Trinity

Chaos had not settled into complete peace. The unrest persisted. The three factions—Xinwu, Silver Moon, and Chunqiu—continued their relentless offensives. Previously, when the ninth rankers had summoned powerhouses across regions to assist them, they had succeeded in slaying Hunluan, but they had also exposed the locations of their own worlds. These ninth-rank worlds had lain dormant for countless years. Now, they were revealed one by one. With the Chaos Great Dao in turmoil, the ninth rankers were unable to descend. They could only watch helplessly as their home worlds were systematically wiped out, leaving them consumed by boundless fury. …… Deep within the Chaos Great Dao. The ninth-rank Sovereigns abandoned all pretense of playing dead. Their previous petrification had merely been a self-sealing measure to prevent their spirituality from dissipating and to stem the catastrophic drain on their lifespans. Now that chaos had deteriorated to this point, self-sealing had lost all purpose. Beneath each statue, countless Daos condensed into tangible substance, solidifying before their very eyes. These were their ninth-rank Daos—true Daos of spirituality. Incomparably thick and massive, they permeated the Chaos Great Dao. At that moment, one Sovereign sensed the obliteration of his domain. He let out a low snort and could not help speaking up. "Tianfang... has your clone found the new world? If not... I say you help us intercept Xinwu and the others first..." Discontent was already brewing. Earlier, they had all struck together and paid heavy prices. Yet now, only Tianfang's clone remained active in chaos, running around in pursuit of Huntian without finding the new world. In truth, none of them wanted him to find it either. Li Hao abandoning Time was a boon to most of them; they would have preferred the new world to vanish entirely—though it reappearing after their descent would also be acceptable. Yet Tianfang's clone made no move to intervene, leaving their worlds to be destroyed one after another. Another voice spoke up. "If this continues, Xinwu and their allies will only grow stronger. That Human King grows more formidable by the day. At this rate... a second Huntian is about to emerge!" "Li Hao may be ruined, but the Human King is no weakling either. He hails from that world, after all. Though he does not wield Time, you must have sensed it: recently, he has been frantically devouring immense quantities of world power and source power. If this goes on... even if he does not reach the ninth rank, he won't be far from it!" Many turned their gazes toward Tianfang. Tianfang's clone was out there, yet refused to intervene, focusing solely on tracking down the new world... Their displeasure deepened. Tianfang opened his eyes and said calmly, "It is not that I disregard your interests. Rather... as things stand, the Human King cannot easily step into the ninth rank. Huntian, on the other hand, once he discovers the new world and plunders Time and Order—combined with the abundant spirituality left behind by the many powerhouses who fell that day—will instantly attain the ninth rank. And he... will be far more difficult to deal with than Hunluan ever was!" "For now, even if the Human King becomes a ninth ranker, the threat he poses to us remains limited." The logic was sound, yet watching their worlds being razed still left many of them furious. Another Sovereign cursed, "It's all because of that brute Li Hao... Even if he is crippled, he must die! Had we known... we should have found a way to execute him long ago..." Such hindsight received no endorsement from the crowd. Tribulation spoke up: "Brother Tianfang, Li Hao opened a world, yet abandoned it... I find myself somewhat uneasy. He knew full well he had incurred our mortal enmity last time, and he knew he would surely die the moment we descended... Yet at such a crucial juncture, when he had the prospect of advancing further, he voluntarily gave it up... What do you make of this, Brother Tianfang?" He remained perplexed. Tianfang could not entirely fathom it either. After a moment of thought, he said, "Perhaps... he saw the despair of the future. Perhaps Time led him astray, entrapping him, draining too much of his lifespan... Or perhaps he was merely a passerby, and in the end, Time simply did not belong to him." Anything was possible. Finally, Tianfang added, "Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that he can still seize control of the new world. Relinquishing it now does not mean... he has truly let it go. It would be entirely normal if he left the world to grow freely and planted hidden measures within it, intending to reclaim it once it matures." At these words, many nodded. This conjecture