Chapter 1869 : The Primordial Dao Unfolds

At that very instant, ripples began to echo through the Chaos.

The Ancient Ice Phoenix appeared not far away. Glancing at the Chaos Black Dragon coiled within its sleeve, it spoke with a tone of astonishment, "A Chaos Black Dragon. To think a Chaotic Holy Spirit [a primordial spirit born from the essence of Chaos itself] of such profound origin would choose to follow in your wake."

"Merely a coincidence of Opportunity [a pivotal moment of fate or chance in one's cultivation journey]," came the reply.

Eldrin Chen answered with detached calm. Offering no further elaboration, he simply swept his sleeve and returned to the Vast Azure Immortal Domain.

The moment he set foot once more within the Vast Azure Immortal Domain, Eldrin Chen sensed a profound and inexplicable transformation had taken hold of the entire realm.

Before his eyes, across the boundless heavens and earth, within the endless expanse of the Immortal Domain [a realm of immortals, suffused with celestial energy], one Great Dao [the fundamental laws and principles of existence] after another manifested across the sky. A torrential surge of heaven-and-earth spiritual essence [the primal energy that constitutes and nourishes all creation] and foundational source power [the primordial substance from which all things are derived] began to converge violently toward the very heart of the Vast Azure Immortal Domain.

Eldrin Chen lifted his gaze. There, at the core of the Central Celestial Domain, the very fabric of space itself was being rent asunder, revealing a fissure into a place of supreme and paramount authority.

It was a resplendent, boundless ocean of the Great Dao, existing at a plane of such lofty and majestic height that it cascaded down infinite chains of divine law.

And there, coiled at the very center of those endless divine chains, resided an indomitable light. This radiance possessed a quality of near-eternal indestructibility, and under the layered protections of the Great Dao itself, it could truly be called everlasting and imperishable.

"The Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and true essence of a cultivator, housing their consciousness and power] of the Vast Azure Great God," Eldrin Chen murmured, recognition dawning.

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, finally comprehending in this moment how a Grand Luo Golden Immortal [the pinnacle of immortal cultivation] could be revived.

It turned out that after breaking through to the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, a cultivator could anchor their Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] within the Great Dao [the fundamental principle of the cosmos]. By merging with the power of the Dao and receiving its protection, they would henceforth be beyond the reach of the cycle of reincarnation.

For the Great Dao is supreme and boundless. Even if a Grand Luo Golden Immortal were slain, that portion of their Primordial Spirit fused with the Dao would retain at least a wisp of remnant soul, rendering them truly impervious to the cycle of rebirth.

As long as this remnant soul endured, over the vast passage of time, the Grand Luo Golden Immortal could rely on the nurturing feedback from the Great Dao to be reborn and return.

Furthermore, some who had cultivated the Indestructible Primordial Spirit [a divine ability that renders one's spiritual core unbreakable] and reached the Primordial Chaos Emperor Monarch [a supreme emperor-monarch realm born from primordial chaos] could anchor their Indestructible Primordial Spirit upon the Great Dao itself, using its shelter to withstand the assaults of powerful foes.

For beings of this caliber, even a Chaos Celestial Emperor [a supreme emperor born from chaos] could not directly annihilate their Primordial Spirit through the veil of the Great Dao; they could only expend immense power to seal them within it.

Vast Azure Great God had not stepped into the Primordial Chaos Emperor Monarch realm and likely had not mastered the Indestructible Primordial Spirit. Truly, he had been slain by that great enemy in ages past. The Primordial Spirit before them now was the one reformed over ten billion years from the accumulation of his True Spirit [the purest essence of a being's spirit] and remnant soul.

"He is about to awaken."

Gazing at this Primordial Spirit, Eldrin Chen could not help but murmur again, a trace of solemn gravity coloring his expression.

"Boom—"

As his words fell, the Vast Azure Immortal Domain [a legendary realm of immortals] began to shake with ever-increasing violence.

Boundless heaven and earth spiritual energy [the vital energy that permeates the world] and primal essence were drawn in like a great whale drinking water, flying into that Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] orb of light, where they intertwined with the essence of the Great Dao [the fundamental principle governing all existence].

