Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

Dongfang Wei placed the teacup back on the table, lightly tapping the rim with his fingertips. "Daoist Master, you didn't invite me here just so I could embarrass your junior brother, did you?"

The Primordial Daoist smiled, a smile tinged with melancholy. He took something from his sleeve and placed it on the table—a palm-sized, dark purple bone fragment, its surface covered with fine golden patterns, the direction of which bore a striking resemblance to the array pattern on Dongfang Weiwo's body.

"The Primordial Divine Sect has existed for thirteen thousand years. When its founding ancestor discovered this bone fragment, it was buried beneath the core of the spiritual vein of the seventh peak of the Tianxuan Mountains."

The Taoist Taichu ran his fingers across the surface of the bone fragment, and the golden patterns lit up for a moment.

"The patriarch devoted his entire life to studying it, and the only instruction he left behind was: This object is the lock of the era of gods and demons. It is not this object that suppresses the continent. The bloodline born from this object is the true 'key'."

Dongfang Weiwo stared at the bone fragment, the key imprint within his body trembling violently.

The moment he reached out and touched the bone fragment, a burst of dark golden light erupted from the point of contact—the patterns on the bone fragment seemed to come alive as they climbed onto his fingertips, blending seamlessly with the array patterns on his arm, like a river that had been cut off for millions of years finally being reconnected.

He "saw" many things in an instant.

A scene: Tens of millions of years ago, on the Tianxuan Continent, before heaven and earth were separated, gods and demons walked side by side.

At the center of the continent, a colossal, dark golden figure sat in the void, its hands pressed against the earth. Countless chains extended from its body, traversing the four seas and five regions. These chains were not for restraint, but for suppression—suppressing the surging chaos deep within the continent.

Second scene:

The era of gods and demons came to an end, and the colossal shadow vanished. The chains shattered into countless pieces, falling to all corners of the continent; some sank to the bottom of the sea, some were buried in the earth's veins, and some were absorbed into the bloodlines of certain humans.

The third scene:

The founder of the Primordial Divine Sect knelt before the bone fragment and dripped his own blood essence onto the patterns. The bone fragment connected with the earth veins of the Tianxuan Mountain Range, and from then on, the spiritual veins of the entire mountain range were bound to this bone fragment.

Dongfang Weiwo abruptly withdrew his hand, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. The golden light on the bone fragment slowly faded, returning to its silent purplish-black hue.

The Primordial Daoist looked at him, his gaze profound: "What did you see?"

"Chains." Dongfang Weiwo calmed his breathing. "The Demon-Sealing Bloodline is a fragment of chains, as are every piece of divine or demonic remains. They share the same origin, hence their resonance."

"That's not all."

The Primordial Daoist slowly shook his head. "The key mark on your body is called the 'Core Lock' in the ancestral teachings."

All the remains are just fragments, and you are the ruling center of all the fragments.

In other words—you can mobilize the power of all the remains of gods and demons, provided you first find them and then 'awaken' them one by one.

Shen Jinglan asked in a low voice, "And then what happens after we've awakened them all?"

The Primordial Daoist remained silent for a long time.

The sound of the wind in the tea room suddenly became clear, and the spiritual light outside the bamboo building swirled and gathered, then dispersed.

"I have never mentioned the last part of the patriarch's instructions to anyone."

The Primordial Daoist raised his head, his gaze falling on Dongfang Weiwo's face. "After all is awakened, you will face a choice—to relock the continent, or to completely unlock it. The Patriarch didn't say which choice was right; he only said..."

That choice will determine where the next era of the Tianxuan Continent will lead.

The tea room fell silent for a moment. Yan Kuangtu leaned against the doorframe, pausing his chewing of the grass stem in his mouth.

Dongfang Weiwo held the teacup, his knuckles turning slightly white.

He suddenly recalled the scene from half a year ago when the severed arm of a god or demon flew into the void from beneath the White Emperor City—that arm carried away not only memories from millions of years ago, but also an answer he had yet to encounter.

"Master," he began, his voice calm, "the third piece of remains is in the northwestern desert. The Old Man of Heavenly Secrets prophesied that it would be born within six months. Do you know what is buried there?"

The Primordial Daoist closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later:

"The old Taoist priest didn't know exactly what it was, but he knew one thing—beneath that desert lay the battlefield of the Great War of Gods and Demons."

The arm fragment from Baidi City was sent away by an array; the fragment behind the stone gate in the Northern Territory was artificially sealed; but the one in the Northwest… it was shattered during the great war, the most thoroughly broken, and its power the most violent. Whoever touches it will be devoured by that divine and demonic power.

"Whoever tries to take it will die."

Dongfang Weiwo silently recited the words of the Heavenly Mystery Elder.

"Yes," the Primordial Daoist looked at him, "but you might not be so sure."

Why?

"Because you are the Keymark. Keymarks cannot die; they can only... merge. All the power of your remains that tries to turn against you will eventually be devoured by your bloodline and become a part of you."

But the process won't be easy—each fusion is a battle against the remnants of will from millions of years ago; if you can't survive, you'll become a monster without a self.

