Kunpeng, the ancient Beast Master…

Could it have been this easy to subdue him? Could this be an imposter?

To better orient themselves, Li Changshou and his group retraced their steps, returning to the “Mountain Cave Palace” that Kunpeng had smashed through with his face. Most of the strange formations here were still operational, keeping the environment within the cave stable. Finding such a secure location within the Chaos Sea was no small feat.

At present, Kunpeng remained in human form, looking utterly miserable. The Soul-Piercing Lock had penetrated various vital points across his body, and the Dragon-Binding Rope had him tied up like a rice dumpling. Yet Li Changshou still felt uneasy, so he redirected all the power of his Taiji Diagram—originally meant to protect his Primordial Spirit—to suppress Kunpeng’s spirit instead.

Of course, these were just standard precautions. Being cautious was simply in his nature, so he added an extra layer of security.

He arranged for a certain high-ranking auspicious beast to sit beside Kunpeng.

Baize: …

And so, Kunpeng—bound from head to toe with the Immortal-Trapping Sword suspended above his head—became a prisoner after sustaining grievous injuries.

Li Changshou felt he had no right to accept a bow from Kunpeng. Therefore, when Golden Peng tried to force Kunpeng to kneel, Li Changshou quickly intervened, saying seriously:

“Though Beast Master Kunpeng is extremely vicious and evil, he remains a powerful figure from the ancient and primordial eras. There’s no need for such humiliation.”

Kunpeng let out a cold laugh, fixing Li Changshou with an icy stare. Blood still dripped from his severed arm, his savage nature undiminished.

As a side note, Li Changshou had carefully stored away that mysterious sphere. Another trump card was added to his collection.

Li Changshou said, “Kunpeng, you find yourself in this predicament today because of our joint effort. I won’t let you live to have a chance at revenge against us. Before sending you on your way, I’ll address you as Senior one last time. Senior, do you have any last words?”

Kunpeng gave another cold laugh and decisively closed his eyes.

Baize sighed from the side, “Water God, may I speak with him? Consider it a final sendoff.”

Li Changshou nodded slowly, stepping back several paces. He exchanged a glance with Yunxiao, their eyes reflecting shared sentiments. Even a great powerhouse would eventually meet such an end.

Baize sat cross-legged before Kunpeng, took out a jade flask from his sleeve, and poured two cups of wine, placing one before Kunpeng.

At this moment, Kunpeng couldn’t move at all. Golden Peng kicked him from the side, causing him to fall awkwardly to the ground. Yet Kunpeng showed no anger, merely casting a cold glance at Golden Peng and snorting.

“You worthless mount.”

“The Master spared my life, saved my Phoenix Clan’s fate, and cleared the confusion in my heart, showing me my life’s purpose! Being the Master’s mount is my life’s greatest honor!” Golden Peng’s eyes burned with hatred as he declared, “Please allow me, Master, to tear apart this Kunpeng’s Primordial Spirit later, leaving him with no burial ground!”

Li Changshou said, “You’ll have your revenge, Golden Peng. Don’t be too agitated. Let Sir Baize reminisce with him.”

“Reminisce?” Kunpeng laughed coldly, then burst into loud laughter: “You merely fear me! You’re afraid of me! You want to confirm whether I have any tricks left up my sleeve! Hahaha! Such pretentious tactics—I played these games long ago in ancient times!”

Li Changshou smiled without saying much, instead calling Golden Peng over to inquire about the grudge between the Phoenix Clan and Kunpeng.

To Li Changshou’s surprise, Kunpeng was the adopted son of the First Phoenix.

In ancient times, while Ancestor Dragon created many dragon offspring and the Dragon Clan flourished, the Phoenix Clan—one of the two great clans that fought alongside Pangu against the Primordial Gods and Demons—had few offspring.

The First Phoenix was proud and unwilling to mate with beings weaker than herself, so she took a completely different path from the Dragon Clan to expand her clan.

[“Become my son!”]

When Li Changshou heard these words from Golden Peng, the image that appeared in his mind was of a white-bearded old man from his previous life…

Clearing his thoughts, Li Changshou reimagined a scene more fitting for the primordial world.

Under bright sunlight, the proud and beautiful First Phoenix, with her Nirvana Fire Wings spread, extended her hand to gently pat the head of the figure kneeling before her.

In ancient times, the tale of “All Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix” didn’t mean phoenixes appeared and birds followed. Rather, many powerful avian beings were inducted into the Phoenix Clan, accepting the First Phoenix’s Nirvana Blood and transforming into phoenixes.

