Panshi walked in the direction guided by Pangu's will. What he did not know was that, as he activated Pangu's will, streams of purple lightning danced wildly across the firmament outside Mount Buzhou.
This purple lightning was the divine lightning of Heavenly Dao—the Zixiao Divine Lightning. The pervasive Zixiao Divine Lightning seemed intent on splitting Mount Buzhou apart, yet as soon as it approached the mountain, it vanished into thin air.
Consequently, the overwhelming Zixiao Divine Lightning looked more like the impotent fury of Heavenly Dao.
However, one person was exceptionally unlucky.
This person was none other than Donghuang Taiyi, who had come to search for the entrance to the Celestial Realm.
Ever since Hongjun informed Dijun about the Celestial Realm and the location of its entrance, Dijun had dispatched Donghuang Taiyi in person to find it.
After all, the Eastern Emperor Bell was the "key" to opening the entrance of the Celestial Realm, and Mount Buzhou was guarded by the Wu Clan. Sending anyone else would easily alert them.
Donghuang Taiyi had searched the skies above Mount Buzhou for thousands of years. Just as he finally found the entrance to the Celestial Realm, the all-encompassing Zixiao Divine Lightning descended without any warning.
Almost instantly, Donghuang Taiyi was heavily injured. Had he not sensed the danger in time to hide within the Eastern Emperor Bell and control it to plunge into the Celestial Realm, he certainly would have died.
"Who? Who is plotting against me?" Donghuang Taiyi roared furiously before losing consciousness.
"Hmm, did I just hear a bird chirping?"
Panshi looked up at the firmament, but as far as his gaze could reach, he saw nothing at all.
Mount Buzhou seemed independent of the Primordial World, sealing off all external anomalies.
Ten years later.
"This is the place."
Panshi arrived before an Innate Grand Array and clearly sensed that something within the array was calling to him, anticipating his arrival.
As he stepped forward, the Innate Grand Array automatically parted a fissure, transforming into a path.
Panshi stepped inside without suffering the slightest attack.
If other living beings in the Primordial World knew of this, they would likely weep. Ordinarily, every Innate Spiritual Treasure was guarded by an Innate Grand Array, and any living being who sought it had to first endure the trial of the array, risking their very lives at the slightest misstep. Yet when it came to Panshi, the Innate Grand Array guarding the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler simply let him walk right in.
Comparing people like this was enough to infuriate one to death.
The moment he entered the Innate Grand Array, what Panshi saw was not the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler, but a valley filled with celestial herbs and flowers. Misty purple Qi flowed through the valley, and an aura of auspiciousness permeated the air.
And in the most prominent spot in the valley lay a Qilin.
The moment he saw this Qilin, a modern term surfaced in Panshi's mind—colorful black.
Indeed, the color of this Qilin was a colorful black.
The Qilin was fast asleep, completely unaware of Panshi's intrusion.
"Ahem—"
Panshi gave a soft cough.
"Who?"
The Qilin woke up instantly, its gaze locking onto Panshi with vigilance.
"How did you get into this Innate Grand Array? There wasn't the slightest sound."
"I just walked in, naturally," Panshi said.
The Qilin: "..."
Glancing at the "path" behind Panshi, a fierce look of excitement flashed in the Qilin's eyes.
"The exit of this Innate Grand Array has actually opened! I can finally get out."
"You can't get out?"
Panshi looked the Qilin up and down, a rather peculiar look in his eyes as he asked, "Then how did you get in here in the first place?"
In response, the Qilin said, "I accidentally wandered in here and have been trapped for a million years... No wait, why am I telling you this?"
Hearing this, Panshi shrugged and said, "If you don't want to say, forget it. I have no interest in listening anyway. You can leave now."
"Leave..."
The initial excitement in the Qilin's eyes vanished, replaced by a dim expression.
"Leave? Where can I go?"
"The Primordial World is so vast, naturally you can go wherever you wish."
At these words, however, the Qilin shook its head. "Once I leave Mount Buzhou, I will die."
"Why?" Panshi asked with some curiosity.
Perhaps it had been too long since it last spoke with anyone, or perhaps the aura emanating from Panshi made the Qilin feel a sense of affinity. After hesitating for a moment, the Qilin slowly explained to Panshi:
"I am the Ink Jade Qilin, son of the Ancestor Qilin. I bear the karmic burden of the Qilin clan. The moment I appear in the outside world, Heavenly Dao will send down a Heavenly Tribulation. To let me survive, my father sent me into Mount Buzhou to hide from the Heavenly Tribulation before he died."
"Therefore, I cannot leave Mount Buzhou."
"So that's how it is."
Hearing the Ink Jade Qilin's words, Panshi fell into deep contemplation as a question struck him.
Ever since the tribulation of the three clans, the Primordial World had been devoid of true dragon and true phoenix bloodlines. Had the Ink Jade Qilin not hidden within Mount Buzhou, his own primordial Qilin bloodline would surely have been wiped out as well.
The reason Heavenly Dao wanted to exterminate these primordial bloodlines of the Primordial World was certainly far more than just karma.
As for what deeper meaning lay behind this, Panshi had no way of knowing at present.
But whatever Heavenly Dao wanted to do, he just needed to stop it.
"Ink Jade Qilin, do you want to leave Mount Buzhou, or rather, do you want to live freely?" Panshi asked.
"But leaving Mount Buzhou will bring down the Heavenly Tribulation..."
"With me here, mere Heavenly Tribulation is nothing. You needn't worry; if Heavenly Dao wants to destroy you, it must first ask for my consent."
"You... who are you?"
The Ink Jade Qilin stared at Panshi, feeling his throat go dry and his blood surge with heat.
In fact, the moment he saw Panshi enter this Innate Grand Array without a sound, he could already sense Panshi's extraordinary nature. Over these past million years, he had tried almost every method to escape, yet he had never been able to open even a single crack in the Innate Grand Array.
"I am the manifestation of the Heart of Pangu, the successor of Pangu."
"Pangu's successor."
Hearing these four words, the Ink Jade Qilin grew even more excited.
To the endless living beings of the Primordial World, Pangu was the supreme legend and an invincible existence. The entire Primordial World had been opened up by Pangu; what could a mere Heavenly Dao amount to in front of Pangu?
"This Ink Jade Qilin pays respects to my master, and is willing to serve as your mount, at your beck and call." The Ink Jade Qilin bowed prostrate.
"Are you certain?"
"I, the Ink Jade Qilin, swear upon my Dao heart, I willingly become my master's mount. Should I break this oath, may my Dao heart be completely shattered and my soul scattered to ashes."
The Ink Jade Qilin spoke so fast that Panshi didn't even have time to stop him.
"Very well, I will take you on as my mount. However, calling me 'master' feels a bit awkward; from now on, you may call me Master!"
"Understood! Ink Jade Qilin pays respects to Master!" the Ink Jade Qilin said with great joy.
"Oh right, Master, what is your current cultivation level? How do you compare in strength to the Sage Hongjun of not long ago?" the Ink Jade Qilin asked with a face full of anticipation.
"Mid-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal."
"Mid-stage... Da Luo... Golden Immortal?"
Suspecting he had misheard, the Ink Jade Qilin repeated the words.
"Precisely, mid-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal," Panshi nodded.
"You're... you're only one small realm higher than me?" At that instant, the Ink Jade Qilin felt as though he had been struck by five bolts of lightning, plunging into utter despair.
"What, unconvinced? Do you believe that I can stand completely still and suppress you with just one hand?"
The Ink Jade Qilin: "..."
A quarter of an hour later, the Ink Jade Qilin believed it.