bioinnovel Chapter 327 When Pangu created the world, what he split open was a corpse?
Chapter 327 When Pangu created the world, what he split open was a corpse?
Before the cheers at the South Heavenly Gate had subsided, Su Fan felt the Investiture of the Gods scroll in his arms getting hot.
He looked down and pulled it out; the golden reel danced incessantly in his palm, as if summoned by something.
The Investiture of the Gods unfolded itself, and 365 golden rays shot into the sky, forming a huge pattern in the firmament.
Su Fan had never seen that pattern before.
It looks like a door, and also like a coffin.
The expression on Yuanshi Tianzun's face changed.
The Tongtian Sect Leader drew his Qingping Sword directly.
"This is..." Yuanshi Tianzun stared at the pattern in the sky, his voice tense, "...the summons of Hongjun Laozu."
Su Fan was stunned.
Hongjun Laozu?
The legendary teacher of the Dao Ancestor, the master of the Three Pure Ones, the one who merged with the Dao through his own body?
The Master of Heaven walked over, his face ashen: "Senior brother, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Yuanshi Tianzun did not answer. He struck the sky with his palm, and the blue light collided with the pattern.
The pattern remained motionless, instead deflecting the blue light back, causing Yuanshi Tianzun to stagger back three steps.
He was at the eighth level of the Dao Realm and bounced back.
Su Fan's heart skipped a beat.
The Master of Heaven gripped the Qingping Sword tightly: "The summons will only be triggered under one condition..."
"The Dao Ancestor has fallen."
The South Heavenly Gate fell silent.
There were 10,050 people, and no one spoke.
Laozi emerged from the crowd, his face paler than a corpse. He stared at the pattern for a long time, then suddenly knelt down.
"Master..."
Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu exchanged a glance and then knelt down.
Su Fan stood there, his mind a jumbled mess.
Hongjun Laozu merged with the Dao and took control of the operation of the Heavenly Dao, and has not shown his face for 30,000 years.
The sudden appearance of this summons suggests only one possibility: something has happened to the Heavenly Dao.
As he was thinking, the Investiture of the Gods suddenly flew out of his hand.
The golden scroll shot into the sky and struck the pattern.
A crack appeared in the pattern, and a breath emerged from it.
That aura was so strong that Su Fan felt like an ant standing at the feet of an elephant.
The Dao Realm has nine levels.
No, it's even higher than the ninth level of the Dao Realm.
That is the power of Heaven.
The pattern completely cracked open, transforming into a golden door.
The gate was 30,000 feet high and 10,000 feet wide, and its frame was covered with runes that were even more ancient than the primordial era.
The door opened.
Behind the door was a chaotic mess; nothing could be seen.
But from within the chaos, a hand reached out.
That hand was bony and thin, the skin was grayish, and the nails had all fallen off.
But the aura emanating from that hand made Yuanshi Tianzun tremble all over.
"Master!"
A voice came from the chaos, like a broken bellows leaking air: "Come in."
Yuanshi Tianzun stood up and walked towards the door. Tongtian Jiaozhu followed, and Taishang Laojun also followed. Su Fan hesitated for a moment, then followed as well.
The moment Su Fan stepped through the door, he felt as if he had been torn to pieces and then pieced back together.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a void.
There was nothing around—no sky, no earth, no light, no darkness. Only one person sat cross-legged in the center of the void.
The man was skin and bones, wearing a tattered Taoist robe, his hair was all gone, and his face was full of wrinkles, like a corpse that had been dried up for ten thousand years.
But his eyes were still there, two eyes, one golden and one silver.
When the golden one looked over, light arose in the void. When the silver one looked over, darkness arose in the void.
Hongjun Laozu.
Yuanshi Tianzun knelt before him: "Master, how could you...?"
Hongjun Laozu raised his bony hand and pointed to his chest.
Su Fan followed his hand and looked over, then gasped.
There is a hole in the chest of the Hongjun Ancestor.
The hole wasn't big, about the size of a fist, but inside there was no blood, no flesh, only emptiness. That emptiness was slowly expanding, like cancer cells, gradually devouring his body.