In ancient times, Kunpeng was the First Phoenix’s adopted son. He wasn’t particularly prominent in the Phoenix Clan, being a divine fish Kun who transformed into a bird.

However, during the Dragon-Phoenix War, Kunpeng rapidly rose to power by devouring the essence of fallen Phoenix Clan members. When the ancient world was shattered and the most powerful members of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans perished, he proclaimed himself King of the North Sea, ruling over the northern waters and breaking ties with the Phoenix Clan.

Later, he became the Beast Master of the Demon Court.

At the end of the Immortal-Demon War, Kunpeng fled into the Chaos Sea while being pursued by human experts. He secretly escaped to the Undying Fire Mountain, gained the trust of the Original Phoenix, and then betrayed her, stealing part of her essence.

Kong Xuan and Golden Peng left the Undying Fire Mountain to roam the Three Realms, partly to investigate Kunpeng’s whereabouts and execute him.

However, that was no longer necessary.

Li Changshou asked, “Then if we refine Kunpeng, can we restore the Original Phoenix’s essence?”

“Well,” Golden Peng thought carefully and said, “That remains unknown, though we might recover some portion.”

“Don’t waste your effort,” Kunpeng said calmly, “When a Saint hunted me down in the past, I used up all of the Original Phoenix’s essence to heal my near-fatal wounds.”

Golden Peng flew into a rage and was about to kill him, but Li Changshou held him back.

Baize spoke slowly, “Kunpeng, considering our past collaboration in ancient times, I offer you this drink.”

Kunpeng remained silent, staring at Baize, seemingly contemplating something.

Baize smiled and said, “Don’t overthink it. As you said, we’re indeed being cautious and confirming whether you have any remaining tricks. Life in the Chaos Sea must have been hard. Humans have a saying: ‘A dying person’s words are good.’ Now that you’re cornered, why not chat with me a bit?”

Kunpeng’s expression remained bland as if he had long since stopped caring about life or death.

Li Changshou, observing this from the side, felt a hint of suspicion…

Kunpeng’s will to live seemed unexpectedly weak.

Yunxiao transmitted her voice: “This Beast Master seems quite different from the legends.”

“Indeed,” Li Changshou crossed his arms and transmitted back, “It feels like subduing him was too simple…”

Even when transmitting her voice, Yunxiao’s tone remained gentle and soothing, bringing peace to one’s heart.

She said, “Actually, it wasn’t simple at all. Kunpeng’s most troublesome trait was his extreme speed, unmatched in the Chaos Sea for ages. Golden Peng is already a rare primordial species, and your Way of Balance is something unheard of in both ancient and primordial times. Kunpeng was already severely injured and had been dwelling in the Chaos Sea for a long. Running into you, his natural counter, while in such a state—this outcome is quite reasonable.”

“Though that explanation makes sense, something still feels off,” Li Changshou shook his head slightly, studying Kunpeng’s current expression.

Yunxiao stayed quiet beside him, focusing on guarding against any sudden moves from Kunpeng so Li Changshou could concentrate on his thoughts.

At this moment, Kunpeng’s mental defenses seemed to be gradually crumbling. Facing Baize, his ‘old acquaintance’ with whom he had debated countless times in the golden halls of the Demon Court, his face gradually darkened. He smiled self-mockingly, the sharp light in his eyes slowly fading.

Li Changshou frowned slightly…

He couldn’t detect any problems.

Kunpeng’s current state seemed to be that of someone who had been hiding in the Chaos Sea for too long, becoming somewhat self-destructive.

That made perfect sense…

“Looks like you won in the end,” Kunpeng’s voice grew hoarse, “Baize, you’ve found yourself another wise ruler.”

“I don’t serve the current Heaven Court,” Baize’s lips carried a faint smile as he set down his wine cup and placed both hands on his knees, “To be honest, I was cornered by Water God and pledged loyalty to him to save my life.”

“Your divine ability to seek fortune and avoid calamity—back in ancient times, I failed to assassinate you so many times because of it.” Kunpeng said, “Have you grown old as well?”

“It’s a long story, but ultimately I was outmaneuvered,” Baize sighed, “He used my ability to corner me, and even found my location before I could escape into the Chaos Sea. Don’t feel wronged about your defeat today. When you charged in, this outcome was already decided. This isn’t the primordial world but the chaotic Chaos Sea, where the Heavenly Dao doesn’t influence your judgment. Simply put, you sought your doom.”

“Haha…” Kunpeng’s laughter trailed off, his eyes full of desolation.

“Never thought that after roaming free all my life, I would meet my end here, at the hands of the younger generation.”

