Silence.
Be it the Lord of Yuanxi and the Fate Dao Ancestor, or the Nine Rulers and the Three Dao Ancestors, as they gazed upon this “familiar” smiling figure appearing before them, all sank into an unspeakable silence.
Shock? Horror? Bitterness? Powerlessness?
All of the above.
The emotions churning in everyone's hearts were a tangled mix of flavors.
Deeper down, there was even a thread of trembling dread.
Especially for the Void Dao Ancestor and the Time Dao Ancestor, their eyes were filled with sheer anguish.
Long ago, when they shattered the Hunyuan Realm's boundary barrier and entered the realm, they had already sensed that a great existence had fixed its gaze upon them.
Back then, they had tried every possible means to reverse their predicament.
The result...
3,360,000 years!
A full 3,360,000 years of effort, and in the end, they still could not alter the outcome of the incident.
This otherworldly visitor styling himself “Yaoguang” had still penetrated all underlying logic of the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm, seen through the power systems of both realms, and investigated every secret of the two worlds. Deeming that he possessed an absolute, foolproof certainty of defeating both realms, he had formally descended.
The gulf in level between the two sides was simply too vast.
For a time, deep powerlessness flashed through the eyes of the two Dao Ancestors.
If even these two Dao Ancestors felt this way, there was even less need to mention the Nine Rulers, who had previously fought an all-out, frontal clash with Yaoguang.
They looked at the immense world before them, so vast that its edges could not be seen at a single glance, and sensed the aura of that world nearly fusing into one with Yaoguang...
Asking them to stand against such majesty?!
How could they fight?!
Tell me, how could anyone fight this?!
What difference was there between this and handing a novice immortal spirit a sword and telling him to shatter the Gate of Fate?!
“Why has everyone gone quiet?”
Smiling, Yaoguang continued greeting everyone present.
Thoughts raced through the minds of the Lord of Yuanxi and the Fate Dao Ancestor.
After a moment, the Lord of Yuanxi stepped forward, releasing his spiritual fluctuations: “Great Existence, how should we address you?”
“Do you not already know me?” Yaoguang replied. “Just call me Yaoguang.”
“Yaoguang...”
Hearing this, the Lord of Yuanxi actually breathed a quiet sigh of relief in his heart.
The moment they had “seen” Yaoguang, they had run their computational power to calculate countless possibilities.
If this newly descended entity referred to himself as “Yaoguang,” that was among the best possibilities.
Because regardless of the final outcome, it meant that the “Yaoguang” they understood shared commonalities with the “Yaoguang” before them.
The one they truly had to deal with was not a completely foreign, powerful individual.
“Great Sovereign Yaoguang, what demands do you have of the Hunyuan Realm and the Ancient Immortal Realm?” the Lord of Yuanxi asked.
“Demands.”
Yaoguang glanced at the Lord of Yuanxi, then looked toward the Nine Rulers and Three Dao Ancestors behind them. Only after a good while did he speak: “The two of you are actually rather easy to resolve. You, the Lord of Yuanxi, represent absolute reason—in the words of intelligent beings, you know what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. And as for the Fate Dao Ancestor's power of fate...”
He paused, adding, “I'm afraid not even the Fate Dao Ancestor himself knows what true fate is!”
The Fate Dao Ancestor started slightly.
“You are merely the wielder of the power of fate, not fate itself,” Yaoguang said. After pondering for a moment, he offered an analogy: “Much like... Dao Integration and a Dao Ancestor.”
The Fate Dao Ancestor fell silent in thought.
Had it been before, he might have retorted, but now...
What was happening before his eyes undoubtedly made him clearly realize that his power of fate was confined within the Ancient Immortal Realm. Toward everything beyond the Ancient Immortal Realm, he possessed no ability to arrange or nurture anything.
Precisely because of this, his designs of fate could seemingly bring about the merger of the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm, but beyond that...
He was utterly powerless.
After a long while, this Dao Ancestor finally dispersed a wisp of conscious fluctuation: “The result is important, but the process is also very important.”
“Indeed.”
Yaoguang nodded slightly, then continued, “The result is the final affirmation and reward for the process! But in my view, sometimes the process is even more important than the result!”
“The process is more important than the result...” The Fate Dao Ancestor grew contemplative.
“In truth, back when I first learned the truth of the war between the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm, I already foresaw my end. I knew that I was destined to fall in the war between the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm. Of course, at that time I thought the Ancient Immortal Realm would suffer defeat, and all living beings of the Ancient Immortal Realm would vanish like smoke as the three thousand Grand Daos were devoured.”
Speaking of this, Yaoguang could not help thinking back on something and smiled. “Yet even under such circumstances, I still did my utmost to live every single day, every single moment to the fullest. In fact, precisely because I knew my days were numbered, I threw myself into life with even greater passion, traversing the grand mountains and rivers of Beihai Star, gazing upon the vast, glittering brilliance of the starry cosmos, and recognizing in wave after wave of emotional wonder that I would have no regrets in death.”
He paused, then added, “Equivalent to nothing more than a mortal, I should have had a lifespan of merely a hundred brief years. Yet guided by fate, I obtained the inheritances of the Void and Time, embarked upon the path of cultivation, and lived freely for ten thousand years! One hundred thousand years! Even if death were ultimately unavoidable, I would have no remorse, and I drank it in with joy.”
These words caused the spiritual and thought fluctuations of both the Lord of Yuanxi and the Fate Dao Ancestor to ripple.
