Primordial Era: I am a treasure trove, full of magical treasures.

Xuanbao watched the demon generals disappear into the depths of Feixing Marsh, their heads hanging low and almost tumbling down, before turning around with satisfaction and patting Bai Ze's smooth, satin-like back.

"You must have been startled, senior," he said with a smile. "At least in Kunlun Mountain, no one will ever chase after you to train for long-distance running."

As for appointing Bai Ze as the head steward of Kunlun Mountain, Xuan Bao had already made up his mind. Kunlun Mountain was currently lacking a head steward who could keep things in order. As for the Three Pure Ones, they didn't seem to know much about managing sects, and they couldn't rely on him forever. Bai Ze, on the other hand, was experienced and a Quasi-Saint. If he could be appointed, the Three Pure Ones lineage of Kunlun Mountain would definitely be managed in an orderly manner. However, speaking of which, Fuxi was also a good choice, but unfortunately, Fuxi was currently still the Xi Huang of the demon race...

Bai Ze: ……

Bai Ze snorted, a hint of helplessness mixed with relief flashing in his wise eyes. "Young friend, I already experienced your sharp tongue at Zixiao Palace. Today... thank you for helping me out. However," it hesitated for a moment, "Kunlun Mountain is a sacred place, and I am but a carefree wild demon; it would be inappropriate for me to go there rashly..."

"Hey!" Xuanbao waved his hand dismissively. "What wild demons? We don't care about that on Kunlun Mountain! My masters just love liveliness... oh no, I mean, they love sentient beings." He leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "Senior, you are knowledgeable about everything, from astronomy to geography, and even human affairs... ah no, I mean, you understand the affairs of all the races of the primordial world. Our Kunlun Mountain is in dire need of a steward like you! Just think, who will manage the spirit herb garden? Who knows the best about the medicinal herb inventory in the alchemy room? And when there are occasional minor conflicts between the immortals in different caves, who is the most suitable to 'tactfully' mediate? It has to be you!"

Bai Ze's jade horn seemed to light up a bit when it heard this, not because of Xuan Bao's flattery—but mainly because the term "chief steward" gave it a strange sense of being needed and high-class. As for whether being a steward would lower one's status, being a steward for a saint is a great honor, second only to one person... no, above four people and above ten thousand others. It's much more comfortable than being captured by the demon race to be a war strategist, scheming every day about how to destroy the witch race and how to suppress all races, right?

"A steward... that's not entirely out of the question." Bai Ze flicked his tail with a reserved air, "It's just that this humble Taoist has always been lazy and dislikes anything complicated..."

"Not at all! Absolutely not at all!" Xuanbao patted his chest to assure him. "It's just about helping to look after the house, managing the storeroom keys, and occasionally telling the masters' mounts and attendants some interesting tales from the prehistoric era to keep them from getting bored. The specific tasks are handled by the Yellow Turban Warriors and the Daoist disciples! You're just sitting in the center, strategizing and planning!"

Bai Ze was a little confused by what he said, and since he really had nowhere to go, and was even more afraid that the demon race would make a comeback and use stronger methods, he finally nodded his noble head: "Very well, then I will go with you to Kunlun Mountain to bother you for a while."

"Alright!" Xuanbao beamed, immediately pulling out a jade talisman that shimmered with light. "Senior Bai Ze, take this talisman and head to Kunlun Mountain. There will be Daoist boys to guide you outside the mountain gate. When you see my masters, just tell them that I invited you back to help 'manage household affairs,' and they definitely won't object! Especially my third master, tell him more about the strange and wonderful things that happened in various parts of the prehistoric world, and he'll be sure to be happy!"

Bai Ze held the jade talisman in his mouth, feeling much more at ease, but also a little curious: "Fellow Daoist, aren't you going back together?"

Xuanbao stretched and looked at the misty purple spiritual miasma deeper in Feixingze, his eyes sparkling with an adventurous light: "I've only been out for a hundred years, and I'm having a great time exploring! There's no reason for me to go home halfway."

Bai Ze: "..."

After instructing Bai Ze to be careful on the way, and watching it fly gracefully (much more composed than when it was fleeing) on ​​auspicious clouds towards Kunlun, Xuan Bao immediately felt relaxed.

"Finally, I don't have to deal with all that messy stuff myself anymore!" Xuanbao was the happiest person at this moment.

"Hehe, when traveling, picking up a primordial spiritual treasure is basic stuff, but picking up a quasi-saint steward is the real skill!"

After seeing off his future head butler, Xuanbao was in high spirits, humming a little tune as he continued his cloud-riding adventure. He did a quick calculation and realized that it had been... the time it takes to eat a meal? That's inefficient.