Following this, fragments of bone and flesh began to grow, and a supreme Grand Luo [a mythical, supreme state of being] body started to slowly reform and take shape.

"He is nearing success."

The Ancient Ice Phoenix [a primordial beast of frost and legend] murmured, then shook her head, her gaze dimming.

"A pity..."

Eldrin Chen did not speak, merely watching the scene unfold in silence.

At that very moment, from the supreme and endless void, a sword light of indescribable brilliance cleaved through the sky.

It was an ineffable sword energy, one that tore through the boundless Chaos [the primordial, formless state before creation], saturated with an aura of immense antiquity and desolation, as if it had been launched from the depths of the primordial era.

Under the dominion of this single sword strike, all of time past and present, the six directions and eight wildernesses, the farthest reaches of the cosmos, the myriad heavens and the Chaos itself—all could be severed with one blow!

"Ah—!"

In that fleeting moment, Vast Azure Great God unleashed a roar that shook the very heavens.

Gripping the Vast Azure Heaven Halberd, he channeled the divine might accumulated over one hundred Kalpa Tribulation cycles to wage war against heaven and earth itself.

Instantly, the Great Dao thundered, space-time reversed, and endless chains of divine law intertwined with the Vast Azure Heaven Halberd, coalescing into a primordial celestial halberd to strike at the supreme foe.

"A pity. All this struggle is but futile."

Beneath this sword-strike, the Great Dao flowed like water, space-time resembled fragile bubbles, and even the celestial halberd was but rotten wood—all mere illusions, all easily shattered by a single touch.

"Hymn—"

An indescribable sword hymn resonated. Eldrin Chen witnessed that sword-light, unstoppable and absolute, annihilate everything in its path, erupting into a radiance that was the sole, eternal brilliance since time immemorial.

This radiance was too dazzling, so blindingly brilliant that Eldrin Chen could not keep his eyes open and was forced to shield them, turning away from the spectacle.

When the light finally faded and his senses returned, he looked again toward the Nine Heavens Above. There, he saw the chains of divine law shattered and disintegrating, their eternal glow diminished to its faintest, most desperate ember.

The Grand Luo [the supreme realm of cultivation, representing the pinnacle of existence] body that Vast Azure Great God had reforged crumbled and scattered. The Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] at the heart of the Great Dao disintegrated into a sky full of starlight. Only a faint remnant of a soul, plunged into deep slumber, was sheltered by the infinite Great Dao and returned to the ocean of the Dao.

"Vast Azure Great God has fallen."

Eldrin Chen murmured softly, a flicker of sorrow passing through his gaze.

Even a powerhouse like Vast Azure Great God, whose might once shook the Primordial Era, was but a minuscule and feeble ant before that indescribable existence—a single sword stroke could slay him a thousand times over along the River of Time and Space [the metaphysical flow connecting all moments and places].

If it were him facing such a being, how could he possibly defy the heavens?

"I am still not strong enough. I must become stronger."

Eldrin Chen whispered in his heart, his resolve to courageously ascend to higher realms growing ever more resolute.

Noticing his expression, the Ancient Ice Phoenix [a primordial avian demon of immense power and frost] sighed with feeling. "This boundless Chaos [the primordial, formless state from which all existence emerges] is far vaster than you or I can imagine. The Three Thousand Immortal Domains [a collective term for the myriad realms where immortals dwell] are but a lone island within it."

"Even if you and I prove our Dao and attain Grand Luo, it is merely the first step into the Chaos Sea [the endless, turbulent expanse of primordial chaos]. The path of Weilai [the Future] stretches long before us."

Eldrin Chen nodded, offering no further words.

He stepped forward and, with a flick of his sleeve, gathered the legacy left behind by Vast Azure Great God.

Having just been successfully remolded, this newly formed Grand Luo [the Grand Immortal Realm, a supreme state of being] body of Vast Azure Great God was only at the early stage of that realm.

