Awakening into the Primordial World

Zhao Gongming felt as though he had drifted through a long, long dream.

In the dream, he was no longer the carefree breeze of Jin'ao Island, but had transformed into a speck of dust, drifting through a mundane world known as "Earth."

There, he found no immortal arts or divine abilities, no spiritual energy or Dao resonance. All living beings were like ants, their lives lasting but a hundred years, struggling in the red dust of mortality and lost within the cycle of reincarnation.

He watched himself in that world: reading, working, living, scrambling for mere scraps of silver, and grieving over the inevitable decay of aging, sickness, and death.

Until one day, he stumbled upon an ancient book titled Investiture of the Gods.

In the book, there was a man who shared his name—the Outer Sect Grand Disciple of the Jiejiao Sect. Wielding twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, he shook the Three Realms and defeated the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, one after another. How spirited and magnificent he had been! Yet, in the end, he suffered a wretched fate: his treasures were seized by Randeng, he was cursed to death by Lu Ya using the Seven Arrows Book of the Nail Head, his soul scattered, and his true spirit was consigned to the Investiture of the Gods List, becoming nothing more than a stepping stone for others.

Every time he read those passages, he would wring his hands and sigh, his heart filled with endless frustration and resentment.

Just as he thought this was merely a dream and prepared to wake, the vision grew increasingly vivid—so vivid that he could no longer distinguish between dream and reality.

Until this very moment!

A bone-chilling cold erupted from the depths of his soul, violently yanking him out of that endless descent!

"I am... Zhao Gongming?"

He snapped his eyes open, his gaze filled with confusion and terror.

Before him were no longer the steel and concrete of the mundane world, but a fairyland shrouded in clouds and mist.

Beneath him lay a meditation cushion as warm and smooth as jade, and all around, Innate Spiritual Energy swirled in thick, heavy currents, so dense it felt as if it might condense into sweet dew at any moment.

In the distance, ancient trees reached toward the heavens, their gnarled branches twisting like dragons, with profound Dao Patterns flowing across every leaf.

Cranes cried out in the sea of clouds, spirit apes chased each other along the cliffs, and the clear, resonant chime of a bell echoed from afar, carrying a Dao resonance that cleansed the spirit.

This... this was the East Sea, Jin'ao Island, Biyou Palace!

Before he could process this, a torrent of memories—vast enough to shatter the soul of an ordinary immortal—rushed into his mind like the Milky Way cascading from the nine heavens!

These were the memories of another life: a life starting from the dawn of the Primordial World, from his origin as a breeze, through his naive cultivation, until the moment he bowed before Sect Master Tongtian to listen to the true words of the Great Dao!

Two entirely different sets of life memories clashed, collided, and fused within his soul with frantic intensity!

"Boom!"

Zhao Gongming felt as if his head were splitting apart. He clutched his skull tightly, teeth gritted, veins bulging, a beast-like growl escaping his throat. He saw his own ignorance as a breeze born beneath Mount Buzhou! He saw the joy of taking human form after ten thousand years of bitter cultivation! And he saw himself kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times to enter Biyou Palace, witnessing the supreme majesty of that orthodox successor of Pangu, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun!

"Master..."

A blurred yet majestic figure flashed through the depths of his memory.

That figure sat high above the nine heavens, surrounded by swirling Sword Qi, as if a single thought could open the heavens and a single word could snatch a sliver of life from the jaws of fate!

That is right, I am Zhao Gongming! The Outer Sect Grand Disciple of the Jiejiao Sect, Zhao Gongming!

As the two sets of memories fully integrated and he finally grasped his current identity, a terror far more intense than the tearing of his soul gripped his heart!

The Investiture! The Seven Arrows Book of the Nail Head! Ancient Buddha Randeng!

The scenes from the book in his dream now manifested as the most lethal shackles of fate, coiling coldly around his neck until he could barely breathe!

He was going to die!

And he would die in such a frustrated, wretched manner! His cultivation, his power, and even his treasure, the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, would all serve as dowry for others, becoming offerings for the rise of the Chan Sect and the Western Sect, turning into nothing more than a cold name on the Investiture of the Gods List!

No!

I will not die!

I struggled through the red dust for a lifetime, and only just managed to escape that cage to glimpse the Great Dao of Longevity; how could I become mere cannon fodder for the Great Calamity!

A fierce desire for survival, like a wildfire, instantly consumed all his panic and unease.

Zhao Gongming stood up abruptly and surveyed himself.

He looked inward, only to find his Dantian Sea of Qi filled with thin Immortal Essence and weak magic power—he had only just stabilized his realm at the Late Stage Celestial Immortal level.

With such cultivation, what was he in the eyes of the Primordial World's mighty ones but an ant? Not to mention facing a Quasi-Sage like Randeng, even any one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect could easily crush him to death!

He checked his own destiny, seeing the three flowers above his head flickering weakly. Although his golden cloud of destiny appeared thick due to the protection of the Jiejiao Sect, it was marred by a faint, pervasive gray aura of death, signaling his predetermined, dismal end.

Despair, like an endless abyss, threatened to swallow him whole.

At this moment, he had been a disciple for less than a hundred years, had not yet received great treasures from his Master, and possessed low cultivation. In the Jiejiao Sect, where experts were as numerous as the clouds, his status was so insignificant he didn't even have the standing to beg his Master for help.

Could it be... that he truly had no choice but to sit and wait for the butcher's blade of fate to fall?

Just as Zhao Gongming's mind was fracturing and his Dao heart teetered on the brink of collapse:

A cold, ancient, and emotionless mechanical voice resounded from the deepest recesses of his soul, as if spanning the vastness of time and space.

[Primordial origin match detected... Soul binding in progress...]

[Primordial Deduction System, binding successful!]

[Host detected to be facing the crisis of soul-extinction. Triggering initial protection mechanism. Issuing Beginner's Gift Pack.]

[Would you like to open it?]

This voice, like the first sound of the Dao in the chaos, instantly dispelled all the gloom in Zhao Gongming's heart!

A system!

This was the golden finger I had fantasized about countless times within that dream of the mortal world!

Zhao Gongming roared in his heart, his body trembling, "Open! Open it immediately!"

He knew this was his only lifeline, the sole reliance he had to break free from fate and defy the heavens to change his destiny!

[Beginner's Gift Pack opened successfully!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining:]

[1. Primordial Points * 1000.]

[2. Initial Foundation Deduction Opportunity * 1 (Can be used to perform a targeted deduction and enhancement of the Host's current foundation).]

As the notification voice faded, a translucent light screen visible only to Zhao Gongming quietly emerged within his mind:

[Host: Zhao Gongming]

[Identity: Jiejiao Sect Outer Sect Grand Disciple]

[Foundation: Innate Being (Lower-Middle)]

[Method: Shangqing Basic Immortal Method (Entry)]

[Realm: Late Stage Celestial Immortal]

[Spirit Treasure: None]

[Primordial Points: 1000]

Looking at the information clearly listed on the panel, especially the words "Innate Being (Lower-Middle)," Zhao Gongming's heart sank abruptly.

As expected!

Although he was formed from a wisp of clear wind between heaven and earth and belonged to the Innate Beings, his foundation could hardly be considered outstanding within the vast Primordial World.

Let alone comparing himself to those top-tier Innate God-Demons and great powers, he likely wouldn't even rank among the forefront of the Inner Sect disciples of the Jiejiao Sect.

This was one of the root causes of his future tragedy!