Deep within the Northern Sea.
Absolute silence reigned outside the Abyss Sea Eye.
No sunlight ever reached this place year-round.
Countless members of the Northern Sea Aquatic Clan regarded this place as a forbidden zone.
Yet right in the deepest part of this forbidden zone, a figure so colossal it nearly propped up the undersea mountain ranges slowly opened its eyes.
That was a Black Tortoise.
Its shell was like land, its four legs like Heavenly Pillar.
Every single breath could stir the tides of the Northern Sea.
Lu Chen stared at the characters floating before him and remained silent for a long time.
"Host awakening detected on the eve of the Dragon-Han Cataclysm." "Myriad Tribulations Abyss Selection System successfully bound." "Please choose." "One: Immediately manifest form and emerge into the world, head to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, present the Abyss Sea Map to Ancestral Dragon, and join the Dragon Clan faction. Reward: one drop of Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Sea-Covering Halberd." "Two: Inhale and exhale Northern Sea Fortune, manifest the Black Tortoise True Form, and declare the emergence of the Northern Sea Black Tortoise Tribe. Reward: thirty percent of Northern Water Fortune, innate divine ability Lawful Heaven and Earth." "Three: Conceal aura, sink into the Abyss Sea Eye, and seclude oneself in closed-door cultivation for ten thousand years. Reward: Chaos Tortoise Breathing Method, one layer of Ruins Womb Membrane."
Lu Chen finished reading, his eyelids twitching.
These choices feel a bit familiar.
One looks more tempting than the last.
And one looks more fatal than the last.
Join the Dragon Clan?
The Dragon Clan of the present era was truly powerful.
Ancestral Dragon ruled the Four Seas, and True Dragons rampaged across the Primordial World.
Any random True Dragon with pure bloodline flying out could make all tribes bow their heads.
Yet however strong the Dragon Clan was now, that was how miserable they would be in the Dragon-Han Cataclysm.
Ancestral Dragon suppressed the sea eyes, and the Dragon Clan bore karmic retribution.
Those True Dragons of later days would work for the Heavenly Court if they had a bit of glory left, or pull carts for the Buddhist School if they were destitute.
What was he plotting by joining the Dragon Clan at this time?
Plotting to pay off debts together in the future?
The second choice was even scarier.
Manifest the true form and declare the emergence of the Black Tortoise of the Northern Sea.
It sounded majestic.
The problem was that majesty in the Primordial World had always been exchanged with one's life.
Right now, as long as he dared to shout "The Northern Sea belongs to me," it wouldn't be long before Ancestral Dragon, Yuanfeng, and Primordial Qilin would likely take turns coming over for tea.
After finishing the tea.
His massive cauldron-ready self would probably be served on the table too.
As for the third choice.
Seclude himself, stay hidden, and sink into Abyss.
The rewards even included a technique to conceal his aura.
Lu Chen didn't hesitate at all.
"I choose three!"
"Congratulations to host for making a choice." "Obtained Chaos Tortoise Breathing Method." "Obtained one layer of Ruins Womb Membrane."
Boom!
Countless profound methods poured into Lu Chen's primordial spirit.
Gray-mists of Chaos auras slowly flowed out from the gaps in his tortoise shell.
The Innate Divine Saint aura, which was originally so colossal it enveloped half the Northern Sea, began to retract bit by bit.
A few breaths later.
The seabed returned to silence.
Several aquatic beasts fleeing in the distance froze in place.
That pressure, which had felt just now like an ancient fierce beast awakening, suddenly vanished without a trace.
They looked around blankly, then ran even faster.
Lu Chen let out a breath.
"It's stable."
"This technique is not bad."
"As long as I don't jump out on my own, no one should be able to discover me in the short term."
The effects of the Chaos Tortoise Breathing Method were extremely simple.
Conceal aura, mask karma, and isolate heavenly secrets.
It did not sound domineering enough, but it suited Lu Chen's intentions perfectly.
What he needed most right now was for others not to be able to see him.
After all, his identity was truly too dangerous.
Northern Sea Black Tortoise.
In Primordial World stories, this name did not appear many times, but the ending was quite tragic.
Gonggong's Furious Collision with Buzhou Mountain.
Heavenly Pillar Collapse.
The Primordial World shattered.
When Nuwa Mending Heaven took place, she slaughtered the Northern Sea Black Tortoise and took its four legs to support the four extremes of heaven and earth.
Lu Chen lowered his head to take a look at his own four legs.
They were very thick and very steady, looking at a glance just right for holding up the sky.
"Shit."
"My four legs haven't even started being used yet, and they've already been reserved by a Saint?"
The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more his scalp tinged with numbness.
When other people transmigrated to the Primordial World, they either had Three Pure Ones foundations, Ancestral Witches bloodlines, or were reincarnations of Chaos Demon Gods.
