Xihe's condition shocked everyone present.
Swear an oath to the Primordial Great Dao in the name of the Human Dao?
This was no joke.
For cultivators, oaths—especially those sworn to the Great Dao—were absolutely binding. Breaking one could mean the destruction of one's cultivation at best, or the annihilation of body and soul at worst. It could even implicate the fate of an entire race.
Chen Ran was human. Though his status was unusual, he was not a saint in the end. Asking him to make such a grave oath concerning the alliance's future structure carried far too much weight.
Guang Chengzi and Zhao Gongming exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes. Instinctively, they looked toward Nuwa, wanting to know the saint's stance.
Nuwa's face remained cool and detached, revealing no emotion. She merely watched Chen Ran quietly, leaving the choice entirely to him.
Everyone's gaze converged on Chen Ran.
Tanggu Valley was so quiet that they could hear snowflakes falling.
Chen Ran did not hesitate.
He knew this was Xihe's test, as well as the test posed by the entire demon race—and every other Primordial World force still watching—to him.
Whether he dared to swear this oath today would directly determine how much cohesion this newly formed, fragile alliance could possess.
He needed to prove his resolve through his actions.
He stepped forward and stood before everyone.
He straightened his robes, his expression becoming incomparably solemn.
He raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through Tanggu Valley's formations and the clouds of the Ninth Heaven, toward the unseen Primordial Great Dao that governed all things.
"I, Chen Ran of the human race."
His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly within everyone's Nascent Soul, carrying a weighty, steadfast strength born from civilization itself.
"Today, I swear this oath."
"I shall take the protection of the Primordial World as my duty, unite the myriad races of the Primordial World, and resist foreign enemies together. All who join the alliance, regardless of origin or past, shall be allies, treated with sincerity and fairness."
"The demon race shall become one of the alliance's core members and enjoy the rights and respect it deserves. I, Chen Ran, shall do everything in my power to lead the demon race, along with all our allies, toward a new era of glory."
"Let the Human Dao bear witness, and let the Great Dao judge this oath!"
"If I break this oath..."
Chen Ran's voice became forceful and sonorous, every word striking like thunder.
"May the flame of Human Civilization be extinguished! May my soul, Chen Ran's soul, fall into endless nothingness and sink forever!"
Rumble—!!!
The instant his words fell.
From above the Ninth Heaven, a stream of mystic-yellow merit and an invisible mark representing the laws of Heaven descended together, sinking into Chen Ran's body.
This was the Great Dao's response!
The oath had been established!
At this sight, the last trace of doubt in Xihe's eyes vanished completely. She gave Chen Ran a solemn, deep bow.
"Xihe of the demon race greets... the Alliance Executive Officer."
Behind her, Bai Ze, Ying Zhao, and tens of thousands of demons all dropped to one knee in unison, their voices resounding through the clouds.
"Greetings, executive officer!"
That bow represented the demon race, once the overlord of the Primordial World, formally laying down all its pride and hatred and placing its future in Chen Ran's hands.
Guang Chengzi and Zhao Gongming looked at the young man acknowledged by the Great Dao and revered by both humans and demons, their hearts filled with complicated emotions.
They suddenly realized that, without their noticing, this "mortal" they had once despised had already reached a height even they needed to look up to.
The structure of the Primordial World truly was about to change.
With the demon race formally joining, the "Solar Furnace" project officially began.
A "Solar Furnace Project Committee," with Chen Ran as supreme commander and Xihe, Bai Ze, Guang Chengzi, Zhao Gongming, the Four Dragon Kings, and other leading figures as members, was officially established in the City of Origin.
An unprecedented mobilization sweeping across the entire Primordial World began.
The human City of Origin became the project's central command headquarters and logistics base. Countless rune factories began operating around the clock, producing the various basic components needed to construct an interstellar fortress.
The Chan Sect opened its sacred artifact-refining grounds on Mount Kunlun. With the tacit approval of the Primordial Heavenly Venerate, they began combining human Rune Technology with their own methods to research super-strength alloys capable of resisting chaos corrosion.
The Jie Sect comprehensively upgraded its Myriad Immortals Formation. Under Lord of the Heavens' personal guidance, they began designing a brand-new super formation matrix that could cover an entire star system and integrate offense and defense.
The Western Teachings did not remain idle either. They dispatched vast numbers of disciples to the edge of chaos, where they purified the violent chaotic energies with Buddhist teachings and cleared a safe work zone for the coming great project.
The dragon race, phoenix race, qilin race... these ancient races that had long withdrawn from the world also dispatched their elite members after learning of the crisis facing the Primordial World, each contributing its share of strength.
The entire Primordial World, a war machine once rusted by internal strife, began operating efficiently for a shared goal for the first time under Chen Ran's direction.
Several months later, all preparations were complete.
The harbor of the City of Origin.
Ships of every shape and kind gathered there.
There were human steel warships, demon Solar Divine Boats, dragon Coral Treasure Ships, Chan Sect Eight Treasures Cloud Light Chariots...
An unprecedented United Fleet, composed of the myriad races of the Primordial World, stood ready to depart.
Chen Ran stood on the bridge of the flagship Civilization, with Nuwa, Xihe, the Three Sovereigns, Guang Chengzi, Zhao Gongming, and representatives of nearly every faction beside him.
He looked through the porthole at the vast fleet carrying the hopes of the entire Primordial World, his heart surging with heroic ambition.
He knew the road ahead would surely be perilous.
The Star Devourer's army could arrive at any time.
Gestalt's fleet was still lurking in the shadows.
Nor was the alliance truly united; its many conflicts had merely been temporarily suppressed.
But so what?
"Depart!"
Chen Ran gave the order.
"Destination—the Solar Star!"
"Our journey is the sea of stars!"
The enormous United Fleet slowly departed the City of Origin, becoming a brilliant stream of light that spanned heaven and earth as it charged into the endless depths of chaos, filled with the unknown and danger.
Thus began the great age of spaceflight belonging to the Primordial World.
And while everyone's eyes were fixed upon that sea of stars.
Deep within the Netherworld Blood Sea beneath the dark, unfathomable Nine Netherworlds.
Ancestor Minghe sat cross-legged atop the Karma Fire Red Lotus, studying a set of Star Devourer probe analysis data he had secretly copied through special channels.
A strange, fanatical smile appeared on his face.
"Mechanical bodies... data immortality... freedom from the shackles of souls..."
"Isn't this... the most perfect evolutionary path for my Asura race?"
"Chen Ran... Primordial Alliance... go protect your homeland."
"And I shall find my race a shortcut to 'eternity'!"
The twin swords Yuantu and Abi in his hands let out excited hums. An ambition colder and madder than ever before quietly grew within that blood-red sea.
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