While Lin Fan was deep in slumber recovering from his injuries, the Primordial World was already teeming with life. Scales, shells, fur, feathers, and horns manifested, and all manner of divine beings emerged one after another.
First, upon the ancestral vein of Kunlun Mountain, the primordial spirit of Pangu split into three Daoists with the help of five layers of Great Dao Creation Merit.
The eldest had white hair and a white beard, wore white robes, and possessed a benevolent expression. The moment he took physical form, he possessed the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal. Smiling at the two figures beside him, he said, "I am Li Er, self-styled as Taoist Taiqing. Greetings, my two younger brothers."
To the left of Taoist Taiqing stood a middle-aged Daoist clad in luxurious purple robes. His visage carried an unangered majesty, and every gesture exuded dignity and nobility. He said to the other two, "I am Yuanshi, styled as Master Yuangui—no, Yuqing. Greetings, Eldest Brother, Third Brother." *(Self-correction applied for consistency)*
To the right of Taoist Taiqing was a young Daoist with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, dressed in azure robes with sword Qi surging all around him. He looked at the others and said, "I am Tongtian, styled as Master Shangqing. Greetings, Eldest Brother, Second Brother."
After exchanging greetings, the three laughed heartily. Every day on Kunlun Mountain, they discoursed on the Dao and practiced cultivation, living in utmost joy and ease.
In addition, there were Taoist Jieyin and Taoist Zhunti in the West; the Queen Mother of the West on West Kunlun; Zhenyuanzi, who took physical form embracing the Book of the Earth at Wuzhuang Temple on Wuzhuang Mountain; Patriarch Hongyun in Fire Cloud Cave; Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi upon the Sun Star; and Xihe and Changxi upon the Moon Star, all successively taking physical form.
Furthermore, many innate divine beings hid within various blessed lands across the Primordial World, cultivating with tranquil minds, advancing their Dao attainments, and comprehending the Heavenly Dao.
As the saying goes, wherever there are people, there is a jianghu; wherever there is a jianghu, there are struggles; and wherever there are struggles, there are casualties.
This saying applied even more aptly and brutally to the Primordial World, for it was a realm where the fittest survived and the weak were meat.
In order to seize territories, blessed lands, cultivation resources, and spiritual treasures or weapons, struggles were invariably a matter of life and death.
Having accumulated over hundreds of millions of years, the present Primordial World had now acquired a trace of bloody, murderous aura.
Under such circumstances, banding together and forming alliances naturally appeared crucial.
Now, within the East Sea, there was also an innate innate divine being—a nine-clawed golden dragon formed by a severed finger of Pangu combined with innate water essence. The moment he took physical form, he used his own vital blood to create countless beings of his own kind, styling himself as the Dragon Clan across the four seas. He occupied the four seas for cultivation, reigning as king and founding patriarch in grand style.
On this day, above the East Sea, a golden giant dragon tens of thousands of feet long flew back and forth, its roars shaking the heavens. Countless dragons surged beneath the giant dragon. The great dragon gazed toward the heavens and declared, "The Heavenly Dao above! Today, Zulong of the Dragon Clan establishes the scaly tribe. All scaly creatures of the Primordial World shall henceforth be under the protection of our Dragon Clan and shall honor our Dragon Clan as supreme. May the Heavenly Dao witness this!"
The moment Zulong's voice fell, merit instantly descended from the heavens. Zulong alone claimed seven layers, while the remaining two layers were distributed to the newly created scaly tribe. Having cultivated for hundreds of millions of years, Zulong was already at the late Daluo Golden Immortal stage. Upon receiving the seven layers of merit, his cultivation instantly surged, breaking through the Daluo Golden Immortal realm to become a master of the early Quasi-Sage stage.
Just as Zulong's voice faded, two more voices rang out from the Primordial World. One was the voice of the Five-Element Qilin, progenitor of the Qilin Clan: "The Heavenly Dao above! Today, the Qilin Clan establishes the beast tribe. All beasts across the Primordial World shall be protected by the Qilin Clan and shall honor our Qilin Clan as their head. May the Heavenly Dao witness this!"
Instantly, another streak of Heavenly Dao merit descended. The Five-Element Qilin took seventy percent for himself, breaking through the Daluo Golden Immortal realm to become a Quasi-Sage. The remaining thirty percent of merit was obtained by the leaders of the various newly created beast tribes, and every single one of their cultivations increased dramatically.
At the Undying Volcano in the south, countless birds gathered. Before them, Tianfeng and Tianhuang exchanged glances and spoke in unison: "Today, Tianfeng and Tianhuang of the avian tribe establish the Primordial avian tribe. All birds of the Primordial World shall be protected by our Phoenix Clan and shall take our Phoenix Clan as their head. May the Heavenly Dao witness this!"
Heavenly Dao merit descended right after the two finished speaking. Tianfeng and Tianhuang took eight layers entirely for themselves, greatly increasing their cultivation. However, because the merit was split equally between the two, although they broke through the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, they barely attained the level of early Quasi-Sages. The remaining two layers were likewise acquired by the avian tribe, strengthening its overall power.
