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

Above the Eight Treasures Merit Pool on the back mountain of Mount Ling, the phantom of Jieyin and Zhunti slowly condensed, their saintly aura as deep and imprisoned as a bottomless abyss, completely sealing off the space within a radius of ten thousand miles.

"Lu Chen, you have repeatedly opposed my Buddhist sect. Today you even dare to steal my merit pool. Do you really think that a saint can be bullied?" Zhunti's illusory figure roared angrily. The illusory Seven Treasures Tree in his hand swept down, its seven-colored light flowing, trying to knock away Lu Chen's magic weapon and reduce his cultivation.

Lu Chen had anticipated this, and the instant the illusory figure of the saint appeared, he crushed a "substitute talisman" that he had prepared beforehand—this talisman was refined by Zhen Yuanzi using the essence of the earth's veins and could take the brunt of a fatal attack.

"Snap!"

The talisman shattered, diverting the divine light of the Seven Treasures Tree and turning a nearby mountain into dust.

Taking advantage of this gap, Lu Chen activated his Brick Escape technique to its fullest extent and simultaneously summoned the Chaos Brick. The force-law patterns on the surface of the brick flashed wildly as he slammed it into a weak spot in the void!

"Open it!"

A burst of pure power tore a crack open in the saint's seal!

"Where do you think you're going!" The illusory figure of the guide threw out the guiding banner, its shadow filling the sky, and the chanting deafening, attempting to forcibly convert Lu Chen's soul.

Without turning his head, Lu Chen tossed the several demon stones he had collected from the Qiankun Diagram, which were tainted with the aura of the Northern Underworld Demon Cave, toward the Guiding Divine Banner.

The demonic energy collided with the Buddhist light, producing a piercing corrosive sound, and the light of the divine banner paused slightly.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Lu Chen had already escaped the boundaries of Mount Ling, his voice carrying far and wide: "Two sages, what I 'borrow' today, I will surely repay one day! Farewell!"

Before the words were even finished, the person had already disappeared into the horizon.

The illusory figures of Jieyin and Zhunti could not catch up and could only watch helplessly as Lu Chen escaped, which angered them so much that their illusory figures fluctuated.

"This beast has become a force to be reckoned with!" Zhunti gritted his teeth. "We must find a way to eliminate it!"

"He has already reached the peak of the Hunyuan realm, and is protected by a strange and supreme treasure, so ordinary methods are useless." The illusory figure of Jieyin had a gloomy expression. "Moreover, he has formed an alliance with Zhenyuanzi, and Tongtian seems to be looking at him differently... We need to plan carefully. The most urgent task is to stabilize the Heavenly Court and, with the help of Haotian and Yuanshi, proceed slowly."

The two illusory figures of saints exchanged a glance, then looked towards the direction of the Eastern Heavenly Court, their eyes flashing with calculation.

……

Lu Chen fled for hundreds of millions of miles in one breath, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Jieyin and Zhunti were not chasing after him.

A sage is a sage after all; even a mere phantom exerts immense pressure on him. If not for thorough preparation and the interference of the substitution talisman and the demonic stone, he would likely have suffered a minor setback today.

He examined the Qiankun Diagram, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He had taken a full seventy percent of the crystallized faith from the Eight Treasures Merit Pool! The remaining thirty percent was essential for maintaining the pool's water, and he deliberately left it untouched to avoid completely destroying this sacred land of merit and forging an irreconcilable enmity with the two Western Saints—now was not the time to turn against them completely.

These crystallized beliefs are of unparalleled purity and have been nurtured by Buddhism for countless years. With a little refinement, they can become top-grade materials for "Buddha-breaking treasures" or be used to nurture the remnant soul of Hongyun, which is perfect for this purpose.

"The harvest has been quite fruitful; it's time to move on to the next step." Lu Chen turned his gaze towards Jin'ao Island.

The clone "Lu Xiao" sent back a message that Tongtian had begun to teach more profound essences of the Jie Sect's formations, which included some of the peripheral principles and formation pattern changes of the "Zhu Xian Sword Formation"!

