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

The demon race declared war, shaking the primordial world.

Emperor Jun and Taiyi's decree resounded throughout heaven and earth: "The Witch Clan has been barbaric, repeatedly defying the majesty of Heaven, slaughtering demon saints, and plundering treasures. Now, the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court has been established to punish this disobedience on behalf of Heaven!"

Beyond the thirty-three heavens, three hundred and sixty-five star palaces lit up simultaneously, and the Zhou Tian Star Array began to take shape. The power of billions of stars cascaded down like a waterfall, enveloping the entire demon race's heavenly court in magnificent starlight.

At the foot of Mount Buzhou, the twelve ancestral witches gathered and roared in response: "You creatures with fur and horns, how dare you claim to be Heaven? Today I will show you what the true lineage of Pangu is!"

The Great Array of Divine Fiends of the Capital was deployed, and twelve streams of blood energy soared into the sky, faintly condensing into a towering phantom of Pangu. Although it only possessed 30% of its power, it was enough to terrify all living beings in the primordial world.

The lich and the demon were locked in a standoff, and the murderous aura of the great calamity permeated the heavens and earth, even obscuring the Heavenly Dao.

Lu Chen, the instigator of all this, was squatting in an inconspicuous crevice in Buzhou Mountain, with a Chaos Brick in his left hand, a God-Slaying Spear in his right, and the newly acquired Chaos Bell (the one lost by Taiyi) hanging on his back, looking like a mobile arsenal.

"Fight, fight harder." He gnawed on a roasted animal leg he'd swiped from the witch clan's kitchen while watching the show through a crack in the rock. "I hope they both suffer heavy losses so I can pick up... cough cough, clean up the mess."

The self-corpse Hunyuanzi transformed into a wisp of green smoke and drifted over, reporting in a low voice: "My lord, the demon race has mobilized 80 billion demon soldiers and set up the first transformation of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Array, 'Starfall.' On the witch race's side, the twelve ancestral witches are using their essence blood as a catalyst, and the Du Tian Shen Sha Array can be maintained for three days."

"Three days?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "That's enough. When they're at their most desperate, we'll steal the array flags of the Sun Star and the Moon Star—the core array eyes of the Zhou Tian Star Array. Without these two array eyes, the array's power will be reduced by at least half."

"What about the witch clan..."

"The Ancestral Witch Houtu owes me a favor, so I reminded her to conserve her strength and not rush forward too much." Lu Chen wiped his mouth. "As for the other Ancestral Witches... it doesn't matter if a few die, since they'll all perish sooner or later anyway."

These words were cold, but true. Lu Chen had read the "script" and knew that few of the Twelve Ancestral Witches would survive in the end. He couldn't change the overall situation; he could only try his best to preserve those who were useful to him.

Hunyuanzi nodded: "Understood. In addition, the reincarnation of Jieyin and Zhunti has arrived at the Western Paradise and begun to rebuild the Western Religion, which has been renamed 'Buddhism'. They seem to have received compensation from the Heavenly Dao, and their cultivation has recovered extremely quickly, reaching the peak of the Great Luo realm."

"Those two old schemers..." Lu Chen sneered, "Let them do what they want. We'll deal with them after we've dealt with the lich and Rahu."

Just then, a purple aura suddenly appeared from the east, stretching for 30,000 miles!

A vast and resounding Daoist voice echoed throughout the primordial world:

"The third and final sermon at Zixiao Palace will begin immediately. All who are destined to attend are welcome to listen."

The decree of Hongjun Daozu arrived at the critical moment when the war between the Lich King and the Demon King was about to break out!

Both sides on the battlefield were stunned.

Di Jun frowned: "What does the Dao Ancestor mean by this? Why must he preach at this time?"

Taiyi, his chest wrapped in bandages (the wound from the god-slaying spear was extremely difficult to heal), gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, go! The third sermon involves the secret of becoming a saint, we can't miss it. Besides, when the Dao Ancestor sermons, both the Wu and Yao sides must cease hostilities, that's the rule."

On the Wu tribe's side, the Ancestral Witch Dijiang also said in a deep voice, "Houtu and Xuanming, you two go to listen to the Dao, the rest of you stay behind. We must give face to the Dao Ancestor, but if the demon race dares to launch a sneak attack, kill them without mercy!"

