In a void immeasurably distant from countless worlds, there floats a spectacle that is enough to overturn everyone's understanding.
In countless worlds, continents are scattered like stardust in the void, connected by void passages or teleportation arrays. But in this world, everything is entwined around a colossal tree that reaches the heavens.
Its roots pierce the ninefold void, each root tip entwined with the remnants of stars. Its branches, like pillars of heaven, stretch across the universe, supporting not leaves but boiling nebulae.
The river of time flows visible through the folds of the bark, and the most mysterious thing is the colorful leaves.
The seemingly delicate leaf surface is actually a world unto itself:
Within a certain leaf, a legend of a sword immortal slaying a dragon unfolds across a vast snow-covered plain; in an adjacent leaf, a giant formed from magma is hammering mountains to forge a divine weapon.
Even more striking is the radiant light emanating from within the leaves, where golden Arhats seem to be chanting Buddhist teachings...
If anyone were lucky enough to witness it, they would undoubtedly assert without hesitation that this is the legendary World Tree that exists only in legends!
It encompasses countless worlds within itself, showcasing the legendary wonders!
In a certain area at the very top of this World Tree, it is like the beginning of time, extremely chaotic.
Everything here is in a state of disorder; space is broken, twisted, and folded, sometimes collapsing into bottomless black holes, and sometimes suddenly rising up strange spatial folds.
Light and darkness intertwined, seemingly threatening to plunge everything into endless chaos.
However, right in the middle of this chaos, sat a man.
He stood tall and unmoved by the chaos around him.
Everything here, however, exhibited a strange rhythm in response to his calm breathing, sometimes becoming steady and orderly, and sometimes plunging into chaos again, as if each rise and fall of his breath affected the order of this area.
The man exuded no aura whatsoever, appearing as an ordinary mortal. Yet, his presence seemed perfectly natural, seamlessly blending into the chaotic world, as if he were the source of this chaos, or the master who controlled it.
He sat there quietly, his eyes slightly closed, his face calm. His long hair danced wildly in the chaotic air currents, yet it did not appear messy at all; instead, it added to his elegance.
Every inch of his skin exuded an ordinary, unassuming simplicity, yet it seemed to contain the most primal power of heaven and earth.
Suddenly, the man's eyes snapped open, and the raging chaos seemed to vanish instantly in the distance. The previously distorted and collapsing space was frozen in time under his gaze, becoming as smooth and flawless as a mirror.
"Huh? Someone spied on me from the past? And that memory of being spied on was actually extracted from my past timeline. How strange."
"Was it the work of the Dao Lord, or... the handiwork of a 'transcendent'?"
The man's voice was deep, yet resonant like a great bell, carrying supreme authority. His words lingered in the air, as if questioning the very heavens.
The murmurs ceased, and the man raised his hand, his movement casual yet exuding an air of absolute control.
With a light tap of his fingertip, an extremely strange band of light appeared in the void.
This band of light, hovering between reality and illusion, flickers with a hazy glow at its edges, seemingly there yet nowhere, dreamlike and illusory, yet it exudes an aura that runs from beginning to end, appearing capable of bearing all the weight and laws of the universe.
As soon as the band of light appeared, it meandered deeper into the World Tree. Wherever it passed, the branches and laws of the World Tree, the small worlds, and even all the wandering things around it, all retreated as if they were subjects meeting an emperor, automatically making way for it.
At the end of the band of light, a figure slowly materialized.
This man was exceptionally handsome, with a restrained aura that exuded a calm and composed demeanor honed by years of experience.
He walked steadily along the band of light, step by step. With each step, ripples spread across the band of light, resonating in perfect harmony with his movements.
When the figure reached the man, the head was lowered and the body leaned slightly forward.
The man's gaze was piercing as he looked at the kneeling, unreal figure. His voice wasn't loud, but it exerted immense pressure on the figure even from a great distance.
"During my seclusion, has the Chaotic Sea made any new discoveries?"
"Since the Dao Lord of the Path of Destiny made a brief appearance nearly ten thousand years ago, the Chaotic Sea has not experienced any violent fluctuations. In these thousands of years, we have discovered more than ten million small worlds, which have all been included in the number of worlds."
"Moreover, a thousand years ago we discovered a primordial universe. We initially occupied it but did not find any Dao Lord level beings. Now I am on my way, and I conservatively estimate that I will be able to reach it in five years."
The visitor answered in a calm and respectful voice.
Upon hearing this, the man pondered for a long while, a glint of unfathomable light flashing in his deep eyes.
In a moment, he raised his hand and gently clenched it in the air, and a dark, extremely deep black dot condensed in the void.
This black spot is like the final destination of all darkness in the world, yet it exudes countless mixed and integrated laws, radiating a Daoist charm that even heaven and earth cannot bear.
The man flicked his finger, and the black dot went straight into the newcomer's forehead.
"You have been with me for a long time, and now your Dao essence is beginning to take shape. That universe may be your opportunity to prove your Dao. However, the road ahead is uncertain and unpredictable. Even I can only glimpse the tip of the iceberg. With the Dao essence you currently possess, it is not entirely impossible for you to break through the shackles and advance to the Dao Lord realm."
After speaking, the man flicked his sleeve, issuing an invisible command. The umbilical cord-like band of light that had been winding and coiling in the void began to fade and dissipate.
Above the band of light, tiny specks of light sprinkled down.
As these glimmers of light fell, they rapidly decomposed and shattered, transforming into countless tiny specks of light that scattered in all directions with a hazy glow.
At the very moment the light band disintegrated and dissipated, the figure of the person standing on the light band also gradually became illusory and blurry.
His outline first became indistinct, and then the various parts of his body transformed into wisps of smoke-like light and shadow, intertwining and merging with the scattered points of light in the sky, and finally disappearing without a trace.
The space fell silent once more, with only the ancient branches of the World Tree swaying silently, whispering the vicissitudes of time.
Although there was no one around, he still stared quietly at a certain place in the distance.
His deep gaze seemed to pierce through layers of space, reaching that unknown beyond. At times, his brows furrowed, and confusion spread across his eyes.
Every now and then, his brows would slowly relax, and a hint of relief would flash in his eyes, as if he had found a clue in his complicated thoughts.
After a long silence, the man sighed softly, breaking the stillness.
"There are more and more variables in this world."
"Based on all things in the world, it condenses into a seed of the Dao. Is this the Dao Seed? Yet nine is the ultimate number, still insufficient, still flawed. But why, in the time I have glimpsed, can I still see a trace of the path to enlightenment...?"
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