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

When Lu Chen flew to the Ninth Heaven, Nuwa's patching of the sky was already nearing its end.

The liquid, forged from the five-colored stones, poured into the gap in the sky like a waterfall. Wherever it passed, the chaotic energy dissipated, and the spatial rift slowly healed. For every inch filled, the Heavenly Dao bestowed a beam of golden light of merit, which merged into Nuwa's body.

The aura of a sage is rising steadily, and the merit of mending the heavens is even greater than that of creating humankind!

Lu Chen squatted on the edge of the clouds, watching with envy, but he knew he couldn't get any merit from it—mending the heavens was the exclusive domain of saints, and if a quasi-saint like him dared to reach out, the Heavenly Dao would simply strike him dead with a bolt of lightning.

"However..." he twitched his eyes, "the leftover scraps of the five-colored stones from mending the sky, I doubt anyone wants them, right?"

When Nuwa refined the five-colored stones, there were bound to be losses, fragments, and defective products. These "junk" were useless to the sage, but they were treasures to him.

He used his brick-遁 (a magical technique) to slip to the edge of the site where the sky was being mended, and sure enough, he saw a small mountain of five-colored stone fragments scattered in the clouds, unattended.

"I'm rich!" Lu Chen rubbed his hands together, unfolded the Qiankun Diagram, and swept away all the debris like he was sweeping up trash.

They collected three large sacks of them.

Although these fragments have lost much of their spiritual essence, they are still formed from the five-colored stone and contain a trace of the merit of mending the heavens. They are very effective for refining weapons and setting up formations.

After collecting the debris, he set his sights on the scattered "Five-Colored Divine Mud"—impurities that overflowed during the smelting of the Five-Colored Stones, mixed with the Nine Heavens Breath Soil and the Three Lights Divine Water. Although it was not pure, it was still a top-grade spiritual material.

"Collect, collect, collect!"

Lu Chen, like a diligent groundhog, went on a shopping spree right under the emperor's nose.

Nuwa actually noticed, but she was focused on mending the sky and had no time to spare. In addition, Lu Chen had saved the little golden crow and helped the human race before, so she turned a blind eye.

Half an hour later, the gap in the sky was completely repaired.

As the final golden light of merit descended, Nuwa's aura stabilized, and her status as the Sage Who Mending the Heavens was completely fulfilled.

She turned around and looked at Lu Chen, who was squatting in the corner of the clouds, busy sorting through sacks. Her lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Young friend Lu Chen," she said.

"Ah? Yes!" Lu Chen quickly stood up, hiding the sack behind his back. "Your Majesty, thank you for your hard work mending the sky. This junior was just passing by..."

Nuwa shook her head: "You can take those scraps. But I have a favor to ask of you."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Nuwa pointed to the ruins of Buzhou Mountain below: "The sky has been mended, but the earth is not yet leveled. Buzhou Mountain has collapsed, and the earth's veins are disordered, requiring the re-establishment of the earth's vein hub. I have deduced the secrets of heaven and discovered that the Pangu Palace is about to appear in the world. Inside the palace is the essence of the 'heart' left behind by the great god Pangu, which can suppress the earth's veins and reshape the backbone of the primordial world."

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Pangu Palace! Pangu's Heart!

This is one of the greatest opportunities in the primordial world!

"Your Majesty means..."

"The appearance of the Pangu Palace will surely attract the sages to fight over it." Nuwa looked at him. "I need to stay in the heavens to consolidate the results of mending the sky and cannot be in two places at once. Are you willing to go in my place and compete for the heart? If you succeed, I will give you one-tenth of the merit from mending the sky."

One-tenth of the merit for mending the heavens!

Lu Chen's breathing became rapid.

Don't underestimate the power of just one-tenth; it represents the merit of mending the heavens! Enough to instantly transform a mortal into an immortal, or elevate a Golden Immortal to the Great Luo realm!

"I am willing to go!" he said without hesitation.

"Good." Nuwa nodded, then added, "However, there are many contenders. The Three Pure Ones and the Two Sages of the West will all make their moves, and even... the Dao Ancestor may also take notice. Act according to your abilities and don't force things."

"I understand."

Lu Chen bowed respectfully and used his brick-遁 (a technique to teleport) to the ruins of Buzhou Mountain.

As soon as he left, the figures of the Three Pure Ones appeared from the void.

"Junior Sister Nuwa, sending a quasi-saint to compete for Pangu's heart is far too frivolous," Yuanshi frowned.

"It all depends on fate," Nuwa said calmly. "Besides, young friend Lu Chen has many tricks up his sleeve, so he might have a chance."

Tongtian laughed: "That kid is very cunning, he might actually come up with something. Big brother, second brother, let's go too, don't let those two from the West beat us to it."

Lao Tzu nodded: "Let's go."

The three saints disappeared.

From the direction of the Western Sacred Mountain, Jieyin and Zhunti also sensed the aura of the Pangu Palace and transformed into golden light to rush over.

All the top beings in the entire prehistoric world focused their attention on the depths of the ruins of Buzhou Mountain.

At that moment, Lu Chen was the first to arrive at the scene.

After Buzhou Mountain collapsed, the shadowy silhouette of an ancient palace was revealed amidst the original mountain ruins.

The palace was entirely gray and white, as if built from the most primitive stones, without any ornamentation, yet it exuded a primordial, creation-of-the-world aura. The palace doors were tightly closed, and three divine characters of the Great Dao were engraved on the lintel: "Pangu Palace".

Lu Chen did not approach rashly.

Because he saw that six figures were already standing on the open ground in front of the palace gate—the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin and Zhunti, and... Lady Pingxin (although the saints of the underworld cannot leave the underworld, this is the Pangu Palace, which has a connection with her, and she separated a wisp of her incarnation).

