253: Chapter 253 Ancient Venerable Projection

As the Ancient Honored One's projection dissolved into a sky full of gilded specks of light and dissipated, an extremely faint and distant hum suddenly echoed from the depths of the heavens—

This sound did not originate from any living creature in the mortal world. Instead, it resembled the deep, somber resonance of the eternally frozen Kunlun Jade Vein being shaken by an immense force, or perhaps the faint rustle of a chaotic beast that had slept for eons slowly opening its eyes, its eyelashes brushing against the dust of time—

...carrying a boundless, desolate majesty that pierced through time and space.

Invisible ripples spread outward in layers from the center of the heavens. The clouds surged back to both sides like a tide, revealing the sky below, which had returned to its azure blue but was now imbued with an inexplicable pressure.

Even the wind carried a trace of coldness and silence from above the Nine Heavens, as if the entire world was holding its breath for the conversation that had just transcended eons.

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi looked up at the sky, his black Daoist robe fluttering wildly in the aftermath, the specks of starlight scattering from his sleeves like shattered stars.

His eyes, which had seen through three thousand years of vicissitudes, seemed to pierce through ten thousand layers of clouds, reaching directly into that higher, more unknowable realm of nothingness—

...as if he were staring at some ancient secret about to awaken.

No one knew what he was staring at; they only saw a few strands of silver hair at his temples blown by the invisible airflow, intertwining with the starlight leaking from the edges of his sleeves—

Using his lifetime cultivation as a catalyst just now to forcibly maintain the manifestation of the Ancient Honored One's projection had certainly not been without a price.

Though the starlight appeared brilliant, it was actually a sign that his internal Origin spiritual power had been excessively depleted, leaking out from his Meridians.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that his fingers, hanging at his sides, were trembling slightly, his fingertips showing a barely perceptible paleness.

"Old Ancestor, you..."

Chu Changsheng stepped forward quickly, his nose keenly catching a faint, elusive scent of blood in the air—it was the aura of Patriarch Tian Yuanzi's lifeblood essence that had accidentally leaked out while he was forcibly suppressing his injuries.

He could clearly feel that the originally unfathomable aura around Patriarch Tian Yuanzi was now fluctuating like ripples—

...like a turbulent vortex hidden beneath a calm, deep sea.

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi waved his hand, his spine still perfectly straight and unshakeable like a Kunlun jade pillar, though his voice was slightly rasper than usual, it still carried an unquestionable authority:

"It is nothing. Just an old injury."

He slowly turned around, his gaze falling upon Chu Changsheng. In his eyes lay the heavy sediment of time, as well as a barely perceptible trace of concern—

...as if he were gazing upon the hope he had guarded for a thousand years:

"You heard the Ancient Honored One's final words."

It was not a question, but an indisputable statement, carrying the certainty of one who had experienced the world.

Chu Changsheng nodded heavily. The World Dao Seed within his Dantian was still throbbing violently, like a star cast into a bottomless pool. The ripples it stirred not only spread to his limbs and bones but also pierced through the shackles of his Physical Body—

...extending toward the depths of his Sea of Consciousness and into the unknown dimensions of the unseen.

The warm halo emitted by the Dao Seed resonated with the surging blood in his chest, allowing him to clearly remember the Ancient Honored One's aged and majestic voice:

"The gate... is about to open... storms will rise... variables will appear... the Immortal Realm..."

"The Immortal Realm..."

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi chuckled softly. The laugh was faint, yet it seemed to carry the frost and wind of a thousand years, making it impossible to tell whether it was a sneer at that legendary place or a deep-seated longing in his heart.

He raised his hand and brushed it across the Void Realm before him. Wherever his fingertips passed, the air rippled slightly, as if he were touching an invisible barrier:

"The world thinks of it as a pure land of ultimate bliss, but they do not know how cold it is at the top. That place is not necessarily any more peaceful than this realm."

He took a step forward, his black Daoist robe standing side-by-side with Chu Changsheng's green robe, as they both cast their gazes upon the earth below—

The aftermath of the clash between the Ancient Honored One's projection and the unknown entity had not yet fully dispersed. Mountains had crumbled, rivers had changed course, and destructive energy fluctuations still lingered among the ruins.

On the scorched earth, a few resilient Spiritual Plants were struggling to sprout green shoots, showing the fragility and tenacity of survivors of a disaster—

...and also seeming to herald some kind of rebirth.

"Do you know why the Ancient Honored One projected into this realm?"

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi suddenly asked.

Chu Changsheng's heart jolted. The scenes from earlier flashed through his mind in an instant: Patriarch Tian Yuanzi had suddenly disappeared for a moment, and when he returned, besides his original clear Daoist charm, he carried an extra trace of a vast, ancient, almost chaotic aura.

This aura definitely did not belong to this realm. It felt as if it came from the very beginning of creation, carrying an earthy scent and the decay of ages—

...shaking one's soul upon contact.

"Could it be... that it is not because the Ancient Honored One's power is insufficient, but because this world... is rejecting them?"

