...

The sun wheel tilts towards the west, and nine clear sounds of jade chimes pierce the clouds, proclaiming the end of the seven-day-long imperial ritual, as the worshippers gradually disperse.

Great Sun Temple.

Golden light flowed from all over Chen Sheng’s body like a tide, finally condensing into the texture of his skin, the last thread of golden radiance gently quivered between the vertical eye on his forehead, vanishing unnoticed.

With hands behind his back, he stood in the temple, his gaze sweeping across the empty hall, his figure transformed into a stream of pale golden light, appearing in an instant atop the summit of the Source Volcano.

Within the volcano, the source bubbled, flickering stars like a miniature rising sun bursting forth with mighty essence of yang.

Chen Sheng lightly touched the tip of his foot upon a floating Red Flame cloud, his robe fluttering without wind.

With a low, sonorous cry, his figure suddenly expanded, replaced by a golden-winged roc whose wings covered the sky.

The beak was sharp as Cold Jade, golden flames flickering in his eyes, his true form.

"Continue purifying the bloodline!"

A thought flashed through Chen Sheng’s mind, and with a gentle flap of his wings, a shower of golden splendor descended, directly plunging into the Nine Sun Source below for a bath!

Golden liquid surged, the bloodline lightly pulsated, as though countless golden dragons were swimming within the veins.

Chen Sheng closed his eyes, allowing his heart spirit to dive into the depths of his bloodline, skillfully forming a hand seal to absorb all the surrounding Power of Origin.

Even after his divinity transformation, when he utilized enlightenment for cultivation, Chen Sheng never forgot his roots—bloodline of the demon race!

"The hierarchy of demon race bloodlines, distinctively ordered like stars in the heavens."

"Celestial bloodline aids the demon race in smoothly attaining Nascent Soul, already extraordinary in its initial appearance, Saint Grade bloodline corresponds to the Divinity Transformation Realm, accompanied by auspicious signs upon awakening."

"And True Demon Bloodline is the standard for Void Refining demons, on the day of bloodline awakening, surely the skies are filled with rays of light."

"Further above is the revered Ancestral Bloodline, without a fixed realm barrier, ranging from Integration to Mahayana, all can be honored as such."

"For the word "Ancestral" signifies the source of a race’s bloodline, and given the myriad demon races across the heavens, the might of ancestors vary greatly."

"In some clans, the ancestor is merely of Integration Realm, naturally imposing a limit on bloodline heritage. Some clans’ ancestors have pondered over innate Dao seeds, attaining Crossing the Tribulation, hence hiding the mystery of becoming a dao within the bloodline..."

"Even more so, if the ancestor ascended to the celestial domain as a Great Power, the bloodline becomes akin to a divine root, holding supreme fortune."

"Thus, even among ancestral bloodlines, there are distinct differences, the higher and lower are clearly judged.

The warmth of the Nine Sun Source seeped through the feathers into the marrow, Chen Sheng’s thoughts danced within the memories of bloodline heritage, a hint of sentiment glimmering in his golden eyes:

"If the source is merely demon of Integration Realm, seeking to elevate the bloodline to ancestral status, the difficulty far surpasses breakthrough by enlightenment."

He sighed softly, wingtip gently lifting, gathering a scoop of golden liquid, transforming into a tiny golden roc, flicking wings and scattering stars.

"I am indeed much more fortunate than them."

"Though the golden-winged roc may not possess celestial-grade bloodline, it does have Mahayana Venerable!"

With a thought, the lineage memory of the golden-winged roc surged like a tide, from countless ages past, a forebear of the clan walked the path of yin yang, achieving Mahayana Venerable.

Later, this ancestor gathered yin yang qi from the chaos, forging it within the bloodline heritage, leaving a clearly marked growth path for descendants.

In his consciousness, that path transformed into a golden thread, detailing every method of metamorphosis, the required fortune, transparently recorded.

This rendered his bloodline’s advancement path, lowering the difficulty by more than half.

"In the clan, forebears have precedents, encountering treasures such as ’Primal Blood Crystal’, ’Creative Source Qi’, and such, elevating bloodline from the pinnacle of True Demon to ancestral level, thereafter leveraging the power inherent in bloodline to breakthrough the Profound Gate of Integration."

His wings stretched wide, allowing the force of the Nine Sun Source to scour every fiber on his feathers, sensing the increasingly potent force within the bloodline:

"Since advancing to Void Refining Realm, my bloodline naturally elevated with cultivation to True Demon level, the unique Law of this Nine Sun Realm greatly benefits my yang attribute bloodline of the golden-winged roc."

"Over millennia, aided by the source of this realm, my bloodline’s power has grown by the day, only a step away from the pinnacle of True Demon."

"Sadly, there is an end..."

Chen Sheng shook his head, over the past century, he clearly felt the waning of aid from the Nine Sun Source, like a drying riverbed encountering a trickle, unable to restore the past splendor.

"When I truly reach the pinnacle of True Demon, the effect of the Nine Sun Realm’s Law will likely approach nil."

He gently sipped a drop of golden liquid from his palm, yet his eyes held not a hint of discouragement, but rather burned with a brilliant light.

The golden-winged roc clan is renowned for their prowess in battle; the more treacherous the path, the more it stimulates the ferocity and resilience within the bloodline.

"Even as the effect of the Nine Sun Law is exhausted, this path cannot be wrong!"

