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

"Clang—clang—clang—"

The sound of bells came from the chaos, resounding throughout the primordial world.

Lu Chen had just escaped the Undying Volcano for thousands of miles when he heard the bell, and his heart trembled.

"Lectures have begun at Zixiao Palace!"

According to the original story, Hongjun's first sermon was about the Dao of the Great Luo Golden Immortal. But what was more important to him was that with three thousand mortals gathering in the Chaos, the prehistoric world would briefly enter a "vacuum period"!

The high-ranking members of the three clans and powerful figures from all sides will go to listen to the teachings, leaving their home base vulnerable.

"An opportunity!" Lu Chen's eyes lit up.

He's currently being hunted by the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Clan. The primordial world is vast, but there's nowhere to hide. Instead of hiding, he might as well seize this opportunity to pull off an even bigger heist!

"There's still the Qilin Clan's treasure vault left to visit... no, it's the Qilin Clan's ancestral land treasure vault!"

He recalled the elder's token and the secret location of Qilin Cliff marked on the jade slip map—where the true essence of the Qilin clan was hidden, and perhaps even the biggest secret of the three-clan war.

"Let's go to Qilin Cliff!"

Lu Chen changed direction and flew towards Qilin Cliff on the west side of Buzhou Mountain.

On the way, he checked on the condition of the little golden phoenix in his arms.

The little guy was still asleep, but his breathing was steady, and the three golden feathers on his head were faintly glowing, obviously digesting the power he had just awakened.

"Time stop... What kind of talent is this?" Lu Chen exclaimed in amazement.

The Golden Crow rules the sun, and the Phoenix controls rebirth; their combination has given birth to a time-related supernatural power? Although it can only last for a moment and consumes a huge amount of energy, it can save lives in critical moments.

"From now on, I'll call you 'Little Gold'." Lu Chen patted its head.

Little Golden Phoenix chirped, rubbed against his fingers, and went back to sleep.

Three days later, Lu Chen arrived at Qilin Cliff.

This is a towering cliff, its walls sheer and precipitous, entirely yellowish-brown, exuding a heavy, earthy aura. At its summit stands the palace of the Qilin clan, but it is eerily quiet—clearly, the higher-ups have all gone to the Purple Cloud Palace.

"There shouldn't be many guards."

Lu Chen concealed his aura and, following the guidance of the jade slip, found a hidden crevice at the bottom of the cliff.

The crack was concealed by a natural formation, and would have been completely undetectable without a map. He cast several spells, widening the crack and revealing a downward staircase.

"The ancestral land of the Qilin clan lies deep beneath the cliff..."

Just as he was about to enter, a sudden sense of alarm struck him!

"Buzz—"

Around the crack, countless earthen-yellow runes lit up, forming a trapping and killing array!

"As expected, there was an ambush!" Lu Chen reacted extremely quickly, and the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner instantly protected him.

"boom!"

The formation was activated, and countless divine lightning bolts of the Earth element struck down, each capable of killing a Golden Immortal.

Lu Chen withstood several blows, his blood surging, but he could still hold on. He summoned the black brick, its golden light of merit bursting forth, and smashed it towards the array node.

"break!"

The formation shook violently, and cracks appeared.

Just then, a figure emerged from the depths of the crevice.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, you little thief."

Lu Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

The First Qilin!

No, something's wrong... Is it a Great Luo clone?

The "Primordial Qilin" was illusory, possessing only 30% of its original strength, yet it was still a Great Luo level being!

"Should a clone stay behind?" Lu Chen's heart sank.

"My true self is going to listen to the Dao, leaving me to guard the ancestral land." The clone sneered, "I didn't expect you to actually dare to come—stealing my imitation of the Qilin Seal and killing my Third Elder, you'll stay here today!"

Before he finished speaking, the clone opened its mouth and spat out the genuine Qilin Seal!

The moment the genuine article appeared, the counterfeit trembled, and Lu Chen felt immense pressure.

"I can't fight them head-on..." His mind raced, and he suddenly remembered the elder's token.

This token allows free access to the ancestral treasury; perhaps it has other uses as well.

He took out the token and infused it with magic.

"Buzz—"

The token lit up, resonating with the genuine Qilin Seal.

The clone paused, looking surprised and uncertain: "Third Brother's token? How come you...?"

"It was the Third Elder's dying wish!" Lu Chen seized the opportunity to fabricate a story. "He said there was a traitor within the Qilin Clan, and that the Dragon and Phoenix Clans had secretly formed an alliance. He sent me to the ancestral land to retrieve something and deliver it to the clan leader!"

