The Thread of Starlight Abyss continued to compress day by day, inward. While its length remained constant, its diameter shrank relentlessly.

It constantly spewed out vital energy, yet it ceaselessly absorbed the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. The exquisite scenery that once defined the Thread of Starlight Abyss was gone; it had become a blinding spectacle of pure radiance, resembling a verdant green cord stretched across the void. Countless twisting runes and Heavenly Dao Wheels, both massive and minuscule, flickered indistinctly within the cord, exuding an intoxicating aura.

An instinctive pull drove every powerhouse in this universe toward this focal point—the locus of mastering all things, the secret heart of all Heavenly Dao principles. This force was like the scent of choice, delectable flesh, driving all fierce beasts into a frenzy.

Gu Xiechen, the Three Pure Ones, and the Guide and Attendant Zhunti were among the apex predators, beings standing at the very top of the food chain.

Stepping upon a bed of white clouds, Gu Xiechen was followed by hundreds of Tri-City Fortresses, upon which stood countless Immortals and cultivators, presenting the most formidable display of might. The Tri-City Fortresses were immense; hundreds of them spanned from heaven to earth, firmly claiming their territory.

The Three Pure Ones, Guide and Attendant Zhunti, Amitābha, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and Guanyin, leading countless Immortals and Buddhas arrayed in vast expanses of golden light and shimmering vapor, also firmly secured their domain. Their faction boasted eight Sages, countless Daluo Golden Immortals, and an equally terrifying show of force.

On the other side stood a dense, innumerable multitude of primordial beings, indigenous to this world, possessing countless bizarre and varied forms. The strongest among these innate beings reached the cultivation level of mid-tier Daluo Golden Immortals, while the weakest were mere Celestial Immortals. By comparison, their side possessed the least overall power. However, their numbers were the greatest; an untold throng of primordial beings had arrived, with countless more streaming in from behind.

Three months after the anomaly in the Thread of Starlight Abyss began, a palpable shift swept through the great host of primordial beings. Streams of brutal energy shot toward the heavens, and six singular beings, each crowned by a faint, pyramid-shaped auspicious cloud and enveloped in shimmering light, parted the crowd and advanced slowly.

These six strange entities were not humanoid. Their forms resembled a tiger, a leopard, a dragon, a phoenix, a great roc, and the last possessed no discernible body at all, appearing only as a whirling vortex of wind rolling through the void. Yet, the aura emanating from them was unequivocally that of a Sage.

Yuanshi Tianzun suddenly sneered, “So, it is you remnants. You did not perish back then?”

The entity shaped like the great roc, its plumage shimmering with dazzling brilliance and faintly suffused with purple light—as if carved from amethyst—roared fiercely, “Our lives were spared; we used avatars to deceive you and narrowly escaped death. Today, we have returned for vengeance.”

The creature resembling a fierce tiger, yet bearing three heads and six tails, its body as black as ink, bellowed in fury, “Today, we claim the Axis of Heaven and Earth, and we will slaughter every last one of you. Ah, I have held back from tasting flesh and blood for a full three hundred years—I will devour you now!”

Taishang Laojun, Yuanshi Tianzun, and the others merely shook their heads and chuckled, clearly not taking these six native Sages seriously.

Gu Xiechen also shook his head inwardly. Although the cultivation of these six primordial Sages was on par with newly ascended Sages like Amitābha, their divine abilities and spells were exceedingly crude, and their temperaments were rash and straightforward. How could they possibly contend with Yuanshi Tianzun and his peers?

If Gu Xiechen were in their position, he would have certainly hidden behind the mass of primordial beings, waiting until Yuanshi Tianzun and the others were mutually devastated by a confrontation with Hongjun before striking to claim victory. These primordial Sages, it seemed, possessed minds too simple.

“It is all the curse of incomplete development,” Gu Xiechen sighed, shaking his head.

Days passed, and the transformation of the Thread of Starlight Abyss persisted. At its current rate of compression, contracting by ten thousand miles inward daily, it would take about a year for the Thread of Starlight Abyss to fully evolve into the Axis of Heaven and Earth.