However, the legacy obtained from the fall of a Grand Luo Golden Immortal [a supreme Golden Immortal of the Grand Luo Realm] was still astonishingly vast.

Eldrin Chen made a simple inventory and discovered rare treasures such as Heart's Blood Essence, a Grand Luo Divine Heart, Grand Luo Divine Blood, and Grand Luo Origin Essence.

Among these treasures, the Heart's Blood Essence and the Grand Luo Divine Heart were the rarest, with only one of each. Of the other treasures, there were over three thousand drops of Grand Luo Divine Blood and a full nine portions of Grand Luo Origin Essence.

Among the several treasures, the Heart's Blood Essence and the Grand Luo Divine Blood were the most precious. These two items could enhance combat power and foundational potential, offering significant benefits even to an Eight Tribulation Ancient Immortal [an Ancient Immortal who has survived eight Heavenly Tribulations].

The Grand Luo Origin Essence was slightly less potent but was a rare Great Luo Rare Treasure [a treasure of immense rarity from the Grand Luo Realm]. This item could help a cultivator forcefully break through the Great Luo Heavenly Pass [a critical bottleneck on the path to the Grand Luo Realm] and greatly enhance the potential and innate talent of an Ancient Immortal [an immortal being who has existed since ancient times].

Theoretically, if a Six Tribulation Ancient Immortal Great Power [a mighty Ancient Immortal who has survived six Heavenly Tribulations] refined a portion of Grand Luo Origin Essence, they could elevate at least one of the five great Heavenly Passes—the Fleshly Body, Magical Power, Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator], Great Dao, and Dao Fruit [the crystallization of one's cultivated path]—to the Tenth Limit.

Finally, the Grand Luo Divine Blood was a rare treasure for nourishing the fleshly body. Its effects were even more powerful than a Ten-Revolving Immortal Pill; each drop was comparable to a peerless immortal elixir, capable of helping an Ancient Immortal break through the Tenth Limit or even the Eleventh Limit of the Fleshly Body Heavenly Barrier [the ultimate bottleneck for physical cultivation].

"Quite a few rare treasures," he mused, "though unfortunately, they are of little use to me now."

After glancing over these rare treasures, Eldrin Chen gave a faint shake of his head.

Most of his major Heavenly Passes had already been cultivated to the Eleventh Limit realm. These treasures could not possibly allow him to advance any further.

With this thought, Eldrin Chen handed the Heart's Blood Essence to the Ancient Ice Phoenix and spoke, "The agreement from years past—I consider it now fulfilled."

The Ancient Ice Phoenix took the Heart's Blood Essence and said with delight, "With this in hand, I shall be able to restore my peak combat power within tens of thousands of years."

Eldrin Chen offered a slight smile and replied, "Fellow Daoist, please go and recover. I shall attend to the aftermath of this battle."

With those words, Eldrin Chen arrived at the Verdant Sun Divine Domain and sought out the members of the Abyssal Immortal Alliance and their allies.

By this point in the great war, the Celestial Immortal [a powerful immortal cultivator] forces of the Demon and Divine races had been nearly exhausted. The overall situation across the entire Vast Azure Immortal Domain was now settled.

Eldrin Chen instructed the Alliance's Celestial Immortal to lead the allied immortals in sweeping through the celestial territories. He then personally convened a gathering at the former site of Verdant Sun Ancient City for a council.

On that day, seated upon the dais within the great hall, Eldrin Chen surveyed the assembled immortals, and a trace of a smile unconsciously touched his lips.

In this conflict, the Abyssal Immortal Alliance and its allies had achieved a resounding victory. Of the several dozen Ancient Immortal Great Powers [powerful cultivators of the Ancient Immortal realm] belonging to the Human Race, fewer than seven had perished—a casualty rate remarkably low by any historical measure.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen spoke, "For this battle, you have all labored with great hardship."

"Not at all, it was entirely due to the Alliance Leader's strength in turning the tide," they replied.

Upon hearing this, those present could not help but let their joy show on their faces, each one wearing a smile.