Dongfang Weiwo nodded gently, drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, and as the tea went down his throat, a cool and refreshing spiritual energy rushed straight to his Baihui point.

"The three relics from Wanjie Valley, the 'clan relics' from Xingchen Manor, and the third bone from the Northwest Desert."

He placed the teacup back on the table, his voice calm, "I'll get it for you."

The Primordial Daoist looked at him, then suddenly smiled, a strange sense of relief in his smile:

"You're much stronger than your father was back then. That brat Dongfang Wudi came to the Taichu Divine Sect once when he was young, and he was so frightened by the Third Brother's oppressive aura that his face turned pale."

Dongfang Weiwo paused slightly, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips: "He's alright. He's recuperating on Ten Thousand Snake Island."

"Please convey my regards to the old Taoist priest."

The Primordial Daoist stood up, took out a yellowed jade slip from his sleeve, and handed it over.

"This is a spiritual vein sensing map left by the ancestor, marking the thirteen known locations on the Tianxuan Continent where the remains of gods and demons may be buried."

The locations of Ten Thousand Calamities Valley and Starry Sky Manor are marked on this map, as is the area in the Northwest Desert. Take this.

Dongfang Weiwo took the jade slip; it felt heavy in his hand. The cover was engraved with four small characters: "Illustrated Compendium of Pulse Locking".

"There's one more thing."

The expression on Taichu Daoist's face suddenly darkened.

Three days ago, news came from our Taichu Divine Sect's outpost on the edge of the northwestern desert—a group of people had already ventured deep into the desert, and they were not from any family in Zhongzhou. The people at the outpost spotted them from afar, noting the black lotus markings they carried.

Dongfang Weiwo suddenly looked up.

Black Lotus. The Ten Thousand Demons Cult of Southern Xinjiang.

A man in gray.

How many of them are there?

"I didn't dare get too close to the outposts; I only counted about ten from a distance."

The Taoist Master Taichu said, "The one leading the group... was hidden in his cloak, so his face couldn't be seen clearly, but the scouts at the outpost said he had a jade bottle hanging from his waist, and a dark golden liquid was swirling inside."

The array pattern on Dongfang Weiwo's right arm suddenly scalded.

—Three drops of the essence of the Demon-Sealing Bloodline. The gray-robed man used those three drops of blood to bypass him and touch the seal, and has now entered the Northwest Desert ahead of schedule.

"Master Daoist."

Dongfang Weiwo stood up, his voice sharp with arrogance, "How many days do I have left?"

"That bone shouldn't be fully formed for another two months or so, but if someone enters early and carries your bloodline essence, it might accelerate its awakening."

The Primordial Daoist said in a deep voice, "You have at most one month left. Within that month, you must first reach Ten Thousand Tribulations Valley and Starry Sky Manor to obtain enough power from the remains to strengthen yourself; otherwise, you will face that battlefield shard directly, with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death."

Dongfang Weiwo gripped the jade slip tightly, his right fist knuckles turning white.

"One month," he whispered. "That's enough."

When Dongfang Weiwo left the Taichu Divine Sect, he took the purplish-black bone fragment with him.

The Taoist Master Taichu did not try to stop it, but only said, "It was meant to stay with you."

The carriage turned around and sped northeast along the southern foothills of the Tianxuan Mountains. Duanhun Ridge was three thousand li east of the Taichu Divine Sect; at this speed, it would take three days to reach it.

Yan Kuangtu sat on the carriage shaft, flipping through the scroll of the Meridian Locking Manual, cursing as he read:

"What the hell is this drawing? It looks like scribbles."

"That's the way the spiritual veins were marked during the era of gods and demons."

Dongfang Weiwo leaned back in the car, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. The array patterns on his right arm were slowly absorbing the remaining power from the bone fragment. "The Primordial Ancestor spent his entire life deciphering 70%, and the remaining 30% remains incomprehensible."

"Can you understand it, young master?"

"I could understand about 60%. The memories in the bone fragments helped me fill in the rest."

Yan Kuangtu clicked his tongue twice and tossed the jade slip back into the carriage:

"And what are those 'family relics' from Starry Sky Manor? Are they from your mother's side of the family, young master?"

Dongfang Weiwo opened his eyes. He had thought about this question before, but the Primordial Daoist hadn't said much, only adding a reminder when handing him the Meridian Locking Diagram:

"Starry Manor has a very deep connection with the Demon-Sealing Bloodline; you'll understand once you arrive. But the manor's master, Xingyan, is no ordinary person. When he says 'the relics of his clan,' it must be something aimed at your bloodline—be careful."

After traveling for half a day, when they crossed a low hill, Ximen Chuixue suddenly reined in his horse.

"Young master, there are people ahead."

An overturned carriage lay across the official road, its shaft broken, and the spirit horse pulling it lay convulsing by the roadside. There were dried bloodstains on the ground, and a person sat beside the carriage, his blue clothes stained with blood, his left arm hastily wrapped with a strip of cloth, and his face pale.

Dongfang Weiwo lifted the curtain and looked over; his pupils contracted slightly.