I Was the Heavenly Emperor in the Primordial Age

Chapter 27: The Third Journey into the Primordial Wilderness

Lu Qing was a member of Lu Gang’s field team.

When Tao Mountain Island was first explored, he had already been inside. However, as soon as he entered, he was lost within this fog, and few people knew the dangers here better than he did.

And now, he once again came to Tao Mountain Island, and might even have to stay here for a long time.

They had only found a spot on the island’s edge, at the pier, that had not been completely eroded by the fog. It was barely considered the only safe place on Tao Mountain Island. Here, they established a station.

“Buzz!”

“Dong dong dong dong.”

“……”

Strange noises came from the void. One after another, vehicles of various kinds dropped onto the pier. Lu Qing and the others, wearing thick glasses, looked up at the sky, trying to see clearly the secrets hidden there.

These vehicles came out of thin air, piercing through the void before landing here.

The longer Lu Qing and the others stared, the more they felt themselves drifting away from the mortal world, and drawing closer to the realm of gods and demons.

Finally, when no more objects fell, Lu Qing and the rest began their operation.

“Take stock.”

“Everything’s here.”

“Then let’s begin!”

The necessary goods had all been transported. All the vehicles drove deep into Tao Mountain Island, and then Lu Qing and his companions witnessed a scene stranger, more like something from legends and strange tales.

Within the mist, shadows began to stir. From the walls, countless Wood Guests struggled out, each bearing a confused expression as they took over the vehicles, then disappeared into the depths of the fog.

Lu Qing and the others looked up. They seemed to faintly see the figure that Lu Gang had mentioned—bound beneath the Divine Peach Tree deep within Tao Mountain Island.

Whether it was those Wood Guests, or that figure, they were all restrained by something.

Seeing this scene, Lu Qing could not help but think.

“One day, I too might become one of them. Lost in the fog, I would arrive on this Tao Mountain Island, and like them, be bound here.”

Lu Qing had already been parasitized during his first exploration of Tao Mountain Island. Not long ago, he applied to become a new Extraordinary One. But the more he learned about these so-called “Extraordinary Ones,” the more he understood that they were nothing like what the outside world imagined.

Soon, explosions rang out from within the mist of Tao Mountain Island. The Wood Guests drove the vehicles, toppling buildings one after another, blasting open walls that blocked their path.

Relentless through the night, their actions seemed desperately urgent.

Lately, everyone had been racing against time. The Longevity Temple was racing against time to seize control of the entire extraordinary world, and even the entire mortal world. They themselves were racing against time to stop the Longevity Temple. And foreign forces were racing against time, fearful that someone else might seize the initiative before them.

No one wanted others to have the first move when the era of the extraordinary officially began. Yet, everyone wanted to claim more of that first move for themselves.

Likewise, Li Jun was also racing against time.

That day, the movements on the island suddenly ceased. Instead, it was this silence that startled Lu Qing awake. He hurriedly rushed out from the small building near the pier.

At this time, the fog on the island had thinned considerably. From the top of the building, Lu Qing looked deeper into the island, and saw that Tao Mountain Island had completely changed its appearance.

The buildings on the island were either cleared away, or fused with trees and massive vines, forming into an enormous and mysterious pattern, exuding an ancient aura, like a totem carved upon jade or stone walls.

But on closer look, it also resembled gigantic roots.

At that moment, faint chanting of scriptures echoed within the mist. Along with that chanting, it seemed as though something was being summoned back across the span of ages from the Primordial Age.

Lu Qing looked up, and saw the pattern of those “roots” continuously extending upward.

They formed a trunk, gathered into a canopy, and finally became a Divine Tree that filled heaven and earth.

It looked like the one behind Li Jun, but it seemed larger, and more real.

However, the shadow of that Divine Tree did not last long. It gradually faded above Tao Mountain Island. At that moment, movement stirred at the pier behind Lu Qing.

Lu Qing immediately rushed down from the building and came to the pier, the others inside following him out.

Ahead, there was no sea—only a scene of void. Tao Mountain Island was floating in a vast emptiness.

At this moment, within that void, it seemed that a passageway was opening.

Lu Qing shouted excitedly: “The door has opened.”

Nan’gang City.

The Fourth Hospital had already been abandoned on the surface, but in secret, it had become a base. Now, it was further set up as an important gateway to Tao Mountain Island. The supplies and vehicles earlier had all been transported through here.

At this moment, personnel from across the country had gathered here, all waiting nervously for something.

