The Grand Primal Chaos.
A massive universe where countless worlds along with numerous living beings reside.
In this world, it's possible for mortals to gain strength and have longer lifespans by the way of cultivation. Even to the point of becoming gods or able to possess the power that could exterminate gods.
That was the reason why "struggle" was the fundamental theme around the lifestyle of every living being of this universe.
They "struggle" to survive, they "struggle" to overcome, they "struggle" to reach the peak of existence, so on and so forth.
Since many people from the time of immemorial had begun to "struggle", it's inadvertently the stories and legends about them would decorating the vast annal of history and be told to the future generations.
The legends of the Divine Emperors were among those illustrious stories.
Whenever the name of Divine Emperors was mentioned, it could shake every corner of the Grand Primal Chaos.
Within the memories of most people, only three individuals were worthy enough to be conferred with those majestic titles.
These titles were conferred to them as recognition for their achievement in reaching the highest level of cultivation.
In the universe where strength was among things that mattered the most. Many living beings were not lucky enough to be able to cultivate and could only grovel in the mud.
But those three Divine Emperors were different as they were born with the most outstanding talents the universe could offer, and they have tenacious willpower that contributed greatly to their cultivation journey.
They were the strongest in the entirety of Grand Primal Chaos, and each of them had become the object of admiration and a goal to strive for by many people.
Stellaris Divine Emperor, who can shatter myriads of worlds with a thrust of his divine spear. Some rumors said, he sometimes could be encountered having debates about which alcohol beverages were better in taverns across various worlds.
Heavenly Divine Emperor, it was mentioned that the sight of his face and the sound of his whispers could melt the hearts of every woman, no matter who they were. There were many popular stories regarding his "conquest" that could be found across the universe. One of the stories depicted him having many goddesses as his wives, which was absolutely remarkable and really enviable.
Forging Divine Emperor, who was worshipped as a supreme existence by every blacksmith and craftsman. Legend has it, any weapon he had touched would be turned into a divine weapon.
There was no a single person who didn't know the three emperors' names.
In fact, it's okay for the people to not know or recall the name of their parents or even their lovers. But to not know anything about the three Divine Emperors was something that really taboo and unacceptable.
However, there was one thing that the majority of people did not know about. Admittedly, only a handful of people possessed this particular knowledge.
It's about the existence of the fourth Divine Emperor.
This unknown Divine Emperor also happens to be the oldest and the most powerful one. He was called "Elusive Divine Emperor."
The title was not given by the people but rather by the other Divine Emperors themselves because he was their senior and they respect him greatly.
Just like his title, Elusive Divine Emperor was really elusive in his conduct. He kept a low-profile lifestyle without ever showing himself.
Secretive and invisible.
Some people who had knowledge about him assumed he simply did not like to be known, thus they retained the knowledge to themselves. They were afraid they would offend the man if they spread it out.
After all, no one wants to get on the bad side of a Divine Emperor.
As a consequence, Elusive's name remains unknown to the rest of the people.
He and the other three Divine Emperors had a very good relationship with each other. With their strength combined, they ruled and protected the Grand Primal Chaos for hundreds of thousands of years.
Until one day, when lots of ominous signs suddenly appeared at several locations across the universe. The people grew panic and terrified. It was followed by something from "outside" the universe forcefully tear the fabric of space and time, then managed to enter.
It was a massive serpent-like being with a metallic body and scales. Its power was unmatchable. Dozens of worlds within the Grand Primal Chaos were destroyed instantly the moment the serpent's body grazed them, while many more worlds were devoured.
Tens of thousands of strong experts immediately banded together to resist the invader. However, the serpent simply opened its humongous mouth and devoured all of them as well.
In response to the catastrophe, the three Divine Emperors finally involved in the fight. Their strength managed to hold the serpent for a while, but only causing the beast to be annoyed rather than be harmed.
After days of intense earth-shattering battle, the serpent successfully inflicted a heavy wound on each three emperors. Witnessing the scene, the people's hearts broke and what was left of their fighting spirit completely vanished.
They realized the serpent was not an opponent they could win against. Even their much-celebrated Divine Emperors could not obtain a single decisive advantage against it.
It was at that very moment, something unbelievable happened in front of the people's eyes.
Time seems to stopped for a while before a terrifying strike broke through the serpent's impregnable defense and caused massive damages to its body.
It was finally revealed to the people that the Grand Primal Chaos actually has another Divine Emperor and a very powerful one, nonetheless.
The combination of four Divine Emperors' strengths able to match the serpent's power evenly. However, they soon realized it was still not enough.
Since they won't be able to slay the beast or even to simply banish it outside the universe, they could only resort to using their last trump card. Which was sealing the serpent.
With the four's unsurpassable dharmas, the invader was successfully sealed. But the cost was extremely immense. Half of the universe already in ruins, while all Divine Emperors lose their lives.
They had sacrificed themselves and used all of their powerful lifeforce and dharma attainments to form the strongest seal. But all of them didn't mind it, the situation was dire and they have to do it.
The aftermath of the event was completely unknown, but one thing for sure, the era of Four Divine Emperor was finally over.
And the Grand Primal Chaos ushered into a new age.
***
Inside a boundless, cold, and dark space which was located at the edge of the Grand Primal Chaos.
An object with vague outline of a person, which was enveloped by a magnificent golden light, could be seen floating around endlessly.
This "golden person" real form was in fact a soul. A soul which exudes a grand aura and the feeling of incomparable aloofness.
Other than the ocean of stars decorating the space's background, there was nothing else exists nearby except for the soul.
For countless years, it has been floating around endlessly and without any clear direction, just like a leaf that was carried by the gust of winds after it fell down from a tree. Carefree and peacefully.
But at the moment, the golden light, which from the beginning has always been rotating around the soul and protecting it from any harm, suddenly flashed.
The light flashed furiously for thousands of times before stopping, then the soul mysteriously began moving towards one direction in the space and disappeared completely.
In an instant, the space regained its long disturbed peacefulness.