My classmates chose martial arts and fantasy, but I chose the prehistoric world.

Meng Chuan stood at the entrance of the nameless valley, not stepping in immediately.

He looked down at his empty right palm.

There were only faint, almost invisible bloodstains left from the fierce battle with the River Styx.

I couldn't get the tip of the gun.

Thrown into the deepest part of the Blood Sea by the River Styx, it merged with the endless filth, vengeful spirits, and corpses.

Even with his current level of spiritual awareness, he would find it difficult to locate it easily in the Blood Sea's home arena.

More importantly—it can't be killed.

The sea of ​​blood will never dry up, and the River Styx will never die.

The will of Heaven is predetermined, and cannot be broken by the Great Luo.

Even though his primordial spirit and physical body have both reached the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm, and his combat power is enough to suppress ordinary late-stage Great Luo realm cultivators, when facing the boundless sea of ​​blood and thousands of Blood God Sons, he can only injure their physical form, not destroy their spirit.

A sense of frustration, like fine ice needles, gently pierced his Dao heart.

It's not heavy, but it's real.

Since traversing the primordial world, he has fought countless battles, traversed ancient battlefields, slain the Taiyi Azure Dragon, and attained the Great Luo Dao before a lecture at Zixiao Palace. He has never truly been defeated.

Even if he fought to a draw with the Styx River when he first entered the Blood Sea, it was still a feat of the weak defeating the strong.

But this time, his strength has greatly increased, and he has returned with the power of two mid-stage Grand Luo cultivators, intending to completely settle the karmic debt and reclaim the spear tip...

In the end, all he got was a frustrating defeat—"victory without a kill, failure to achieve his goal."

The mad, defiant look in Styx's eyes at the end, and his roar of "As long as the sea of ​​blood does not dry up, I will not die," lingered in his mind like a maggot clinging to his bones.

"call……"

Meng Chuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, forcibly suppressing the pent-up emotions in his chest.

If you can't even withstand this little setback, how can you talk about the great path?

He just... needs time.

It will take time to reflect on what was gained from this battle, to digest the insights gained from listening to the Dao at Zixiao Palace, and to truly overcome the insurmountable barrier between the middle and late stages.

The Great Luo Realm is a new heaven with every step.

The transition from the middle to the later stages may seem like just a small leap in realm, but in reality, it represents a deeper sorting out, consolidation, and expansion of one's own Great Dao.

This cannot be achieved through mere hard work; it requires the right opportunity, tempering, and the natural progression of events.

He looked up and gazed in the direction of Mount Buzhou.

The gaze seemed to pierce through layers of mountains, landing on the majestic and ancient Ancestral Witch Temple.

There is a person there.

That barefoot girl in hemp clothing, calm as a deep pool, yet in front of the Zixiao Palace, in front of the three thousand guests who had not yet dispersed, resolutely declared, "He is mine."

When they parted ways at Zixiao Palace, she was already in the late stage of the Great Luo realm.

Although he had also reached the Great Luo realm, he was only in the middle stage and had just suffered a setback in the Blood Sea.

Go see her now...

Meng Chuan saw her calm eyes.

Those eyes seemed to see through all illusions and reach straight to one's true nature.

She would surely be able to see the lingering resentment in his heart, and the frustration and unwillingness he was forcibly suppressing.

He didn't want her to see him like this.

At least, not now.

Clenching his fist, Meng Chuan turned and stepped into the valley.

The valley remains unchanged: a clear pool, a crooked tree, a stone table, and fallen flowers.

Time flows exceptionally slowly and peacefully here.

He sat cross-legged by the pool, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

The seventh stage of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique slowly circulated, and the blood and qi of the body in the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm surged like a river, washing over every inch of the bones and muscles, completely refining and expelling the filth and killing intent that had stained the sea of ​​blood.

The Primordial Golden Cauldron hangs above, its clear light descending to cleanse the primordial spirit and soothe the subtle ripples in one's Dao heart.

The Sea-Stabilizing Pearl floated and sank in the Dantian, evolving into the rudiments of the heavens and stabilizing the foundation of the Dao.

The Golden Dragon Scissors concealed their sharpness, the remains of the God-Slaying Spear floated silently, and the principles of slaughter surged like an undercurrent.

He began to sort out what he had gained from Zixiao Palace.

The Great Luo Dao taught by the Dao Ancestor is vast and profound.

Even though he has already attained the highest level of enlightenment, there are still many hurdles he has not overcome.

Especially regarding the "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top"—how to completely condense the three flowers at the top into an immortal Dao fruit?

How can one refine the five elements within the chest, merge them with the Dao fruit, and achieve the Great Luo Dao Body?

All of these require painstaking effort, meticulous thought, and gradual practice.

The growth of one's primordial spirit power cannot be rushed.

In the realm of Great Luo, every step forward requires a deeper understanding of the Great Dao and a clearer awareness of oneself.

He immersed himself in cultivation, forgetting the passage of time.

Spring goes and autumn comes, flowers bloom and fade.

The leaves of the crooked tree turned yellow and then green again, and the petals on the stone table accumulated and burned.

Meng Chuan's aura grew increasingly deep and heavy with each passing moment.