held some merit. Indeed! Putting themselves in his shoes, they might have done the same. Tribulation pondered and said, "Brother Tianfang, are you saying he is merely feigning weakness? Once the new world flourishes on its own, he might swiftly take it back and directly attain the ninth rank... is that it?" "It is a possibility," Tianfang nodded. The Five Elements Dao Lord suddenly remarked, "If a third-generation Time cultivator truly emerges within, wouldn't they clash with Li Hao? Reclaiming it might not be so simple for him, would it?" "Then he will have cocooned himself in his own web!" someone chuckled. Many agreed with this assessment. Mad as Li Hao was, he was clearly no fool. His strength had plummeted severely, yet surrounded by so many enemies, would he truly allow his power to deteriorate without a plan? Perhaps... that was precisely his scheme! First, lower everyone's guard; then, once the new world matured, instantly seize it to achieve the ninth rank. A fine plan indeed. Tribulation said in a deep voice, "Regardless, since he has severed Time, if an opportunity arises, kill him first! Completely eliminate any possibility of him reclaiming Time. That will spare us trouble and prevent us from falling into his schemes again! That man plans his moves meticulously; he must not be underestimated. We have all suffered at his hands before..." The crowd nodded in agreement. They supported this. No matter what schemes he harbored, once they descended, they would simply obliterate him with overwhelming force! At this moment, the heavily wounded Life and Death Dao Lord spoke up. "If our worlds are destroyed, so be it. All this ceaseless slaughter is actually a good thing. In the short term, spirituality is concentrating across chaos, which works to our advantage for our descent!" Pausing as a thought struck him, he said grimly, "Tianfang, when we entered this place all those years ago, you told us that once Time matured, we would be free to descend. Yet now... Time is not weak, so why... why can we still not descend completely?" "Indeed! Back then, you said the spirituality of chaos would recover naturally and we would soon be able to come and go freely... But what now? A million years have passed, and the spirituality of chaos has barely recovered at all. Descending now, the Great Dao still cannot support us..." Repeated setbacks had stoked their dissatisfaction. Back then, they had trusted Tianfang, and being no fools themselves, they had deduced that after so many years, with chaos repairing itself and free from their heavy consumption, spirituality ought to have recovered substantially. Yet after a million years, it had recovered only marginally—not even enough to support the descent of a single complete ninth ranker. Suspicion began to take root. Tribulation, having already offended Tianfang earlier, held nothing back and voiced his doubts openly: "Brother Tianfang, your spatial pathway has stood in chaos for years, and your Tianfang World has remained rooted at the base of chaos. I must ask... over all these years, hasn't Brother Tianfang siphoned off some of that spirituality?" He felt some trepidation, but refused to continue playing deaf and dumb. In a low voice, he pressed, "So... I wish to ask: over these million years, has the spirituality of chaos truly recovered this little, or... has someone been secretly siphoning it away? We can still perceive the flow of chaotic power, but spirituality is isolated from us here, making it difficult to detect... If someone has been covertly draining it, we would have no way of knowing." Who? Tianfang, of course! He was the ninth ranker with the closest connection to chaos. Moreover, he was supremely powerful. His Tianfang World stood openly within the cosmos, and his spatial pathway had remained anchored between heaven and earth for eons. A million years, and not even a single ninth ranker could descend at full power? It was impossible not to suspect him! They had harbored suspicions earlier, but back then, everything had been quiet, and everyone had been waiting for Time. Now... they were growing irritable. As Tribulation finished, the Yin-Yang Dao Lord said solemnly, "Indeed, the recovery speed of chaos's spirituality is far too slow! In these million years, no new ninth rankers were born. Reason dictates... it shouldn't recover at such a crawl!" "Huntian inherited some spirituality from Order, Long Zhan inherited some from Chaos, while Li Hao and Fang Ping rose only recently; they couldn't possibly have depleted the spirituality in a mere millennium. Chunqiu is not weak, but relatively speaking, she accounts for little." "Why... after a million years of accumulation, can it still not support our descent?" "I