In the river of time, rumbling sounds echoed; this was the power produced by Hongjun detonating his Incarnation.
Anyone who was not an Innate Sacred Being, if swept up by the power of this Incarnation, would suffer grievous damage to their Origin Qi, or even completely perish.
Yet the center of the explosion merely stirred waves of time.
The Beast Emperor walked out entirely unscathed, the injuries of his Physical Body gradually repairing themselves. He gazed at Hongjun's vanishing figure and muttered:
"Good, good, good. World Sacred Being, I will remember you. Next time, you will not get off so easily."
Afterward, his gaze turned toward the Primordial Continent. Within the Primordial Continent at this time, ordinary Innate Fierce Beasts had already been slain by Hongjun through other means.
This would not do; it deviated somewhat from his Dao. The evolution of the Innate Fierce Beasts and their destruction of the Primordial World were both related to the growth of his strength.
Moreover… Beast Emperor Shen Ni seemed to recall something and again looked toward the direction in which Hongjun had departed. That heaven-opening supreme treasure had an immense suppressive effect on him.
If a Magic Treasure of that caliber struck someone, all timelines, past and future, would be erased simultaneously.
Although the God-Slaying Spear is powerful, it targets the Dao; it does not possess the attribute of transcending time and space like a heaven-opening supreme treasure. Once the present time and space is severed, other time and space will likewise be severed.
Therefore, he had to become stronger, strong enough to confront the heaven-opening supreme treasure directly.
His massive beast body stepped out of the river of time. Traces of chaotic and disordered power merged with the power of this world, and Innate Fierce Beasts began to multiply.
Subsequently, these Innate Fierce Beasts devoured the spiritual objects of this world, constantly becoming stronger.
However, these newly derived Innate Fierce Beasts were not much stronger than ordinary Innate Beings.
Yet beings who had not comprehended Dao Power had no way to slay them.
Their aura and power would remain within the Honghuang World, eventually resurrecting from the world itself.
Just as Beast Emperor Shen Ni was continuously generating Innate Fierce Beasts, Hongjun had already left that region and returned to Yujing Mountain.
As soon as he returned to Yujing Mountain, without the slightest hesitation, he immediately entered seclusion.
Using the Dao marks left in the parallel time and space within the river of time, he began refining the Power of Slaughter remaining in his body from the God-Slaying Spear.
For every bit of the Power of Slaughter he refined, his wounds healed somewhat, and Hongjun's qi grew stronger by a bit.
This was the suppression the God-Slaying Spear exerted on him. Slaying gods, slaying gods—it slays precisely these Innate Sacred Beings.
Its power to counter them was immense, but fortunately, the essence of this Magic Treasure was still slightly inferior to a heaven-opening supreme treasure.
Otherwise, he estimated, he would have been slain long ago.
Within Yujing Mountain, Hongjun's aura continuously rose, gradually slowing only after ten thousand years. Hongjun slowly awoke and let out a long breath.
"Phew, I have finally recovered.
The Beast Emperor's power is indeed mighty; it took me this long merely to restore my own injuries."
"However, the benefits this time were also significant. I actually glimpsed the path of the Great Luo Profound Realm reflected within the Beast Emperor."
"Now I just need to adjust my condition, and then I can properly test it."
"It is just that this path seems rather dangerous."
Hongjun's gaze turned toward the river of time. The Great Luo Profound Realm is also related to time, but unlike the Great Luo Heaven Realm, which imprints one's traces across countless parallel time and space within the river of time, the Great Luo Profound Realm differs.
It requires establishing a new identity for oneself within past time and space. One may establish a single one, or countless ones.
However, this identity must be one not already occupied by the Innate Sacred Beings of this world.
Otherwise, if a current Innate Sacred Being or Innate Being occupies that identity, one would face not only the backlash of the river of time but also the heavy blow from that Innate Sacred Being. That would not be good.
On one hand, he would have to endure the backlash of the river of time, and on the other hand, he would have to battle another Innate Sacred Being.
In that case, even if his strength far surpassed other Innate Sacred Beings, he might not be able to accomplish this task.
Hongjun began adjusting his condition, re-evolving the Boundless Worlds within his body, and then allowed the Pangu Banner Artifact Spirit to devour the Origin of the crystal divine kingdom within his body.
During this battle with That One, the Beast Emperor, he was fortunate to possess this heaven-opening supreme treasure.
Several times he was affected by the God-Slaying Spear's Power of Slaughter and was about to collapse, yet the Pangu Banner Artifact Spirit assisted him.
Had the Pangu Banner Artifact Spirit not burned its own Origin at several critical moments to unleash a terrifying strike, his Dao body might have been destroyed, making his return extremely difficult.
Although he was confident he could return, he would have to pay a price. Without several dozen yuanhui of time, it would likely be impossible to recover fully.
This preparation time was incredibly long. After one yuanhui, Hongjun opened his eyes, and the Pangu Banner Artifact Spirit, now appearing like a doll, stood beside him.
Hongjun looked at the Pangu Banner Artifact Spirit and smiled faintly:
"Fellow Daoist, after all these years, have you recovered? Are your preparations complete? If you are truly ready, then let us depart together."
Upon hearing this, the Pangu Banner Artifact Spirit let out a playful laugh.
"Hehe, I can hardly wait. Hongjun, your Great Luo Dao is truly profound and unfathomable. I want to see whether you can succeed."
"Let us go, together."
Hongjun chuckled softly, "Haha, your goal is likely not merely to see whether I can truly breakthrough to the Great Luo Profound Realm, but rather to gain insights from my Great Luo Dao, shed this heaven-opening supreme treasure body, and attain true freedom."
"However, that is fine. If ever there is an opportunity in the future, this Poor Daoist will also lend you a hand."
"For now, however, Fellow Daoist, please lend me yours."
"Fellow Daoist, let us go."
Hongjun took a step, walking toward the river of time. The Pangu Banner did not hesitate and followed closely behind.
The river of time contains boundless mysteries; judging by the current situation in the Honghuang World, only Innate Sacred Beings can step into it.
Within this river of time, Innate Sacred Beings are entirely distinguished from ordinary Innate God-Demons and Innate Beings.
The past represented by the Innate Sacred Beings has transformed into spatial-temporal imprints within that past time and space.
Hongjun carefully avoided touching these imprints.
After all, once these imprints are touched, the corresponding Innate Sacred Being will know, which could bring unnecessary trouble.
Soon, he arrived at the end of the Honghuang World's river of time. Here, he could already sense traces of disordered and chaotic power.
Ahead of this place lay the true Chaos Era.
This kind of Chaos differs from the current Chaos; it is truly chaotic and disordered, rendering the birth of life almost impossible.
There is a clear difference in the current Chaos. The opening of Honghuang caused the present Chaos, amid disorder and chaos, to contain a trace of order and vitality.
"Fellow Daoist, stop here.
This is where the Primordial World began to derive, and where the myriad laws and myriad daos, and Innate Sacred Beings began to establish their identities."
"One step farther is the Origin Point of Time and Space, the boundary between the Honghuang Era and Chaos.
Given your current condition, once you enter it, you will inevitably be scoured by the two eras, and you will not escape death."
Hongjun listened and, without hesitation, looked at the Time Source of the Primordial World. A trace of apprehension flashed in his eyes. His current cultivation level was far from sufficient to survive at that Time Source.
If he took one step in, he might be erased instantly.
He looked at his current location and, without hesitation, immediately retreated into the river of time. Establishing an identity in the current era is the best option.
He steadied his mind and strengthened his firm resolve.