Baize said, “You took everything to extremes, committed countless evils, and finally earned heaven’s wrath and countless spirits’ hatred. This end suits you.”

“Stop spouting nonsense about predetermined fate,” Kunpeng said, “You think you calculated everything and conquered the primordial world, building the Demon Court and establishing the ancient sacred clans. In reality, you were just a pawn of the Heavenly Dao, a tool manipulated by those beings who reached the peak of this world before us. Baize, do you know what’s most absurd about the primordial world?”

Baize remained silent for a while, his face showing slight helplessness before saying:

“We have different experiences and encounters, so naturally different insights. I know you well enough to guess that you find two things most absurd. First, you feel you merely followed the path of the ancient powerhouses—stealing treasures, taking lives, strengthening yourself by any means necessary—yet you were branded as extremely evil by later generations’ moral standards that had nothing to do with you. You were an overlord of ancient times, yet you’re despised by later generations who only know to label themselves with goodness and benevolence. Second, the very nature of the demon race.”

“Both wrong.”

“Oh?” Baize raised an eyebrow.

Kunpeng smiled and said: “In my actions, I never questioned good or evil, only cause and effect. I didn’t follow rules or choose methods. So-called good, evil, benevolence, and righteousness are all false constructs. The primordial world has always been about the strong being supreme, and the so-called order is merely a fence that the strong impose on the weak to consolidate their positions. They strongly want to prevent the birth of future beings that could threaten their existence. Baize, if you weren’t sitting here today, facing me who is about to be eliminated, you might never know why the demon race was established.”

Baize said: “Speaking of these things is pointless now.”

“You’re afraid,” Kunpeng’s eyes lit up faintly, “Wasn’t the demon race just raised by Ancestral Master Hongjun to scheme against Pangu’s descendants? Do you think your divine ability to seek fortune and avoid calamity was given to you by the Heavenly Dao for nothing? Every step you took, every choice you made—not just you, but also those two Demon Emperors and everything about the Demon Court—was under Hongjun’s control. The Immortal-Demon War happened only because the demon tribe, being Pangu’s descendants, couldn’t be controlled. In your words, what is ultimate evil? The Ancestral Master was that pioneer, the being who truly reached the peak of all life in ancient times. Do you know what divine ability the Ancestral Master used to kill Luohou? I saw it—it was a battle of peak physical combat. What did the Ancestral Master pass down to the primordial world? The Way of the Primordial Spirit could be easily influenced by the Heavenly Dao. That’s what’s most absurd. In truth, I admired Ancestral Master Hongjun the most, yet in the end, I only received a glance from him when the Demon Court fell, and ended up in such a miserable state. When Tongian hunted me down and I was severely wounded, nearly dying, I finally understood this principle after escaping with my life. Hongjun would never allow a second version of himself…”

“Sir Baize,” Li Changshou’s voice interrupted Kunpeng’s words.

He floated over from behind, arriving before Kunpeng, and said: “No need to let him continue. The Beast Master of that time is dead, and now he’s just a lonely soul from ancient times that refuses to pass on, full of resentment, with no spirit left.”

Baize sighed softly, stood up, and stepped back.

“Do it, Golden Peng.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Golden Peng clasped his hands in a bow, gripped the small Demon-Slaying Spear, and using almost all his strength, thrust it through Kunpeng’s head.

To be safe, at the moment the Demon-Slaying Spear broke through Kunpeng’s forehead, Li Changshou activated the power of the Taiji Diagram to destroy Kunpeng’s Primordial Spirit.

As Kunpeng’s remnant body tried to transform into its true form, Li Changshou’s Heaven-Earth Ruler flew out on its own, invoking the complete Heaven-Earth Dao to suppress it, so that when Kunpeng transformed into his true form, he was only about thirty feet long.

Then, the Heaven-Earth Ruler and Primordial Golden Dipper worked together. Li Changshou and Yunxiao joined forces to place Kunpeng’s remnant body into the Primordial Golden Dipper.

The Primordial Golden Dipper possessed the power to trace origins and return to beginnings. Following Li Changshou’s repeated instructions, Fairy Yunxiao used her full power to refine Kunpeng’s corpse…

And so, a notorious figure of the primordial world, the infamous ultimate evil being, was left without even bones.

In response, Baize only let out a long sigh, pouring the wine he had placed before Kunpeng onto the cave floor.

Li Changshou carefully searched the surroundings for any remaining soul fragments and used the Three-Realm True Flame to meticulously burn away Kunpeng’s blood stains and remnants.

Golden Peng leaned on the Demon-Slaying Spear, bowed his head, and remained silent for a while.