am even more curious... back then, when that first-generation Time cultivator entered Tianfang, what exactly did he discuss with Brother Tianfang that led you to decide... to seal chaos away for a million years?" "……" One after another, the ninth rankers voiced their confusion, doubt, and anger. When they had followed Tianfang here, it had been partly for self-preservation, partly for the future, and partly because Tianfang had joined them in deducing the future: if the ninth rankers persisted, chaos would become completely desolate. Back then, they had harbored hopes of waiting—waiting a short while, and perhaps it would recover. Who could have guessed... this wait would last a million years? Furthermore, spirituality continued to disperse rather than fully restore itself. By the middle of it all, they had been trapped, unable to leave and forced to accept their fate. But now... none of them were willing to accept it anymore. You, Tianfang, must be hiding something! The Lord of Tianfang listened quietly throughout. Seeing their anger, he spoke slowly: "Everyone knew the situation back then. I explained it to all of you, and even had the Destiny Dao Lord and the Prophecy Dao Lord join forces to divine the future... If we did not leave and things continued as they were, with spirituality unable to recover, chaos would eventually fall into total silence, and the entire expanse would collapse!" "Zhan traversed Time that year and spoke with me... We did not speak long, only touching briefly upon matters of the future... In the future... what he saw was endless darkness, dead silence, annihilation, and despair... Perhaps it was tied to the ninth rankers draining the spirituality!" "I stated this back then without concealment." Tianfang sighed. "You all knew this back then, so why dredge up old matters today? Your losses are not small, but neither are mine. I have already lost a clone, and countless powerhouses in my Tianfang domain have been slain... I am grieved as well." "As for why the spirituality of chaos recovered so little over the million years..." He let out a sigh. "Too many ninth rankers were born a million years ago, damaging the fundamental roots. Moreover... we have remained stationed at the Chaos Source, locking down the Chaos Great Dao. Even while self-sealed, we have continually consumed energy... Naturally, it would not recover much... The crux still lies with Time. Time must be used to stabilize the spirituality, solidifying it so it endures forever... That is what we have been waiting for, what we have been working toward..." He sighed helplessly. "Just as Time has appeared and our opportunity draws near, why must you turn on me now?" Tribulation said in a low voice, "Brother Tianfang, we are not turning on you. It is just... we have waited too many years! And now, we still cannot descend. We want to know when, exactly, we will truly be able to descend at our peak. Brother Tianfang, you must give us an answer. You are the strongest, and you were the one who invited us here. We all trusted you... yet now..." Tianfang nodded with a heavy expression. "I know you are anxious. In truth, so am I." He sighed, thought for a moment, and said, "Soon. As long as Time reappears. With Hunluan's fall and the deaths of vast numbers of powerhouses... Xinwu obliterating worlds is actually beneficial to us. In the short term, spirituality will converge! A brief eruption period will occur... Once Time returns to chaos, chaos will stabilize, and our descent will no longer pose an issue!" "After that, once Time advances to the ninth rank... completing its solidification, it may no longer even require a master to maintain stability!" A flicker passed through his eyes. "When that time comes, it will not matter who wields Time. If the wielder proves disobedient... killing them will be fine, provided Time achieves the solidification of spirituality!" "Of course, if they are willing to cooperate and amenable to reason, we are not bloodthirsty butchers. A cooperative Time Dao Lord would serve an even greater stabilizing role for chaos." The powerhouses fell into contemplation. Must they continue waiting? "Then what of your search for the new world? Can you truly not find it?" Tianfang shook his head. "It is exceedingly difficult! Chaos is vast, and after all, it is merely a clone out there. Although Huntian's Order is embedded within it, without the Order Tome, he cannot truly be considered the Lord of Order. I believe... the chances of finding it are slim. Still, precautions must be taken. That is why I have stayed glued to Huntian, lest that fellow actually finds it and creates complications!" He explained each point in turn. Yet Tribulation brought up his earlier suspicion