Chapter One: The Innate Golden Crow

“Where is this...”

Li Tian’s consciousness awakened to find himself in a pitch-black, scorching space. Here, he could not sense his physical form; it was as if only a cluster of awareness remained, trapped within some strange vessel, unable to escape.

Suddenly, a vast torrent of memories fused into his mind. These memories encompassed everything—ancestral cultivation methods, the history of the primordial world’s script, every kind of common knowledge...

“Pangu splits the heavens... the Solar Star... the Innate Golden Crow...”

After absorbing these memories, Li Tian finally understood what had happened.

“I actually transmigrated into the primordial world and became an egg of the Innate Golden Crow!”

Li Tian, steeped in years of online novels, was no stranger to the primordial world. It was a place where Golden Immortals roamed everywhere and Celestial Immortals were as common as dogs. One careless step, and he could perish, body and soul!

Yet, fortune smiled upon him—for he had become one of the two great Innate Golden Crows. Though he didn’t know if he was Taiyi or Dijun, either way, his foundation was as strong as those mighty beings of the primordial era. He was accompanied by the Chaos Bell, an innate supreme treasure, and the River Diagram and Book of Luo, one of the top ten innate spiritual treasures. His advantages were unmatched, and the future promised the rule of countless demon tribes, ascension to emperor and king.

Truth be told, Taiyi and Dijun, those two brothers, were architects of their own doom. Unaware they were protagonists of the Second Calamity, they would leap about recklessly, even slaughtering billions of humans to forge the “Witch-Slaying Sword,” incurring immense karmic debts to the human race. Ultimately, they perished, body and soul—a cycle of cause and effect, fate returning with vengeance.

Now that he had become one of them, Li Tian resolved not to repeat their mistakes. The so-called war between witches and demons—he would have none of it. Harmony and development were the proper path. Even if things became untenable, he could simply abdicate—let whoever wished to be emperor take the throne!

With his mind made up, Li Tian began cultivating according to the inherited techniques in his mind. As the endless spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured in, his consciousness grew steadily stronger...

The primordial world does not measure years. Whether centuries or millennia passed, Li Tian finally cultivated divine sense. Through this sense, he discovered himself upon an enormous golden divine tree. Its tangled branches formed a natural “nest,” and upon this nest, two giant golden eggs rested side by side, flanked by a bell and a book.

The bell was the Chaos Bell; the book was the River Diagram and Book of Luo. The divine tree was none other than Fusang, one of the ten great innate spiritual roots!

Using divine sense to probe the other egg, Li Tian could not tell if it was Taiyi or Dijun, but it was definitely his “brother.” When he extended his sense within, he found the consciousness inside exceedingly weak, not yet formed.

“It seems I arrived quite early...” Li Tian murmured inwardly, when suddenly a wicked idea sprang forth: erase the consciousness within the other egg! If he succeeded, he would monopolize both the Chaos Bell and the River Diagram and Book of Luo, and could even devour the other egg, merging the potential of both Golden Crows. The possibilities were boundless... Even if he couldn’t devour it, refining it as a clone would be excellent!

Still, Li Tian hesitated. Whether Taiyi or Dijun, both were pivotal figures in the primordial world, almost children of destiny. If he rashly destroyed one, would Heaven take notice? What if a thunderbolt struck him down—wouldn’t that be the end?

But fortune favors the bold. After weighing the risks, Li Tian decided to go through with it. Eliminating the other egg would grant him the combined potential of two Innate Golden Crows, and he could monopolize the fate of the demon race. Besides, Taiyi and Dijun eventually turned against each other; if the other survived, they might one day become his enemy.

With this in mind, Li Tian gritted his teeth and fiercely struck at the faint consciousness in the other egg with his divine sense. It struggled briefly, then faded away under his assault. Though an Innate Golden Crow, its consciousness was as yet formless—less than even an ordinary mortal, powerless to resist.

At the same time, Li Tian grew alert, sensing for any disturbance in Heaven and Earth. He waited a long while; nothing happened, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For now, Li Tian remained unhatched and could do nothing further to the other egg, but he was in no hurry—time was the one thing the primordial world had in abundance.

In a blink, tens of thousands of years passed. One day, a golden egg atop the Fusang tree suddenly erupted in blazing golden flames. In the space of a breath, its shell burned away in the fire, and from within emerged a giant three-legged firebird. The bird grew with the wind, in an instant towering alongside the Fusang tree, its wings spanning nearly a hundred thousand miles!

This firebird was Li Tian. After millennia of cultivation, he had finally reached the realm of the Grandmaster Golden Immortal and broken free of his shell!

Recalling his former life’s appearance, Li Tian prepared to transform, forging his innate Dao body. This transformation was of utmost importance—he could not afford a single mistake. Li Tian had no desire to become some half-bird, half-man monstrosity.

Meanwhile, clouds shrouded the Solar Star, thunder flickered and rumbled. All beings must endure a thunder tribulation to take human form. Yet Heaven favored innate divine beasts born of heaven and earth. Li Tian looked skyward, sensing no threat in the thunderclouds. A golden bolt struck down, leaving him tingling all over but causing no harm—indeed, it hastened his transformation.

Delighted, Li Tian dismissed the tribulation and focused on his transformation, envisioning his former self. His three-legged golden crow body began to shift, forming an innate Dao body.

Soon, all eighty-one bolts of thunder had fallen, the tribulation clouds dispersed. The enormous three-legged golden crow vanished from the Solar Star, replaced by a handsome young man—Li Tian.

His form was nearly identical to his previous life, but even more perfect: fragrant sandalwood emanated from his body, his teeth were full and white, his skin flawless, like jade and immortal flesh.

Examining himself closely, Li Tian was quite satisfied. With a thought, a flowing white robe appeared on his body, conjured from mana. The white robes fluttered, exuding a celestial aura—he had modeled them after the attire of a hero from a certain fantasy drama.

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