Primordial Era: The Three Senior Brothers of the Taiqing Clan

The slight apprehension in Lao Tzu's heart vanished instantly, the Tai Chi diagram shone brightly, and amidst the faint demonic energy, it seemed as if someone had let out a roar of unwilling anger.

Immediately, the black demonic energy collapsed and vanished into nothingness.

A moment later, Lao Tzu slowly opened his eyes.

He glanced at the bewildered Chen Qing and Xuan Du below, paused for a moment, and then said, "Xuan Du, you can go out now."

Xuandu was taken aback. He knew that his master's words meant something extremely important had happened. Ultimately, it was because his cultivation level was too low.

He sighed, bowed, and slowly walked out of the main hall. His steps were firm; he had made up his mind to go into seclusion and cultivate diligently.

Now, the Human Sect consists of only the three of them. Their master, needless to say, is a supreme saint, unparalleled and supreme. Their senior brother, Chen Qing, is the strongest person below the saint, capable of contending with a saint.

He was the only one whose cultivation was far inferior. He might never catch up with his senior brother, but as a fellow disciple of a sage, he absolutely could not hold him back.

Chen Qing nodded slightly as he watched Xuan Du leave. They had all sensed Xuan Du's determination, and no one tried to stop him.

The future crisis could erupt at any time, and Xuan Du's current strength is indeed somewhat weak. It's always a good thing that he can realize this and work hard to cultivate.

Chen Qing looked at Laozi.

Lao Tzu sighed and slowly said, "It seems that this primordial world will not be peaceful in the future."

As Lao Tzu explained, Chen Qing finally understood the profound meaning of these words.

The world where nothingness and soul devouring reside was actually evolved from the corpse of the Chaos Demon God, the very same three thousand Chaos Demon Gods that Pangu had slain.

Upon learning of this, Chen Qing inexplicably recalled the scene he had "seen" in Pangu's blood essence: a wave that even Pangu was somewhat wary of swept away the corpses of three thousand Chaos Gods.

Could it be that world was created by that unknown being?

As Lao Tzu continued his narration, Chen Qing's brows furrowed more and more deeply.

That world, being formed from the corpse of a chaotic demon god, was inherently opposed to the primordial world created by Pangu.

After all, those demons were all killed by Pangu's power, and their corpses eventually transformed into all things in the world, just like Pangu.

Therefore, both the Heavenly Dao and the great supernatural beings of that world harbored deep malice towards the primordial world.

I didn't say much more about the rest of the information. I don't know if that's all I deduced, or if there's some other reason.

Just as Chen Qing was about to speak, Lao Tzu seemed to be talking to himself, saying, "Below the sage, all are ants; beneath the Dao of Heaven, even the sage is an ant. Alas—"

Chen Qing was startled and quickly swallowed the words that were about to come out. He looked down at his nose and pretended that nothing had happened.

After staying for a while, seeing that there was nothing else to do, Chen Qing got up, bowed, and took his leave.

"If possible, try to achieve Hunyuan status as soon as possible."

The voice behind him made Chen Qing pause. He nodded and left the main hall.

Shouyang Mountain, on a cliff.

Chen Qing gazed at the distant sea of ​​clouds, his heart surging with emotion.

He was certain that his master knew far more than what he had said. Some things, perhaps, could not be said openly for certain reasons.

There must be a deeper meaning behind striving to become a Primordial Chaos expert as soon as possible. Whether it's due to the inherently conflicting nature of the world or the potential threat of the rise of demonic forces, ultimately, strength is everything.

"Sigh, I should think of a way to improve my strength first." Chen Qing sighed, having already made up his mind.

On the human side, Fuxi personally taught Lieshan for many years, and finally entrusted him with the responsibility of leading the human race.

On this day, Fuxi felt that his departure was approaching, so he ordered people to build an altar to prepare for the sacrifice to Heaven and the abdication of the throne.