Chu Changsheng answered tentatively.

"It is a Seal, but also a protection."

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi's gaze drifted toward the distant horizon, as deep as if it held the entire starry sky:

"In the ancient war, gods and demons fell, heaven and earth cracked, and the Great Dao became flawed. At that time, the 'gates' connecting the various heavens were forcibly closed, and the 'paths' leading to the Immortal Realm were completely severed."

"Any traces of 'immortals' remaining in this realm, whether their aura or their power, would be gradually erased and assimilated by the Heavenly Dao."

He paused, his voice growing deeper:

"For the Ancient Honored One to descend as a projection is already a Heaven-Defying act. If not for borrowing that wisp of a 'rift' remaining from eons ago deep within the earth veins of the Southern Region—a gap that was not completely sealed when the world healed after the ancient war—it would have been impossible to manifest at all."

"This is also why they cannot exist for long, and why their power, though seemingly terrifying, can only unleash the might of a single strike."

"That 'gate'..."

Chu Changsheng's voice carried a barely perceptible tremor. He could feel that when the word "gate" left his mouth, the World Dao Seed within him actually produced a faint resonance—

...as if responding to some distant call, or perhaps fearing some impending destiny.

"The Gate of Heaven's Creation, or... the Door of Immortal Burial."

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi's tone suddenly grew solemn. The air around him seemed to freeze instantly, and even the sound of the wind became sluggish.

He turned to look at Chu Changsheng, his eyes filled with gravity, as if he were entrusting him with a heavy responsibility concerning the survival of heaven and earth:

"The Ancient Honored One's words about 'the gate is about to open' are likely not a mere figure of speech. Have you noticed that over the past ten thousand years, the tidal fluctuations of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi have become increasingly violent? Sometimes raging like a furious sea, sometimes drying up like a dead pool."

"Furthermore, countless ancient ruins and Secret Realms have frequently appeared in the world, and sleeping Vicious Beasts have emerged from the earth—"

"All of these are signs that the 'gate' is about to open."

Chu Changsheng remained silent, his brow furrowed deeply.

Countless clues flashed through his mind like shooting stars, connecting with one another: the strong resonance of the World Dao Seed within him in specific places, the vague warning from the Ancient Honored One's projection, Patriarch Tian Yuanzi's thought-provoking words today...

Everything was like invisible threads, ultimately intertwining to point toward a massive vortex that was about to sweep through the entire cultivation world.

This vortex was unfathomably deep; once drawn in, life and death would be unpredictable.

"They say I am the key variable."

After a long silence, Chu Changsheng spoke slowly, his voice calm yet carrying a heavy weight—

...as if bearing the expectations and fears of the entire world.

"The World Tree Dao Seed is, in itself, the greatest variable."

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi cast a sidelong glance at the World Tree Manifestation, a complex and unreadable light flashing in his eyes—within this light was admiration, worry, expectation, and a trace of resolve that even he himself had not noticed:

"This item does not belong to this world. Its Origin is likely closely related to that 'gate'."

"Changsheng, from the moment you obtained it, your path was no longer within the ordinary immortal Dao."

He paused, his tone growing heavier, each word like a heavy hammer striking Chu Changsheng's heart:

"Whether it is a blessing or a curse, it all rests upon you. If you succeed, you may unravel the mysteries of the ages and step into a realm that no one else can reach—"

"If you fail, your body may perish and your Dao dissolve, and even this world may fall into eternal damnation."

As Patriarch Tian Yuanzi's voice fell, the surrounding air seemed to freeze under an invisible force, and even the sound of the wind fell into a dead silence.

Only the steady breathing of the two remained, exceptionally clear in the vast, empty expanse—

...like the drumbeats of fate, striking the strings of time.

Chu Changsheng could clearly hear the sound of his own blood rushing through his veins. The sound grew louder and deeper, eventually falling into rhythm with the slow and powerful pulsation of the World Dao Seed within him.

The halo emitted by the Dao Seed enveloped his Dantian, warm and steady, dispersing all confusion and panic.

This was not fear in the face of the unknown, but a calm that was almost like destiny—as if billions of intricate lines of Karma, crossing the barriers of time and space, had finally gathered entirely in the palm of his hand at this very moment.

"Beyond the ordinary immortal Dao..."

Chu Changsheng repeated these words in a low voice, his eyes gradually becoming clear and resolute.

He suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Patriarch Tian Yuanzi with burning eyes. The youthfulness of the past was gone from his gaze, replaced only by a deep seriousness and conviction, as if declaring an oath that had slept for eons:

"Old Ancestor, in truth, everything you all have done has been to protect me, hasn't it?"

"From beginning to end, it has always been so!"

The moment those words fell, the silence of the world was shattered. An invisible aura boomed outward with the two of them as the center, and the distant clouds rolled once more—

...as if responding to this protection and questioning that spanned across the ages.

The wind rose again, carrying the power of rebirth, brushing over the scorched earth and fluttering their robes—

...as if playing a prelude for the impending storm.