Recently, Lu Gang, rarely in leisure, was sitting in his office. Just then, the phone rang—it was Luo Zhen.

“We’ve detected activity.”

Lu Gang asked excitedly: “Is the door about to open?”

Luo Zhen replied: “It seems so, but it’s only fluctuations so far. We don’t know yet if it will succeed.”

Lu Gang said: “For Li Jun, this shouldn’t be difficult. Everything he said before, he accomplished.”

Putting down the phone, Lu Gang immediately walked outside, passed through layers of security, and entered the underground air-raid shelter.

Getting inside was much more troublesome now. He took the elevator, then passed through several gates.

Everywhere here was crowded with people, gathered within a vast underground space.

When Lu Gang looked up, he saw light glowing in the depths.

That light was golden, strangely familiar—it looked exactly like the twisted space-light he had seen before on Tao Mountain Island.

At that moment, gazing at the light, Lu Gang uttered the very same words once spoken by Tao Yougen, the one who had triggered the Tao Mountain Island incident.

“Peach Blossom Spring.”

As the door truly opened, everyone present erupted in cheers, as if needing to release emotions long pent up.

All the recent events—what might have seemed like mere spectacle to outsiders—had weighed upon those present like a mountain upon their hearts.

Behind this door lay danger, unpredictable ancient secrets.

But also, hope and possibility.

Tao Mountain Island.

The door that Li Jun opened for Lu Gang was indeed just as he had said. Not too large, and with various limitations, but for now, it was already enough.

Tao Mountain Island’s small pier had undergone a complete transformation. At this moment, it was no longer a pier connecting the island and the mainland, but rather a port connecting the mortal world with the world of gods and demons.

After the reconstruction, it seemed that this island, which had already been lost within the void, was about to once again transform into a modernized society.

But that mysterious fog, the omnipresent extraordinary power, the wandering Wood Guests, and the mutational force that could twist human life-forms—

All of this declared to everyone that this was not a place where mortals could linger for long. Even the power of technology faced all kinds of limitations here.

Lu Gang passed through that ray of light beneath Nan’gang City and arrived at the pier of Tao Mountain Island.

“Leader Lu.”

“Leader.”

“Leader, you’ve arrived.”

“Mm!”

The brightness on Tao Mountain Island was much greater than on Mount Zhangwei, but even when one looked up, the sun could not be seen.

Lu Gang thought: “Could it be that from some perspective, this place was closer to the mortal world, or perhaps its connection to the mortal world was tighter?”

Yet, the light here was still somewhat different from that of the human world, leaving one with a sense of unreality.

Thinking of Mount Zhangwei, Lu Gang couldn’t help but glance toward the darkness and void deep within the pier.

Here, just like at the Longevity Temple, one could faintly see that black ridge undulating within the void like a divine dragon, though from a slightly different angle.

“Mount Zhangwei!”

“Candle Dragon!”

Lu Gang no longer dared to enter Mount Zhangwei in the Western Frontier. The situation there was becoming increasingly abnormal. Each time the door was opened, countless Candle Souls would be brought into Mount Zhangwei.

This not only meant that more mortals abandoned their bodies to enter another world, but also that Mount Zhangwei and the Candle Dragon were being drawn ever closer to the human realm.

However, Li Jun had previously said that he would open a passage, just like the Longevity Temple, connecting the human world–Tao Mountain Island–Mount Zhangwei. This time, Lu Gang had come precisely for this matter.

Having prepared himself, Lu Gang left the pier and entered the fog-shrouded depths of Tao Mountain Island.

And as soon as he entered, he found this place had become even more dangerous.

Even though he was a shaman, he felt many things here that made his skin crawl.

“What’s walking there?” He saw something moving deep in the fog, though its footsteps were abnormally loud.

“Why does the ground keep moving?” Pressing his body against the earth, Lu Gang felt as if something was slithering beneath the ground.

“Hee hee hee hee!” Passing by a ruin, he suddenly heard the laughter of a child, a laugh full of malice.

At once, Lu Gang thought of someone.

“Could that be Tao Shu’s laughter?”

Remembering that hair-raising deformed infant, his pace quickened, eager to escape this bizarre land where modern buildings and the primeval wilderness fused together.

It seemed that as they used the Divine Peach Tree’s power to open the passage, they had also further revived its power.

On one hand, they needed the demons’ power to fight against other demons. On the other, these demons were gradually being restored to the likeness of ancient mythology.

Lu Gang decided that when he returned, he would set a strict rule: apart from the pier, no one was to enter the depths of Tao Mountain Island unless on a special mission.

