Chapter Six: The Dawn of the Primordial World and the Emergence of Myriad Clans

Pangu remained silent, the trace of resentment and unwillingness in his eyes gradually fading, replaced only by reverence and a serene acceptance.

“Father God, I do not know who you are, but something deep within tells me that though you are not the Great Dao itself, without you there would be no vast chaos, and without chaos there would be no me, Pangu. You are Father God; for you, Pangu would not begrudge his own life.

Perhaps before, I resented the Great Dao’s machinations against me, but now that I have seen you, I understand. Though it is the Great Dao who seeks my demise, without my fall, how could the primordial world become the heaven and earth I envision?” His eyes shone with longing for the future of the world.

With a faint smile, Chenxing shook his head, understanding well that the reason the Great Dao demanded Pangu’s death was because, had Pangu survived after creating the heavens, he would have become an existence equal to the Great Dao itself. The myriad Great Daos were but a wisp of Chenxing’s own essence, the highest authority in all realms. Whenever someone sought transcendence, the Great Dao saw it as a challenge to the supreme authority of the Lord of Primordial Chaos, an intolerable offense.

Chenxing found it somewhat amusing. This mindset of the Great Dao, though stemming from absolute loyalty to the Lord of Primordial Chaos, had ensnared countless chosen children of the Dao. If Pangu had not met Chenxing today but the previous Lord of Primordial Chaos instead, his demise would have been inevitable. Indeed, the supreme authority is not to be violated.

With a sigh, Chenxing spoke to Pangu, “Do you wish to see the world you have created with your own hands?”

With a bitter smile, Pangu replied, “How could I not? This world is like my own child. But, Father God, before creating the heavens, I was grievously wounded after slaying three thousand gods and demons. Afterward, I supported the heavens and earth for twelve epochs, and now I am utterly spent. I only hope that, upon my death, I might complete this world a little more. Otherwise, without a sage to preside over it, the world will remain small, no more than a middling realm. Having opened the heavens, how could I bear such an outcome?”

Chenxing gazed deeply at Pangu, then laughed. “Ha ha ha! Pangu, the moment you called me Father God, you became my child as well. How could a father remain unmoved when his child is in peril?” As he finished, a purple light flashed between his brows, sending ripples spreading through the chaos.

In an instant, a strand of purple aura, lighter than the previous, condensed before Chenxing, transforming into a Dao body with features somewhat similar to his own. This figure bowed deeply before Chenxing. “Greetings, Lord of the Dao!”

“Rise. You know why I’ve summoned you,” Chenxing said.

“These are the rules you set. Your authority must not be defied,” the Dao body replied expressionlessly.

With a slight smile, Chenxing continued, “There’s no need for such formality before me. The Great Dao may be impartial, but you ought to have your own independent will by now, no?”

Beside them, Pangu’s deep voice resounded, “So you are the Great Dao—the one who schemed against me before I was even born?” His words were thick with resentment.

The Dao body glanced at the gigantic Pangu but did not respond, instead bowing again to Chenxing. “Though I have birthed independent consciousness, I dare not forget the rules you have set. If you do not permit it, I shall sever my own consciousness at once.”

Waving his hand, Chenxing said, “It is good for the Great Dao to have feeling yet remain impartial. But the Heavenly Dao must be utterly emotionless; otherwise, a trip through the Cauldron of Refinement awaits!” At these words, all the heavens trembled, and the myriad Daos bowed toward the sky. The faces of the myriad Heavenly Daos, indifferent as they were, grew even colder.

At this, Chenxing almost laughed. Back when his former self split off a wisp of his own will to become the myriad Great Daos, he had gone to wander the Earth. Unexpectedly, those Daos imitated him: whenever one of their chosen children created a world, they would allow that world to birth its own consciousness to govern it, the so-called Heavenly Dao.

Once the Heavenly Dao emerged, the Great Dao would gradually withdraw, only intervening in great matters. Perhaps this was what people meant by “When there is no great tribulation, the Great Dao remains hidden.”

As for the Cauldron of Refinement, a word or two must be said of the treasures of the Lord of Primordial Chaos: the Heart of Chaos, the Lord’s true body—the birth of all the heavens and worlds depended on it, but that has been mentioned before.

The Tower of Primordial Chaos: within it is nurtured a boundless world, its defenses invincible; below the Lord himself, none can break it.

The Cauldron of Refinement: the supreme artifact for judging the Great Dao and Heavenly Dao throughout the worlds. Any Dao that defies the Lord’s will can be refined anew into chaos, erasing all trace of its existence.

The Supreme Severing Dao Sword: the only offensive weapon of Chaos, and the only treasure capable of wounding the Lord himself!

Beneath the Supreme Sword, all things are nothing!

No matter the rank of the being, as long as they are not beyond the level of the Lord of Primordial Chaos, beneath the Supreme Sword all traces of their existence in the Great World of Chaos will be eradicated.

Even the Lord himself, if struck by the Supreme Severing Dao Sword, would suffer grave wounds.

These three treasures were all born from the Heart of Chaos itself. They are both weapons and, in a way, the Lord’s own “children.” Since their creation, they have never been used—true treasures of Primordial Chaos.

As for other treasures, they were born during the derivation of chaos by the Heart of Chaos—spiritual treasures of Primordial Chaos, but there is no need to dwell on them here.