Li Changshou asked with concern: “What’s wrong?”

“He was, after all, once a spirit of our Phoenix Clan.”

…

After Yunxiao completely refined Kunpeng’s corpse—about half an hour in Li Changshou’s perception—the group set off on their return journey.

On the way back, Golden Peng still flew with spread wings, but Baize had also taken human form, sitting before Li Changshou and Yunxiao, his face full of mixed emotions.

The old mount of the Human Dao needed to express himself.

Kunpeng’s true form had been riddled with wounds, making its disposal not particularly difficult.

But after killing Kunpeng, Li Changshou felt unexpectedly calm.

There was no sense of achievement or pleasure, but rather a desolate melancholy from witnessing the end of an era.

And there was an unshakeable doubt in his heart.

The words Kunpeng spoke hadn’t shaken Li Changshou’s dao heart; he still maintained his usual respect for the Ancestral Master.

Different perspectives naturally lead to different conclusions.

The current order of the primordial world originated from the ‘Ancestral Master merging with the Dao and Six Saints taking their positions.’ It was natural for Kunpeng, as an ancient ‘remnant,’ to say such things.

It would be truly laughable to be swayed by Kunpeng’s few words.

Of course, Li Changshou himself maintained sufficient vigilance toward the Ancestral Master, absolutely not wanting to become a second Senior Wanderer.

But why did he keep feeling that something was off about today’s events?

Soon, when Yunxiao took out Kunpeng’s ‘inheritance’ from the Primordial Golden Dipper, the doubt in Li Changshou’s dao heart became increasingly apparent.

Why was this Kunpeng so poor?

Li Changshou received an excellent storage treasure, a jade ring, but inside were only spiritually dead broken tiles and copper, along with some rare but useless exotic materials.

Thinking carefully, this made sense too.

Kunpeng was injured and couldn’t recover his magical power from spiritual energy in the Chaos Sea, only relying on his own reserves.

Over the long years, with injuries unhealed and magical power unrecovered, these reserves had been depleted.

He didn’t dare return to the primordial world, nor even approach it too closely, so he couldn’t get ‘supplies.’

Kunpeng was ultimately a being of the primordial world; though he could survive in the Chaos Sea, he couldn’t live comfortably.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing Li Changshou’s continued frown, Yunxiao asked softly.

“Still feels something’s not right,” Li Changshou didn’t conceal his thoughts, “Kunpeng died too easily, it’s truly abnormal. Sir Baize, did Kunpeng have any powerful treasures?”

Baize said: “I haven’t heard of any. Most beings who saw Kunpeng in action were eliminated by him. To be honest, even the two Demon Emperors weren’t quite clear about Kunpeng’s divine abilities and treasures back then.”

But Golden Peng said: “Kunpeng had a cauldron, a treasure bottle, and an ancient lamp.”

Li Changshou searched through the jade ring and quickly took out these three spiritually dead primordial treasures.

These treasures had ‘died.’

Baize sighed: “He drained them of spirit, they’re no better than waste stones now… Tch, we’ve wasted our effort this time, he didn’t even spare his treasures.”

Fairy Yunxiao said: “Being able to eliminate this great evil is already fortunate, perhaps this was Master’s intentional arrangement.”

Li Changshou asked again: “What was refined from Kunpeng’s corpse? Was there any Phoenix Clan essence?”

Yunxiao said: “Just some spiritual energy and fragments of dao principles, which have already dispersed on their own.”

“Sir Baize, are you certain this was Kunpeng?”

“Water God, that extreme speed could belong to no other.”

“True…”

Li Changshou was slightly bewildered, the doubt in his heart never retreating.

He sat cross-legged on Golden Peng’s back, thinking carefully, and soon took out a blank scroll, lowering his head to write and draw.

After some time, Li Changshou looked up at Baize and smiled: “Sir Baize, shall we have a contest?”

“What kind of contest?”

Li Changshou smiled and said: “If you and I were Kunpeng, trapped in that desperate situation at the end of ancient times, after stealing the First Phoenix’s essence and barely escaping a Saint’s pursuit, how would we arrange to save our lives?”

Baize was stunned, lowered his head in thought for a while, then his eyes brightened.

“There’s something strange…”

Li Changshou smiled and asked: “What’s strange?”

“Why would Kunpeng linger at the edge of the primordial world instead of fleeing deep into the Chaos Sea?”

Baize’s eyes widened, his spirit rising as he said:

“He was already so weak and didn’t dare approach the primordial world, so why would he need to build that cave at the edge where the Heavenly Dao’s power reaches? Letting the Six Saints know he was still alive?”

