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

In the chaotic ruins, the sky filled with black light coalesced into a lifelike image—

In the scene, "Lu Chen" is holding the Chaos Brick and is plundering the third level of the Treasure Sharing Cliff, taking treasures such as the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and Zhuxian Sword Formation Diagram into the Qiankun Diagram.

There's even footage of "Lu Chen" infiltrating the core area and taking away the Chaos Origin Liquid!

"This photo is a fake!" Lu Chen's face turned ashen. "I wasn't even at Treasure Distribution Cliff at the time!"

"The evidence is conclusive, yet you still dare to argue?" The Four Immortal-Slaying Swords of the Sage of Heaven had already been drawn half an inch from their sheaths, exuding a chilling killing intent.

The young Taoist priest knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly: "Your Holinesses, please witness! Lu Chen forced me to do this! He said if I didn't cooperate, he would kill my whole family... I was just a guard, how dare I disobey this wicked man?"

Kunpeng seized the opportunity to howl, "Yes, yes, yes! I was forced into it! Lu Chen said if I didn't help him dispose of the stolen goods, he would expose my past actions of attacking Hongyun and colluding with the demonic path!"

They sang in unison, throwing all the dirty water on Lu Chen.

The four sages had icy gazes, and their sage-like pressure surged forth like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down.

Lu Chen's heart sank.

He knew that it was pointless to say anything now.

The saints needed someone to take the blame, and he was the most suitable candidate.

But Lao Liu's instincts made him calm down instantly.

We can't fight it head-on; otherwise, we'll only cause trouble elsewhere!

"Esteemed Sages," Lu Chen took a deep breath, then suddenly laughed, "Do you really believe that I, a mid-stage Quasi-Sage, could silently empty the Treasure Distribution Cliff and force the Daoist disciple and Kunpeng to cooperate?"

"Why not?" Yuanshi said coldly, "You wield the Chaos Brick and the God-Slaying Spear, and are protected by the Morning Bell. Your combat strength is no weaker than that of a peak Quasi-Saint."

"Strong combat power doesn't mean you can break through a Saint-level restriction." Lu Chen shook his head. "The restriction in the core area of ​​Treasure Dividing Cliff was personally set up by the Dao Ancestor. If I had that ability, I would have become a Saint long ago. Why would I be wasting my breath talking to you all here?"

That makes sense.

Lao Tzu frowned slightly: "You mean...?"

"Someone stole from the premises and then framed me." Lu Chen looked at the young Daoist, a cold glint in his eyes. "Fellow Daoist, you say I forced you? Then let me ask you—who told you how to undo the restrictions in the core area of ​​the Treasure Dividing Cliff? Without the undoing, I can't even get through the door."

The Taoist boy was speechless: "You...you cracked it yourself!"

"Oh?" Lu Chen smiled. "Then tell me, how many changes are there in the core area's restrictions? When does each period of weakening occur? This is information that even saints may not fully know. How could an outsider like me possibly know it?"

The young Taoist priest turned pale and stammered, unable to answer.

"Can't answer? Then I'll answer for you." Lu Chen said loudly, "The core area's restrictions consist of nine layers, each corresponding to a Great Dao Law. The weakening period lasts every three thousand years, each lasting three breaths. Only the Daoist disciples who guard the Treasure Distribution Cliff year-round know this information!"

"And you—" he pointed at the young Taoist, "not only know these things, but you also know the locations of the replicas of the saints' treasures, and you can even forge images that are indistinguishable from the real ones even to the saints! Is this the kind of ability an ordinary young Taoist should possess?"

The four sages all fixed their gazes on the young Taoist boy.

The young Taoist trembled, still trying to explain, but Lu Chen had already unleashed his final killing move—

He took out a recording stone (found in Rahu's treasure vault) from his pocket and crushed it!

"Buzz!"

Another scene emerges: a young Taoist meets with the remnant soul of Rahu, who promises, "When I regain control of the demonic path, I will appoint you as the Left Envoy of the Demon Abyss, in charge of all demons..."

"This is a record left by the Demon Abyss!" Lu Chen shouted. "If you saints don't believe me, you can go to the Demon Abyss to verify it. There are still traces of Rahu communicating with him there!"