"The Heavenly Dao has cracked," said Hongjun, his voice weak. "It cracked thirty thousand years ago. I tried to plug it with my own strength for thirty thousand years, but I couldn't."
The Primordial Celestial Venerable's face turned deathly pale: "How could the Heavenly Dao be cracked?"
Hongjun Ancestor looked at Su Fan.
Su Fan felt as if he had been seen through from head to toe by those golden and silver eyes.
"Because beyond the primordial world, there are other worlds," said Hongjun, "and those worlds have crashed into us."
Su Fan's mind went blank.
Beyond the primordial wilderness, is there another world?
Hongjun Laozu raised his hand, and a scene appeared in the void.
In the scene, the primordial chaos resembles an egg, suspended in the primordial void. But outside this egg, there are countless other eggs. The closest one has already collided with it.
The moment that egg struck the primordial chaos, the Heavenly Dao cracked.
"What place is that?" Su Fan asked.
Hongjun Ancestor looked at him: "The Chaos Realm. There are also living beings, gods, and Dao there. Their Dao is different from ours. When the two Daos collide, the Heavenly Dao cracks."
Su Fan remained silent.
The extraterrestrial demons haven't been completely eradicated yet, and now the Chaos Realm has arrived.
Yuanshi Tianzun stood up: "Master, your disciple is going to the Chaos Realm."
Hongjun Ancestor shook his head: "You can't go. The Heavenly Dao has cracked, and so has the exit from the Primordial World. Those above the Dao Realm cannot leave. Those below the Dao Realm will die if they try to go out."
Su Fan's heart skipped a beat: "Below the Dao Realm? I'm only at the second level of the Dao Realm, can I get out?"
Hongjun Laozu looked at him and remained silent for a long time.
"You can. You are the Envoy of the Investiture of the Gods, and you possess the fortune of the Investiture of the Gods. However, once you leave, your cultivation will be suppressed to below the Primordial Chaos Realm."
Su Fan gritted his teeth: "Below the Primordial Chaos Realm is fine, it's better than waiting to die."
Hongjun, the patriarch, took out a jade talisman from his robes and tossed it to Su Fan. The jade talisman was icy cold to the touch, and engraved with a single character—Dao.
"This is my token. When I arrive in the Chaos Realm, I will find someone."
Su Fan asked, "Who?"
Hongjun Laozu said, "Yang Jian."
Su Fan was stunned.
Yang Jian? Erlang Shen?
Hongjun the Ancestor continued, "Three thousand years ago, when the extraterrestrial demons first invaded, Yang Jian went to the Chaos Realm. He was the only one who reached it alive. He stayed there for three thousand years and should have figured out the situation in the Chaos Realm. Find him, and he will tell you what to do."
Su Fan gripped the jade talisman tightly.
Hongjun Laozu closed his eyes, his golden and silver eyes slowly shutting. His body began to dissipate, starting from his feet, turning into specks of light bit by bit.
"Master!" Yuanshi Tianzun rushed forward.
Hongjun, the Ancestor, waved his hand: "I've blocked it for 30,000 years, that's enough. The Heavenly Dao can hold out for another three years. Within three years, you must mend the rift. Otherwise, the Primordial World will cease to exist."
He looked at Su Fan: "Three years. Only three years."
After saying this, Hongjun Laozu transformed into countless specks of light and vanished into the void.
The void began to collapse, and Su Fan felt himself being torn apart again.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the city wall of Nantianmen.
Yuanshi Tianzun stood beside him, his face ashen. Tongtian Jiaozhu stood on the other side, his hand gripping the Qingping Sword trembling. Taishang Laojun knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
Su Fan stood up and looked at the jade talisman in his hand.
Hongjun Laozu died, the Heavenly Dao cracked, and the Chaos Realm crashed in.
He turned to look at Yuanshi Tianzun: "Senior, I want to go to the Chaos Realm."
The Primordial Celestial looked at him: "Are you sure? Once you go there, suppress your cultivation to the Saint Realm. Any random being in the Chaos Realm could crush you."
