Primordial Era: A brick knocks Hongyun unconscious, and he seizes the throne at the start.

"boom--!"

Yuan Feng crashed onto a deserted island, creating a crater hundreds of feet deep, and the Nirvana Divine Fire ignited half the island.

Lu Chen lay prone at the cave entrance, watching the distant flames soaring into the sky, his heart pounding wildly.

"Yuan Feng... is he that badly injured?"

This Phoenix Clan Chief, a peak Great Luo Golden Immortal, now had a faint aura, like a candle flame. He had a penetrating wound in his chest, where dragon energy and Qilin baleful energy intertwined, clearly indicating that he had been severely injured by the combined attack of the Ancestral Dragon and the Primordial Qilin.

The phoenix egg in her arms had also developed cracks, and the Nirvana Divine Fire was desperately trying to repair it.

"Chirp..." The little golden phoenix peeked out from Lu Chen's arms, looking at its kin in the distance, a look of sadness flashing in its eyes.

Lu Chen patted its head: "Want to go rescue it?"

Little Golden Phoenix nodded, then shook its head—it knew there was danger.

Just then, the roar of a dragon and the furious howl of a qilin echoed from the sky.

"Yuan Feng! You are doomed to die today!"

"Hand over the Phoenix Egg, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse!"

The Ancestral Dragon and the Primordial Qilin descended with overwhelming killing intent, followed by dozens of Grand Luo-level dragon and Qilin experts.

The deserted island was instantly surrounded.

Lu Chen held his breath and pushed the concealment functions of the Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag and the Qiankun Diagram to their limits.

"We can't be found out... or we're dead."

From the deep pit, Yuan Feng struggled to her feet, her wings stained with blood, yet she remained arrogant: "You want to kill me? You're not worthy!"

She burned her last source of power, and the divine fire of rebirth soared into the sky, transforming into a thousand-foot-tall phantom of a fiery phoenix.

"Let's fight to the death!" Zu Long sneered. "Attack together!"

The three clan leaders clashed once again, and the entire deserted island began to crumble.

Lu Chen watched in horror. The aftershocks of a battle of this level could kill him.

"I need to get out of here quickly..."

He quietly retreated, preparing to escape through the seabed.

But as soon as they retreated to the beach, something unexpected happened!

"Buzz—"

The Qilin Elder Token in his arms suddenly became hot and flew out automatically, shooting towards the center of the battlefield!

"What?!" Lu Chen's expression changed drastically.

The token transformed into a beam of yellow light and landed precisely in front of Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng was stunned. He grabbed the token, scanned it with his divine sense, and his expression changed drastically: "A list of traitors within the Qilin Clan?! And the secret record of the Three Clans Alliance... This..."

She abruptly looked up at the Ancestral Dragon and the Primordial Qilin, her eyes flashing with deep-seated hatred: "So that's how it is... The Dragon Clan has long colluded with the Qilin Clan to annihilate my Phoenix Clan!"

The First Dragon and the First Qilin were also taken aback.

"What list?" Shi Qilin frowned.

"Stop pretending!" Yuan Feng shrieked fiercely, "You all conspired to set me up and lure me into this calamity... Fine! Fine! Fine! Since that's the case, then let's all die together!"

She went completely mad, injecting all her essence and blood into the Heavenly Phoenix Egg.

"With my life, I will be reborn—my son, avenge your mother!"

"boom!"

Yuan Feng's body exploded, transforming into endless Nirvana Divine Fire, which surged into the Heavenly Phoenix Egg.

The eggshell shattered completely, and a three-legged golden crow engulfed in golden flames emerged—not a phoenix, but a pure-blooded golden crow!

"This is... the Golden Crow bloodline of the Sun Star?!" Zu Long exclaimed in shock.

The golden crow roared to the sky, its aura rising steadily, instantly breaking through to the Great Luo realm, and still growing!

"No! She's going to sacrifice herself to give birth to the Great Golden Crow!" the Primordial Qilin roared. "Stop her!"

But it's too late.

The Golden Crow opened its eyes, filled with hatred and sorrow. It opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing all the divine fire transformed from the Primordial Phoenix, stabilizing its aura at the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm.

"Mother..." Jinwu's voice was childish, yet filled with murderous intent, "You will all die!"

Its wings spread wide, and the sun's true fire scorched the sky and boiled the sea.

"Retreat!" Zu Long made a decisive decision.

A crazed Golden Crow, when it fights desperately, is feared by all.

"Trying to leave?!" the Golden Crow shrieked, transforming into a golden light as it gave chase.

