Refining Yingzhou Island, Encountering Shen Ni

Li Changsheng quietly looked down at Taotie, who lay on the ground in deep slumber, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

After the perilous transformation of its origin just now, this top-tier ferocious beast of the Primordial World had completely shed the foundation of pure brutality it once possessed.

The Heaven-Opening baleful aura, world-cleansing power, Devouring Law, and vitality of creation within its body had merged into one, completing an unprecedented transformation while it slept.

No one knew how this transformation would end, but Li Changsheng was vaguely certain that once Taotie awoke, it would be reborn and undergo a qualitative leap.

There was no need to watch over it excessively. Taotie was currently in its most stable state of transformation, and outside interference would instead disrupt the fusion of its origin.

"Sleep peacefully and undergo your transformation."

Li Changsheng raised a hand and waved. Azure creation lotus patterns drifted forth, forming a delicate azure lotus seal that gently enveloped Taotie's massive body and stored it safely within his own origin secret realm.

It was cut off from all outside interference, left to await its rebirth through transformation.

After putting away Taotie, Li Changsheng swept his gaze over the entire Yingzhou Immortal Island.

This was one of the three immortal islands of the Primordial World, formed from ancient Chaos fragments. Its foundations far surpassed those of ordinary innate secret realms. It was rich in Chaos spiritual energy and steeped in ancient, profound Dao charm—a genuine supreme treasure ground.

During his thousand years of Dao comprehension, he had focused solely on studying Laws and transforming ferocious beasts. Now that he had the leisure to settle his mind, he naturally could not miss such a tremendous opportunity.

With a flash, he arrived in an instant at the origin point of Yingzhou Island's most central secret realm.

The Chaos aura here was at its densest. The island's origin core was hidden here, having lain dormant for countless years without ever being refined or touched by anyone.

Without hesitation, Li Changsheng sat cross-legged. His primordial spirit slowly spread out, gently enveloping the warm, heavy island core.

Vast threads of the Law of Creation seeped into it. Using the origin of his own Great Dao as a guide, he began refining Yingzhou Island's core step by step.

Refining a Chaos immortal island was not a short process, yet it proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

Yingzhou Island had originally formed from a Chaos fragment. It had no master and no spirit. Moreover, Li Changsheng was the reincarnation of the Primordial Chaos Lotus's origin, naturally compatible with all Chaos supreme treasures and Chaos secret realms. The refinement proceeded as naturally as water flowing downhill, without the slightest obstruction.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Buzz!

A faint Dao resonance echoed out as Yingzhou Island's core completely acknowledged him as its master, transforming into an ancient Chaos Dao seed that quietly lay dormant within Li Changsheng's primordial spirit.

From that moment on, the entire Yingzhou Immortal Island fell under his control. With a single thought, he could mobilize the island's spiritual energy, formation patterns, and Dao power.

Li Changsheng already had a plan in mind.

His foundations were still shallow, and his small world had yet to be fully perfected, so it could not yet contain a Chaos immortal island.

Once his cultivation rose greatly and his small world reached completion, he would directly refine Yingzhou Island's core into his own small world. It would become the foundation of that world, greatly elevating its grade and forging a Daoist sanctuary that belonged solely to him!

He had found the Pure World White Lotus, comprehended ten percent of the World-Cleansing Law, condensed his exclusive divine ability, World-Cleansing Divine Light, and steadily advanced the Law of Creation to the twenty-percent stage. His combat strength, foundations, and Dao heart had all undergone comprehensive transformation.

Most importantly, he finally possessed a method capable of completely restraining the Heaven-Opening baleful aura!

The place where the Creation Demon God had fallen, which had previously filled him with immense wariness and concealed endless dangers, was no longer forbidden ground.

"The time has come. The Creation Demon God's Secret Realm can finally be explored!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Li Changsheng's eyes.

Previously, he had feared the endless resentment of the Demon God and the violent Heaven-Opening baleful aura lingering within the secret realm. Without absolute certainty, he had not dared venture inside lightly. But now, with the World-Cleansing Great Dao at his side and divine light that purged evil and shattered balefulness, he could protect himself and fear no danger within the secret realm!

Having settled his plan, Li Changsheng did not linger.

His body transformed into a streak of azure light, piercing through the secret realm barrier around Yingzhou Island and flying directly out of this East Sea secret realm that had remained hidden for countless years.

Yet at the instant he stepped out of Yingzhou's spatial layer and returned to the vast waters of the East Sea, an extreme sense of deadly danger instantly enveloped his entire body!

It was an instinctive warning from the depths of his soul, chillingly dangerous and far beyond every crisis he had encountered before!

Someone was lying in ambush!

And the opponent's strength was terrifying beyond measure!