Su Fan laughed: "It's not like I haven't been pinched before."
Yuanshi Tianzun remained silent for a long time, then took out a mirror from his robes and handed it to Su Fan.
The mirror was about the size of a palm, with a bronze frame and a hazy, gray surface that couldn't reflect any image.
"This is the Kunlun Mirror. One of the Ten Divine Artifacts, it can reveal the true nature of all things in the Three Realms. In the Chaos Realm, use this to distinguish friend from foe."
Su Fan took the Kunlun Mirror and put it in his pocket.
The Tongtian Sect Leader also came over, took out a talisman from his sleeve, and handed it to Su Fan.
The talisman was yellow, with densely packed runes drawn on it using cinnabar.
"This is my life-saving talisman. If I crush it at a critical moment, it can withstand a full-force attack from a fifth-level Dao Realm cultivator. It can only be used once."
Su Fan took the talisman and carefully put it away.
Laozi walked over, took out a pill from his robes, and stuffed it into Su Fan's hand.
The pills were golden in color, the size of longan fruits, and emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.
"This is the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir. Laozi refined it for three thousand years, and only this one was made. Consuming it will restore all your strength within thirty breaths. And it can only be used once."
Su Fan took the golden pill and put it away.
Sun Wukong walked over and slammed his golden cudgel on the ground: "I, Old Sun, will go with you."
Su Fan shook his head: "Great Sage, you stay. The Primordial World needs you."
Sun Wukong grew anxious: "How can you fight alone?"
Su Fan patted his shoulder: "It's not about fighting, it's about finding someone. Once I find Yang Jian and find out what's going on, I'll come back."
Before Sun Wukong could say anything more, Su Fan had already turned around and walked towards the golden door.
The door is still there; even though Hongjun Laozu is dead, the door remains open. Behind the door lies the Chaos Realm.
Su Fan walked to the door and glanced back.
On the South Heaven Gate, 10,050 people stood on the city wall, watching him.
The Great Emperor Ziwei, the Yellow Emperor, the Yan Emperor, Chi You, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, the Goddess Houtu, Fuxi, Zhuanxu, Di Jun, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the Medicine Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, the Bodhi Patriarch, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the Master of the Heavenly Sect, the Supreme Lord Laozi, and Sun Wukong.
Everyone is here.
Su Fan smiled, turned around, and walked inside.
Behind the door was chaos.
There was no direction, no light, no sound, nothing at all.
Su Fan felt as if he had fallen into a bucket of paste, his whole body covered in a sticky substance, unable to move at all.
His cultivation level was declining. Dao Realm Level 2, Dao Realm Level 1, Late Stage of Primordial Chaos, Mid Stage of Primordial Chaos, Early Stage of Primordial Chaos, and finally stopped at the Early Stage of Saint Realm.
He hadn't fallen to the Saint Realm for over a decade.
Su Fan gritted his teeth and swam forward with all his might. In the chaos, there was no direction, so he swam desperately in one direction.
He didn't know how long he swam—a day, two days, a month, two months. His physical strength was waning, his power was waning, and his spirit was waning.
Just when he was about to give up, a light appeared in front of him.
The light was faint, like a candle flickering in the wind. But it was the only light in the chaos.
Su Fan swam desperately toward the light.
The light grew brighter and larger.
Finally, he burst out of the chaos and crashed onto a hard, solid ground.
He lay on the ground, panting heavily. After a while, he managed to push himself up.
Before me lay a desolate wasteland.
The sky was gray, the ground was black. There was no grass, no trees, no water, nothing at all. In the distance were a few mountains, also gray and barren.
There was an indescribable smell in the air; it wasn't foul, nor was it fragrant, it just felt off. Taking a breath, it felt like my lungs were stuffed with cotton.
Su Fan tried to mobilize the power within his body; he could move, but very slowly. The power of a Saint Realm expert wouldn't even cause a ripple in the primordial world, but here it was all he had.
He took out his Kunlun mirror, but the surface was still hazy. He looked at himself in the mirror, and a face was reflected there—his own face. He looked around at himself, but the mirror still reflected only gray.