The three clan leaders fought and fled, disappearing into the horizon of the East Sea in the blink of an eye.

The deserted island returned to peace, leaving only a mess.

Lu Chen emerged from the seabed, still shaken.

"Yuan Feng has fallen... One of the three clan leaders has died, the Great Tribulation is about to end."

He looked toward the center of the battlefield, where several pieces of Yuan Feng's natal feathers lay scattered, along with the now-dimmed Qilin Elder's token.

"The token has been exposed, and the fact that there's a traitor within the Qilin Clan can no longer be hidden... But it's all for the best. The three clans fighting like dogs gives me a chance."

He put away the feathers and token, and was about to leave when his gaze suddenly sharpened.

At the bottom of the deep pit, embedded in the fragment of the Heavenly Phoenix Egg was a crimson crystal—the Primordial Phoenix Core!

"The core of the Great Luo Peak cultivator... has been unlocked!"

Lu Chen rushed over, about to collect it, when the core suddenly transformed into a beam of red light and shot into his brow.

"Buzz—"

A flood of information rushed into my mind:

The complete text of the Nirvana Sutra

Phoenix Clan's Three Thousand Secret Techniques

Yuan Feng's Lifelong Cultivation Experience

And... a warning:

Those who come after me and obtain my heart core must promise me one thing: protect my son, the Golden Crow, and prevent him from being devoured by the great calamity.

Lu Chen smiled wryly.

Another one entrusting their child to another.

However, the value of the Yuanfeng Core is indeed worth accepting this karmic burden for him.

"I will do my best," he promised to the void.

With his core fully integrated, Lu Chen's cultivation level relaxed once again, propelling him towards becoming a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

But he didn't have time to go into seclusion.

The bells of Zixiao Palace have already rung three times; the sermon is about to begin. He must hurry to Chaos, or he will miss his first opportunity to hear the sermon and all subsequent opportunities will be lost.

"Let's go to Zixiao Palace first, and we can talk about other things later."

Lu Chen discerned the direction and flew towards the boundary between the primordial wilderness and chaos.

A month later, he arrived at the edge of the prehistoric world.

Ahead lay a hazy, chaotic current of energy, violent and disorderly, where even a Golden Immortal risked perishing.

"According to the original story, the threshold for first hearing the Dao is the Great Luo Golden Immortal... With my current cultivation level, I'm afraid I can't even get past the Chaos Realm."

Lu Chen frowned.

Just as I was pondering this, I heard laughter and conversation coming from afar.

Three figures approached together: one was an elderly man with white hair and an air of otherworldly grace; another was a beautiful woman in palace attire, exuding a cool and aloof elegance; and the last one…

He wore a fiery red robe, had a hearty smile, and a red gourd hanging from his waist.

"Ancestor Hongyun!" Lu Chen's eyes lit up.

The kindest man in the primordial world, he will be besieged and killed in the future due to the Primordial Purple Qi, but for now he is still a carefree immortal.

"Maybe I could hitch a ride..."

Lu Chen straightened his robes and took the initiative to greet them: "Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment."

The three of them stopped and looked at him.

Hongyun sized up Lu Chen and smiled, "Young friend, are you also going to Zixiao Palace to listen to the Dao?"

"Indeed." Lu Chen cupped his hands in greeting. "However, my cultivation is shallow, and I fear I will be unable to cross the Chaos Realm. I wonder if I could accompany the three of you on this journey?"

The white-haired old man (Zhen Yuanzi) frowned: "Chaos is dangerous; bringing you along might cause unforeseen circumstances."

The woman in palace attire (Queen Mother of the West) said calmly, "Those who are not of the Great Luo realm will face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death if they enter the Chaos realm."

Lu Chen was prepared and took out the jade slip of the Qiankun Ancestor: "This junior is the successor of the Qiankun Ancestor. I have an innate spiritual treasure to protect me and will not be a burden to the three of you."

"The successor of Fellow Daoist Qiankun?" Zhen Yuanzi was moved. "He...didn't he perish?"

"My master left behind a wisp of his legacy, which I was fortunate enough to obtain," Lu Chen said, half-jokingly.

Hongyun laughed heartily: "Since you are the successor of Fellow Daoist Qiankun, then you are one of us. Young friend, come with us. My Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd is more than enough to protect you through the Chaos."

"Thank you very much, Senior Hongyun!" Lu Chen was overjoyed.

The four of them set off together into the chaos.

Hongyun summoned a red gourd, spewing out crimson mist that enveloped everyone, resisting the erosion of the chaotic airflow.

