Death

Revival. Yaoguang could clearly feel that the consciousnesses of the Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor, once suppressed by him, were awakening at extreme speed. This revival stemmed from the support given to these Dao Ancestors by the entire world. A Dao Lord was required to integrate their body with the Dao. Yet a Dao Ancestor was inherently equivalent to a part of the universe itself. If the universe endured, the Dao Ancestor endured; if the universe decayed, the Dao Ancestor decayed. As long as the Ancient Immortal Realm had not completely perished, the Dao Ancestors would never truly die. They were the ones who truly shared the lifespan of the heavens and earth, shining alongside the world. Originally, because they had lost all the Grand Dao shares they could wield, the two Dao Ancestors had been forced into slumber. But the power of fate possessed the capacity to coordinate the three thousand Grand Daos. Under this Dao Ancestor's summons, the two sleeping Dao Ancestors awakened... Since all the power of the Grand Dao of the Void and the Grand Dao of Time was concentrated within Yaoguang at this moment, the two Dao Ancestors, upon awakening inside his body, could instantly claim all the strength he possessed, vaulting back to their absolute peak. Compared to Yaoguang, a chess piece that had slipped somewhat out of control... The Time Dao Ancestor, the Void Dao Ancestor, and the Karma Dao Ancestor, who was destined to be awakened next, were the true, stalwart allies of the Fate Dao Ancestor—the firmest, most powerful supporting pillars of the Ancient Immortal Realm. "The Glazed Treasure Tree." Sensing the wellspring of the two Dao Ancestors' reviving power, Yaoguang sighed inwardly. "Indeed, all the gifts of fate have had their prices marked in advance." Long ago, he had attained the ability to excise the Glazed Treasure Tree from himself. He had simply suppressed the thought all this time out of concern that it would cause too great a disturbance. But now... He hesitated no longer. Glancing down at himself, he abruptly thrust his hand into his own body, boldly seizing the radiant Glazed Treasure Tree that flowed with luminous brilliance. "What belongs to you, I give back to you, but don't even dream of taking this body!" The next instant, amidst violent tremors, the entire Glazed Treasure Tree was forcefully ripped from his body. This abrupt mutation caused the expressions of every ruler to change drastically. They swiftly retreated, taking up defensive stances in full vigilance. Not just the Lord of Shenluo—all the rulers could see that if Yaoguang maintained the proper tactical approach, defeating the nine of them united might be difficult, but dragging one or two, or even two or three rulers down to mutual destruction with him was definitely well within his power. Naturally, they did not wish to lose their lives on the spot at the very moment victory was approaching and the fruits were about to be reaped, becoming sacrifices dragged down into oblivion by Yaoguang. Rumble! As Yaoguang tore the Glazed Treasure Tree from his body, he clearly felt the power belonging to the Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor rapidly draining from him, concentrating entirely into the Glazed Ancient Tree. It seemed... The true wellspring of his power had never originated from himself, but had come from the Glazed Treasure Tree all along. Now, with the Glazed Treasure Tree excised from his body, that power naturally drifted away as well. This process brought agony far surpassing the ripping out of sinews and bones! Yet Yaoguang's movements did not falter in the slightest. "Cause and effect, beginning and end. What was yours, I return to you in full! But what is mine..." Yaoguang's gaze lingered for a moment on the Dao Fruit of Artifact Crafting. Immediately following that, he acted resolutely, crushing the Dao Fruit to dust with his bare hands. "Insolence!" This action drew a furious will from the Karma Dao Ancestor, who had effectively been in a state of suspended animation. The treasure tree trembled, and visible ripples crushed down toward Yaoguang's body. After excising the Glazed Treasure Tree, Yaoguang's aura had plummeted drastically. Even without guessing, one could see that his strength would tumble from a Dao Ancestor standing atop the world down to the Void Shattering realm, inferior even to Dao Integration. Void Shattering... Before the majestic might of a Dao Ancestor, it was smaller than an ant. Beneath the tremors of the Glazed Treasure Tree, without the slightest suspense, he instantly disintegrated. The moment he disintegrated, Yaoguang seemed to lift his head, gazing into the depths of the starry sky. He seemed to be looking at this starry sky, yet seemed to be looking at this world, and seemed... To be looking at something even further away. And in that direction... The faint figure of an old friend could still be seen. ... "This..." The scene of Yaoguang's annihilation made the Nine Rulers, who had been bracing as if facing a mortal enemy, widen their eyes one by one. They simply could not believe what they were seeing. "Infighting!?" Not just the Nine Rulers—the crowd of Immortal Kings watching from afar was also filled with disbelief. Just a moment ago, he had been unstoppable, suppressing the nine rulers of the Hunyuan Realm on his own and forcing them to draw more spiritual energy from the Hunyuan Realm to turn the tide. How could Yaoguang just die like this!? Because of internal strife, the Void Dao Ancestor, Time Dao Ancestor, and Karma Dao Ancestor were reviving from within his body, and then... He was reduced to an empty shell, dying just like that from a mere jolt of the Karma Dao Ancestor's power. Dying so trivially? Dying so insignificantly? Dying so... Worthlessly? The shock brought by such a stark contrast was like an exalted sovereign of supreme status who ended up freezing to death alone on a roadside in the wilderness during a bitter winter. An unspeakable feeling of absurdity, desolation, and emptiness welled in everyone's hearts. Not only the Immortal Kings and Immortal Venerables felt this, but even the Nine Rulers did as well. Especially the Lord of Shenluo, who had nearly been dragged down as a casualty and was on the verge of falling in this battle, felt an inexplicable sorrow. Even though... he had survived. Yet seeing Yaoguang, who had nearly slain him, die in this manner, his heart was still filled with mixed emotions and profound sighs. "What is going on!?" The Lord of Creation still