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

Lu Chen secluded himself at Wuzhuang Temple for three days.

In three days, he broke down the plan in his notebook into three lists.

First document: "Personal Skills Enhancement Checklist"

1. Refining the final missing element of the God-Slaying Spear, "Blood Sea Fiend Qi" - requires diving into the core of the Blood Sea, which is expected to take ten years.

2. The ninth level of the Demon God's inheritance of comprehension power, "The Mark of Creation" - requires the help of the Buzhou Mountain's earth veins and is expected to take thirty years.

3. Breaking through to the late stage of Quasi-Saint - requires a massive accumulation of innate spiritual objects, estimated to take fifty years.

"Tsk, time is a bit tight." Lu Chen scratched his head. "I'll have to use cheat codes."

He took out the drop of "Chaos Origin Liquid" from the Qiankun Diagram—it was stolen from the core area of ​​the Treasure Dividing Cliff years ago, and he had always been reluctant to use it.

"I'll risk it." He gritted his teeth and swallowed the source liquid.

"boom--!"

The laws of force within his body circulated wildly, and the primordial chaos liquid transformed into pure primordial power, beginning to cleanse his physical body, soul, and even true spirit. This was the primordial essence of the Chaos Demon God, and for him, who cultivated the laws of force, its effects were better than any elixir.

Lu Chen quickly went into seclusion to fully digest the information.

One year in the outside world is equivalent to a hundred years in seclusion (time is accelerated within the Qiankun Diagram).

A century later, when he emerged from seclusion, his aura was completely different.

Late stage of Quasi-Saint!

The Ninth Great Perfection of the Law of Power!

The three treasures—Chaos Brick, Godslayer Spear, and Morning Bell—have also reached a new level of quality thanks to the lingering effects of the Chaos Origin Liquid. The Chaos Brick shows signs of being promoted to a Chaos Treasure, the Godslayer Spear's ferocious aura has been contained to the extreme, and the Morning Bell's spacetime power has become even stronger.

"That feels good." Lu Chen stretched his muscles and bones, feeling like he could smash his former self with one punch.

Next, he produced a second list: the "Power Layout List".

1. The Twelve Yuan Chen – All will break through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm within a hundred years and cultivate the combined attack formation "Twelve Yuan Chen Grand Formation". (Completed)

2. The three thousand avengers of the Torch Reaper Department—all will break through to the Golden Immortal realm within a hundred years and cultivate the "Demon-Slaying Battle Formation." (Completed)

3. Placement of agents in the underworld—Thirty "insiders" were placed in the underworld through the connections with the Goddess Houtu, with positions ranging from ghost messengers to judges. (Completed)

4. Infiltration within the Demon Clan – Through Chang Xi's connections, twelve "sleeper agents" were developed among the mid-level generals of the Demon Clan. (Completed)

5. Internal subversion within the Witch Clan – Through the influence of Gonggong and Zhurong's inner demons, four Ancestral Witches dissatisfied with Dijiang (Zhujiuyin, Shebishi, Yanzi, and Zhulong) were won over, reaching an agreement on "limited cooperation." (Completed)

"Good, progress is going smoothly." Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction.

Finally, there is the third and most important list: the "End-of-War Disruption List".

The list was very long, spanning three pages of animal hides.

Lu Chen spread it out, and Hun Yuanzi and Yan Chen both came over to take a look. After just one glance, they both gasped.

"My Lord...you're going to pierce the sky!" Yan Chen's voice trembled.

"It's not going to be a complete overhaul, just a little 'surprise' to the final battle," Lu Chen grinned.

The list is as follows:

[Target 1: The Celestial Star Array]

• A "Yin-Yang Reversal Talisman" has been embedded in the core of the Sun (completed).

• The "Lunar Essence Disorder Seal" has been implanted in the core of the Taiyin star (completed).

• Among the 365 main star array eyes, select 108 secondary array eyes and implant "delayed response" backdoors (72 have been completed, and the remaining 36 need to be completed within 100 years).

[Expected Effect]: When the array is operating at full power, the Yin and Yang will be imbalanced, the lunar energy will run rampant, and some array eyes will experience a 0.3-breath delay in response. Although this will not affect the overall power, it may cause the array to "malfunction" at crucial moments.

[Target Two: The Great Array of Heavenly Gods and Demons]

• Through Gonggong and Zhurong, "seeds of law interference" were implanted into the remaining ancestral witches (completed).

• A "destructive energy diversion pipe" has been buried beneath the Pangu Hall, the foundation of the Dutian Divine Fiend Array, to channel some of the array's power into the earth's veins (completed).

[Expected Effect]: When Pangu's true form is condensed, the coordination of the laws decreases by 15%, and the duration is shortened by 20%. Some of the array power is diverted, weakening its power.

[Target 3: High-end combat forces of both sides]

• Di Jun: The Slaughtering Witch Sword 2.0 has been infused with "Chaos Demon God's Resentful Blood 2.0" (enhanced version), and will inevitably backfire upon its completion. (Completed)

• Dijiang: Through Gonggong and Zhurong, a wisp of "Inner Demon Origin" was mixed into his healing elixir, which will inevitably manifest within a hundred years. (Completed)

Taiyi: A "self-destruct program" has been implanted in the replica of the Chaos Bell, which can be remotely detonated at a critical moment. (Completed)

Other Ancestral Witches/Demon Saints: Each received a "small gift," ranging from magical artifacts malfunctioning to backlash from their cultivation techniques. (Mostly complete)

[Objective Four: Battlefield Environment]

• Three hundred and sixty "ley line bombs" have been buried beneath the battlefield of Buzhou Mountain, ready to detonate at any time and create chaos. (Completed)

• A "fog array" has been deployed above the battlefield to interfere with divine sense detection. (Completed)

• At the edge of the battlefield, "teleportation traps" are set up, which can randomly teleport those who accidentally enter to various locations in the primordial wilderness (including dangerous places like the Blood Sea and the Ruins of Return). (Completed)

[Target Five: Third-Party Force (Backup)]

• If the situation gets out of control, you can summon the "Torchbearer" to clean up the mess.

