Before chaos dispersed and the Primordial World emerged, Ao Xuan's consciousness flickered like a dying candle in the wind.
He remembered being an overworked corporate drone, burning the midnight oil to meet project deadlines.
The last thing he'd sensed before closing his eyes was the cold touch of the keyboard, as he mentally calculated KPIs and ranted about his client's absurd demands. But when he "opened his eyes" again, the familiar office lights were gone—replaced by an impenetrable void where even light couldn't penetrate. No air, no sound, not even a physical body—only a wisp of fragile spiritual thought drifting in nothingness, as if it would be torn to shreds by the violent energies surrounding it at any moment.
"What the hell? Am I dreaming?"
The moment his consciousness condensed, a searing pain erupted, sweeping through him. The black currents swirling around weren't ordinary air—they were tangible chaotic energy. Each time it surged through his spiritual thought, it inflicted agony a hundred times worse than being scalded by boiling water or crushed by a car door. Ao Xuan tried to raise a hand to "protect his head," but he couldn't move an inch. He was like a broken kite, adrift in the chaotic torrents.
This wasn't a dream, nor was it some special effect. He had no idea how much time passed, but gradually, his spiritual thought felt slightly more solid. He "smiled bitterly"—had he actually grown accustomed to being torn apart by violent winds?
After drifting aimlessly for an eternity, a sudden throbbing erupted deep within his spiritual core.
He "saw"—not with eyes, but with soul perception.
In the distance, a towering, indistinct figure was slowly dissipating. Its body was as majestic as the Kunlun Mountains, standing tall between heaven and earth with an overwhelming aura of supremacy. Even as it neared collapse, the roar of its flesh and blood disintegrating shook the very foundations of chaos.
Ao Xuan clearly "witnessed" the figure's bones transforming into endless mountain ranges, its meridians becoming roaring rivers, its flesh turning into fertile Primordial land, and even its final breath morphing into sweeping innate spiritual winds.
"Pangu… opening the heavens?"
His spiritual thought trembled violently. The rationality of a modern corporate worker collided fiercely with the fantastical reality of the Primordial World. He'd been mocking plot holes in a Primordial novel just last night—now he'd actually transmigrated to this brutal world where might makes right and life was fleeting? And not as a reincarnated noble or with a system to assist him—merely a wisp of spiritual thought on the verge of extinction?
"The Primordial World! This is the Primordial World just after heaven and earth separated!!"
Countless massive, chaotic divine thoughts flooded his mind, piercing his already fragile spiritual thought like shrapnel. Just as he was about to collapse, the chaotic torrents suddenly grew more violent.
The aftershocks of Pangu's transformation into all things were like a category 10 tsunami—countless shattered fragments of Innate Spiritual Treasures and turbulent five-element essence wove a net of destruction, crashing toward his insignificant soul fragment. A bronze shard the size of a palm brushed past him, nearly slicing his spiritual thought in two.
Ao Xuan wanted to cry—with power like this, even an Innate God would be reduced to ashes, let alone a mere wisp of soul.
His spiritual form was compressed violently in the currents, fading from semi-transparent to nearly invisible. His consciousness grew increasingly muddled, and the shadow of death surged over him like a tide.
He refused to accept this fate. To die right after transmigrating? He'd slaved away in the corporate rat race for over a decade, finally on the verge of a promotion—only to perish without ever enjoying the fruits of his labor, becoming nothing but dust in the Primordial World?
"No… I can't die!"
A fierce will to survive sustained his remaining consciousness.
At the exact moment his spiritual form was about to disintegrate, a streak of crimson light tore through the chaotic torrents, crashing beside his spiritual thought like a meteor.
It was a drop of blood essence the size of a fingernail, swirling with golden-red patterns and radiating boundless vitality and power. Even from several zhang away, Ao Xuan could feel an aura identical to Pangu's residual prestige—it was one of the drops of Pangu's essence blood scattered across the Primordial World after he opened the heavens!
The moment the blood essence landed, the violent chaotic energy around it automatically retreated, as if fearing the merits of heaven-opening contained within. Ao Xuan's fragmented soul was drawn to it like iron filings to a magnet, drifting uncontrollably toward the blood essence.
The instant they touched, an indescribable warmth enveloped his spiritual thought.
The heaven-opening merits and innate vitality within the blood essence surged into his fragmented soul like rain after a long drought.
His crumbling spiritual form solidified at a visible rate, and the searing pain gradually faded, replaced by a warm, comforting sensation a hundred times more pleasant than soaking in a hot spring or getting a spa treatment.
Ao Xuan could clearly sense his spiritual thought expanding rapidly. His once-muddled consciousness became sharp and clear, and he could even "see" his surroundings—
He was in a deep mountain cave. The walls were made of pitch-black Pangu Rock, covered in delicate golden patterns that carried the lingering Dao rhyme of Pangu's heaven-opening. Their hardness was comparable to that of a Spiritual Treasure.
Thin cyan spiritual veins meandered through the rock crevices like small dragons, exuding rich earth and wood essence. Inhaling even a wisp refreshed his spiritual form.
Where he floated was the convergence point of these spiritual veins. Below him, a gurgling sound echoed—a strand of translucent, blue-hued innate water spirit flowed gently, its droplets ringing like clear bells as they fell. Each drop contained pure water-element power.
"Buzhou Mountain…" Ao Xuan whispered with his spiritual thought.
Only Buzhou Mountain—formed from Pangu's spine—could possess such dense Pangu aura and converge so many innate spiritual veins.
He'd been swept by the chaotic torrents to the depths of Buzhou Mountain, and by some miracle, obtained a drop of Pangu's essence blood!
