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

The Chaos Arena floats on the edge of the Ruins of Return.

The chaotic energy here is as violent as a dragon, and spacetime is disordered. Ordinary Grand Luo Golden Immortals would have their bodies torn apart in an instant. Only those at the Primordial Chaos Realm can stand here.

The arena was forged from chaotic stone, spanning tens of thousands of feet in width. Its surface was imprinted with innate Dao patterns personally carved by the Dao Ancestor, ensuring that the aftershocks of the battle would not spread and harm the primordial world.

At this moment, more than ten figures stood around the arena, their auras varying in power, obscurity, or sharpness—all were powerful beings from the Primordial Chaos Era. The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and the Two Western Saints stood at the forefront, their expressions calm, but a glint of brilliance flickered deep within their eyes. Styx, Kunpeng, and other scattered cultivators dispersed around, wary of each other.

In the center of the arena, a chaotic beam of light shot into the sky. Within the beam, a blurry, ever-changing dark golden ball of light floated up and down, emitting pure and extreme fluctuations of the laws of power. It also exuded an unruly and ferocious will to fight against heaven and earth—it was the origin of the Chaotic Demon Ape!

Beside the pillar of light stood a hazy, illusory figure of Hongjun, serving as both judge and witness.

Lu Chen arrived, stepping on the hazy gray light formed from the Chaos Bricks, instantly attracting everyone's attention. Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes were as cold as knives, Jieyin and Zhunti's eyes flashed with calculation, Tongtian's eyes flashed with a complex emotion, and Styx Kunpeng and the others were filled with a mixture of fear and greed.

"Now that everyone is here, let me reiterate the rules of the arena," the illusory figure of Hongjun said in a detached voice. "Those who enter the arena shall compete using their own Great Dao techniques, and may use magical treasures and supernatural powers, but they must not harm lives or destroy the foundation of humanity. The one who ultimately stands on the arena will be recognized as the master of the Demon Ape's origin. Now, let's begin."

After he finished speaking, the scene fell into a brief silence.

Who should go first? The old monsters present all understood the principle that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down."

"Amitabha, since everyone is so modest, this humble monk will offer a preliminary suggestion." Zhunti suddenly stepped forward with a smile, his feet resting on golden lotuses as he ascended the arena. His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Lu Chen. "Fellow Daoist Lu Chen, I have long admired the profound mysteries of your Great Dao of Strength. How about we have a friendly spar?"

He directly named Lu Chen!

Everyone knew perfectly well that Zhunti was acting on Yuanshi's orders to test Lu Chen's strength and even weaken him.

Lu Chen remained calm as he stepped onto the arena: "Since the Sage has invited me, this junior will gladly oblige."

Without further ado, Zhunti made his move! The Seven Treasures Tree unleashed a seven-colored divine light, which annihilated the chaotic energy in its wake. Furthermore, a strange "conversion" power surged directly into Lu Chen's soul, attempting to forcibly convert him to the new faith!

"A mere trick!" Lu Chen neither dodged nor evaded. The Chaos World Brick hovered above his head, cascading down in streams of chaotic energy, evolving into miniature phantoms of various worlds. The seven-colored divine light brushed against the chaotic energy, but it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, swallowed and digested by the layers of phantom worlds! The power of salvation was even more easily dissipated by the pure will of the Great Dao of Power within the Chaos Brick!

"What?!" Zhunti's expression changed. His Seven Treasures Tree could brush away anything, yet today he had returned empty-handed?

Lu Chen swung a brick with his backhand! There were no fancy supernatural powers, just the simplest and purest smash! The Chaos World Brick transformed into a hundred-zhang-long brick, carrying the power of the thirty-six heavens and worlds, crushing space and time, and crashing down!

Zhunti hurriedly unleashed his blessed pestle to block.

"clang--!!!"

With a deafening roar, the blessed pestle dimmed its light and flew backward! Zhunti groaned and staggered back three steps, cracks appearing on the golden lotus beneath his feet! The sheer power of the crushing force had even caused this saint to suffer a minor setback!

The crowd below the stage paled in shock. A single brick had forced a sage to retreat? While Zhunti's combat strength was among the weakest of the sages, this was simply outrageous!

The Celestial Lord of the Primordial Beginning's eyes grew even colder, and he uttered a low shout: "Stubborn fool, I will personally take you down!" He disregarded his status and insisted on going up on the stage!

"Junior Brother Yuanshi, calm down." Laozi suddenly spoke, and a beam of Taiqing Immortal Light blocked Yuanshi's path. "Since this is a contest on the arena, we must abide by the rules."

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

The Chaos Demon Ape's primordial light cluster suddenly trembled violently, letting out a furious roar that seemed to come from the ancient chaos! Immediately afterward, the light cluster shot out a dark golden beam of light, not towards Lu Chen, but straight towards the Styx Ancestor below the arena!

Caught off guard, Styx was struck directly by the pillar of light! From within his arms, a strange, dark red light, sealed by numerous restrictions, suddenly broke free and resonated fiercely with the pillar of light emanating from the demonic ape!

