Inside the Zizai Palace, Luohou had been sitting in meditation for who knew how many years. Endless demonic energy swirled around his body, and within his physical form, this energy circulated according to the Great Heavenly Cycle of the *Beginningless Demon Sutra*.
Back at Mount Buzhou, Luohou had sensed that he was on the verge of a breakthrough, which was a primary reason for his return to Mount Sumeru. Originally at the Early Daluo Golden Immortal stage, he now felt that his breakthrough would not be simple; it was likely to surpass the Mid Daluo Golden Immortal stage.
As he felt the changes within him and observed the wisps of demonic energy flowing through his acupoints, Luohou was astonished. Each acupoint within him now shone like a dazzling star. The *Beginningless Demon Sutra* was all-encompassing; could the manifestation of stars within his body be a sign brought about by cultivating this very sutra?
Luohou did not dwell on it, instead focusing on absorbing spiritual energy and refining it into the demonic energy of the *Beginningless Demon Sutra*. He was the Ancestor of Magic, the first demon of the Honghuang universe.
Uncounted years passed—perhaps ten thousand, perhaps a full epoch. Luohou felt his body had absorbed enough demonic energy; it could not take in a single drop more.
*Boom...*
In an instant, the acupoints throughout Luohou’s body exploded. The star-like points within him shattered, leaving him severely wounded. But the next moment, a miracle occurred: where each acupoint had been a single star, now each one contained three hundred and sixty stars. A profound and mysterious power surged from deep within his body, healing his injuries in the blink of an eye.
"Late Daluo Golden Immortal. Just as I suspected," Luohou murmured to himself.
At the beginning, he had realized this breakthrough would not be simple, but he hadn't expected his physical body to align with the phenomena of the celestial stars—this surely had something to do with the *Nine Turns of Panyuan*. Ever since he had comprehended that technique at Mount Buzhou, his physical body had undergone a earth-shattering transformation.
Calculating the time, Luohou was surprised to find that two full epochs had passed without him noticing. He had spent two entire epochs just on this single breakthrough!
"It is time to begin forging the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying. Otherwise, I might truly fall a step behind that fellow Hongjun," Luohou muttered.
He stood up and left the training chamber. Casting out his divine sense, he discovered that both his two attendants and Aozheng were in seclusion. Luohou was quite satisfied; the three were diligent. In the future, when he traveled through Honghuang, they would not shame him. After all, if the attendants and mount of the mighty Ancestor of Magic could not even reach the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, it would be Luohou himself who lost face. After all, the attendants of Dao Ancestor Hongjun in later eras would be Quasi-Sages; as the Ancestor of Magic, Luohou could not afford to be inferior.
The cultivation levels of Qiqing, Liu Yu, and Aozheng were, naturally, no secret to Luohou. Two epochs had passed: Aozheng had reached the Early Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, and the two attendants had both reached the Late Golden Immortal realm. This proved that Aozheng’s foundation was far superior to that of the two attendants. Had Luohou not bestowed them with high-level cultivation techniques, they might never have stepped into the Golden Immortal Realm in their entire lives.
Luohou left Mount Sumeru alone. He needed to find forging materials—the harder, the better. Of course, finding Chaos Primordial Stone would be ideal. Although the primary material for the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying and the Immortal-Slaying Array Map was the Dragon Pearl of the Crystal Dragon, other primordial materials were required for the smelting process; otherwise, forging them would be impossible.
When the heavens and earth were first created, the spiritual energy of the East and the West was equal; there was none of the "desolate West" seen in later ages. Now, with an outlier like Luohou present, the West would certainly not remain desolate. The materials Luohou sought were peculiar; they had to be outside the Five Elements, or the swords could not be forged. There were very few such primordial materials in Honghuang, and Luohou still required three more to begin.
Even if it were difficult, Luohou would not give up. The Immortal-Slaying Array was a gift from the Great Dao; to refuse it would bring backlashes. Furthermore, the array would be his primary weapon against Hongjun in the future—he could not afford to go without it.
After traveling through Honghuang for ten thousand years, perhaps due to a surge in his recent karmic luck, Luohou managed to find two of the needed materials: the Four-Image Crystal and the Immortal-Slaying Jade. He was now just one material short.
Finding primordial materials that fell outside the Five Elements was a matter of luck. If one’s karmic luck was deep, one might trip over them just by stepping out the door. Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on Luohou's face; his divine sense detected five-colored light shining from a hundred thousand miles to the north.
Luohou immediately flew toward the source. With his Late Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation, it took only the blink of an eye—his flight speed was far superior to that of the Monkey King of later ages. However, by the time he arrived, another cultivator had already reached the spot and held the Five-Colored Stone in his hand.
This stone was indeed outside the Five Elements and was incredibly hard; it would even be used for mending the heavens in the future. Now that Luohou had found it, he could not let it slip away.
"I am Luohou. Greetings," Luohou said flatly.
"I am Ancestor Cangtian. Greetings, fellow Daoist Luohou," the old man in the brown Daoist robe replied with a smile.
Luohou was shocked. He knew Ancestor Cangtian—all too well. According to the legends of his previous life, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had united with three great beings to battle Luohou at Mount Sumeru. That battle had tilted the heavens and broken the ancestral ley lines of the West, leading to its later desolation. One of those three beings was the very man standing before him.
"I wonder, does this Five-Colored Stone have any use for you, fellow Daoist?" Luohou asked, feeling somewhat awkward.
In his heart, Luohou had already decided: if things went wrong, he would strike and kill Ancestor Cangtian immediately. He could not leave him alive until the war with Dao Ancestor Hongjun. If history remained unchanged, he would be in grave danger. Even if the Immortal-Slaying Array were powerful, it would be useless against four beings of equal standing.
"You desire this object? Ha ha... since you need it, what harm is there in giving it to you?" As he spoke, Ancestor Cangtian took out the stone and handed it to Luohou.
This left Luohou stunned.
"This..."
Ancestor Cangtian’s gesture completely disrupted Luohou’s plans. He had expected the old man to refuse, at which point he would simply kill him and seize the treasure. He never expected such strange behavior from the ancestor.
Though he was a demon, he had his principles. Moreover, one does not strike a smiling face, and he had just received a favor—how could he attack?
"In that case, I thank you, fellow Daoist," Luohou said, forcing a smile.