"A traitor?" The clone's eyes flashed. "What is it?"

"The Third Elder didn't say anything, he only told me to go into the treasure vault and take it myself." Lu Chen put on a convincing performance, his face full of grief and indignation. "If you don't believe me, senior, you can come in with me to check!"

The clone remained silent.

It did receive a message from the Third Elder, saying there was something important to report, but then the Third Elder perished. Could it really be related to an internal traitor?

"Alright." The clone finally nodded. "I'll go in with you. If you try anything funny, I'll kill you!"

"I wouldn't dare," Lu Chen thought to himself with relief.

The two entered the depths of the crevice, one after the other.

The staircase winds its way down, penetrating thousands of feet underground. The deeper one goes, the denser the earth elemental energy becomes, and the greater the pressure.

Half an hour later, the view suddenly opened up.

This is a huge underground cave. In the center is a hundred-zhang-tall altar, on which floats a large earthen-yellow seal—the Qilin Ancestral Seal, an innate spiritual treasure that suppresses the Qilin clan's fortune!

The surrounding area was piled high with treasures: mountains of innate earth essence, tens of thousands of acquired spiritual treasures, and countless jade slips, pills, and spiritual herbs.

"This is the true foundation of the Qilin Clan..." Lu Chen was shocked.

But his gaze was quickly drawn to something beside the altar—

It was a broken Qilin corpse, only a skeleton, but its entire body was as clear as jade, exuding a chaotic aura.

"This is..." Lu Chen's pupils shrank sharply.

"The remains of the Qilin Ancestor, the Chaos Demon God, the Earth Qilin." The clone's tone was complex. "Our clan's rise to power is entirely due to refining a trace of the essence from these remains."

Remains of a Chaos Demon God!

Lu Chen's heart pounded like a drum. This was more precious than any innate spiritual treasure! If he could refine even a trace of its essence, his earth element would instantly reach perfection!

"What do you want?" the clone asked.

Lu Chen suppressed his greed and pointed to a corner of the altar: "That jade slip."

There was indeed an ancient jade slip there, labeled with the words "Three Races Alliance - Dragon-Han Secret Records".

The clone frowned: "What do you need this for?"

"The Third Elder said that the traitor's identity is among them," Lu Chen said, making up a story on the spot.

The clone hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Take it."

Lu Chen stepped forward and picked up the jade slip. A quick scan with his divine sense revealed evidence of a secret alliance between the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan, as well as incriminating evidence against some high-ranking members of the Qilin Clan.

But what he really cared about was a small piece of bone pressed under the jade slip—a finger bone from the remains of a Chaos Qilin!

He pretended to examine the jade slip, but secretly rolled up the Qiankun Diagram and took away the finger bone.

"Is it ready?" the clone urged.

"Alright." Lu Chen turned around.

But in the instant he turned around, something unexpected happened!

"Buzz—"

The little golden phoenix in her arms suddenly woke up with a start and let out a sharp "chirp".

Time stopped!

Although it was only a tenth of a breath, it was enough for Lu Chen!

With the black brick in his hand, his merits shone brightly, and he smashed the brick onto his clone's forehead.

"Bang!"

Caught off guard, the clone was struck, causing its primordial spirit to tremble and its movements to freeze.

"receive!"

The Qiankun Diagram unfolded, absorbing the clone into the small world to suppress it—the Great Luo clone, although only possessing 30% of its strength, would still be a great tonic if refined!

After doing all this, Lu Chen didn't have time to examine it closely and frantically searched for loot.

Seventy percent of the innate essence of Earth (戊土) is harvested!

The day after tomorrow, Lingbao will collect three hundred exquisite items!

I'm looking for high-grade elixirs and spiritual herbs!

The entire jade slip cultivation technique has been copied!

Finally, he looked at the remains of the Chaos Qilin.

"If you can't take everything, then take what's most important!"

He rushed to the skeleton and found the heart—there was a yellowish-brown crystal, the size of a fist, containing the essence of the Earth element.

"The Kirin Core!"

Just as they were about to collect it, the skeleton suddenly trembled.

A lingering thought awakened: "Who... disturbed my slumber...?"

The remnants of the Chaos Demon God!

Lu Chen felt a chill run down his spine, but the arrow was already on the bowstring and he had no choice but to release it. He summoned the axe handle fragment, and the golden light of the Heaven-Opening Merit erupted.

"Please forgive me, senior, I'm only asking to borrow your treasure!"

The golden light of merit resonated with the source of the Earth element, and the core automatically flew into his hand.

