Chapter 151: The Dawn of Chaos

The God of the Sun... Could I truly rival the sun in the heavens?

At that moment, the Phoenix was utterly enveloped in bliss.

Its life in the wizarding world had been utterly miserable. Terrifying beings had not only driven it from the desert and its beloved phoenix trees but had relentlessly pursued it across the land.

What wrong had it ever done?

It had always lived in the desert, never harming humans. Yet, no matter where it hid—in the mud, at the bottom of the ocean, or deep within caves—it couldn't escape its pursuers. It was utterly homeless in that world.

With its limited understanding, it simply couldn't grasp the reason for its plight.

But now, the Creator God, taking pity on it, not only liberated it from that land of misery but was also offering it an entire world?

Xu Zhi emanated an indistinct radiance, his voice vast and ancient. "Phoenix, you are an innate deity! Born from endless flames, inherently sacred, yet you descended to the mortal realm. For a thousand years, you endured seven death tribulations, and this suffering was surely one of them!"

Xu Zhi softly said, "Today, I bring you back to become the Sun God of that world. When you nourish all living things and accumulate great merit across its expanse, that will be your moment of apotheosis."

The Phoenix respectfully prostrated itself beneath the Creator God's chair, listening to its Maker's voice, and instantly gasped in astonished delight.

"Like Armin?"

To become a terrifying, magnificent deity!

No creature could possibly resist the allure of becoming such a vast and powerful being! And the Phoenix craved it more than any other living thing!

"Were all the pains I endured merely trials in the mortal realm?" Endowed with exceptional talent, its power underwent a qualitative transformation with each rebirth after death. Long, long ago, at the close of the Alchemy Age, it had already reached the demigod realm, yet it remained stuck there.

Later, it watched helplessly as individual humans broke through the demigod stage, surpassed it, and even injured it. Some even ascended beyond demigod to become true deities.

"Great Creator, I am willing! I am willing! I am willing to become the sun of a world! To illuminate and nurture all things, to nourish the entire land!" The Phoenix's voice was clear and melodious, like a celestial song. Its usually gentle nature now trembled almost uncontrollably with excitement.

Xu Zhi sat in his chair, observing the prostrate Phoenix below him. He was not, in fact, lying.

After all, granting it a vast underground world truly presented an opportunity for apotheosis.

The birth of a new world frequently involved countless mass extinctions. Of the resulting biological death energy, Xu Zhi could only absorb thirty percent; the remaining seventy percent would dissipate into the world.

The Zerg operated on a hierarchical system, a pyramid. Various Zerg heroes and high-ranking Zerg naturally absorbed power from lower-tier Zerg. How much they could transform was up to them.

In the nascent world, there was both energy from biological extinction and the emergence of intelligent humans capable of creating inner spaces. The opportunity was laid out; success would depend entirely on the Phoenix itself.

In fact, Xu Zhi's current priorities were Medusa and the Phoenix.

Medusa currently held the greatest potential, having seized the body of a Cthulhuian evil god and thereby possessing four terrifying, heaven-defying genes.

The Phoenix came second. Although it possessed three ordinary fire-related gene talents and only one heaven-defying talent of rebirth through fire, it was still a four-gene transcendent life form.

They faced no realm barriers. Even for the two unknown realms beyond godhood, they wouldn't need to consider igniting a second or third divine spark.

Armin, originally a one-gene life form, had, after igniting her divine spark and integrating a second gene to become a god, only reached the two-gene life form stage, despite now existing as a soul body.

Could Armin break through to a three-gene life level? Would she reach the next unprecedented realm?

That remained a distant unknown.

"Phoenix, I will send you to another world," Xu Zhi said, looking at the Phoenix and tapping gently. "There's no need to rush. Slowly begin to establish everything, nurturing all life. As an immortal being, you possess endless ages."

Xu Zhi extended a hand and tapped.

*Whoosh!*

Trembling, the Phoenix underwent rapid cellular division, swiftly transforming once more into a vibrant red phoenix egg.

Xu Zhi then took a soda can, carefully placed the Phoenix inside, and turned to leave. "Finally finished," he muttered. "Time to let those guys back online!"

Instantly, the players from the forums came online, only to find the previously occupied chair now empty.

Every single one of them wore a puzzled expression.

"What?!"

"The Phoenix's audience with the Creator God is over?"

"What consensus did they reach? What friendly negotiation occurred?"

"We actually missed a crucial part of the main storyline!" they exclaimed, wringing their hands and feeling utter despair. "A whole new world is being created among the myriad realms!"

Xu Zhi planned for the second major sandbox world to be located directly beneath the existing hundred-mu sandbox.

This massive underground world, also planned to be a hundred mu in size, would be separated from the upper world by ten meters of soil to prevent easy collapse.

This design resembled the Chinese character "Lü" (吕), signifying a stacked, two-tiered structure.

But where would the entrance be?

Xu Zhi planned to create a slanted entrance. Beneath his storage room was a cellar, originally used for storing lychees. He intended to dig a subterranean tunnel from this cellar, leading to the entrance of the underground world.

"A diagonal path from the storage room's cellar will lead directly beneath the great wizard sandbox—it's perfect." Xu Zhi rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a shovel, and slowly began to dig.

He had advanced too rapidly, ascending two realms in one go. His current Level 4 wizardry skills hadn't caught up, and he didn't dare use his War Qi Hammer; it was too noisy and could easily demolish his house.

"The task is arduous and the path is long," he mused. "Here I am, a dignified Level 4 wizard, reduced to digging a pit with a shovel!"

Shovel by shovel, he excavated the tunnel. Then, he placed wooden planks overhead, propping them up with wooden poles to prevent the sandy soil from collapsing.

The tunnel was exceedingly rudimentary, but once he grew stronger, he could use fire magic to forge the entire underground passage into solid stone walls.

Two hours later, Xu Zhi had finally excavated a ten-meter-deep underground passage. After digging a little further, he firmly embedded the phoenix egg in the soil, covered it, and then turned and departed.

"The new world... it is about to emerge from chaos and darkness."

*WHOOSH!!*

In the next moment, cellular division accelerated, and the phoenix egg swiftly hatched.

"Where am I...?"

The egg seemed enveloped by infinite darkness.

"This is...?"

The entire egg, seemingly gestating chaos and brimming with immense energy, slowly began to crack.

The Phoenix opened its eyes to absolute darkness. This world was devoid of sunlight and daylight, submerged in an endless, chaotic gloom.

A piercing, clear phoenix cry!

Suddenly, it burst forth with an endless crimson light, and the indistinct form of the divine bird emerged amidst scorching flames, casting the very first ray of light upon this chaotic, unformed dark world.

*CRACK!*

Heaven and earth were rent asunder.

Accompanied by bright yellow flames, the world was torn apart from the darkness.

The surroundings slowly began to melt, turning incandescent, even transforming into molten lava. Inch by inch, the sky and ground rose as if forged, the heavens and earth seeming to be forcibly ripped open.

This moment was etched into eternity. Millennia later, it would be chronicled in myths and legends. *The Records of Ancient Gods* state:

"In the primordial darkness, when heaven and earth were a chaotic egg, the Yang God was born within. Having endured the seven tribulations of the cosmos, he was commanded to descend and create this world. With a mighty roar, he split heaven and earth apart, burning in the sky and scorching the earth. Each day, the sky ascended another *zhang*, and the earth expanded another *zhang*, and thus the world came into being."