Qin Yu remained silent. Qian Wenwan slowly said, "The true origins of the Primordial Dao Clan can be traced back to approximately three million years ago. At that time, there was no such thing as the Primordial Dao Clan. Their ancestor was named— Hunyuanzi."
The room gradually quieted down.
"Hunyuanzi wasn't originally an evil cultivator." "Quite the opposite." "He originally came from the righteous sect Great Void Heavenly Palace, and held a very high position within the Great Void Heavenly Palace, having served as the Elder in charge of punishments, specifically responsible for hunting down traitors and dealing with heretics."
Qin Yu's eyes flickered slightly.
Qian Wenwan continued, "Later, during a pursuit of a traitor, Hunyuanzi deep into the Netherworld Forbidden Domain. It was there that he obtained a fragmented ancient demonic scripture—the 'Myriad Transformations Return to the Ruins Scripture.'"
When she uttered the name, her tone noticeably somber. "The path this scripture follows is extremely wicked." "It doesn't value gradual accumulation, but rather focuses on transforming the surrounding world into resources for its cultivation." "Using all things as fuel." "Burning heaven and earth as a furnace." "Then taking everything gained back for oneself."
Qin Yu listened quietly.
Qian Wenwan raised her hand to refill their teacups with some more Yuan tea. "Initially, Hunyuanzi planned to take the Myriad Transformations Return to the Ruins Scripture to the Great Void Heavenly Palace and destroy it." "But in the end, he still looked at it first."
The tea leaves were slowly poured into the cup. "That one look..." "and then, he never looked back."
Qian Wenwan put down the teapot. "During the retreat, he secretly studied the Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to Ruins Sutra, and gradually discovered that there was an extremely terrifying cultivation method in it - he could use the surrounding world to make up for his own shortcomings, and use the huge accumulation of the outside world to forcibly cross the barriers that his own qualifications could not break through."
"At first, Hunyuanzi could still control it." "But as his cultivation deepened, his dependence on external forces grew heavier." "The origin of heaven and earth." "The Dao of mountains and rivers." "The vitality of living beings." "Even the cultivation accumulated by other cultivators over many years." "In his eyes, they gradually became things that could continue to propel him upward."
Qian Wenwan's eyes turned slightly cold. "If a person becomes accustomed to taking without effort, and even able to rapidly improve themselves by devouring everything around them, then the long accumulation required for normal cultivation will naturally become increasingly unbearable for them." "Hunyuanzi is a case in point."
"Three million years ago, a great war broke out between the Great Void Heavenly Palace and the extraterrestrial demons." "Many powerful figures within the sect left." "Hunyuanzi has found his opportunity."
Qin Yu lowered his brow slightly.
Qian Wenwan said, word by word: "He secretly activated the [Realm Transformation Grand Formation]." "The array enveloped the main peak of the Great Void Heavenly Palace." "On that day, the divine veins accumulated over countless years on the entire main peak were drained." "The Daoist essence within the caves was stolen." "The mountains and rivers lost their vitality." "Even hundreds of fellow disciples who remained at the sect were swept into the array." "Not a single one survived."
She paused. "With all of this, Hunyuanzi..." "stepped into the True Annihilation Realm."
Qin Yu's gaze had completely calmed down. "And then?"
"Defection," Qian Wenwan answered quickly. "He knew that once his actions were discovered by the powerful figures of the Great Void Heavenly Palace, there would be no turning back. So after breaking through his cultivation realm, he didn't stay; he directly defected from the Great Void Heavenly Palace." "In the long years that followed, he began to gather those similar to himself."
"Disciples expelled from their sects." "Fugitive cultivators." "Those with wicked intentions who yearn to quickly break through their own Limit." As their numbers gradually increased, Hunyuanzi led them into a special area of the Skeleton Star Sea.
Qian Wenwan looked up. "The Sea of the Boundless Realm." Qin Yu had never heard of this place.
Qian Wenwan then explained, "The Sea of the Boundless Realm is about two thousand miles in circumference. There's only one unique feature there: It has no boundaries. There's no clear boundary between the sea and the sky. The seawater can extend upwards. The sky can also penetrate downwards. Ships can leave the water and continue sailing, and birds entering the sea are not usually hindered by the transition between water and air."
As she narrated, a strange scene gradually unfolded in Qin Yu's mind. There was no horizon. There was no boundary between sea and sky. The seawater stretched upwards, and the sky sank into the deep sea, with the two permeating each other in large areas. The outlines of mountains, waves, clouds, and even the creatures that entered the space were all affected by that world, and the originally clear boundaries gradually blurred.
"From a distance," Qian Wenwan continued, "The entire Sea of the Boundless Realm is a chaotic expanse. There is no horizon. Even if one uses their Fate Soul's perception to delve deep within it, it's difficult to accurately determine whether one is in the sea or in the sky."
"Legend has it that long ago, an ancient being who mastered the Dao of Space attempted to truly merge heaven and earth into one there." "In the end, he himself merged into that realm." "From that time on, the boundaries there completely disappeared."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu vaguely understood why Hunyuanzi had chosen that location. Sure enough, Qian Wenwan followed up with her next sentence.
