The birth of the Elemental Emperor marked the beginning of the Elemental Era.
Wu Yuan possessed the Elemental Spiritual Imprint, and his understanding of the Five Elements was at its apex.
Not just the Five Elements—his comprehension of every other element also reached its peak the moment he obtained the Timeless Demon God's memories.
He had already made several arrangements.
He created the forbidden land in the Northern Continent and crafted the perfect environment for the growth of the Heavenly Lotus.
He planted various strains of Heavenly Lotus.
At the same time, he tampered with them. In the future, no matter how many plants grew from this swamp, they would all carry the strongest poison—lethal to anyone below Rank 9.
But why did he do this?
It was a contingency in case he failed.
The main materials for the Mind-Liberating Sovereign Thought Pill are: Moonshadow Lotus Pollen, Azure Spirit Ginseng, Bloodmoon Spider brain, Blackwood Essence Resin, Silver Dew, Star-Veined Quartz Powder, Windwhisper Bamboo Marrow, Prismatic Phoenix Feather Ash, Jade-Spring Dew Essence, Golden Sunflower Nectar, Soul-Anchor Obsidian Rock, Mirror-Mind Dewdrop, Paradox Thought Orchid, Heavenly Lotus petals, and Silent Abyss Mist Essence.
He intended to ensure no one could gather these materials together. But is such a thing truly possible?
It is not.
There are countless people in this world, and countless Warriors. It is impossible for the Elemental Emperor to keep track of all of them.
However, he could control the monopoly of resources—and this was his first plan.
He intended to ensure that these resources would never appear together.
At the same time, the Immortals would certainly ensure that out of these resources, Moonshadow Lotus Pollen, Azure Spirit Ginseng, Bloodmoon Spider brain, Blackwood Essence Resin, Silver Dew from the Ninth Peak, Star-Veined Quartz Powder, Windwhisper Bamboo Marrow, Prismatic Phoenix Feather Ash, Jade-Spring Dew Essence, and Golden Sunflower Nectar would appear together.
Because these were also the ingredients for the Dao-Refining Heaven Ascension Pill—the very pill they sought to refine.
As a result, the Elemental Emperor had to divert his attention to the uncommon ingredients.
He had to ensure that Soul-Anchor Obsidian Rock, Mirror-Mind Dewdrop, Paradox Thought Orchid, Heavenly Lotus petals, and Silent Abyss Mist Essence would never appear together.
But who is the Creator?
He is the smartest being in the entire God Realm.
The Elemental Emperor had to prepare contingencies in case his first plan failed.
The second step of his plan was to poison every possible ingredient.
Heavenly Lotus was the rarest among them, and it was still possible to tamper with it. But the other resources could grow randomly anywhere. It was impossible to track them all.
Now the question arises: why not simply destroy all Heavenly Lotus? Why grow them?
The answer is simple—Heavenly Dao.
The Heavenly Dao remains in charge of the Supreme Dao of Creation in the Heaven of Balance. If he destroyed every Heavenly Lotus in the world, new ones would eventually appear due to the nature of Creation.
At that time, his control over the situation would weaken.
This was one reason. The second reason was that he needed to trap the Creator.
If the Creator did not find Heavenly Lotus, he might grow another one. In such a case, the Creator would hold more control over the situation, and the Elemental Emperor would fall into a passive position.
Instead of that, it was better to lay his traps proactively and guide the Creator straight into them.
His main intention was to taint the entire refinement of the Mind-Liberating Sovereign Thought Pill.
Once the tampered Heavenly Lotus petals were used in refinement, they would create a poisonous environment, diverting the process in an entirely different direction—creating chaos and failure.
It was like chemical reactions: the same reaction in water would yield a different product than in alcohol. Acidic or basic mediums changed reactions as well.
Thus, the medium was extremely important in pill refinement.
Now there is one question everyone must be wondering:
Why the Saturation Point? What is so special about it that everything revolves around it?
It is connected to the Heavenly Dao.
The Saturation Point is a very special moment.
Every Small World in the Heaven of Balance is linked, and Little Heaven is responsible for clearing destructive aura and promoting creation.
But how long would the Heavenly Dao continue doing this?
Yes—until the Saturation Point.
At the Saturation Point, the development of the world concludes, and the Heavenly Dao's duty is fulfilled.
At that moment, Little Heaven's restrictions will be lifted, and Immortals will be able to enter the world and take action personally.
It will also be the time when the Small World can be uplifted and assimilated into the Heaven of Balance.
It will be the time when Warriors will gain the ability to ascend to Immortality.
Right now, the Immortal Stage is impossible in the Divine Spirit World due to restrictions of the Heavenly Dao and the Fourth Wall.
Isn't that unfair for most Warriors? Are they destined to not become extra-ordinary? It is not. Destiny isn't unfair. It is like a long river. Most drown, a few swim, and fewer learn to become the river itself.
Everyone must complete their plans before the Saturation Point, so that the moment the world reaches Saturation, they can ascend.
They can arrange everything long beforehand and simply wait for the Saturation Point to arrive. As long as they do it within a single lifetime, there is no difference.