Useless.
He put away the Kunlun Mirror and walked towards the distant mountains.
After walking for half an hour, the mountain was still just as far away, not getting any closer. Something was wrong with this place; it wasn't that the land was vast, but that he was going around in circles.
Su Fan stopped and took out the Investiture of the Gods from his pocket.
The Investiture of the Gods was unfurled, and three hundred and sixty-five golden rays shot out in all directions. The golden light was particularly dazzling against the gray sky, like three hundred and sixty-five golden needles piercing into a gray cloth.
Then, he saw it.
The mountains in the distance moved.
It wasn't the mountain that was moving; it was something moving beneath the mountain. That thing was enormous, so large that Su Fan thought it was part of the mountain. It arched out from underground, with gray skin, gray scales, and gray eyes.
A dragon.
But it wasn't a dragon from the primordial era. Primordial dragons had horns, claws, and whiskers, and were majestic and awe-inspiring. This dragon had nothing; it was bald like a snake, and its body was covered with bumps, each of which oozed pus.
Its aura indicates it is at the second level of the Chaos Realm.
Su Fan did the mental calculations. The first level of the Chaos Realm was equivalent to the early stage of the Primordial Chaos Realm, and the second level of the Chaos Realm was equivalent to the middle stage of the Primordial Chaos Realm. As for him, he was at the early stage of the Saint Realm, a difference of two whole major realms.
The dragon stared at Su Fan, and the pus from the lumps oozed even faster. It opened its mouth and let out a hiss. The sound wasn't like a dragon's roar, but like fingernails scraping a blackboard, piercing Su Fan's brain with pain.
Then it charged at us.
Su Fan turned and ran. His speed, at the Saint Realm level, was so great that even a bird couldn't catch him in the primordial world; here, it was his fastest speed. He ran for his life, with the dragon chasing after him.
The dragon was faster than him, and the distance was decreasing. One hundred zhang, fifty zhang, thirty zhang.
Su Fan took out the life-saving talisman given to him by the Tongtian Sect Leader and held it in his hand. The talisman was hot, but he didn't crush it. He couldn't use it now; if he did, it would be gone.
Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).
The dragon opened its mouth and sprayed a mouthful of pus. The pus covered everything, carrying a foul stench.
Su Fan couldn't dodge and was drenched in pus. His clothes were instantly corroded with countless holes, and blisters appeared all over his skin, causing him to gasp in pain.
But he didn't stop; he kept running.
The dragon caught up and lashed out at him with its tail. Su Fan was sent flying, crashing to the ground and sliding for over ten feet. His back burned with pain; several bones were broken.
The dragon crawled over, looked down at him, and dripped pus onto his face, burning holes in it.
Su Fan gritted his teeth and took out the Nine-Turn Golden Pill from Laozi's robes. The pill was hot in his hand, and after hesitating for a moment, he didn't eat it.
He can recover all his strength within thirty breaths after eating it now, but what about after thirty breaths? He won't even be able to stand up.
The dragon opened its mouth, about to bite his head.
Just then, a beam of white light shot out from a distance.
The white light was too fast; it was so fast that Su Fan couldn't even see what it was. The white light shot directly into the dragon's mouth and came out from the back of its head.
The dragon let out a miserable cry and its body froze. Then, its body began to shatter, falling piece by piece like a collapsing clay sculpture.
The dragon is dead.
The white light fell to the ground and transformed into a person.
The man was dressed in silver armor and wore a silver crown. His face was stern, and there was a vertical line between his brows. He carried a three-pointed, double-edged sword, which was still dripping with dragon blood.
Yang Jian.
Su Fan was stunned. He hadn't expected to find Yang Jian so soon after arriving in the Chaos Realm.
Yang Jian looked down at him, his brows furrowed slightly: "Su Fan? What brings you here?"
Su Fan nodded and took out the jade talisman belonging to Hongjun Ancestor from his robes. The jade talisman emitted a faint light under the gray sky.
