The atmosphere in the Great Desolate World was thick with the scent of ozone and the weeping of gods. The fall of the nine Golden Crows had plunged the Monster Court into a madness of grief, while the Witch Clan celebrated their pyrrhic victory. But in the Mist-Veiled Valley, hidden behind layers of spatial folds and Chaos-grade arrays, there was only a profound, crystalline silence.
Daoist Wu-Ji sat cross-legged atop the Obsidian Peak of his Pavilion. In his palm, the soul of Fuxi flickered like a fragile candle. It was a soul of immense complexity—half-monster, half-god, and now, infused with the chaotic essence of Wu-Ji's own power.
"Master, the sky... it hasn't stopped bleeding," Yun'er whispered, standing at the edge of the pavilion. She looked up at the 33 Heavens, where crimson clouds swirled—a sign of the 'Great Karma' being settled.
"The blood of the suns is just the beginning, Yun'er," Wu-Ji said, his voice resonating with the depth of a Nascent Soul expert. "The era of the Monster and the Witch is fading. The stage is being cleared for the protagonist of the next era: Humanity."
He looked down at Fuxi's soul. "And here is the director of that stage."
[Ding! System Analysis of Fuxi's Soul:]
Status: Heavily Damaged (Requires Rebirth).
Innate Potential: Human Sovereign (SSS).
Karma Connection: Bound to the 'Heaven-Veiling Pavilion'.
Warning: The Saints are still scanning the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Direct reincarnation will be detected.
"System," Wu-Ji commanded, "Run a simulation: 'The Secret Reincarnation of the Sovereign'. How do I hide him among the primitive humans without attracting the attention of Laozi or Nuwa?"
[The Simulation: The Hidden King]
[Year 1: You attempt to place Fuxi's soul directly into a human tribe. The 'Innate Bagua' light around the infant is so bright it acts as a beacon. Within three days, Saint Laozi descends, takes the child, and wipes your memory. Failure!]
[Year 5: You use the 'Chaos Treasury' to buy the 'Dust of the Void'. You wrap the soul in it and place it in the 'Sui-Ren' tribe. The child grows up as a common hunter. However, because his fate is too suppressed, he dies in a tiger attack at age 10. Death!]
[Year 20: You decide to build the 'Reincarnation Pool of the Pavilion'. You use your own blood—the Chaos-Phoenix Blood—to create a vessel. Fuxi is reborn inside the Pavilion, not the outside world. He grows up as your 'Second Disciple'. When the time is right, he will descend to lead the humans as a 'Descended God' rather than a mortal baby. Success!]**
[The Simulation has ended. Probability of concealment: 98%.]
"I choose the third path," Wu-Ji declared. He stood up, his purple robes fluttering in the spiritual wind. "If the Heavens won't give the humans a leader, I will build one in my own backyard."
[Ding! Consuming 1500 Units of Energy... Building 'The Chaos Reincarnation Pool'.]
The ground of the Grotto-Heaven split open. A pool filled with iridescent, swirling liquid emerged. It wasn't water; it was Innate Qi liquefied into its purest form. Wu-Ji placed Fuxi's soul into the center of the pool.
"Yun'er, from today, you are no longer a student. you are a Senior Sister," Wu-Ji said. "You will guard this pool. Every day, you will feed the soul with a drop of your Jade Mirror's light. We are not just raising a king; we are raising a Dao-Seeker who will stand above the Saints."
"Yes, Master!" Yun'er bowed, her eyes burning with determination.
The Expansion of the Heaven-Veiling Pavilion
While Fuxi's soul was gestating in the pool, Wu-Ji turned his attention to his own cultivation and the growth of his sect. He realized that a sect of two people was not a sect—it was a hideout. To truly influence the Honghuang, he needed 'Eyes and Ears'.
"System, open the 'Chaos Treasury'. What can I get for 2000 Units?"
[Ding! Chaos Treasury Recommendations:]
[The 3,000 Daoist Puppets (Grade: Foundation Establishment) - 500 Units.]
[The Pagoda of Time-Compression (3:1 Ratio) - 1000 Units.]
