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

Chapter 13: A Sermon at Zixiao Palace, Eavesdropped On with a Blow

Rahu!

The name sent chills down Lu Chen's spine.

The Demon Ancestor Rahu, the loser in the battle between the Dao and the Demon, should have been annihilated in both body and soul, yet a remnant soul still exists in the world?!

Moreover... it's also mixed up with the lingering resentments of Zu Long and Yuan Feng?

"Senior is too kind." Lu Chen suppressed his shock and bowed. "I only escaped by luck. What future do I have?"

The figure in black robes slowly approached, and demonic energy surged like a tide, but was blocked three zhang away by Zhen Yuanzi's Earth Book.

"A lucky break?" Rahu's remnant soul chuckled, a hint of amusement seemingly appearing beneath his blurred face. "To be able to see through the traps of the three races, toy with four quasi-saints, and even use fake purple energy to let Hongyun touch the threshold of quasi-saint—if this is just a lucky break, then there are no smart people left in the prehistoric world."

Lu Chen's heart tightened.

This guy was secretly observing us the whole time?!

"You flatter me, senior." He dared not say more.

The illusory image of the Ancestral Dragon spoke at this moment, its dragon eyes fixed on Lu Chen: "Junior, you... have the aura of my insurmountable barrier on you."

The phantom of Yuan Feng also emitted a clear, cold female voice: "And there is also fluctuation in my heart core."

The two clan leaders' lingering gazes were like knives, as if they wanted to see right through Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was sweating profusely, but he remained calm: "This junior picked up some fragments at the edge of the battlefield and managed to refine a trace of its aura."

"Is that so?" Rahu's remnant soul spoke meaningfully. "Then what about the Qilin's core? And... the finger bone of the Chaos Qilin's remains?"

Lu Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

How does this guy know so much?!

"What exactly does Senior want to say?" Hongyun stepped forward, the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd on guard. "If you wish to make things difficult for young friend Lu Chen, you'll have to get past me first!"

Zhen Yuanzi's Earth Book shone brightly: "Not bad."

Rahu's remnant soul waved his hand: "Don't be nervous. I'm just a remnant soul now, I can't defeat the three of you. But..."

He paused, his voice alluring: "Young friend, you have collected relics from the three races and possess the merit of creating the world; clearly, your ambitions are not small. But the path of the primordial world is not easy. Hongjun is preaching, and sages will emerge; all under the Heavenly Dao are but ants. It will be difficult for you to escape this game."

Lu Chen remained silent.

Luo Hou continued, "Why not cooperate with me? Although I was defeated, the demonic lineage still exists, and I also possess secret techniques left behind by the Chaos Demon God. It's not impossible for me to help you prove your Dao through force."

Prove the truth through force!

These four words sent a jolt through Lu Chen's heart.

This is precisely his deepest hidden goal—not to achieve sainthood through merit, not to sever the three corpses, but to follow the path of Pangu!

"Why did you choose me, senior?" Lu Chen stared at Luo Hou.

"Because you're smart and ruthless enough," Rahu's remnant soul laughed. "Hitting someone in the stomach, stealing treasures, framing someone—this routine suits my taste perfectly. Most importantly, you carry the aura of 'The Vanished One,' meaning the Heavenly Dao cannot fathom your destiny."

The one who escaped? Lu Chen recalled that Hongjun had said something similar.

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

"You don't need to do anything for now." The remnant soul of Rahu tossed out a black token. "This is the 'Demon Abyss Token,' which allows you to enter the Demon Abyss once. Come find me again after you break through to Quasi-Saint. At that time, I will give you a great gift."

The token floated in front of Lu Chen. It was pitch black, with the character "Demon" engraved on the front and a picture of a chaotic demon god's sacrifice on the back.

Lu Chen hesitated.

To do so would mean getting entangled in karma with the Demon Ancestor.

Not accepting... might mean missing out on a tremendous opportunity.

"Young friend, be careful," Zhen Yuanzi transmitted his voice. "Once you're entangled in the karma of demonic cultivation, it's hard to escape."

Hongyun also shook her head.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and raised his hand to accept the token.

"If I have the opportunity, I will definitely pay you a visit."

"Wise." Rahu's remnant soul laughed, his form beginning to fade. "Remember, the Abyss of Demons is beneath Mount Sumeru in the west. Also... be careful of Hongjun. The Dao he speaks of may not all be true."

As soon as he finished speaking, the remnant soul and the two illusory figures of the clan leaders vanished together.