"Hunyuanzi's choice of the Sea of the Boundless Realm was no accident." "The Myriad Transformations Return to the Ruins Scripture requires cultivation within the surrounding environment." "The Sea of the Boundless Realm naturally lacks boundaries; once something from outside enters, the originally clear separation between it and the surrounding world will be affected."
"For Hunyuanzi, this place was extremely suitable for his cultivation path." "He established his foundation there." "Those who initially followed him also began to cultivate different methods derived from the Myriad Transformations Return to the Ruins Scripture." "As time went on," "the Primordial Dao Clan was born."
Qin Yu gently stroked the teacup. "So, members of the Primordial Dao Clan can enhance their supernatural abilities by utilizing their surroundings?"
Qian Wenwan nodded. "That's one of their most distinctive characteristics." "The more familiar they are with an environment, the more they can incorporate what's already there into their own supernatural abilities."
"Mountains, rivers, the void, remnants of Daoist energy, and even the unique celestial structures that have formed over a long period in a region can all be borrowed by them to become part of their own power." "Therefore, when fighting the Primordial Dao Clan, if it happens in a place they've chosen in advance..."
Qian Wenwan's expression turned serious. "We must be extremely cautious."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yu suddenly recalled what Chi Xiyue had just told him: the Azure Wood Divine Forest, seven Primordial Dao Clan cultivators, lying in ambush. They clearly knew the Chi Lineage's patrol route.
Qin Yu did not interrupt Qian Wenwan.
Qian Wenwan continued, "Moreover, what the Primordial Dao Clan truly practices is quite different from how they usually appear to the outside world." She looked at Qin Yu. "They have a true clan motto," she said, "Which only the core members of the clan consistently uphold."
Qian Wenwan voice slowly faded in the quiet room. "Heaven and earth are ruthless, I will devour them on their behalf." "All things have spirits—" "I will use all things as my ladder."
After the last word was uttered, the room fell silent again. Qin Yu did not speak immediately. He simply picked up the tea in front of him, his gaze falling on the gently rippling surface of the tea leaves.
Hunyuanzi, the Myriad Transformations Return to the Ruins Scripture, the Realm Transformation Grand Formation, the Sea of the Boundless Realm. He utilizes the environment of heaven and earth for his own benefit. And there was the ambush that occurred three years ago in the Azure Wood Divine Forest.
A series of messages slowly gathered in his mind. Qian Wenwan, sitting opposite him, didn't urge him, but quietly waited for Qin Yu's next question.
On the third Heavenly Secrets Dao Pavilion, the wafting aroma of tea filled the quiet room.
Qian Wenwan had already fully explained the origins and roots of the Primordial Dao Clan, the drawbacks of cultivation, and the unique characteristics of the Sea of the Boundless Realm. Qin Yu, however, remained silent for a long time, his brows slightly furrowed, his fingertips lightly touching the rim of the teacup, his gaze fixed on the gently swirling Origin Tea in the cup.
He shut out all the noises from the outside world, and the scenes of the ambush in the Azure Wood Divine Forest over the past three years were reviewed and dissected in his mind: Shen Qingchen and Su Qingyuan were seriously injured and on the verge of death, seven Primordial Dao Clan cultivators were precisely ambushed, six people died, the leader escaped, and the Chi Lineage's three years of secret investigation yielded no results.
Every single detail perfectly matched and corroborated the cultivation characteristics of the Primordial Dao Clan that they had just heard about.
After a long silence, Qin Yu finally raised his eyes, his voice steady and measured. "Senior, do you know which powerful Primordial Dao Clan usually associates with?"
Qian Wenwan did not answer immediately. She lowered her eyes slightly, her fingertips lightly turning the teacup, rapidly accessing the intelligence information accumulated by the Heavenly Secrets Dao Pavilion over the years. After a moment, she gently shook her head. "According to the intelligence I have, there is no close alliance."
Qin Yu's gaze narrowed slightly. "The Primordial Dao Clan never forges stable ties with any of the core forces in the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain as a whole," Qian Wenwan continued slowly. "If one were to summarize the essence of their clan, there would only be one word—disorganized."
"From the very beginning of Hunyuanzi's founding of the clan, it has recruited Rogue Cultivator, outcasts from sects, and desperate cultivators without roots or foundations. As time has passed, this fundamental nature has never changed. The disciples of the clan usually travel to mountains and seas to seek opportunities on their own, and only when they need to obtain inheritances or band together to avoid danger will they return to the Sea of the Boundless Realm."
She smiled faintly, stating the consensus within the domain. "Therefore, many forces in the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain privately refer to the Primordial Dao Clan as a disorganized mess. And the current clan leader, Jiang Lingyun, is also mismanaging the clan. Many disciples wander aimlessly."
"But the reason why such a disorganized group could survive for three million years without perishing is extremely simple." Qian Wenwan changed the subject, pointing out the core reason, "It is the 'Myriad Transformations Return to the Ruins Scripture'."