Eldrin Chen gave a slight nod and then declared, "I have recorded all the spoils from this battle in the ledger. Your individual merits of war have also been duly registered."

"Aside from the portion reserved for compensation to the bereaved, you may exchange your merit points for whatever you desire from the remainder."

As he spoke, Eldrin Chen handed the account book to the assembly. After perusing its contents, every one of them could not suppress their expressions of excitement.

The spoils from this single engagement, even excluding the legacy of the Vast Azure Great God and the two Eighth Kalpa Tribulation demonic leaders, could be considered the most bountiful harvest for the Human Race in several dozen Kalpa Tribulation. The share each of them could claim was astonishingly substantial.

With just a glance, they discovered the spoils contained a full one hundred and twenty-one Ninth Rank supreme-grade Dao Source [the primordial essence from which all Daos originate], and over three thousand Ninth Rank Dao Source.

Furthermore, there were countless rare treasures of every description. Distributed among them, it was enough to potentially double each person's cultivation base. After fully absorbing these resources, advancing by one minor realm would pose little difficulty.

Thinking of this, the assembly eagerly exchanged their merit points for numerous rare treasures.

Of course, compared to others, the Chen Immortal Clan, which had achieved the greatest military merits, reaped the most bountiful harvest.

The sixteen Ancient Immortal of the Chen Immortal Clan each exchanged for at least three or four top-grade Ninth Rank Dao Source [the primordial source of the Dao, a supreme treasure for cultivation], along with a vast quantity of other rare and precious treasures. After digesting these gains, they would likely be able to break through another one or two of the Heavenly Barriers.

Eldrin Chen also took three of these Dao Source, specifically the most precious ones formerly used by Vorgath Di, the Primordial Azure Dragon, and the Nether Emperor. The others held little use for him, so he placed them all into the clan treasury or bestowed them upon clansmen and his Dao-companions.

He kept only the legacy of the Vast Azure Great God, as well as the treasures from Myriad Ghosts Ancient Ancestor and Xuanheng the Elder Demon for himself. He merely took out one thousand drops of Great Luo Essence Blood [the primordial blood essence of a Great Luo realm being, containing immense life force and power] for others to exchange.

After handling these matters, Eldrin Chen gathered the Ancient Immortal of the Chen Immortal Clan together privately and stated, "The legacy of the Vast Azure Great God and the treasures from Xuanheng the Elder Demon and the others have fallen into my hands, yet they hold little significant use for me."

"I called you here today to distribute them among you."

As he spoke, Eldrin Chen took out the remaining two thousand drops of Great Luo Essence Blood and said, "Each of you should take one hundred drops of this Great Luo Essence Blood. It should aid you in cultivating Ten-Calamity Physiques. The remaining five hundred drops will be placed in the clan treasury for other arrangements."

Upon hearing this, no one present voiced any objection.

However, Qiyuan Chen shook his head and said, "This item is of no use to me. It should be left for others."

Eldrin Chen smiled and replied, "Since it is meant for everyone, then everyone should receive a share. The Ancestor's portion can be exchanged for veins of metal and stone ores instead."

Qiyuan Chen [Thalion Chen, a senior cultivator] nodded upon hearing this, offering no further comment.

After distributing the Great Luo Essence Blood [a primordial blood essence of immense power], Eldrin Chen turned his gaze to the nine portions of Grand Luo [the Grand Luo, a supreme cultivation realm] origin essence. He pondered for a long moment before speaking. "This Grand Luo origin essence is a Great Luo Rare Treasure [an exceedingly rare treasure from the Grand Luo realm]. It can unconditionally facilitate Ascension [a breakthrough to a higher cultivation realm] to at least the Ten Limits Foundation [the Foundation Establishment realm perfected to its tenth limit]. However, it offers little additional benefit for those seeking to surpass the tenth limit."

"Verdant Consort [Qing Ji, a powerful female cultivator], Nyssa Qu, Yvonne the Violet Consort [Yan Ziji], Lila [Ya Ya], Ethan [Chen Xianye], Verdant Ancient Ancestor [the Ancient Ancestor Qing], Qingfeng [Ye Qingfeng], Wen Yuan [Lu Wen Yuan], Yuansheng [Yuan Sheng]—each of you shall receive one portion."

