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

Lu Chen stayed at Buzhou Mountain for half a month.

During the day, he studied the Hetu and Luoshu, and at night he would sneak off to various tribes of the Wu tribe to "borrow" some things—mainly the remnants of the ancestral witch's blood essence, the imprints of the Wu tribe's battle patterns, and the fragments of Wu artifacts scattered on the battlefield that had not yet been collected.

These things are trash to others, but treasures to him.

Because he was trying to do one thing: reverse the formation of the Heavenly Gods and Demons.

"I understand the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Formation, but to completely control both the Wu and Yao factions, I still need to understand the Du Tian Shen Sha." Lu Chen squatted in the cave, with a piece of animal skin spread out in front of him, densely covered with Wu clan battle patterns.

Hunyuanzi floated beside him, his eyes glazed over: "My lord, this thing is even more complicated than the Zhou Tian Star Array... It's intertwined with twelve kinds of Ancestral Witch Laws and it also has to draw upon the primordial origin left behind by Pangu. This is something that even a Quasi-Saint could deduce."

"So we need some 'cheat codes'." Lu Chen grinned and took out a small bottle from the Qiankun Diagram.

The bottle contained three drops of dark golden blood—the essence blood "picked up" from the corpse of the Ancestral Witch during the blood sacrifice to kill the God Spear. Although it was thin, the aura of the Ancestral Witch was still there.

He carefully poured out a drop and placed it in the center of the animal hide.

"Buzz—"

The battle patterns on the animal hide instantly came to life!

Rising blood energy vaguely outlined the illusory figures of twelve towering ancestral witches!

Although the image was blurry, the primordial, untamed aura it exuded made the entire cave tremble!

"It's done!" Lu Chen's eyes lit up. "Although it's only the basics, it's enough to see the operating rules of the formation."

He stared at the animal hide for three days and three nights.

Finally, at dawn on the fourth day, he jumped up: "Found it!"

Hunyuanzi leaned closer: "What?"

"The fatal flaw of the Heavenly Divine Fiend Formation!" Lu Chen pointed to the center point where the twelve streams of blood energy converged on the animal hide. "Look here—the laws of the twelve Ancestral Witches merge here, condensing into the true form of Pangu. But the problem is that the strength of each Ancestral Witch's law must be exactly the same! If it's even slightly off, the fusion will fail!"

He became increasingly excited as he spoke: "For example, right now, Zhurong and Gonggong were severely injured in the previous battle, making them weaker than the other ancestral witches. Therefore, in the current Dutian Divine Fiend Formation, Pangu's true body can only be maintained for a maximum of half an hour! After half an hour, the laws will become unbalanced, and the true body will collapse on its own!"

Hun Yuanzi suddenly realized: "So as long as we can hold out on the battlefield for half an hour..."

"No need to drag it out," Lu Chen sneered. "I can make it collapse sooner."

He took out two things from the Qiankun Diagram: a piece of Zhurong's hair (which he had "borrowed" from Zhurong's tribe last time) and a drop of Gonggong's sweat (which Gonggong had casually scooped up while taking a bath).

"With this, I can refine 'Law Interference Talismans.' During the great battle, I'll secretly stick them on Zhu Rong and Gong Gong, weakening their law fluctuations by another 30%! That way, the Dutian Divine Fiend Formation won't even last a quarter of an hour!"

Hun Yuanzi gasped, "My lord, your methods... are too cunning."

"Is it cunning?" Lu Chen put away the animal hide and essence blood. "This is called tactics."

Just as he was about to continue his research, a thought suddenly struck him, and he turned to look outside the cave.

A faint but extremely pure aura of reincarnation emanated from the depths of Buzhou Mountain.

"This is... the aura of the underworld?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't Houtu's reincarnation still several hundred years away? How come it's happening ahead of schedule?"

He and Hunyuanzi exchanged a glance, then concealed themselves and headed toward the source of the aura.

Mount Buzhou is 30,000 feet underground.

This place should be scorching hot lava from the Earth's core, but at this moment, it is shrouded in a gray mist.

Six illusory passages could be vaguely seen in the mist, and from the depths of those passages came the wails and prayers of countless lost souls.

The rudiments of reincarnation!

In the center of the illusory image of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Ancestral Witch Houtu sat cross-legged, exuding an aura of compassion and mercy.

With her eyes closed and her hands forming a mudra, she was gradually merging her ancestral witch essence and primordial spirit into this newly born little world.

She's undergoing reincarnation ahead of time!

"That's not right..." Lu Chen frowned. "In the original story, Houtu saw the devastation of the war between the Lich King and the Demon King, and out of compassion, she sacrificed herself to become a being in the cycle of reincarnation. Now that the war has just begun, how could she..."

Before she finished speaking, Houtu suddenly opened her eyes and looked straight at the direction where Lu Chen was hiding.

"Young friend Lu Chen, now that you're here, why hide?"

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat—he was currently using both the Chaos Brick and the Morning Bell for double concealment, so even a sage wouldn't be able to detect him without careful examination. How could Hou Tu...?

He reluctantly appeared and said, "This junior has no intention of disturbing the ancestral witch's cultivation."

"It's alright." Houtu's expression was calm, even showing a hint of weariness. "You've come at the right time; I have something to ask of you."

Lu Chen was stunned: "Please speak, Ancestral Witch."

Houtu raised her hand, and a yellowish-brown bead appeared in her palm. The bead was sealed with countless true spirit imprints, numbering in the millions.

"These are the true spirits of innocent beings I have collected from all over the primordial world over the years, mostly civilians who died in the war between the lich and the demon." Her voice was low. "I am about to transform into the cycle of reincarnation, open up the underworld, and guide the souls of the dead. But the cycle of reincarnation is newly formed and still unstable. I need to devote myself to it and am powerless to protect these true spirits."