Within his primordial spirit, the three-colored Dao flower slowly rotated, becoming more solid with each rotation, and its connection with the five elements in his chest also tightened.

Within the body, the sound of qi and blood flowing gradually became like thunder, and pale golden Dao patterns spread deep within the bones, while the Dao sounds resonated more and more powerfully in the five internal organs.

But it's still a little short of breaking through that barrier and taking that final half-step.

It's not that I haven't accumulated enough knowledge, nor that I lack understanding.

It's just missing a catalyst.

An opportunity that allowed him to fully understand his Dao heart, undergo a qualitative change in his understanding of the Great Dao, and open that door in one fell swoop.

On this day, Meng Chuan awoke from his meditative state.

He walked to the edge of the pool, bent down, scooped up a handful of clear, cool water, and drank it.

The water was sweet, carrying the warmth of the earth's spiritual essence, nourishing my somewhat parched heart.

He looked up at the sky beyond the valley.

The sky was blue, the clouds were light, and an unknown bird flew by, leaving behind a string of clear chirps.

It was very peaceful.

But he knew that beneath this tranquility, the undercurrents of the primordial chaos never ceased.

The lecture at Zixiao Palace has concluded, and the powerful beings have digested what they have learned. Under the integration of Emperor Jun and Taiyi, the power of the demon race is gradually expanding, while the witch race occupies Buzhou Mountain, their blood and energy soaring to the sky.

The next sermon will be six thousand years from now.

At that time, what will be taught is the Path of Quasi-Saints—the starting point for truly touching the threshold of Hunyuan.

"The River Styx..."

Meng Chuan murmured the name, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Once I reach the late stage of the Great Luo realm, I will surely return to the Blood Sea."

"If you don't hand over that half of the God-Slaying Spear at that time, even if I can't kill you, I will severely wound you and make you slumber for eternity..."

"When you awaken again, the primordial world will be teeming with Quasi-Saints, and Grand Luo Immortals will be as common as dogs. And you will still be just a late-stage Grand Luo Immortal!"

He turned around, walked back to the open space where he usually cultivated, sat down cross-legged, but did not immediately enter a meditative state.

Instead, he took out the first bone fragment given to him by Houtu from his bosom.

The bone fragments are warm and smooth, carrying her unique, profound and serene aura.

As Meng Chuan gently stroked the ancient-looking "earth" character with his fingertips, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

Including the three thousand years I spent listening to the Dao at Zixiao Palace, I have been in this primordial world for over seven thousand years.

From our first encounter as immortals, she gifted me a gun, a keepsake, gave me directions, and answered my questions...

A thousand years later, in the East Sea, Zixiao heard the Dao, and at the palace gate, she uttered, "He is mine..."

Every little thing that happened in the past, like a clear spring flowing through my heart, quietly dispelled much of the gloom and frustration that arose from setbacks.

He knew that she probably didn't care whether he was strong or weak, whether he won or lost at that moment.

She stepped forward in front of Zixiao Palace not because of his strength, but simply because... he was who he was.

But he cared.

He wanted to stand before her in a better light.

Not the "junior" she had to defend, but a fellow Daoist who could truly stand shoulder to shoulder with her, and even in the future catastrophe that might sweep across the primordial world, who was qualified and capable of protecting her!

"wait for me."

Meng Chuan spoke softly to the bone fragment.

He then carefully put it away and placed it close to his heart.

Close your eyes, concentrate, and immerse yourself in cultivation once more.

This time, he was no longer impatient, nor was he fixated on achieving an immediate breakthrough.

Instead, they immerse themselves completely in sorting out and solidifying their own Dao.

The Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique was activated, and the Qi and blood flowed like a dragon, repeatedly cleansing the body and making the foundation of the seventh revolution even more solid.

The clear light of the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron washed over the primordial spirit, allowing it to repeatedly ponder and verify the obscure aspects of the Great Luo Dao as taught by the Dao Ancestor.

The Sea-Stabilizing Pearl evolves into the heavens, and the profound mysteries of the spatial laws are constantly deduced and perfected in one's mind.

The sharpness of the Golden Dragon Scissors and the killing power of the God-Slaying Spear—two completely different principles of slaughter—collide and merge within the primordial spirit, seeking that delicate balance and sublimation.

He even began to attempt to initially integrate and verify the Great Dao of Power, the Dao of Slaughter, and the Dao of Space.

Although it was only a superficial understanding, it made his perception of his own path much clearer.

Cultivation knows no time.

In the valley, Meng Chuan sat motionless like a stone sculpture.

His body sometimes glowed with a pale golden light, sometimes flowed with a clear and hazy Daoist charm, sometimes revealed a sharp aura, and sometimes showed a bloody light of slaughter.

The breath slowly and steadily rose, repeatedly assaulting that seemingly within-reach bottleneck that was always separated by a thin veil.

With each impact, the bottleneck loosens slightly and then recovers.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

They are simply accumulating strength, waiting for that moment when things truly "fall into place."

But deep within his mind, one thought stood firm like a rock:

Once I have reached the late stage of the Great Luo realm and wield the complete God-Slaying Spear, I will go to see her again.

At that time, even if the demon Taiyi, wielding the Chaos Bell, were also a late-stage Great Luo Immortal, he would be no match for me!