Chaos returned to deathly silence.

After a long silence, Zhen Yuanzi sighed and said, "Young friend, you've taken too much of a risk."

Lu Chen stroked the token and smiled wryly, "This junior knows. But the path of the Primordial World is inherently about defying fate. Whether it's the demonic path or the mystical path, we'll use whatever we can."

Hongyun pondered, "Luo Hou's last words... the Dao spoken by the Dao Ancestor, may not be entirely true?"

"Perhaps." Lu Chen put away the token. "But for now, we should return to the Primordial World. The Dragon-Han Calamity has ended, and Heavenly Merit will descend—this is a great opportunity."

The three of them didn't linger any longer and returned at full speed.

Ten days later, at the edge of the primordial wilderness.

Looking into the distance, the air was thick with the aura of blood-red calamity, but it had begun to dissipate. From the direction of Mount Buzhou, a faint golden light shot into the sky—that was the condensation of Heavenly Merit!

"The karmic debts of the three races have been settled, and the merits are about to descend," Zhen Yuanzi said.

Lu Chen suddenly stopped: "The two seniors go first, I have some personal matters to attend to."

"What do you want to do, young friend?" Hongyun asked.

"Let's pick up some stuff." Lu Chen grinned. "The Three Races Battlefield should be deserted now."

Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes—this kid really never leaves empty-handed.

"Be careful," the two said before returning to Wuzhuang Temple.

Lu Chen then changed direction and flew towards the battlefield of Buzhou Mountain.

The closer you get, the stronger the malevolent energy becomes.

The once vast battlefield is now a mountain of corpses and a river of blood. Dragon corpses, phoenix remains, and qilin bones are everywhere, many still emanating a powerful aura.

"I'm rich..."

Lu Chen's eyes lit up as he unfurled the Qiankun Diagram and began frantically collecting data.

Dragon balls, phoenix feathers, and qilin horns—these are all top-tier materials for refining weapons and alchemy.

Dragon tendons, phoenix feathers, and unicorn hides can be used to craft robes and armor.

More importantly, there are those broken fragments of innate spiritual treasures!

Although it's broken, the material is still there, and it can be reforged into a new magical treasure.

Lu Chen only picked the highest quality items, and in just half a day, a treasure mountain was piled up in the Qiankun Diagram.

"That's enough, time to leave... Hmm?"

He suddenly sensed a faint fluctuation deep within the battlefield.

It was a leveled valley with a hundred-foot-deep pit in the center. A broken black spear was stuck at the bottom of the pit. The spear shaft was broken, with only half left, but the aura it emitted made the fragments of the axe handle inside Lu Chen's body tremble!

"This is... a fragment of the God-Slaying Spear?!" Lu Chen's heart pounded wildly.

The God-Slaying Spear, Rahu's innate treasure, a fierce and rare treasure of the Heavenly Dao, capable of injuring even a saint's primordial spirit! It shattered during the conflict between the Dao and the Demon, and a fragment of it actually fell here?

He rushed down into the pit, about to draw his gun.

"Buzz—"

Suddenly, black light burst forth from the gun, and a fierce aura surged straight towards the primordial spirit!

"Not good!" Lu Chen hurriedly activated the golden light of merit to protect his body.

However, the malevolent aura was too domineering, and it actually pierced through the golden light and invaded the sea of ​​consciousness.

Just as his primordial spirit was about to be eroded, the Demon Abyss Token in his arms suddenly heated up, surging out a gentle demonic energy that absorbed the malevolent energy.

"The Demon Abyss Token has this function?" Lu Chen asked in surprise.

He seized the opportunity to pull out the fragment of the spearhead—it was only the size of a palm, but it felt as heavy as a star, and there were still dark red bloodstains on the spear tip, so he didn't know which powerful figure it belonged to.

"Take it!"

Just as they collected the fragments, a brilliant golden light suddenly shone in the sky.

"Boom!"

Heavenly merit has descended!

A shower of golden light fell from the sky, most of it flying towards various parts of the primordial world—a reward for the cultivators who protected living beings and maintained heaven and earth during the great calamity.

The largest of the streams split into three parts and flew in three different directions:

A portion was sent to Mount Sumeru in the west (to guide the future Bodhimanda of the Cundi Bodhisattva).

A piece fell towards Kunlun Mountain (Sanqing).

A document was sent to Buzhou Mountain (by the Wu tribe).

And a wisp of merit drifted over from Lu Chen's side—only as thick as a hair, but it was indeed merit!

