"Exactly!"
"Heaven and earth are much clearer now!"
"Before, I didn't even dare let my will probe beyond the Great Array. The moment it did, the boundless baleful aura would corrode it. I could only rely on my innate laws to deduce what was happening outside!"
Di Jiang said with a sigh.
"Indeed!"
"If that weren't the case, why would we have remained asleep in the Divine Hall all this time?"
"Now that the baleful aura has receded, does that mean we'll soon be able to leave?"
One of the Ancestral Mages asked excitedly.
These Ancestral Mages were born to fight. None of them could sit still for long.
Now that they saw a chance to leave, they could hardly contain their impatience.
"We'll discuss this carefully. We mustn't act rashly!"
Di Jiang shook his head, rejecting the idea outright.
The other Ancestral Mages didn't dare argue.
Meanwhile.
Outside Mount Buzhou.
Lei Jun reached out and seized a clump of black, impurity-laden Turbid Qi.
This was Innate Turbid Qi, the filthiest and most polluted baleful aura in heaven and earth, formed from a fusion of baleful aura and Resentment Qi.
It was of tremendous benefit to Lei Jun's true form.
"I didn't expect to gain something like this after meeting the Twelve Ancestral Mages."
"Not bad."
Lei Jun was quite pleased. He tossed the Innate Turbid Qi into his Small World, where the World-Destroying Grinding Disc would slowly grind it down for him to consume later.
When he was done, he pushed off with one foot and headed away from Mount Buzhou.
He had spent ten Eons at Mount Buzhou. It was time to leave.
He hadn't forgotten his goal of visiting the Famous Mountains and Great Rivers.
Time passed swiftly, like flowing water.
Three Eons went by.
Lei Jun had traveled throughout the Primordial Wilderness, visiting its Famous Mountains and Great Rivers. He had gained many Spirit Roots and Spirit Treasures, and left behind no small number of opportunities.
He had visited Kunlun and Wutai Mountain, among other places,
and left behind a trace of opportunity at each.
On this day,
he arrived in what would later be known as the Western Wilderness.
The Devil Race had yet to be unleashed upon it by Luo Hou. The land brimmed with life, its Spirit Roots countless, its grasses lush and its birds in flight.
The only blight on the scenery was the rampant Fierce Beasts and the boundless baleful aura.
Even with Lei Tian purifying the baleful aura, there was simply too much to cleanse.
It was what remained after the deaths of the Three Thousand Chaos Gods and Devils. There was no way Lei Jun alone could purify it all.
It would take countless Eons—even two Tribulation Periods—to finish the task.
"Hmm?"
Lei Jun suddenly stopped. A strange feeling stirred within him.
It was a sign that a Precious Treasure was about to appear.
As a Quasi-Saint, Lei Jun had keen senses. He couldn't have been mistaken.
"My Source of Blessing is practically Defying Heaven!"
Lei Jun grinned.
Ever since he had slain Fierce Beasts and purified the baleful aura, his luck had soared. He kept stumbling upon treasures wherever he went, and even a casual pick yielded a Spirit Root.
He was practically the Child of the Version.
This time, though, he'd struck it big—a genuine Precious Treasure!
"I've made a fortune!"
Overjoyed, Lei Jun vanished in a flash, leaving behind a streak of white.
Boom!
With one punch, he shattered an Innate Great Array, exposing the Precious Treasure within.
It looked like a green piece of wood.
There seemed to be leaves on it,
and its base resembled a root.
Baleful aura coiled around it, making it look like an unparalleled demonic weapon.
Hum!
The object trembled slightly, releasing a terrifying Soul-Devouring Force.
Anyone with a weak will caught in that force would have fallen into the Devil Dao and become its puppet!
Lei Jun's heart jolted.
"The Godslaying Spear!"
"No!"
"This is the Godslaying Spear before it's fully formed!"
Legend had it that the Godslaying Spear had been transformed from the root of the Chaos Green Lotus!
It was a renowned demonic treasure in the Primordial Wilderness.
Every one of its masters had been a fearsome figure in the history of the Primordial Wilderness!
And its first master...
"This is bad!"
"I've incurred Karma with Beast Emperor Shen Ni!"
Lei Jun smiled bitterly.
In the Primordial Wilderness as it stood, Beast Emperor Shen Ni was the only one Lei Jun truly feared.
Even Yang Mei the Great Immortal, the Hollow Willow who would become a Sage in later ages, was no match for him yet.
The Godslaying Spear was being slowly corrupted by baleful aura. Clearly, this was Shen Ni's doing.
Once the Godslaying Spear was complete,
Shen Ni's strength would become even more terrifying.
"This is trouble..."
"If Shen Ni gets his hands on this thing, I might not fare well when we eventually clash!"
