Form Transformation and Birth, Opportunity to Achieve Dao

Since Great God Pangu created heaven and earth, the Great Desolation Continent has gradually seen its Karmic Energy dissipate after enduring the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation and the Dao-Demon Conflict. Life has been restored to the land, and all races are flourishing.

Countless Innate Beings, nurtured over long Aeons, have chosen this era to undergo Form Transformation. Among them, the most superior in origin are known as Innate Divine Saints, each intrinsically linked to the Origin of Great God Pangu.

The records of the Great Desolation state that after Great God Pangu exhausted his strength creating heaven and earth, his body became all things, his Primordial Spirit and vital blood drifting throughout the world.

His Primordial Spirit merged with the three pure qi that descended during the creation of heaven and earth, giving rise to three beings who, upon their emergence, called themselves Taishang Taiqing, Yuanshi Yuqing, and Tongtian Shangqing.

His vital blood, on the other hand, merged with the twelve turbid qi that descended during creation, becoming tainted by the malevolent qi of the Earth Veins, and evolved into twelve beings who called themselves the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Furthermore, the foremost of the Great Desolation's stars, the Sun Star, nurtured two Golden Crows, born with the destiny of emperors, who called themselves Di Jun and Tai Yi...

However, there was also an Innate Divine Saint with an exceptionally unique origin, neither formed from Great God Pangu's Origin nor from the transformation of primordial qi.

Instead, when the Great Desolation was first born, it sensed the gratitude owed to Great God Pangu for shaping the world. To commemorate Great God Pangu, it condensed the first Mysterious Coffin in the Great Desolation.

Although its rank was merely a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, it was secretly blessed by a wisp of Great God Pangu's Destiny. As the Great Desolation itself was created by Great God Pangu, this Mysterious Coffin naturally attained the status of an Innate Divine Saint.

At the border between the East and West of the Great Desolation, Spirit Vulture Mountain, Yuanjue Cave.

The entire mountain range appeared unremarkable from the outside, perhaps not even ranking high in the West, where the Earth Veins were damaged. Yet, an Innate Great Formation enveloped it.

Through the formation's restrictions, the cave held another universe within, a self-contained small world. Pure Chaos Qi, virtually extinct in the outside world, was found everywhere here, filling the entire grotto-heaven.

An ink-colored stone coffin was faintly visible amidst the dense, mist-like Chaos Qi. One side of the coffin clearly bore the Pangu Creating Heaven Diagram, exuding boundless Dao rhythm, sharp and irresistible. The other side depicted the Great Desolation Myriad Things Diagram, encompassing all phenomena, drawing one in with a single glance.

As the coffin body trembled slightly, the intelligence that had slumbered within the Mysterious Coffin for countless years finally awakened. The surrounding Chaos Qi seemed to churn like boiling water.

"Has the Origin finally finished nurturing? It seems it's time to undergo Form Transformation and witness this Great Desolation Era, an era where all Saints emerge. It is both misfortune and opportunity."

It turned out this intelligence was not naturally evolved but a Modern Soul from a later age.

Deng Ran was originally just an ordinary office worker who, after working overtime one night, was sent to the Great Desolation by a mud truck on his way home.

This was at the very beginning of creation, when the Great Desolation had just condensed the first Mysterious Coffin in Chaos. Deng Ran was guided by the Great God Pangu, who had just finished creating heaven and earth, and fell into this Mysterious Coffin. To adapt to the rules of the Great Desolation, he fell into a deep slumber, only awakening now.

Meanwhile, as the surrounding Chaos Qi surged madly into this first Mysterious Coffin of heaven and earth, a dazzling Innate Undying Spiritual Light erupted from the center of Yuanjue Cave. The ink-colored stone coffin disappeared, transforming in the blink of an eye into an Innate Dao Body, appearing as a young man in his early twenties.

Standing eight feet tall, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, clad in an ink-colored robe, he bore a striking resemblance to Deng Ran's past life, yet was more perfect and flawless. With every movement, Annihilation Dao Intent surrounded him, profound and mysterious, extraordinary in its aura.

"There is no Deng Ran in this life. I am Randeng!"

The moment he underwent Form Transformation and emerged, he received the inheritance of an Innate Divine Saint and understood the Dao name bestowed upon him by the Great Desolation.

That's right, he was the Randeng Daoist, of the same generation as the Three Pure Ones, who ultimately did not fare well among the second-generation disciples of the Jie and Chan sects. He navigated between factions, endured slights, and always lived under others' roofs.

