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

Yang Jian entered the Heavenly Annihilation Formation, relying on the wonders of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and his powerful physique to withstand the inverted power of the Three Realms and the Soul-Shattering Force within the formation. He also secretly used his methods to find the core of the formation. After more than a hundred rounds of fierce fighting, he finally shattered the core of the formation platform with a single blow, breaking the Heavenly Annihilation Formation! Qin Tianjun, Qin Wan, coughed up blood and retreated in defeat. If Zhao Gongming had not thrown out the Dragon-Binding Rope in time to save him, he would have been killed on the spot by Yang Jian.

The first battle was breached, and the merchant camp was shaken.

Although the Ten Deadly Formations were linked, the breaking of one formation weakened their power. In the following days, the elites of the third generation of the Chan Sect, including Yang Jian, Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, and Huang Tianhua, all came out and displayed their supernatural powers and magical treasures. Jiang Ziya also protected himself outside the formation with the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and supported the formation with the God-Slaying Whip. They broke through the Earthly Fiery Formation, the Wind Howling Formation, and the Frosty Formation in succession! Zhao Jiang, Dong Quan, and Yuan Jiao, the three Heavenly Lords, were either killed or injured. In the blink of an eye, four of the Ten Deadly Formations were gone, and their ferocity was greatly reduced.

Wen Zhong, Zhao Gongming, and the others were both shocked and furious. Zhao Gongming could no longer contain himself; he took his golden whip, mounted his black tiger, and personally went out to challenge them!

"Jiang Ziya! You rely on your numbers and magical treasures to break through my formation and injure my fellow Daoists. Is this the behavior of the righteous Xuanmen? Do you dare to fight me, Zhao Gongming?!" Zhao Gongming's voice was like a booming bell. His aura at the peak of the Great Luo realm soared into the sky. Twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls surrounded his body, and five-colored rays of light illuminated the mountains and rivers. His power was unparalleled for a time.

Within the Xiqi formation, Jiang Ziya frowned deeply. He knew that Zhao Gongming was the eldest outer disciple of the Jie Sect, possessing profound cultivation and powerful magical weapons; he was no match for him. Just as he hesitated, the Immortal of Fortune and Virtue—Randeng Daoist—stepped out from the Jade Void Palace.

"Don't worry, Lord Ziya, I'll meet him." The Taoist Ran Deng said calmly as he rode out on a sika deer.

Ran Deng was a guest of Zixiao Palace, with extremely seniority. Although he held a special position in the Chan Sect, his cultivation was unfathomable. He went out into the battle and, unable to reach a consensus, started fighting with Zhao Gongming.

Zhao Gongming summoned the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl, and the illusory images of the Twenty-Four Heavens swirled around it, smashing towards Randeng. Randeng dared not take it head-on, and hurriedly threw out his Qiankun Ruler to defend himself, and also summoned his Purple Gold Bowl to protect himself. But the power of the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl was too great, and the Qiankun Ruler was smashed until its precious light dimmed and it flew back, and the Purple Gold Bowl also shook violently.

Seeing the situation was dire, Ran Deng feigned an attack and turned to flee, but instead of returning to his own lines, he headed southeast. Zhao Gongming, still furious, was unwilling to let him go. He shouted, "Ran Deng, don't run!" and urged his black tiger to give chase.

The two traveled one after the other, covering a thousand miles in an instant, far away from the battlefield.

High in the sky, Lu Chen took in all of this and sighed inwardly, "They're here... Zhao Gongming is chasing Randeng to lead him to Wuyi Mountain, where he will encounter Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao, and use the Treasure-Locking Coin to take away their Sea-Stabilizing Pearl and Dragon-Binding Rope... The original trajectory is indeed powerful."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: ①⓪①ⓚⓚⓢ.ⓒⓞⓜ]

Although he wanted to save Zhao Gongming, he knew that intervening rashly at this time would not only expose his own abilities but also potentially provoke the intervention of the sage, resulting in more harm than good. Moreover, Zhao Gongming was destined to face this calamity, and forcibly altering it might create even greater unforeseen circumstances.

