Translator: CinderTL
Li Chunjun departed with the information he sought and the Imaginary Dao Venerable, leaving before the supreme sovereigns and dao venerables of the False God Hall could react.
Almost the instant he vanished, two figures materialized silently within the heavily sealed space that had contained the Imaginary Dao Venerable.
These two were none other than Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse of the Supreme Research Institute and Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling of the False God Hall.
The difference this time was that while Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse had previously been accompanied only by Gui Ling Supreme Powerhouse's reincarnated body, this time it was his true form.
"It seems our plan to have him exile himself and fall into the Void has little hope of success," Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse remarked.
"Not necessarily a complete failure," Gui Ling Supreme Powerhouse replied with a sigh. "But the one thing I can't quite grasp is his mental flaw. It's so glaringly obvious, it almost seems fake."
"I've calculated it precisely," Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse countered. "While his mental flaw is indeed conspicuously raw and somewhat implausible, considering he's only cultivated for a mere fifty years—a span shorter than a mortal's lifespan—it's reasonable that he hasn't yet had time to mend such imperfections."
"Fifty years," Gui Ling Supreme Powerhouse mused, pondering the term.
For beings who measured time in millennia and eons, this unit was far too trivial.
It was like two people chatting, discussing what to do next and how long it would take. One might say "a few minutes" or "a dozen minutes," while the other suddenly interjected with "milliseconds"...
Even if the number was accurate, it still sounded jarring.
"Let's consider this a clear flaw in his psyche," Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling said. "In that case, sacrificing the Imaginary Dao Venerable was worth it."
"Indeed," Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse agreed. "With hope and a clear direction, he can maintain his rationality and avoid actions that would lead to irreversible ruin. This buys us enough time—even just a few decades—to summon the other Ultimate Powerhouses from the great dao river and deploy the Heavenly Evolution Forty-Nine Boundless Tribulation Formation."
"True," Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling added. "Theoretically, he should have chosen self-exile into the void to erase his traces and reverse spacetime. But the ease with which we annihilated a progenitor divine being by exploiting such a minor flaw was too simple. We never placed much hope in that plan anyway."
Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling nodded slightly. "Only by combining our collective strength to defeat him head-on, dismantling and understanding all his methods, can we claim true victory."
The Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse shared this sentiment.
If Li Chunjun were to perish due to his mental flaw, succumbing to the Void Power and ultimately being consumed by it, banishing himself, while it would resolve a monumental crisis for all sentient beings and eliminate this natural enemy of all existence, the resolution would be far too simplistic.
So simple as to seem like child's play.
The crucial point was that such a method of annihilation would yield no tangible benefits for any of them amidst this cataclysmic upheaval.
At best...
They could confirm the existence of the great unification realm and continue their pursuit along this path.
But this mere confirmation of direction clearly fell short of satisfying their ambitions as Ultimate Powerhouses.
Hence, as Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling had stated:
Only by combining their collective strength to gradually dismantle and understand Li Chunjun's Void Power, unraveling how it shattered the shackles of the nine great daos to achieve compatibility with more daos and even lay the foundation for Great Unification, could this victory be considered truly complete.
They had clashed with Li Chunjun before. His strength wasn't overwhelming; it was merely that his Void Power, derived from the great unification realm, possessed a hierarchical dominance over their Daos, granting him unparalleled might.
Therefore, if they could gather enough Ultimate Powerhouses and deploy the Heavenly Evolution Forty-Nine Boundless Tribulation Formation—a formation theoretically capable of replicating the great unification power—eliminating the relatively weak Li Chunjun would be a simple matter.
At that moment, the two Ultimate Powerhouses, perhaps blinded by their own hubris or influenced by the void great dao, failed to consider the possibility of the situation spiraling out of control.
Nor did they reflect on how Li Chunjun had reached his current level in just over fifty years. What further growth might he achieve in the coming decades?
But...
Just as humans instinctively project their own thought patterns onto others,
Or perhaps because Void Power inherently diminished the perceived threat posed by such beings in the eyes of others, the two Ultimate Powerhouses ultimately chose to proceed according to their own methods. They resolved to gather all Ultimate Powerhouses, even Supreme Sovereigns, and harness the collective power of all "existence" beings to deliver a fatal blow against Li Chunjun, the void ancestor.
Having secured this monumental victory, they would also carry the secrets of the great unification realm within them, propelling the Cosmos's civilization to unprecedented heights.
"Speaking of which, why did you return so quickly?"
With the matter resolved, Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse even had time to chat idly with Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling.
"You could 'see' the future collapse of the great dao of the soul and hastily withdrew from the great dao river. But I am the very source of the great dao of the soul. I don't need profound mastery of the Dao of Time to sense the sudden tremors and warnings emanating from the great dao of the soul, so naturally, I followed suit."
Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling replied, "I just never imagined such chaos would erupt outside. My reincarnated body was even directly destroyed."
"You saw that too?" Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse asked, surprised. "When was it?"
"Time?" Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling pondered briefly. "Roughly the moment my reincarnated body completed the transaction with Li Chunjun."