once more: "Brother Tianfang, it is not that I doubt you... but we are all perplexed. Over these million years, the spirituality of chaos has remained far too scarce... Could it be that a portion of it lies hidden somewhere, or... does chaos conceal other hidden powerhouses who have siphoned it away?" Tianfang looked at him, knowing full well the implication was aimed at himself. He let out a light laugh. "Tribulation, why play such games between us? If I truly concealed a vast reserve of spirituality, I would have descended in person long ago. Had my true body descended, do you think Fang Ping, Li Hao, and Huntian could have stood against me? Why would I put myself in such a dilemma as today?" The Sovereigns pondered this. Doubts lingered. Had Tianfang concealed spirituality or not? It was impossible to tell. As for why he hadn't descended if he had... perhaps he was waiting for Time to reach the ninth rank, or perhaps his ambitions went beyond Time to encompass... them! Tianfang was formidable, but facing so many ninth rankers, he might defeat two, three, or four... What about five? What about ten? In any case, the man might still be concealing something, but pressed further, they risked an outright falling out. Tianfang added, "Let us wait until the Chaos Great Dao stabilizes. Once it settles, even if our true bodies cannot descend, our clones will be able to do so... which is still better than our current state." Tribulation fell silent. Having lost two clones already, the toll on him was immense; he did not have infinite clones to deploy. He looked up above them. A heart seemed to be beating there. It had not been prominent before, but Hunluan's self-destruction had nearly severed the Chaos Great Dao. Now, that Chaos Source appeared startled and injured. Sovereign Tribulation watched it for a moment, then spoke up again: "The Chaos Source has been quiet these years... and has recovered considerably. We haven't drawn much energy from it for all this time... Brother Tianfang, what if... what if we extract a portion?" Tianfang frowned. "That is the core of chaos! Tribulation, if extracting it causes the entire chaos to collapse... do you believe we will survive?" Tribulation smiled. "Surely it won't come to that? Earlier, Long Zhan took a small bite, and Hunluan wanted to try it as well... Neither of them feared it..." Tianfang smiled coldly. "Then suit yourself... Of course, the Chaos Source is the fountainhead of life, bound to the Chaos Great Dao. You saw it earlier: when Long Zhan took a bite, life itself retaliated. You alone will likely be helpless against it... And if everyone moves on it together, beware... If the source shatters, none of us will like the outcome!" His eyes turned slightly dark. Tribulation! This fellow was growing increasingly bold. To think he dared covet the Chaos Source. Doing so might grant brief gratification, but for the future... it would spell disaster. Once the Chaos Source dispersed... chaos would instantly fall into dead silence, and no living beings would ever be born again. When their current generation died, the world would be extinguished. In the end, even if one or a few survived... what would be the point? Moreover, in a dead world, even if you lived for a time, death would claim you eventually. Worse still, if all of chaos collapsed and the Great Dao was obliterated, everyone would be finished. Tribulation chuckled softly. "That is not what I meant. My thought was simply that since descending is difficult for us now... if we extract a bit of the Chaos Source, even just to forge a clone... that clone would be much stronger and could lend a hand. After so many years of self-sealing, we are all withering..." Tianfang said impatiently, "Then you can try it yourself!" Tribulation smiled. "If everyone disagrees, forget it... In truth, it wasn't purely for myself. For instance, could we extract the source of Li Hao's relatives to threaten him...?" Tianfang replied, "He has already lost Time. Why bother?" "Yet if our earlier suspicion holds true and he can still control Time, he remains a colossal threat. He is obsessed with resurrecting a few mortals. If we extract them in advance... we can intimidate him, keeping a trump card should things go awry!" Tianfang frowned slightly and sank into thought. Was it worth it? Of course, Tribulation's motive went beyond this; it was merely an excuse. He still wanted to extract source energy to stabilize his own realm and strength, and... perhaps harbored other motives. The Chaos Source... was equivalent to the heart of the world. It was even the origin of the Great Dao. In truth, the ninth rankers all wished to master it. Naturally, the chances were slim; lacking the capability, forcing