Primordial Era: Reborn Kong Xuan, Steady Cultivation

In the primordial era, without regard to the passage of time, on an unnamed island, a primordial grand formation quietly operated, its interior swirling with pure and vast primordial five elements energy.

In the center of the great formation, a figure sat cross-legged, with his five hearts facing the sky.

He was handsome and refined, with a serene and distant air, and his five-colored robes shimmered with a faint glow.

Behind him, a dazzling array of five-colored lights intertwined and shone, making his silhouette appear hazy and sacred.

After an unknown amount of time, the figure slowly opened his eyes. In an instant, the dazzling halo surrounding him receded like a tide and disappeared into his aura.

"Finally... the Five-Colored Divine Light has been initially refined."

He muttered to himself, a hint of barely perceptible sigh in his voice.

This body is indeed Kong Xuan, but it is not entirely Kong Xuan, because the soul within this body has long since come from another world.

It was just an ordinary night of working overtime, but when he woke up, the world had changed. He inexplicably stepped into this vast wilderness and became the first peacock since the beginning of time.

Having thoroughly read the ancient Chinese classics and the legends of the Investiture of the Gods, he was well aware of his own life and destiny.

Kong Xuan, the eldest son of Yuan Feng, is the crown prince of the Phoenix Clan and is known as "the number one person below the sage".

Although this title is somewhat exaggerated, it is enough to prove his status and supernatural powers. While he may not have the same deep roots as Di Jun who controls the heavens, Zhen Yuanzi who possesses the Book of Earth, or Styx Ancestor who reigns supreme in the Blood Sea, he is not far off.

Given such a status and level of cultivation, it's almost inevitable that they would be arrogant.

Because of the karma of being the crown prince of the Phoenix Clan, he later chose to help the Shang Dynasty fight against the Zhou Dynasty, thus standing on the opposite side of the destiny ordained by Heaven.

This choice ultimately attracted the attention of the two Western saints.

With a single sweep of his Seven Treasures Tree, the Daoist Zhunti, whose supernatural powers clashed with his own, suppressed him and made him his mount.

Although it became the mount of a saint, it held a revered position in Western religions, and even the Buddha in later generations had to show it respect.

But so what?

Kong Xuan was unwilling, and never had been.

He is the son of Yuan Feng, the crown prince of the Phoenix Clan, the first peacock in the world, born sacred, how could he be content to stop here?

Having entered the primordial world, how could he not yearn for that supreme holy position?

However, the path to sainthood is predetermined, and the will of Heaven is difficult to defy.

Even the wisp of Primordial Purple Qi of Daoist Hongyun eventually fell into the hands of others; it was not an opportunity that could be easily obtained.

Upon realizing this, Kong Xuan felt that his cultivation was only at the early stage of Golden Immortal, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's wrong with me? The position of a sage, now I realize, is it all just an illusion?"

However, his current cultivation level... is indeed rather low.

As the direct descendant of a quasi-saint peak Yuan Feng, his lineage should not be limited to this.

Even if one is not born a Great Golden Immortal like the Three Pure Ones, achieving the Taiyi Dao Fruit should be a natural outcome.

But now, despite his tireless cultivation day and night, he has only barely reached the early stage of the Golden Immortal realm. If not for this, his cultivation level would probably be even lower.

Not only his cultivation level, but he also couldn't remember the Phoenix Clan's divine abilities that should have been inherited in his bloodline.

Now, all we can rely on is this five-colored divine light that we have come to understand on our own, and a self-created scripture called "The Five Elements Containing Light Scripture".

Such a foundation seems rather meager among the innate deities with their accompanying spiritual treasures and innate supernatural powers.

Those born into this world are often accompanied by auspicious opportunities.

The Three Pure Ones, inheriting the merits of Pangu's creation of the world, are accompanied by the supreme treasure of the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda, which is the greatest merit.

As the crown prince of the Phoenix Clan and the first peacock in the world, he had no innate spiritual treasures, which was truly incongruous with his noble status.

Thinking back to the later generations after the Investiture of the Gods, Kong Xuanfu, upon his birth, did not rely on any magical treasures. He swept across all the immortals of the Chan Sect with only the Five-Colored Divine Light, suppressing the Twelve Golden Immortals so much that they could not raise their heads.

Thinking about it this way, it's not so strange that he doesn't have any magical treasures with him.

But another thought kept lingering in his mind: he probably had already severed his ties with the Phoenix Clan.

Otherwise, why haven't you felt any karmic burdens on you yet?

It should be known that before his birth, the primordial world had experienced the Great Calamity of the Dragon and Han Dynasties.

The three races of dragon, phoenix, and qilin fought for supremacy, their flames of war scorching the heavens and boiling the seas, ultimately causing the northern lands of the primordial wilderness to sink and transform into the Northern Sea.

How could the three races bear the karmic burden accumulated from such a massive massacre?

Therefore, the Dragon Clan eternally guards the four seas, the Phoenix Clan guards the immortal volcano, and the Qilin even scatters into the primordial world to pray for blessings and eliminate karma.