seemed somewhat incredulous even now. A stroke of good fortune had just unfolded before their eyes? "Hahaha, what's going on? The Void Dao Ancestor, Time Dao Ancestor, and Karma Dao Ancestor felt that Yaoguang was useless as a chess piece, and now they want to take the field themselves!" "Splendid! I would like nothing more than for them to step up themselves! Even without the support of the Lord of Yuanxi's power, preventing us from unleashing our strongest state, facing either the Void Dao Ancestor or the Time Dao Ancestor alone, we wouldn't fall short in the least. Most importantly... even if we were slightly inferior, preserving ourselves would be no problem at all. In other words, we no longer need to worry about being dragged down to mutual destruction by these two Dao Ancestors." "No matter how powerful the three Dao Ancestors are, could they possibly surpass Yaoguang, who gathered the might of three Dao Ancestors in a single body?" "The three Dao Ancestors don't need to fight us to the death. They only need to maintain the stalemate and wait for an opening to appear with the Fate Dao Ancestor." Though these rulers were both shocked and delighted by the sudden turn of events, their judgment of the situation remained very sharp. However, just as the Lord of Tianyuan had said, that was not important. What mattered was that when facing Yaoguang, the initiative had always belonged to Yaoguang. Because he possessed the capability to slay any one of the rulers among them. Yet against the three Dao Ancestors... The initiative had fallen back into their hands. As long as they were cautious, almost none of the Dao Ancestors possessed the ability to kill them. "He actually... died?" In the distance, the many Immortal Kings and Immortal Venerables finally confirmed the internal strife and upheaval that had taken place before their eyes. Yaoguang was dead. He had not died at the hands of the Nine Rulers, but at the hands of Dao Ancestors like the Void, Time, and Karma Dao Ancestors. Just as the legacies of these Dao Ancestors had forged Yaoguang and granted him today's achievements, they had stripped away all his accomplishments, bringing his life to a close and lowering the curtain. Dust to dust, earth to earth. "Yaoguang..." Among the Immortal Venerables, Immortal Venerable Penglai looked upon Yaoguang, who had been effortlessly obliterated in a single strike by the Karma Dao Ancestor, a trace of sorrow in her expression. She had thought that from now on, the two of them would be separated by vast distances, never to cross paths again. She had never imagined... That this separation would be an eternal farewell. ... "Void. Time." The will of the Fate Dao Ancestor echoed within the cognitive realms of the two Dao Ancestors, who had slumbered for millions of years. Potent power of fate bound the forces of the Grand Dao of the Void and the Grand Dao of Time, continuously channeling them into the bodies of the two Dao Ancestors. Each infusion was a summons, seemingly intent on rousing the two Dao Ancestors from their slumber. And those two Dao Ancestors... After manifesting their Dao Ancestor forms, did indeed gradually regain their senses. Seeing this, the Nine Rulers exchanged glances. Without needing any superfluous words, everyone unleashed their attacks simultaneously. The mere surge of the vast shares of the Grand Daos whipped up a terrifying tempest. Every ruler struck without holding back in the least. Facing these Dao Ancestors, they no longer had to hold back their strikes as they did against Yaoguang, fearing they would have no means of responding to his thunderous counterattacks. When it came to battling Dao Ancestors, they were experts! However, the Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor, having recovered their senses, did not immediately turn their gazes toward the Nine Rulers. The Void Dao Ancestor, in particular, immediately broadcast a powerful conscious will: "Stop! Now is not the time for us to decide victory, defeat, life, or death! Aside from each other, we have a new enemy!" Yet the Dao Ancestor's words did not cause the Nine Rulers to hesitate in the slightest. The vast immortal arts swept down like a tsunami. "The reason I chose to self-detonate back then was precisely to avoid becoming the puppet of this new enemy!" At this moment, the Time Dao Ancestor's ripples of consciousness followed immediately, spreading outward. "Hmm!?" The Lord of Yuanxi seemed to realize something and suddenly spoke up: "Wait." On the other side, taking advantage of the slight hesitation in the Nine Rulers' offensive caused by the Lord of Yuanxi's words, the Void Dao Ancestor swiftly took the Time Dao Ancestor and Karma Dao Ancestor with him, flickering away to break free from the rulers' joint strike. "Yuanxi!" The Nine Rulers showed some displeasure. "Back then, the Time Dao Ancestor's self-detonation and demise did indeed surprise me. I imagine you were all perplexed as well. Although Fate said it was part of the plan, as for why this plan was only truly executed after 3,300,000 years... I want to know the specific reason!" the Lord of Yuanxi said immediately after. Hearing the Lord of Yuanxi's words, the Nine Rulers also felt a slight stir in their hearts. Rumors in the outside world held that after the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor breached the barrier between the Hunyuan Realm and the Ancient Immortal Realm using the method of Spacetime Unification, they formally arrived in the Hunyuan Realm. There, they profoundly realized the insurmountable chasm between the two sides, and in despair, the Spacetime Dao Ancestor chose to self-detonate. Yet in truth, they understood that the Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor were not that weak. Even if the battlefield were set in their Hunyuan Realm, the two would not have lacked the courage to strike and simply committed suicide directly. Therefore, the revived Time Dao Ancestor mentioning this matter at the very first moment did indeed pique their interest. "What happened?" the Lord of Yuanxi pressed. "The moment Time and I joined hands to shatter the boundary between the two realms with a single strike of Spacetime Unification, we... seemed to have disturbed something, and then, we felt the pry of a 'gaze.'" The conscious ripples emitted by the Void Dao Ancestor were filled with an unspeakable solemnity. "A mysterious 'gaze' that we could not comprehend at all!" He glanced at the Lord of Yuanxi and the Fate Dao Ancestor, who were merging into one. "We have a new enemy."