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

"Master, what's so special about this stone?"

The boy leaned closer, curiously examining the black brick held in the old man's hand—that was Lu Chen.

The old man stroked his beard and pondered, "It seems ordinary, yet it contains a trace of... the aura of creation. Strange, this place is on the edge of the primordial world, how could there be a relic of creation?"

Lu Chen's heart tightened.

Damn it, that old man has a sharp eye! He desperately tried to suppress the axe handle fragments and the aura of merit, and the pale golden halo on the surface of the brick instantly disappeared, turning it gray and inconspicuous.

The old man probed with his divine sense for a moment, then shook his head: "Never mind, perhaps my perception is wrong. However, this stone is hard, so it would be suitable to take it back to the mountains to support my alchemy furnace."

A furnace for preparing elixirs?!

Lu Chen nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Me, a transmigrator who started out breaking bricks with Pangu's axe, and you want me to be the one lining up a pill furnace?!

But the situation was beyond their control. The old man's aura was as deep as the sea, indicating he was at least a Taiyi Golden Immortal. The young man also possessed True Immortal cultivation. He, a brick that had just developed sentience, was simply courting death by resisting.

"Endure! We must endure!"

Lu Chen forcibly suppressed his restlessness and let the old man stuff him into his sleeve.

A universe hidden in a sleeve.

It was pitch black all around, with only the sound of the wind rushing past. After about half a day, the wind stopped, and the old man seemed to have landed.

"Disciple, let us rest here for a while. Your master needs to calculate the location of Jade Capital Mountain."

"Yes, Master."

Lu Chen felt himself being placed on a flat stone surface. He cautiously released a sliver of his senses—

This is a valley brimming with spiritual energy, filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs, and a waterfall cascading in the distance. An old man sat cross-legged about three zhang away, meditating with his eyes closed. A young man was picking spiritual herbs not far away.

good chance!

Lu Chen's mind raced. If he didn't run now, it would be too late once he was taken back to be used as a furnace fuel. But how could he escape? Should he just fly? That would make too much noise.

As he was pondering, the old man suddenly opened his eyes and looked eastward.

"Huh? What's that...?"

Following his senses, Lu Chen saw a purple aura stretching across the eastern horizon for 30,000 miles, vast and boundless, causing lotus flowers to bloom in the void and golden springs to gush forth from the ground wherever it passed.

A figure could be vaguely seen in the purple aura, dressed in a simple Taoist robe, with an indistinct face, and every step he took was in harmony with the rhythm of the heavens.

"Ancestor Hongjun!" the old man exclaimed, hurriedly rising to pay his respects.

The boy immediately knelt down in worship.

A storm raged within Lu Chen's heart. Hongjun! The future representative of the Heavenly Dao, the first sage of the primordial world, was right before his eyes!

Hongjun seemed to sense something and glanced in their direction.

With just one glance, Lu Chen felt as if he had been thoroughly examined, and even the existence of the axe handle fragment was almost exposed. Fortunately, at the critical moment, the axe handle fragment automatically retracted, the golden light of merit subsided, and the brick body was disguised flawlessly.

Hongjun's gaze lingered on Lu Chen for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Strange rocks..."

The Dao Ancestor muttered to himself, but did not stop, continuing on his way. As he passed through the valley, he paused slightly, as if feeling the uneven ground beneath his feet, and casually kicked—

"Whoosh!"

Lu Chen was kicked away, tumbling through the air in an arc before "plop" falling into the distant spiritual spring.

Old man: "..."

juvenile:"……"

Lu Chen: "???"

I was kicked around like a rock by the Dao Ancestor?!

The spring water was cool and refreshing, brimming with rich spiritual energy. Lu Chen sat at the bottom, feeling both angry and helpless. But soon, he realized something was wrong—this spring water was extraordinary!

Strands of innate spiritual energy seeped into the brick, merging with the golden light of merit emanating from the axe handle fragments. A soft "crackling" sound emanated from within the brick, and its spiritual intelligence grew at a visible speed.

"This is... the opportunity for transformation!"

Lu Chen was overjoyed. He hadn't dared to transform into human form before, fearing that the commotion would attract powerful figures. But now, with the aura of Dao Ancestor Hongjun "passing by" providing cover, coupled with the nourishment from this spiritual spring, it was simply a godsend!

"Let's give it our all!"

Without further hesitation, he fully activated the merit within the axe handle fragment.

Golden light emanated from within the brickwork, bathing the entire spiritual spring in gold. The spring water churned, forming a whirlpool. Lu Chen's spiritual intelligence, nourished by merit, underwent a frenzied transformation.

Time passed second by second.

Outside, the old man and the boy had already left—the Dao Ancestor had appeared, and they were in a hurry to get a spot on Jade Capital Mountain, so they didn't care about a stepping stone.

Three hours later.

At the bottom of the spring, the surface of the black bricks is covered with cracks.

"Click—"

The bricks shattered completely, turning into dust. A human figure slowly materialized within the golden light.

First came the bones, then the flesh, and finally the skin. The golden light of merit transformed into a simple black robe, which draped over the newborn body.

Lu Chen opened his eyes.

He looked down at his hands—fair, slender, and with distinct fingers. A sweep of his divine sense revealed a handsome young face reflected in the water, about seventeen or eighteen years old, but with eyes that betrayed a world-weariness beyond his years.

"Transformation successful!"

He felt the surging power within his body—early stage of True Immortal! Relying on the merits of creation and innate spiritual energy, he skipped the stages of Qi Induction and Spirit Refinement, directly achieving an immortal body.

But to his even greater surprise, the black brick deep within his primordial spirit had not disappeared; instead, it had transformed into his natal magic weapon, hovering in his dantian. The brick's surface now bore many more mysterious patterns, and its aura was more than ten times stronger than before.