According to the original trajectory, Randeng was supposed to emerge only before the third lecture at Purple Cloud Palace. By then, resources like Spiritual Treasures and Spiritual Roots would have long been occupied by the various Innate Divine Saints. He would barely catch the third lecture at Purple Cloud Palace, but due to his low cultivation, he wouldn't understand the path to becoming a Saint at all, and would return empty-handed from the Treasure Distribution Cliff.

However, now that he had emerged early, Randeng declared that he wanted Spiritual Roots, Spiritual Treasures, Destiny, and Merit.

He turned to look at the two accompanying Spiritual Treasures floating where the Mysterious Coffin had been.

One was the Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Spirit Coffin Lamp, containing forty-two Innate Restrictions. A purple Netherworld Ghost Fire burned on its gray-bronze base, surrounded by faint Annihilation Laws.

The other was the Mid Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Qiankun Ruler, containing eighteen Innate Restrictions. Space Law permeated it, enclosing a world within, possessing immense weight, and serving as a pure offensive Spiritual Treasure.

From his Innate inheritance, Randeng knew that Innate Spiritual Treasures were born from the creation of heaven and earth, combined with a wisp of Innate Undying Spiritual Light, containing Innate Restrictions. They were classified into Low Grade, Mid Grade, High Grade, Supreme Grade, and Innate Supreme Treasures.

Among these, Low Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures had one to twelve Innate Restrictions, Mid Grade had thirteen to twenty-four, High Grade had twenty-five to thirty-six, and Supreme Grade had thirty-seven to forty-eight.

Above these, forty-nine Innate Restrictions constituted an Innate Supreme Treasure, of which there were very few in the entire Great Desolation.

Randeng spent a hundred years refining nine Innate Restrictions for each of the two Spiritual Treasures, achieving a preliminary mastery. He then stored them in his Spiritual Platform to nurture carefully, striving for complete synchronization as soon as possible.

Currently, Randeng's strength was only at the late Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, unable to fully unleash the power of a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

It was known that in later ages, the Spirit Coffin Lamp possessed the divine ability to illuminate the past and present lives of living beings, and was intricately linked with Reincarnation. Perhaps he would rely on it in the future to scheme for the Earth Dao.

Gazing at the still relatively dense Chaos Qi around him, Randeng sat down cross-legged, unwilling to waste this energy, which had become virtually extinct in the Great Desolation and was a level higher than Innate Spiritual Qi.

He circulated the cultivation technique from his inherited memories, and the surrounding Chaos Qi formed a vortex, which Randeng greedily inhaled into his body.

The Golden Crow flew, the Jade Rabbit departed.

When Randeng awoke again, ten thousand years had passed. The Chaos Qi in the cave was completely depleted, and only Innate Spiritual Qi slowly permeated through the formation.

His cultivation had also advanced to the peak of Taiyi Golden Immortal. He exhaled a turbid breath, and a Five Elements Light Wheel rose behind him, circulating ceaselessly, a symbol of Five Qi Towards Origin. One step further would be the formation of a Grand Unity Dao Fruit.

Now, with two Spiritual Treasures, he had enough for the Taiyi realm, even being more affluent than ordinary Innate Divine Saints.

What he lacked were Destiny, Merit, and influence.

In Randeng's view, Destiny was the favor of the Heavenly Dao. The victor of a tribulation would have the Great Desolation's Major Trends converge upon them, naturally allowing them to step into the Hunyuan Grand Unity realm.

Merit, in the Great Desolation, was a universal solvent. It could be used to increase cultivation, break through realms, or eliminate Karmic Power; no one would ever have too much.

Influence was the foundation for acquiring the aforementioned two. The most direct example was the Three Pure Ones, the strongest faction in the Great Desolation, who never lacked Destiny or Merit.

As for the current Great Desolation, there was indeed one region that perfectly suited Randeng's current needs.

That was the West!

In the East, Great Powers emerged in large numbers, and known grotto-heavens and blessed lands were mostly occupied. More importantly, it would become the main battlefield for the Witch-Demon Tribulation in the future.

But in the West, the Earth Veins were broken, making it easier to gain Merit. Most of the Innate Divine Saints had perished during the Dao-Demon Conflict, with only two fugitives likely still gestating on Mount Sumeru.

The West...

It shares a connection with me, Randeng!