then sent a trace of warmth. "The aura of Pangu... So be it. I give this to you. But you must promise me one thing."
"Please, go ahead, senior."
"My descendants... the Kirin Clan... will perish in the calamity... Leave them a chance to survive..."
The voice faded, and the remnant consciousness vanished.
Lu Chen bowed solemnly. "I'll do my best."
He put away the heart core and took one last look at the Kirin Ancestral Seal atop the altar. He left it alone. That thing was tied to the entire Kirin Clan's fortune; taking it would mean a fight to the death.
"Time to go!"
Lu Chen dashed out of the cavern and retraced his steps.
As soon as he emerged from the crevice, a roar came from the sky:
"Little thief! Give me back my clone—!!!"
Had Shi Qilin himself returned from Purple Sky Palace early?!
Terrified out of his wits, Lu Chen burned his blood essence and fled.
"Where do you think you're going!" Shi Qilin struck with a palm, and the void collapsed.
Lu Chen gritted his teeth and burned the Wuji-earth essence he had just acquired, urging the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner to its utmost limit.
"Boom!"
The palm strike hit the barrier, shattering it. Lu Chen spat blood and was sent flying, but he used the force to break beyond the bounds of Buzhou Mountain.
"After him!"
Shi Qilin pursued relentlessly.
They raced across half the Primordial World, one chasing and one fleeing.
Seven days later, Lu Chen finally shook off his pursuers and hid on a deserted island in the Eastern Sea. The most dangerous place was the safest. The Dragon Clan would never imagine he'd dare return to the Eastern Sea.
Inside a cave, he collapsed to the ground, covered in wounds.
But when he looked at what he'd gained in the Qiankun Diagram, he grinned.
"Worth it!"
He first refined the Kirin Heart Core, merging the essence of Wuji earth into his body. The earth qi among his Five Qi in the Chest was now complete!
With that, all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—were in place! His cultivation officially reached the Late Golden Immortal stage, and his foundation was exceptionally solid.
Next, he refined the Great Luo clone. A vast surge of magical power flowed into him, pushing his cultivation further, to the Peak Golden Immortal stage!
He was only one step away from condensing the Three Flowers Atop the Head and becoming a Taiyi Golden Immortal.
"Time to tally my gains..."
Lu Chen examined the treasures one by one:
Finger bone from the Chaos Kirin's remains (can be used to forge an earth-element supreme treasure)
Innate Wuji-earth essence (enough for ten thousand years of cultivation)
Three hundred Houtian Spiritual Treasures (enough to arm an army)
Countless pills and spirit herbs
A complete collection of cultivation manuals on jade slips
And most important of all—the secret records of the Three Clans' pact!
He opened the records. The more he read, the more shocked he became.
"The Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan really did form an alliance, but both sides were trying to use the other... And there really is a traitor among the Kirin Clan's leaders! No wonder the Three Clans are fighting like mad..."
As he read, a line of blood-red text suddenly appeared on the final page:
[If you can read these words, the calamity has reached its end]
[The Three Clans must perish. It is the will of the Heavenly Dao]
[Yet their destruction is not what I wish]
[Beneath the altar at the bottom of the cliff lies the Kirin Clan's last hope—three Kirin Eggs. May whoever finds them preserve them well]
Lu Chen froze.
Kirin Eggs? The last hope?
He suddenly remembered the Chaos Kirin's dying request: "Leave them a chance to survive..."
"I see..." Lu Chen murmured.
The Three Clans were fated to perish, but the Qilin Ancestor had wanted to preserve some of his people's bloodline.
"I'll take on this karma."
He looked toward Kirin Cliff in the west, his expression complicated.
Just then, Little Golden Phoenix woke again in his arms and began urgently chirping toward the east.
Lu Chen looked up. A streak of red light tore across the eastern sky and plunged toward the barren island.
Within the red light, he could just make out a phoenix, drenched in blood, clutching an egg in her arms—
The egg was blood-red, with Nirvana Divine Fire burning across its surface.
Yuanfeng's aura!
Badly wounded, Yuanfeng had fled with the very last Heavenly Phoenix Egg in her arms! She had fallen at the far end of the barren island, her life force faint.
And farther away, the pursuers of Ancestral Dragon and Shi Qilin had arrived! A three-way battle was about to erupt on this barren island!
Lu Chen held the secret of the Kirin Clan's last hope, and had stumbled upon the dying Yuanfeng. What should he choose? Save her, steal the egg, or... take advantage of the chaos?
Before you continue