And at that moment.
Duke of the East lay in a deep pit in the earth, in a truly wretched state.
His out-of-control Pure Yang mana rampaged through his body, making him writhe in agony in the pit.
"The pain is killing me!"
Duke of the East's face twisted, his eyes bloodshot, his heart filled with endless confusion.
He could not understand how he, a mighty Daluo Golden Immortal at the Middle Daluo Golden Immortal Stage, could suddenly lose control of his mana at the crucial moment of casting a spell.
Just as he was full of confusion, wailing in pain.
High above, the previously clear sky was instantly swallowed by endless purple-black Tribulation Clouds.
A suffocating might of the Heavenly Dao descended with a crash, its target the Duke of the East in the pit.
It was the Heavenly Dao's passive punishment for anyone who dared harbor malice toward the Child of the Great Dao.
Rumble!
Before Duke of the East could recover, a bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning as thick as a barrel tore through the sky and struck him directly.
"Ah!"
Duke of the East let out a bloodcurdling scream.
And in the second before he lost consciousness, he used the last of his strength to let out a desperate, bewildered roar toward Firmament Heaven.
"The Heavenly Dao is unjust!"
"Why have you sent divine lightning to strike me?!"
The Heavenly Dao would not answer the questions of an ant, no matter how loudly Duke of the East roared.
After delivering its punishment, the divine lightning departed.
Meanwhile.
At the heart of the Primordial World stood Mount Buzhou, formed from the spine of Great God Pangu.
The mountain was shrouded year-round in dense Xiantian Spiritual Qi and Pangu's might, its ranges stretching for countless billions of miles.
Yet at a certain point halfway up Mount Buzhou, the Primordial World's most formidable divine beings had gathered.
They were the Three Pure Ones, Di Jun and Tai Yi, Nuwa, Fuxi, and the other divine beings from the Purple Heaven Palace.
They were traversing Mount Buzhou in search of the supreme opportunity they had sensed in the depths of their minds.
The Three Pure Ones had sensed it most strongly, yet they still could not find where the opportunity lay.
Shangqing Tongtian could not help speaking up.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, what in the world is going on?"
"We all sensed that our fated opportunity has arrived, and that it lies somewhere on Mount Buzhou."
"But why have we searched this whole area hundreds of times and not even seen a single hair of a Xiantian spiritual herb?"
After all.
This was Mount Buzhou, the place most steeped in Pangu's Legacy. How could there not be even a single opportunity?!
But the problem was, the three brothers clearly had an incredibly strong sense of it. The opportunity seemed to be right within their reach, yet it was like flowers reflected in a mirror, impossible to grasp no matter how hard they tried.
It was not just the Three Pure Ones. Di Jun, Taiyi, Nuwa, Fuxi, and the others nearby were just as baffled, wandering around the area like headless flies.
Also searching for the opportunity alongside them were Zhun Ti and Jie Yin, who had come from the barren Western Lands to scavenge in the East.
The two watched the Three Pure Ones and Di Jun's group, utterly perplexed.
"Senior Brother, what do you think the Three Pure Ones are up to?"
Zhun Ti asked, puzzled.
Jie Yin shook his head and replied with a pained expression.
"I don't know. Judging by how anxious they look, some great opportunity must have appeared."
"But they're wandering back and forth around this area without finding anything. It's truly baffling."
As they secretly watched the others, the two searched around as well, hoping to pick up something they had missed.
Suddenly, Zhun Ti stumbled over something. A dignified Daluo Golden Immortal had actually been tripped by a strangely protruding rock.
He steadied himself and was about to fly into a rage, but when he looked up, he froze.
Before him lay a patch of land that was unnaturally barren.
There wasn't the slightest trace of Xiantian Spiritual Qi, nor even a single blade of ordinary grass. It was desolate through and through.
Zhun Ti and Jie Yin exchanged bewildered glances.
"What's going on?"
"This is Mount Buzhou, the spine of Great God Pangu, the place with the richest Creation in the Primordial World. How could there be a place where not even a bird would shit?"
"Junior Brother, this place... it's almost as barren as our Western Lands."
Looking at the wasteland, Jie Yin could not help sighing. He even felt a little at home.
Zhun Ti's mouth twitched violently. He shook his head.
"Forget it. It's of no importance. A place this barren couldn't possibly hold an opportunity. Let's keep an eye on the Three Pure Ones."
The two turned their attention away and resumed their furtive watch over the Three Pure Ones.
Meanwhile.
High above in the sky.
Tianlu had returned from Chaos to the Primordial World and arrived at Mount Buzhou. He was lounging leisurely on his middle-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure, Cloud Treasure.
After reaching Mount Buzhou, Tianlu lowered his gaze to Nuwa, the Three Pure Ones, and the others wandering around below, their faces clouded with confusion.
Watching these future Primordial World Saints, who would one day stand high above all, spinning around like mortals lost in a maze as they fretted over finding the fated Xiantian Gourd Vine, Tianlu fell silent for a moment and muttered to himself.
What was going on?
These people were the ones destined to find the opportunity. How could they fail to locate it?
Even if Mount Buzhou was enormous, they should have noticed something by now.
Uh...
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Tianlu's mind, bringing back an old incident.
Back when he had searched Mount Buzhou for opportunities with Nuwa and Fuxi, his earlier rampage of flipping the table had enraged the Heavenly Dao.
To stop him from causing any more destruction, the Heavenly Dao had secretly used its power to veil the opportunity and set a trap for him.
In the end, however, the Heavenly Dao had been left with no choice but to personally point out the opportunities of the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin and the Five-Colored Stone.
"Looks like that old schemer in the Heavenly Dao never lifted the veil it put over the opportunity."
Tianlu snickered to himself.
The power of the Heavenly Dao was vast beyond measure. Once it obscured the Heavenly Secrets, even those destined to find the opportunity would probably need to spend countless years slowly parting the mists, despite sensing that it was there.
With that thought, Tianlu stopped worrying.
The moment the Xiantian Gourd Vine appeared, it was bound to blaze with rosy light and send Creation surging into the heavens. There was no way it could stay hidden.
When the time came, he would simply snatch... no, take the share that belonged to him.
Then Tianlu rolled over lazily on Cloud Treasure and settled into a comfortable position.
With a slight movement of his thoughts, he connected to his Abdominal Space.
A flash of golden light, and a fruit appeared in his paw. It radiated dense Qi of Creation, and the two characters "Huangzhong" were inscribed upon its surface in Dao patterns.
It was none other than the Huangzhong Plum, one of the Primordial World's Ten Great Supreme-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Roots.
"Crunch!"
Tianlu opened his jaws and took a bite.
Sweet juice trickled down his throat, transforming into surging Xiantian Spiritual Qi that burst through his body.
Then his Innate Divine Ability, Merit Absorption, began operating on its own, storing the energy in the space inside his body where he kept his merit.
Eating the fruit of a Supreme-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Root not only strengthened his foundation but also let him freeload on merit.
In the entire Primordial World, only he, the Pet of the Great Dao, could enjoy such a wonderful deal.
One plum, then two, then three...
Until Tianlu had swallowed the thirtieth Huangzhong Plum, popping them into his belly like candy.
Before you continue