control over it risked assimilation into the source itself. Yet Tribulation... perhaps felt that since Long Zhan could take a bite, a ninth ranker like himself stood a chance as well. After a long silence, the Lord of Tianfang shook his head. "I advise against it. If you insist, you may try it alone!" The Lord of Tribulation smiled and said no more. Tianfang refused, and though he told him to try it alone... Tribulation looked up at the faintly visible, colossal heart and held his tongue. The danger was only one factor; what worried him more was... what secrets lay hidden within? For instance... had Tianfang done something to the source? Who could say! He strongly suspected Tianfang had covertly siphoned spirituality. That man was likely concealing far more than met the eye; if Li Hao could deduce that Tianfang was disingenuous, Tribulation could as well. Others might not care, but he did. Because the Four Regions bordered his Tribulation Domain, he was privy to certain details. Over these years, spirituality had been recovering, yet showed no visible increase. The Tianfang World had also been continually absorbing spirituality in earlier days. Yet there had been no sign of movement. Tianfang... what are you really planning? He set the thought aside. In the current chaos, certain individuals were difficult to read—like Li Hao. Was that fellow truly waiting for the world to mature before reclaiming it, as everyone assumed? Was there any need? If he had taken direct control, Tianfang's clone would have been no match for him. Strong as Huntian was, joining forces with the others offered a chance to destroy him... and chaos would have fallen under the dominion of Li Hao and his allies. Yet Li Hao had not done so! That was baffling. Furthermore... recently, although various figures across chaos were continually devouring vast amounts of chaotic power, there was no trace of Li Hao. Had that fellow truly given up? Incomprehensible! …… Within the dark chaos. With heaven and earth in upheaval and chaos unsettled, the destruction of the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena left countless Sovereigns terrified to venture outside. They could only hide obediently within their domains, trembling in fear. Every day brought tremors of worlds collapsing. And formidable worlds at that. Crucially, cut off from further information, they could only wait passively for the outcome. Such days weighed heavily upon the Sovereigns, yet they were powerless. Just then, within the chaos. At the edge of a minor world. A man and a dog appeared in an instant. Soundless and traceless. Eerily quiet. Li Hao looked at the small world before him, counted on his fingers to calculate, and after a moment, pinched off a piece of flesh from his right hand. The flesh was crystalline and translucent, and within it stood a tiny Li Hao. Exceedingly bizarre! As if dividing at the cellular level, its core was a miniature Li Hao, and an adhesive force radiated outward from the flesh. Gradually, the flesh drifted toward the distant small world. Moments later... it adhered to the world and began merging into it. Li Hao and the Black Panther resembled thieves or assassins operating in the shadows, exceptionally low-profile, eerie, and cloaked entirely by darkness. "The six hundred and twenty-seventh..." Li Hao murmured, "A tenth of the right arm is complete..." With that, he glanced at his right hand. His entire right arm... was one-tenth shorter. Individually it didn't look jarring, but comparing both arms made the discrepancy obvious. The Black Panther looked at his arm and curled its lip—uneven arms, with part of one missing. Of course, Li Hao wore long robes that concealed it; without a close look, little could be discerned. Li Hao continued calculating, recalling and deducing, and smiled. "The entire East should be able to accommodate both my arms!" The Black Panther wagged its tail, saying nothing. This came from the experience Li Hao had accumulated over many attempts. First merging with the Great Dao River, then the Thunder Domain, and later the new world... Today, he was recasting his flesh and blood! Using cells as virtual realms, he integrated them into the myriad worlds of chaos. Worlds in chaos were countless—large and small, numbering easily in the hundreds of thousands, an astonishing quantity. And today, based on the layout of the Nine Heavens he had observed, Li Hao reconfigured himself, embedding his flesh and blood into the chaotic domains. On one hand, this absorbed their spirituality, will, and vitality; on the other, it nurtured his own physical vessel. "Woof!" The Black Panther gave a soft bark. Dividing yourself like this, can you really pull them all back? If you can't, wouldn't