Lei Jun's head began to ache.
He was the Fierce Beast Emperor, and Lei Jun was the Fierce Beasts' bane.
One day, they would have to fight.
There was no avoiding it.
But Shen Ni was the Child of Destiny of this era, backed by the fortune of the entire Fierce Beast Dynasty.
Defeating him would not be easy.
Only by bringing the strength of every race in the Primordial Wilderness to bear could Lei Jun wipe out the Fierce Beasts.
So should he take the Godslaying Spear or leave it?
As Lei Jun pondered, a sudden change swept over the scene.
Boom!
Boundless baleful aura surged from every direction, pressing in on Lei Jun with terrifying force.
It was as though it meant to refine the entire space and turn it into a puppet of baleful aura.
Boom!
Lei Jun reacted at once. His body moved like lightning, and streaks of Righteous Thunder flashed around him!
He didn't need to build up his power. He summoned bolts of lightning on par with the Eight-Nine Lightning Tribulation with a casual gesture,
driving back the surrounding baleful aura.
No—he was purifying it completely!
Under the lightning's radiance, the baleful aura cleared bit by bit, then vanished without a trace.
But Lei Jun didn't feel any more at ease.
Everything that had just happened had only been a test.
"So I've been discovered!"
Lei Jun understood.
He stopped hiding his presence.
Rumble!
Just then,
the baleful aura shifted once more.
It transformed into the source of the Myriad Sha, where every Fierce Beast could find its origin.
He was like a Collective Body of all Fierce Beasts!
Infinitely terrifying, yet unfathomably mysterious.
This time, he didn't attack at once. Instead, he uttered a strange Dao Sound.
It was a language unique to the Chaos Gods and Devils.
Only those with Defying Heaven comprehension and exceptionally noble origins could understand it.
Fortunately, Lei Jun was one of them.
"The Strange Phenomenon at Mount Buzhou was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Hmph!"
"I don't care who you are. The day I break through my seclusion will be the day you and the Primordial Wilderness return to the Void!"
"Just wait!"
With that,
the baleful aura dissipated.
Only a chilling killing intent remained, annihilating space-time wherever it passed.
This was a law that transcended laws and pointed directly to the Great Dao!
Anyone whose cultivation was insufficient would have been reduced to body and soul alike being destroyed by that Demonic Sound, erased from the River of Time without leaving a trace.
Of course...
It had no effect on Lei Jun.
"Threatening me?"
"You're a dead man. Let's see you get through this Tribulation Period first!"
With that,
his gaze fell upon the root of the Green Lotus.
A Spirit Root transformed from the Chaos Green Lotus's root couldn't be of low grade.
Why leave a treasure like this for someone else?
Besides, their Karma was already bound together. He might as well fight Shen Ni to the bitter end and leave no chance for reconciliation!
With that thought, Lei Jun knew what to do. His eyes burned as he stared at the root of the Green Lotus.
"Today, I'll use my thunder to purify this baleful aura!"
"Let's see whether your baleful aura can corrupt it more powerfully, Shen Ni, or my heavenly thunder can purify it!"
This was no longer a simple matter of winning or losing.
It was a Dao Struggle!
Shen Ni had likely deduced it as well.
The Fierce Beast Race was endless and ruled the entire Primordial Wilderness.
But in the end, the will of this world didn't favor them. It had even begun to consider wiping them out.
So Shen Ni had made many preparations.
Corrupting the Godslaying Spear was one of his plans.
Now Lei Jun had arrived
and uncovered his secret.
Worse, he intended to purify the baleful aura on the Godslaying Spear and deprive Shen Ni of a Precious Treasure.
It was like striking a snake at its vital point. Lei Jun's blow had hit Shen Ni where it hurt.
Shen Ni had entered death seclusion to take that final step.
The Godslaying Spear was one of his most important plans.
If he ignored this, he would lose the Precious Treasure.
But if he left seclusion, he would fail to break through.
Whether he came out or stayed in, he had nothing to gain.
That was Lei Jun's Open Conspiracy!
Boom!
In an instant, Lei Jun transformed into heaven itself!
Heaven and earth rumbled as though they were enraged.
Rumble!
Trillions of bolts of lightning poured down.
In an instant, they completely engulfed this stretch of heaven and earth.
The baleful energy retreated!
The baleful energy was purified!
Rumble, rumble!
Eighty strikes of lightning fell, each more powerful than the last.
After the final bolt of heavenly lightning descended,
the dark clouds formed from baleful energy in the sky had long since dispersed, and the dense fog of baleful energy on the ground had been dispelled.
Boundless spiritual energy surged forth.
And endless Purple Qi came from the east.
Before you continue