Others follow advice and imitate celebrities, but you start by pretending to be a god?

In this situation, even if the Peacock King still had the strength to fight and possessed the ultimate combat technique of transforming into his original form, he would no longer fight Lin Nan and would simply admit defeat.

Lin Nan was also decisive. After the Peacock King conceded defeat, he withdrew the "Mysterious Origin Five Emperors Divine Light" that he was about to unleash.

Seeing Lin Nan's actions, the Peacock King said, "The outcome of today's battle is already decided. I can do nothing to the Dao Lord, and the previous karmic ties are now severed."

"What if I don't admit defeat today?" Lin Nan asked.

The Peacock King replied, "Then it means that Daoist Master Lin Nan is unworthy of his name and has only a hollow reputation."

As he spoke, the Peacock King's expression softened, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. He said, "You and I could only settle this with a single battle. To decide a life-or-death situation is not so easy."

Lin Nan nodded, agreeing with what the Peacock King had said.

"After today, with all grudges settled, I, Kong Xuan, will naturally retreat when I see the Dao Lord again," said the Peacock King. He had previously used the alias Kong Xuan when he traveled among humans.

The reason he said all grudges had been resolved was because the hatred between him and Lin Nan was not irreconcilable. After all, the Peacock King was completely different from his younger brother, the Golden-Winged Roc. The latter was a ferocious demon who didn't care about human life; while the former had once fought for the human race and served as a general defending a city.

Lin Nan was aware of this, and seeing the Peacock King's attitude, he naturally agreed. The two quickly reached a consensus amidst the chaos.

The Peacock King was quite decisive, bidding farewell to Lin Nan before departing from the chaos and heading towards the center of the world. However, Lin Nan noticed that the Peacock King had not left in the direction of the Western Paradise.

Seeing this, Lin Nan shook his head slightly, realizing the situation: "Although this peacock holds the title of Great Bright King and the name of Buddha Mother in Buddhism, he has never truly been one of them over the years. He is nominally worshipped, but in reality, he is suppressed. Now, his decision not to return to Buddhism is the price Buddhism pays for releasing him this time."

Lin Nan was naturally pleased with this turn of events. The Buddhist sect had employed a calculated strategy, orchestrating a battle between the Peacock King and Lin Nan. Both were aware of this. However, the Peacock King's refusal to return to the Buddhist sect was a consequence of their actions. As their arch-enemy, Lin Nan was naturally happy to see this unfold.

With the departure of the Peacock King, Lin Nan did not rush to leave the Chaos. Instead, he took advantage of this rare opportunity to gain some insights. Having just arrived in this outer heaven of chaos, everything around him was both unfamiliar and full of value for contemplation. In that undifferentiated world, even the slightest surge of power could stir up violent fluctuations in the chaotic energy, thus evolving into earth, wind, water, and fire. This provided Lin Nan with a direct reference point, allowing him to examine and assess his own realm and state.

"Is the battle over already?" someone asked softly, their tone tinged with disbelief.

“Indeed, the dust has settled; the chaotic energy is no longer still, but has returned to silence,” another person replied.

"It's the newly born Daoist Master Lin Nan and that peacock who was forcibly converted by Buddhism!" Someone recognized the two sides in the battle.

"Look at that peacock, it seems to have lost ground!" the onlookers murmured.

"Dao Lord Lin Nan's cultivation has actually advanced to this level?" Exclamations of surprise rose and fell.

"In Buddhism, the Peacock's status is second only to the Buddha, and his strength is unparalleled. Yet now he has been defeated by Dao Lord Lin Nan," someone lamented.

"Who exactly is he? How could he rise to such a height in such a short time?" Doubts and curiosity mingled in everyone's minds.

"Could it be the reincarnation of some powerful being, possessing a spiritual treasure to protect him? That's why the secrets of heaven are obscured and difficult to calculate?" someone speculated.

As the battle between Lin Nan and the Peacock King came to an end, the many prying eyes withdrew, and the divine senses that had probed into the chaos also retreated one by one.

Each person was lost in their own thoughts, their divine senses clashing and exchanging, but without exception, these probing thoughts were all filled with shock. They were shocked not only by the outcome of the battle, but even more so by Lin Nan's formidable strength that had risen to such heights in such a short time.

At the summit of ancient immortal mountains, in the depths of the North Sea, at the lowest level of the Netherworld, in the palace of the Eastern Heavenly Court, in the realm of the Western Spirit Mountain… in all these places, there are beings who know the outcome of this battle.