Zhen Yuanzi held the Earth Book in his hand, stabilizing the space.

The Queen Mother of the West wears a Kunlun Mirror on her head, reflecting the path ahead.

Lu Chen silently followed behind, observing these three future powerhouses.

Hongyun was enthusiastic and talkative, explaining her experiences of chaos to Lu Chen along the way; Zhen Yuanzi was calm and taciturn, but his occasional pointers were very helpful to Lu Chen; west Wangmu was aloof, but seemed to be curious about Lu Chen's identity as the "Successor of Qiankun".

"Young friend, now that you have received the inheritance of Qiankun, do you know the outcome of his debate with Hongjun Daozu back then?" the Queen Mother of the West suddenly asked.

Lu Chen's heart stirred: "Master did not elaborate, only saying... that the Dao Ancestor's Dao is not necessarily the only one."

All three were startled.

"Well said, 'Not necessarily the only one.'" Hongyun clapped his hands and laughed, "Fellow Daoist Qiankun is still as arrogant as ever."

Zhen Yuanzi gave Lu Chen a deep look: "Don't tell outsiders about this."

"I understand," Lu Chen nodded.

Halfway there, the chaotic air currents suddenly became violent.

"Be careful! It's a chaotic vortex!" the Queen Mother of the West shouted.

A massive vortex appeared ahead, swallowing everything; even light could not escape.

Hongyun urged the gourd with all its might, and the crimson mist struggled to resist.

"We can't hold on! The vortex is expanding!" Zhen Yuanzi's expression was grave.

As Lu Chen watched the vortex draw ever closer, a sentence from the jade slip suddenly flashed through his mind: "[The Chaos Vortex is actually a spatial node, leading to fragments of chaos]."

"Three seniors, this vortex might be an opportunity!" he shouted.

"What opportunity? This is a desperate situation!" The Queen Mother of the West frowned.

"Let's take a gamble!" Hongyun grinned. "Young friend, which way do you suggest we go?"

"Charge in!" Lu Chen pointed to the center of the vortex. "That's where the space is weakest; we can break through there!"

"Alright! I'll trust you this once!" Hongyun said with great enthusiasm, riding the gourd towards the center of the vortex.

Zhen Yuanzi and the Queen Mother of the West had no choice but to follow.

"boom--!"

The gourd crashed into the vortex, distorting space.

Lu Chen felt dizzy and disoriented. When he came to his senses, he found himself in a shattered, chaotic space.

This place is only a hundred miles in radius, surrounded by a solidified barrier of chaos, with something suspended in the center—

A wisp of purple mist, swirling and flowing, contained Daoist runes and exuded an aura of eternal immortality.

Primordial Purple Qi!

The foundation for sainthood!

Hongyun and the other two were all stunned.

"This is... Primordial Purple Qi?!" Zhen Yuanzi's voice trembled.

A burning desire flashed in the eyes of the Queen Mother of the West.

Hongyun laughed heartily: "What an opportunity! An incredible opportunity! Young friend, you are truly a lucky star!"

He excitedly rushed towards the purple aura.

Lu Chen's pupils contracted sharply.

In the original story, Hongyun obtained the Primordial Purple Qi after hearing the Dao for the first time, and was then surrounded and killed!

Now, the purple aura has appeared ahead of schedule?

Moreover... this purple aura seems a bit off.

The axe handle fragment inside his body vibrated slightly, emitting a warning signal—

There's something wrong with this purple aura!

"Senior, wait!" Lu Chen shouted urgently.

But Hongyun had already reached out to grab the purple aura.

The moment they touched it, the purple aura suddenly burst forth with dazzling light, enveloping the red clouds.

Hongyun groaned and was forced back three steps, her face turning deathly pale.

"This purple aura...has an owner?!" he exclaimed in shock.

Lu Chen's heart sank.

It was indeed a trap!

Within the fragments of chaos, primordial purple energy floated, and the red clouds were damaged.

Outside the fragments, several terrifying auras were rapidly approaching—Kunpeng, Styx, and Dijun Taiyi!

They had clearly been lying in ambush, waiting for someone to trigger the trap! Lu Chen and his three companions were trapped in the wreckage, surrounded by powerful enemies and shrouded in eerie purple energy—their desperate situation had returned!

What's even more troublesome is that the Qilin Elder Token in Lu Chen's arms suddenly resonated with that purple aura—deep within the purple aura, a faint phantom of a Qilin appeared. Was that... the conspiracy of the Primordial Qilin?!