"The Sea-Stabilizing Pearl..." Lu Chen's eyes flickered. "This treasure was originally one with my twelve pearls. Perhaps we can take advantage of this opportunity."

Instead of following Zhao Gongming, he attached a divine thought to the "original imprint" he had left earlier within the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls on Zhao Gongming's body, sensing his location and status at any time. His true self remained hidden in the sky above the battlefield, continuing to observe the changes in the remaining formations of the Ten Deadly Formations, as well as the methods used by the immortals of the Chan Sect to break the formations.

Zhao Gongming pursued Randeng to Mount Wuyi, where he indeed encountered the two wandering immortals, Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao. Xiao Sheng unleashed the Treasure-Falling Coin, a treasure formed from the first coin in the world, capable of striking down any treasure below the level of a primordial supreme treasure (except weapons). The coin flew up, flashing golden light, and Zhao Gongming's twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls and Dragon-Binding Rope became uncontrollable, slipping from his grasp and being collected by Xiao Sheng!

Zhao Gongming was both shocked and furious. Having lost his prized treasure, his fighting strength was greatly reduced. Taking advantage of the situation, Ran Deng joined forces with Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao to injure Zhao Gongming. Zhao Gongming had no choice but to flee in defeat, returning to the Shang camp in a sorry state.

Through the mark, Lu Chen clearly sensed that the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls had left his body and been taken away by Xiao Sheng. He did not act immediately, but waited patiently.

Zhao Gongming, having suffered a defeat and lost the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl, was filled with shame and indignation. Ignoring Wen Zhong's advice, he left the merchant camp alone that very night and disappeared without a trace. Wen Zhong and the others searched everywhere but could not find him and could only sigh in despair.

A few days later, Lu Chen sensed that the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls had been presented to Daoist Randeng by Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao. Randeng was overjoyed to receive the treasure, but he did not refine it immediately. Instead, he carefully put it away, intending to take it back to Kunlun Mountain to ask the Primordial Heavenly Venerable for help in refining it completely so as to unleash its full power.

Just as Randeng was returning to Kunlun Mountain with the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl and stopped to rest at a desolate mountain, Lu Chen made a move.

He had been waiting there for a long time, using his Concealment Talisman and Disguise Technique to their fullest extent, so much so that even a veteran powerhouse like Randeng couldn't detect him beforehand. Just as Randeng took out the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl and was admiring it, Lu Chen suddenly activated it!

His target wasn't Randeng—Randeng was highly skilled and possessed a protective treasure bestowed upon him by Yuanshi Tianzun, making him difficult to subdue in a short time. His real objective was the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls!

"receive!"

The Qiankun Diagram unfolded at full power, and a powerful suction force instantly locked onto the twenty-four divine pearls! At the same time, Lu Chen activated the twelve Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearls in his hand, as well as the primordial imprints he had previously left in the twenty-four pearls in Zhao Gongming's possession!

Om-!

The thirty-six Sea-Stabilizing Pearls, sharing the same origin, resonated violently in an instant! The twenty-four pearls in Randeng's hand trembled violently, their precious light flashing, and they were about to break free from his control!

"Who?!" Ran Deng was shocked and quickly used his internal energy to suppress the attack. At the same time, he summoned the Qiankun Ruler and the Purple Gold Bowl to protect himself and swept his divine sense around.

But Lu Chen had been planning this for a long time, and his timing was perfect. Just as Randeng was distracted by suppressing the enemy and being wary of external threats, the primal imprints within the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls were fully activated, working in tandem with the primal imprints in Lu Chen's twelve pearls!

"come over!"

Lu Chen let out a low shout, and the suppressing power of the Chaos Brick enveloped the area from a distance, forcibly suppressing the struggle of the pearl, while the suction force of the Qiankun Diagram increased dramatically!