Li Changshou’s smile deepened, “Anything else?”

Baize pondered, and beside him, Yunxiao also frowned slightly, thinking seriously.

Soon, Baize fell into deep thought, Yunxiao fell into deep thought, and Patriarch Tongian, observing this place through the Immortal-Trapping Sword, fell into deep thought.

After some time, Yunxiao said softly: “Could it be because Kunpeng was too proud, taking pride in his extreme speed?”

Li Changshou said: “Why would an extremely proud being, before even falling into a disadvantage and just after exchanging two moves with us, decisively turn and flee?”

“Kunpeng wasn’t proud,” Baize explained, “He was fierce and cunning. Even when dealing with beings barely qualifying as experts like Ji Wuyou, the master of the Crossing Immortal Gate, he would go all out, leaving no loose ends.”

Li Changshou said: “Yet such a being was eliminated by us without effort.”

Baize said: “But his fear in that final moment wasn’t fake, and we witnessed Kunpeng’s extreme speed—there couldn’t be a second Kunpeng.”

“Why couldn’t there be a second Kunpeng?”

To this question from Li Changshou, Baize was speechless.

Yunxiao said: “After tracing his corpse to its origin, we couldn’t find a trace of the First Phoenix’s essence. This is hard to explain. In ancient times, I also once felt the First Phoenix’s aura and dao rhyme, but couldn’t find even a bit of it in this Kunpeng.”

Baize pinched his goatee and said softly: “Why do I feel my hair standing on end?”

With two claps, Li Changshou smiled and said:

“Let’s make a bold assumption, one that I arrived at after exhaustively considering all possibilities—the only assumption that can explain all these questionable points. The key moment was when Uncle Master Tongian hunted Kunpeng, when Kunpeng was severely wounded, and nearly died, but luckily escaped. That huge scar on Kunpeng’s back must have been cut by Uncle Master Tongan. At that time, the dying Kunpeng made a choice.”

Baize couldn’t help but lean forward: “What choice?”

“Golden cicada shedding its shell, or self-division, or some other divine ability…

In any case, he used some method to recreate another self.

Let’s assume it was the shell-shedding approach.”

Li Changshou continued slowly:

“He possibly left his original old shell at the edge of the primordial world, waiting to be killed by a Saint, while the newly born spirit fled deep into the Chaos Sea. The old shell retained all his memories from before the split but had the memory of making this decision erased. In other words, the old shell didn’t know it had been split, mistakenly believing it could survive solely on the First Phoenix’s essence. As for that newly born spirit, besides taking the method of spirit division and the First Phoenix’s essence, it didn’t take any other treasures or spirit stones. A perfect plan for faking death and escaping was thus achieved. What we killed today was just the old shell, while the real Kunpeng had long since rooted himself in the Chaos Sea.”

Baize’s face paled slightly as he frowned and asked: “Is there any evidence?”

Li Changshou smiled and took out a stone tablet from the jade ring, handing it to Baize.

“There are two sentences on it, seemingly written when the old shell Kunpeng noticed something unusual. One says ‘Why does my spirit always feel incomplete,’ the other says ‘Why do I never want to go deep into the Chaos.'”

Baize took the tablet, and carefully examined it for a while, his face growing pale.

Li Changshou sank his immortal consciousness into the ring, searching for other evidence to support his bold assumption.

But when he spread out that pile of ruined treasures, his pupils suddenly contracted as he stared at the… iron-bound notebook wrapped in mysterious dao rhyme, pressed between two rusty iron shovels!

Could Kunpeng be Senior Wanderer?!

Li Changshou was stunned for a moment but quickly rejected this thought, confirming that this ‘notebook,’ though styled after his previous life but made of primordial world materials, was just part of Kunpeng’s collection.

Yunxiao asked softly: “Have you found something else?”

“Yes,” Li Changshou nodded, taking out some ruined treasures but not touching that ‘notebook.’

This matter was already a primordial world taboo—the fewer who knew, the better, lest it draw unwanted attention.

It counted as an unexpected gain.

…

Deep in the Chaos Sea, an unknowable distance from the primordial world.

A pitch-black mountain range stood in the Chaos Sea, with dao forces flowing around it, isolating strands of chaos energy, building up an ‘order’ similar to the primordial world.

By primordial world standards, this mountain range stretched for thousands of miles;

And at the moment when Kunpeng’s Primordial Spirit was eliminated by the Taiji Diagram, atop the highest peak of this mountain range, a pair of eyes black as the abyss opened to their widest…