The operation of heaven and earth stabilized, but the Pangu Axe, a tool of earth splitting, was severely damaged from cleaving the heavens.
The Pangu Axe shattered into three fragments. One fragment flew towards the sun, which was formed from Pangu's eyes. The remaining two fragments vanished into the space between heaven and earth, their whereabouts unknown.
The Earth Splitting Axe broke into eight fragments. Four flew towards the west, and the other four scattered to the four cardinal directions of heaven and earth, also vanishing without a trace.
The Will of Heaven, recognizing Pangu's merit in cleaving the heavens, took action.
A voice then echoed between heaven and earth, a voice that was neither male nor female, devoid of joy or sorrow, filled only with infinite indifference.
The voice declared, "I am the Will of Heaven of this realm. Pangu has performed meritorious deeds in cleaving the heavens, and I now bestow the merit of heaven-cleaving."
Instantly, the sounds of creation filled the cosmos. Golden clouds of merit appeared in the nine heavens, and auspicious light and clouds permeated the world. Golden lotuses of the Great Dao bloomed everywhere.
The clouds of merit divided into two portions. Approximately sixty percent drifted towards Kunlun Mountain, merging into the three pure lights formed from Pangu's primordial spirit.
The remaining forty percent headed towards Buzhou Mountain, integrating into the twelve drops of Pangu's vital blood within his chest.
As heaven-sent merit descended, a soul silently arrived in this world, transforming into an elder with white hair and a white beard.
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
"This world, opened with Pangu's life as the price, is indeed magnificent. It is far more comfortable than the darkness of chaos."
"Perhaps Pangu never imagined that I, Hongjun, would be the first living being in this world."
"The innate energies of this heaven and earth are so abundant; cultivation here will be much faster than in chaos."
"I must cultivate quickly. The Will of Heaven of this realm has just been born; I must plan carefully. It may not be impossible to replace it."
"If I wait until this world fully evolves and the Will of Heaven grows stronger, it will become much more difficult."
"Hongjun, you are not dead?"
A young man in black appeared opposite the white-haired elder.
Upon seeing the youth, the elder exclaimed, "Luohu, you are not dead either."
It turned out that this youth, like Hongjun, was one of the three thousand Chaotic Demon Gods. He was a soul that had miraculously escaped Pangu's axe in the chaos. After years of cultivation, he had regained his physical form.
The young man retorted, "If you are not dead, how could I possibly die? Pangu destroyed my demon god body; I will destroy this world and render all his hard work in vain."
"Hmph."
Hongjun let out a cold snort. "This realm was created by Pangu, the Demon God of Strength, and nurtured by his vital blood. It will surely evolve into three thousand great worlds. This is my opportunity to achieve sainthood."
"Destroying this world? You are dreaming!"
"So you have the same intention!"
"Hahaha."
"Hahaha."
"If I destroy this world, I will surely advance further and become a Chaotic Saint."
"Since we both intend to use this world to attain the Dao, let us settle this with our hands! Let me also see how much you have recovered."
"Very well, I have the same intention."
With that, he attacked Luohu.
Hongjun formed two fingers into a sword and lunged at Luohu. A sharp white light emanated from his fingertips, flying fiercely towards Luohu. Luohu opened his palm, rotated it, and a black mist gathered in his palm, covering it. He struck fiercely at Hongjun. The white and black streams of light collided in mid-air, exploding with a thunderous roar that pushed both Hongjun and Luohu back.
As Luohu prepared to attack again, he heard Hongjun say, "Enough. We do not know how many years we have fought in the chaos without a victor. There is no need to continue."
Luohu felt the same. His strike today was merely to gauge Hongjun's recovery.
"It appears you are the same as me."
He ceased his attack and turned to leave.
After Luohu departed, Hongjun also vanished.
The world returned to peace, and the power of the void surged to restore it.
After leaving, Hongjun found himself thinking of Luohu, which gave him a headache. They were both Chaotic Demon Gods of similar strength. He had thought Luohu, injured by Pangu, would not have recovered, but unexpectedly, he had, just like himself, achieved creation and recovered significantly.
Although their goals were the same, their paths were diametrically opposed. His innate spiritual treasure had been destroyed, and Luohu's likely had been too.
"If I want to defeat him, I must have a treasure!"
"A treasure?"
Hongjun suddenly thought that while the three thousand demon gods all had innate spiritual treasures, Pangu's Pangu Axe and Earth Splitting Axe were likely the most powerful.