The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, neither copper, iron, nor steel, was once hidden beneath Mount Sumeru. Slaughtering Immortals brings benefit, killing Immortals brings death, trapping Immortals with crimson light, and severing Immortals with endless wondrous transformations, staining the robes of even the Great Luo Immortals with blood! This is the number one killing formation in the primordial world, requiring the combined efforts of four sages to break.

If one can glimpse the secrets of this formation, even just the surface, it will lead to a qualitative leap in his mastery of the Great Dao of Power and his application of the Chaos Brick!

Using the Brick Escape technique, Lu Chen quietly returned to the outer perimeter of Jin'ao Island, concealing his true form while his consciousness completely sank into his clone, "Lu Xiao."

Inside Biyou Palace, Tongtian was explaining "The Ultimate Transformation of Formations" to some of his personal disciples and core disciples.

"The way of formations lies in borrowing the power of heaven and earth to achieve one's own power. However, the supreme formations can reverse the creation of heaven and earth and form their own laws." Tongtian casually sketched in the air, and Dao patterns intertwined, evolving into various mysterious formation diagrams. "For example, my Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation does not simply borrow external power, but is based on the four swords of Slaughter, Slaughter, Traps, and Annihilation, laying out a world of killing. Those who enter the formation will be suppressed by the laws of this world. Those below the level of a saint will be turned into ashes in an instant."

Those listening below, including Zhao Gongming, Duobao, Jinling Shengmu, Wudang Shengmu, Guiling Shengmu, and the Three Immortals, held their breath, their eyes dazzled. Lu Chen (Lu Xiao), sitting in the back row, was equally focused, using a secret method to transmit what he saw and heard to his main body through a mysterious connection between his clone and his main body.

Inside the Heavenly Pillar Cave, before Lu Chen's true form, illusory array diagrams composed of Dao patterns continuously appeared, decomposed, and recombined. His Dao of Power was inherently adept at analyzing the fundamental nature of all things, and now, with the assistance of his clone's synchronized "on-site teaching," his understanding of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation deepened rapidly.

"So that's how it is... The Immortal Slayer Sword is for destruction, the Immortal Slaughter Sword is for killing, the Immortal Trapping Sword is for confinement, and the Immortal Annihilation Sword is for transformation. The four swords are not isolated, but rather, through specific array patterns, the four ultimate sword intents circulate endlessly, forming an absolute killing domain..."

"The key to the formation isn't fixed; it changes constantly as the four swords operate. No wonder it takes four saints attacking all four gates simultaneously to break the formation..."

"These basic array patterns, though not the core, possess a level of ingenuity in their combination and transformation that far surpasses ordinary innate grand arrays..."

Time flies by in immersive learning.

Tongtian's lecture on array formations lasted for eighty-one days. As a newly promoted "genius disciple," Lu Chen (Lu Xiao)'s occasional questions often hit the nail on the head, allowing Tongtian to explain more deeply and even demonstrate some non-core array formation combinations and variations.

For Lu Chen himself, these eighty-one days were nothing short of a transformation in the Dao of Formations. Although he did not obtain the true core formation diagram and the four sword techniques of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, he already had a thorough understanding of the operating principles, basic formation patterns, and rules of change of this number one killing formation in the primordial world.

"That's enough." With the lecture concluded, Lu Chen (Lu Xiao) dispersed with the other disciples. His true form opened his eyes in the cave, countless array patterns seemingly appearing and disappearing within them.

He raised his hand and used his magic to outline the void. The Dao patterns flowed, and although they were not based on supreme killing treasures like the Four Swords of Zhuxian, the array patterns themselves alone condensed a sharp and murderous intent, tearing the space within the cave into fine black cracks.

"It has form but no spirit, only one or two percent of its essence, but it already possesses the rudiments of 'isolated space' and 'suppression laws.'" Lu Chen dispersed the array patterns, his heart filled with excitement. "If I can find four killing treasures to replace the four swords, or simply use the Chaos Bricks to divide the four shadows as a base, it might not be impossible to set up a simplified version of the 'Immortal Slaughtering Brick Array'!"