The tribes established by the three factions were all acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao, which bestowed upon them Heavenly Dao merit. Each of the three tribal leaders believed their own clan to be the protagonists of heaven and earth, and all desired to annihilate the other two clans to monopolize the Qi Fortune of the Primordial World and storm the Saint realm.
Separated by hundreds of millions of miles, the three tribal leaders looked toward each other from afar, each let out a cold snort, and returned to their respective clans. After all, having just obtained Heavenly Dao merit and boosted their cultivations, they needed to return and consolidate their foundations.
Yet, the next time they emerged would be the day of the Three Clans War.
Throughout the Primordial World, various innate divine beings who heard the oaths of the three clans sighed that the day of great chaos across the land was not far off. Consequently, some were worried, some were overjoyed, and others remained entirely indifferent.
Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the Primordial World, there was a mountain named Yujing Mountain. Within the mountain dwelt a supreme master named Hongjun. Hearing the oaths of the three clans, he sighed, "The Three Clans War has ignited the first calamity of the Primordial World. Old man, I should make plans early. It is only a pity for the living beings of the three clans—who knows how many will die an innocent death? Truly, the will of Heaven is like a blade, and the Heavenly Dao is merciless!"
Having said this, he closed his eyes once more to comprehend the illusory and ethereal Heavenly Dao.
Far away in the extreme West of the Primordial World, Luo Hou the Demon Ancestor laughed heartily, rejoicing, "The Three Clans War is here! The opportunity for this ancestor to attain the Dao has arrived."
At this moment, Lin Fan, separated by hundreds of millions of miles, slowly awoke from his slumber.
Yet the moment he woke up, hearing the three clans swear oaths to the Heavenly Dao, Lin Fan nearly vomited a mouthful of dark blood and cursed aloud, "Damn it! I must have the worst luck in history. The moment I wake up, I run into the very first calamity after the creation of the world. This is fucking leaving me no way to survive! No, I have to run. My little life is what matters most; I need to find a place to hide first and hunker down for hundreds of millions of years before talking."
After grumbling and cursing for a good while, Lin Fan finally checked his own condition. Seeing the Heaven-Measuring Ruler suspended in his sea of consciousness, he asked in startled disbelief, "What is this?"
"Holy shit!"
"Could this be the Supreme Treasure of First Attack, the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler?"
"Holy cow! What a great treasure!"
He looked around his surroundings next, until he completely digested the information transmitted by the Chaos Bead.
Lin Fan could not help laughing. "Damn, I really planted flowers by accident that turned into shade! If I take physical form and emerge using this drop of Pangu's heart blood right now, as long as I develop sneakily and don't fool around blindly, even the Heavenly Dao won't be able to do a thing to me!"
"What incredible fortune!!"
The Primordial World was far too dangerous right now. The moment he took physical form, he would run away and hunker down in some bird-forsaken place.
As long as he survived until later eras, staging a dramatic urban comeback then would be nothing short of thrilling.
Just thinking about it made Lin Fan immensely excited.
No sooner said than done. Lin Fan manipulated his soul body to merge with that drop of Pangu's heart blood. Originally, Lin Fan thought the merger process would be extremely difficult, but the result exceeded his expectations. The fusion went shockingly smooth, one could even say entirely without obstacles.
After all, this drop of vital blood was voluntarily given by Pangu, and having stayed with Lin Fan for hundreds of millions of years, it had long since absorbed Lin Fan's aura. Thus, merging was exceptionally easy.
Before long, a flash of golden light erupted on the spot, and a Daoist materialized—none other than Lin Fan himself. He possessed handsome facial features, hair cascading down to his waist, and wore the Eight Trigrams Flowing Clouds Robe, looking extraordinarily dashing. The moment he took physical form, he possessed the cultivation of the Taiyi Golden Immortal (late) stage.
"Taking physical form is actually quite simple. Novels really ruin people; I thought I was going to get struck by lightning when taking physical form!"
"Turns out, it was super simple and easily done."
If anyone else had heard Lin Fan's words, it would surely have caused them to vomit blood in anger. What kind of situation are you in? What kind of situation are ordinary people in? Don't you have any self-awareness at all?
Your fucking physical manifestation was equivalent to taking form from Pangu's heart blood, and you even carried a layer of creation merit to boot—you were basically Pangu's direct descendant. If this were placed in later generations, you'd comfortably secure the position of the family's primary heir.
This entire heaven and earth was hacked apart by Pangu himself anyway. When you take physical form, damn it, the Heavenly Dao itself has to escort you—who would dare strike you down with lightning? The Heavenly Dao would be the first to strike them down.
It was simply that Lin Fan was unaware of all this.
Lin Fan thought he had taken physical form stealthily and without anyone knowing, unaware that his emergence had nonetheless caught the attention of two different factions.