Primordial Antiquity collapsed, and Ancient Antiquity began. Yuanshi Tianzun Meng Qi presided over the creation of heaven and earth, reenacting earth, wind, water, and fire to forge the Myriad Realms.
Thus, the clear rose and the turbid sank. The Nine Heavens and the Ninefold Netherworld were born, while the True World occupied the center, casting projections into the void and radiating universe after universe.
A great host of innate gods in the Legend and Fortune realms were born, such as the first Golden Crow, the Six Heavens Ancestral Dragon, the Nine Spirits Origin Sage, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, and the Water Ancestor. Among them, none shone more brilliantly than the Jade Emperor.
Legend held that he was the reincarnation of the Primordial Haotian God. Reborn in Ancient Antiquity, he defeated countless foes in the Fortune Realm, swept aside lesser cultivators, and suppressed an entire age, ascending to the Other Shore once more to become an exalted figure far above all others.
To escape the destined collapse of the era and fall of the Heavenly Emperor, he cultivated an incarnation, the innate Thunder God, as a spare body to possess. When the era ended, he intended to transfer his causality and let the Thunder God die in his place.
To escape his doomed fate, the Thunder God entered the Buddhist Sect as Ananda and made contact with various powers. He even colluded with the Demon Lord to attack the Heavenly Court, enticing Other Shore Practitioners with claims that the Jianmu Fruit could help them attain the Dao Fruit, hoping to overthrow the Heavenly Emperor's rule.
The Ancient Ones contended against one another, and Yuanshi Tianzun proved slightly superior, obtaining the Jianmu Fruit. After studying it, he suddenly came to a realization and said:
"The Dao Fruit does not depend on