216: Chapter 216 Aftermath

At the unimaginably distant end of the River of Time.

An ancient, towering figure that had existed since the dawn of time slowly opened its eyes.

These eyes were as deep as the beginning of Chaos, reflecting the birth and death of countless Universes, the Reincarnation of stars, and the shifting of eras within their pupils.

With just a single glance—

That River of Time, which had flowed for hundreds of millions of years, actually froze in place!

The river water stopped surging, the waves froze in mid-air, as if time itself had bowed in submission at this moment!

Ten main roots of the World Tree, which propped up the Heavens and Earth, circled his body. Each root was as thick as an ancient divine mountain, entwined with Law chains of various shimmering colors—these were shackles of the Heavenly Dao, yet they were nothing more than decorations amidst his breathing.

The Dao was born and perished in his palm.

All things reincarnated within his breaths.

He stood quietly—

He was the Incarnation of the Dao.

He was the ultimate manifestation of the rules.

This was the future Incarnation of Chu Changsheng—

The supreme existence who had ascended to the pinnacle of creation, controlled the Heavens, whose words became Law, and who could determine the rise and fall of the Universe with a single thought!

"Is that me from the past..."

The future Incarnation whispered.

The voice sounded like the booming of the Dao, shaking the River of Time into monstrous waves, yet it easily pierced through infinite space and time, clearly entering the Sea of Consciousness of the present Chu Changsheng.

In this voice, there was a faint trace of vicissitudes.

It was as if, having crossed such vast years, he had finally heard an echo from his hometown.

He lowered his gaze slightly.

Instantly, he perceived this call from the distant past—

Weak.

Yet so stubborn that it was moving.

Through the cracks in space and time, he saw that figure in the Eternal Graveyard entangled by Heavenly Evil Qi and on the verge of sinking, and also saw his own past face, resolute and unwilling to admit defeat.

"Heavenly Evil Qi..."

He repeated softly, his tone indifferent, as if mentioning an ant:

"It is merely a strand of evil karma."

The future Incarnation raised his hand slightly.

The movement was gentle—

Yet it shook the Heavens and Earth!

Pure emerald-gold light flowed across his fingertips. In that light, it contained both the most Origin "Life" Law of the World Tree and the "Destruction" resolution to eradicate all filth.

Life and Destruction.

Two extreme forces merged perfectly at his fingertips, emitting a terrifying Aura that transcended all cognition.

"Hum——!!!"

In the present world.

The huge light net around Chu Changsheng suddenly contracted!

Countless emerald-gold streams of light, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, gathered with an unstoppable momentum into an intensely condensed beam of light!

At the tip of the beam, the boundless, towering phantom of the future Incarnation was vaguely visible—though it was only a faint outline and a wisp of Aura, it had already caused the Heavens and Earth to change color and ghosts and gods to tremble!

This beam of light ignored spatial distance, pierced through the barriers of time, and more easily broke through the layers of Restrictions in the Eternal Graveyard—those once indestructible Restrictions were like paper before it!

Like a spear of divine punishment sent down from the Nine Heavens, carrying the supreme dignity of purifying everything and judging everything—

It pierced with extreme precision toward that dark purple column of Heavenly Evil Qi!

"Sizzle——!!!"

The instant the beam collided with the Heavenly Evil Qi, a harsh corrosive sound resounded throughout the Heavens and Earth!

But this time—

It was no longer the power of creation that was retreating!

Wherever the emerald-gold beam passed, that once arrogant and unbridled black-red Evil Qi was like ice meeting the scorching sun—

Instantly melted!

Vanished!

Without even a chance to struggle, without even leaving behind a roar of a vengeful Soul, it was completely purified by that holy and domineering power—

Returned to nothingness!

Inside the Eternal Graveyard.

All surviving Cultivators were shocked by this earth-shattering change, standing frozen in place, dumbfounded, their minds blank.

They could clearly feel the terrifying power contained in the emerald-gold beam—

This power seemed gentle, yet it carried the dignity of a Heavenly Dao judgment, holy and inviolable, making people involuntarily want to kneel, kowtow, and worship!

The dark purple column of Heavenly Evil Qi was dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a collapsing sand tower, like melting ice and snow!

And that emerald-gold beam, still carrying an indomitable momentum, pierced straight into the core of the light column—

Vowing to completely erase this filthy power from the Heavens and Earth!

That emerald-gold beam fell from the Nine Heavens, like a sword of divine punishment piercing the Universe, carrying a glorious Divine Might that surpassed the Laws of the Heavens—

It accurately and unerringly entered the Sea of Consciousness of Xuanyuan Zhanxian.

The Heavenly Evil Qi that had originally been raging and roaring within his body, devouring his Divine Soul, and acting arrogant—

Before this pure and extreme light, it was like a rat in a sewer suddenly seeing the scorching sun, instantly losing all its ferocious arrogance!

This sinister power that had once eroded the Dao, polluted the Dao foundation, and made countless experts fearful—

Was now as fragile as thin ice exposed to the scorching sun!

It shattered upon contact!

It didn't even have room to struggle!

Xuanyuan Zhanxian only felt an indescribable torrent of warmth sweep through his Divine Soul, like encountering sweet rain after a long drought, like meeting the warm sun in the cold winter.

The biting cold, dead silence, despair, violence, and madness brought by the previous erosion of the Heavenly Evil Qi...

