The Age of Saints

The Heavenly Dao's feedback brought about by the world's advancement was like a century-long rain, irrigating the primordial world and making it flourish. The successive eruptions of the Dao-proving pressure of the nineteen new sages made the emotions of all beings in the primordial world like a roller coaster ride—first shock, then numbness, and finally deep exhaustion.

Those cultivators with lower cultivation levels endured the pressure of a Saint-level being more than ten times in just a few days, their knees bleeding from kneeling. A mischievous person even composed a jingle: "Saints attain enlightenment every day, everyone's knees tremble. Kneel today, kneel tomorrow, kneel in the east, kneel in the west..."

Despite their complaints, the myriad beings of the primordial world were filled with excitement and anticipation.

The birth of over a dozen new saints signifies the complete shattering of the cultivation ceiling in the primordial world. Those once unattainable saintly positions are no longer mere illusions. With effort and opportunity, anyone can embark on the path to the pinnacle.

In an instant, the entire prehistoric world was plunged into an unprecedented cultivation craze.

Those veteran Quasi-Saints who had previously been lying low suddenly emerged from seclusion with renewed vigor, venturing deep into the Chaos Hunting World. Disciples of various sects were no longer content with routine cultivation, eagerly accepting the bounty missions issued by the Heavenly Court. Even those reclusive cultivators who had lived in seclusion in the mountains, detached from worldly affairs, stepped out of their caves and joined this momentous era of Saints.

In front of the Hall of Merit in Heaven, tens of thousands of cultivators line up every day to receive their tasks. The celestial officials in charge of registering merits are so busy that they don't even have time to drink water. Haotian had to draw manpower from various departments and set up more than a dozen service windows to barely cope with the situation.

Xuanbao was delighted with this, and even publicly stated at the Heavenly Court assembly: "Rolling up is good! How can you improve if you don't roll up? If you don't roll up, you'll just stay in the same place."

Of course, jokes aside, Xuanbao knew in his heart that although the prehistoric world had added more than ten saints, its overall strength was still only the difference between ants and elephants compared to the true giants in the chaos.

Among those beings at the seventh level of the Saintly Realm and above, only the Three Pure Ones and the Saints themselves exist in the primordial world. And which of the top-ranking demon gods in the Chaos Realm isn't at least at the eighth level?

"The revolution is not yet complete, comrades must continue to strive." Xuanbao stood on the Heavenly Star Gazing Platform, gazing at the thriving primordial land below, and uttered a profound sigh.

Bai Lu stood beside him and said calmly, "You've been talking strangely lately."

"That's called keeping up with the times." Xuanbao grinned, then changed the subject, "By the way, any news about the riots?"

Bai Lu nodded: "I just received the message. It says the situation in the Chaos has completely descended into chaos. The war between the War Demon God and the Space Demon God has entered a fierce stage. Both sides are fighting with all their might, abandoning even their strongholds and directly waging a decisive battle in the central region of the Chaos. The former subordinates of the Destruction Demon God have also been drawn in, and it is said that more than fifty demon gods have already perished."

"Where is Rahu?"

"Luo Hou has been keeping a low profile lately," Bai Lu said. "The Riot says that ever since the God of Destiny approached him, he has become much more restrained and rarely makes trouble in person anymore. However, the puppet forces he secretly supports are still stirring up trouble everywhere in the Chaos."

Xuanbao nodded thoughtfully: "That old fox Luo Hou is indeed not so easily willing to be a scapegoat. He's leaving himself a way out."

Bai Lu glanced at him: "So what do you plan to do?"

"There's not much we can do." Xuanbao stretched. "Let him do whatever he wants. Anyway, when the giants in the chaos come to their senses, the first thing they'll look for is him. We just need to develop peacefully, and by the time they drag Luo Hou out and fight him to the death, we'll have already pushed the prehistoric world to a higher level."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the depths of the chaos, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "Moreover, I have a feeling—that old fox Rahu might give us a surprise in the end."

……

At the same time, the commotion of the primordial world's advancement was like a boulder thrown into a chaotic pool, the ripples spreading in all directions at a speed exceeding the speed of light.

That powerful aura of the world's origin was like a lighthouse in the night for the Chaos Demon God, so conspicuous that it could not be ignored.

What does a world that surpasses even the Great Thousand Worlds mean? It means a vast amount of unclaimed origins, an unstable system of laws, and an opportunity to exploit—for those low-level demon gods struggling to survive in chaos, it is a piece of fat meat that they would risk their lives to take a bite of.