Yang Jian's expression changed when he saw the jade talisman. He took it, examined it several times, and then stared at Su Fan: "Master, what's wrong?"
Su Fan paused for a moment: "He's dead. The Heavenly Dao has cracked; he tried to plug the gap with his own body for 30,000 years, but it couldn't anymore."
Yang Jian's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his three-pointed double-edged sword. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes were red.
"Come with me."
He turned and walked towards the mountains. Su Fan followed behind him.
After walking for half an hour, they arrived at the foot of a mountain. There was a cave at the foot of the mountain, with a small entrance, just big enough for one person to crawl through. Yang Jian bent down and crawled in, and Su Fan followed.
The cave was dark, but Yang Jian's three-pointed double-edged sword glowed, illuminating the path ahead. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the cave suddenly widened, revealing a stone chamber.
The stone chamber was small, about ten zhang square, containing a stone bed, a stone table, and a stone chair. On the stone table sat an oil lamp, its wick flickering with a small flame, the only warm light in this gloomy world.
Yang Jian sat on a stone chair, leaning his three-pointed double-edged sword against the wall.
"Three thousand years," he said, "you are the first person to come from the beginning of time."
Su Fan sat on the stone bed: "Senior Yang Jian, what exactly is the Chaos Realm?"
Yang Jian remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"The Chaos Realm is not a world, it's a graveyard."
Su Fan was taken aback.
Yang Jian continued, "When Pangu separated heaven and earth, what he cleaved open wasn't chaos, but a corpse. A corpse ten thousand times larger than the primordial world. The Chaos Realm is the interior of that corpse."
Su Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
A corpse ten thousand times larger than the primordial chaos? Did Pangu split open a corpse?
"Whose body is that?" Su Fan asked.
Yang Jian shook his head: "I don't know. Pangu didn't know either. After he split the corpse, he used his own body to create the primordial world. But the other parts of the corpse remained, which is the Chaos Realm. The creatures in the Chaos Realm are all maggots on the corpse. Dragons, insects, birds, and beasts are all maggots. They live by eating the rotting flesh of the corpse."
Su Fan thought of the dragon, and the pus-oozing lesions on its body. Maggots, indeed maggots.
"What happened when the Chaos Realm collided with the Primordial World?" Su Fan asked.
Yang Jian stood up and walked to the corner of the stone chamber. There was a pile of things there—animal hides, bones, scales—all jumbled together. He rummaged through them, found a stone slab, and handed it to Su Fan.
There are pictures carved on the stone slab.
In the painting, a gigantic corpse lies curled up. Inside the corpse, maggots crawl in dense swarms. Beside the corpse is the Primordial Wilderness. The Primordial Wilderness is small, like an egg placed next to the corpse.
But the corpse was moving; it was rolling towards the primordial wilderness. With every inch it rolled, countless maggots were crushed to death. The maggots were terrified; they desperately burrowed into the corpse, towards the primordial wilderness. They wanted to escape the corpse and flee to the primordial wilderness.
"They're not trying to crash into the primordial wilderness," Yang Jian said. "They're trying to escape. Their corpses are rotting and shrinking. They can't stay there any longer, so they have to run away. The primordial wilderness is the only place they can go."
Su Fan stared at the stone slab, his mind a jumbled mess.
The extraterrestrial demons are maggots. The Chaos Realm is a corpse. The Primordial World is an egg. The corpse is rotting, and the maggots are trying to escape.
He took a deep breath: "Why did the Heavenly Dao crack?"
Yang Jian pointed to the corpse on the stone slab: "The Dao of the corpse is different from the Dao of the Primordial World. When the two Daos collided, it was like two millstones pressing together, crushing the Dao of Heaven."
Su Fan remained silent.
Hongjun the Ancestor used himself to block the rift for 30,000 years, but it couldn't be stopped anymore. The Heavenly Dao can hold out for another three years. Within three years, the rift must be mended.
"How do we repair it?" Su Fan asked.
Yang Jian looked at him and said, "Find the corpse's heart and dig it out. The corpse's Dao is inside the heart. Use fragments of that Dao to mend the cracks."