"It'll be even easier to ambush people from now on..." Lu Chen chuckled.

Just as I was feeling happy, a sudden chill ran through me.

A vast and overwhelming pressure descended, enveloping the entire valley.

It's Hongjun!

Lu Chen was terrified, thinking that the Dao Ancestor had returned to deal with him. But upon closer inspection, he realized that the oppressive aura was coming from a thousand miles to the east—Hongjun had stopped there.

Not only did it stop, but it also...talked to someone?

"Brother Dao, the three races have engaged in excessive slaughter, and are now burdened with karmic debts. A great calamity is imminent."

An aged voice rang out. Lu Chen had never heard it before, but anyone who could speak to Hongjun on equal terms must be a top-tier powerhouse in the primordial world.

Hongjun's voice was calm and unwavering: "The dragon, phoenix, and qilin will face calamity. This is the will of Heaven."

"That fellow Daoist's sermon at Zixiao Palace..."

"Three thousand years later, Jade Capital Mountain will open. Three thousand people with the right destiny will be chosen, and seven will attain sainthood."

boom!

Lu Chen's head buzzed.

Three thousand guests at Zixiao Palace! Seven Saintly positions! This is one of the most closely guarded secrets of the primordial world, and he's overheard it now?!

He held his breath, his heart rate dropping to a minimum, afraid of being discovered.

The aged voice asked again, "Brother Daoist, what about that extraordinary stone...?"

"The Heavenly Way is fifty, but one escapes. The extraordinary ones have their own destiny, and there is no need to interfere."

The conversation ended there. The oppressive aura dissipated, and Hongjun and the mysterious powerful being departed.

Lu Chen slumped down by the spiritual spring, his back covered in cold sweat.

This is too exciting! Eavesdropping on the Dao Ancestor's conversation—if I get caught, I won't even know how I died.

But the gains were also enormous.

First, it was confirmed that the Dragon-Han Calamity was about to erupt. The three races were doomed, and this was a perfect opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Second, the time and place of the sermon at Zixiao Palace. Three thousand years later, at Yujing Mountain. A must-go!

Third, it seems that the Dao Ancestor has tacitly allowed my existence as an "anomaly"? That phrase "no need to interfere" is practically a talisman!

"It's all settled, it's all settled..." Lu Chen calmed himself down and began to make plans.

He's currently at the early stage of True Immortal, which puts him at the bottom of the primordial world. Forget about going to Zixiao Palace, he can't even enter Chaos. He must increase his strength as soon as possible.

How to improve? Seize opportunities!

As a time traveler, he knew all too well what treasures the primordial world held: the gourd vines of Buzhou Mountain, the immortal apricots of Kunlun Mountain, the Fusang wood of the Sun Star...

But those places are either owned or heavily guarded. With his current strength, going there would be suicide.

"Wait, the First Calamity of the Dragon-Han Era..."

Lu Chen's eyes lit up. The war between the three races would inevitably result in heavy casualties. The dragons, phoenixes, and qilins that died in battle were all treasures! Dragon pearls, phoenix feathers, qilin horns—any one of them would be enough for him to cultivate to the Golden Immortal realm.

More importantly—the treasure trove of the three races!

The Dragon Clan's treasure trove is in the East Sea, the Phoenix Clan's treasure vault is in the Undying Volcano, and the Qilin Clan's treasure vault is in Qilin Cliff. In the later stages of the great war, the three clans weakened, and the guards on their treasure vaults became lax, making it the perfect time to strike.

"Let's set a small goal first: before the great war ends, break through to the Golden Immortal realm, and then go to the Three Races' Treasure Vault... to borrow something."

Lu Chen grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

That smile looked exactly like a fox that had stolen a chicken.

He stood up and patted the water stains off his black robe. His divine sense swept across the valley, finding a few newly sprouted acquired spiritual herbs, which he casually tucked into his sleeve—even a mosquito's leg is meat.

Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

There seems to be something embedded in the soil where Hongjun just stood.

Lu Chen approached, dug away the soil, and discovered a palm-sized piece of jade. The jade was warm and smooth, with patterns of mountains and rivers engraved on its surface.

"This is... a map of the primordial era?"

He infused a wisp of magical power, and the jade piece lit up, displaying a dense array of light dots:

【East Sea Dragon Palace - Treasure Pavilion】

【The Immortal Volcano - Nirvana Pool】

【Qilin Cliff - Ancestral Land】

【Yujing Mountain · Zixiao Palace】

……

Even the location and activation method of some innate restrictions are briefly recorded!

"I've struck gold! Did the Dao Ancestor accidentally drop this, or did he deliberately leave it for me?"

Lu Chen's heart raced. With this map, the primordial wilderness was like an open backyard for him!

He solemnly put away the jade piece and bowed in the direction where Dongfang Hongjun had left.

"I will always remember the kindness of the Dao Ancestor. Although you kicked me... let's keep things separate."

After the ceremony, he turned around and looked westward.

"First stop, the Qilin Clan battlefield. Time to loot the corpses!"

The black-robed youth transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the mountains.

He didn't notice that, high in the sky, a pair of indifferent eyes were watching the direction he had left in.

Hongjun stood with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself:

"An anomaly enters the game; the primordial world will surely be more interesting. Let's see how far you can go..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Dao Ancestor's figure faded away, as if he had never appeared at all.

Lu Chen was unaware that at the bottom of the spiritual spring deep in the valley he had just left, there was a barely perceptible mark—the coordinates left by Hongjun.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles to the west, the vanguard forces of the Qilin Clan and the Dragon Clan had already clashed, resulting in a bloody massacre.

Even more coincidentally, on the edge of the battlefield, in an inconspicuous cave, the energy fluctuations of a primordial spiritual treasure were emanating...