you be finished? "Rest assured, a version of me is evolving within every piece of flesh! Using the method of combining divine characters, I arrange my flesh and blood; a single drop of blood is a Dao, a divine character... It devours no power, only nurturing the flesh, and the key lies in the will!" Li Hao bared his teeth in a grin. "Black Panther, just wait. When the time comes, the entire chaos... will be me! I merge into heaven and earth, and I can rise again from them... When I step forth, I shall be invincible!" "……" You're ruthless; you call the shots. The Black Panther was speechless. Its fear was that countless little Li Haos would emerge, and... with his current condition, someone was bound to notice sooner or later. Li Hao's lost flesh could not regenerate. It was fundamentally lost! That was what made it terrifying. At his level, regenerating from a drop of blood was effortless, yet now, losing a section meant it stayed lost, unable to recover! Li Hao smiled. "Don't worry... It won't be easily spotted. Once I finish the plan, I'll find Er Mao to replicate it, then have Hu Qingfeng summon a shadow to merge into me... It won't look any different from the real thing!" The Black Panther remained silent. Even that works? Fine, whatever you say. While everyone else was racing against time to seize energy, the two of them were sneaking around like thieves, scattering Li Hao's flesh in every corner, with no telling when they would finish. "Black Panther..." "Woof!" The Black Panther looked at Li Hao in confusion. Li Hao smiled. "Notify the folks in Silver Moon to stir up some chaos recently. Also, have Lingyue resume her operations, preaching the doctrine of her Divine Kingdom everywhere... and switch the core of faith to me!" The Black Panther looked blank. What did that mean? Li Hao patted its canine head. "Fool. If I remain idle, they will inevitably grow suspicious. Better to let the Queen stir up trouble so they believe... I am absorbing the power of faith, attempting to restore my strength through faith!" Incidentally, it would reassure those powerhouses: stop worrying about me, I'm already busy trying to save myself! "Furthermore..." Li Hao paused, then added, "Turmoil and chaos will only sharpen the survival instinct of living beings in chaos!" At this moment, he seemed like a genuine villain. Exploiting turmoil and chaos to stimulate the survival will of living beings, while ostensibly gathering faith on the surface... That way, even if outsiders noticed something, they wouldn't suspect his true design. The Black Panther nodded. As the spirit of Silver Moon, contacting the Silver Moon faction was simple enough. Li Hao led it forward toward the next domain. The Black Panther glanced around with utmost vigilance, terrified of being spotted. It felt just like the old days keeping watch for Li Hao, almost forgetting it was now a seventh-rank Sovereign. The man and dog wandered stealthily through the expanse. Li Hao was not scattering flesh at random; he anchored and reconfigured it in accordance with the layout of the Nine Heavens and the distribution of worlds. Gradually, his right arm grew nearly bald! Any further, and he would become a one-armed swordsman. Within one world after another, an imperceptible fragment of flesh attached itself. Within each fragment, a miniature Li Hao sat cross-legged, quietly absorbing something. Imperceptible to the senses! Virtually no one could detect it. Li Hao used the Concealing Heaven method to disguise and conceal each piece of flesh—a Dao derived from Li Zhu. Back when Li Hao was weak, it could shield him even from chaotic lightning tribulations, let alone now. Forget ordinary, weak Sovereigns; even ordinary eighth-rank Sovereigns would find it nearly impossible to detect. Each piece of flesh would ultimately merge and fuse with the world source. Until Li Hao summoned them back! …… While Li Hao was carrying out his plan, within the new world, Time was flowing at a frantic pace. Near the original river, a dark river seemed to manifest within, thick with the aura of death. A figure appeared between heaven and earth, wearing a look of smug satisfaction and joy. "I knew it... Back then, I wasn't mistaken!" The figure muttered to himself. He had known all along that he hadn't seen wrong: what fell from the river was indeed the Dao of death. Now that I have opened the River of the Dead, I, Yin, have gained a foothold between heaven and earth, no weaker than those ancestral founders who opened domains in the past. From this day forth, I am... the Lord of the Dead! At this moment, heaven and earth shook as a new Dao was pioneered. The aura of death permeated the realm, and the sources of countless departed souls merged into