Su Fan asked, "Where is the heart?"
Yang Jian pointed to the ground: "At the deepest part of the corpse. Go down from here, for a hundred and eight thousand miles, and you'll find the heart."
One hundred and eight thousand li. In the primordial world, Sun Wukong could reach that distance in a single somersault. Here, even a sage like him couldn't cover it in a year.
Moreover, the road was teeming with maggots. Chaos Realm Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Any one of them could crush him.
Su Fan stood up: "Let's go."
Yang Jian looked at him: "Are you sure? You're only at the Saint Realm; going down there is just suicide."
Su Fan took out the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir and a life-saving talisman from his pocket: "These two should last for a while. If we can't hold on any longer, we'll figure something out."
Yang Jian paused for a moment, then stood up, raising his three-pointed double-edged sword: "I'll escort you. But only to the third floor. I can't go any further."
Su Fan asked, "Why?"
Yang Jian pointed to his forehead: "Because I have the Heavenly Eye. The Heavenly Eye can see through everything in the Chaos Realm, but it will also attract those big guys. Below the third level, those big guys will sense my Heavenly Eye. At that time, it won't be us looking for the heart, but the heart looking for us."
Su Fan nodded: "Okay. Take me to the third floor, I'll walk the rest myself."
Yang Jian walked to the innermost part of the stone chamber, where there was a hidden door. He pushed open the hidden door, and behind it was a downward passage.
The passageway was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk through, and the walls on both sides were covered with gray moss, emitting a rotten smell.
Yang Jian went in first, followed by Su Fan.
The passage descended, becoming increasingly steep. After walking for about an hour, the passage suddenly widened, revealing a vast space.
First floor.
The space was so vast that the boundaries were invisible; above were gray rocks, and below was gray ground.
The ground was crawling with insects, big and small, densely packed together. The smallest looked like ants, and the largest looked like cows.
They were all eating the rotting flesh on the ground, enjoying it immensely.
Sensing their arrival, the insects raised their heads and stared at Su Fan and Yang Jian. Their eyes had no pupils, only a grayish-white color.
Yang Jian raised his three-pointed, double-edged sword, and a white light shone from it. As the white light swept across, the insects screamed and scattered in all directions.
"Let's go," Yang Jian said.
The two passed through the first level and headed deeper into the area.
The second layer.
The space here is smaller than the first floor, but the insects are much larger. The smallest are the size of a cow, and the largest are the size of a mountain. They no longer eat carrion; they eat the smaller insects.
A worm the size of a mountain blocked his way, its body covered in tentacles, each with an eye. It stared at Yang Jian, its tentacles waving and hissing.
The third level of the Chaos Realm.
Yang Jian unleashed a slash, a white light like a rainbow. The giant worm screamed in agony as its body was cleaved in two, green pus flowing onto the ground.
Su Fan followed behind him and continued down.
The third layer.
The space here was even smaller, like a giant maze. The passageways crisscrossed, each leading in a different direction. There were no insects in the passageways, but the walls were covered with runes. These runes were completely different from those of the primordial era; they were crooked and twisted, like the tracks left by insects.
Yang Jian stopped: "I can only take you this far. Any further and the Heavenly Eye will be exposed."
He took a bead from his pocket and handed it to Su Fan. The bead was gray, about the size of a thumb, and contained a wisp of white mist swirling inside.
"This is the Boundary-Stabilizing Bead. When you go down, keep it in your mouth. It will help you conceal your presence, and insects below the fifth level of the Chaos Realm will not be able to sense you."
Su Fan took the bead and put it in his mouth. The bead was icy cold, and a chill spread from the tip of his tongue throughout his body.
Yang Jian looked at him: "The heart is on the ninth level. From here to the ninth level, there are six more levels. Each level has even more powerful insects. You only have the cultivation of a Saint Realm cultivator; going down there is a nine-out-of-ten chance of death."
Su Fan laughed: "Nine deaths and one life, isn't there still one life left?"
Yang Jian paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Okay. I'll be waiting for you up there. Come back alive."
