He was Taiqing, the prehistoric saint.

  Born as one of the three pure ones, pangu authentic, he and his brothers had done everything together.

  Yet when the investiture of the Gods arrived, it was ultimately he who led his brother Yuanshi Tianzun to allign with the two western saints, to corner his brother Tongtian.

  To some extent, he did not regret it. His brother had sent out the Zhuxian sword formation, a formation that could only be broken by the power of four saints, each targeting one of the blades.

  Besides the three pure ones, there were only three other saints. Besides them, their master would not be biased and Houtu could not exert her full power outside the underworld.

  It was a helpless choice in the moment.

  But in the eons since, he had time. Time to contemplate, to think.

  He realized that much of it was his fault. That by being unfair to Tongtian, always siding with Yuanshi, and remaining quiet throughout their conflicts, that he had played a role in their division.

  It's no wonder the two western saints never lifted a finger. Why bother when the three pure ones were already tearing each other apart?

  After the investiture of the gods, the saints were exiled to chaos, with Taiqing leaving his clone, Taishang Laojun to continue to serve in heaven.

  He didn't regret being banished for his actions. Whether in chaos or in the world, he practiced the way of inaction.

  It made no difference to him. What really bothered him was the quiet separation.

  He never saw his brothers again, and certainly not together, separated by a thin, but unbreakable wall.

  One day, something interesting happened.

  While refining another batch of pills, his soul felt a tug, something in the depths of chaos, beyond his perception called him.

  As someone at the 16th level, a saint of heaven, this faint pull was nothing to him.

  Snapping it would be easy.

  But he didn't.

  No, instead he separated a fragment of his soul, allowing it to be pulled into the unknown.

  He wasn't worried. The pull wasn't strong enough to worry him.

  Even that small fragment of a soul, a negligible investment, was at the 10th level, able to deal with whoever was behind it.

  And even if he lost it, what did it matter?

  He had nothing to do anyway.

  And so, this fragment of Taiqing saw something ridiculous.

  A world. Incomparably small to the prehistoric world, not even the size of a hill.

  It was weird, the technology far more advanced than anything he had seen in his own world.

  It didn't bother him of course. These cars, planes and whatnot, while interesting, were toys, used by weak 1st and 2nd level beings to traverse this world.

  His summons to this world was done by a mere 1st level being.

  A young man. At first, he was quite surprised, unsure how someone so weak could even exert a pull this strong.

  What's more, this soul fragment was then promptly bound to a card, aptly labeled card spirit.

  And when he met his fellow "card spirits" he was equally surprised.

  Believing 10th level power was enough to be secure, he quickly realized he wasn't the only one playing pretend.

  The other card spirits were like him, fragments pulled from another world, smaller pieces of great wholes with similar power.

  For one, he noticed that Nezha was amongst the card spirits, giving him a surprised look before pretending he didn't know him.

  Clearly this was the Nezha he knew and recognized.

  The others were beyond his grasp.

  A cartoonish mouse in white overalls, a mechanical dragonoid sphere, an armored humanoid with compound eyes, and something called Fafnir.

  Each of them at his current strength, though it was hard to determine what their original form's true level was

  They had all given him a knowing look before continuing to play dumb.

  Indeed, each pretended that they were unaware of the situation, pretending to blank slates.

  Taiqing had no problem with that, swiftly playing along.

  He soon recognized the anomaly of the boy; his soul was covered in a chaotic haze.

  Chaos energy, one of the most unstable things in existence, unpredictable in its nature.

  It bewildered him. The prehistoric world was surrounded by chaos, yet no one below the level of daluo dared venture out, because merely being touched by chaos could corrupt and drive you mad.

  He wasn't the only one, as Taiqing realized there were many like the boy spread out throughout the earth.

  There were even spirits completely made of chaos, beyond his understanding of reality.

  That wasn't even the weirdest part.

  This world had many distorted reflections of people he knew, but different.

  Zhao gongming, Erlang Shan, Haotian, countless figures he recognized, yet weaker, different.

  It was... odd.

  But there was one, one he could not ignore.

  A bulky middle-aged eastern man. Boisterous and loud, energetic to a fault.

  Taiqing had been watching him for a while, to confirm these feelings, these suspicions, to resolve thins inexplicable connection.

  At this moment, he was at one of those fast-food stores, eating with three others.

  A young energetic man, the pompous and self-assured middle-aged man, and a kind, patient elder.

  Of all of them, you would never have thought that the eldest was the first one.

  And most of all, he was the one that Taiqing felt the connection to.

  A connection deep in his blood, one that could not be ignored.

  This man was his father.