On the Western Paradise, the Buddha Tathagata, who had been smiling calmly, paused slightly and frowned.

"Lin Nan's cultivation has actually reached such a level?" Buddha Tathagata was secretly shocked.

"Even the Peacock King couldn't defeat him?" he couldn't help but wonder.

"No, in this battle, the Peacock King probably held back to some extent!" The Buddha secretly speculated, believing that the outcome of the battle was related to the Peacock King holding back.

The Buddha lightly flicked his fingers, making a gesture of holding up a flower, and subtly calculated the secrets of heaven. However, his expression became even more unpleasant.

Because he wanted to use divination to discern the movements of the Peacock King, but discovered that the secrets were obscured by a mysterious force. This method of concealing the secrets clearly originated from the Peacock King.

This means that the Peacock King wants to rebel!
Suddenly, the Buddha had another problem to worry about besides Lin Nan. However, the Buddha wasn't too troubled by the Peacock King.

"As the Buddha's mother, how can she leave the Buddhist order?" The Buddha pondered to himself. Kong Xuan's ties with Buddhism over the years were extremely deep, and the Buddhist imprint was deeply etched on him, difficult to erase. As long as this existed, there was no need to worry that the Peacock King would have any ulterior motives.

Within that chaos, a Taoist priest floated silently. Five-colored light flowed within his chest, and three energies swirled above his head. Within the crimson and black energies, two deities could be vaguely seen seated. Of the three energies above his head, the Xuan Yuan and Xuan Yuan energies were clearly discernible. Lin Nan, within this chaos, sensed the chaotic energy and cultivated. The state of chaos might be mysterious and unpredictable to others, but for him, it held immense enlightenment.

The battle with the Peacock King had been incredibly beneficial to Lin Nan. The Peacock King's five-colored divine light was like a self-contained world of the Five Elements. Anyone whose strength couldn't surpass this world of the Five Elements and couldn't escape the constraints of the Five Elements would be limited by its five-colored divine light.

This is remarkably similar to Lin Nan's current cultivation. Ultimately, Lin Nan's cultivation can also be considered "comprehending the universe." The five elements within his body and the three energies at the top of his head, like Pangu, contain the mysteries of the creation of the world.

However, even if Lin Nan were to achieve enlightenment, he would only be a low-level version of Pangu. Or rather, a Taoist version of Pangu. You must know that the original Pangu, besides creating the Three Pure Ones and the Five Elements, also transformed his body into heaven and earth and his blood into the sorcerers... Lin Nan's own cultivation is merely the culmination of the Taoist school.

The highest point of this Taoist cultivation is to achieve the Taoist Pangu body. To achieve this level of cultivation, it is especially important to have one's own inner world. From the Peacock King, Lin Nan saw the principle of how to achieve self-harmony and learned this lesson.

Lin Nan hasn't left the chaos of this outer heaven because he has vaguely sensed the source of the "Primordial" Qi within the changes of chaos. The Five Qi transform into the Five Emperors, and the Three Flowers into the Three Pure Ones—this is the foundation of Lin Nan's cultivation path. Among them, Lin Nan has already achieved Taiqing and Shangqing among the Three Pure Ones above his head. Taiqing and Shangqing also represent Xuan Qi and Yuan Qi.

Under these circumstances, Lin Nan was left with only one final element: Jade Purity. Jade Purity represents the Primordial Qi. Primordial Qi, Profound Qi, and Yuan Qi each evolve into the Three Pure Ones, and then further evolve into the Five Elements and even all things. Therefore, Primordial Qi, Profound Qi, and Yuan Qi also represent the three realms of heaven and earth: the beginning of all things, the most profound mystery, and the origin of all things.

Lin Nan has already achieved the latter two realms and has found their origins. Now, amidst the chaos, observing its changes, and relying on his previous accumulation and analogical reasoning, Lin Nan has vaguely grasped the essence and origin of "Primordial Qi." This is crucial, signifying that Lin Nan has made a good start on this path.

He floated in the chaos, his eyes slightly closed, his limbs moving unconsciously, his mind seemingly merged with the chaos. With a thought from Lin Nan, the chaos instantly underwent layers of change. Within the chaos, a point of light suddenly appeared. This point of light gradually expanded, feeding back into the chaos. This point was the beginning of everything. And within this expanding point, due to profound and mysterious mysteries, various phenomena appeared.

Then, the primordial energy was generated, giving rise to earth, wind, water, and fire. Within Lin Nan's body, the divine light of the Five Emperors emerged, transforming into the power of the Five Elements. The Five Elements gave birth to all things, and soon, a small world appeared around Lin Nan.