Look at him.
His opening move made him future material for mending the sky.
All four legs had a purpose.
Even his method of death was arranged clearly and distinctly.
"I cannot touch the Great Tribulation."
"Saints cannot be provoked."
"Buzhou Mountain cannot be visited."
"Nuwa even less so can be seen."
Lu Chen quickly established his own survival rules for the Primordial World.
He did not seek hegemony.
He did not seek to style himself an emperor.
He did not seek the worship of ten thousand clans.
He only wanted to keep these four legs safe.
As long as he could live until after Journey to the West, casually finding a place to bask in the sun would still be more comfortable than having someone chop him up to hold up the sky.
Immediately following that, the Womb Membrane of Abyss merged into the tortoise shell.
Lu Chen's consciousness smoothly entered the interior of the tortoise shell.
A gray and murky space appeared before his eyes.
The space was ten thousand li in radius.
At the center was a desolate island.
The spiritual Qi on the island was thin, earth, water, fire, and wind had not yet been completely pacified, and the edges were still permeated with Abyss Power.
It was crude, desolate, and entirely without vitality.
Yet Lu Chen looked at it with great satisfaction.
"Good place."
"Outside they fight and kill each other, inside it's safe and quiet."
"From now on, this place will be called the Inner Realm of the Abyss."
The Abyssal Womb Membrane could expand along with the growth of Lu Chen's cultivation.
As long as he kept in seclusion and continuously avoided the Great Tribulation, this inner realm would sooner or later grow into a true minor world.
When the time came, he would just close his turtle shell.
Nobody would be able to disturb him.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen felt a lot more cheerful.
His massive Black Tortoise True Form slowly sank downward.
Eventually, his entire body vanished into the undercurrents near the Abyss Sea Eye.
Gray mist covered his tortoise shell.
The undersea mountain range closed up accordingly.
Lu Chen quieted down completely.
Year one.
He familiarized himself with the Black Tortoise True Form.
Year thirty.
He gained control over the Abyssal Womb Membrane.
Year one hundred.
Using his tortoise shell to draw upon Northern Sea spiritual qi, he began nourishing the barren island within the inner realm.
Year five hundred.
The first tiny spiritual vein was born on the barren island.
Year nine hundred.
The first patch of verdant spiritual grass grew on the island.
Lu Chen was extremely satisfied.
Developing at this speed, if he just lay low for a few more yuanhui, he could forge his tortoise shell into the Primordial World's safest tribulation-avoidance Grotto-Heaven.
So what about the Dragon-Han Cataclysm?
So what about the Witch-Demon War?
So what about the Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West?
None of it had anything to do with him.
Pity.
The Primordial World never allowed anyone peace and quiet for long.
Year one thousand three hundred.
A wave of intense roaring suddenly echoed from above the Northern Sea.
Dozens of faint auras stumbled headlong into the deep sea.
Behind them, a ferocious dragon might pursued relentlessly.
Lu Chen snapped his eyes open.
"The Dragon Clan?"
"I've even hidden myself next to the Abyss Sea Eye, and I still run into the Dragon Clan?"
The system's voice rang out accordingly.
Detection that the Sea Spirit Clan is suffering pursuit and slaughter by the Dragon Clan, please make a choice. One, leave Abyss, slay the Dragon Clan pursuers, and subdue the Sea Spirit Clan. Reward: Ancestral Dragon divine ability, Myriad Dragons Sea-Quelling Fist. Two, open the Inner Realm of the Abyss, allowing the Sea Spirit Clan to temporarily take refuge for a hundred years. Reward: Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation. Three, hand the Sea Spirit Clan over to the Dragon Clan, gaining the favor of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan. Reward: low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Water-Repelling Pearl.
Lu Chen looked at the three options, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.
The first option was out of the question.
Leaving Abyss to kill dragons.
No matter how good the reward was, it easily risked drawing out the Ancestral Dragon.
The third option was out of the question, too.
Things like the favor of the Dragon Clan possessed zero value within the Dragon-Han Calamity.
Accepting Dragon Clan favor now meant taking on karmic burden together in the future?
Lu Chen's divine sense quietly reached outward.
He saw dozens of battered and bruised living beings.
Their figures resembled the Human Clan, yet they bore pale blue scale patterns, and rich water-attribute spiritual auras radiated from their bodies.
The silver-haired woman leading them had her right shoulder torn open by a dragon claw, and she clutched a comatose child in her arms.
The rest of the clansmen were also severely wounded for the most part.
Among them were even a dozen or so toddlers entirely devoid of cultivation.
Behind them, a thousand-foot flood dragon opened its bloody maw, black seawater condensing into giant waves in its wake.
Lu Chen fell silent for a moment.
"I choose two."
"I'm only sheltering them for a hundred years."
"They must leave after a hundred years."