This is undoubtedly a powerful new trump card!

Overjoyed, he did not forget his business. His clone "Lu Xiao" moved more and more freely in Biyou Palace, and his relationship with Zhao Gongming, the Three Immortals, and others grew stronger day by day. On this day, Zhao Gongming invited Lu Xiao to his cave to enjoy tea and discuss Taoism.

Zhao Gongming is a forthright and generous man whose cultivation has reached the peak of the Great Luo realm. He is also a direct disciple of Tongtian and possesses the top-grade innate spiritual treasure "Dinghai Divine Pearl" (twenty-four pearls). He enjoys extremely high prestige within the Jie Sect. Befriending him is crucial to Lu Chen's (Lu Xiao's) position within the Jie Sect and his future plans.

Inside the cave, the aroma of tea wafted through the air. Zhao Gongming discussed the recent situation in the prehistoric world, expressing his dissatisfaction with the Heavenly Court's new regulations: "That Haotian brat, merely a Daoist disciple, thinks he can command all immortals just because he has the support of the Dao Ancestor? My disciples of the Jie Sect are carefree and unrestrained; why would we be bound by him!"

Lu Xiao nodded in agreement, and continued, "What Senior Brother says is absolutely right. However, it seems that the figure of the Primordial Sage is behind the Heavenly Court. When I was traveling, I heard that the disciples of the Chan Sect were talking privately, saying that our Jie Sect is 'unorthodox and improper,' and that once the Heavenly Court is established, the first thing it will do is to 'rectify' our sect..."

"Hmph! Master Yuanshi has always looked down on my sect!" Zhao Gongming slammed his fist on the table, his anger blazing. "The Investiture of the Gods hasn't even been decided yet, and he's already scheming like this! This is outrageous!"

Conferred God?

Lu Chen (Lu Xiao)'s heart skipped a beat, but he feigned confusion: "Investiture of the Gods? Senior Brother, what is Investiture of the Gods?"

Zhao Gongming realized he had spoken out of turn, but seeing that Lu Xiao was his trusted junior brother, he lowered his voice and said, "This is a matter discussed by our teacher, our two senior uncles, and the Western Sage, and it has not yet been made public. The gist is that the Heavenly Court is empty and needs to appoint 365 righteous gods to fill the Heavenly Court. The candidates... will probably have to come from among the disciples of our Xuanmen Three Teachings."

Lu Xiao (Lu Chen) suddenly realized that, as expected, the seeds of the Investiture of the Gods calamity had already been sown! This was the key point in the escalation of the conflict between Tongtian and Yuanshi, and also an opportunity he could take advantage of!

Just as he was about to inquire about more details, the voice of the Water and Fire Boy suddenly came from outside the cave: "Senior Brother Gongming, Junior Brother Lu Xiao, Master requests your presence at the main hall of Biyou Palace."

The two exchanged a glance, not daring to delay, and immediately got up and went.

In the main hall of Biyou Palace, Tongtian sat on his cloud bed, his face solemn. Below him, besides his personal disciples such as Duobao and Jinling, were his core disciples, including the Seven Immortals who served him.

Seeing that everyone had gathered, Tongtian slowly spoke: "By the decree of the Dao Ancestor, the three sects of Xuanmen shall jointly sign the 'Investiture of the Gods' list to fill the divine positions in the Heavenly Court. You all must be careful in your words and deeds in the coming days, diligently cultivate yourselves, and lest you become tainted by karma and fall into calamity."

The atmosphere inside the hall immediately became heavy.

The matter of the Investiture of the Gods is finally going to be brought into the open!

Lu Chen (Lu Xiao) stood in the crowd, head down, his eyes gleaming.

A storm is coming.

And this "hidden hand" hiding in the Jie Sect will seize the greatest benefits in the upcoming monstrous waves!