A Lifetime

“The Void Dao Ancestor, the Time Dao Ancestor...” The Lord of Yuanxi was somewhat surprised. “It started as early as three million three hundred and sixty thousand years ago?” “Correct,” the Fate Dao Ancestor answered calmly. “Three million three hundred and sixty thousand years ago, our Ancient Immortal Realm suffered total defeat across the front lines. Dao Ancestors were infiltrated, obliterated, and slain one after another. I realized then the formidable combat power of the Hunyuan Realm under your leadership, Lord of Yuanxi. And so, we four Dao Ancestors held counsel and devised a plan!” He looked toward Yaoguang. “A plan to nurture a perfect immortal spirit using the supreme Grand Daos of our Ancient Immortal Realm.” “Oh?” The Lord of Yuanxi browsed through information from three million three hundred and sixty thousand years ago. “Back when the Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor launched their counteroffensive against our Hunyuan Realm, I felt something was amiss. Before He perished, that Time Dao Ancestor seemed intent on concealing something. Thus, over the past three million three hundred and sixty thousand years, I issued orders more than once, dispatching immortal spirits to search the places where the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor fell. That search lasted the entire three million three hundred and sixty thousand years. Never did I imagine that the inheritor of the two Dao Ancestors would only truly emerge fifty thousand years ago.” “To foster a perfect immortal spirit naturally requires selecting a talented vessel to gestate. Beyond gestation, time is needed to grow. Only then could he possess both incomparable spiritual talent and unimaginable comprehension of the Grand Dao to bear the legacies of Dao Ancestors.” As the Fate Dao Ancestor spoke, even He sounded slightly surprised. “However, that it took three million three hundred and sixty thousand years to nurture a suitable candidate did surprise me. Had it not been for my absolute trust in Time and Void, I would have run out of patience to wait any longer.” “So, after expending so much time and energy, does this chess piece you nurtured truly possess such strength?” the Lord of Yuanxi asked. “Watch, and you shall see.” The Fate Dao Ancestor turned His gaze toward Yaoguang as well. At this moment, both supreme beings standing atop the two realms had realized that the crux of their duel was no longer between the two of them. Instead, it had become a contest between Yaoguang and the Nine Rulers! A game between chess pieces! If the Nine Rulers could win, the Lord of Yuanxi would risk everything to inflict heavy damage on the Fate Dao Ancestor; seizing that opportunity, the Nine Rulers could grind away the Gate of Fate and achieve ultimate victory. If Yaoguang could win... The Lord of Yuanxi would perish, the Nine Rulers would be defeated, and once the Fate Dao Ancestor returned, the entire Hunyuan Realm would fall into the grasp of the Ancient Immortal Realm. “I am quite curious as to what method you will use to make Yuxiao... fine, we shall call him Yaoguang as you say.” The Lord of Yuanxi smiled and asked, “What method will you use to make Yaoguang, who clearly belongs to our camp, duel the Nine Rulers to the bitter end?” “All the gifts of fate have already been marked with a price.” The Fate Dao Ancestor smiled faintly. “His ability to wield the full power of the Void Dao Ancestor, the Time Dao Ancestor, and the Karma Dao Ancestor was never because of how high his talent was or how profound his comprehension. Rather... the three Dao Ancestors have always supported him in a manner he could not fathom, enabling him to unite the powers of the three Dao Ancestors into one, and thus possess the strength to fight one against nine and contend with the Nine Rulers.” “Is that so?” Hearing this, the Lord of Yuanxi did not find it surprising either. That Yaoguang took a few thousand years to become an Immortal King was nothing strange. Yet within a mere few thousand years, he possessed might rivaling that of Dao Ancestors and Rulers—anyone could see something was amiss. If three Dao Ancestors—Time, Void, and Karma—had been secretly supporting him behind the scenes, that alone made sense. “Then let us begin. Let us invite our respective protagonists onto the stage,” the Lord of Yuanxi said. Entangled and merging with the Lord of Yuanxi, the Fate Dao Ancestor gave an affirmative response. Soon, powerful fluctuations of will were perceived by Yaoguang. “Yaoguang, you may call me Fate.” The clash between the Fate Dao Ancestor and the Lord of Yuanxi had unfolded almost entirely on the spiritual and cognitive planes; though intricate, in reality, merely an instant had passed. At this moment, Yaoguang was still relishing the thought of whether the Nine Rulers and the Lord of Yuanxi were about to come to blows. Suddenly sensing the thoughts and will manifested by the Fate Dao Ancestor, he visibly froze. “Fate Dao Ancestor?” He pulled himself together slightly. Why was this Dao Ancestor contacting him instead of fighting the Lord of Yuanxi? “I require your assistance.” The Fate Dao Ancestor’s mental fluctuations carried a weighty, composed confidence, as though victory was already in His grasp. “Oh, go ahead,” Yaoguang replied dutifully, and then could not resist asking curiously, “Is there a role for me in this?” The Fate Dao Ancestor was somewhat surprised. Yaoguang’s reaction... Was altogether too rational, too calm. However, He had no time to overthink it and stated directly, “You now possess the spirituality of a Level 19 immortal spirit as well as the legacies of the Void Dao Ancestor, Time Dao Ancestor, and Karma Dao Ancestor. I need you to step forward and stop the Nine Rulers for me!” “So, the ultimate purpose of me as the protagonist is to counter the Nine Rulers?” Yaoguang asked immediately. Protagonist? “It seems you have already realized it.” The mental fluctuations emitted by the Fate Dao Ancestor