She handed the bead to Lu Chen: "Young friend, please keep it for me for now. Once the underworld is stable, we will send it into the cycle of reincarnation so that they can be reborn."

Lu Chen took the bead; it felt heavy in his hand, as if he were holding a world within it.

He watched as Houtu's hands gradually became transparent, and suddenly understood something: "Ancestral Witch... did you enter reincarnation ahead of time because you foresaw the great calamity to come?"

Houtu remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "I inherited the Earth Law of Father Pangu, and am intimately connected with the primordial land. Some time ago, I sensed a mournful cry coming from the depths of the earth—that was the weeping of the primordial origin. If the war between the Wu and Yao continues unchecked, Mount Buzhou will collapse, the sky will crack, and the primordial world will face annihilation."

She looked up, her gaze seemingly piercing through the earth's crust, seeing into the future: "I will transform myself into reincarnation to mend the deficiencies of the primordial Heavenly Dao, perhaps... it can alleviate this calamity."

Lu Chen was shocked.

This is true compassion, which is worlds apart from the hypocrisy of those like Jieyin and Zhunti who constantly preach "saving all sentient beings" while actually seeking personal gain.

"I will certainly live up to your expectations." He solemnly put away the beads.

Houtu smiled with satisfaction: "Thank you. In return, I can grant you one request."

"Please, Ancestral Witch, impart the complete diagram of the Great Array of Heavenly Gods and Demons." Lu Chen said without hesitation.

Houtu paused for a moment, then laughed: "So you were planning this all along. Fine, rather than let this formation be lost in the future, I'd rather pass it on to you."

She raised her hand and touched Lu Chen's forehead.

A stream of earthy yellow light entered, and the complete diagram of the Dutian Divine Fiend Array immediately appeared in Lu Chen's mind!

It not only includes the method of fusing the twelve ancestral witch laws, but also a trace of the true meaning of the "law of power" left over from when Pangu created the world!

"This is..." Lu Chen was shocked.

"This is the last gift the Father God left to the Wu Clan." Houtu's figure began to dissipate. "Unfortunately, the Wu Clan only knows brute force and doesn't understand comprehension. You possess the inheritance of the Demon God of Power; perhaps you can glean something from it."

She glanced at Lu Chen one last time: "Young friend, the future of the primordial world... I entrust it to you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Houtu Ancestral Witch completely transformed into billions of points of light, merging into the illusory image of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

"boom--!!!"

The entire primordial world trembled!

From the heavens above, immeasurable merits cascaded down like a golden waterfall, pouring into the underworld!

The Six Paths of Reincarnation have been fully solidified, and the Underworld has been officially born!

A compassionate voice resounded in the hearts of all living beings:

"I am Houtu, and today I transform into the cycle of reincarnation to mend the primordial heavenly order. From now on, all souls of the dead will have a place to return to, reincarnation will be orderly, and life and death will be constant."

All the myriad spirits of the primordial world, whether witches, demons, humans, or gods, felt a sense of urgency and knelt in worship towards Mount Buzhou.

"May the Goddess Houtu have mercy!"

In the ancestral land of the Wu tribe at Buzhou Mountain, the remaining eleven ancestral Wu tribes sensed the dissipation of Houtu's aura and roared in grief.

"Little sister—!!!"

At this moment, Lu Chen stood on the edge of the underworld, looking at the bead in his hand that sealed a million true spirits, and then at the complete Heavenly God and Fiend Array Diagram in his mind, his feelings were complicated.

Houtu paid the price of never being reborn in order to gain reincarnation, and in return, the Wu clan gained immeasurable merit ahead of time—although most of this merit went to the underworld, the Wu clan's fortune was thus greatly stabilized.

"No wonder the Witch Clan was able to retain a trace of their bloodline in the original story..." Lu Chen murmured, "So it was because of this merit that they were protected."

He put away the beads and turned to leave the underworld.

Now is not the time for sentimentality.

With the complete diagram of the Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation, plus the back door of the Zhou Tian Star Array, and those two tampered weapons...

The outcome of the Lich War was already in his hands.

"It's time to prepare the final 'gift'."

Lu Chen used Brick Escape to return to the outer perimeter of Buzhou Mountain and began frantically refining "Law Interference Talisman" and "Yin Yang Disruption Seal".

He wanted this decisive battle to unfold according to his script.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court of the Demon Clan.

Di Jun and Tai Yi also sensed the movement of Hou Tu transforming into reincarnation, and their faces darkened.

"Houtu is extending the life of the Wu Clan," Taiyi gritted his teeth. "With the merit of reincarnation, the Wu Clan's fortune can last for at least another thousand years!"

"It's alright." Di Jun gripped the Slaughtering Witch Blade tightly. "As long as we crush the main force of the Witch Clan in the final battle, even merit won't save them."

He looked at the black longsword in his hand. The violent aura emanating from the blade was growing stronger, but its power was indeed astonishing.

"The Slaughtering Witch Blade is complete, and the Demon-Slaying Sword should be coming soon," Di Jun sneered. "The next great war will be the day the Witch Clan is wiped out!"

The two brothers' eyes burned with murderous intent.

But what they didn't know was that deadly traps had already been laid among the swords and blades.

Little did they know, the sixth brother, who was squatting on Buzhou Mountain gnawing on a roasted beast leg, had already prepared a "surprise" for their final battle.

There are three months left until the final battle against the Lich.

The primordial undercurrents are about to transform into a monstrous wave that will destroy everything.