• If the sage interferes excessively, a “Complete Collection of Black Materials on the Six Sages” can be released to create contradictions about the sage.

• If the Dao Ancestor were to personally intervene... well, that's pending.

After reading the list, Hun Yuanzi remained silent for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

"My Lord," he finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "have you considered how many lives would be lost if all these arrangements were to detonate simultaneously?"

"I've thought about it," Lu Chen said calmly, "but if I don't do it, the Lich War will still result in just as many deaths, or even more. And it will be a one-sided massacre."

"I did all this to make the war a little 'fairer,' to expose some flaws in both sides' cards, and to keep the outcome uncertain until the very end." He paused, "More importantly—only in this way can I pick up the most 'garbage' after the war."

Hun Yuanzi: "..."

The last sentence is probably the truth!

"Alright, stop overthinking it." Lu Chen put away the list. "We still have one last thing to do in this hundred-year period."

"What is it?"

"Let's go find the Dao Ancestor and sound him out." A glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. "I suspect the Dao Ancestor has already decided on the specific rules for the final battle, but hasn't announced them yet. We need to know in advance so we can make targeted arrangements."

"Will the Dao Ancestor tell us?"

"I won't tell you, but you can guess." Lu Chen laughed. "For example, I can squat at the entrance of Zixiao Palace and observe who comes in and out, what expressions they have, what they say... I can always piece together some information."

Hunyuanzi was convinced.

With his intelligence-gathering abilities, it would be a waste if he didn't become a spy.

Three days later, Lu Chen carried bricks and squatted in the chaotic clouds outside Zixiao Palace.

He dared not get too close—even saints dared not be presumptuous in the territory of the Dao Ancestor.

But it's still possible to observe from a distance.

In the following year, he saw:

Lao Tzu went in and out three times, and each time he came out expressionless, but his eyes held a hint of contemplation.

Yuanshi went in and out twice. When he came out the second time, he had a furrowed brow, as if he was dissatisfied with something.

Tongtian went in and out once, and came out cursing as if he had argued with someone.

Nuwa went in and out twice. The first time she came out, she looked worried, but the second time she came out, she looked determined.

Jieyin and Zhunti entered and exited the most frequently, a total of seven times. Each time they entered with a fawning smile, and their smiles deepened when they came out.

"It seems the rules have been set, and... the six sages are not quite in agreement." Lu Chen stroked his chin and analyzed, "Laozi is weighing the options, Yuanshi is dissatisfied, Tongtian opposes, Nuwa is worried, and Jieyin and Zhunti... probably got the benefits."

He waited another six months before finally meeting the key figure—

Di Jun and Di Jiang were summoned to Zixiao Palace at the same time.

The two men went in with solemn expressions, and when they came out... their expressions became even more solemn.

"It seems the rules are against them." Lu Chen's eyes lit up. "Interesting."

He used a brick-遁 (a magical technique) to follow the God of the River and overheard the conversation between the chieftain of the witch clan and Zhu Jiuyin:

"The Dao Ancestor has decided on a 'three-round battle' to determine the victor," Di Jiang said in a deep voice. "In the first round, each side will send three people in a free-for-all, and the winner will receive 30% of the fortune. In the second round, the leaders of both sides will duel, and the winner will receive 40% of the fortune. In the third round... the entire army will fight to the death, and the winner will receive the remaining 30% of the fortune."

"Winning all three matches grants you all the good fortune. Losing even one match means losing a portion of it."

Zhu Jiuyin frowned: "This is disadvantageous for us. The demon race has the numerical advantage, and they can wear us down with a series of attacks in the first melee."

"Not only that," Dijiang gritted his teeth, "the Dao Ancestor also stipulated that participants must 'voluntarily sign up,' and forced conscription is prohibited. Our Wu Clan is currently internally divided, and there are very few Ancestral Witches willing to fight."

Lu Chen's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Voluntary registration?

Doesn't that mean he can plant a "third party" to disrupt things?

"The rules have been set, and they will be implemented in a hundred years." Dijiang sighed. "In these hundred years, we need to resolve our internal problems."

"What about Zhurong and Gonggong...?"

"Beat them!" A ruthless glint flashed in Di Jiang's eyes. "Beat them until they submit!"

The two left.

Lu Chen crouched in the clouds, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Three matches to determine the winner... Participation is voluntary...

These rules are practically tailor-made for him!

"The list needs to be revised." He took out his notebook and started writing down supplementary plans.

[New objective: Win all three matches]

• The first chaotic battle: Three of the "Twelve Yuan Chen" were planted, disguised as rogue cultivators to "assist" in the fight.

• Second boss showdown: Make a final move on Di Jun and Di Jiang's weapons/techniques to ensure they both suffer heavy losses.

• The third all-out battle: Detonate all your backup plans, create maximum chaos, and then... scavenge!

After finishing writing, he closed the notebook with satisfaction.

"A century, the final preparation time."

"The final battle of the primordial era, here I come!"

He activated the Brick Release technique and his figure disappeared into the chaos.

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun looked at Lu Chen's departing figure in the water mirror and shook his head with a wry smile:

"This kid is incredibly audacious."

"Well, this game is only truly exciting with him around."

A light sweep of dust, and the secrets of heaven are thrown into chaos once more.

The 100-year countdown begins.