At this juncture, with the Thread of Starlight Abyss as the core, the stars of the entire universe began to rotate with near-frenzied speed. Immortals near the Thread of Starlight Abyss could witness with their naked eyes all surrounding stars streak across the void as thin lines of light, making it impossible to discern their true forms.

Even when Gu Xiechen observed these stars with his Chaotic Dharma Eye, he could only vaguely make out their general outlines.

Despite such colossal cosmic upheaval, the stars naturally manifested a strange, protective power, safeguarding all life upon them and maintaining the precise distances and positions between them. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, fast yet never chaotic.

As the Thread of Starlight Abyss progressively contracted, the colossal pyramid spanning trillions of miles in the void became increasingly distinct.

Gazing up from below, the pyramid was clearly divided into three tiers. The uppermost tier, the spire, was merely encircled by a mass of deep violet mist. When the cultivators’ divine senses touched this mist, they understood: whoever controlled this cloud mass would gain absolute mastery over the Heavenly Dao Pagoda, becoming the supreme ruler of this universe.

The second tier, the middle section of the pyramid, featured three swirling masses of golden mist on each of its four faces. The information conveyed by this mist was equally clear: the possessors of these twelve clouds would inherit Hongjun’s status within the original universe, gaining the ability to wield the Heavenly Dao and govern the operations of heaven and earth.

The third tier, the base of the pyramid, contained one hundred and eight white clouds slowly circling the four faces of the structure. These one hundred and eight clouds represented the total number of Sages this universe could sustain. One hundred and eight Sages, each operating beneath the Heavenly Dao, capable of freely wielding the power of heaven and earth to guard and maintain their respective domains.

This pyramid exuded an ancient, profound gravity. Countless pinpricks of light flickered across its dark-gold surface. Each pinpoint corresponded to a star in the void, containing the complete data for that star—including the birth, aging, sickness, and death of every being upon it, all reflected within that single point.

With this tower grasped, heaven and earth were within one’s control. All surrounding Sages wore expressions of rapt intoxication, their gazes fixed upon this tower, this Axis of Heaven and Earth.

Only Gu Xiechen remained lucid. He cautiously scanned his surroundings: Why had Hongjun not yet appeared?

Time flowed onward. The Thread of Starlight Abyss had compressed to a mere ten thousand miles in thickness; within another day, it would fully coalesce into the Axis of Heaven and Earth. The surrounding void was entirely enveloped by the intense green glare of the Thread of Starlight Abyss. The scorching vital energy of heaven and earth bathed all surrounding life, repeatedly cleansing their bodies, refining their divine abilities, and strengthening their magical power.

Gu Xiechen began to calculate rapidly, minute by minute, second by second, as the Thread of Starlight Abyss condensed inward with terrifying speed.

One day passed swiftly. The Thread of Starlight Abyss erupted in a brilliance so absolute that even the Sages could not look upon it directly. A green line of light of indeterminate length stretched across the void, and immense spiritual pressure surged ceaselessly from it.

Calling it a line of light was imprecise. While this light was visible to the naked eye, it lacked any conventional concept of thickness. It simply existed there, emitting a light that allowed observation, but the entity itself possessed no inherent size or girth.

Suddenly, the Axis of Heaven and Earth, formed from the Thread of Starlight Abyss, moved. It undulated like a spiritual serpent, rapidly piercing upward toward the coalescing form of the Heavenly Dao Pagoda. No one perceived the transition; the Axis of Heaven and Earth merged into the Pagoda. At the core of the innumerable Heavenly Dao Wheels within the Pagoda, a single green trace appeared. All the formerly stagnant Heavenly Dao Wheels instantly sprang to life, spinning rapidly around this green filament.

Boundless profound truths of heaven and earth spread outward from the Pagoda, slowly permeating the entire universe.

The gradually solidifying body of the Pagoda began to turn ethereal. If no one claimed it now, it would recede into the torrent of the Heavenly Dao, slowly maturing, until, upon full recovery from all its damage, it would dematerialize into concrete Heavenly Dao rules governing the operation of the cosmos.