the River of the Dead. Simultaneously, outside the river, two additional gateways appeared! Upper, middle, and lower—three full gateways manifested. No longer did it bear the solitary gateway Li Hao had left behind. In the depths of the River of Time, something surged. A silhouette faintly emerged, bearing a thirty percent resemblance to Li Hao, yet filled with resentment. "You abandoned us..." A murmur echoed as the figure looked toward the surging river. Gritting his teeth, he declared, "In that case... from this day forth, I am no longer Cang. I am... the Spirit of the River!" He would devour this river and seize control of it. Having fought for him across countless ages, he had been abandoned on the day the heavens opened. He refused to accept it! …… Elsewhere. A great mountain emerged, shaped like a sword. A man stood there looking somewhat simple and honest. After a long pause, he scratched his head. "I am Qiongjian... Today, I establish Tianqiong Mountain to welcome sword cultivators throughout the world..." Faint memories lingered in his mind—very few, yet a certain silhouette refused to fade. Time opening the heavens? Ah, it seemed... I was that sword that split the heavens! Yet it always felt... something was missing. Never mind, I must cultivate as well. …… Across the entire new world, Time operated at a frantic pace, and eras continuously shifted. At the same time, in a somewhat ethereal realm, a group of people was in secluded cultivation. Su Yu opened his eyes, looked at the Yang God before him, and smiled. "You may return. Over these years, everything I should teach you has been taught!" "Many thanks for Emperor Yu's benevolence!" The Yang God was overjoyed. Listening to the Dao here had yielded immense gains! Now that he was being sent away, he dared not linger, though he asked with some apprehension, "I wonder when I might see Emperor Yu again... The grace of your teachings today... will never be forgotten!" At this point in time, the Yang God was still remarkably earnest and honest. Su Yu smiled. "There will be a chance. When we meet again... you might be quite surprised!" The Yang God was puzzled, but dared not ask further. Turning around, he flew back toward his original world. That world stood between heaven and earth like a seed. Su Yu watched in silence, sensing subtle shifts as he fell into contemplation. Intriguing—so that was the world of the first-generation Time cultivator. The Time Master he had seen and known before—that old coot—was probably the second-generation Time cultivator? Did that make him the third generation? Bah! As if I am! When would their timelines finally align? He pondered, a river seeming to surface in his eyes. After a brief assessment, he grew thoughtful: perhaps... soon. Just as he was thinking, his gaze shifted. A disturbance seemed to occur in the world ahead. Before long... a familiar aura surged violently! "Hmm?" Su Yu was startled. Dead? How could that be! He swiftly stepped out from his position, traversing Time in an instant to appear above that world. The figure he had seen before was collapsing! How... could this happen? How could he have been killed? No... he wasn't killed. Did he... commit suicide? "Damn it!" Su Yu frowned deeply, gazing down in silence. Was that necessary? A star gradually surfaced before him, drifting in his direction. Su Yu's brow furrowed. That fellow... truly abandoned Time? But why? It gave him a headache! After a long pause, he sensed something and let out a soft exclamation. "Oh... this is..." Before him, the star rotated, revealing glimpses of past memories. Su Yu watched for a time, slightly stunned. Finally, he let out a sigh and said no more. With a wave of his hand, the star spun wildly, and in the blink of an eye, a new world manifested as if reborn. It seemed frozen at a specific moment... countless palaces emerging. Silhouettes materialized. A man accompanied by a cat appeared between heaven and earth. Looking up toward the sky, toward Su Yu, the man wore a gentle expression and chuckled softly. "What joy is there in life, what fear in death? Why bother?" "Boring man!" Su Yu shook his head. "I only saw that your main Dao possessed a spirit... I did not do this to see you, nor do I care to hear your preachings. I merely wished to let this Dao spirit grow; perhaps in the future, it can keep my Maoqiu company!" Above his head, a white fur ball appeared, gazing curiously at the world before it. It spotted a fat cat, and then a second... Curious and puzzled, what... were those? Su Yu rubbed the fur ball on his head and smiled. "Those are Dao spirits too... only immature. Once they grow and develop sentience, they will control Daos just like you!" With that, he looked away. Somewhat