The news spread, and tribes from all over rushed to the scene. His centuries-long reign as emperor had brought Fuxi's prestige to its zenith.

Numerous tribal chiefs brought their people to witness the ceremony. Of course, given the current size of the human population, only some nearby tribes could make it; the rest were chiefs with a small retinue.

At the summit of a high mountain, a majestic altar, ninety-nine feet and nine inches tall, stood. Several enormous wild beasts were placed on the altar as offerings.

Fuxi, with a solemn and dignified expression, stood on the altar and proclaimed in a clear voice:

"Fuxi, the ruler of the human race, has reigned for many years, diligently governing and establishing marriage customs, clarifying human relationships, raising livestock, teaching fishing and hunting, developing the Eight Trigrams, and establishing the calendar. Today, his merits are complete, and Heaven bears witness to his achievements!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden auspicious cloud gathered in the sky and enveloped everyone's heads.

Then, a huge golden light of merit descended from the sky.

Eighty percent of his virtue entered Fuxi's body. His originally meager cultivation level rose sharply, and a massive aura surged into the sky—Celestial Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, Daluo Golden Immortal, Quasi-Saint… rising all the way up until it slowly stopped at the peak of Quasi-Saint.

Behind him, a huge golden wheel of merit slowly rotated, its dark yellow light illuminating the heavens.

The remaining merit in the sky, one-tenth of which flew into the distance and entered Chen Qing's body, which he casually collected.

Another portion transformed into spiritual rain, which fell upon the many humans surrounding the altar.

As the rain of merit fell, the wounds of those who had been injured in years of fighting wild beasts healed at a visible speed. Those suffering from illness were cured in the blink of an eye under the nourishment of the rain.

Seeing the changes in themselves and those around them, everyone cheered.

Just then, a streak of light flew over and transformed into a Taoist priest with two horns on his head.

Everyone's eyes lit up, and under Fuxi's guidance, they all bowed down.

"Fuxi pays respects to his master!"

"Greetings, Holy Master!"

The person who arrived was Chen Qing, who had just arrived.

Originally, Laozi and Nuwa should have been present when the Human Emperor returned to his throne. However, there were too many things to attend to recently, and the sages of the East were discussing important matters at Shouyang Mountain and could not attend to this matter, so they sent Chen Qing alone.

Chen Qing raised his hand to signal everyone to stand up and said loudly, "By the decree of the Sage, Fuxi, the common ruler of the human race, has achieved perfect merit and attained the position of Emperor. From this day forward, he shall be stationed at Huoyun Cave to suppress the fortune of the human race and shall not leave unless it is a major event."

Fuxi, with a calm expression, bowed deeply: "Fuxi will humbly obey the decree of the sage!"

He already knew these things through divine inspiration when he attained the position of Emperor through the infusion of his merits.

Three streaks of light flew in from afar, landing beside the altar and transforming into three figures dressed in animal skins. They bowed to Chen Qing and said, "The Suiren, Youchao, and Ziyi clans of the human race pay their respects to the Holy Master!"

"Yes, get up." Chen Qing nodded. "I'm sure you all understand your mission now. I won't say anything more; you may go with Fuxi to the Fire Cloud Cave."

"Yes!" the three ancestors bowed. They had also been guided by the Heavenly Dao, which was why they had traveled thousands of miles from their ancestral land in the East Sea.

At this moment, the many humans below also recognized the three, and led by Fuxi, they bowed again: "Greetings to the three ancestors!"

Everyone held these three ancestors, who had protected humanity since its inception, in the deepest respect.

"Rise," Suirenshi said. "Our human race has struggled for survival in the primordial world for many years, experiencing countless calamities, large and small, to reach where we are today. From now on, we will return to the Fire Cloud Cave to suppress the human race's destiny. You all must strive diligently and persevere in your efforts!"

"I will heed the teachings of the three patriarchs!"

The crowd prostrated themselves and bowed again.

