345: The truth of the past, the world united, the Dao pattern of the character "宙"

Amidst the sounds of praise, golden poetic verses appeared in the sky. The characters were ancient, even older than knot-tying records, yet their meaning was immediately clear at a glance.

When the last character landed, the sky full of poetic verses transformed into an old man.

With a crew cut, large sunglasses, a big gold chain, shorts, and flip-flops, he looked very cool and relaxed.

His upper body displayed eight-pack abs, not exaggerated, but clearly the result of long-term exercise.

The old man turned around cheerfully: "How do I look?"

He didn't look like an enemy, but rather an old friend.

Xu Le clapped his hands: "I have to say, your entrance was very stylish. Why don't you teach me a few Moves?"

"Haha, what? Those who know don't need teaching, and those who don't won't learn." The old man spun around, his attire changing into a gray Daoist robe, with an ancient wooden hairpin in his hair and a whisk in his hand.

"Young man, you're young, but your heart is old. This old Daoist will change his appearance; perhaps you'll like me better this way."

Within the Domain of rules, Xu Le couldn't clearly see the old man's movements.

His appearance was also covered by a layer of rule power; to break through it forcefully would require him to go all out.

However, in this current world, to possess rule limits close to what the Heavenly Dao can bear, there's no need to guess the other party's identity.

"You are this Heavenly Dao." Xu Le nodded with certainty.

"Eh, young man, look, you're rushing again!" The old man waved his hand, looking nonchalant, "There is infinite joy in the world, and time is endless. Why are you in such a hurry? Wouldn't it be better to stay and rest?"

"That makes sense!" Xu Le said, "But I'd prefer that after I've beaten you down."

"Alas! Don't you remember? You've died 98 times, don't you recall any of it?"

Seeing Xu Le's confused expression, the old man pointed a finger into the Void Realm. Suddenly, one day, a rift tore open in the sky, and five figures appeared.

They were Eye Demon, Spu, and the other three.

Then, a finger pointed, and the Physical Bodies of the five collapsed, leaving only their Divine Souls to escape into the real world.

Because Spu's Soul had been cleansed by Holy Light, after losing Xu Le's control, he remained motionless and was taken away by the owner of the finger.

Then the scene changed, and a person identical to Xu Le appeared.

This time, the person with the finger didn't instantly kill him but slowly toyed with him. That 'Xu Le' used all his techniques, exactly like the ones Xu Le himself mastered.

Until the finger's owner grew tired of playing, he crushed his Physical Body with a single finger.

A flicker of familiarity crossed Xu Le's eyes, as if... that was his past experience.

It was just that the memory had been hidden by him.

All his Divine Artifacts and followers were taken away by the finger's owner.

"Do you remember now?"

"You see, rushing around doesn't ultimately lead to the outcome you desire. If you keep insisting, everything will have to start over. Why bother?"

The old man waved his hand, and a pavilion appeared, along with a stone table, a pot of tea, and two teacups on it.

"Life is not easy. How about we enjoy some tea in our leisure, watch the flowers bloom and wither, and the moon rise and set?"

Xu Le gritted his teeth, feeling that he had forgotten more than just that memory.

The old man wasn't in a hurry. He pointed a finger, and the scene in the sky changed again.

Eye Demon and the other four, along with 'Xu Le,' set up a heaven-reaching Formation. The Formation successfully tore open the Spirit Realm, resulting in the descent of Heavenly Tribulation, killing all five of them;

When 'Xu Le' was eighteen, he first entered the Spirit Realm. As he was about to search for Xu Huan, he was targeted by Heavenly Tribulation, and a bolt of Lightning Tribulation annihilated him;

That year, 'Xu Le' was just born, and Lightning Tribulation descended from the sky, destroying the entire hospital along with him... A total of ninety-eight screens, all playing the moment 'Xu Le' died.

Xu Le frowned. Those memories were very blurry, yet vaguely present, as if in the past, he had indeed died repeatedly, a total of 98 times.

The old man cheerfully sipped his tea, his orange-peel-like face relaxed, looking very content: "You see, after rushing around, what you gained was the 99th death. Is it worth it?"

"If this old Daoist hadn't wanted to see your limits, you wouldn't even have been born."

"But I must say, you've given me a huge surprise."

"This Heavenly Court has been established for 3.293 billion years, and there has never been a major change. Your appearance has shown me an opportunity."

"I am willing to confer upon you the title of Haotian Jinque Wushang Zhizun Ziran Miaoyou Miluo Zhizhen Yu Huang Shangdi, to govern the Heavenly Court, to be immortal and indestructible, and to enjoy eternal life. How about it?"

After listening to the long speech, Xu Le smiled.

"Does this world, full of falsehoods, even deserve to be called the Heavenly Court?"

The old man frowned: "If you want to go to the mortal world, that's fine too."

"I will allow you to Reincarnate into the mortal world once every thousand years, but each time you will have to start over until you return here to inherit your cultivation."

Xu Le's voice was disdainful: "Governing such a false Small World, and you call yourself the Jade Emperor? With your weak cultivation, do you even qualify to confer titles upon me?"

He pointed a finger, and the screens in the sky buzzed, then shattered, finally consolidating into a single image.

It was a scene of him from birth to the present.

His previously blurry memories all vanished at this moment.

It was also at this moment that the experience of him dying 98 times no longer existed in this world.

This was the method of converging world lines, turning everything into a single line.

This Move is called Unification!

"Good skill!"

"I already greatly overestimated you, but I never thought you'd be even stronger than I imagined."

"Excellent, excellent. Who else but you could take the position of Jade Emperor?"

The old man laughed heartily, pointing a finger into the Void Realm, and rule power erupted, trapping Xu Le.

Xu Le similarly mobilized rule power, clashing with the old man.

Unlike the ever-changing Moves of the past, their fight was very simple, like children playing, one punch, one palm.

At their Realm, the role of Moves was almost zero; it was a confrontation of rules.

If you are strong, your rule power can suppress the opponent;

If you are weak, you can only be suppressed, utterly defenseless.

"Hahaha, you've actually comprehended to this extent! Excellent, excellent. If I subdue you, this old Daoist might be able to advance another half-grade."

The old man hooked his finger, and all the Karma power from the real world and the Spirit Realm gathered towards him.

A half-fragmented 'Heaven' Dao mark appeared in his palm, and he struck it towards Xu Le's glabella.

This was his authority!

If he succeeded, Xu Le's life and death would be completely controlled by the 'Heaven' Dao mark. Even with billions of evil spirits, even with the ability to Rebirth through Karma, he would still be controlled by the Heavenly Dao.

Until he was utterly annihilated!

"Old scoundrel, do you really think you can control me?"

Xu Le roared fiercely, no longer holding back, mobilizing all his rule power, and fiercely punched out.

Boom!

The Void Realm was shattered!

The endless Void Realm turbulence that appeared was immediately wiped away by the rule power. The so-called Heavenly Court was like being erased by an eraser, directly missing a piece.

The old man's expression changed drastically. He pulled out the other half of the 'Heaven' Dao mark, and the two merged, causing his rule power to surge, barely blocking the punch.

"The rule power you've comprehended is in no way inferior to mine. This, this, this is impossible..."

"Hmph!"

"I originally thought we could cooperate, but now it seems I cannot let you live!"

"You are strong now, but what about you ten years ago?"

The old man pulled out the 'Zhou' Dao mark, and with a gentle swipe, time flowed...