held little surprise, carrying instead a trace of admiration. “As expected of the immortal spirit meticulously selected and nurtured by Time and Void.” “So this whole scheme began three million three hundred thousand years ago?” Yaoguang truly knew very little about what happened back then. And he had always been deeply curious about the Higher-Dimensional Cognition he possessed. Hearing the Fate Dao Ancestor bring it up, he could not resist asking, “What was the purpose of the Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor invading the Hunyuan Realm in the first place?” The Fate Dao Ancestor was in no rush; rather, He appeared quite patient. Communication on the level of will and thought consumed very little time—the turn of a single thought was equivalent to conveying an entire passage of information. Under circumstances where the mutual consumption between the Lord of Yuanxi and Himself would be measured in units of ten thousand years, the actual time He had at His disposal was exceedingly abundant. “The Lord of Yuanxi and the Nine Rulers were capable of drawing upon the power of the entire Hunyuan Realm. Especially the Lord of Yuanxi—at that time, not only was He a peak Ruler, but He also enjoyed the empowerment of all intelligent beings and immortal spirits throughout the Hunyuan Realm. Led by Him, the Nine Rulers were far beyond what our Ancient Immortal Realm, whose cosmic power was divided into three thousand shares, could match. Consequently, in the war back then, we faced total defeat.” The Fate Dao Ancestor calmly recounted this history from three million three hundred and sixty thousand years ago. “Upon realizing this, I formulated a plan: to feign weakness and lure the enemy deep. And you were the crux of that plan.” “So, under the orchestration of the power of fate, I came to achieve everything I have today?” Yaoguang asked curiously. “You may understand it that way,” the Fate Dao Ancestor replied. “What if it had been someone else? Could they have reached the point I stand at today just the same? Moreover, how exactly did the power of fate govern my movements? I clearly felt that everything I did was carried out according to my own will...” Yaoguang was puzzled. “Under the guidance of fate, you would always find yourself seeking security yet trapped in an insecurity of never attaining it. That was the driving force pushing you forward. With this overarching direction, coupled with the legacies you received, you were bound to arrive at this point in the end.” The Fate Dao Ancestor answered unhurriedly, “If it had been someone else, perhaps they could have reached this stage as well, but... they might not have done better than you! From your smooth emergence to pushing the plan to this stage, it took you a mere fifty thousand years. Such efficiency surprised even me; waiting three million three hundred and sixty thousand years for you was not in vain.” Hearing this, Yaoguang had a sudden realization. Insecurity? So the invasion of those “demons” in the Yaoguang Realm, the bizarre appearance of Jiang Tianzun in the Cangwu Realm, and the seemingly normal Dao Contention on Beihai Star that was destined to erupt within a thousand years—were all of those manipulated from the shadows by the power of fate? All to drive him incessantly forward, giving him no time to rest? Only... “Since you were so pressed for time, why did you wait around for three million three hundred and sixty thousand years for nothing? And if you weren't in a hurry, couldn't you have at least given me a little more breathing room? Perhaps I could have done even better,” Yaoguang could not help but ask. “Three million three hundred and sixty thousand years.” The Fate Dao Ancestor paused for a fraction of an instant. Only after a good while did He speak again: “I was merely the formulator of the plan and the arbiter of the overarching direction, not its executor... The nurturing of the perfect immortal spirit was the responsibility of the Time Dao Ancestor and the Void Dao Ancestor. I do not know why it took them as long as three million three hundred and sixty thousand years to nurture you. Perhaps it was to deflect the Lord of Yuanxi’s attention from you, or perhaps they were waiting for the right moment, or perhaps gestating a perfect immortal spirit capable of bearing their legacies was far more difficult than anticipated...” He said calmly, “However, that is of no consequence. What matters is that the plan is proceeding in an orderly manner.” “Proceeding in an orderly manner?” Hearing that, Yaoguang gave a cold scoff. “I haven’t agreed to help you fight the Nine Rulers yet.” “No, you will.” The Fate Dao Ancestor was not surprised in the slightest. “The formation of your character doomed you to place your personal safety above all else. And you understand better than anyone that once the Ancient Immortal Realm falls and its three thousand Grand Daos are fully devoured by the Hunyuan Realm, everything of the Ancient Immortal Realm will turn into nourishment and merge into the Hunyuan Realm—including you! In a plight where defeat means certain death, even if you understand that you, too, count as an immortal spirit, you will still have no choice but to take the side of the Ancient Immortal Realm and go to war with the Hunyuan Realm for the sake of survival.” Yaoguang opened his mouth. He wanted to refute it. Yet he had to admit that for a very long time, that had indeed been his exact thinking. Before creating the Chaos World, he had even prepared himself mentally to fight the Hunyuan Realm to the bitter end. Everything remained within the Fate Dao Ancestor’s design. So... “Truly an incredible, mighty power of fate,” Yaoguang sighed with emotion. What was fate? Fate was ethereal and elusive; no living being could perceive it. It was best for ordinary beings never to perceive the existence of fate at all. Yet when a being truly comprehended fate and saw it for what it was, the manifestation of fate was... “My entire life.”