The looks they directed toward Yaoguang were marked by evident astonishment.
The Lord of Yuanxi in particular keenly picked up on something from Yaoguang's words.
Running calculations rapidly, he soon arrived at a conclusion with an extraordinarily high probability:
The other party...
did not seem to intend to destroy the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm?!
“All right. I'm relatively at ease with the Lord of Yuanxi and the Fate Dao Ancestor, so I won't say more about you two. The key lies with the Nine Rulers and the Three Dao Ancestors.”
As Yaoguang spoke, he turned his gaze toward them. “With the pride and stubborn defiance in your hearts, without fighting a battle, without experiencing true defeat and despair, I fear you will never understand what it means to assess the situation, what it means to admit defeat and submit wholeheartedly, right?”
He reached out his hand, making an inviting gesture for battle: “So... the twelve of you, come at me together.”
The Nine Rulers and Three Dao Ancestors exchanged glances.
To think that they, rivals who had competed for so many years, would actually have a day where they fought side by side?
However...
They looked at Yaoguang, and then at that chaotic universe so vast that its edges could not be seen, exuding a suffocating pressure that overwhelmed anyone who even sensed it...
None of them moved.
Much less did anyone strike.
Fight a battle to experience defeat and despair?
Unnecessary!
When Yaoguang's true body truly descended outside the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm, they had already sensed what suffocation was, what despair was.
Seeing this, the Lord of Yuanxi spoke up: “Great Sovereign Yaoguang, I feel that this battle is no longer necessary. With your power, there is simply no need...”
“I don't care what you feel; what matters is what I feel.”
Yaoguang waved his hand, cutting off the Lord of Yuanxi directly. “Knowing them as I do, unless they get beaten within an inch of their lives, they'll never learn who to listen to.”
Having said that, he even shot a glance at the Lord of Yuanxi. “Haven't you already experienced that feeling yourself? If not for them stabbing you in the back, would your battle with the Fate Dao Ancestor have dragged on to the point of mutual destruction where neither can do anything to the other?”
“Their choice was guided by the power of fate...” the Lord of Yuanxi sighed.
Before he could finish, the Fate Dao Ancestor spoke: “Then let us have a fight.”
His divine thought fluctuations directly transmitted to the Void Dao Ancestor, the Time Dao Ancestor, and the Karma Dao Ancestor as he said gravely, “Let us fight this great existence, and let the world know that even when facing an opponent our Ancient Immortal Realm cannot defeat, we still do not lack the courage to fight to the bitter end!”
The Void Dao Ancestor and Time Dao Ancestor also realized something at this moment.
The two Dao Ancestors exchanged a glance and stepped forward from the crowd.
Seeing both Dao Ancestors move to fight, the Karma Dao Ancestor had no choice but to follow.
As the three stepped forward, Yaoguang's gaze inevitably fell upon the Karma Dao Ancestor. “My Shaohua avatar was crushed by you, wasn't it? That shout of ‘Presumptuous!’ is something I still remember crystal clear.”
“...”
The Karma Dao Ancestor wanted to say something, but had no idea how to phrase it.
Remembered crystal clear...
Looking at Yaoguang's gargantuan scale—one where merely circulating his power exuded an aura of oppressive dread—should he feel honored to be remembered by such a magnificent existence?
“Come! The masterminds dominating behind the scenes of the Nine Great Conglomerates of the Ancient Immortal Realm, the Nine Rulers, come!”
Yaoguang looked toward the Nine Rulers once more. “Our battle several millennia ago never reached a definitive conclusion. This time, a victor will be decided!”
The Nine Rulers exchanged glances.
Things had reached this point...
There was no room for refusal.
Furthermore, with the Time Dao Ancestor, Void Dao Ancestor, and Karma Dao Ancestor already stepping up, how could they, the Nine Rulers, lag behind and make fools of themselves?
Immediately, the Nine Rulers strode forward as well.
The Fate Dao Ancestor took in the entire scene.
“Sovereign Lord of Yuanxi must have noticed it as well, haven't you? This great Sovereign Yaoguang has no intention of completely destroying our two worlds. That is already the best possible outcome... Since he won't destroy our two realms and seems to have no intention of holding us accountable, then having a formal fight becomes very important!”
“A formal fight?”
The Lord of Yuanxi lingered on the word “formal,” finally catching on.
His perception of “human nature” was not as acute as the Fate Dao Ancestor's, such that despite having immense computational power, he was always half a step slower than the Fate Dao Ancestor in this regard.
Yet once he grasped it...
His tone carried a tinge of helplessness: “Isn't this... a bit like child's play?”
“Yet it is good, is it not?” the Fate Dao Ancestor said.
The Lord of Yuanxi fell silent in thought for a moment before concurring, “Indeed. When unknown worlds cross paths in the chaotic void, for the weak to encounter the strong and not be directly eradicated is truly the best possible outcome.”
As for the cost...
It was merely the Nine Rulers and the Three Dao Ancestors receiving a thorough thrashing so that this Sovereign Yaoguang—who still retained the spirited vigor of youth—could vent his frustration. What did that amount to?
“For the sake of both worlds, the Nine Rulers and the Three Dao Ancestors will just have to suffer a bit,” the Lord of Yuanxi murmured with a sigh.
Watching the battle officially commence, immediately unfolding into a scene where the Nine Rulers and the Three Dao Ancestors were being unilaterally pummeled by Yaoguang...
The supreme leader of the Hunyuan Realm inexplicably felt...
It was actually rather satisfying.
Chapter 631