Chenxing cared little for what the Great Daos did, so long as they never betrayed him and the rules remained intact. He let them be.

“I am not a petty man. Meeting Pangu today is fate. He has called me Father God; this cause and effect is now established! Do not scheme against him any longer! From this day forth, let him have a place in the chaos and primordial world. Remember this!” Chenxing waved his hand.

“Yes!” The Great Dao bowed deeply and vanished.

Chenxing turned to Pangu. “Now you have two choices. The first: perish and transform into all things; I will ensure your true spirit endures, and you shall become the Heavenly Dao. The second: survive the tribulation of creation and attain the fruit of the Great Dao, but your true form must go to the chaos to continue cultivation, and unless I summon you, you may not return to the primordial world.”

Pangu hesitated. “Father God, if I do not become all things, then the world…”

Before Pangu could finish, Chenxing raised his hand, cutting him off. “No matter, with me here, such things are trivial. You need only tell me your choice.”

“If it can be as you say, Pangu is willing to enter the chaos and await your call.” Pangu spoke with utmost solemnity.

“Good. Let me first stabilize this world for you.” As he spoke, a mass of hazy primordial essence appeared in his hand, splitting in two and shooting into the heavens and earth. Instantly, the primordial world was stabilized.

Pangu let go his hold on the sky and earth. His colossal form shrank rapidly, in an instant becoming a stalwart man of about two meters, muscles knotted over his entire body, who knelt before Chenxing.

“Pangu thanks Father God,” he said respectfully.

“Even so, this body of yours must still be used to transform into all things. I shall bestow upon you a new body of Primordial Chaos, that in the future you may endure all tribulations unscathed. Would you accept this?” Chenxing asked.

Hearing this, Pangu trembled, finally understanding who Chenxing was and why the Great Dao called him Lord of the Dao.

Yet what he did not understand was why this supreme existence, who was said to always overlook the river of time and never concern himself with the worlds, would treat him so differently.

But after hearing Chenxing’s words, even Pangu, with his temperament honed over countless epochs, could not help but become deeply moved.

For creating the primordial world, he had gained the fruit of the Great Dao and transcended the heavens—already considered a body of chaos. Yet, at the time of the immeasurable tribulation, he too would face the risk of destruction. Unlike the Great Daos, who were each a manifestation of the will of Primordial Chaos, one with it, and would never face calamity.

If he too became a body of Primordial Chaos, he would, like the Great Daos, never fear any tribulation.

“Thank you, Father God. Pangu is willing!” Gratitude suffused Pangu’s eyes as he bowed low.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chenxing’s mighty power moved, and a radiance enveloped Pangu’s body within chaos.

After a brief moment, the light dissipated, revealing two identical Pangu before Chenxing: one shrouded in chaotic currents, eyes tightly shut; the other bathed in purple mist, eyes calm and untroubled, standing before Chenxing.

With a wave of Chenxing’s hand, the body wreathed in chaos grew to titanic size again and descended upon the newborn world: the left eye became the Sun Star, the right the Moon Star; his spine became Buzhou Mountain to support the heavens; his blood the rivers, his muscles the mountains, his navel transformed into a boundless Blood Sea, his breath into the winds and clouds, his hair into all manner of vegetation. His heart became a grand hall that fell to the primordial world.

Chenxing nodded at the Pangu shrouded in purple mist.

Pangu understood. He patted the back of his head, and three primordial souls emerged and floated before him. With a flick of his finger, twelve drops of essence blood appeared, suspended beside the three souls—these would later become the Three Pure Ones and the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Pangu reached out once more, and countless points of light shot from chaos into the world, transforming into unnumbered spiritual treasures and roots. With a gesture from Chenxing, the merit of Pangu’s creation appeared: twenty percent fell upon the three primordial souls, another twenty percent upon the twelve drops of blood, ten percent upon a summoned point of light, which spun and transformed into a nine-tiered pagoda wreathed in mystic yellow energy—the future Linglong Pagoda of Heaven and Earth, a postnatal treasure of merit. The three primordial souls then flew toward the world, followed by the twelve drops of blood. The final fifty percent of merit fell upon the land itself, granting all beings the chance to awaken wisdom.

Thus, the primordial world was complete!

Watching the twelve drops of blood fly toward the world, a complicated look crossed Pangu’s face. Having attained the fruit of the Great Dao, he naturally knew the future of the Ancestral Witches.

In truth, only the Ancestral Witches could be called his true bloodline inheritors, and his feelings were inevitably mixed.

“There is always a sliver of hope below the Great Dao; do not dwell too much on these things.” Seeing Pangu’s expression, Chenxing spoke. With a wave of his great hand, the river of time appeared, and the newborn primordial world slowly faded into its depths...

After countless epochs, life across the land was bathed in the merit of Pangu’s creation. Unnumbered beings gradually awakened wisdom, and the world became lively. All manner of lifeforms took shape, forming an age of a hundred clans coexisting in peace. At this time, the world was tranquil and all races lived in harmony.

Yet in the distant north, a remote and seldom-trodden place, a new race was born—formed from the grudges of the three thousand gods and demons Pangu slew before creating the world, their spirits corrupted by the baleful aura of creation. They were without intelligence, filled with venomous hatred toward the primordial world and all its life, vowing to destroy what Pangu had created. Led by the Beast Emperor Shen Ni, they became the tribe of ferocious beasts.