All negative emotions—

Were swept away!

His Soul seemed to be thoroughly cleansed, and an unprecedented clarity and tranquility enveloped him, like a newborn baby, pure and flawless.

Deep within his Divine Soul, the emerald green mark transformed from the World Tree leaf suddenly erupted with brilliant light, merging perfectly with the external emerald-gold power, bursting forth with boundless vitality—

Like spring returning to the earth, like all things reviving, nourishing his nearly shattered Divine Soul!

In a trance, he "saw"—

In the center of his nearly collapsing Sea of Consciousness, a blurry yet boundless, towering phantom stood quietly.

The phantom's face was shrouded in hazy golden light, making it difficult to see its true appearance, but the ten phantom main roots of the World Tree circling its body were like pillars propping up the Heavens, and each root was entwined with ceaseless flowing Dao runes.

Every gesture was filled with the supreme scene of the birth and death of Laws and the Reincarnation of all things—

Emitting a terrifying Aura that made Xuanyuan Zhanxian's Soul tremble and almost want to submit!

Just by feeling the lingering trace of power emitted by that phantom—

The spiritual power in his body, which had originally been sluggish and chaotic, was as if guided by an invisible force, its circulation speed suddenly accelerating several times over!

Many Cultivation Bottlenecks that he had been unable to understand or achieve in the past—

Were now suddenly cleared up!

"Revered Master... is that you?"

Xuanyuan Zhanxian's mind was shaken, and he muttered to himself.

His eyes were full of shock and indescribable gratitude, and even more of an indescribable, almost crazy worship.

The Aura of this phantom originated from the same source as the unfathomable foundation of his Revered Master in his memory—

Yet it was ten million times stronger!

It was simply the difference between clouds and mud!

Like a firefly compared to the bright moon!

However—

The phantom of the future Incarnation did not respond to his call.

It was as if what had descended here was just a pure mark of power, without self-awareness, only following a predetermined mission, cold and resolute.

The phantom slowly raised its hand.

Fingertip tapped lightly.

There was no earth-shattering phenomenon.

Only one indifferent, non-human, yet seemingly containing the supreme Law of the Universe word exploded directly in the depths of Xuanyuan Zhanxian's Sea of Consciousness—

Even piercing through the barrier of the Sea of Consciousness, echoing in the minds of all living beings in the entire Eternal Graveyard:

"Destroy."

Words spoken.

Law followed!

The instant the voice fell—

Endless emerald-gold divine light erupted from the phantom's body!

Like the first ray of light at the beginning of creation, gentle yet carrying an unstoppable resolution, it swept out like a tide, cleansing all filth and darkness in the world!

The remaining Heavenly Evil Qi could not even struggle before this divine light—

It was like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, completely turning into nothingness!

Not even a wisp of smoke was left behind!

That dark red column of light connecting to the strange existence underground and piercing through the Heavens and Earth, the moment it touched the emerald-gold light, was like a poisonous snake burned by a red-hot branding iron—

It let out a shrill hiss!

It shrank back into the depths of the underground!

Leaving behind only a faint, resentful, and fearful roar that echoed for a long time in the earth's veins, echoing—

Yet it dared not show its head again.

The oppression and dead silence that had shrouded the Eternal Graveyard for tens of thousands of years—

At this moment, suddenly cleared.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi became clear again, and sunlight penetrated the clouds, spilling onto this scarred land, bringing long-lost vitality and warmth.

The dust settled.

Outside the Eternal Graveyard.

In a hidden valley.

The sitting Chu Changsheng's body shook violently, and the emerald-gold brilliance surrounding his body dissipated rapidly like a receding tide.

The green light at the center of his brow, symbolizing the World Tree Dao Seed, instantly dimmed, almost imperceptible.

His face was as pale as gold paper, and his breath was extremely weak—

Like a candle in the wind, it could go out at any time.

The surface of his body was covered with fine cracks like a spider web, and pale gold blood constantly seeped out from the cracks, staining a small area of the ground beneath him—

Shocking to the eyes.

Forcibly channeling the power of the future, even if it was just an insignificant projection, for his current Realm and physique—

It was a devastating burden.

He could clearly feel that the Dao foundation he had worked hard to Cultivate had developed subtle yet fatal cracks, and his spiritual power circulation was sluggish, like a rusted gear.

"Lord!"

Xiao rushed forward immediately, carefully supporting his tottering body.

In those eyes that were usually as cold as ice, there was now undisguised worry and lingering fear.

He could clearly feel that Chu Changsheng's state was extremely poor—

Like a piece of porcelain covered in cracks.

A slight carelessness.

And he would shatter completely.

"It's fine... I won't die yet."

Chu Changsheng's voice was hoarse and weak, and every word seemed to exhaust all his strength.

He looked up with difficulty, looking toward the Eternal Graveyard.

Feeling that the terrifying Heavenly Evil Qi had completely receded, and that Xuanyuan Zhanxian's Aura was weak but stable and pure, with no signs of Evil Qi erosion—

His long-tense mind finally relaxed.

A tired but relieved smile was barely pulled from the corner of his mouth:

"It's good that he is fine..."

He slowly closed his eyes, examining himself internally.

Looking at the World Tree Dao Seed in his Dantian, which was covered in cracks, dim in light, and dying—

He couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart:

"System, this aftereffect..."

"Is really quite something."