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded—

The two races, who were on the verge of war just a moment ago, each sent representatives to Chaos the next, while the remaining troops stood facing each other, staring at each other.

Lu Chen was also stunned.

"Didn't the third sermon just end? Oh right, the last one was a fake sermon, the one about dividing the purple aura. This is the real final sermon... But I heard that this one is about the 'Way of the Sage,' and only those who have become sages can hear it. I haven't become a sage yet?"

As he was muttering to himself, a purple aura transmitted into his mind:

"Young friend Lu Chen, you've come too."

It's the voice of the Dao Ancestor!

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down—Hongjun had even let him into the core of the Treasure Dividing Cliff, so what was a little lecture?

"Hun Yuanzi, you stay here and keep an eye on the battlefield. I'm going to hear what the Dao Ancestor has to say."

The Brick Escape technique was activated, plunging straight into chaos.

Outside the Purple Cloud Palace, most of the three thousand mortals had already arrived.

Lu Chen discreetly mingled in the back of the crowd and spotted many familiar faces:

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Hongyun (accompanied by Zhen Yuanzi), the reincarnation of Jieyin and Zhunti (now renamed Amitabha Buddha and Bodhi Patriarch), Dijun and Taiyi, Houtu and Xuanming, and the Styx Ancestor (this old demon also came)...

Kunpeng didn't come; he's probably recuperating from his injuries or avoiding Lu Chen.

The people of Rahu are nowhere to be seen.

The Dao Ancestor appeared, still with that calm and composed expression, and his words went straight to the heart of the matter:

"Today we will discuss the Way of the Sage. What is a Sage? Under the Way of Heaven, a Primordial Golden Immortal, who remains indestructible through countless eons, untouched by karma. The Sage acts without acting, therefore he is without failure; he is without attachment, therefore he is without loss."

There are three ways to become a saint: the first is to become a saint through merit, like Nuwa creating humans; the second is to become a saint by severing the three corpses, like the Three Pure Ones; and the third is to prove the Dao through force, like Pangu.

Lu Chen pricked up his ears—to prove the Dao through force!

As expected, the Dao Ancestor continued, "To prove the Dao through force is the strongest, but also the most dangerous. One must use one's own power to break the shackles of the Heavenly Dao and forcibly prove the Dao of Hunyuan. In ancient times, only Pangu succeeded in this method, after which he perished and transformed into the primordial world."

"Today I will impart to you the 'Primordial Dao Attainment Technique,' which I created based on my deduction of Pangu's method. It can increase the success rate of attaining the Dao by 30%."

The entire venue erupted in cheers!

Increase the success rate by 30%? That's practically a magic trick!

The Dao Ancestor raised his hand, and three thousand rays of purple light flew into the brows of everyone, each receiving a portion of the method suitable for their own path.

Lu Chen obtained the "Primordial Dao Proving Technique: The Chapter on Power", which specifically explains how to push the laws of power to their extreme and break through the Dao with power.

He glanced at it briefly and was shocked—this method was 70% similar to what he had obtained from the inheritance of the Demon God of Power, but it was more systematic and complete!

"The Dao Ancestor is indeed unfathomable; he can even deduce the inheritance of the Chaos Demon God..." Lu Chen sighed inwardly.

The preaching has continued for a century.

For the past century, time in the primordial era has almost stood still. Under the divine might of the Dao Ancestor, the Wu and Yao races dared not act rashly, maintaining a strange peace.

Lu Chen absorbed the essence of the Sage's Way with great eagerness. He had already received the inheritance of the Demon God of Power, and now with the Dao Ancestor System explaining it, his understanding of proving the Dao through power was advancing by leaps and bounds.

When the hundred-year term was up, the Dao Ancestor said in his final words:

"The Way of the Sage has been transmitted, and there should be seven Sages in the primordial world. However, the Way of Heaven is flawed, and one of them is missing. Therefore, there are eight Sages, and the last Sage... shall be contested by you yourselves."

"Ten thousand years later, the Eight Sages will return to their positions and take charge of the primordial world. A great calamity is about to begin; take care of yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Dao Ancestor's figure faded away.

