183: Chapter 183 As Time Draws to an End, Feelings Arise

"Stir up internal strife?"

The Heavenly Dao's eyes flickered slightly, a trace of coldness passing through the depths of his gaze. As soon as this thought emerged, he immediately thought of Jiang Chen—that madman who loved playing with fire and fueling war with blood.

In the current Human Race, Pangu Clan, and Nine Nether Underworld Clan, where was there not the smoke of war? The fires of conflict raged like a prairie fire, and corpses piled up like mountains. To temper his subordinates, that fellow didn't care at all about the suffering of living beings. The Central Great Wilderness, as well as the Eastern and Western regions of the Primordial Continent, had long been completely swallowed by the glint and flash of cold steel.

Peace had become a luxury; conflict was the norm.

Even the Undead Clan, hidden deep within the Reincarnation, was no exception—they slaughtered one another in a survival of the fittest, where only the most ruthless could survive to the end.

Watching all this, the Heavenly Dao actually felt a hint of envy. He also wanted to stir the winds and clouds of the myriad clans and ignite internal strife within the ethnic groups, but he could not.

The myriad worlds of Chaos were still evolving; one wrong step would lead to eternal damnation.

As for the Hongmeng Realm? That was even less of an option.

Beings in the Hongmeng Realm were scarce, numbering barely a million to this day. Each one was the Heavenly Dao's precious treasure; the death of even one felt like a piece of his soul was being carved out.

But this wasn't out of benevolence; it was because these people were the trump cards he specifically intended to use against the Undead Army in Jiang Chen's hands!

The Undead Clan made the Heavenly Dao extremely wary.

Unlike the Pangu Clan, whose cultivation was as slow as a crawling turtle, as long as there was sufficient negative energy, the Undead's cultivation would skyrocket like a rolling snowball. Moreover, they were entirely created by Jiang Chen; their minds were controlled, and they were absolutely loyal.

Looking at the Pangu Clan, although they honored Jiang Chen as their Clan Leader, the one who truly dominated them was the will of pangu remaining between heaven and earth. The giant that walked out of Mount Buzhou back then was precisely the manifestation of the honghuang source—in other words, the will of pangu was the will of the Primordial World.

The same applied to the Human Race; they acted as spokespersons for the Human Dao and were governed by it.

Ultimately, for Jiang Chen, the Pangu Clan and Human Race were merely external forces he borrowed; his true foundation was the Undead Clan alone!

The Heavenly Dao was the same—to him, the Primordial Myriad Clans were nothing more than chess pieces. His ace in the hole was the Hongmeng Clan!

Interestingly, the Hongmeng Clan had no physical bodies and existed purely as Primordial Spirits; the Undead Race was exactly the opposite—they had no Primordial Spirits, leaving only physical shells and obsessions.

Some might say: "The Pangu Clan doesn't have Primordial Spirits either." Wrong. Their Primordial Spirits were merely eroded and assimilated by turbid and baleful qi; they didn't cease to exist. In the true sense of "having no Primordial Spirit," there was only the Undead Clan.

One was entirely Primordial Spirits, the other was entirely empty shells—the two races were diametrically opposed, moving toward two extremes.

If one day the Hongmeng faced the Undead... who would win?

For now, the Undead were naturally stronger.

But this was only the beginning of the Sixth Epoch.

The Hongmeng Clan was born in this era, while the Undead Race had already risen in the Fifth Epoch—a difference of four entire eras!

Yet within just this one kalpa, the Hongmeng Clan had already produced thirty-three Heavenly Dao Saints, and even the "Eight Ancestors of Hongmeng," peerless experts who surpassed the Saint Realm!

The Heavenly Dao firmly believed that by the end of this epoch, his Hongmeng Army would definitely be able to face the Undead Army head-on and even crush them completely!

After a long while, he spoke slowly, his voice low but firm: "There is no need to stir up internal strife. You eight, devote all your efforts to preaching the Dao."

"We obey your command!" the Eight Ancestors of Hongmeng answered in unison.

Having finished his instructions, the Heavenly Dao's figure dissipated, and his billions of incarnations fell into the myriad worlds of Chaos, quietly pushing forward the evolutionary process of the various realms.

Time is like a blade, severing the years.

Ten thousand kalpas passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, the Human Race in the central region experienced unprecedented upheaval. The Great Qin Immortal Court struck with power, its iron cavalry piercing the heavens and sweeping across the eight directions. One immortal sect and sacred land after another was reduced to ashes beneath the wheels of bronze war chariots.

Even though the Ten Thousand Nations Territory continuously sent troops as reinforcements, they still could not stop the Imperial Might that swept through heaven and earth.

In less than six thousand kalpas, Great Qin unified the humans of the central lands, firmly securing its position as the overlord and standing as an equal to the Pangu Clan, sharing control of the Central Great Wilderness.

After the unification, Great Qin originally intended to march east to conquer the Ten Thousand Nations Territory, but because the Heavenly Pride Competition was about to begin, they had to temporarily restrain their edge.

Heavenly prides like Fusu and Hu Hai went into seclusion one after another, preparing for the upcoming battle of the pinnacle.

As Great Qin returned to tranquility, the ancient states of the Ten Thousand Nations finally caught their breath.

