At that moment, Tianlu was ecstatic beyond measure. His golden eyes glittered with the avarice of a miser.
But after the initial rush of joy, his furry brows furrowed slightly, and a thoughtful look flashed through his eyes.
"Wait. How precious is this Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation? It's an unparalleled treasure from when Great God Pangu cleaved heaven and earth apart. How could it have fallen so easily into a backwater like Penglai Immortal Island?"
Tianlu rubbed his chin, and the original course of the Primordial World surfaced in his mind.
In the original timeline, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had personally named Duke of the East Head of Male Immortals and bestowed on him the Supreme-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure, the Dragon Head Cane. Duke of the East had enjoyed boundless glory, even establishing Purple Mansion Prefecture on Penglai Immortal Island as his cultivation ground and commanding the assembled immortals.
But how had it ended?
This haughty Head of Male Immortals had ultimately been besieged by the Demon Race Heavenly Court's armies, led by Di Jun and Taiyi, and met a miserable end: his body and Dao destroyed, with his true spirit barely escaping annihilation.
"Could it be that all of this was part of that old schemer Hongjun's plot from beginning to end?"
The more Tianlu thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
The Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation was an unparalleled treasure containing the Three Thousand Great Dao Laws. It was also indispensable to Hongjun's future union with the Heavenly Dao.
With Hongjun's shrewd, meticulous nature, how could he allow such a treasure to be left out in the open?
Perhaps Hongjun had sensed through the Jade Plate of Creation that this fragment was hidden on Penglai Immortal Island long ago.
That was why he had deliberately guided Duke of the East there and elevated him to Head of Male Immortals, making him a target for everyone.
Once Duke of the East was slaughtered by the Demon Race during the Tribulation and fell for good, Hongjun could appear without raising suspicion and reclaim the fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation as a matter of course.
As for Yang Hui, Queen Mother of the West and Head of Female Immortals, she was probably just an extra thrown in for good measure, meant to numb the world and make this grand scheme look more justified.
"What deep cunning! What ruthless plotting!"
Tianlu couldn't help clicking his tongue. But then he chuckled, his face full of disdain.
"So what?"
"This great master is the Pet of the Great Dao, the Child of the Great Dao! I can treat even the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning sent down by the Heavenly Dao as celebratory fireworks. Why should I fear the schemes of a mere Hongjun?"
Tianlu patted his round belly, and his heart settled.
With the invincible status of the Child of the Great Dao behind him, any living being who dared to harbor malice toward him would suffer the Great Dao's backlash. At best, they would suffer a qi deviation and have their fortune destabilized. At worst, they would be punished by the Heavenly Dao and reduced to ashes.
If Hongjun dared come demanding the Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation, he'd be an old man on the verge of death swallowing poison—just asking to die.
Once he'd thought it through, Tianlu couldn't be bothered to leave Penglai Immortal Island in search of Fangzhang Island or Yingzhou Island.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he piled the many veins of ore and divine materials he'd gathered earlier in front of him, all shimmering in different colors.
"Since Penglai Immortal Island is going to be my cultivation ground from now on, I need a decent den. I can't sleep on the grass every day, can I?"
Tianlu opened his mouth and spewed a scorching blast of his innate true fire, enveloping the mountain of ore and divine materials.
With his current cultivation at the Middle Daluo Golden Immortal Stage, bolstered by the domineering assistance of the Law of Devouring, refining a palace was naturally no challenge.
Time flew like a white horse flashing past a crevice. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years slipped by.
On this day, a dazzling treasure-light shot into the sky, scattering the clouds above Penglai Immortal Island. At last, a magnificent, golden palace took shape within Tianlu's innate true fire.
Though the palace had been refined after the creation of the world, Tianlu had spared no expense, pouring in countless supreme divine materials and engraving it with innumerable profound arrays. Its grade had reached that of a Supreme-Grade Houtian Spiritual Treasure, making it indestructible.
"Go!"
Tianlu flicked a forepaw, and the enormous palace transformed into a streak of light before landing squarely at the center of Penglai Immortal Island.
A century of painstaking effort had finally become this resplendent cultivation ground.
The instant the palace touched down, the Xiantian Spiritual Qi across Penglai Immortal Island seemed to be drawn by some force. It surged toward the palace, liquefying into spiritual fluid that gathered in front of the main hall to form a spiritual pool.
Tianlu gazed at his handiwork with satisfaction. His round body became a streak of golden light and flew straight into the palace.
With a den of his own, he began preparing to go into seclusion.
Inside the palace, Tianlu sat cross-legged on a Cloud Bed carved from Supreme-Grade Xiantian Jade Marrow. He opened his mouth and spat out the Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation, which radiated an ancient, desolate aura and hovered before him.
His divine soul reached out, pouring into the fragment of this Pangu treasure like a swelling tide.
In an instant, Tianlu's mind went hazy. He carefully sensed the Great Dao Laws contained within. Though the fragment was small, several exceptionally complete Great Dao pathways were inscribed upon it.
The most dazzling among them were the four supreme laws: devouring, time, space, and destruction.
Aside from those, there was a jumble of lesser laws, such as the Law of Wind, the Law of Rain, and the Law of Metal.
But these laws were badly fragmented within the piece, their power pitifully weak. Tianlu merely glanced at them before filtering them out.
Then Tianlu began cultivating in seclusion.
The Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation hovered above his head, cascading strands of Great Dao aura.
The four Great Dao Laws of devouring, time, space, and destruction became four illusory rivers that circled him, their forms clearly manifesting.
At the same time, the Twenty-Four Petal Creation Green Lotus within his body trembled. Surging forth from it came an immensely rich source of the Great Dao of Creation, revealing to Tianlu its supreme mysteries as well.
And so Tianlu entered deep seclusion on Penglai Immortal Island.
Meanwhile, in the Primordial World.
All the famed Innate Divine Beings of the Wu-Demon Tribes era had emerged.
The three brothers of Kunlun Mountain—Taiqing Laozi, Yuqing Yuanshi, and Shangqing Tongtian—roamed the Primordial World, claiming to be Pangu Orthodox Lineage.
On the Sun Star, the two Three-Legged Golden Crows, Di Jun and Taiyi, were overbearing in their might, renowned throughout the Primordial World.
At the foot of Mount Buzhou, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, born from Pangu Essence Blood, possessed physical bodies that shook every corner of the land.
There were also Ancestor Minghe of the Nether Blood Sea, Zhenyuanzi of Five Villages Temple on Longevity Mountain, Kunpeng of the Northern Nether Ocean, and others.
These Innate Divine Beings, blessed beyond compare, roamed the Primordial World, visiting immortals and seeking friends, discussing the Dao with one another and searching for opportunities to break through.
Yet the long years drifted by, and no one knew how many Yuanhui had passed.
All these innate great powers remained stuck at the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm. No matter how much they discussed the Dao or cultivated, they still couldn't glimpse the higher realm beyond Daluo.
The bewilderment of having their path cut off weighed on every Innate Divine Being.
Until one day.
Before you continue