After a moment of silence, a hint of relief came through his lips: "The aura of Pangu... Fine, this is yours. But you must promise me one thing."

"Please speak, senior."

"My descendants... the Qilin clan... are about to perish in this great calamity... I'll leave them a sliver of hope..."

The voice faded, and the lingering regret dissipated.

Lu Chen bowed respectfully: "This junior will do his best."

He put away the core, taking one last look at the Qilin Ancestral Seal on the altar—he didn't touch it. This thing was tied to the entire fortune of the Qilin clan; taking it meant certain death.

"withdraw!"

Lu Chen rushed out of the cave and returned along the same route.

As soon as they emerged from the crack, a furious roar came from the sky:

"You little thief! Give me back my clone—!!!"

The original Qilin has actually returned from Zixiao Palace ahead of schedule?!

Lu Chen was so frightened that he lost his mind and fled by burning his life essence.

"Where do you think you're going!" Shi Qilin slammed down with his palm, causing the void to collapse.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth and burned the newly obtained Wu Earth essence, pushing the Wu Ji Apricot Yellow Banner to its limit.

"boom!"

The palm strike shattered the light barrier, causing Lu Chen to cough up blood and fly backward, but he used the force to break free of the Buzhou Mountain area.

"Chase!"

The Qilin pursued relentlessly.

One chased, the other fled, spanning half of the primordial wilderness.

Seven days later, Lu Chen finally shook off his pursuers and hid on a deserted island in the East China Sea—the most dangerous place is the safest place, and the Dragon Clan would never have imagined that he would dare to return to the East China Sea.

Inside the cave, he collapsed to the ground, covered in wounds.

But looking at the harvest in the Qiankun Diagram, he grinned.

"It was worth it!"

He first refined the Qilin Heart Core, and the Earth Origin was integrated into his body, making the "Earth Qi" of the Five Elements in his chest perfect!

At this point, all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—were complete! His cultivation had officially entered the late stage of the Golden Immortal realm, and his foundation was incredibly solid.

Then, he refined the Great Luo clone, and a surge of immense magical power flowed into it, propelling his cultivation to the peak of the Golden Immortal realm!

Just one step away from condensing the three flowers on the top of the head and becoming a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

"It's time to take stock of the harvest..."

Lu Chen examined each item one by one:

Chaos Qilin Bone Fingers (can be used to craft earth-attribute treasures)

The essence of innate Earth element (enough for ten thousand years of cultivation)

Three hundred magical treasures acquired later (enough to arm an army).

Countless elixirs and spiritual herbs

Complete set of Jade Slip Cultivation Techniques

And most importantly—the secret record of the alliance between the three races!

He opened the secret record and became increasingly alarmed as he read.

"The Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan have indeed formed an alliance, but both sides are plotting against each other... There really is a traitor within the Qilin Clan, and a high-ranking one at that! No wonder the three clans are fighting like madmen..."

Just as I was engrossed in reading, a line of blood-red words suddenly appeared on the last page of the secret manuscript:

If you see this character, it means that the great calamity has reached its end.

The three races must be exterminated; it is the will of Heaven.

However, the extermination of my clan is not my wish.

Buried beneath the altar at the bottom of the cliff are the last remaining spark of the Qilin clan—three Qilin eggs. May someone destined to preserve them keep them safe.

Lu Chen was stunned.

A Qilin egg? The last spark of life?

He suddenly remembered the chaotic Qilin's lingering instructions: "Leave a ray of hope..."

"So that's how it is..." Lu Chen murmured.

The three races were destined to perish, but the Qilin Ancestor wanted to preserve some of his bloodline for his clan.

"I accept this cause and effect."

He looked westward toward Qilin Cliff, his expression complex.

Just then, the little golden phoenix in her arms woke up again and chirped urgently towards the east.

Lu Chen looked up and saw a red light streaking across the eastern sky, falling towards the deserted island.

Within the crimson light, a phoenix could be vaguely seen, its body covered in blood, cradling an egg in its arms—

The egg was as red as blood, and its surface was burning with the divine fire of Nirvana.

The aura of Yuan Feng!

Yuan Feng fled, severely injured, carrying the last Heavenly Phoenix Egg in her arms! She crashed on the other side of the deserted island, her life hanging by a thread.

Further away, the pursuers of the Ancestral Dragon and the Primordial Qilin have arrived! A three-way battle is about to erupt on this deserted island! Lu Chen holds the secret of the Qilin Clan's fire seed and stumbles upon Yuan Feng on the verge of death. What should he choose? To save her, to seize her, or... to take advantage of her misfortune?