But reincarnations present a critical issue. The moment one reincarnates, all rituals performed or pills consumed to escape Immortal control lose their effect. Only the Power of Belief remains, as it is tied to consciousness rather than body or soul.
At the same time, nothing can be allowed to spill past the Saturation Point—or the Immortals would interfere directly and suppress everything.
In all these plots and schemes, what is the value of a Wanderer? Why would the Timeless Demon God wait for the Wanderer's appearance?
Again—it was to trap the Creator.
These materials are extremely difficult to collect under Immortal surveillance. Thus, the Creator arranged for his own appearance near the Saturation Point, when the Wanderer would also emerge.
In such a situation, Immortals would allow most of the ingredients to appear together. Then the difficulty of refining the pill would be greatly reduced.
Elemental Emperor also created various opportunities that allowed a Warrior to forcibly raise their cultivation by two ranks—at the cost of sacrificing their Spiritual Imprint.
As a result, they would lose future potential in exchange for quick success. However, these opportunities worked only within the Rank 4 Stage.
He created them because he noticed the Northern Continent lacked Spiritual Essence, and Warriors born there had weaker talent.
Naturally, they would be lured by such "opportunities."
Wu Yuan also arranged various mechanisms in the Awakening Ceremony temples.
He left behind a method to detect a Wanderer.
A Wanderer would never possess a Spiritual Imprint. Thus, he hid a mechanism within every door of every temple.
Whenever someone touched the door to open it, the inscription mechanism would be triggered and test for a Spiritual Imprint.
If someone touched the door but had no Imprint, their image would be recorded.
Wu Yuan was not the only one.
Kong Xuan and He Fan left similar mechanisms in the temples. How did they know about the Wanderer in the first place?
He Fan had obtained fragments of information about the Saturation Point and the Wanderer from the Shadow within the "fake" inheritance before he was sent away. Meanwhile, Kong Xuan learned these classified details through the inheritance he received from He Fan.
All three were waiting for the Wanderer's appearance.
Immortal Zhu became suspicious of their actions. Although he could no longer read the thoughts and memories of the Emperors, he could still suppress their abilities and force their lives to end.
Wu Yuan disappeared.
And he reincarnated.
40,000 years later
1st April, Year 42014 of the Elemental Era
On this day, the mechanism was finally triggered.
A few moments earlier
Another batch entered the pavilion for the Awakening Ceremony, including Li Gang, Li Yuxong, and Wang Xueyao.
Inside, Li Gang scanned the surroundings. The space was vast, with countless doors—impossible to count at a glance, though certainly numbering over five hundred.
He chose one at random. As he stepped through, darkness enveloped him. Countless stars stretched endlessly across the void.
Li Gang was stunned. "Is this... the Nine Heavens?"
He followed the instructions and began meditating. Unexpectedly, the ray of light circled him—searching for its target yet unable to enter.
His expression grew grim. Though he had expected this outcome, it still hit hard. Spiritual Imprints determined sixty percent of a person's potential, with aptitude making up the rest. Not only was his aptitude a lowly Grade D—he had failed to awaken a Spiritual Imprint altogether.
He recalled Zhang Fengwei's words: "A ray of light will enter your soul and awaken the hidden Spiritual Imprint within your soul."
Li Gang realized the truth. As a transmigrator, his soul was not native to this world. If only souls born here possessed Imprints, then he would never have one.
He murmured softly, "Perhaps I was never meant to walk the same path as them. But when the river denies a man water, he must learn to drink from the dew."
Half an hour later.
A loud bell rang. 'It's time to leave', he thought, exiting with the others.
During this time, Immortal Zhu attempted to peer into the pavilion and see through Li Gang, but failed.
He frowned, wondering, 'Why did this happen?'
Li Gang wasn't undergoing Awakening—he was a Wanderer—so Immortal Zhu should have been able to read his thoughts.
Eventually, he arrived at the answer himself:
Hundreds of people around Li Gang were currently going through Awakening. As a result, the entire area was affected by the Heavenly Dao's interference, preventing him from seeing through anyone at all.
The bell reminded all remaining Warriors to return. Though the time required to awaken a Spiritual Imprint varied from person to person, everyone completed the process within half an hour. Most became immersed in their newfound power. The bell served to pull them from meditation and signal their exit.
Li Gang found his brother outside.
Li Yuxong hesitated before nervously asking, "How was it, big brother?"
Li Gang gave him a long look, then gazed toward the exit with a faint, meaningful smile. "It's meaningless."
Li Yuxong froze, confused, but dared not ask further. Li Gang said nothing more and walked toward the gate.
His vague words shocked not only the Immortals, but someone else — Kong Xuan.
After the mechanism was triggered, Kong Xuan immediately descended to see who the newly awakened Wanderer was.
Hidden in the void, he slipped into the temple unseen.
At that moment, he watched the youths emerging and speaking.
Li Yuxong hesitated before nervously asking, "How was it, big brother?"
Li Gang gave him a long look, then gazed toward the exit with a faint, meaningful smile. "It's meaningless."
His eyes briefly shifted toward the void where Kong Xuan hid, staring into the depths of his concealment before fixing again on the exit. "It's meaningless."
Kong Xuan murmured faintly, "Was that a coincidence?"