Whoosh whoosh!

The twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls transformed into twenty-four streams of light, breaking free from the control of the Burning Lamp and disappearing into the Qiankun Diagram that suddenly appeared in mid-air!

"You audacious scoundrel! How dare you steal my Jade Void Treasure!" Randeng's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and the Qiankun Ruler transformed into a beam of light, slashing towards a certain spot in the void—he vaguely sensed Lu Chen's aura fluctuations.

But Lu Chen, having landed a successful blow, did not linger. He rolled up the Qiankun Diagram, put away the precious pearl, activated his Brick Escape Technique, and vanished without a trace in an instant! Randeng's attack landed on empty air, only splitting the desolate mountain in two.

"Damn it!!" Randeng was so angry that his three corpse gods jumped up and down, but he couldn't even see who the treasure thief was. He only vaguely sensed a strange aura that was both vast and chaotic, yet also carried the ultimate power.

"Could it be... Lu Chen?!" Ran Deng quickly realized who it was, and his expression became even more unsightly. If it really was Lu Chen, with his peak Hunyuan cultivation and unpredictable methods, he was indeed not confident in facing him alone, not to mention that the other party had run away after snatching the treasure, not giving him any chance to entangle him.

"The Sea-Stabilizing Pearl has been stolen... This matter must be reported to the Master immediately!" Randeng dared not delay and did not bother to return to Kunlun Mountain. He directly used a secret method to send a message to Yuxu Palace.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen was in a secluded valley a million miles away, happily counting his harvest.

With the addition of the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls to his original twelve, the thirty-six Sea-Stabilizing Pearls were finally gathered!

Thirty-six precious pearls floated before him, reflecting each other and radiating five-colored light that soared into the sky. Within them, thirty-six illusory figures of the heavens seemed to arise and evolve, emanating a vast pressure more than ten times stronger than before! In its complete form, the power of this treasure had definitely reached the threshold of a primordial treasure!

"Good! Good! Good!" Lu Chen exclaimed three times. With this treasure in hand, his combat power would soar again, and he would have more confidence when facing a saint.

He attempted to refine them and discovered that after all thirty-six divine beads gathered, the internal restrictions seemed to undergo a qualitative change, becoming more complex and profound, and faintly pointing to the higher levels of the "Evolution of the Heavens" and "Reopening of Chaos." Even with his current peak cultivation level of Hunyuan and his understanding of the Great Dao of Power, he found it difficult to completely refine and control them in a short time, and could only perform a preliminary refinement to unleash a portion of their power.

"No rush, take your time. With this treasure in hand, we have much more room to maneuver in the Investiture of the Gods." Lu Chen contentedly stored the thirty-six Sea-Stabilizing Pearls into his dantian for nurturing.

Just then, Lu Xiao, his clone left in Biyou Palace, sent an urgent message—Zhao Gongming's sister, the Three Immortal Maidens of Sanxiao, had learned of her brother's defeat and the theft of his magical treasures (they were unaware that they had fallen into Lu Chen's hands). Overwhelmed with grief and anger, she was gathering her magical treasures, preparing to descend the mountain to avenge her brother!

"The Three Immortals are about to descend the mountain..." Lu Chen's eyes narrowed.

The Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation and the Primordial Golden Bucket are about to appear!

This will be the pinnacle of the clash between the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect in the Investiture of the Gods, and also a sign that the calamity has reached its climax!

"I have to get back... The Three Immortals are strong-willed and loyal, and this journey will be dangerous. Perhaps I should do something..."

He recalled his friendship with the Three Immortals of Sanxiao, and the resonance between the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron and his own Chaos Brick, and he made up his mind.

The Brick Escape Technique begins again, with its target—Three Immortal Islands!

He wanted to see the Three Immortals one last time before they descended the mountain. Some things had to be said; some things might still be salvaged!