Preparations and Planning

"That could indeed be considered somewhat unexpected."

The figure within the void opened its eyes and gazed at the scene before it.

Above and below had yet to take shape, chaos had yet to divide, and there was neither clear Heaven nor turbid earth—everything was as though the primordial yellow-black had just begun to gather.

Yet within that vast, rolling haze stretching endlessly into the distance, a trace of spiritual inspiration still remained. It barely supported the last remnant of something within.

A shattered domain, with the vital energy of its mountains and rivers nearly cut off, ancient peaks and immortal palaces on the verge of collapse, and all living things about to crumble—every one of these sights was contained within it.

A dazzling golden lotus, whose height was impossible to measure, slowly revolved. It was born and transformed outside that realm, like an illusion reflected in water and the moon, yet in this indistinct expanse, it had forcefully put down roots.

Golden light flowed, connecting to the lotus petals above. They withered, then sprouted anew, like breathing. The boundless chaos around them also stirred faintly in rhythm, without end—

"This is the chosen subject. A Daoist Earth Immortal did not wish to plunder his mother realm, so he stepped beyond the realm to verify various principles. He failed to transform them into a Grotto-Heaven and open up a universe, and ultimately failed in his attempt to reach the Eleventh Tier. His body died and his Dao dissipated."

"Afterward, when that remaining embryonic law-realm was also on the verge of shattering and returning to nonbeing, its scale happened to meet the requirements, and it was selected by the Main God."

A detached voice explained everything in response, laying out the reason.

"That Earth Sovereign lacked sufficient substance, but the two