Anyone who witnessed this scene would be utterly astonished. For Lin Nan was clearly performing a form of "creating the world." Of course, this kind of creation is incomparable to that of the great god Pangu, but it represents a unique quality—Lin Nan possesses the ability to create the world. Or rather, it is a manifestation of Lin Nan's own cultivation.

However, everything in the Three Realms, including the Thirty-Three Heavens and the Netherworld, was created by Pangu. Afterwards, the scope of heaven and earth remained constant, never expanding, and was even shattered by numerous calamities. The world today is much smaller than it was then.

It must be understood that the vast universe is divided into three realms. The only realm outside of the original universe was the Three Pure Ones Heaven. Therefore, the Three Pure Ones Heaven is known as the Sacred Realm of the Three Pure Ones, evolved from the Three Pure Ones. Apart from this, no other immortal or deity in the universe has the ability to create the universe and expand the world. This is naturally because, over the long course of time, countless immortals and deities in the universe have lacked the ability to create such a world. Even some top-tier powerful beings can only use their magical power or spiritual treasures to freeze a region within the chaos, preventing it from returning to chaos.

Why didn't the world expand? No one throughout history has ever accomplished the feat of creating the world from scratch. Yet, Lin Nan has now done it. However, no one witnessed this. All eyes had already turned away with the end of the battle, and no one cared what Lin Nan was doing. Even through celestial secrets, it was impossible to predict what Lin Nan was doing.

Lin Nan kept his eyes closed, and a world of its own had already appeared around him, seemingly a small patch of chaos that he had created. However, this world did not last long. As soon as Lin Nan finished his comprehension and opened his eyes, the surrounding world immediately disintegrated, shattering and turning into chaos.

This doesn't mean everything was just an illusion; it simply means the world couldn't be sustained. The small world we just experienced was real. Lin Nan opened his eyes and watched as the world that had just evolved around him crumbled and turned into chaos. He felt no emotion; on the contrary, he clearly understood the reason behind it all.

"Ultimately, my cultivation is insufficient; the power of the Five Emperors is not yet complete, and the Jade Purity Qi is not yet in full," Lin Nan pondered to himself. "Therefore, the world I've created is like a shoddy construction project, a bridge missing a beam, a pavilion missing a pillar." Lin Nan had a clear understanding of this situation and also thought to himself, "If my Five Emperors are complete and my Three Pure Ones are in full, I can create a true world, no longer as fragile as it is now. However, true success depends on whether I can maintain it. In the past, Pangu created this vast world, but at the cost of his own life; I cannot do that." Thinking this, Lin Nan felt a surge of admiration for Pangu. At the same time, a sense of anticipation for the future quietly began to grow in Lin Nan's heart.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Lin Nan has already pulled herself out of her chaotic thoughts, and her mind has returned to tranquility.

He knew that at his current level, the barriers of cultivation were no longer insurmountable obstacles, nor were they the sole measure of strength.

"This trip to the Chaos was very fruitful. Although I vaguely touched the root of the 'Primordial' Qi, I still feel that I am not strong enough and need more time to comprehend it." Lin Nan murmured to himself, his eyes shining with a desire for a higher realm.

"When I return to the world, it may be the perfect opportunity to go to the Jade Purity Heaven's Mi Luo Palace and pay homage to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable." After saying this, Lin Nan slowly gathered the power flowing around him, the light of the Five Emperors' power within his body gradually disappeared, and the Three Pure Ones' Qi above his head also quietly returned to his body and fell into silence.

Then, Lin Nan moved, transforming into a streak of light and speeding towards the heavens and earth.

With his current cultivation level, although the Chaos is vast and boundless, full of unknowns and dangers, for him, identifying directions and traversing it is just a matter of course.

Soon, Lin Nan crossed the chaos and returned to this familiar yet unfamiliar world.

What's even more amazing is that he returned to the original point, landing on the border of the Kingdom of Tianzhu, above the Nine-Bend Cave of Bamboo Mountain, where the Nine Spirits Primordial Saint lineage resides.

At this moment, besides the Nine-Headed Lion lineage, Lin Nan's two disciples—the Six-Eared Macaque and the White Dragon Ao Yu—had also been waiting here for a long time, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Master!"

"master!"

"Daoist!"

"Fellow!"

Upon seeing Lin Nan appear, the Six-Eared Macaque, the White Dragon Ao Yu, the Nine-Headed Lion, and the Jade Rabbit all stepped forward to greet him. (End of Chapter)