These innate spiritual veins were far from ordinary. The cyan spiritual liquid swirled with tiny golden light spots—merit power emanating from the Pangu blood essence. Ao Xuan tried to touch the spiritual vein with his spiritual thought, and instantly, a cool energy surged into him, like countless tiny ice needles unblocking his spiritual channels. The once-sluggish flow of his spiritual thought accelerated dramatically.
Even more miraculously, the spiritual vein contained a faint trace of spatial power—an effect of Buzhou Mountain's unique geographical environment, capable of shielding him from external detection and attacks.
The blood essence continued to nourish his spiritual form. Ao Xuan sensed that the essence of his fragmented soul was extraordinary, subtly connected to the eastern wood element and the Primordial World's water fortune—as if he was born with a thread of control over these two Dao principles.
"Azure Dragon… dragon soul?"
A thought suddenly flashed in his mind.
He finally understood his identity—not a mere fragmented soul, but the first Azure Dragon of heaven and earth! The violent chaotic storms during the creation of the world had shattered his dragon soul, leaving only this wisp of residual thought to linger on the brink of extinction.
As the Pangu blood essence's nourishment continued, the fragmented soul gradually condensed into a fist-sized cyan soul flame, floating above the innate spiritual vein. The surrounding innate water spirit and wood essence were drawn to the flame, forming two thin streams of blue and cyan energy that poured into it endlessly. The soul flame grew brighter and brighter, and scale-like patterns began to emerge on its surface.
Suppressing his excitement, Ao Xuan began to actively guide this energy. As a modern man, he knew full well the cruelty of the Primordial World—no laws, no morality, only the law of the jungle. He'd climbed the corporate ladder through caution and careful planning; now, he needed to apply the same mindset to quickly consolidate his dragon soul and gain the power to protect himself. Only then could he survive in this perilous world.
"The Pangu blood essence provides my foundational origin. The innate spiritual veins supplement wood and spatial power, and the innate water spirit nourishes the water-element Dao…" Ao Xuan analyzed with the mindset of a corporate drone. "First, a small goal: consolidate the core of my dragon soul and master basic defensive supernatural powers."
Within the soul flame, strands of cyan dragon patterns began to appear—his natal totem, flowing with obscure Dao rhyme and containing the fundamental principles of the water and wood elements.
Ao Xuan felt his perception of water-element energy growing sharper by the moment. He could even faintly manipulate a wisp of the innate water spirit, forming a thin water barrier around the soul flame to block the residual chaotic energy.
Just then, a deep roar echoed from outside the mountain cave.
"Roar——!"
The roar was like a clap of thunder, filled with primitive savagery and bloodlust. The entire mountain cave trembled, and small pieces of Pangu Rock fell from the walls. Ao Xuan's soul flame tensed instantly. He clearly sensed a ferocious aura approaching rapidly, drawn by the scent of the Pangu blood essence!
He cautiously extended a thread of spiritual thought to investigate—
At the cave entrance stood a massive ferocious beast. It resembled a lizard but had three heads, each covered in dark purple scales oozing black, putrid slime. The central head bore a curved bone spur, while the two side heads had gaping maws lined with sharp fangs that glinted coldly. Its limbs were thick and powerful, with black claws that left deep scratches on the Pangu Rock. A barbed tail swept behind it, shattering rock wherever it struck.
Through his chaotic perception, Ao Xuan recognized it instantly—the Three-Headed Demon Lizard, one of the fiends of chaos! Born with demonic energy, it fed on innate spiritual veins and essence blood. Swift and powerful, even early-stage Innate Gods avoided confronting it.
"Dammit! Why did it have to be this beast!" Ao Xuan's soul flame condensed sharply, fear mingling with his primal instinct to survive.
He'd only just stabilized his spiritual form and hadn't mastered a single defensive supernatural power. If discovered by the Three-Headed Demon Lizard, he'd be devoured alive, leaving not even a trace of his soul. In his moment of crisis, Ao Xuan acted quickly—he concentrated his spiritual thought to minimize his presence, sought a hiding place, and resolved to avoid direct conflict at all costs!
Without hesitation, he guided his soul flame downward, diving deep into the innate spiritual vein below.
The cyan spiritual liquid in the vein automatically wrapped around his soul flame, masking the scent of the Pangu blood essence. The spatial power within the vein distorted the surrounding aura, preventing the Three-Headed Demon Lizard from pinpointing his location.
Ao Xuan silently chanted in his mind: "I'm a rock, I'm a rock." He compressed his soul flame to the limit, making it look like an ordinary spiritual vein crystal, lying dormant deep within the liquid.
Outside the cave, the Three-Headed Demon Lizard's roars grew closer, its footsteps shaking the earth. It lingered at the entrance, sniffing the air for the residual scent of Pangu's blood essence. The eyes of its three heads glinted with greed, but it couldn't penetrate the spatial barrier of the innate spiritual vein.
After what felt like an eternity, the Three-Headed Demon Lizard seemed to lose patience. It let out a roar of frustration and turned toward the depths of Buzhou Mountain, its footsteps fading into the distance.
Only then did Ao Xuan's soul flame relax slightly, filled with relief at having narrowly escaped death.
He knew this was only the beginning of his survival in the Primordial World. The opportunity of the Pangu blood essence had allowed him to live, but the real trials had just begun. The office politics he'd endured were trivial compared to the life-or-death struggles of the Primordial World. He had to abandon the comfort-seeking mindset of a modern man, adopting the utmost caution and ruthless resolve to grow stronger as quickly as possible in this beast-infested, chaos-ravaged world—consolidate his dragon soul, manifest his dragon form, and wield control over the water element. Only then could he carve out a path to survival in this vast, unforgiving land.
Deep within Buzhou Mountain, beneath the converging spiritual veins, a wisp of cyan soul flame lay dormant—a dragon lurking in the abyss.