The Six Saints Gather!

"Young friend Lu Chen has also arrived?" Tongtian nodded to him.

"This junior greets all the sages." Lu Chen bowed, but in his heart he was thinking: Six sages, what's the point of fighting over them?

But soon he discovered that things weren't that simple.

Surrounding the Pangu Palace is an invisible barrier, radiating the oppressive power of Pangu, which even saints cannot forcibly break in. To enter the palace, one must pass the "Pangu Trial"—a test left behind by the great god Pangu, which only allows "those with destiny" to enter.

The trial involved... a contest of physical strength.

Because the Pangu Palace was formed from Pangu's heart, it only recognizes successors with strong physical bodies.

"A contest of physical strength?" Jieyin Zhunti's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Although the Buddhist golden body is strong, it has no advantage compared to the Ancestral Witches, the Three Pure Ones, or even Lu Chen, who is a freak in cultivating the laws of power.

The Three Pure Ones remained calm—they were formed from one breath, and although their physical bodies were not the strongest, they had still reached the peak of the Quasi-Saint level.

Needless to say, Lady Pingxin was transformed from an ancestral witch, and her physical body was inherently powerful.

As for Lu Chen...

He cultivates the Law of Power and has his body tempered by the Chaos Origin Liquid, so his physical strength... has already touched the threshold of the Primordial Chaos realm!

"Since that's the case, let's begin." Lao Tzu was the first to walk towards the palace gate.

When he approached the palace gate within ten feet, a terrifying pressure descended, as if millions of mountains were pressing down on him!

Laozi grunted, circulating pure energy around his body, enduring the pressure, and moved forward step by step.

Nine feet, eight feet, seven feet...

When he reached five zhang (approximately 10 meters), sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his pace slowed noticeably.

Finally, it stopped at a distance of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and could no longer go forward.

"The limit of the physical body is three zhang." Laozi shook his head and stepped back.

Yuanshi and Tongtian tried in turn, and the result was also three zhang.

Jieyin and Zhunti fared even worse; they could only walk five zhang before they couldn't take it anymore.

Lady Pingxin walked to a height of two zhang—though she was strong, she was, after all, just an incarnation.

It was Lu Chen's turn.

All eyes were on him.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, activated the Law of Power, had the Chaos Brick floating above his head, and was protected by the Morning Bell as he walked step by step toward the palace gate.

An overwhelming pressure descends!

But Lu Chen kept walking.

Ten feet, nine feet, eight feet... five feet, four feet, three feet!

He surpassed the Three Pure Ones!

Two zhang, one zhang...

He walked to the palace gate!

The three characters "Pangu Hall" on the lintel now shone with golden light.

"Those who are destined may enter." A vast and ancient voice echoed in Lu Chen's mind.

The palace gates slowly opened.

Lu Chen turned around, glanced at Liu Sheng, grinned, and stepped inside.

The door closed again.

Six Saints: "..."

Jieyin's face turned ashen: "He's just a quasi-saint, what gives him the right to...?"

"Just because his physical body is stronger than ours," Tongtian said nonchalantly. "This kid's Law of Power has been cultivated to an unbelievable level."

Inside the hall.

Lu Chen stared at the faintly beating heart-shaped phantom floating in the center, and his breath caught in his throat.

The essence of Pangu's heart!

Although it is just a phantom, merely a trace of the original essence left behind after the fall of the great god Pangu, it was still Pangu!

Pangu, who created the world!

This trace of origin is enough to transform any living being, and even... allow them to touch the threshold of proving the Dao through force!

Lu Chen reached out and grabbed his heart.

But at that moment—

The phantom heart suddenly split into seven streams of light, shooting off in different directions!

The largest of them entered Lu Chen's body.

The remaining six paths pierced through the palace gates and flew towards the six saints outside!

"What's going on?!" Lu Chen was stunned.

That ancient voice rang out once more:

"The blessings left by Pangu are shared by those who are destined to benefit."

"The one who receives the largest share will be the true successor of Pangu, and will be responsible for suppressing the primordial earth veins and reshaping the backbone."

Lu Chen understood.

The heart of Pangu is not given to one person, but distributed to all those "destined" who pass the trials.

But the largest portion was given to him.

Because his physical body is the strongest, he has the best chance of walking the path of proving the Dao through force—the path that Pangu walked.

"I've made a fortune..." Lu Chen grinned as he felt the vast, star-like power of origin within his body.

Although it's only one-seventh, it's the essence of Pangu's heart!

Enough for him to push the Law of Power to its peak, and even... break through to the Primordial Chaos Realm!

The palace doors opened again.

Lu Chen stepped out, looked at the six saints with different expressions, and cupped his hands, saying, "Esteemed saints, you flatter me."

None of the six saints spoke; they simply digested their respective portions of origin.

Although not as much as Lu Chen, it was still a great supplement for them.

After a long silence, Laozi finally spoke: "Now that the legacy of Pangu has been divided, the matter of the earth's veins will be left to our young friend Lu Chen. We... shall return."

The Three Pure Ones departed.

Although Jieyin and Zhunti were unwilling, they had no choice but to leave as well.

The incarnation of Lady Pingxin nodded to Lu Chen and vanished without a trace.

Lu Chen was the only one left in the ruins.

He looked down at the ruins of Buzhou Mountain, then at the Pangu primordial energy within his body, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Then... let's rebuild the backbone of the primordial world."

He sat down cross-legged and began to refine the source.

This time, he's going to pull off something big.

Not only must we attain the Dao of Hunyuan, but we must also... recreate Mount Buzhou!