[The 'Heaven-Veiling' Sect Tokens - 500 Units.]
"Buy them all," Wu-Ji said.
In a flash of light, a towering pagoda rose in the corner of the valley. This was the Pagoda of Time. One year outside would be three years inside.
Next, 3,000 marble statues appeared in the courtyard. With a flick of Wu-Ji's sleeve, he infused them with his 'Innate Gravity' and a wisp of his consciousness. The statues cracked, revealing 3,000 warriors in obsidian armor. They knelt in unison, their voices sounding like the crushing of rocks.
"We greet the Sect Master!"
"Go," Wu-Ji commanded. "Disguise yourselves as wandering cultivators. Enter the human tribes. Protect them from minor demons. Spread the name of the 'Hidden Master of the North', but never reveal the location of this valley."
With the puppets acting as his "Shadow Network," Wu-Ji sat back down. He could feel the Karma of the human race slowly flowing toward him. For every human his puppets saved, a tiny thread of 'Luck' (Providence) entered the Pavilion.
The First Tribulation of the Sect
Ten years passed in the outside world (thirty years inside the Pavilion).
Fuxi's body had formed in the pool. He appeared as a boy of seven, but his eyes were ancient, filled with the diagrams of the stars. He was born at the Golden Core Realm, a feat that would have caused a worldwide phenomenon if not for the Pavilion's concealment.
However, the "Luck" that Wu-Ji was gathering had become too great to go entirely unnoticed.
One day, the mist outside the valley was parted by a golden light. A crane, carrying a young Daoist with a haughty expression, landed at the entrance. The Daoist wore the robes of the Chan Sect—the disciples of Saint Yuanshi Tianzun.
"Is there a fellow Daoist hiding here?" the young Daoist shouted, his voice amplified by spiritual power. "I am Guang Chengzi, the eldest disciple of the Kunlun Mountains! I have detected the theft of human providence in this area. Show yourself, or I shall let the Pangu Banner decide your fate!"
Inside the Pavilion, Yun'er's face went pale. "Master... a disciple of a Saint. What do we do?"
Wu-Ji opened his eyes. A cold, violet light flickered in them. "The Chan Sect... they are already trying to monopolize the 'Teacher of the Sovereign' role. They think they own the fate of the humans."
He stood up, his aura expanding until the entire Grotto-Heaven hummed.
"System, run a simulation: 'Dealing with Guang Chengzi'."
[Simulation Beginning!]
[Option 1: Combat. You kill him. Saint Yuanshi Tianzun descends immediately. You and the Pavilion are erased from existence. Death!]
[Option 2: Submission. You invite him in and give him Fuxi. He takes all the credit. You become a footman of the Chan Sect. Your path to the Great Dao is cut. Failure!]
[Option 3: The 'Grand Ancestor' Bluff. You use the 'Chaos Fiend Aura' and the 'Dust of the Void' to pretend to be an old monster from the era before Pangu. You 'scold' him for trespassing. Because your aura is higher than his Master's 'Sage' aura in terms of 'Ancientness', he will be terrified and leave. Success!]**
Wu-Ji smiled. "Bluffing it is. Yun'er, bring me my 'Old Man' mask."
He didn't actually have a mask, but he shifted his body. His fair skin became wrinkled, his violet hair turned a snowy white, and he released the raw, terrifying pressure of the Chaos Fiend Finger he had integrated into his marrow.
Outside the mist, Guang Chengzi was about to strike the ground with his sword when the mist suddenly turned a deep, abyssal black.
"LITTLE BRAT..." a voice boomed, sounding like it came from the bottom of a grave. "EVEN YOUR MASTER, YUANSHI, WOULD NOT DARE TO RAISE HIS VOICE AT MY DOORSTEP."
Guang Chengzi froze. The crane beneath him shrieked in terror and collapsed. He felt an aura so old, so chaotic, and so vast that his own 'Saint-Level' cultivation felt like a puddle next to an ocean.
"Pre... Pre-existence Senior?" Guang Chengzi stammered, his arrogance vanishing. "I... I did not know this was the grotto of a Great Chaos God..."