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

When Houtu returned to the ancestral land of the Wu tribe, Zhurong was carrying a crimson rhinoceros leg as big as a small mountain, roasting it over a bonfire in front of the Pangu Temple.

Gonggong held the wine jar and drank it sip by sip.

Their eyes lit up when they saw her return from the depths of the earth.

"The girl is back!"

Zhu Rong grinned, tore off half a roasted rhinoceros leg and handed it over, "Try it, it's cooked just right."

"Where are my older brother and the others?"

Houtu took it, but did not eat it.

"My elder brother, along with Jumang and Rushou, went to inspect the earth vein nodes around Buzhou Mountain. The demon race has been making quite a few small moves lately."

Gonggong took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth, and said, "By the way, guess who came the other day?"

Houtu's heart stirred slightly, but her expression remained calm: "Who?"

"My young friend Mengchuan!"

Zhu Rong's voice boomed, his eyes gleaming, "Hey, haven't you seen it? That kid's really something now!"

He waved his greasy hands and recounted, with embellishments, how Meng Chuan appeared, fought fiercely with Taiyi of the same realm, shattered the Chaos Bell with his broken spear, and finally forced the demon race to retreat.

When Meng Chuan referred to her as his "guide," she even winked.

Gonggong added details from the side, especially mentioning that Meng Chuan had reached the late stage of the Great Luo realm and had reforged the complete God-Slaying Spear.

"If he had come a few months earlier, wielding the complete divine spear to fight Taiyi again, Taiyi would have undoubtedly been defeated! What a pity..."

Gonggong looked regretful.

"The complete God-Slaying Spear?"

Houtu finally spoke, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Yes! It was recast right here in our Pangu Temple."

Zhu Rong slapped his thigh, "The commotion when the spear was forged was immense, the murderous aura was soaring to the heavens, the roof of the palace almost blew off, thankfully the Father God's will suppressed it. That ferocious power... hey, it's no less than the Chaos Bell!"

Houtu remained silent.

She couldn't help but recall the fragment of the Chaos Pearl she had found deep within the earth's veins.

I thought his gun was damaged and this item might be of some help.

Unexpectedly, he had already completed the task himself.

Yeah.

Zhu Rong and Gong Gong were still talking excitedly, but Hou Tu didn't say anything more.

She lowered her head and took a bite of the meat in her hand.

The meat was very fragrant, cooked to her liking.

But she ate somewhat absentmindedly.

What kept replaying in my mind were Zhu Rong's words, "To shatter the Chaos Bell with a broken spear," Gong Gong's words, "If the spear had been complete a moment earlier, he could have defeated Taiyi," and the undisguised admiration in my brothers' eyes.

And... the calm and unwavering look in his eyes when he called her his "guide".

She suddenly longed to see him.

The thought came abruptly, yet surged forth.

"I'm going out for a bit." She put down the half-eaten meat and got up.

"Where to?" Zhu Rong was taken aback.

"Northern Darkness".

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a stream of dark yellow light and disappeared into the horizon.

Zhu Rong and Gong Gong looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What's wrong, girl?" Zhu Rong scratched his head.

"Hey." Gonggong suddenly grinned, picked up the wine jar, and took a big gulp. "Good news, good news indeed!"

……

The Northern Sea, the northernmost land of the primordial wilderness.

The sky was gray, the sea was black.

The biting wind, sharp as a knife, howled and whistled across the boundless sea, carrying ice particles and chaotic air currents.

This place is sparsely populated with life and sounds; only the bitter cold and deathly silence endure forever.

Beneath the sea surface lies a layer of ice thousands of feet thick, beneath which lies the viscous, ink-like, and bone-chilling Xuanming True Water.

Meng Chuan then sat cross-legged in an ice cave deep within the true water.

The Hunyuan Golden Cauldron hangs from the top, its clear light descending to block out the extreme cold.

The Sea-Stabilizing Pearl evolved into the prototype of the Twenty-Four Heavens, creating a stable space.

The Qiankun Ruler stabilizes the void, preventing the intrusion of chaotic energy.

The God-Slaying Spear rested horizontally on his lap. Its body was jet black, with dark red Dao patterns slowly flowing around it, absorbing the extremely cold and deathly aura of this place, tempering the killing Dao principles within the spear.

When the seventh stage of the Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique is activated to its fullest extent, the Qi and blood burn like in a furnace, resisting the icy coldness of the Mysterious Dark True Water.