……

The first to act was a lone demon god entrenched in the chaotic currents of the northwest of the primordial world.

This demon god, who called himself "Greedy Wolf," possessed cultivation at the peak of the seventh level of the Saint Realm, placing him in the middle of the hierarchy within the Chaos. He dared not provoke the top-ranking giants, yet he was unwilling to merely gnaw at the barren small worlds on the edge of Chaos. When the aura of the Primordial Era's advancement arrived, he was huddled in his lair, licking his wounds—not long ago, he had fought another demon god for a middle-thousand world, only to be soundly defeated and forced to flee, losing the half-piece of world origin he had painstakingly seized.

"Such a rich aura of primordial energy..." The Greedy Wolf Demon God raised his head, his eerie green eyes gazing towards the primordial world, a greedy light flickering in his pupils. "A newly ascended world, its laws are still unstable, its defenses are at their weakest... If I could manage to gnaw a piece of its primordial energy, I might be able to break through to the eighth or even ninth heaven!"

He licked his lips, and almost without hesitation, he transformed into a streak of light and sped off towards the primordial world.

The Greedy Wolf Demon God was no reckless individual. Having roamed the chaos for countless eons, he deeply understood the principle of "better safe than sorry." Therefore, before setting off, he deliberately took a detour to contact three other lone demon gods who were on good terms with him—all of whom were around the sixth level of the Saint Realm. Although they were somewhat weaker than him, those who knew better understood that only by being strong themselves within a team could they take the lion's share. If he found several stronger individuals, forget about getting the lion's share; he'd be lucky to avoid being completely devoured.

The four agreed to travel together to the primordial wilderness that exudes a vast amount of primordial energy. If they could gain any benefits, they would distribute them according to their contribution; if they encountered any tough opponents, they would have someone to look after them.

Four Chaos Gods, like four sharks smelling blood, converged on the Primordial World from different directions. They met in an abandoned world, several months' journey from the Primordial World's barrier, to discuss their attack plan.

"The world barrier of that world looks very thick; it will probably take some effort to force our way through," a demon god shaped like a giant scorpion said in a deep voice. His tail hook shimmered with a ghostly blue light, clearly containing the power of a highly poisonous law.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Another demon god, shaped like a crocodile, waved his hand dismissively. "In a newly advanced world, the Heavenly Dao is not yet stable. How strong can those native creatures be? With the four of us demon gods joining forces, even if that world has a saint in charge, we can still crush it."

The Greedy Wolf Demon God was rather cautious, frowning as he said, "It's best to be careful. I heard that several groups of demon gods went to attack the Primordial World before, but they all disappeared without a trace. That world is probably not so simple."

"They were just unlucky," the Crocodile Demon sneered. "With the four of us brothers working together, who are we afraid of?"

The Giant Scorpion Demon God and the other centipede-like multi-legged Demon God echoed this sentiment, both agreeing that the Greedy Wolf Demon God was being overly cautious. Four demon gods at the sixth level of the Saint Realm, working together, would be a force to be reckoned with even in the chaos. Dealing with a newly ascended world would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?

Seeing that his three companions were full of confidence, the Greedy Wolf Demon God didn't want to dampen their spirits, so he nodded and said, "Then let's proceed according to plan. I'll use my innate divine power to tear apart the world barrier first, and you can follow up. Remember—make a quick and decisive battle, grab the benefits and leave, don't linger."

"clear!"

The four demon gods transformed into four streams of light and rushed towards the world barrier of the primordial world.

However, just as they were about to touch the world's barrier—

A gray light appeared silently before them.

The light wasn't dazzling; in fact, it was somewhat dim. But the instant it appeared, the four demon gods simultaneously felt an extremely terrifying aura, like an invisible mountain pressing down on their shoulders. Their bodies froze abruptly, as if they had crashed into an invisible wall, unable to move forward even an inch.

The pupils of the Greedy Wolf Demon God suddenly contracted!

He saw a figure slowly emerge from the white light. The figure wore a simple gray robe, had an ordinary face, but his eyes seemed to contain a ceaselessly flowing river of destiny. He stood quietly in the void, his gaze calmly sweeping over the four demon gods, then spoke softly:

"This road is blocked."

The sound wasn't loud, yet it was like the grand pronouncements of the Dao, resounding simultaneously within the consciousness of the four demon gods. The Greedy Wolf Demon God felt a tremor in his primordial spirit, as if his magical power had solidified, and even breathing became difficult.

"Peak of the eighth level of the Saint Realm?!" The voice of the Greedy Wolf Demon God trembled with disbelief. Although he had never seen the newcomer before, the powerful aura of the Heavenly Dao was unmistakable.