The gates of Zixiao Palace slowly closed, marking the complete end of the third sermon.

Everyone left with their own thoughts.

Just as Lu Chen was about to leave, Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi came up to him.

"Young friend Lu Chen," Hongyun said solemnly, "what did the Dao Ancestor mean by his last words... that there are eight Saintly positions, and the last one will be contested by ourselves?"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes: "This means that for the next ten thousand years, the primordial world will fight tooth and nail for that last holy position."

Zhen Yuanzi sighed, "A great calamity indeed..."

"Seniors, there's no need to worry," Lu Chen said with a smile. "You already possess purple qi; you can achieve sainthood simply by cultivating step by step. Why get involved in the struggle? You should be wary of those who haven't obtained purple qi..."

He glanced meaningfully into the distance—the Styx River, the Kunpeng (who had recovered from its injuries and arrived), and some hidden ancient monsters from the primordial era, all their eyes gleaming with greed and madness.

The last holy position, with its unclaimed purple aura, is enough to make anyone risk their life!

"Young friend, you also want to compete?" Hongyun asked.

"I will not vie for the position of saint." Lu Chen shook his head. "What I want to do is prove the Dao through force. The position of saint is more of a constraint for me."

This was only partly true. He genuinely wanted to prove himself through force, but he wouldn't mind if he had the chance to gain a saintly position for free.

After bidding farewell to the two, Lu Chen returned to the Primordial World.

As soon as it emerged from chaos, it sensed that the calamity-inducing energy between heaven and earth had become so dense that it was tangible, and the secrets of heaven were in complete disarray, making it difficult even for sages to predict the future.

"A storm is coming..." he murmured.

Sure enough, as soon as he returned to Buzhou Mountain, Hunyuanzi urgently reported:

"My Lord, a terrible thing has happened! While the Ancestral Witch was listening to the Dao, the Demon Clan launched a surprise attack on the rear of the Witch Clan, annihilating the Zhu Rong tribe with a million casualties! Upon his return, the Ancestral Witch Zhu Rong was enraged and single-handedly stormed into the Demon Clan's camp, slaying eighteen demon gods in succession. In the end, he was trapped by the Zhou Tian Star Array, and his fate is unknown!"

"The ancestral witch Gonggong went to the rescue, but he too was trapped in the formation!"

"The remaining ten ancestral witches of the Witch Clan have all been mobilized, and the Heavenly Divine Fiend Array and the Celestial Star Array have officially clashed—the first great war between the Witches and Demons has fully erupted!"

Lu Chen's eyes turned cold.

The demon race is truly shameless.

"Let's go to the battlefield." He picked up the God-Slaying Spear. "It's time to close the net."

And at this moment, in the center of the battlefield.

When the Zhou Tian Star Array was pushed to its limit, billions of stars fell; in the Du Tian Divine Fiend Array, the phantom of Pangu roared to the sky and cleaved the Milky Way with an axe.

The aftershocks of the collision between the two peerless killing formations even caused a corner of Mount Buzhou to collapse!

And deep within the cracks of the collapsed mountain, a faint yet incredibly pure aura of chaos leaked out—

That is where the last fragment of the Heaven-Opening Axe is located!

Lu Chen and countless eyes hidden in the shadows all turned towards that spot.

The storm is coming!

---

Mount Buzhou collapsed, tearing open a gap in the sky, allowing chaotic energy to flow back in.

Nuwa looked up at the sky, as if sensing something: "The merit of mending the sky... my chance to become a saint lies here."

The sea of ​​blood churned, and the Styx River grinned maliciously: "When the great calamity begins, it will be my opportunity to sacrifice all living beings and attain enlightenment through slaughter!"

Deep within the Abyss of Demons, Rahu's remnant soul channeled its last demonic thought into the Myriad Demon Banner, causing the banner to solidify completely: "The Myriad Demon Banner is complete! The primordial world should return to the demonic path!"

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had already quietly reached the eye of the Sun Star Array in the Zhou Tian Star Array, knocking out the demon saint guarding the array with a brick, and grinned:

"I'm a professional at raiding bases."