Each surge of qi and blood is tempered and refined by the extreme cold, becoming even more concentrated.

Within the primordial spirit, the three-colored Dao flower slowly rotated, absorbing the remaining strands of Dao rhyme in the chaotic energy, attempting to deduce a higher realm.

Reaching the peak of the Great Luo realm in its later stages may seem like a single step, but in reality, it requires a deeper integration and sublimation of one's own Great Dao.

He had been lingering on the brink for a long time. He had accumulated enough experience and insights; all that was missing was a crucial opportunity.

Perhaps a desperate battle is needed, or perhaps some external stimulus is required.

As I was deep in thought, I felt a slight warmth in my chest.

Immediately afterwards, a familiar and profound aura appeared on the surface of the Northern Sea.

Meng Chuan was taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Why is she here?

With a swift movement, he broke through the Xuanming True Water and appeared on the ice surface.

Houtu stood barefoot in the ice and snow, her hempen clothes fluttering slightly in the cold wind.

Upon seeing him appear, she looked over with calm eyes and nodded.

"You've arrived," Meng Chuan said.

"Hmm." Houtu responded, her gaze sweeping over him. Seeing that he was calm and unharmed, the barely perceptible worry in her eyes quietly disappeared.

"It's extremely cold here; we shouldn't stay any longer. Follow me."

Meng Chuan led her to the ice cave, where he used the clear light of the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron to create a warm space.

The two sat facing each other in the ice cave.

A moment of silence.

"I heard it from my brother," Houtu spoke first, "You fought against Taiyi, who was also in the same realm, and shattered the Chaos Bell with your broken spear."

"Just lucky," Meng Chuan said.

"To be able to damage the Chaos Bell is no small feat, it cannot be accomplished by mere luck." Houtu shook her head, paused, and then said, "I heard that you have reforged the divine spear completely after the battle. Very good."

Meng Chuan looked at her and suddenly said, "You came here specifically for more than just this, didn't you?"

Houtu remained silent for a moment, then turned her hand over.

A gray, cracked fragment lies quietly in the palm of your hand.

The moment the fragment appeared, time and space within the ice cave seemed to freeze for a split second.

The chaotic air currents stagnated, and the Xuanming True Water receded slightly.

A chaotic aura, transcending all things and encompassing the three thousand Great Daos, quietly permeated the air.

Meng Chuan's pupils contracted slightly.

"This is……"

"A fragment of the Chaos Pearl," Houtu said calmly. "I found it deep within the earth's veins. It may be beneficial to your cultivation."

She handed over the fragments.

Meng Chuan did not answer.

He looked into her calm eyes, which held no reluctance, no hesitation, only complete composure.

Fragments of Chaos Treasures are no less valuable than complete Innate Treasures.

If she refines it and comprehends the Great Dao of Chaos, her cultivation will surely advance further, and her path to enlightenment will be smooth.

But she just casually offered to give it to him.

From the ancestral land of the Wu tribe, we traveled hundreds of millions of miles to reach this Northern Sea, just to deliver this item.

And... she had already been deep in the earth's veins for a thousand years before she left her ancestral land, just to find it.

"This item is far too precious," Meng Chuan said slowly. "You should keep it for yourself."

"I don't need it." Houtu shook her head. "I cultivate the Way of Earth, which is incompatible with the Dao of this thing. You cultivate the Great Dao of Power, which encompasses all things. Perhaps you can use this to comprehend the true meaning of chaos and break through your bottleneck."

This excuse is too far-fetched. All paths originate from chaos, so how could the Way of Earth be incompatible with the supreme treasure of chaos?

Houtu paused for a moment, then said, "Since you call me your guide, I must... do what a guide should do."

Meng Chuan was startled.

Looking at the barefoot girl in hemp clothing before him, and at the clear and open look in her eyes, he suddenly felt that any refusal would be a desecration.

He reached out and took the shards.

It feels warm and substantial to the touch, with a chaotic Daoist rhythm flowing through it, subtly resonating with the "Nine Revolutions Profound Technique" within my body, and echoing my understanding of the Great Dao of Power within my primordial spirit.

It is indeed a supreme treasure.

"Thank you," he said solemnly.

Houtu shook her head slightly and said no more.

Meng Chuan suddenly remembered something, and a thought struck him.

A golden light flew out from between his eyebrows, landed in his palm, and transformed into two strange weapons that were intertwined and stacked, resembling the tail of a dragon.

It was the "Golden Dragon Scissors" that had been idle for a long time.