"First leverage opportunities to complete the bloodline advancement, then harness the power of the ancestral bloodline to push through Integration, for me, it might indeed be a shortcut."

Chen Sheng fiercely flapped his wings, myriad golden feathers pierced through the clouds like swords, etching golden trails across the sky.

He gazed down upon the swirling Nine Sun Source below, sensing the restless power within his bloodline, a surge of heroism arose in his heart:

"The endless realms of the heavens and myriad worlds hold the fortune that helped my predecessors exalt; surely, my opportunity awaits!"

...

The golden lotus platform of the Nine Sun Origin Volcano slowly unfolded.

Chen Sheng gathered his true form and once again donned his profound Daoist robe, standing atop the volcano with hands behind his back.

His gaze penetrated the layers of cloud sea, beyond the realm membrane of the Nine Sun Realm, casting toward the vast expanse of the Great Void.

Over the years, he continually dispersed numerous thoughts into the Great Void and entered other Small Thousand Worlds to harvest Origin.

Compared to relying on the Treasures of the Heavens, his efficiency had skyrocketed!

At this moment, Chen Sheng mused:

"The harvesting of Small Thousand Worlds cannot cease; accumulating bit by bit also leads to a grand force, but the true foundation ultimately lies in the Medium Thousand Worlds."

In the boundless expanse of the Great Void, Small Thousand Worlds are as numerous as grains of sand by the Ganges, effortlessly obtained, mostly birthed naturally except for those cultivated by Integration Cultivators, existing in great numbers.

However, Medium Thousand Worlds are entirely different; they are rare pearls in the Great Void, frightfully scarce.

Grand Thousand Worlds almost never initiate the nurturing of Medium Thousand Worlds, capable of initially opposing the Laws of Grand Thousand Worlds.

Thus, every Medium Thousand World is created by a Tribulation Crossing Daoist Monarch, carrying their path, serving as the foundation before their Ascension.

Consequently, Medium Thousand Worlds are often concealed within layers of restrictions and chaotic air, extremely obscured.

"Finding that Medium Thousand World truly was striking upon heavenly fortune."

"I must devote more energy!"

...

One of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the First Floor Heaven—subsidiary Mingguang Lower Realm.

The spiritual Qi of this realm is more abundant than the usual Small Thousand Worlds, its landscapes are beautiful, and sects are numerous.

Deep in the bamboo forest behind the Tianmu Sect. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A simple bamboo house, outside of which on a stone table sits a pot of coarse tea, swirls of steam intertwining with the pure atmosphere of the bamboo forest, evoking a sense of leisure.

"Senior brother, are you there?"

A somewhat urgent voice emanated from outside the bamboo forest, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, as a middle-aged cultivator wearing a grey Daoist robe walked quickly forward.

His face is elegant, a jade pendant engraved with the characters "Tianmu" hangs at his waist, he is none other than Tianmu Sect’s Inner Sect Elder, Li Xuan.

Reaching the bamboo house, he respectfully bowed towards the tightly shut bamboo door before taking out a Communication Jade Talisman, infusing it with spiritual Qi and gently tossing it, turning into a stream of light flying inside the house.

"Senior brother, do you remember Daoist Mu from Mu Xia Valley, who came to exchange at our sect a few years ago?"

"Just now, he sent a message indicating that he has achieved High Grade Golden Core and plans to host a Pill Completion Banquet at Mu Xia Valley, specifically sending an invitation for you to observe!"

Inside the house, silence lingered for a moment before a somewhat impatient rough voice responded:

"Bah, is High Grade Golden Core so remarkable? I’m not going! I’m going to close door cultivation. Within three months, I will definitely achieve High Grade Golden Core too. At that time, I’ll let him take a good look!"

With the fall of the words, the bamboo door creaked open, revealing an angular old face, it is Chen Sheng’s current incarnation, "Shi Jian".

His brows were tightly furrowed, full of arrogance, without even glancing at the invitation in Li Xuan’s hand, turning around to shut the door.

Li Xuan emitted a helpless smile, pressing his hand against the door and advising earnestly:

"Senior brother, achieving High Grade Golden Core is not that simple? Not three months, even three years or thirty years, few manage to achieve it."

"It requires temperament, fundamentals, opportunity, none of which can be lacking, especially temperament, which must be as clear as a mirror, as an ancient well without waves."

Having been with "Shi Jian" for over forty years, he thoroughly understands the temperament of this senior brother.

Cowardly and afraid of death, shrinking back when encountering strong foes, bullying the weak, flaunting authority upon seeing weaker cultivators!

Such temperament doesn’t seem like someone capable of achieving High Grade Golden Core.

"Mind your own business!"

Annoyed, Chen Sheng brushed off his hand and heavily shut the bamboo door, leaving Li Xuan outside, shaking his head and sighing.

Inside the bamboo house, Chen Sheng restrained the arrogance on his face, resuming his cross-legged position, recalling the scene when he first met Daoist Mu years ago.

At that time, he had just entered the Mingguang Realm and, with the identity of "Shi Jian", joined Tianmu Sect coinciding with Wood Daoist’s visit. He saw through the other’s fortune at a glance.

That fortune seemed flourishing but was actually fundamentally unstable, with black air of death tribulation faintly swirling overhead, clearly a role paving the way for the "Child of Fortune".

"The dying person, truly ominous!"

"I still wish to ’normally’ attain immortality; I cannot be implicated by such people. It’s better to retreat into seclusion until this turbulence passes."