Tianlu felt quite helpless in the face of the Heavenly Dao's shameless tactics.
After all, the Heavenly Dao ruled the operation of all rules. If it was determined to hide something, he truly would not be able to dig it out anytime soon.
After some thought, he decided that if he could not find it, then so be it.
As it happened, he had wandered the Primordial World for so many years without even a proper place to settle down. Perhaps it was time to find a land of excellent feng shui on Mount Buzhou and establish a dojo of his own?
But Tianlu had never been one to suffer a loss.
Since the Heavenly Dao dared to trip him up in secret, it could not blame him for flipping the table.
A flash of inspiration struck Tianlu as he thought of the Primordial World's future course.
In the future Primordial World, after several Tribulations, heaven and earth would shatter. Xiantian Spiritual Qi would be reduced to less than a tenth of its former abundance, while Postnatal Spiritual Qi and Turbid Qi would spread everywhere in chaotic profusion.
By then, let alone Xiantian Spiritual Roots, even ordinary spiritual herbs infused with Xiantian Spiritual Qi—the kind that could now be found everywhere across Mount Buzhou—would become rare treasures fought over by countless cultivators.
Though this young master might not lack such flowers and herbs now, he absolutely could not go without them.
If the Heavenly Dao was heartless, then it could not blame him for being unjust.
As the saying went, when geese flew overhead, not even a feather was left behind; not even an inch of grass would remain.
Since the great opportunities had been hidden away, he would simply pack up and take everything on Mount Buzhou that was out in the open.
Thus, Tianlu officially began his unrighteous campaign on Mount Buzhou.
He transformed into an enormous phantom that blotted out the sky and covered the earth, charging recklessly through the Buzhou Mountain Range.
Wherever he passed, he opened his gaping maw as though it could devour heaven and earth. His Innate Divine Ability, Strange Space in Belly, was driven to its limit, combining the might of the Law of Devouring and the Law of Space to form terrifying black-hole vortices.
Spiritual herbs on the ground? Uproot them all, roots and all!
Ancient trees that towered into the heavens? Uproot them all along with the spiritual soil around them.
So long as they were heavenly treasures or earthly treasures within his sight, he swallowed them all without mercy into his boundless Abdominal Space.
Within his Abdominal Space, the Law of Creation and the Law of Devouring complemented one another. Those ordinary spiritual herbs and spiritual roots that had been swallowed inside—
under the crushing force of space and the nourishment of Qi of Creation, began undergoing miraculous transformations, turning the postnatal into the Xiantian and continuously raising their grades.
At this moment, Tianlu, a Pixiu that should have descended as an auspicious omen, had completely transformed into the greatest locust of the Primordial World.
Everywhere he passed became barren wasteland. Not a blade of grass remained, and even three feet of topsoil had been scraped away.
Although, after countless ages, the underground spiritual veins would rely on the self-restorative ability of the Primordial World to breed vitality across the land once more—
the Buzhou Mountain Range ravaged by Tianlu now retained none of the immortal bearing of the Primordial World's greatest sacred mountain.
It had clearly become a series of pockmarked, bare, desolate mountains!
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
A hundred years swiftly went by. Tianlu had spent an entire century crazily harvesting grass, cutting down trees, and incidentally uprooting spiritual roots throughout the Buzhou Mountain Range.
Over those hundred years, all sorts of resources had piled up like mountains and seas within his Abdominal Space. Though their grades were not high, their sheer quantity was immense. After refinement by the Law of Creation, they amounted to an extraordinarily astonishing fortune.
Yet his bandit-like behavior finally enraged the living beings who had taken root and cultivated within the Buzhou Mountain Range.
Quite a few Taiyi Realm Golden Immortals who had established dojos in these mountains watched helplessly as Tianlu acted so outrageously, wantonly destroying the surrounding environment.
Especially when that Pixiu, ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, actually ran to the entrances of their dojos and, right before their eyes, brazenly plundered those ornamental spiritual roots which, though unimportant for cultivation—
were still used to decorate their grounds, the Taiyi Realm Golden Immortals were instantly consumed by rage.
At last, one Taiyi Realm Golden Immortal mighty expert with a fiery temper could endure no longer.