"Because I pick up corpses... no, I mean cleanse the battlefield of evil energy, which also counts as protecting the world?" Lu Chen chuckled.

Even a mosquito's leg is meat, so he quickly absorbed it.

Merit entered his body, and his cultivation level instantly broke through to the mid-stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal!

"Cool!"

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a dozen thicker pillars of merit light flying in different directions from the rain of merit light.

"Those are... future famous powerhouses?" Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.

One of them flew towards the East China Sea.

"The East Sea? At this point in time, the famous powerful figures in the East Sea... the Eastern King Duke? The Western Queen Mother?"

His mind started working.

The Eastern King Duke was destined to be the head of the male immortals, but was later killed by Emperor Jun and Taiyi. The Western Queen Mother, on the other hand, was the head of the female immortals and lived in seclusion in Kunlun.

"Should we... intercept a portion?"

Lu Chen licked his lips, but quickly shook his head.

Merit is a gift from Heaven, and forcibly taking it will bring back bad luck. But... what if you "find" something that nobody wants?

His gaze swept across the area and, sure enough, he saw some tiny specks of merit light that were slowly dissipating because they were unclaimed.

"These should be rewards for fallen cultivators; since the individuals are dead, the merits have no rightful owner."

Lu Chen quietly approached and used the Qiankun Diagram to collect them—not daring to take too many, he only picked up a dozen or so.

This alone doubled his total amount of merit!

"Know when to quit while you're ahead." He made a decisive retreat.

After flying thousands of miles away from the battlefield, Lu Chen found a cave, set up a protective barrier, and began to take stock of his spoils.

The materials were piled up like mountains, with hundreds of fragments of spiritual treasures. The most precious items were naturally the fragments of the God-Slaying Spear and the merits accumulated.

"We'll sort things out slowly when we get back to Wuzhuang Temple."

He recuperated for three days until he was back to his peak condition, and then went to Wuzhuang Temple.

Longevity Hill, Wuzhuang Temple.

Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi had already returned and were discussing Taoism under the ginseng fruit tree.

Upon seeing Lu Chen arrive, Hongyun smiled and asked, "How was your harvest, young friend?"

"It's alright." Lu Chen brushed it off vaguely, changing the subject, "What are your plans for the future, seniors?"

Zhen Yuanzi said, "I need to go into seclusion to comprehend the Dao of the Earth Immortals. Hongyun, on the other hand, needs to consolidate his understanding of the Quasi-Saint realm."

Hongyun nodded: "This time, I have turned misfortune into blessing and touched the threshold of Quasi-Saint, but I still need to cultivate diligently to truly break through."

Lu Chen thought for a moment and took out the three Qilin eggs (the last sparks of fire).

"Senior, this is the last bloodline of the Qilin clan. I am unable to raise him/her. Could he/she be entrusted to Wuzhuang Temple?"

Zhen Yuanzi was moved: "The bloodline of the Chaos Qilin? Where did you obtain it, young friend?"

"I obtained it from the bottom of Qilin Cliff," Lu Chen said, half-jokingly. "It was entrusted to me by the First Qilin on its deathbed, hoping to leave a glimmer of hope for the clan."

Hongyun sighed, "Although the three races are evil, the calamity of their extermination is ultimately tragic."

Zhen Yuanzi solemnly accepted it: "This humble Taoist will take good care of it. Once it hatches, it can be kept as a guardian spirit beast of the mountain."

Lu Chen then took out some rare materials from the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan and gave them to the two of them.

"I am deeply grateful for your help this time. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

Zhen Yuanzi could not refuse and had no choice but to accept it.

The three of them discussed philosophy for several more months, and Lu Chen benefited greatly from it.

Before leaving, Hongyun suddenly asked, "Young friend, will you attend the second sermon at Zixiao Palace three thousand years from now?"

"Go." Lu Chen nodded. "Even though my cultivation level is low, it can't hurt to listen."

"Then we'll travel together," Hongyun said with a smile. "With you here, the journey won't be boring."

Lu Chen bowed and took his leave.

After leaving Wuzhuang Temple, he did not return to Qiankun Tu for seclusion, but instead flew to the west side of Buzhou Mountain—there was a primordial array there, marked as a [safe cultivation point] on the jade slip.

Upon entering the grand formation, one finds a hidden world within, rich in spiritual energy, and containing a primordial spiritual spring.

"It's time for a breakthrough."

Lu Chen took out all his gains and began his seclusion.