Just seeing the words "World-Destroying Black Lotus" was enough for Beichen to know that the system had deliberately set a trap for him!
At this point in the Primordial World, the Dao-Devil War had yet to reach its final stage. The twelve-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus was in the possession of Luohu, the most powerful Demon Ancestor.
If he chose option two and did nothing, he would gain the Supreme Grade Innate Ultimate Treasure, the twelve-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus!
But if he did that, he would immediately sow endless bitter consequences and trap himself in a predicament!
What kind of figure was Demon Ancestor Luohu?
At the end of the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation, he had absorbed the essence of the Western lands and the boundless resentment of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans. He had entered the Dao through slaughter and was only half a step away from true Sainthood—a mighty being indeed!
A figure like him even had the nerve to taunt Heaven and Earth Great Dao!
But Beichen had merely earned the favor of Heaven and Earth Great Dao. He himself was no Heaven and Earth Great Dao!
If he turned a blind eye to Ling Cair's death and took the twelve-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus, Demon Ancestor Luohu would follow the karmic connection of the lotus and find Beichen.
By then, if he faced Demon Ancestor Luohu, even with the miraculous Three Immortal Islands, protected by Dao Fragments, all the variables that might arise could leave him unsure whether he could protect himself!
According to the Primordial World's original course of events, Demon Ancestor Luohu would be dealt a crushing defeat by the combined forces of Old Ancestor Hongjun, Great Immortal Yang Mei, Qiankun Ancestor, and Yin-Yang Ancestor, along with the mighty beings of the Primordial World. They would overwhelm him by sheer numbers, causing him to fall and become the Devil Dao, completing the Three Thousand Great Daos.
With Demon Ancestor Luohu's fall and the creation of the Devil Dao, the Dao-Devil War would come to an end.
And that day was not far off!
In the Primordial World, Beichen might pick a fight with anyone, but he would never provoke Luohu, that great devil.
First, Luohu was simply too powerful. It had taken four ancestors and many other mighty beings working together to defeat him. He was not someone to trifle with.
Second, Luohu's fate was already set. There was no reason for Beichen to pass up a good life just to provoke him.
"Option one!"
Beichen rose slowly, putting on the air of a mighty being as he used his divine sense to urge the Three Immortal Islands toward the site of the battle between the three clans' savage beasts.
At the same time, he used the Divine Tortoise Eyes to learn more about the three clans' savage beasts.
He saw the Five-Colored Spirit Phoenix let out mournful cries. Her clear calls drifted across the East Sea, as if she were defending herself.
All phoenixes had five colors. Those with more red were phoenixes, those with more blue-green were luan, those with more yellow were yuan-chu, those with more purple were zhuo-xiao, and those with more white were swans.
In the ancient Primordial World, there were five kinds of phoenixes. Based on the proportions of the five colors on their bodies, they were the Spirit Phoenix, the Luan, the Yuan-chu, the Zhuo-xiao, and the Swan.
The five-colored Divine Bird before him was a Five-Colored Spirit Phoenix named Ling Cair.
Ling Cair was being attacked by the black dragon Mo Yuan and the Fire Qilin Yan Lie not only because of the grievances between the three clans during the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation, but also because she was a direct descendant of Yuanfeng's main clan. Mo Yuan and Yan Lie believed Yuanfeng's direct descendants were the true culprits behind the Phoenix clan's slaughter of dragons and qilins!
Whoosh!
Five dazzling colors blossomed over the East Sea, bursting with brilliant light.
Within that radiance, a colorful-robed girl with a slender, frail-looking figure appeared. The instant she transformed, she spat out several mouthfuls of blood and staggered backward, desperately dodging the attacks of the black dragon Mo Yuan and Yan Lie.
Ling Cair's cultivation had also reached the mid-stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, making her no weaker than Mo Yuan. But Fire Qilin Yan Lie's cultivation was practically equal to hers.
With Mo Yuan and Yan Lie joining forces, Ling Cair could only barely hold on. She did not even have the strength to fight back.
Clutching her stomach, Ling Cair's face twisted with pain as she cried out, "Fellow Daoist Black Dragon, Fellow Daoist Fire Qilin, the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation is over! The grudges from that tribulation were all caused by Demon Ancestor Luohu's instigation. Now that the truth has come to light, why must you make things difficult for me?"
