After Wang Dong fell into a deep slumber, millions of years passed. The damage caused by splitting his soul had completely healed without leaving any lasting effects. However, Wang Dong still did not awaken. He had decided to use the time between now and the opening of the heavens to reflect upon himself and organize his gains.
Time quietly passed, and the rhythm of the Great Dao grew weaker. The golden age of Chaos beings cultivating and seeking the Dao was coming to an end. The opening of the heavens was approaching, and the calamities would soon descend. At that point, it would be up to each individual's abilities to seize the opportunity for rebirth or fall into oblivion.
Wang Dong was not sure when exactly the rhythm of the Great Dao had completely vanished from the Chaos. In its place, the air was filled with the sounds of ancient wild beasts roaring. The 3000 Chaos Deities and Demons had all fully awakened.
In fact, Wang Dong had already awakened over ten thousand years ago. After such a long period of contemplation and self-reflection, he concluded the following about his current state: first, he had attained the title of Great Luo Golden Immortal; second, he had created a supreme soul technique, the "Nine-Colored Pagoda"; third, he had comprehended his innate divine ability, the "Silent Reincarnation." However, using it drained nearly two-thirds of his energy, so it should only be used in life-or-death situations as a last resort.
Wang Dong was somewhat surprised by the awakening of his divine ability, "Silent Reincarnation," for it was an incredibly terrifying power. It could influence the cosmic cycle of reincarnation in the universe, even though it was only a tiny fragment of that power. This was enough to make it a force of nature, not a law in itself, but more powerful than laws.
However, Wang Dong soon realized that nearly every Chaos Deity and Demon had awakened their own innate divine abilities. Many were as formidable as his, such as "Devouring All," "Chaos Unbound," "Judgment of the Gods," and other equally powerful techniques. As a result, Wang Dong decided it was better to remain low-profile.
The next time Wang Dong woke up, he found the entire Chaos filled with a tense atmosphere. Many Chaos Deities and Demons had fallen under the sway of their primal instincts, losing their clarity of mind. They began hunting and devouring each other, and the air was filled with the desolate howls of the fallen.
Wang Dong glanced at Pangu's towering figure, which loomed over the Chaos. Then, he turned and left, traveling for several tens of thousands of years, until he was far from the center of Chaos. Only then did he cease feeling even a trace of Pangu's aura, likely because the influence of Pangu's Axe had diminished significantly at that distance.
Wang Dong was no fool; he would not foolishly approach Pangu to engage in friendly conversation. A single misstep and he could find himself destroyed if Pangu had just begun to open the heavens. Moreover, Wang Dong could not rule out the possibility that Pangu's actions were part of a larger plan to open the heavens, and if his guess was right, approaching too closely could turn him to dust.
As the saying went, low-key development and opportunistic gains were the true path to success. During his long journey, Wang Dong had also gathered materials for crafting magical treasures, including Chaos Star Gold, Kui Water Divine Iron, and Black Demon Copper. Most importantly, he had found three innate spiritual treasures.
It was known that even within the Chaos, innate treasures were rare, and they were scattered across vast, endless regions. Finding one was like finding a needle in a haystack. In fact, the abundance of spiritual treasures only increased after the opening of the heavens because most innate treasures would be destroyed during the tribulation of the heavens.
Wang Dong's discovery of three innate spiritual treasures was largely due to the fact that many Chaos Deities and Demons were consumed by their evolutionary instincts, focused on devouring and evolving, while overlooking these treasures.
The three innate treasures Wang Dong found were: the Ancient Qinglian Sword, the Void War Armor, and the Black Demon Cauldron. The Ancient Qinglian Sword contained a trace of the Law of Destruction, making it incredibly sharp. The Void War Armor was primarily made from Two-World Stone and possessed a touch of immortality, allowing it to shift between the real and the illusory. The Black Demon Cauldron contained an eternal black demonic flame, which would never extinguish as long as evil existed in the world.
Wang Dong believed the Void War Armor to be the most valuable of the three treasures. It carried a trace of immortality, which would be incredibly beneficial for his pursuit of an immortal demonic body. Moreover, if the opportunity arose, it might evolve into an immortal battle treasure, combining the properties of both innate treasures and extreme Dao treasures, making it comparable to a Heavenly Supreme Treasure.
