Han Xuanji nodded upon hearing this and waved his hand. A gentle force swept through the room, and a set of simple yet elegant tables and chairs appeared out of thin air. On the tabletop, a pot of crystal-clear top-grade Immortal Brew slowly materialized, its rich aroma instantly filling the air—clear, mellow, and refreshing.
The Immortal Ancestor's nose twitched as he caught the familiar scent. A hint of warmth flashed in his eyes, and he nodded slowly.
"I do miss the taste of this Immortal Brew."
At this moment, Han Xuanji began to speak, recounting the past years of the Immortal Realm to the Immortal Ancestor one by one:
"Lord Immortal Ancestor, back then you created the Immortal Realm, and the Dao Ancestor established the Immortal dao foundation. After you achieved the Limitless Realm, you disappeared without a trace.
All the Cultivators in the Immortal Realm are grateful for your benevolence. Some say you have already achieved Transcendence from Chaos and ascended to an even higher Realm..."
"I have always had a doubt in my heart. When you pursued the path of Transcendence and stepped into the depths of Chaos, what exactly did you encounter?"
Speaking of which, Han Xuanji was also curious about what the Immortal Ancestor had been up to all those years, and how he ended up fighting the will of chaos.
Hearing this, the Immortal Ancestor raised his hand, picked up the wine pot, and poured himself a cup of Immortal Brew. The amber liquid swirled in the cup, and its aroma grew even more intense.
He took a shallow sip, closed his eyes to savor it for a moment, and when he opened them again, they were filled with the vicissitudes of time and emotion. He spoke slowly, his voice deep and distant:
"Child, do you know? In my pursuit of Transcendence, I traveled to every corner of Chaos. I wasn't searching blindly; I found many traces and information left behind by ancient Transcendents, and gradually, I began to grasp some of the ultimate truths about Chaos."
Han Xuanji understood, sat up straight, and looked respectful:
"I would be honored to hear the details."
Nowadays, his understanding of things beyond Chaos relied entirely on his own exploration, so it was better to hear the Immortal Ancestor's account.
The Immortal Ancestor put down his wine cup and gazed at the mist-shrouded immortal mountains outside the hall, as if piercing through time and space to see the moment Chaos first opened:
"The world believes that Chaos was created by some supreme existence, but that is not the case.
Beyond Chaos, there is a much vaster world. In that world, all spirituality originates from a tree, and Chaos is merely a leaf on that eternal tree."
Having said this, the Immortal Ancestor spoke in a profound and mysterious tone:
"You might not believe it, but it is the truth."
' I believe it!'
Han Xuanji nodded, acting as if he had just found out, and said in surprise:
"So Chaos is just a leaf?"
"Exactly. In fact, the Chaos Universe we inhabit is nothing more than a Primordial World born from an eternal tree—without beginning or end, existing eternally. And we, the Chaos Primordial Beings, were not born naturally; we were all derived from a single drop of water of eternity nurtured by the eternal tree. You could say we share the same Origin as Chaos."
The Immortal Ancestor sighed with emotion. When he first learned this, he was also skeptical, but he eventually confirmed this theory.
"Furthermore, a long, long time ago, there was no will of chaos within Chaos. But even so, it was still difficult for us Chaos Primordial Beings to find a way to achieve Transcendence."
At this point, the Immortal Ancestor shook his head slightly, his voice tinged with helplessness:
"The core reason is that we are bound too deeply to Chaos. To us, Chaos is both a place of nurturing and a cage of constraints. Its attraction to us is too powerful, like invisible shackles tightly linking our dao foundation to the Chaos Origin. Trying to break free from these shackles and achieve Transcendence from Chaos is as difficult as reaching the heavens."
Han Xuanji nodded slowly. There are gains and losses; the Chaos Demon Gods are born powerful with peerless Aptitude, but while heaven opens a window, it also closes the door to Transcendence.
"Did the Seniors not try to find a way to break this?"
"Of course they did."
The Immortal Ancestor smiled bitterly and continued:
"To achieve Transcendence, the beings of Chaos exhausted their minds and came up with countless methods. Some Powerful Experts spent their entire lives' blood creating worlds—just as I created the Immortal Realm—to nurture younger generations of Cultivators, hoping that through them, they could break the shackles of Chaos and produce a true Transcendent. Other Powerful Experts chose Reincarnation and Rebirth, discarding their identities as Chaos Demon Gods to start from a mortal body and cultivate anew, attempting to escape the attraction of Chaos."
"Over countless years, a few Transcendents were indeed born within Chaos through chance and coincidence. They left behind their own Transcendence Methods and many secrets about Chaos, leaving a trail for those who came after."
The Immortal Ancestor's tone gradually became solemn. "But just as more and more Transcendents appeared, the will of chaos was quietly born. For some reason, it constantly prevents the emergence of Transcendents to maintain the balance of Chaos. It even periodically restarts Chaos, doing its best to wipe out those existences that might break the shackles and achieve Transcendence, pulling everything back to the starting point."
Han Xuanji also nodded. The truth about Chaos was not beyond his expectations; it was quite close to what he had speculated.
The Dao Ancestor was able to successfully achieve Transcendence back then because the will of chaos was dormant, and also because he was not a Chaos Demon God...
"The will of chaos realized you might achieve Transcendence and feared you would spread this news, so it acted to imprison you at the End of Time and Space?"
Han Xuanji asked.
The Immortal Ancestor nodded slowly, a flash of anger in his eyes:
"I found a method left by an ancient Transcendent back then, and I was too eager. While I was comprehending it, I was detected by the will of chaos. Although it hadn't fully awakened, it sealed me at the End of Time and Space, attempting to cut off my possibility of Transcendence."
"If you hadn't come to save me today, I'm afraid I would have been imprisoned there forever."
The Immortal Ancestor looked at Han Xuanji, his eyes full of gratitude.
"Fortunately, you were there. You not only saved me but also allowed me to see hope for the Immortal Realm and even Chaos. You now have strength close to Transcendence and are not bound by the attraction of Chaos. Transcendence should not be difficult for you. Perhaps you are the one who can completely break the shackles of Chaos."
Han Xuanji fell silent, lost in thought.
He had actually thought quite a bit about his plans for the future. Perhaps he could achieve Transcendence alone as he did in the simulations, reaching a higher Realm where he would naturally have a better way to deal with the will of chaos.
After all, with his current strength, the odds of winning against the will of chaos were unknown.
Even with the Immortal Ancestor, the Supreme Divine Venerable, the Taishang Dao Venerable, and others, they couldn't guarantee victory.
In the simulation, Yun Wuji was also at the Perfection of the Limitless Primordial Realm and had united many Limitless Primordial experts. In the end, the Immortal Ancestor sacrificed his life, and Yun Wuji merged his body with the will of chaos, assimilating his own existence into it...
"But there is still so much time. With the System in hand, there's no need to panic."
Han Xuanji thought to himself.
Perhaps he could try to break through to the Realm Above the Limitless while still within Chaos. No one said you have to achieve Transcendence before you can break through, right?