With an angry roar, his mana surged throughout his body. He brought forth an Innate Low-Grade Spiritual Treasure, which transformed into a dazzling divine beam and fiercely blasted toward Tianlu, who was lowering his head to chew through a patch of spiritual bamboo.
Faced with this menacing strike, Tianlu did not even raise his head.
He merely snorted disdainfully, then violently swung his thick tail, which resembled a divine whip.
Vast mana at the Middle Daluo Golden Immortal Stage instantly condensed around Tianlu's tail, perfectly merging the Law of Space with the Law of Strength.
It became a terrifying afterimage too fast for the naked eye to discern. Not only did it casually shatter the divine beam, but it also instantly launched an even more powerful counterattack with crushing force.
A thunderous boom rang out.
The Taiyi Realm Golden Immortal who had attacked did not even have time to scream before the terrifying force sent him flying backward.
The divine light protecting his body shattered with a bang. He spat blood wildly, smashed through several mountain peaks, and suffered grievous injuries, his aura faint and weak.
The other Taiyi Realm Golden Immortals nearby, who had originally intended to attack together, all sucked in cold breaths at the sight. Their eyes nearly popped from their sockets.
Those who understood the times were the true heroes.
Facing a Daluo Golden Immortal capable of handling them at will, those Taiyi Realm Golden Immortals instantly suppressed all their rage and arrogance.
They shut the gates of their dojos, activated their mountain-protecting formations, and all pretended to be deaf and mute, acting as though they had not seen Tianlu, that Pixiu, committing banditry at their doorsteps and leaving nothing behind.
Yet deep within their tightly sealed dojos, every one of those mighty experts was frantically cursing Tianlu in their hearts.
What the hell was that thing?
Were Pixiu not supposed to be auspicious divine beasts that attracted wealth and treasure?
How was this a divine beast?
It was clearly an unparalleled ferocious beast that had escaped from Chaos.
Wherever it went, it did not even leave behind a clump of mud containing spiritual qi. It left nothing behind at all. It was simply a bandit!!
Though they cursed him viciously in their hearts, not a single person dared to come out and provoke Tianlu again.
As time passed, word of Tianlu's deeds in the Buzhou Mountain Range spread rapidly among the various living beings.
Within the Buzhou Mountain Range stood a sacred mountain blessed by nature and wreathed in immortal qi, known as Phoenix Perch Mountain.
At the peak of Phoenix Perch Mountain, two figures radiating vast Dao intent sat facing one another.
The two had also heard about Tianlu's large-scale plundering throughout the Buzhou Mountain Range.
In particular, when they heard that the Pixiu had heavily injured a Taiyi Realm Golden Immortal with a single flick of his tail, deep interest rose in both their eyes.
The two then exchanged a glance and made the same decision at once.
They would go meet Tianlu, whose name had stirred up such a commotion across the Primordial World.
Yet both shared the same question.
At this time, when the Dragon-Han Calamity had only just ended and the lingering prestige of the Three Clans still remained, Mount Buzhou was vast—
but much of its territory had once belonged to the Qilin Clan, the sovereigns of the Beast Clan.
Although the Qilin Clan had now declined and withdrawn from the Primordial World, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. The Qilin Clan's remaining prestige and scouts were still present across this land.
Why did Tianlu dare to act so recklessly and arrogantly within the Qilin Clan's former territory?
Even if his true form was a Pixiu and he could barely be considered a member of the Beast Clan, he should not act so arrogantly or leave no room for compromise, should he?
This was practically slapping every local living being across the face.
The man clad in a black Daoist robe rose to his feet, looked toward the distant mountain range that had been scraped bare, and spoke softly.
"Little sister, although this Pixiu acts as crudely as a bandit, his strength cannot be underestimated. He heavily injured a Taiyi Realm with one strike, so he is at least a Daluo Golden Immortal."
"Since he dares act this way in the Qilin Clan's former territory, he must have something to rely on. Why don't we go meet him?"
The woman dressed in seven-colored glowing robes nodded slightly. A gentle smile appeared on her beautiful face as she softly replied.
"Brother is right. That was precisely my thought as well."
"Since the Three Clans War, not a single Daluo Golden Immortal has wandered Mount Buzhou. This Pixiu may have come from beyond Mount Buzhou. We can take this chance to learn about the state of the world from him."
As soon as her words fell, the two transformed into streams of yin and yang light and sped toward Tianlu's location.
Before you continue