He moved swiftly. By now, he was no longer who he once had been—he could easily leap through forests, climb high walls, and cross all manner of terrain.

Soon, guided by some invisible pull, he reached the deepest part of Tao Mountain Island.

Standing amidst the dense fog, Lu Gang walked forward while scanning his surroundings.

“Li Jun, I’ve arrived.”

Turning in circles, even he grew disoriented in this heavy fog. His ability to see beyond sight had also lost its effect.

“Thank you for opening the door for us. We truly thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“This time, I’ve come as agreed, to discuss the matter of Mount Zhangwei…”

Lu Gang explained in detail the situation in the Western Frontier. Mount Zhangwei was drawing closer to the human world. The Candle Dragon’s power continued to spread across the surrounding mountains, and had even extended beyond the border to the other side.

Moreover, the Longevity Temple continued to fan the flames, while foreign forces probed and spied. Online public opinion was in an uproar.

“At this rate, the Longevity Temple may truly drag all of Mount Zhangwei into reality. By then, if the Candle Dragon fully manifests, we cannot predict what outcome will follow.”

“If we go by the power the Candle Dragon has already revealed, it is more than enough to annihilate Earth’s civilization and all life.”

“Li Jun, we must enter Mount Zhangwei to learn the true situation—especially about that gate the Longevity Temple seeks to open. I believe…”

Though the door had only just opened, Lu Gang and the others were already cautiously planning their next expedition.

On his last trip to Mount Zhangwei, the deepest impression left on Lu Gang was that ancient Stone Gate. He and Zhang You, who had already joined the Longevity Temple, shared the same thought.

What lay beyond that gate?

What kind of secret was hidden there? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Nove1Fire.net

He hoped he could once more reach that place, draw near, and perhaps even open that gate.

To uncover more of the hidden truths of the Primordial Age, to learn more of the reality.

At that moment, Li Jun finally appeared.

Golden light surged ahead. Lu Gang followed the light forward, unable to see Li Jun’s form—only that he was enveloped within layers of golden radiance and drifting threads.

Li Jun’s voice came from within the light and mist: “I have thought of a few methods lately. This place is already another realm. Between here and Mount Zhangwei, there is actually no barrier of space.”

“It is only that ordinary people and objects cannot traverse the void. So, as long as you find a way to cross from here to Mount Zhangwei, that will suffice.”

Lu Gang asked: “What way is that?”

Li Jun said: “Cut down the peach tree formed from Tao Shu. Following the method I taught you, fashion it into a boat. The power of this tree is strong enough, and it has a powerful desire, allowing you not to lose yourselves in the void.”

Lu Gang froze: “Let it carry us across? Will that even work? That monster is too vicious and dangerous.”

Li Jun said: “Here, is there anything that isn’t dangerous?”

Hearing this, Lu Gang laughed. That was true.

Having gotten his answer, Lu Gang immediately set off to prepare for “cutting the tree.”

That very afternoon, a squad entered the peach grove, launching a ferocious battle.

Though the situation looked dire, in the end, the “tree-cutting” operation succeeded. They transported the peach tree out of the fog, preparing to refashion it into a boat capable of crossing the void to Mount Zhangwei.

Soon, Lu Gang and the others once again readied themselves to set out, to explore that perilous black mountain range.

Meanwhile, Li Jun also gazed toward Mount Zhangwei. He could clearly see it rising bit by bit, overlapping more and more with reality.

The Candle Dragon’s power was relentlessly seeping into reality—unstoppable.

Yet he still had not figured out what exactly the Candle Dragon was, nor where it had come from.

“How did the Candle Dragon come to be?”

Li Jun pondered long. Perhaps only by returning to the Primordial Age could he once more uncover its truths and secrets.

A few days later, as he watched Lu Gang and the others finish building the void-crossing boat and attempt to depart from the pier—

He quietly observed.

Everyone pressed forward without pause, as though something were chasing them, pushing them onward, leaving them unable to stop.

At that moment, that overlapping sense of vision returned once more.

“It finally came.”

His consciousness sank into slumber, his body drawn ever closer, bound by the phantom of the Divine Peach Tree.

In a haze, he felt a woman in white hemp garments approach him from behind. What bound him was not the peach tree’s vines, but her arms.

Li Jun’s brow moved slightly as he looked back.

She seemed unwilling to meet his gaze, retreating in panic.

But the overlapping vision grew stronger, and thus, Li Jun fell asleep.

And in the Primordial Age, the Emperor opened his eyes.