This was the Pagoda’s weakest moment; it had suffered grave damage, its Heavenly Dao power incomplete. It now relied on outsiders like Gu Xiechen to replenish its strength and cover its deficits. Not just a Sage, but even a mere Daluo Golden Immortal could imprint their primordial spirit within it now.

When a primordial spirit fused with the Pagoda, that spirit would become eternal with this universe, its existence never ending. Once the spirit deciphered every secret within the Pagoda, the individual would instantly ascend to become the sole sovereign of this heaven and earth, this universe.

The Three Pure Ones, Guide, Zhunti, Amitābha, Guanyin, and the others transformed into streaks of light, flying toward the Pagoda.

The six native Sages also turned into gales, streaks of light, floods, and raging flames, shooting forward rapidly.

As the Pagoda manifested, the surrounding void was seized by a marvelous restriction. Even venerable Sages, upon reaching this vicinity, could only proceed at a measured flight speed, marginally faster than ordinary Immortals. Ordinary Immortals, caught within this restriction, moved as slow as snails, utterly incapable of competing with the Sages.

Only a few Daluo Golden Immortals, unwilling to concede, poured all their focus into projecting their divine thoughts toward the Pagoda. Perhaps, through an immense stroke of luck, their primordial spirits might successfully fuse with the Pagoda—perhaps this was their true opportunity.

Chaos erupted in the vicinity as countless streams of divine intent surged toward the Pagoda.

Gu Xiechen also moved, about to fly toward the Pagoda, when a streak of light cut in from the side. The Victorious Fighting Buddha, wielding his golden-banded staff, charged directly in front of Gu Xiechen. This Monkey stared at Gu Xiechen with bright delight and roared, “Where is my avatar? I wish to contend with him!”

Looking at the swaggering, eager Monkey, Gu Xiechen replied truthfully, “He expended all his essence, spirit, and power to complete my Pangu True Body. If you seek a contest, you must wait until he fully recovers his strength.”

The Monkey pondered for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, “Is that so? Very well, when his power returns, he may seek out Old Sun.”

With that parting remark, the Monkey turned to leave, swinging his staff and shouting, “Who dares snatch my Master’s prize? Taste my staff!”

A divine light flashed in Gu Xiechen’s eyes. Silently, he moved behind the Monkey and slammed a heavy punch into the back of the Monkey’s head. The limitless power of the Pangu True Body unleashed this blow, causing the Monkey to spew the Samadhi True Fire from three of his seven apertures, knocking him unconscious on the spot. After layering countless restrictions upon the dense form of the Monkey, Gu Xiechen snatched him up and tossed him into the space within his own Sea of Consciousness.

It would be a pity if this Monkey were simply to die. By knocking him out, he could be left to wrestle with that other Monkey day in and day out. Two identical monkeys constantly bickering would surely add a little vibrancy to this world.

After roaring with laughter, Gu Xiechen pierced through the void and arrived near the Pagoda, reaching out to snatch the violet cloud mass at its highest point.

A black blade-light flashed, and Hongjun, now gaunt and skeletal like a bamboo pole, suddenly materialized, brandishing a blade.

Gu Xiechen hastily retracted his hand. The blade-light grazed the tips of his fingers, its killing intent so sharp that it left several deep, bone-revealing gashes on his fingertip. Gu Xiechen recoiled in horror, stumbling back two steps, staring fixedly at Hongjun.

His appearance was the same as before, but his emaciation was unbearable. Hongjun grinned, nodding at Gu Xiechen.

He stood alone; there were no others.

Gu Xiechen frowned and demanded, “Where are Haotian and the Queen Mother?”

Hongjun looked at Gu Xiechen and chuckled chillingly, “Them? I ate them! Every drop of their vital blood and every primordial spirit became a part of Me.”

Lightly caressing his fierce blade, Hongjun cackled ominously, “Every Immortal in the Celestial Court has been integrated into this blade over the past millennium. Their vital blood and primordial spirits have nourished my treasure, making it even stronger than before. Today, you are fortunate enough to become its next batch of fodder.”