As the eldest son of Yuan Feng, he should have inherited the heaviest karma, but at this moment his body was pure and his mind was clear, without a trace of karmic impurity.

"It seems... that Yuan Feng used immense divine power to completely separate me from the Phoenix Clan's bloodline."

Kong Xuan looked at the ever-flowing Five Elements Qi in the void, and his mind gradually became clear.

Only in this way can we explain the purity of this body, untouched by karmic obstacles.

Otherwise, he might not even be able to cross the threshold of becoming a Golden Immortal.

After all, in this vast and boundless world, regardless of one's origins or level of cultivation, all beings deeply resent the concept of karma.

Once burdened by karmic obstacles, one not only loses all innate spiritual treasures and acquired opportunities, but also becomes nothing more than a walking "merit" in the eyes of others.

Those who encounter this opportunity will most likely not let it pass by, as it is a chance to sever karmic debts and earn merits from the heavenly path.

The merits and virtues of Heaven have infinite and wondrous uses.

It can nourish one's own fortune, refine merit treasures, condense merit golden wheels to protect the body, and even enable one to attain sainthood through it.

Such a blessing, who wouldn't desire it? Who wouldn't yearn for it?

Merit is hard to come by. Unless one performs a great act of kindness that drives the evolution of the primordial world, one can only accumulate merit through small acts of kindness over time.

Thinking of this, a hint of clarity appeared in Kong Xuan's eyes.

He did not use any magical power, but relied on the meager common sense he remembered from later generations. He humbled himself in this place where the five elements flowed in the primordial world and personally did some seemingly simple but never-before-seen little things.

They gathered wood and drilled a flint, igniting the first fire in the world that did not rely on supernatural powers or magic.

The clay is molded into a blank and then fired to produce rough but sturdy pottery.

They found an iron-bearing stone, repeatedly hammered and forged it, and gradually it revealed a cold metallic luster...

As for later generations discovering these methods but gaining no merit, Kong Xuan did not care.

Opportunities are inherently about seizing the initiative.

Since he was the first to undertake this pioneering work in this wild and untamed land, this gift from Heaven naturally belongs to him.

As he patiently accumulated these meager merits day after day within the great formation, a quiet change occurred deep within the heavens outside the formation.

Auspicious clouds gathered in wisps, and amidst the swirling mist, ethereal celestial music seemed to faintly drift through the air.

Immediately afterwards, several fine golden rays descended from the heavens, passing through the barrier of the innate grand formation like light feathers, and quietly disappeared three inches above his head.

Feeling the cool and gentle blessings of the Heavenly Dao flowing into his primordial spirit, Kong Xuan's mind and spirit were instantly cleared.

Although each time it was only a wisp or two, so faint as to be almost imperceptible, he deeply understood the principle of "accumulating small things to achieve great things".

In the vastness of time, as long as we persevere, even the smallest speck of light can be gathered into an everlasting lamp illuminating the path ahead.

Naturally, the fastest way to gain merit is to purify the sea of ​​blood, establish a great religion, or form a heavenly court.

All three can gather immeasurable fortune, drawing in merits like a celestial river flowing backwards.

However, neither path is within his current reach.

To establish a great religion and set up a heavenly court?

That would be tantamount to directly confronting the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor.

Let alone the fact that he is only at the Golden Immortal level at present, even if he were to recover his combat power as the "Number One Person Below the Saint" during the Investiture of the Gods era, he would never dare to have such a thought.

As for purifying the sea of ​​blood... that's as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The Blood Sea is a primordial, filthy, and defiled place, bearing all the yin, turbidity, and evil in the world. It is in a state of mutual generation and restraint with the pure yang energy, maintaining a profound balance.

Even when Houtu, the ancestral witch, reincarnated in the future, she could only guide and purify it, but she was never able to completely erase it.

Moreover, the Blood Sea is now the Daoist temple of the Styx Ancestor, and every ripple and every wisp of aura within it is under his watchful eye.

What kind of being is the Styx Ancestor?

Even before the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa became saints, they had already roamed the primordial world and stood at the pinnacle.

With Kong Xuan's current cultivation level, the other party could probably destroy him in a single thought. Going there rashly would be no different from courting death.

Moreover, he had no idea how to purify the sea of ​​blood. Even if he had lofty ambitions, without a path to follow, it would all be empty talk.

Therefore, Kong Xuan could only stay in the formation and, relying on that little bit of inspiration from later generations, repeat, improve, and spread these seemingly insignificant "innovations" over and over again.

While the commotion of these successive showers of heavenly merits was not earth-shattering, it was still difficult to completely conceal.

Day after day, auspicious clouds gathered and golden light shone faintly, making this island, which was originally hidden in the innate grand formation, gradually reveal its extraordinary nature to the creatures in the surrounding seas.

On this day, on the sea surface only a few hundred miles from the island, the waves suddenly parted silently.

Two slender figures, black and red in color, emerged from the deep sea. Their scales were dark and rusty like blood, and their eyes gleamed with a sharp light. They were two dragons that had already gained sentience.

They did not approach immediately, but floated on the distant waves, their four dragon eyes gazing at the faintly flowing auspicious clouds of merit on the island.