  This man was Pangu.

  "But how? He's clearly too weak! And too young too! Why do I feel this inexplicable feeling!"

  Hearing this, Taiqing immediately backed away from the man echoing his voice.

  The man who had just appeared was at this moment wearing a suit quite similar to those tokusatsu shows.

  It was a rather gaudy suit, adorned in jewels, with a black and golden color scheme.

  And appropriately, his temperament was flamboyant, exaggerating his bow as he greeted him.

  "Greetings Taiqing saint!

  I am the Lupin ryder, CXV

  You undoubtedly have some questions, and I am here to answer them."

  Taiqing studied him for a bit, before finally asking.

  "You are a hunyun daluo?" Taiqing asked with some certainy.

  Even though this wisp of soul couldn't actually sense this man's cultivation, his intuition recognized this man as someone of equal rank.

  "Indeed! It's true as they say, despite his quiet nature, Taiqing is truly the sharpest tool in the shed."

  "Why CXV? According to this world's tradition, that would make you the 115th of your lineage." Taiqing asked calmly, ignoring Lupin's praise.

  "Because I am the 115th? Duh." He said, responding as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  He continued on. "in fact, my ancestor, Lupin xvl is here right now as well." He said.

  Curious, Taiqing extended his senses.

  This was actually an easy thing for him. As a tenth level being, he had already discovered that the ceiling of this universe overall was level 14, daluo jinxian.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Even if he couldn't see everything, most of the universe was in his sight.

  And indeed, peering into New york, he witnessed a young warrior bearing attire similar to the man before him, but weaker and less glamorous, currently being chased by two warriors, naming themselves kniht ryder breaker and knight ryder maker in a high speed chase, with Lupin senior laughing himself giddy as he ran away with a treasure in his hands.

  Taiqing was a bit speechless. Why was Lupin so proud to proclaim this man his ancestor? And if he was, then...

  Taiqing quickly realized the implications, and the look he gave Lupin changed.

  "Indeed, you've figured it out Taiqing.

  This world predates our own existence.

  To be more precise, this multiverse as a whole predates our very own realities." He stated, but Taiqing was confused.

  "Multiverse? What do you mean by a multiverse?" he inquired, genuinely confused.

  "Ah, I forgot. Your Pangu didn't get that far did he.

  A multiverse is essentially an infinitely expanding universe, with each choice someone makes producing multiple derivative universes. This is until the first 14th level being emerges in a universe, because daluo surpass time and space, forever ensuring their ascendence.

  Makes it really hard for a universe to split when a daluo stands above, suppressing time. Not that it matters. By the time the first daluo appears, a multiverse has split so many times that most are just glad it splits no more. A tree with too many branches is less beautiful and more bloated."

  "Inconceivable! The sheer amount of energy required to continuously split a universe and produce infinitely more-" Taiqing exclaimed, clearly in disbelief, but Lupin only had to say a few words to convince him.

  "Infinite chaos." Hearing this, Taiqing shut up.

  Indeed, chaos energy, in its infinite and plentiful form, essentially ensured this process was completely possible.

  Naturally its danger is equally clear, but just as the prehistoric world is capable of devouring chaos and expanding, a even greater and more powerful multiverse should have less issue doing so.

  While he understood, it confused him as well.

  "Then we are in the past?"

  "Yes."

  "You said this multiverse predates our realities."

  "yup."

  "As in, our realities aren't included within this multi-verse?"

  Lupin snapped his fingers in response "Yes! You've hit upon the key point. Our realities do not exist within this multiverse, but after its extinction."

  "A multiverse dying? That seems rather impossible." Even if he didn't fully understand the concept of a multiverse, Taiqing understood that even a universe would have a hard time dying.

  Without outside intervention, a universes limit should be limitless.

  "The multiverse ultimately died because of the creator God's choice.

  He had decided that as beautiful as the multiverse was, it was a lonely thing, a reflection of his work alone.

  So he spread the path forward after the 16th level, or saint or hunyun daluo, primordial god, call it whatever you like.

  Essentially, the path forward is world creation.

  17th-world master

  18th- galaxy master

  19th- universe master

  20th- multiverse master

  But he also knew that many were unlikely to move unless pushed to do so.

  So... dead multiverse. In reality, it didn't affect much. The underworlds continue to function, either moving into the new worlds, or shutting themselves off for all eternity. And for those who believed in nothing they simply entered the most basic reincarnation system."

  Though he laid it out clearly, the old man had some objections.

  "You say that world making is the path forward, and yet I have created countless worlds, yet none of them have given me that feeling of advancement." Taiqing pointed out, his eyes focused on the man across from him.