A rumbling sound came from the distant sky. Nine dragon horses, riding on auspicious clouds, slowly approached, pulling a chariot.

Fuxi turned to look at Lieshan below and said, "From now on, the human race will be entrusted to you."

Lieshan nodded solemnly, his expression grave.

Fuxi and the three human ancestors exchanged glances before boarding the chariot. The dragon-horse let out a long neigh, rode on the clouds, and vanished into the horizon in an instant.

With this matter settled, Chen Qing saw no need to stay. His figure transformed into a streak of light and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

In Chen Qing's view, it was actually unnecessary for the three ancestors of the human race and Fuxi to enter the Fire Cloud Cave to suppress the fortune.

But this is the will of Heaven, and he cannot and has no right to disobey it now.

Ultimately, it comes down to insufficient strength. If he could break through the Heavenly Dao and achieve Hunyuan, perhaps things could change somewhat then, but as they are now, he is still far from it.

Lieshan became the second supreme ruler of the human race after Fuxi.

After that, Lieshan worked even harder to govern the people, traveling between various tribes every day to inspect their conditions and continuously improving the methods and means of governing the people, which he then gradually implemented.

On this day, Lieshan arrived at a remote tribe and immediately frowned.

There were only about a hundred houses in the village, and they were all dilapidated. There were very few people in the village, scattered about, some sitting and some lying down.

Upon closer observation, Lieshan noticed that these people were all pale-faced, with lifeless eyes and numb expressions. Even when they saw him and the people following behind them, they showed no reaction, as if they were walking corpses.

He had a bad feeling.

Just then, an old man dressed in animal skins, holding a wooden stick, slowly and shakily walked over from a distance.

Lieshan hurriedly stepped forward to help the old man. Unexpectedly, upon seeing them approach, the old man's expression changed drastically, and he cried out urgently, "Go away! Don't come any closer! Don't come near our tribe!"

Lieshan and the people behind him looked at each other, wondering what had happened that made the old man avoid them like the plague.

Lieshan thought for a moment, then smiled kindly and said gently, "Old man, I am Lieshan. I see that your tribe is in ruins, with very few people left, and you are in a hurry to get rid of us."

But what terrible thing has happened? If you have any troubles, please speak up. We humans are struggling to survive on this primordial land, and we need to support each other.

For many years, Lieshan had followed Fuxi, helping him handle affairs large and small. Later, he succeeded as the supreme ruler of the human race, and his fame spread far and wide. Although this place was remote, the humans still knew of him.

The old man trembled, then immediately knelt down, his voice choked with sobs: "Lord, you must leave quickly! Our tribe is cursed, and our people are almost all dead. Now only those you see are left, and we don't know how much longer they have to live..."

Lieshan's expression changed, and he prepared to step forward to help the old man up and inquire about the situation. However, before he could even get close, the old man waved his wooden stick to stop him, his expression agitated: "Don't come any closer! Otherwise, you too will be tainted by the curse!"

Lieshan tried several more times, but the old man remained adamant and refused to let them get close.

Left with no other option, Lieshan could only inquire from afar, hoping to find out what was going on. Could it be that a demonic beast had come to harm the human race? Thinking of this, his expression grew even more grim.

As the old man recounted the story, Lieshan and the others gradually understood the whole story.

This tribe was not attacked by monsters, but for some unknown reason, its members began to die one after another. They suffered terribly before their deaths, their bodies festering and rotting, a truly gruesome sight.

At first, no one paid much attention. In the primordial world, there were countless poisonous insects, ferocious beasts, miasma, and plagues, and many humans had died as a result over the years.

Everyone assumed it was due to some kind of contamination. However, as time passed and the clansmen fell one by one, they realized something was wrong.

But it was too late. Everyone in the tribe developed the same symptoms: red spots gradually appeared on their bodies, and they grew weaker day by day, as if something was slowly devouring their lives.