Zhao Gongming felt as though he had dreamed a very, very long dream.
In the dream, he was no longer the carefree breeze on Jin'ao Island. Instead, he had become a speck of dust, drifting through a mortal world called "Earth."
There were no immortal arts or divine powers, no spiritual energy or Dao resonance. All living beings were like ants, with a hundred years making up an entire lifetime. They struggled in the mortal world and lost themselves in the cycle of reincarnation.
He watched himself study, work, and live in that mortal world, toiling for a few scraps of silver and grieving over birth, aging, sickness, and death.
Then one day, he came across an old book called Investiture of the Gods.
In the book was a man who shared his name. He was the Outer Sect Grand Disciple of the Interception Sect, wielded the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, and shook the Three Realms. He even defeated the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect one after another. How glorious he had been! Yet in the end, Randeng stole his treasure, Lu Ya cursed him to death with the Seven Arrows Book of the Nail Head, and his soul scattered. His true spirit ended up on the Investiture of the Gods List, reduced to a stepping stone for others. What a wretched fate.
Every time he read that part, he would sigh in frustration, his heart full of grievance and indignation.
When he thought it was all just a dream and that he was about to wake, the dream became ever more vivid—so vivid that... he could no longer tell dream from waking.
Until this very moment!
A bone-chilling cold erupted from the depths of his soul, wrenching him from the endless abyss of his slumber!
"I am... Zhao Gongming?"
He abruptly opened his eyes, confusion and terror filling his gaze.
The steel and concrete of the mortal world had vanished. Before him lay an immortal realm wreathed in clouds and mist.
Beneath him was a warm, jade-like meditation cushion. All around him flowed Innate Spiritual Energy, so dense it seemed ready to condense into sweet dew and drip down at any moment.
In the distance, ancient trees soared skyward, their gnarled branches twisting like dragons. Mysterious Dao Patterns flowed across every leaf.
Cranes cried out over the sea of clouds, while spirit apes chased one another along the cliffs. Clear chimes rang out from afar, carrying a Dao resonance that cleansed the soul.
This... was the East Sea, Jin'ao Island, Biyou Palace!
Before he could think it through, a torrent of memories immense enough to burst an ordinary immortal's soul poured into his mind like the Milky Way cascading from the heavens!
They belonged to another life: memories of the world's beginning, of forming from clear wind, of fumbling through cultivation, and of eventually becoming a disciple of Sect Master Tongtian and hearing the truths of the Great Dao!
Two entirely different lives collided and intertwined within his soul, then fused together!
"Boom!"
Zhao Gongming felt as though his head were about to split apart. He clutched it tightly, gritting his teeth as the veins bulged across his temples and a beastlike growl rose from his throat. He saw himself as a wisp of clear wind, born beneath Mount Buzhou, innocent and unaware! He saw the joy of becoming human after ten thousand years of arduous cultivation! And he saw himself kneeling three times and bowing nine, entering Biyou Palace and witnessing the peerless bearing of that Pangu Orthodox Lineage—the Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun!
"Master..."
A blurred yet imposing figure flickered through the depths of his memories.
The figure sat high in the heavens, surrounded by Sword Qi. It seemed that a single thought could split the sky, and a single word could seize a sliver of life!
That was right. He was Zhao Gongming! Zhao Gongming, the Outer Sect Grand Disciple of the Interception Sect!
When the two lives had fully merged and he finally understood who he was, a terror more violent than the tearing of his soul seized his heart!
Investiture of the Gods! The Seven Arrows Book of the Nail Head! Ancient Buddha Randeng!
The scenes from that dream-book had become the most real chains of fate, coldly tightening around his neck until he could barely breathe!
He was going to die!
And he would die in utter frustration and misery! All his magical power and cultivation, along with the supreme treasure that could prove the Dao, the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, would become a gift to others. He would be sacrificed to the rise of Chan Sect and the Western Sect, reduced to a cold name on the Investiture of the Gods List!
No!
I don't want to die!
I had struggled through the mortal world for a lifetime, and finally escaped its cage to behold the Great Dao of immortality. How could I become cannon fodder in a calamity now?!
His fierce will to survive spread like wildfire, devouring all his fear and unease.
Zhao Gongming sprang to his feet and examined himself.
He looked within and saw that the Dantian Sea of Qi held only scant Immortal Essence, and his magical power was weak. He had only just stabilized at the Late Stage Celestial Immortal realm.
With cultivation like this, what difference did he make to the mighty figures of the Primordial World? He stood no chance against a Quasi-Sage like Randeng. Even any one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect could crush him with ease!
He examined his own fortune and saw the Three Flowers hovering above his head. Though the golden clouds of fortune looked quite substantial under the protection of the Interception Sect, they were threaded with a faint wisp of ashen energy, as if foreshadowing the bleak fate that awaited him.
Despair yawned like an endless abyss, ready to swallow him whole.
At that moment, he had been a disciple for less than a hundred years. His master had yet to grant him any great treasures, and his cultivation was weak. In the Interception Sect, where experts were as numerous as clouds, even asking his master for help seemed beyond his reach.
Was he really... powerless but to wait for the blade of fate to fall?
Just as Zhao Gongming's mind teetered on the brink of collapse and his Dao heart was about to shatter,
a cold, archaic, emotionless mechanical voice rang out in the deepest part of his soul, as if it had crossed the ages.
[Primordial origin compatible user detected... Binding soul...]
[Primordial Deduction System successfully bound!]
[Host faces imminent danger of death and Dao dissolution. Initial protection mechanism triggered. One Beginner's Gift Pack has been issued.]
[Would you like to open it?]
The voice was like the first note of the Dao in chaos, instantly driving away every shadow in Zhao Gongming's heart!
A system!
The cheat he had fantasized about countless times in that dream of the mortal world!
Trembling, Zhao Gongming roared inwardly, "Open it! Open it right now!"
He knew this was his only chance at survival, his only hope of breaking free from fate and changing his destiny against the heavens!
[Beginner's Gift Pack opened successfully!]
[Congratulations, host. You have received:]
[1. 1,000 Primordial Points.]
[2. One Initial Foundation Deduction Opportunity (can be used to perform one targeted deduction to improve the host's current foundation).]
As the notification sounded, a translucent screen visible only to Zhao Gongming appeared silently in his mind:
[Host: Zhao Gongming]
[Identity: Outer Sect Grand Disciple of the Interception Sect]
[Foundation: Innate Being (Middle-Lower)]
[Cultivation Method: Shangqing Basic Immortal Method (Beginner)]
[Realm: Late Stage Celestial Immortal]
[Spiritual Treasures: None]
[Primordial Points: 1,000]
Looking at the clearly listed information, especially the words "Innate Being (Middle-Lower)," Zhao Gongming's heart sank.
As expected!
Though he was an Innate Being formed from a wisp of clear wind, his foundation was hardly exceptional in the vast Primordial World.
He could not compare with the top Innate God-Demons or mighty figures. Even among the Inner Sect disciples of the Interception Sect, he likely wouldn't rank near the top.
This was one of the roots of his tragic fate!
Before you continue