He glanced down at the violet cloud mass atop the Pagoda and muttered to himself, “With the complexity of the Heavenly Dao rules within this Pagoda, even I would require at least ten thousand years to fully master it. Hmm, even preliminary refinement would cost three years of hard work. There is no time!”

Shaking his head, Hongjun spat a wisp of vital blood onto the Pagoda, fusing a thread of his primordial spirit within it.

After a few maniacal laughs, Hongjun abandoned the gradually dissolving Pagoda and lunged toward the six native Sages.

Gazing at the group, Hongjun suddenly cupped his hands in a greeting, “Well now, sirs, long time no see?”

The six Sages blinked in surprise before hastily returning the salute, “Indeed, it has been a long absence!”

The Sage shaped like a tiger sneered, “You are Hongjun. This time, we have come to slay you!”

While Hongjun and the Sages were exchanging these words, six black shadows burst forth from behind the Sages—six shadowy figures bearing an identical appearance to Hongjun. They brandished fierce blades and, with clean, decisive movements, severed the heads of the six Sages.

Blood erupted, the blood of Sages holding infinite energy; a single drop could forge an ocean of gore spanning ten thousand miles. The six Sages fell, and instantly, the sky was awash with churning crimson. However, before the sea of blood could churn for more than a fleeting moment, Hongjun’s fierce blade unleashed a torrent of sanguine light, absorbing every drop of the blood completely. The Sages’ corpses and primordial spirits were also utterly consumed by the blade, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Gu Xiechen’s heart clenched. He suddenly realized that within a hundred thousand miles of the Heavenly Pagoda, the invisible, strange restriction not only slowed the Sages’ movements to a crawl but also drastically compressed their sensory perception. Near this Pagoda, the Sages’ power was akin to that of ordinary Immortals, rendering them utterly defenseless against the blade-wielding Hongjun.

Hongjun’s ominous blade radiated boundless killing intent, which dispersed the surrounding invisible restriction, thus leaving Hongjun unaffected.

With a cold snort, Gu Xiechen spat out a drop of vital blood, fusing a thread of his own primordial spirit—along with those of Fuya Ming and others—into the Pagoda before rapidly retreating. The Three Pure Ones and others, who had just arrived nearby, also sensed that matters had turned dire. They hurriedly ejected a wisp of their primordial spirits to merge with the Pagoda before swiftly fleeing backward.

Seeing Gu Xiechen and the others flee, Hongjun snorted coldly, raising his long saber to pursue.

The first target of his pursuit was Gu Xiechen, who posed the greatest threat to Hongjun.

A black blade-light flashed, and nine shadows identical to Hongjun erupted from behind him, totaling ten Hongjuns, ten beams of blade-light descending upon Gu Xiechen.

Laozi could transform into three pure manifestations; Hongjun, having devoured Haotian and the Queen Mother, had managed to split into nine primordial spirit avatars.

Each avatar possessed about thirty percent of Hongjun’s current power, nearly equivalent to the full strength of the Three Pure Ones combined.

Gu Xiechen, who was rapidly retreating, suddenly stabilized his form. He conjured a colossal Pangu Sky-Opening Divine Thunder between his hands and smashed it head-on toward Hongjun.

Following this, countless Immortals from the Tri-City Fortresses shouted in unison, and a massive formation chart materialized out of thin air.

Boundless power of heaven and earth was drawn in by the Immortals within the Tri-City Fortresses through their spellcasting, flowing remotely into Gu Xiechen’s body.

As the divine thunder struck, Gu Xiechen’s body swelled instantly to a height of ten zhang, his muscles bulging, as he threw a punch toward Hongjun.

The Sky-Opening Divine Thunder struck Hongjun first, blasting him backward tens of thousands of miles.

Gu Xiechen’s punch landed squarely on one of Hongjun’s primordial spirit avatars.

Nine beams of chilling light flashed as nine fierce blades chopped rapidly toward Gu Xiechen’s fist.