The proof is like a mountain!

The young Taoist priest's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Kunpeng was also dumbfounded; he hadn't expected Lu Chen to have this trick up his sleeve.

"What a traitorous wretch!" Yuanshi was furious. He struck down with his palm, and the Daoist boy was annihilated before he could even scream.

Tongtian then looked at Kunpeng: "As for you..."

"Holy one, spare my life! I was deceived!" Kunpeng kowtowed desperately. "I'm willing to atone for my sins with meritorious service! I know a tremendous secret of the Witch Clan!"

"explain."

Kunpeng's eyes darted around, then suddenly pointed at Lu Chen: "Him! Lu Chen is colluding with the Witch Clan! He secretly provided the Witch Clan with the method to break the Zhou Tian Star Array, and even helped the Witch Clan forge a vicious weapon to counter the Demon Clan!"

Lu Chen's eyelids twitched—this guy was trying to drag him down with him even as he was dying!

But Kunpeng's next words sent a shockwave through Lu Chen:

"I also know that the Witch Clan is forging the 'Demon-Slaying Sword'! It's being forged using the essence and souls of millions of my demon race's people. Once completed, it can suppress all demon bloodlines! And the one who provided the forging method... is Lu Chen!"

"Bullshit!" Lu Chen roared, "I never..."

"You dare say you don't understand weapon crafting?" Kunpeng sneered. "The Chaos Brick, the God-Slaying Spear, the Morning Bell—aren't they all top-tier treasures? If you don't understand weapon crafting, where did these treasures come from?"

The gazes of the four sages toward Lu Chen turned dangerous once again.

The war between the Lich and the Demon race has reached a fever pitch. If Lu Chen is secretly helping the Lich race to forge a weapon to counter the Demon race, then he is making an enemy of the entire Demon race and going against the Sage Nuwa!

"This matter needs to be verified," Lao Tzu said in a deep voice.

"No need to investigate," Lu Chen suddenly said. "This junior does indeed know how to forge weapons, but I have never forged any demon-slaying swords for the Witch Clan. However..."

He changed the subject abruptly: "I did see another item in the Witch Clan—the blueprint for the 'Witch-Slaying Blade.' It's said that a high-ranking member of the Demon Clan secretly gave it to a traitor within the Witch Clan."

He turned the tables and framed her!

"The Slaughtering Witch Blade?" Nuwa's eyes turned cold. "A vicious weapon specifically designed to counter the physical bodies of the Witch Clan?"

"That's right." Lu Chen nodded. "The refining method is extremely vicious. It requires the blood essence of the ancestral witch of the witch clan as a catalyst, combined with chaotic evil energy... I only saw it by chance, and at the time I thought it was a rumor."

As he spoke, he secretly observed the expressions of the four saints.

Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian remained calm, but Nuwa's eyes flashed with anger—she was a saint of the demon race, and if any high-ranking members of the demon race were secretly making deals with the witch race, that would be betrayal!

"I will investigate this matter thoroughly," Nuwa said coldly. "If I find out who it is..."

She didn't finish speaking, but her murderous intent was clear.

Lu Chen chuckled inwardly: Success! The chain of suspicion between the Lich and Demon factions has been planted!

"As for the theft at the Treasure Distribution Cliff..." Laozi looked at Lu Chen, "Although the main culprit was the Daoist boy, you also bear responsibility. You are punished by being forbidden from entering the Chaos Realm for a thousand years, and you must find at least three stolen imitation treasures and return them to the Purple Cloud Palace."

The punishment was neither too lenient nor too severe, clearly leaving room for Lu Chen to maneuver.

"This junior obeys." Lu Chen cupped his hands in greeting.

"Kunpeng..." Yuanshi looked at the trembling bird, "You may be spared death, but you cannot escape punishment. You are sentenced to guard the eye of the North Sea for 100,000 years and are forbidden from being born."

Kunpeng felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!"

After the matter was settled, the four saints transformed into streaks of light and departed.

In the ruins, only Lu Chen and the limp Kunpeng remained.

"Lu Chen...you're ruthless!" Kunpeng gritted his teeth.

