Primordial Era: A man at the mouth of the Guanjiang River marries the Third Holy Mother.

As the topsoil was gradually removed, an ancient, deep box, its entire surface a chaotic color, slowly revealed its full appearance.

The box wasn't big, about a foot square, and its surface was plain without any patterns or runes; it was just an ordinary square box.

It lay quietly at the bottom of the pit, yet it seemed to exist in its own world. The surrounding chaotic air currents and laws of the Great Dao would be distorted and repelled by an invisible force when they came within three inches of it.

When Chen Changsheng saw the box, his breath hitched.

Treasure chest!

The level nine treasure that the system suggested turned out to be a treasure chest!

He was overjoyed. This was much more exciting than digging up a magic treasure. Who could understand the joy of opening a blind box!

However, while Chen Changsheng was excited, someone else was even more excited, or rather, even more shocked.

The blurry figure of Hongjun Daozu, seated high above, trembled violently the moment he saw the box appear.

What?

These two words appeared in Hongjun's mind for the first time.

His sacred heart, which was in harmony with the Way of Heaven and should have been all-knowing and all-powerful, stirred up an unprecedented and overwhelming wave at this moment.

There really is something there!

How is that possible?!

How is that possible!

Just now, just before Chen Changsheng made his move, he used all his authority and abilities as the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao to explore this area countless times.

But now?

A real box, the material of which even he couldn't see through, appeared out of thin air right under his nose!

This is more than just a slap in the face.

This is like pressing his face, as the ancestor of the Dao and the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao, to the ground and rubbing it back and forth with that broken iron shovel!

He is Hongjun!

It is a supreme being whose body is in harmony with the Heavenly Dao, indestructible through countless eons, and who overlooks the entire primordial era's changes!

His own home, his own temple, actually harbored a "black market" item that even he himself was unaware of?

If word gets out, won't he lose face? What will his three disciples think of him? Those two shameless guys in the West will probably laugh their heads off!

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Hongjun's mind, each one carrying a shock and upheaval that could shatter even a saint's Dao heart.

For the first time, he began to doubt his own self-perception as "omniscient and omnipotent".

Could it be that there truly exists a realm in this primordial world that even the Heavenly Dao cannot touch or perceive?

Hongjun's gaze was fixed on the chaotic-colored box, then slowly moved to Chen Changsheng and the rusty shovel in his hand.

variable!

This kid, and the broken shovel in his hand, are both beyond the laws of nature, true variables!

Chen Changsheng had no time to ponder the complex emotions of the Dao Ancestor at that moment; all his attention was focused on the box.

He carefully jumped into the pit, stretched out his hands, and tried to pick up the box.

But the moment his hand touched the box, an unimaginably heavy force came from it.

It wasn't weight, but a profound sense of weight that came from the very existence itself.

With Chen Changsheng's half-step Hunyuan realm and physical strength comparable to a primordial spiritual treasure, he actually felt that lifting this small box was more strenuous than lifting an ancient divine mountain.

"Hey!"

Chen Changsheng let out a low shout, unleashing his full power of primordial magic, causing the nine-colored lightning patterns on his Great Dao Lightning Armor to shine to their fullest extent.

With veins bulging on his arms, he used every ounce of strength he had to finally lift the box slowly from the bottom of the pit.

"Wow, that's really heavy!"

He muttered something, picked up the box, and walked out of the pit step by step. Then, with a "thud," he placed the box on the smooth floor of Zixiao Palace.

After doing all this, he raised his head and looked at the Dao Ancestor Hongjun sitting high above him, a bright smile on his face.

"Dao Ancestor, you see, your disciple was not wrong, was he?"

"Isn't this it?"

Hongjun Daozu looked at the box on the ground, then at Chen Changsheng's face, which was filled with "Praise me!", and fell silent.

What could he say?

He couldn't say anything.

The facts are right in front of him, and he cannot deny them.

For the first time, his unchanging state of mind was stirred by an intense and uncontrollable curiosity.

He wanted to know what was inside the box.

What kind of thing is it that can shield the perception of the Heavenly Dao and hide for endless years right under its nose?

"Open it."

Hongjun's voice rang out, carrying a hint of urgency that even he himself was unaware of.

"Open it and take a look."

Open it and take a look!

When Hongjun Daozu's words, tinged with obvious emotional fluctuation, echoed in the empty Zixiao Palace, Chen Changsheng's last trace of concern vanished completely.

This is exactly the effect he wanted!

Even the Dao Ancestor was incredibly curious; he was determined to open this blind box today!

Moreover, judging from the Dao Ancestor's reaction, he was clearly stunned.

A treasure unknown even to the Heavenly Dao—its value is beyond description.

"Okay!"

Chen Changsheng agreed readily, but inside he was overjoyed.

He rubbed his hands together, squatted down, and stared intently at the chaotic-colored treasure chest in front of him.

The surface of the box was perfectly smooth and seamless, without a single gap, except for a small groove that looked like a keyhole.

This thing doesn't have a key?

Chen Changsheng scratched his head and tried to push the lid of the box with his hand, but the box did not move at all, as if it had merged with the entire chaotic void.

He then tried to probe the box with his divine sense, but as soon as his divine sense touched the surface of the box, it was instantly swallowed up by an invisible force without even a sound.

You know, treasure chests usually open instantly, but this one is a little different.

"Hey, that's pretty unique."

Chen Changsheng refused to believe it. He stood up and picked up the treasure-digging shovel that had served him so well once again.

Since you're completely integrated, I'll just crack open your skull!

He raised the shovel high, ready to smash it down on the lid of the box.

"stop!"

The voice of Hongjun Daozu, seated high above, came again, his tone carrying a hint of amusement and exasperation.

This kid is a real tiger!

It was bad enough that he used that strange shovel to dig at his floor, but now he actually wanted to use it to smash this treasure chest that even he couldn't see through.

What if it gets smashed?

Hongjun's curiosity about the box has now reached its peak.

"This thing was born from chaos and cannot be opened by brute force."

Hongjun's voice slowly drifted over. He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and regained a trace of the unfathomable aura befitting a Dao Ancestor.

"Since you are destined to possess this item, try dripping a drop of your blood into the keyhole."

Blood test to identify a master?

Upon hearing this, Chen Changsheng's eyes lit up immediately.

Yeah, how could I forget such a classic move?

He quickly put away the shovel, squatted down again, and without hesitation forced out a drop of purplish-gold essence blood from his fingertip.

This drop of essence blood contained the original power of his half-step Grand Luo Golden Immortal. As soon as it appeared, the surrounding void was rippling with lightning patterns, emitting an extremely powerful aura.

He carefully aimed the drop of blood at the small groove on the box and dripped it down.

hum!

The moment the essence blood came into contact with the groove, the entire chaotic-colored treasure chest suddenly burst forth with an extremely dazzling nine-colored divine light!

The divine light shot into the sky, instantly illuminating the entire Zixiao Palace in a dazzling array of colors.

An ancient, boundless aura, surpassing even the primordial laws of heaven, emanated from the box.