The person did not answer, but simply raised his right hand slightly, spread his five fingers, and then slowly clenched them.

The four demon gods felt as if the space around them was being gripped by an invisible hand, being squeezed inward. Their bones creaked, and their magical power surged wildly as they tried to break free from this restraint, but all in vain—before a Saint of the Eighth Heaven, their cultivation at the Sixth and Seventh Heavens was as insignificant as ants.

"S-Senior, spare my life!"

The person who arrived was none other than Xuanbao's Heavenly Dao Avatar, the current Heavenly Dao Avatar. It was a genuine peak eighth-level Saint, and because of the improvement of the Primordial World, it naturally also promoted the improvement of the Primordial Heavenly Dao, so it could be said that he was lucky.

Originally, Hongjun and the remnant spirit of the Chaos Demon God were on the verge of mutual destruction. Due to the improvement of the Primordial World, they were both given a shot of adrenaline and fell into an even deeper stalemate. As a result, Xuanbao's clone, which originally only controlled 10% of the Heavenly Dao Laws, indirectly controlled the entire Primordial Heavenly Dao.

It's like a shareholder who owns 10% of the shares, but because the number one and number two major shareholders are fighting, this small shareholder who only controls 10% of the shares ends up controlling the entire company, which is absurd.

"senior!"

"Click—"

A crisp, teeth-grinding cracking sound rang out in the chaotic void.

The four Chaos Demon Gods didn't even have time to utter a scream before countless cracks spread from their heads to their feet, like porcelain dolls crushed by an invisible giant hand. Blinding white light emanated from these cracks—the light of their origins forcibly stripped away and their laws utterly crushed.

Then—bang!

Four clusters of grayish-white primordial energy, like four dazzling fireworks, bloomed in the chaos. Those primordial energies hovered in the air for a moment, and then, like weary birds returning to their nests, surged towards the primordial world barrier, where they were silently absorbed, digested, and transformed by the laws of heaven.

The four chaotic demon gods, who were at the sixth and seventh levels of sainthood, didn't even last a single round before turning into nourishment for the advancement of the primordial world.

The Heavenly Dao Avatar stood in the void, slowly retracting his clenched right hand, expressionlessly patting non-existent dust from his palm. His gaze was indifferent, as if he had just crushed not four demon gods who roamed the chaos, but four eyesores of flies.

"Sages at the sixth or seventh level of the Heavenly Realm... dare to come to Hong?" he muttered to himself, a hint of disdain in his voice. "Do they really think the Primordial World is still like it used to be, where people can come and go as they please?"

He turned around, his gaze fixed on the depths of chaos. He could sense that in that endless darkness, countless more greedy eyes were fixed on the direction of the primordial world. Those four demon gods were merely cannon fodder, the first wave of explorers. The real big fish were still watching from behind.

"Very well." A faint smile appeared on the lips of the Heavenly Dao clone. "Now it is indeed necessary to measure our strength and let those Chaos Demons know that the Primordial World is not so easy to devour."

As his words fell, his figure slowly merged into the void and disappeared. Only the chaotic void stained red with the blood of the demon god and a few wisps of primordial energy that had not yet completely dissipated remained, drifting slowly in the chaotic currents.

But the allure of advancing in the Primordial World was simply too great. The primordial aura, like the sun rising in the night, tempted many Chaos Gods to take the risk, even knowing the dangers ahead. In the following decades, five or six more groups of Chaos Gods attempted to break through the boundaries of the Primordial World, their cultivation levels ranging from the seventh level of Sainthood to the early stage of the eighth level.

Without exception, they were all stopped by a gray figure just as they were about to touch the barrier of the primordial world.

The Heavenly Dao clone didn't even bother with words, simply raising its hand—clenching its fist—and crushing it. The entire process was fluid and efficient, as if it weren't killing a Chaos Demon God, but rather encountering one by the roadside that it could easily crush with a flick of its wrist.

The shattered demonic essences were absorbed without exception by the laws of Heaven, transforming into nourishment for the primordial world. Nourished by these essences, the barriers of the primordial world grew increasingly solid and thick, like an indestructible armor enveloping the entire primordial world.

Gradually, the lower-ranking Chaos Gods finally realized that the Primordial World was not a bone they could gnaw on. None of the scouts they sent out returned, not even having a chance to send out a distress signal. Thus, their greedy gazes began to retreat, replaced by deep apprehension.

But a truly big fish won't give up on a piece of meat just because a few small fish and shrimp have disappeared.