"Likewise." Lu Chen grinned. "But the Demon-Slaying Sword you mentioned earlier... is a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is," Lu Chen crouched down and lowered his voice, "since the demon race thinks the witch race is forging the Demon-Slaying Sword, and the witch race thinks the demon race is forging the Demon-Slaying Blade... then why not let them both 'forge' it?"

Kunpeng's pupils contracted sharply: "You want to..."

"I'm going to secretly provide both sides with a method for forging a weapon that 'counters' the other—of course, it'll be fake, the kind with fatal flaws." Lu Chen smiled brightly. "When the great battle begins, both sides will think their weapons can counter the other's, but they'll explode as soon as they're used... That scene will definitely be spectacular."

Kunpeng gasped, "Are you insane! How much bloodshed will this cause?!"

"Under the Great Calamity, it's a matter of life and death." Lu Chen stood up and patted his shoulder. "Besides, which of the demon race and the witch race is innocent? Haven't they stained their hands with blood?"

He vanished using a brick-like escape technique, leaving behind a stunned Kunpeng.

A moment later, Lu Chen appeared at the Wu Clan camp on Buzhou Mountain.

He found the Ancestral Witch Zhurong, who was healing (he had been trapped in the Zhou Tian Star Array and was seriously injured), and handed him a roll of animal hide.

"Senior, this is the crafting blueprint for the 'Witch-Slaying Blade' that I obtained by chance. It's said to be being secretly crafted by high-ranking members of the demon race. Please take a look and see if it's useful to the witch race?"

Zhu Rong took it, and after only a few glances, she flew into a rage: "What a vicious method of refining! It actually requires the blood of my Wu tribe's sons as a catalyst?! Di Jun and Tai Yi, you've gone too far!"

"Senior, please calm down," Lu Chen comforted. "Since the demon race is ruthless, the witch race can also be unjust. I have a crafting diagram for the 'Demon-Slaying Sword' here, which is specifically designed to counter the demon bloodline... However, the materials are hard to find; it requires the essence blood of demons at the Great Luo level or above."

"Materials are not a problem!" Zhu Rong slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "I'll go catch a few demon saints right now and bleed them dry!"

Lu Chen "kindly" reminded him: "Senior, you need to pay attention when refining. The order of steps thirty-seven and eighty-nine cannot be wrong, otherwise... it may cause the furnace to explode."

"Understood!" Zhu Rong hurriedly left.

Lu Chen watched his departing figure, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

He then went to the Heavenly Court of the Demon Clan and, posing as an "anonymous enthusiastic cultivator," "leaked" the blueprints for the "Demon-Slaying Sword" to a certain demon god.

Of course, they also tampered with key steps.

After completing all this, Lu Chen returned to his hiding place on the outskirts of Buzhou Mountain and gave instructions to his self-corpse, Hunyuanzi:

"For the next six months, keep an eye on both the Lich and the Demon factions. Once their 'fierce weapons' are forged and the great war breaks out, the first thing to do is to collect... cough cough, gather the rare and precious materials left behind on the battlefield."

"Understood." Hunyuanzi nodded. "And what about you, my lord?"

"Me?" Lu Chen looked westward. "I should go to Mount Ling to 'visit' Jieyin and Zhunti. Those two old schemers have been too quiet since their reincarnation; I'm worried about them."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Moreover... the Dao Ancestor asked me to retrieve three stolen imitation treasures. I suspect that at least two of them are still in their possession."

He activated his Brick Release technique and vanished.

The undercurrents of the primordial world, stirred up by Lu Chen's covert provocations, surged ever more fiercely.

Meanwhile, deep within the chaos, inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

The water mirror in front of Dao Ancestor Hongjun was reflecting Lu Chen's every move.

After a long while, the Dao Ancestor shook his head and chuckled:

"This kid... he really seems to thrive on chaos."

"However, a great calamity needs a catalyst. His actions are in accordance with the will of Heaven."

The water mirror dissipated, and Zixiao Palace returned to silence.

Only the Dao Ancestor's whispers echoed in the empty hall:

"Lu Chen, Lu Chen... on the day you prove your Dao through force, what will this primordial world look like?"