While Wang Dong was hiding within a barrier he had set up, silently waiting for the opening of the heavens, the entire Chaos began to stir as the evolutionary instincts of the beings led them to hunger for new power. Then, a majestic voice, filled with the aura of vastness, echoed throughout the entire Chaos world. Wang Dong knew the opening of the heavens was upon them, and it was time to set his plans into motion.
As the opening of the heavens began, the entire Chaos world was thrown into turmoil. In that instant, all the Chaos Deities and Demons seemed to have an intuitive sense that if they devoured Pangu, they would be able to take a step closer to transcending and attaining the level of Chaos Grand Immortal, gaining immortality.
This feeling was so intense that even Wang Dong, whose soul was controlled by pure reason, felt the urge to act. What of the other Chaos Deities and Demons, whose reason had been almost entirely consumed by their evolutionary instincts? One by one, they flew toward Pangu, eager to feast upon his power.
Before long, Wang Dong witnessed a scene more terrifying than the end of the world. Chaos was breaking apart, and violent space storms raged. Huge axe lights cut through the air with the force of annihilation, accompanied by the sound of mirrors shattering. The mournful cries of Chaos Deities and Demons reverberated throughout, as the heavens and earth became drenched in blood. The entire Chaos world was bathed in a bloody red, and death permeated everything. Even Wang Dong, with his rational mind, could not help but feel a slight stirring of emotion.
Mountains and rivers were being torn apart, fire rained from the sky, blood flowed in rivers, and the earth crumbled. These apocalyptic scenes lasted for 300 years before slowly calming down.
Of course, Wang Dong did not remain hidden throughout the entire catastrophe. Long ago, he had devised a grand plan, and now was the time to put it into action.
Many years prior, Wang Dong had devised a scheme to forge an immortal demonic body and ascend the Dao through the laws of the universe. But forging such a body was no simple task. Neither Pangu, the creator of the Great Wilderness, nor Hong Jun or Yang Mei—who attained the Dao after the opening of the heavens—had succeeded in forging an immortal body.
Among them, Pangu's body had reached the highest level, possessing a trace of immortality. One could say that he was half-immortal, but even with that, true immortality remained far out of reach.
Immortality, true immortality, meant being unbreakable and imperishable, not even the Great Dao could destroy it. The most crucial step in forging an immortal body was the transition from solid to void.
This was not about using any Dao technique or magic to enter the void, but about having a body so strong, so enduring, and so subtle that it transcended the laws of existence itself. Such a body could be both real and illusory, much like a mirage blending with a real city. It would exist yet not exist.
Thus, Wang Dong devised a radical plan: to take advantage of the great calamity of the opening of the heavens and devour the wounded Chaos Deities and Demons, and even some of Pangu's body.
In order to forge an immortal body, Wang Dong was willing to do anything. Such a plan was as risky as attacking Pangu himself. However, Wang Dong's greatest advantage over the other Chaos Deities and Demons was his clarity of mind, and this was his only hope for survival.
Wang Dong would not foolishly engage in direct confrontation with other Chaos beings. Instead, he would target those already slain by Pangu, devouring their remains, then strike and devour those who were mortally wounded. During the chaos of the opening of the heavens, Wang Dong quietly snuck around, picking off victims one by one.
For this reason, some of the Chaos Deities and Demons who were later reincarnated after the opening of the heavens would recall their memories and shudder. In secret, they began to call him the "Devouring Demon Lord," and his name spread far and wide.
Finally, after a long period of time, Pangu fell, and the Great Wilderness world stabilized. At that moment, twelve drops of Pangu's blood and three fragments of his primordial soul flew out from his body. Wang Dong quickly flew to Pangu's side, cut off one of his arms with a sword, and swiftly retreated.
Not long after, Pangu's body began to disintegrate, evolving into the world and all things. His eyes transformed into the sun and moon, his flesh became the earth and mountains, his veins became rivers, and his blood turned into the oceans...
With Pangu's fall, the Dao of Heaven bestowed endless merit, and a quarter of it transformed into a post-Heaven treasure, the Heaven and Earth Linglong Tower, known as the Xuanhuang Linglong Pagoda. This treasure was indestructible by any means. A quarter of the merit was given to the Great Wilderness earth, and the remaining half was split between the Three Purities' primordial souls and the Twelve Ancestor Witches.
Then, with a swoosh, the Xuanhuang Linglong Pagoda flew into Laozi's primordial soul, and the Three Purities' souls and the Twelve Ancestor Witches each flew off in different directions.
Thus, the Chaos era ended, and the Great Wilderness era officially began.