Black Dragon Mo Yuan's expression was grave, boundless hatred etched across his face. "Spirit Phoenix, are you still trying to make excuses? If it weren't for your Phoenix clan, would our Dragon clan have suffered so terribly?"
"The Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation may be over, but the hatred between the Dragon clan and the Phoenix clan is irreconcilable. I, Mo Yuan, swore that whenever I saw a member of the Phoenix clan, I would kill them!"
Beside him, Yan Lie spoke up in support. "Ling Cair, I may not have made such a vow, but the sight of your people devouring my Qilin kin during the tribulation is still vivid in my mind! My Qilin clan and the Phoenix clan are locked in a fight to the death!"
"No matter how much time passes, one side has to die!"
"Fellow Daoists, isn't this misunderstanding getting out of hand?"
Ling Cair's eyes filled with apprehension.
She had survived the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation and finally escaped the calamity. Her desire to live was strong; she did not want to be killed just like this!
"A misunderstanding? Hahahaha!" Mo Yuan gritted his teeth and roared. "Spirit Phoenix, your clan ruled over all the birds of the world and let the Golden-Winged Great Peng devour our Dragon clan's descendants. One Golden-Winged Great Peng ate five hundred of our descendants in a single day, and you call that a misunderstanding?"
"Our Dragon clan was once the most powerful and populous clan in the Primordial World. We were blessed with many offspring, yet we were eaten until fewer than one in ten remained. And you call that a misunderstanding?"
"Fellow Daoist Black Dragon, please listen to my explanation!" Ling Cair said anxiously. "The Golden-Winged Great Peng is naturally vicious and feeds on dragons. That is its nature. During the tribulation, Lord Yuanfeng never ordered the pengs to devour dragons. None of the direct descendants of my Phoenix clan ever gave such an order!"
"Hmph!"
Mo Yuan spat out a stream of black dragon light, sharp as a blade, straight at Ling Cair.
Ling Cair's body flashed with five-colored light, and she dodged again and again.
"Ling Cair, do you remember the Phoenix clan letting the Vulture Savage Beasts devour my Qilin clan?" Yan Lie was worked up too. "Those savage beasts ate so many of my people! Because of them, our clan suffered terrible losses!"
"Under the frenzied attacks of your five Phoenix clans, with the Vulture Savage Beasts as well, fewer than one in ten of my people survived. No, fewer than one in a hundred!"
"Fellow Daoist Fire Qilin, it's truly unfair to blame me, Ling Cair, for this!"
Seeing how murderous Yan Lie was, Ling Cair turned into a streak of five-colored light and spread her wings to flee.
Just then, Ling Cair's spiritual eyes flashed. A phantom light shot from them. "Three immortal islands?"
"The islands are thick with forests and stretch as far as the eye can see. If I can hide there, I might survive this calamity!"
Bang!
But when Ling Cair crashed toward them, a barrier of Heaven and Earth Great Dao blocked her. She let out a muffled groan, her body swaying as if she might fall.
At that moment, a streak of black light and a streak of blue-green light shot toward her, piercing her body. She was gravely wounded at once, barely clinging to life.
"Come here!"
Beichen opened his arms slightly and caught Ling Cair in his hands. Seeing her battered state, he felt a pang of sympathy. "Are you Ling Cair? You're safe now. Don't worry!"
"Fellow Daoist, you... who are you?"
Before Ling Cair could finish, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
A glow of immortal light descended, protecting Ling Cair. Wisps of the islands' energy flowed into her body, slowly healing her wounds.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The black and blue-green streaks landed. Their brows furrowed as they glared at Beichen. "Rogue cultivator, who are you? How dare you save this Spirit Phoenix from me, Mo Yuan!"
"That's right! You dared to save her? You're asking for death!"
Without another word, Yan Lie spat out a blaze of fire.
The flames fell on the edge of the Three Islands, where the energy of the Dao Fragments shook them apart and extinguished them in an instant.
Beichen looked at Mo Yuan. "Black Dragon Mo Yuan, you may not remember me, but I remember you!"
Buzz!
He summoned the Heaven-Piercing Purple-Patterned Ruler. Heaven and earth spun, and space and time reversed. With a smack, it struck Mo Yuan on the crown of his head.
Mo Yuan had not even had time to summon the black lotus before the blow sent him flying a hundred miles.
Pfft!
Dragon light burst from his mouth. Mo Yuan's divine eyes widened in shock. "It's you! Six hundred years ago, were you the one who secretly instructed the Two Crows to wound me?"
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