538: Chapter 538 All Paths Return to One

Yet in his eyes, there was no surprise, no shock, only a deep, profound stillness like an ancient well.

It was as if the earth-shattering news Immortal Monarch Wanmiao had just recounted was merely a trivial matter to him.

"What the three of you mean is..." His voice sounded slowly, in an unhurried tone: "You want this Immortal Lord to make a move and intercept him at a point in the past?"

"Precisely!"

Immortal Monarch Taixu stepped forward, his voice carrying urgency and determination.

The Taixu Clear Qi above his head churned violently, revealing the turbulence in his heart: "As long as Brother Daoyan is willing to act, we are willing to pay any price!"

"Any price?" Immortal Monarch Daoyan repeated these words, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

There was no mockery in that smile, yet it felt deeply meaningful.

He shook his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three Immortal Lords one by one.

"To obstruct someone's path to the Dao is akin to killing their parents." He spoke slowly, his voice echoing through the hall, every word seeming to carry a heavy weight: "Especially this Lu Yuan. Based on what you have just said, he possesses the Chaos Body, Double Pupils, and the three supreme Laws of Time, Space, and Reincarnation. With such a foundation... his future achievements will likely not be limited to the threshold of the Immortal Lord Realm."

"The Karma involved is immense." His gaze fell upon Immortal Monarch Wanmiao: "Although I have some friendship with the three of you, why should I take this risk and provoke such a bizarre newly ascended Immortal Lord?"

These words sounded reasonable, revealing a sense of reclusive caution.

The three Immortal Lords exchanged glances, their faces reflecting an expression of 'as expected'.

They had long anticipated that relying solely on friendship would not be enough to make Immortal Monarch Daoyan act.

The rules of the Master of Guixu Island were no secret among the upper echelons of the Chaos Sea—if you wanted him to act, you had to produce a sufficient price.

And this price had to be greater than the risk he would be taking.

Immortal Monarch Xuanyang took a deep breath and stepped forward. As the one with the deepest foundation among the three, the items he carried were the most suitable for swaying Immortal Monarch Daoyan.

He slowly retrieved three orbs of light from his robes, each radiating a terrifying Immortal might.

"These are three High Grade Immortal Artifacts." There was a hint of heartache in Immortal Monarch Xuanyang's voice. These were his most prized treasures; losing any one of them would cause him to ache for ten thousand years. "Plus, a Nine Tribulations Secret Technique passed down from ancient times."

As he spoke, he produced a Jade Slip that shimmered with an ancient, weathered luster.

The Jade Slip exuded an ancient aura, clearly having endured an incredibly long passage of time.

"The Nine Tribulations Secret Technique, a Legacy of the ancient Tribulation Dao lineage. When cultivated to Major Achievement, one can summon nine types of Heaven and Earth Tribulations upon oneself, using them to refine the Physical Body and temper the soul. It is the supreme method for breaking through the Bottleneck of the Immortal King Realm."

Immortal Monarch Xuanyang's voice echoed through the hall: "Brother Daoyan, these three Immortal Artifacts plus the Nine Tribulations Secret Technique—surely this is enough to move you to act?"

He had laid all his bargaining chips on the table; the value of three High Grade Immortal Artifacts was enough to make any Immortal Lord unable to refuse.

Not to mention the Nine Tribulations Secret Technique, which could assist one in breaking through to the Immortal King Realm. Such a temptation would likely stir the heart of even the most reclusive old monsters.

However, what he did not know was this.

When he saw these three Immortal Artifacts and the Nine Tribulations Secret Technique, a trace of imperceptible fluctuation did indeed flash through Immortal Monarch Daoyan's eyes.

It was the light of greed; although it flashed and vanished in an instant, his heart had already been stirred into a turbulent storm.

Yet, this turbulence was not caused by the rewards before him.

"Chaos Body... Double Pupils... The three supreme Laws of Time, Space, and Reincarnation... Able to summon his Future Self from the past..."

Immortal Monarch Daoyan remained outwardly as calm as an ancient well, but inwardly, he was already calculating rapidly.

He cultivated a forbidden technique called the "Ten Thousand Daos Return to One Art." This technique was incredibly domineering; it did not allow a Cultivator to comprehend the Dao step by step as in normal cultivation. Instead, it employed the most cruel and efficient method—hunting down other Immortal Lords, stripping them of their Dao Fruits and Laws, and merging them into himself to perfect his own Dao Foundation.

This cultivation method was vicious; once exposed, he would immediately become the public enemy of the entire Chaos Sea.

Yet, precisely because of this, the forbidden technique was also powerful. The reason he had been able to establish himself in the Chaos Sea and become a top-tier expert at the Late Stage of the Immortal Lord Realm was that, over the long years of the past, he had secretly hunted countless newly ascended Immortal Lords and devoured the Dao Fruits they had painstakingly cultivated!

Some were only at the Early Stage of the Immortal Lord Realm, their Dao Fruits not yet fully mature; others were not even stable, yet they were strangled in the cradle by him.

Each time he devoured one, his Dao Foundation became more perfect, and his cultivation advanced one step further.

Yet, all this time, those he hunted were merely "ordinary" Immortal Lords—while their Dao Fruits were considered pure, they were ultimately limited.

He had been searching for a turning point, an Opportunity that would allow him to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

And now, that Opportunity had come knocking at his door!

Lu Yuan, a newly ascended Immortal Lord who possessed the Chaos Body, Double Pupils, and the three supreme Laws. According to the description provided by Immortal Monarch Wanmiao and the others, he was essentially a mobile treasure trove of Laws!

The formidable Physical Body of the Chaos Body, the insight of the Double Pupils, the countercurrent of the Law of Time, the traversal of the Law of Space, the rebirth of the Law of Reincarnation... Each was a supreme power sufficient to make even an Immortal King envious!

Such a "fat sheep" was worth more than ten ordinary Immortal Lords combined!

As long as he could devour Lu Yuan's Dao Fruit and merge all those Laws into his own "Ten Thousand Daos Return to One Art," his Dao Foundation would reach an unprecedented state of Perfection.

By then, he would have absolute certainty that he could break through the Bottleneck that had long constrained him in one fell swoop and step into the coveted Immortal King Realm!

"What a Lu Yuan..." Immortal Monarch Daoyan thought to himself, a wave of fanatical greed almost erupting from his chest: "This is a heaven-sent Opportunity, a gift from the Dao to this Immortal Lord!"

However, he naturally could not reveal these thoughts.

His long years of experience in concealing his true intentions allowed him to instantly suppress that fanaticism.

His expression remained as calm and indifferent as ever; he even furrowed his brows slightly, as if he were weighing the risks and gains involved.

His gaze slowly swept over the three High Grade Immortal Artifacts and the Jade Slip containing the Nine Tribulations Secret Technique, deliberately revealing a trace of hesitation and contemplation in his eyes.

A moment later, he slowly raised his head, his face assuming an expression of compassion for the world.

That expression carried a hint of worry, as if his acceptance of this matter was not for the sake of these rewards, but for the future of the entire Immortal Domain.

"The three Fellow Daoists are too polite."

His voice was low and calm, permeated with the weathered tone of someone who understood the ways of the world: "This Lu Yuan... his actions are so domineering and bizarre. He dared to go against the River of Time before even achieving the Immortal Lord Fruit Position. With such Heart-Nature, if he were allowed to truly come into his own, given his vindictive nature, the three of you would likely be the first to suffer. When that time comes, many Fellow Daoists in the Immortal Domain would inevitably be dragged into this storm."