"Pangu is dead, so the Pangu Axe and Earth Splitting Axe are ownerless. If I find them, they will be mine!"
"At that time, Luohu will surely not be my match."
Hongjun was overjoyed. "Luohu, Luohu, you are destined not to be my opponent."
Thus, Hongjun put his thoughts into action, cultivating while searching for the Pangu Axe and Earth Splitting Axe.
Meanwhile, Luohu harbored the same intention, also setting his sights on the Pangu Axe and Earth Splitting Axe.
They were unaware that the Pangu Axe and Earth Splitting Axe had already shattered and were destined to be unfindable. Even if found, it would only be a fragment.
Luohu traveled west for an unknown number of miles. Suddenly, he felt a premonition and headed straight towards a great mountain. Black clouds gathered at the mountain's peak, accompanied by thunder and lightning, with faint black energy swirling within.
As Luohu moved to investigate, his foot touched the mountainside. Suddenly, a black lightning bolt struck from the sky. Luohu quickly retreated to evade it.
"An innate great formation?"
"What treasure lies within this mountain that it can spontaneously evolve an innate great formation to protect itself? I must investigate."
Luohu was both skilled and bold.
He activated his divine abilities to protect himself, and a black mist enveloped him. With a single step, Luohu entered the innate great formation.
Within the formation, black lightning filled the air, circulating according to the innate Eight Trigrams, flowing endlessly.
An ordinary person who arrived here would likely be instantly reduced to ashes by this black lightning.
This black lightning was no ordinary thing; it was the Yin lightning of the innate Yin-Yang Divine Lightning, which specifically harmed the soul. Those struck by it with weak souls would surely have their souls annihilated, dying a death beyond death.
Luohu dared not be careless. He knew nothing of formations and could only find the formation's eye and destroy it to break the formation.
The interior of the formation was devoid of sunlight. Fortunately, Luohu was originally a Chaotic Demon God and had spent countless years in chaos. This was not beyond his capabilities.
Luohu, relying on a general direction, moved towards the center of the great formation.
In the middle of the formation, a stone platform stood. Upon it rested a spear, entirely dark red. The spear's body emanated a cold radiance, bearing the characters "God Slaying." A bloody glow flickered at the spear's tip, and the red tassels at its neck swayed like fresh blood.
The stone platform beneath it was the eye of the innate great formation. Luohu gathered his full cultivation into his palm and struck the stone platform forcefully. Immediately, stone fragments flew, the formation eye was destroyed, and the innate great formation ceased its operation.
Luohu took the spear into his hand. The moment he touched it, he understood its origin.
It turned out that this spear was formed from the root of the thirty-sixth-grade Chaotic Green Lotus, the first such lotus to exist before the chaos was cleaved.
That green lotus was rooted in the chaotic void, absorbing the chaotic energy. Later, when Pangu cleaved the heavens and slew the Chaotic Demon Gods, their deaths were filled with extreme resentment, which merged into the chaotic demon blood and was absorbed by the green lotus's root.
After Pangu created the heavens and earth, the green lotus disintegrated, and its root transformed into this "God Slaying Spear."
Meanwhile, Hongjun traveled east, cultivating diligently until he reached the perfection of Da Luo. Suddenly, he felt an impulse and headed towards a cave.
Just as he was about to enter, a golden lightning bolt struck towards Hongjun. Hongjun dodged to the side, and the golden lightning struck a distant mountain.
The mountain suddenly vanished.
Hongjun was shocked and exclaimed, "Innate Yang Lightning?"
Innate Yang Lightning specifically harms the physical body. Those struck by it with insufficient cultivation would have their bodies vanish without a trace, leaving no ashes.
Hongjun rejoiced. "With such Yang Lightning here, there must be a great treasure!" He then activated his divine abilities and entered the cave.
Inside, he saw a stone table with a jade disk placed upon it. A ripple-like halo of light circled the disk. Hongjun reached out to take it. The moment his palm touched the jade disk, he understood its origin.
It turned out that this jade disk was called the "Jade Disk of Creation." It was of the same origin as the Great Dao and recorded the three thousand Great Daos, assisting in the cultivation of other Daos and accelerating the speed of cultivation.
However, it had been shattered into several pieces by the impact of Pangu's heaven-cleaving. The portion before Hongjun was about one-fifth, containing six hundred Great Daos.
Hongjun was overjoyed. He had originally intended to find the Pangu Axe and Earth Splitting Axe, but now, with this item, he could get ahead of Luohu.