"That moment?" Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse's heart stirred.
By then, he should have already left the great dao river and intervened in the unfolding events of the Cosmos.
An Ultimate Powerhouse had intervened, yet the outcome of the future timeline...
remained unchanged?
Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling quickly understood his meaning. "You saw it even earlier?"
Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse nodded.
He was proficient in the three great daos of chaos, karma, and time.
Due to the progenitor divine being's continued existence, he wasn't at the source of the karma and time daos.
However, when it came to sensitivity to future changes, no other Ultimate Powerhouse could rival him.
Apart from him, Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling was the next most directly affected...
"Contact Supreme Lawbringer!" Tian Wen immediately ordered.
Gui Ling, having already guessed his intention, gave a slight nod.
Among the nine great ultimate powerhouses, one would typically remain on rotation, responsible for overseeing major affairs within Human Race territory.
This time, the duty fell to Supreme Lawbringer, the alliance leader of the Immortal Alliance.
As Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling directly connected the tangible and intangible realms through the great dao of the soul, Supreme Lawbringer swiftly projected a portion of his power through the same soul power.
"Return to zero? I was just about to ask you about the False God Realm in the False God Hall. It seems to be experiencing some issues?"
The soul power projected from afar materialized into the figure of the Supreme Lawbringer.
"A minor problem. A replacement Immortal Artifact will stabilize the False God Realm soon," return to zero replied. "However, now isn't the time to discuss the False God Realm. You've already confirmed the threat posed by Li Chunjun, this 'natural enemy,' haven't you?"
"Of course," the Supreme Lawbringer nodded. "You sacrificed a reincarnated body to obtain this information. This is a matter of utmost importance, and I naturally verified it with the utmost urgency."
"What truly confirmed your suspicions was the collapse of the 'rule' Dao you cultivate," Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse said. "When the Void rises and speaks, rules cease to exist."
These words caused the Supreme Lawbringer's expression to gradually darken.
"You know?"
Clearly, the question he had intended to ask Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling wasn't about the False God Realm's disconnection, but rather...
Whether he had witnessed the collapse of the Great Dao.
"I sensed it," Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling replied directly, offering the most precise answer.
"My primary great dao of chaos is highly compatible. If the world truly collapses, it will likely be one of the last to crumble. But as you know, Lawbringer, my mastery of time and karma allowed me to witness the fall of the great dao of the soul."
The Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse echoed his words.
"This..."
Only now did the Supreme Lawbringer fully grasp the gravity of the situation.
Tian Wen and Gui Ling exchanged a glance, their hearts heavy with unspoken sighs.
As expected, these ultimate powerhouses only understand pain when it strikes them personally.
Yet, to be fair, had Tian Wen not "seen" the future collapse of the great daos, and had Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling not lost a reincarnated body, they too would have struggled to imagine that such a terrifying existence could have emerged in the Cosmic Void within mere decades.
It was akin to a scenario in the Azure Star Minor Realm, where cultivators had yet to descend and technological supremacy still reigned. Imagine one day the Great Shang Kingdom suddenly announcing that a civilization in the barren Yan Continent had, in a single day, advanced from an agrarian society to an interstellar age, constructing star destroyers.
Such an absurd claim might prompt other major powers to investigate, but they would undoubtedly treat it as a joke.
"In a way, this isn't entirely bad," the Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse said. "The other Ultimate Powerhouses should have sensed the collapse of the Great Dao in advance and begun returning. Some may already be in the material world, but they haven't contacted us yet, likely trying to understand the situation first..."
Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling nodded. "This means we won't have to wait another decade or two, nor will we need to explain much. They've already seen what the future holds if we don't unite against this catastrophe."
"Let's convene the Supreme Council in one year!" the Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse declared. "Even if all Dao Venerables and Supreme Sovereigns haven't returned by then, the Ultimate Powerhouses should all be present."
He glanced at Gui Ling and Supreme Lawbringer. "The three of us will issue a joint statement, citing the impending collapse of the Great Dao in the 'existence' world as the reason for summoning the remaining six Ultimate Powerhouses and Supreme Sovereigns to the Supreme Council!"
"Agreed!" Gui Ling and Supreme Lawbringer nodded solemnly.
Spirit-type lifeforms cannot lie.
Nor can they betray.
Since the Imaginary Dao Venerable had pledged allegiance to Supreme Powerhouse Gui Ling, he would naturally obey all of Gui Ling's commands without question.
This included sacrificing himself to fulfill Gui Ling's schemes.
But...
While spirit-type lifeforms cannot lie, they can choose to remain silent on matters they haven't been asked about.
Perhaps the reason for this silence was that the spirit-type lifeform itself considered these plans unrealistic.
Or perhaps...
He had indeed developed a sense of "resentment"—an emotion unnatural to spirit-type lifeforms—during his long years of imprisonment, and thus tacitly allowed the plans to proceed.
Just as Tian Wen Supreme Powerhouse's premature return to the material world and his series of obstructions against Li Chunjun had failed to alter the future, the outcome now seemed predetermined.
The end, at this moment, appeared inevitable.
(End of the Chapter)
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