The vast Primordial World stretched on without end. As Hongjun traveled between heaven and earth, he encountered countless Innate Spiritual Plants and Spiritual Fruits along his path.
Even after journeying for so long, he had still not reached his destination—Mount Buzhou, the colossal peak formed from Pangu's spine.
The Primordial World was simply too enormous, expanding with every passing moment.
Some Innate Spiritual Trees and Plants were so vast that each surpassed an entire world in size.
The power contained within them was unimaginably fearsome.
Yet even unchecked growth could not place them on par with an Innate Sacred Being. The nobility of an Innate Sacred Being did not lie in the amount of energy they possessed, but in their Dao and their Realm.
From the moment an Innate Sacred Being is born, they contract past and future into themselves, becoming a singular existence across time.
At the same time, the Dao they command becomes branded into the Primordial World.
They grow stronger together with the world itself.
Hongjun glanced over the plants and trees that filled heaven and earth and felt no desire to collect them.
Even those Innate Spirit Medicines infused with potent Law Power—treasures that would be priceless to ordinary Innate Beings—were meaningless to him.
He was an Innate Sacred Being. These things were of no use whatsoever.
Why bother gathering them? He would even need to waste energy to open storage space for them.
He looked at the forests before him and recalled the flowers and grasses upon Yujing Mountain. To him, there was no difference at all. Naturally, he had no intention of picking up what he considered trash.
Instead, he focused entirely on advancing toward Mount Buzhou. Along the way, he inevitably ran into several Innate Fierce Beasts, but none of the lesser ones could even scratch him.
In the end, they simply became convenient Divine Artifacts for accumulating karma.
At that moment, the Power of the Five Elements across heaven and earth suddenly grew turbulent, surging madly in one direction.
Hongjun's expression sharpened. This was a sign—Innate Sacred Beings were fighting nearby.
With every strike of an Innate Sacred Being, the Laws and even the Dao of heaven and earth would respond.
Sensing the situation more carefully, he hesitated only briefly before rushing toward the source.
After all these years, he wished to gauge his own standing among the Innate Sacred Beings of the Primordial World—now that he had opened a crystalline Divine Kingdom and nurtured a Great World within his body.
He needed to know whether the path he walked was correct.
In this era without formal realms, how else could he judge his progress?
There were no clearly named stages yet—no Taiyi, no Daluo.
Hongjun took a single step, rending open the Void Realm as he advanced. With each stride, he crossed innumerable worlds.
Before long, he reached the outer edge of the battlefield and halted. Ahead of him loomed an enormous barrier, from within which bestial roars shook the skies.
"Awoo… awoo… awoo…"
Hongjun's gaze swept across the scene. At the heart of the battlefield stood a figure wreathed in five-colored light, suspended in the void.
In that being's palm rested a five-colored drop of blood.
The blood pulsed with the Great Dao of the Five Elements, acting as a venomous lure that drove the Innate Fierce Beasts into madness.
High above, another Innate Sacred Being held aloft a cauldron-shaped Magic Treasure radiating the boundless power of Qiankun, sealing the entire region.
The Five Elements Sacred Being was clearly preparing a finishing blow. A torrent of multicolored radiance condensed around him, drawing in all nearby power of the Five Elements and swelling without end.
Hongjun's lips twitched. He truly hadn't expected Innate Sacred Beings to already be forming alliances—and even fishing for beasts in this way.
They were obviously planning to eradicate the Innate Fierce Beasts in a single sweep.
Soon, every nearby beast had been driven into the barrier.
The Five Elements Sacred Being and the Qiankun Deity exchanged a glance. Without a word, they both unleashed their ultimate techniques.
The colossal cauldron of Qiankun descended from above, and the five-colored radiance fell like a cascading galaxy.
The trapped Innate Fierce Beasts were utterly helpless beneath the joint might of two Daos.
Some were disintegrated by the five-colored light and dissolved back into the Five Elements of heaven and earth.
Others were crushed into nothingness beneath the vast power of Qiankun.
It was complete domination. Ordinary Innate Fierce Beasts had no hope of contending against two Innate Sacred Beings; they were reduced to nutrients in an instant.
Once the battle concluded, both beings turned their gazes toward Hongjun's direction.
The Five Elements Sacred Being gave a cold snort.
"Hmph. A rat lurking in the shadows dares to spy on us? Come out now, or don't blame me for acting personally."
Hearing this, Hongjun did not conceal himself further. He stepped out of the void and smiled warmly.
"I am the World Sacred Being. I sensed an abnormal fluctuation in Laws and Spiritual Qi nearby and came to investigate. If I have disturbed you, I apologize. May I ask how the two of you should be addressed?"
The one shining with Five-Element radiance stepped forward.
"I am the Five Elements Sacred Being."
The other followed.
"And I am the Qiankun Deity."
"So it is the Five Elements Sacred Being and the Qiankun Deity," Hongjun replied with a laugh.
"Your strength is remarkable, and your methods against Innate Fierce Beasts are ingenious. To devise a way to eliminate so many at once—truly impressive."
His words carried a hint of praise, but he refrained from clichés such as "I have long heard of you."
At this stage, Innate Sacred Beings had not widely spread their Daos; few even knew one another's names.
Saying so might only draw suspicion.
A little honest flattery, on the other hand, made one easier to accept.
As Hongjun finished speaking, the hostility in the two beings' eyes faded somewhat.
The Qiankun Deity observed Hongjun closely, a strange light flickering in his gaze.
This Innate Sacred Being was unlike any he had seen. Looking at Hongjun felt like staring into a boundless cosmos—worlds constantly being born within him, seemingly without limit.
If the power of all those inner worlds were gathered together, even he, wielder of the Great Dao of Qiankun, might not be able to rival him.
He also sensed a strong aura of Merit upon Hongjun—far from a malicious being. A thought surfaced naturally.
"World Sacred Being," the Qiankun Deity said, "if you are willing, we can join forces. Your Dao is unique. Working together, we could slay far more Innate Fierce Beasts."
He had extended an olive branch.
Hongjun felt a brief flicker of surprise. Were Innate Sacred Beings really this straightforward—inviting cooperation at first meeting?
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
"In that case, it would be rude of me to refuse. Let us join hands and eradicate the Innate Fierce Beasts."
Just then, the Five Elements Sacred Being seemed to receive a message, and turned toward the Qiankun Deity.
"Luo Hou has appeared. She and Hongjun—those two troublemakers—betrayed our kind by assigning genders to Innate forms, refusing to follow Pangu's path, and opposing the Dao itself. Since he has shown himself, let's go give him a beating.
"
"It's just a pity we still haven't found Hongjun's whereabouts—otherwise we could thrash the two of them together."
He then turned, eyes landing on the newcomer.
"World Sacred Being, will you come?"