Su Fan turned around and walked into the maze.
The passage was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk through. The runes on the walls on both sides glowed, a gray light that made the passage eerie.
Su Fan walked for half an hour when the passage suddenly forked. One path led to the left, and the other to the right; both paths were identical.
He took out his Kunlun mirror, but the mirror surface was still hazy. He looked at himself on the left, and the mirror still showed only gray. He looked at himself on the right, and it was the same.
Useless.
He randomly chose one and walked to the right.
Not long after they walked, an insect appeared in the passage. The insect was small, about the size of a dog, lying on the ground, gnawing on a piece of rotting flesh. Its aura was that of the first level of the Chaos Realm.
Su Fan held his breath and walked past it. The insect looked up at him, its gray eyes reflecting his image. Then, the insect lowered its head and continued gnawing on the meat.
The boundary-fixing bead is useful.
Su Fan breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking forward.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the passage became wider and brighter. The light wasn't from the runes; it was from something ahead emitting light.
Su Fan quickened his pace and walked out of the passage.
Fourth floor.
This is a huge cave, and in the center of the cave stands a large tree. The tree is not tall, only about three zhang (approximately 10 meters), but its trunk is transparent, like glass. Something is flowing inside the tree, emitting a golden light.
The tree was laden with fruit, which was also transparent, with golden light flowing inside.
Su Fan approached and saw clearly what was inside the tree—it was blood. Golden blood flowed through the trunk like golden snakes.
He reached out, wanting to pick a fruit.
The moment the hand touched the fruit, the tree suddenly trembled. The golden snakes inside the trunk surged wildly, all rushing towards the treetop. At the treetop, a flower bloomed. The flower was golden, and a person lay within its stamen.
The man was completely naked, his skin was gray, but his veins were golden. His eyes were closed, and his lips were slightly parted, as if he were asleep. His aura indicated he was at the fourth level of the Chaos Realm.
Su Fan took a step back.
The man opened his eyes. His eyes were also gray, with two golden dots in the pupils. He looked at Su Fan and tilted his head.
"People from the primordial era?"
Su Fan didn't speak.
The man smiled, a stiff smile, as if he had just learned to smile: "I have been waiting for a long time."
He sat up from the flower's center, his golden veins gleaming brightly.
"My name is Chaos. The owner of this corpse is my father."
Su Fan's mind went blank.
The corpse belonged to his father? Then this corpse, ten thousand times larger than the primordial world, was his father's?
Chaos jumped down from the tree and stood in front of Su Fan. He was a head taller than Su Fan, and his body exuded a rotten smell, but the blood flowing in his veins was golden.
"Thirty thousand years ago, my father died. His body drifted in the chaos and collided with your primordial world. My people and I were trapped inside the corpse and could not get out."
He looked at Su Fan, the two golden dots in his eyes pulsating.
"I don't want to crash into the Primordial World; I just want to leave. But the Heavenly Dao blocks the exit, and I can't get out. So I sent the Demonic Dragon to attack the Primordial World and shatter the Heavenly Dao. Once the Heavenly Dao is shattered, I can get out."
Su Fan clenched his fist: "So, the extraterrestrial demons were sent by you?"
Chaos nodded: "Yes. Three thousand years. I have waited far too long. Now, the Heavenly Dao has finally cracked. I can finally leave."
He reached out and grabbed at Su Fan.
Su Fan turned and ran. He couldn't beat someone at the fourth level of the Chaos Realm, and he couldn't outrun them either.
But Chaos didn't chase after him. He stood under the tree, watching Su Fan's retreating figure, and smiled.
"Run. Run to the ninth floor and find the heart. Once you have the heart, I'll come looking for you. Then I can leave."
Su Fan ran desperately, through passages, through caves, and through layer after layer.
The fifth floor, the sixth floor, the seventh floor, and the eighth floor.
He didn't know how long he had been running, he only knew he was running. The boundary-stabilizing bead was in his mouth, its cool breath protecting his entire body. The insects crawled past him, flew over his head, and burrowed under his feet, but not a single one noticed him.