  Lupin chuckled, understanding his disbelief.

  "Indeed, indeed you did.

  But I gotta ask; did you make it completely your own, or did you, borrow inspiration from daddy dearest?" he said, jerking his finger towards the man in the window.

  "Of course I borrowed from my father's work. There is nothing wrong with using what already works."

  "Oh sure, sure there's nothing wrong with that, unless you're trying to pave your path forward.

  When I say world master, I don't mean copy someone else's work. Please, anyone can do that. Even the schmucks on Earth can do that, and they can't even destroy a planet!

  No, what really matters is that the world you make is new, pioneered, derived from the laws as you understand them. " Pausing for a moment, Lupin gave Taiqing a look of sympathy.

  "It's because of this, your path to is cut off."

  Finally, Taiqing took this seriously. For the immortals of the prehistoric world, pursuing the dao is their everything, and to be told their path is blocked is a serious claim.

  He stared at Lupin gravely. "What do you mean by that?"

  "When you became a saint Taiqing, do you remember what you did?"

  "I entrusted a fragment of my true spirit to the heavenly dao."

  "No, you did more. You merged with the heavenly dao. You gained the ability to comprehend the laws of the heavenly dao.

  But have you considered the costs? What happened once you merged with the heavenly dao? What it did to your own comprehension?"

  Taiqing was a smart man. He understood what Lupin was implying.

  "My understanding has been corrupted." He said it darkly, realizing that according to this line of thinking, he was stuck.

  The path of world master requires your own understanding, your own comprehension of the world to forge forward and prove it, prove it by creating your own world, just as his father had done.

  And yet, he no longer had his own understanding. He had merged with the heavenly dao, the pure manifestation of his father's understanding of the laws.

  In this way, not only him, but his brothers and the other saints were likely facing the same problem.

  No wonder Hongjun had seemingly made no progress, for as the one representing the heavenly dao, he had completely merged with it, essentially completely cutting off the path.

  He then asked something else. "Why haven't you taken the path then?" Taiqing was not so easily persuaded, especially since the person sent, while at the 16th level, hadn't taken the step himself.

  "Two reasons. One, it ain't that easy. It's usually recommended you reach the 16.5 level, or great dao, by mastering 10 laws to perfection. Making a world, one of the requirements is that the world is stable, otherwise it fails and you won't advance.

  And two, my core law is theft. For the lupin family, it has been theft for millenia, even as we left the old multiverse and followed lord breaker. If we made a world, it would be a world with theft as its core law and that's just trouble. It's one thing for me to steal from others, but if I made such a world, I would have to put up with the headache of everyone stealing from one another, and even trying to steal from me, their creator. Can you imagine that!?"

  Hearing that, Taiqing quickly understood why he hadn't continued forth. He even suspected that the man before him had purposefully suppressed his level, if only to enjoy the thefts.

  "Why tell me this?" He was a cunning old fox, and Taiqing quickly realized there was a reason this man was telling him this.

  Lupin became more serious. "I said it before, the creator god wanted more worlds to be born. Your arrival in the past signifies a chance to further that goal, and a chance for you to go further." He said mysteriously.

  Taiqing said nothing, yet his disbelief was evident.

  "The boy you've been bound to, you noticed that he's covered in chaos right. He calls it a "golden finger"."

  Taiqing nodded slowly.

  "You don't wonder how that happened at all? Ordinary boy manages to gain extraordinary benefits"

  "..."

  "It's because he's a reincarnator from another world. To be more precise, his soul managed to travel all this way, across realities, and end up here, and in the process, his soul was bathed in the infinite chaos, allowing him to gain extraordinary powers."

  Taiqing's brow creased. "This... should be impossible. No soul can bear the travel through chaos, not without dissipating."

  "Entering basic reincarnation, but yes." Lupin corrected.

  "Humanity however, is special. Earth is special.

  For the creator god, humanity is their most beloved species. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. Most of the ruling intergalactic species are humanoid in form. Dragons and phoenixes are just special exceptions and they don't really have any intergalactic empires, just really strong individuals.

  And humans, as they are aptly named, are the most human form.

  Of course, it's not just that.

  Earth itself is a multiversal layline, a convergence point between universes.

  Because of this, the chances of a human reincarnating into another Earth drastically increase.

  But it pretty much comes down to humanity being pretty favored by the creator god.

  I mean, you know your Jin Chanzi?"

  Taiqing nodded. He had a good impression of the young man, deeply regretting that such a disciple wasn't human, or that he ended up being snatched up by the west. "Indeed. Jieyin and Zhunti's foremost disciple, who seems to have a unique ability to enlighten pretty powerful innate treasures.