Just as he was pondering where to try his luck, the purple miasma in Feixing Marsh beneath his feet suddenly began to churn unnaturally. Xuanbao exclaimed "Eh!" and descended from the cloud. He saw that in a patch of mud that had been affected by the chase and fight between the demons and Bai Ze, bubbles the size of bowls were bubbling up.

"Could there be some treasures that have slipped through the net?" Xuanbao's eyes lit up again, and he leaned closer to take a closer look.

With a "pop," the mud broke open, and out emerged a dusty, grimy... turtle? Its shell was about the size of a washbasin, covered in mysterious patterns, and even the mud couldn't conceal its faint, precious glow. The turtle cautiously poked its head out, its beady green eyes meeting the probing gaze of the mysterious treasure. Both froze in surprise.

Xuanbao: "Wow, what a... mud turtle."

Turtle: "...You're the turtle! Your whole family are turtles!" The voice was clear and crisp, surprisingly a boy's voice.

Xuanbao chuckled: "You can speak human language? Looks like you're not an ordinary being. Your markings... hmm, they look familiar."

The turtle—no, the shelled creature—struggled to pull itself out of the mud, cursing as it did so: "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen a mythical beast in distress? If those lunatics hadn't been fighting and collapsing the ley lines, would I be stuck here? Ouch..."

Xuanbao crouched down and kindly asked, "Need any help? My fees are reasonable, and I'm honest with everyone. I can use information to settle the debt, for example... do you know of any other hidden treasure sites around here? Or any innate spiritual roots that have secretly borne fruit?"

The "divine beast" paused, its beady green eyes scrutinizing Xuanbao suspiciously: "First, tell me who you are? You're not with that group of demons from before, are you?"

"Genuine disciples of the Three Pure Ones, guaranteed trustworthy."

"A disciple of the Three Pure Ones?" The "turtle's" eyes widened suddenly (though still very small), and it became excited, its four short legs pawing even more vigorously: "Quick, quick! Pull me out! I know where the treasure is! A big treasure! It's just a little... a little hard to get!"

Xuanbao immediately perked up. Not caring about the dirt, he reached out and grabbed the edge of the tortoise shell. With a little force, he pulled the tortoise out with the mud and the shell.

The creature landed and shook itself, the mud falling away to reveal its true form: a dragon's head, a turtle's body, and a snake's tail, with water vapor swirling around it.

"Ba...Baxia?" Xuanbao raised an eyebrow.

"What Baxia! Call me Bixi!" the boy protested, raising his head to display his majesty. "One of the nine sons of the dragon, carrying a monument to guard the sea, you know?"

Seeing the small Bixi at the Golden Immortal Realm before him, Xuanbao guessed that it was most likely a second-generation Bixi. However, what impressed Xuanbao the most was the dragon race's reproductive capabilities; they truly had no reproductive barriers whatsoever...

"I understand, I understand." Xuanbao nodded obediently, his eyes shining brightly. "So, where is the big treasure?"

The bixie used its claws to scrape a clod of dirt from the corner of its eye, then mysteriously lowered its voice: "Thirty thousand miles to the west, there is a 'Sinking Star Abyss,' beneath which lies a fragment of chaos! Within the fragment is wrapped a wisp of 'Primordial Chaos Qi' from the beginning of creation. Although it's only a tiny bit, it's absolutely a supreme treasure for refining artifacts! It's just..."

"What is it?"

"That place is a bit special." Bixi's beady green eyes sparkled. "The Abyss of Fallen Stars is a deep pool formed by the crash of an ancient star. The water is incredibly heavy; even a goose feather can sink to the bottom. What's more troublesome is that an old 'Alligator Dragon' lives at the bottom of the pool. It has been sleeping on that fragment as a pillow for almost an entire era. It has a terrible temper and hates being disturbed while it sleeps."

Xuanbao stroked his chin: "A crocodile dragon... what's its cultivation level?"

"I don't know the specifics, but last time a demon king at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm tried to steal the fragment, it whipped him out with its tail, and he lay there for five hundred years before recovering." Bixi shrank its neck. "I saw you scared off the demons quite impressively just now, but you probably wouldn't stand a chance if you tried to snatch it by force. That old alligator dragon has thick skin and flesh; even its snoring could shatter and injure me."

Seeing the little look in Bixi's eyes that seemed to say, "You may be able to scare away the demons, but you might not be enough for the old alligator dragon to whip you with its tail," Xuanbao was not angry at all; instead, he laughed.

He reached out and flicked off the splattered mud still clinging to the tortoise's head, chuckling, "Little fellow, do you know what the 'first rule of survival in the primordial world' means?"

Bixi's beady green eyes looked bewildered: "...What?"

"Strength is king."