As for those tales in later generations' novels where a useless nobody rose against all odds, they were simply a joke.
If you were so capable of defying heaven, then do it without cheats or a golden finger!
Thus, the strength of one's innate origins was crucial, whether in the primordial world or anywhere else.
Compared with his two younger brothers, Dijun and Taiyi, who had been born with companion spiritual treasures, Daochen was utterly penniless. Forget a companion treasure of the innate supreme treasure rank-he did not even have an ordinary innate spiritual treasure.
He was impoverished to the extreme.
All he had were his memories from a later age.
Now, this acquired supreme treasure of merit, the Heaven Measuring Ruler, neatly filled his most pressing need for an innate spiritual treasure.
Moreover, the Heaven Measuring Ruler had an extraordinary origin.
When Pangu perished in the world-opening tribulation, seventy percent of his merit from opening the heavens merged into the primordial earth.
Ten percent merged into the Three Pure Ones, who had formed from his Primordial Spirit, becoming the foundation upon which they would later attain the Dao and become sages.
Ten percent became the acquired supreme treasure of merit, Heaven and Earth's Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.
The final ten percent became this acquired supreme treasure of merit, the Heaven Measuring Ruler.
Compared with the absolute defense of Heaven and Earth's Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, which placed its wielder beyond defeat-
The Heaven Measuring Ruler was even more domineering, possessing the terrifying ability to kill without incurring karmic consequences.
Furthermore, it could both attack and defend, its power in no way inferior to Taiyi's Eastern Emperor Bell.
Spiritual treasures stirred desire, but the dangers involved were even greater.
Choosing option one meant leaving the Sun Star, and the slightest misstep could entangle him in the karma of a great tribulation.
"Hmm? How did I forget about this?"
As Daochen pondered, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He realized that he had fallen into a trap in his own thinking.
It was true that Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were the central figures in the War of the Liches.
But that was because they had sought to become sages through providence, binding themselves firmly to the Demon Race's war chariot.
But what if they didn't take the path of becoming sages through providence?
What if they didn't become the Demon Race's Demon Emperors?
Wouldn't that let them avoid the War of the Liches?
As for who would ultimately become the Demon Emperor, that was something for Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao to consider.
But what did that have to do with him, Daochen?
At the same time, he was curious about how the War of the Liches would unfold without Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi as the Demon Race's two Demon Emperors.
In any case, Daochen had the system as his golden finger. Becoming a sage would not be difficult for him. He might even be able to follow Pangu's path of attaining the Dao through strength.
With that thought, Daochen chose option one without hesitation.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, on making the most correct decision. System rewards are being distributed." "Ding! Congratulations, host, on obtaining ten drops of Pangu Jade Marrow!" "Ding! Congratulations, host, on obtaining the acquired supreme treasure of merit, the Heaven Measuring Ruler!" "Ding! Congratulations, host, on triggering a hidden reward. The system reward will be distributed after the Zixiao sermon. Please diligently complete the storyline. The system will distribute corresponding rewards based on your performance."
"A hidden reward?"
Daochen's eyes lit up at the system's voice.
Judging solely by the two rewards offered in the current system options, Pangu Jade Marrow and the Heaven Measuring Ruler-
The system's generosity was anything but ordinary.
But he wondered what hidden reward the system would give him after the sermon at Zixiao Palace.
At that thought, anticipation stirred in Daochen's heart.
Yet compared with the system's hidden reward, his most important task now was to fuse with the Pangu Jade Marrow and improve his innate origins.
Only his own strength could serve as the foundation of everything.
With a flicker of his will, a jade bottle engraved with chains of laws and order appeared in his hand.
Its entire body was fashioned from Chaos Spirit Jade. Before he even opened it, a faint figure of incomparable grandeur appeared in Daochen's sea of consciousness, his head supporting the blue heavens and his feet planted upon the earth.
It was a phantom of Pangu.
It had appeared now merely because a wisp of intent left within Pangu's Jade Marrow after his death had taken shape.
Yet even this faint phantom offered a distant glimpse of the peerless grandeur Pangu had possessed all those years ago.
"Come on!"
Looking at the Pangu Jade Marrow before him, its amber luster making each drop resemble crystal, Daochen drew a deep breath, opened his mouth, and swallowed it directly.
Hum!
In an instant, an aura of overwhelming power erupted within Daochen.
Outside the palace, Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had no time to react before that mighty aura pressed them flat against the ground.
A terrifying aura belonging solely to Pangu emanated from Daochen's body.
"Hmm? This aura?"
On the Sun Star, Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi lay pinned to the ground. The moment they sensed that aura, their expressions changed drastically.
Domineering, unyielding, ferocious!
Words could not begin to describe how terrifying that aura was.
Beneath it, Dijun and Taiyi felt like ants gazing up at the firmament. Even the aura of Hongjun they had sensed earlier fell a thousand miles short of this one.
They even felt that Pangu himself, the legendary god who had opened the heavens, could hardly have been more powerful.
"Eldest brother, what's happening?"
Dijun and Taiyi's faces were deathly pale, their hearts filled with tangled emotions.
Roar!
An earth-shaking roar rang out from the Sun Palace!
Rumble!
Immediately afterward, the phantom of a Golden Crow appeared above the Sun Star, boundlessly vast.
Its eyes resembled blazing suns, devoid of any trace of emotion. Like an emperor reigning high above, it regarded all things with indifference.
Behind the Golden Crow's phantom, a towering figure could be seen standing.
The terrifying aura they had felt earlier was emanating from that figure.
And now, those two terrifying phantoms were slowly merging.
That overwhelmingly terrifying aura grew stronger still.
The same scene was unfolding within the Sun Palace.
Deep within the palace, Daochen's face twisted ferociously. His body alternately expanded and shrank, while beneath his jade-clear skin, countless gu worms seemed to crawl. The sight was horrifying beyond measure.
The ten drops of Pangu Jade Marrow transformed into Horned Dragons that roamed through his body.
The pain involved was simply beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
But this was also an enormous stroke of fortune.
Daochen's aura climbed rapidly, strengthening at a visibly perceptible pace.
The Pangu Jade Marrow not only altered his innate origins but also tempered his flesh, stripping away the impurities of his already formidable Golden Crow body and remaking it, as though he were shedding his old flesh and bones to reach an entirely new realm.
Rumble!
Portents surged between heaven and earth. The phenomena that had only just dispersed appeared again, boundless dark clouds shrouding the world amid ceaseless thunder, as though bolts of chaos lightning were flashing through the void.
These portents rivaled those of Hongjun's ascension to sagehood, if not surpassed them.
"Father God's aura?"
A sudden cry of astonishment rang out within Pangu Hall on Mount Buzhou.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches, who had been cultivating in seclusion, awoke one after another and gazed into the boundless void with fervent expressions.