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng Ye [Ye Qingfeng] hurriedly declined, "Master, your disciple's foundation is already solid. I can cultivate to the Ten Limits Foundation without needing such an item."

Wen Yuan Lu [Lu Wen Yuan] and Yuansheng also promptly cupped their hands and refused directly, "Master, your kindness is profound. It would be better to leave this treasure for Xianqing [Chen Xianqing] and Xianchang [Chen Xianchang]."

Xianchang Chen [Chen Xianchang], however, smiled faintly and spoke plainly, "With the Innate Primordial Qi [the primordial vital energy present at birth] bestowed by Father, each pearl of my Thirty-Six Vast Sea Divine Pearls [a set of thirty-six divine pearls] is a Primordial Ancient Treasure [a treasure from the dawn of creation]. Wielding them, I am peerless under heaven. Such external aids are of no use to us."

"Cease this debate."

Eldrin Chen shook his head and stated firmly, "I have my own arrangements for them. There is no need for you to defer and yield amongst yourselves."

Only then did the group fall silent, seeing his resolve.

Observing this, Eldrin Chen retrieved the Xuanheng Demon Pearl [a demonic pearl of profound darkness] and the Dao Source [the condensed origin of one's cultivation path] of the Xuanheng Ancient Demon [Xuanheng, an ancient and powerful demon]. He presented them both to Kael Chen [Chen Nianchuan], saying, "I believe you are the one most attuned to the essence of these items."

Kael Chen fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then accepted the object without uttering another word.

Seeing this, Eldrin Chen then took out the Dao Source [the primordial origin of one's cultivation path] of the Myriad Ghosts Ancient Ancestor, along with the severely damaged Myriad Souls Banner [a banner artifact capable of trapping countless souls], and handed them to Xianzhu Chen. "Refining this," he said, "can help you establish the foundation for the Demonic Tathagata [a supreme demonic cultivation art]."

"By delivering all the wronged souls trapped within this Myriad Souls Banner, the foundation of your Buddhist Tathagata [a supreme Buddhist cultivation art] will also reach its Great Perfection."

"If you can cultivate both the 'Buddhist' and the 'Demonic' Tathagata arts to Great Perfection and merge them into one, you may achieve the Supreme Holy Tathagata [the ultimate synthesis of Buddhist and Demonic paths]. I believe there is hope you might glimpse the True Spirit Realm [a legendary realm of pure spiritual existence]."

Upon hearing these words, Xianzhu Chen accepted the two treasures, then prostrated himself and kowtowed several times in succession.

Witnessing this, Eldrin Chen then handed the Grand Luo Heart to Xianqing Chen, fixing him with a solemn gaze. "This is the Nirvana Heart [a heart containing the essence of rebirth]," he instructed, "and it is in perfect harmony with your Pure Crimson Heart [an innate constitution of pure yang energy]."

"If you can refine it, it should enable a complete metamorphosis of your being."

Seeing this, Xianchang Chen could not help but ask, "Father, what about mine?"

Eldrin Chen rapped him lightly on the head. "Your Thirty-Six Vast Sea Divine Pearls [a set of thirty-six pearls containing the power of the primordial seas] are founded upon Chaos [the primordial, undifferentiated state before creation]. With them, you can be invincible under heaven. Master them thoroughly; remember, greed leads to indigestion."

Hearing this, Xianchang Chen rubbed his head and offered an awkward smile.

Thus, the most crucial treasures obtained from this battle were distributed, and with no other useless curiosities remaining, Eldrin Chen simply retrieved items such as the Great Luo Sword Embryo from his sleeve and handed them over to those who had not yet received a share of the spoils.

For Eldrin Chen, these treasures held little further utility; employing them to arm his clansmen was indeed a fitting choice.

Today's delay left insufficient time to write another two thousand characters, so this chapter will conclude at four thousand words.