There was no time to consider the other party's identity, nor was there time to gather his mana for defense. In that instant between life and death, Li Changsheng relied on his supreme Dao heart and instincts honed through millions of years of cultivation, unleashing the Heaven-Opening Steps to their utmost limit beneath his feet.

His body instantly turned illusory and shifted away like fleeting light and a passing shadow, leaving only a faint azure afterimage where he had stood.

The next instant!

An inky-black baleful wind exploded out of nowhere. The entire sea overturned in an instant, and the seawater across a radius of ten thousand miles was instantly evaporated by the baleful aura. Space shook violently, faintly on the verge of collapse!

Had he been even half a beat slower, that strike would have been enough to severely injure Li Changsheng in his current state!

Having narrowly evaded the fatal ambush, Li Changsheng stood in the sky, his expression instantly turning ice-cold as his gaze locked firmly onto the void ahead.

There, a tall and solitary figure in black robes slowly stepped forth.

This person emitted no overwhelming might and displayed no explosive phenomenon, yet the black baleful aura around him was condensed without leaking out, solidified almost into substance as it coiled around every inch of his skin.

The baleful aura was ancient, violent, and profound, carrying the roars of countless ferocious beasts and an endless will of destruction. Merely standing there caused the Laws of heaven and earth throughout the East Sea to become sluggish and fail!

The emperor of the Primordial World's ferocious beasts—Shen Ni!

Li Changsheng's pupils contracted slightly. He instantly recognized the newcomer, and stormy waves surged in his heart.

This was the instigator who commanded countless ferocious beasts, used the calamity's fortune to break through into the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm, and ignited the Monstrous Beast Calamity across the Primordial World!

Above the void, the black-robed Shen Ni glanced sideways. A flicker of surprise and interest passed through his otherwise calm, indifferent eyes.

He had concealed himself in the void for countless years, waiting in silence. That ambush just now had contained Heavenly Dao baleful aura and struck without a sound, enough to instantly kill an ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal cultivator.

Among his peers in the Primordial World, no one could have evaded it so calmly.

Yet this seemingly young azure lotus Daoist had anticipated the danger and swiftly avoided it. His movement technique was mysterious, far beyond expectation.

Before Shen Ni could think further, however, an aura of extreme disgust and extreme rejection flowed through heaven and earth into his senses.

It was Dao charm woven from the vitality of creation and the holiness of world-cleansing, innately restraining all filth, balefulness, and demonic evil in the world!

For Shen Ni, whose foundation was baleful aura and whose Great Dao was destruction, that aura was like venomous thorns embedded in bone—blinding, grating, and piercing to the heart. It instinctively aroused overwhelming killing intent within him, making him wish to tear the man before him apart and grind him into nothing on the spot!

Beyond that, fury churned even more fiercely within Shen Ni's heart.

He had crossed into the East Sea this time for one reason only.

The origin tracking mark he had once left within Taotie, the foremost of the Four Great Ferocious Beasts, had completely vanished without a trace!

Across the entire Primordial World, there were very few capable of silently erasing Shen Ni's origin mark, suppressing Taotie, or even killing it.

Following the remaining spatial traces all the way, every clue pointed toward the azure lotus cultivator before him!

The baleful aura around Shen Ni stirred slightly. His cold, hoarse voice rang through the skies above the East Sea, carrying an overbearing authority that permitted no doubt.

"Was it you who touched my Taotie?"

"Hand over Taotie, and I will spare your life."

His tone was indifferent, yet it carried the supreme pressure of a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, like the judgment of heaven and earth, as though he were certain Li Changsheng had no power to resist.

Li Changsheng stood against the wind, his expression calm and unruffled, unafraid of the other's overwhelming might as thoughts raced through his mind.

Taotie had undergone an origin transformation at his hands, devouring baleful aura and fusing with world-cleansing power. It was currently sleeping as it transformed.

This ferocious beast possessed boundless future potential. It was a trump card of combat strength he had personally forged, and the key to breaking the Monstrous Beast Calamity. There was absolutely no possibility of handing it over!

Moreover, he was utterly certain that once Taotie fully awakened from its transformation, it would bring him an immense surprise.

"Taotie is in my hands. If you want it, take it with your own ability."

Li Changsheng slowly raised his eyes, a fierce battle intent flashing through them.

He had long heard of Shen Ni's renown. He dominated the path of ferocity and balefulness in the Primordial World and was one of its strongest experts.

But since beginning his cultivation, Li Changsheng had undergone the Pangu Inheritance, comprehended two Great Daos, transformed his origin, and built foundations already far beyond the ordinary.

Since fate had brought them together today, he would personally test the true measure of this emperor of ferocious beasts!

Could this supreme overlord who had lurked within the Primordial World suppress his newly born Primordial Chaos Lotus Dao body?