There is a door between the eighth and ninth floors.
The door was black, with the word "death" engraved on it.
Su Fan pushed open the door and went inside.
The ninth floor.
There was nothing here. No insects, no runes, no light. Only darkness, and in the center of that darkness, a heart.
Its heart was enormous, larger than the Southern Heavenly Gate. It was gray, its surface covered with blood vessels. Golden blood flowed through these vessels, pulsating as if beating.
Su Fan walked to his heart and placed his hand on it.
His heart skipped a beat, and a tremendous force surged from within him, propelling him forward. He crashed to the ground, breaking several more bones.
He got up and went over again.
This time, he didn't reach out. He took out the Investiture of the Gods, which unfolded, and three hundred and sixty-five golden rays shot towards his heart.
The heart trembled, and the golden veins began to surge wildly. Then, the heart split open, and a stream of golden liquid gushed out. The liquid fell to the ground and took the shape of a human.
chaos.
He emerged from the liquid, completely naked, with golden veins throbbing beneath his gray skin.
He raised his hand and slapped Su Fan.
Su Fan pulled out the Tongtian Sect Master's life-saving talisman and crushed it. The talisman exploded, transforming into a beam of azure light that blocked the chaotic palm print. Boom—!!!
The entire ninth floor trembled. The azure light shattered, and so did the palm print. Su Fan was thrown back by the shockwave and crashed to the ground.
My life-saving charm is gone.
Chaos looked at him and smiled: "Anything else?"
Su Fan gritted his teeth, took out the Nine-Turn Golden Pill from his pocket, and stuffed it into his mouth. As the pill entered his throat, it transformed into a warm current that flowed throughout his body.
His cultivation level began to surge. Early Saint Realm, Middle Saint Realm, Late Saint Realm, Peak Saint Realm, Early Primordial Chaos Realm, Middle Primordial Chaos Realm, Late Primordial Chaos Realm.
Thirty breaths.
Su Fan rushed towards his heart and punched it.
A larger crack appeared in the heart. Inside the crack, there was a fragment. The fragment was small, about the size of a palm, and entirely golden, radiating the same aura as the Hongjun Ancestor.
That is the path of corpses.
Su Fan reached out and grabbed the shard.
Chaos's expression changed: "Put it down!"
He struck Su Fan with a palm strike, ten times stronger than the previous one. Su Fan neither dodged nor evaded, stuffed the fragment into his pocket, and turned to run.
A chaotic palm print slammed into his back, shattering the Pangu Armor and leaving his back a bloody mess. But he didn't stop; he kept running.
Twenty breaths.
He burst out of the ninth level and rushed into the passage. Chaos chased after him, faster than he could go.
Fifteen breaths.
He rushed into the eighth, seventh, and sixth levels. Chaos drew ever closer.
Ten breaths.
He rushed into the fifth level, then the fourth. Chaos had already caught up with him.
Five breaths.
He rushed into the third floor and saw Yang Jian standing at the entrance of the passage, his three-pointed double-edged sword raised high.
"Get out of the way!" Su Fan shouted.
Yang Jian unleashed a slash, a white light like a rainbow, striking towards the chaos.
Chaos shattered the white light with a single palm strike, but paused for a moment.
In that instant, Su Fan rushed past.
Yang Jian followed him, and the two ran desperately upwards. Second floor, first floor, passage, stone chamber.
When Su Fan rushed out of the cave, the effects of the Nine-Turn Golden Pill had just worn off. His cultivation level dropped back to the Saint Realm, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground.
Chaos burst out of the cave and stood in front of him.
"Give me the fragments."
Su Fan lay on the ground and laughed. He took out the shards from his pocket and held them up.
"Want it? Come and get it."
Chaos reached out to grab it.
Su Fan crushed the jade talisman of Hongjun Ancestor. The talisman exploded, transforming into a golden light that enveloped Su Fan and Yang Jian. With a flash of golden light, the two vanished from their spot.
Chaos's hand grasped at empty air.
He stood under the gray sky, looking in the direction where Su Fan had disappeared, his face ashen.