"Blood God Child?! No, it's... the remnants of the Chaos Demon Ape's essence blood?!" Styx cried out in horror. He had obtained it by chance deep within the Blood Sea years ago, but had been unable to refine it and could only seal it away. Today, it was being actively drawn by the Demon Ape's essence!

The dark golden light pillar merged with the blood light, and a small part of the Demon Ape's primordial light cluster separated, transforming into a stream of light, about to enter the Styx River's body!

"You wicked creature! How dare you steal this treasure!" Yuanshi Tianzun roared, and the phantom of the Pangu Banner appeared, unleashing a chaotic sword aura that slashed towards the Styx River and the stream of light! He would not allow the Demon Ape's essence to fall into the hands of "anomalies" like Lu Chen or the Styx River!

At the same time, Jieyin and Zhunti also made their move, their Buddha light transforming into a giant hand that grabbed at the flowing light.

Tongtian snorted coldly, unleashing the power of the Zhuxian Sword, but instead of seizing the treasure, he slashed at Yuanshi's chaotic sword energy, intending to obstruct it.

The scene instantly descended into chaos! Several Sages and Primordial Chaos Realm experts simultaneously attacked, their target the spurred Demonic Ape Origin!

The phantom of Hongjun frowned slightly, but did not stop it, seemingly wanting to see how things would develop.

A sharp glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes! Now!

He had long sensed the residual aura of the demonic ape on the Styx River through the Chaos Brick, and also anticipated that the source might experience an anomaly and split! He had been waiting for this moment of chaos!

"World Repression!"

The Chaos World Brick unleashed its full power! The brick expanded, transforming into a real, enveloping miniature chaotic world that covered the entire arena! Within this world, earth, water, fire, and wind were restored, and the power of the thirty-six heavens transformed into invisible shackles, simultaneously suppressing all those who made a move!

Although it only lasted for a moment, it was enough!

Brick Escape activated to its limit! Lu Chen's figure transformed into a nearly non-existent chaotic thread, bypassing the center of all the collisions of divine powers in the nick of time, and directly appearing in front of the main demonic ape's primordial light cluster!

"You belong to the great path of power, and rightfully belong to me!"

He let out a low shout, and instead of grabbing it with his hands, he opened his mouth and swallowed the entire main source light cluster into his stomach!

At the same time, something flew out from his sleeve—it was a fragment of the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd that he had obtained from Hongyun back then! The fragment accurately struck the small portion of the original light that had been diverted out, and with a flash of red light, it temporarily sealed it into the fragment!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye!

After everyone broke free from the suppression of the chaotic world, they saw that Lu Chen had returned to his original position, his face flushed, and dark golden power laws surging around him, clearly indicating that he was forcibly refining the demonic ape's origin. The small portion of the origin that had been diverted was sealed in the gourd fragments, floating in the air.

"How dare you, you brat!" Yuanshi Tianzun roared in fury, and the Pangu Banner was about to be fully unfurled.

"Enough." The illusory figure of Hongjun finally spoke, and an invisible Daoist aura pressed down, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.

He looked at Lu Chen, then at the gourd fragment: "The Demonic Ape's essence has chosen Lu Chen as its master; this is the will of Heaven. The portion that has been diverted and is entangled with Hong Yun's karma will be temporarily managed by Lu Chen, and will be dealt with by Hong Yun after its recovery. The battle in the arena ends here."

The Dao Ancestor made the final decision with a single blow!

The Primordial Celestial Venerable's face turned ashen, yet he dared not disobey the Dao Ancestor.

Jieyin and Zhunti's eyes flickered, and it was unclear what they were thinking.

Styx looked at his empty hands, filled with hatred and anger, yet there was nothing he could do.

Lu Chen suppressed the boiling primordial power within his body and bowed to the Dao Ancestor: "Thank you for your fairness, Dao Ancestor."

Hongjun's illusory figure raised his hand, and a beam of clear light flew towards Lu Chen, transforming into an ancient gray stone shuttle.

"This is the 'Guiding Shuttle to the Ruins of Return,' which can lead you to the entrance to the Ruins of Return. Now that you have obtained the essence of the Demonic Ape, you should hurry to the Ruins of Return and not return to the Primordial World within a hundred years." The Dao Ancestor's voice rang in Lu Chen's ears. "The cause and effect here will be settled for now. We will discuss other matters after you return."

Lu Chen took the stone shuttle and nodded emphatically. He glanced at the various saints and Hunyuan with their different expressions, then at the sealed Demon Ape Divided Origin, and without lingering, he activated Brick Escape, transforming into a stream of chaotic light, and sped off towards the direction of Guixu without looking back.

Behind him were countless gazes, their meanings unclear.

On the Chaos Arena, he used the power of a single brick to devour the essence of the demonic ape, snatched food from the jaws of a tiger amidst the surrounding saints, and even obtained the treasure of Returning to the Void bestowed by the Dao Ancestor.

A new journey begins with a single step.

The century since Guixu was born is destined to be the beginning of a complete transformation.

The primordial chess game will surely be stirred up again when he returns!