Chapter Thirty-Five: The Sudden Appearance of Hongjun

To become the Primeval Divine Lord—this must surely be the wish of every primordial god and demon. Only by attaining this rank can they escape the fate of being devoured, and become masters of their own destiny.

Since the moment of his birth, Nan Luo had weathered countless storms, growing amidst blood and fire, wandering without a place to call home. But today, everything would change.

After today, there would no longer be a Divine King Nan Luo in this world—there would only be the Water Lord Nan Luo!

He raised his head to the heavens and let out three thunderous roars, venting the grievances pent up in his heart for so many years. As the echoes faded, he truly felt as though his mind had cleared and his cultivation had taken yet another step forward.

“Becoming a Divine Lord is but my new beginning. I shall become the Divine Emperor, standing above all beings, ruling over the vast primordial heavens,” Nan Luo vowed silently, his golden eyes ablaze with the fire of ambition as he gazed at the Creation Jade Disc before him.

He wasted no time stabilizing his new realm but pressed on, continuing to refine the Creation Jade Disc. With the profound laws of water contained within the disc, Nan Luo could consolidate his Divine Lord status more swiftly and powerfully, and further cultivate the water laws.

Once again, the holy golden light released by the Creation Jade Disc enveloped Nan Luo. The profound essence of the water laws poured forth ceaselessly from the disc, streaming into his sea of consciousness. Nan Luo’s once golden pupils were now so suffused with the power of water that they nearly returned to their original blue.

Among primordial gods and demons, save for a rare few born with golden eyes, there were essentially two forms: their original eyes, such as Nan Luo’s blue, and the exclusive golden eyes of the primordial race. The golden eyes not only conferred a sacred majesty but also enhanced their divine power by thirty percent, with countless miraculous uses such as soul-capturing and awe-inspiring might. Sadly, only upon becoming a Divine Lord could one permanently sustain the undying golden gaze.

As time passed, the holy radiance from the Creation Jade Disc grew ever stronger, enshrouding Nan Luo like a miniature golden sun.

“The thirty-fifth innate divine seal,” Nan Luo murmured; with his newly attained power, he had managed to refine five more such seals.

“I actually refined five innate divine seals—ha, ha, ha!” Nan Luo’s golden eyes widened as he burst into mad laughter.

Ordinarily, a newly ascended Divine Lord could only refine a single seal from the Creation Jade Disc. Even a freshly advanced primordial Divine Lord would manage three at best. Only an intermediate Divine Lord could refine five.

Yet Nan Luo, newly promoted, had refined five.

This meant Nan Luo was more than ten times stronger than others at his level—comparable to an intermediate Divine Lord. All his efforts to suppress his breakthroughs and forge a flawless foundation had at last borne rich fruit. Of course, this success was also inseparable from the help of the Creation Jade Disc.

After laughing wildly for a while, Nan Luo gradually stilled, gazing at the disc with satisfaction. “Next, I must imprint my divine consciousness and nurture a spirit for this treasure.”

In the primordial world, powerful artifacts behaved oddly: the stronger the innate artifact, the less likely it was to give rise to a natural artifact spirit. Conversely, weaker artifacts or powerful implements more readily developed such spirits. For innate treasures, it was almost always their master who infused their own divine consciousness to create the spirit.

Nan Luo surmised that this inability to birth natural spirits stemmed from the suppression of the laws of heaven and earth. If these mighty treasures had spirits and could cultivate autonomously, who could fathom their power? Especially the supreme innate treasures—should they develop artifact spirits, who could rein them in, even beyond the Divine Emperor? In that case, such treasures would rule over the primordial heavens and myriad realms. Hence, the more powerful the innate treasure, the less likely it could bear a spirit, while lesser acquired treasures might do so.

Nan Luo sent a wisp of golden consciousness into the Creation Jade Disc, shaping it into the image of a small boy—the artifact spirit. From that moment, the disc was essentially under his control.

But only “essentially,” for he had yet to fully refine all forty-nine innate divine seals. Only by refining them all could he truly master the disc.

“I just hope I don’t run into Ancestor Hongjun; otherwise, it’s hard to say if this treasure will remain mine,” Nan Luo thought, his joy shadowed by endless worry as he looked at the disc. Without complete mastery, if Hongjun tried to seize it by force, Nan Luo wouldn’t even have the chance to destroy it along with himself.

He shook off these distracting thoughts and, transforming into a streak of golden light, soared toward the outside world. Where was the dreaded Ancestor Hongjun now?

Within a kaleidoscopic spatial tunnel, Ancestor Hongjun sat atop the peak of Jade Capital Mountain, his eyes half-closed in dedicated cultivation. Though already a Hunyuan Daoluo Golden Immortal, possessing supreme attainment, he dared not slacken, ever striving for higher realms.

It was for this reason that, in time, he would become the leader of the immortal path, merge with the Heavenly Dao, and rule the primordial cosmos.

The moment Nan Luo carried the Creation Jade Disc out of the valley, Ancestor Hongjun stirred atop Jade Capital Mountain.

“Hm?” His black eyes snapped open, gazing toward Buzhou Divine Mountain, his face darkening. “I can no longer sense the Creation Jade Disc!”

“Who? Who has taken the Creation Jade Disc?” he muttered coldly, his gaze fixed upon the distant mountain. The image of Nan Luo flashed through his mind, and his expression grew even darker. “Could it be you, anomaly?”

A majestic, peerless beam of purple light shot forth from Jade Capital Mountain, heading straight for Buzhou Divine Mountain, erasing every spatial black hole in its path. The nine-thousand-zhang mountain itself accelerated, turning into a white speck that flickered through the spatial tunnel.

Clad in purple robes, Ancestor Hongjun stood atop Jade Capital Mountain, his expression calm as he gazed at the distant Buzhou Divine Mountain.

With the Creation Jade Disc’s aid, Nan Luo had restored his divine power, thrown off the oppression of Pangu’s will, and, as a streak of golden light, rapidly left the unknown valley, darting toward the foot of Buzhou Mountain. In truth, his haste was entirely out of fear—if Ancestor Hongjun caught up, he’d be doomed. After all, the might wielded by such a supreme power was beyond anything a mere Divine Lord like Nan Luo could even imagine.

Events soon proved Nan Luo’s caution entirely justified. Not long after he departed, a peerless purple light descended from the sky, ignoring Pangu’s suppressive will and sealing the entire valley in a domineering fashion. Had he lingered a moment longer, he would never have escaped.

Right after, a purple-robed figure appeared in the valley.

Ancestor Hongjun swiftly swept the place with his divine sense, but could only confirm that the Creation Jade Disc had indeed been taken. He stretched out a flawless, jade-white hand, gently grasping at the valley, attempting to seize the lingering streams of temporal law.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet he paid it no mind, continuing his effort. Countless invisible threads of time converged in his hand, forming a curtain of light that replayed the valley’s most recent events.

Yet the scene remained unchanged, with not a single living being entering.

Seeing this, Ancestor Hongjun’s face turned ashen. He glared at the ninety-thousand-zhang Buzhou Divine Mountain and sneered, “Well done, Pangu’s will! Not only did you injure me, you wiped clean the traces of time itself, leaving me with nothing.”

He let out a cold laugh and vanished in an instant.

The immense Buzhou Divine Mountain stood watch over the primordial world, silently upholding the heavens, unchanging for eternity.