annoyed. Truly... an unpleasant journey. Why must it be so? In his life, he despised such people the most—shirking their duties and leaving endless trouble for future generations! Su Yu ceased paying attention, merely watching from beyond the distant sky like a deity looking down upon creation. He watched this world continuously change and grow, until finally... he saw the rise of a certain individual... Somewhat familiar. His eyes flickered: that... looked like the man from before. So this was the person the Yang God would follow in the future. Which meant... the time was drawing near! A smile crossed his face. This meant the time for his Myriad Realms was almost at hand... If the temporal flow of all three factions reached alignment, they would truly merge into one! "When this world reaches its later stage... and my Myriad Realms progresses to the moment I appear... past, present, and future will completely unite. When that happens, I can step outside!" He had reached complete clarity! Now, he felt a measure of anticipation. Though he had no desire to invite trouble, if trouble sought him out, he would not sit idly by. He would crush all his enemies, beat that old coot of Time to a pulp... and that would just about do it! "So... this is Xinwu!" He murmured: the Xinwu era. In that case, the Xinwu era was the group of people he had seen last time. Did the Time Master come after Xinwu? He felt some confusion: Xinwu was so formidable, so how did Time manage to rise later? How strange! At that moment, he saw a vessel resembling a spaceship flying out from the domain. His heart stirred, and with a sudden grin, he reached out. The vessel, which couldn't even break free of the domain on its own, instantly landed in his grasp! In a flash, a world manifested around it. A smile tugged at his lips. How amusing... "Time to work, Lan Tian! It's up to you to conjure myriad living beings, branching into countless avatars... Show the Xinwu people the might of my Myriad Realms!" From behind, a voice giggled playfully. "Brother Yu... you're so wicked!" Su Yu shuddered, a chill running down his spine. This Dao of avatars was truly nauseating. He glanced at a figure within Xinwu and frowned slightly... That one also had a penchant for avatars. He wondered if there was a connection to Lan Tian; after all, the Daos of his Myriad Realms should share some lineage. Still, Time opened the heavens; it shouldn't have anything to do with him, right? Better not, or else... I'll beat you to death! Lan Tian was growing increasingly eccentric! Lately, even Su Yu could hardly stomach it. Hopefully there was no relation, otherwise... I'll give you a thrashing first! Instantly, the world behind him blossomed with countless lifelike beings, as if an entire realm had sprung into existence. Yet these myriad creatures... were merely the manifestations of a single person—an utterly terrifying feat! Laughter, sorrow, parting, and reunion played out across the illusory domain. Meanwhile, the cultivator known as Lan Tian manifested his main body beside Su Yu, giggling like a child. "Brother Yu, this is so fun! I can hardly wait to enter chaos... Tell me, if I transform into tens of millions of avatars, could I share a soul-stirring romance with the Time Master?" "……" Su Yu was left speechless. After a long pause, he chuckled softly. "I support you. Go right ahead!" Go disgust him, just don't disgust me. At the thought, he smiled. It would surely... be entertaining. Time, I am finally going to meet you. I hope you won't disappoint me! He turned to look toward the former location of the Time Star, his brows lifting slightly, then glanced at the rapidly rising Human King. Time was still flowing frantically. He smiled, understanding dawning upon him. This man... might... refuse Time! So that was it! Which meant... Time was born within the new world? Fascinating! He looked back toward the Human King, who was still locked in fierce battle within the domain, and fell into contemplation. This man's saber technique... looked rather familiar. Glancing back at the companions behind him, many were observing with thoughtful expressions. Some of their Daos seemed... somewhat similar to this Xinwu world. It appeared they truly shared a single lineage. So that was how it was! A trinity? Su Yu understood. In this moment, the relationship became entirely clear—just like Time: past, present, and future, three in one. And the origin of their Myriad Realms lay here as well. Turning to glance at the world, Su Yu smiled. "Wait a little longer, and we can return... Everyone, we are about to descend upon the true chaos!" The crowd felt both thrilled and apprehensive. Were they truly about to descend? How they looked forward to it!