  Now that I think about it, that Vulcan fellow looked mighty familiar..." He drifted off, realizing in fact, vulcan did look familiar.

  He had seen him on earth.

  And so did his other followers, resembling various characters and individuals from this world...

  "You mean!?"

  "Yes, that Jin Chanzi managed to traverse through time and space, being reborn as Jin Chanzi.

  So you see how special humanity is then right?" Taiqing had to admit he was convinced. Jin Chanzi was essentially the most quintessential proof, as he watched that disciple in particular ascend to the status of quasi saint. How could he ignore that?

  "Indeed." he said, turning his eyes to the boy who summoned him into this world. "But what does this have to do with me?"

  Though his face was covered with that silly helmet, he felt as if he could practically see Lupin smiling underneath there.

  "If that boy manages to survive to the end and create his own world, wouldn't you have also ascended to world master?"

  Ah, so that was where the pit was.

  "You want me to assist him wholeheartedly? To ensure that he manages to create a world too."

  "Bingo."

  "But I wouldn't actually be the one who created the world would I. I would merely be the assistant." Taiqing pointed out, calling out the biggest flaw in this suggestion.

  "Perhaps, but it's not like you have any better suggestions right?"

  Indeed, from a practical standpoint, he didn't really have any other way at this point.

  This was clearly a miraculous chance, one that he may not have again.

  As if to tempt him more, Lupin dropped a bombshell.

  "And this could be a chance to reunite with your brothers."

  And for one, Taiqing's demeanor changed.

  No longer calm, but instead fiery.

  The biggest thorn in his heart was the separation of the three ones.

  Not the loss of fortune, not the loss of allies, and not even because of the fear of the western saints.

  No, in the end, it was the loss of their brotherhood that truly bothered him, that they were only the three pure ones in name only.

  "What do you mean by that?" He asked, his voice hoarse, his prestige as a saint dropped.

  "Your brothers divided over a clash in their dao. Yuanshi believed in following the way of heaven, and Tongtian wanted to against the way of heaven, seeking the glimmer of hope for all sentient beings. Yuanshi was selective, and Tongtian wanted to educate all sentient beings.

  This divide didn't appear until you began to educate all sentient beings, no?

  So what if you encouraged your master to summon them to this universe?"

  Taiqing actually paused to contemplate this thought.

  "You mean refocus their goals?"

  "Of course, for you cultivators, proving the tao is all that matters. I'm sure they would put aside their own personal problems for this. Not only that, but their positions would change, go back to what it was. They would no longer be enemies, but compatriots.

  "It would be a temporary stopgap." Taiqing stated, and Lupin shrugged.

  "And? Do you know how long it will take before the multiverse ends? We're talking ages. Trillions upon trillions of years from now is when the multiverse will end, and you will have plenty of time to reconciliate.

  Even if you don't believe creating a world is possible for the boy here, you can still take the chance to reconciliate, separately from sect affairs.

  A small reprieve, a good memory, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

  Lupin pushed, temptation laced into his voice, and Taiqing found himself agreeing.

  Whether it would be regarded as a true chance to achieve the dao, or a chance to reconciliate, it would be worth the effort.

  They would not be the 3 sect master's at this moment, but rather brothers in the same goal again.

  "And if I refuse?"

  Lupin shrugged. "Then send this fragment soul back, and we lock the door behind you. You won't lose anything, but you won't gain anything."

  "The main body won't get anything if we succeed."

  "I'm not talking to the main body right now am I?" Lupin pointed out.

  Taiqing smiled wryly, realizing he was truly cornered. From all aspects, the only way forward was to accept.

  A once in a lifetime opportunity, produced by immense human fortune.

  From what he understood, there were countless worlds with countless Taiqings; the one currently eating in mcdonalds is proof enough.

  Even if this opportunity landed in the hands of Taiqing, it would not be him.

  This chance to reunite with his brothers is even more valuable. As saints, they would never be willing to set aside their pride to reconcile.

  But changing their identity to card spirits would change the nature of their discourse, and give them an opportunity to back down.

  After a moment, he finally spoke.

  "Can I send a message to the original self?"

  "Sure"

  In a small world gravitating around the prehistoric world, there was a moment of silence before a sign could be heard, a resounding sound tinged with the law of inaction.

  "So that's how it is. So be it."

  The saint murmured before glancing at the dojos belonging to his two brothers also in chaos.

  "Since we cannot achieve the dao in our original form, then perhaps we can achieve it vicariously.

  In another world, we can be brothers again."

  And then, the world returned to silence again.