The current Great Qin Immortal Court was like the sun at high noon; no one dared to face its brilliance. The vastness of the Human Race's providence it controlled was nothing short of terrifying.

Even if the Ten Thousand Nations joined forces, it would be difficult to compete with them.

The unification of the Human Race was inevitable.

This was not only the ambition of the First Emperor but also an extension of Jiang Chen's will.

Everything was just waiting for the sound of the horn.

Ten thousand kalpas had passed, and the Heavenly Pride Competition, which the Primordial Myriad Clans had been eagerly anticipating, was finally about to raise its curtain!

Immortal Qin Continent, Epang Palace.

Jiang Chen strolled through it with Nuwa and Houtu, chatting and laughing freely. Their conversation was filled with anecdotes and strange tales from their years of traveling across the Primordial World.

The Epang Palace was vast and boundless, like a Small Thousand World pressing down upon the void. Palaces stood in great numbers; some soared above the nine heavens to keep company with the floating clouds, while others lay across mountains and rivers, embraced by emerald waters and surrounded by peaks. With upturned eaves and bracket sets, resplendent in gold and jade, every pavilion was majestic. A single glance made one feel as if a divine kingdom had descended.

As early as ten thousand years ago, Jiang Chen's group of three had traveled all the way here.

On the day they set foot in Immortal Qin, the First Emperor personally led the civil and military officials and the iron-blooded army of the Great Qin Immortal Court out in full force. Their momentum was earth-shaking, vibrating through the entire Primordial Human Race.

The Holy Father and Holy Mother had personally come to Great Qin—as soon as the news broke, the four directions were in an uproar.

There had long been rumors that the Holy Father and Holy Mother were traveling through the Primordial World in seclusion and had once visited the Ten Thousand Nations Territory, but no one had ever recognized their true forms. Now that they had appeared in Great Qin with such high profiles, the various Human Race powers immediately felt their thoughts churning.

After all, Great Qin had only recently unified the humans of the central region. The Holy Father and Holy Mother's visit at this time was clearly a show of support.

People became increasingly certain: the reason the First Emperor dared to go against the world was that he had these two backing him up.

Jiang Chen and the other two had stayed in the Epang Palace ever since. After trekking through the long years, it was time to rest their feet and incidentally sample the mundane life of the old Qin people.

"Only one year left... the Heavenly Pride Competition is about to begin."

Nuwa sighed softly, a trace of reluctance passing through her eyes. Houtu also remained silent. During these ten thousand kalpas, they had followed Jiang Chen through the myriad worlds, from the Wandao Academy to the lands of Immortal Qin, watching the flow of the galaxy and listening to the whispers of ancient history. Every day had been like a dream.

But once the Heavenly Pride Competition began, this carefree period would come to an end.

Afterward, Jiang Chen would go into seclusion again, sinking once more into that endless journey.

In the future, it might be difficult to walk side-by-side again.

Jiang Chen looked at their lonely expressions, reached out to take their hands, and said in a gentle voice, "When I have unified the Primordial World, I will no longer travel far. I will accompany you to see all the sights of the Three Realms."

"Who are you trying to fool?" Nuwa rolled her eyes, her lips curling slightly. "You're still thinking about the nine great Demon God Worlds in the Eternal Chaos. With your personality, how could you possibly stop?"

"Sister is right." Houtu frowned and joined in. "You even want to travel against the current back to the last Chaos Great Derivation Epoch... the River of Time and Space is fraught with danger, let alone tracing back an entire epoch..." She hesitated, her eyes full of worry.

"We can't stop you." Nuwa gazed at him, her tone soft yet firm. "But I hope when you make decisions, you can think of us. After all... we are your women."

The two looked at each other, their gazes intertwining as affection flowed between them.

Jiang Chen felt a warmth in his heart.

Although he couldn't truly experience the emotion of "love," this ten-thousand-year companionship had already allowed certain things to quietly take root.

"I promise you!" He opened his arms, pulling the two women into his embrace, and laughed heartily. "When everything settles, I will personally open a world—a home that belongs only to us. Then, we'll have a few spirited little ones and take them across the heavens and myriad worlds every day!"

Before his voice had even faded, Nuwa and Houtu's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, looking as delicate as flowers.

"Who wants to have children with you!" Nuwa gave him a light push, stuck out her tongue in a playful face, and grabbed Houtu's hand to run away. Her skirts fluttered as her laughter trailed behind her.

Jiang Chen stood in place, the corners of his lips curling up slightly.

Even if he didn't understand what love was, every moment spent with them over these years made him feel... it was worth it.

With the separation approaching, a hint of a never-before-felt attachment actually rose in his heart.

Perhaps "love" didn't need to be defined. It was simply a habit, a concern, a hand one was unwilling to let go of.

A year passed like a flash of lightning.

Jiang Chen bid farewell to Immortal Qin and, accompanied by Nuwa and Houtu, stepped into the gate of time and space, entering directly into the Outer Chaos.

It wasn't just them.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches, the Three Pure Ones, Minghe, the Ten Yama Kings, the Lord of the Eighteen Levels of Hell, the Five Nether Emperors, and even the Great Emperor of Fengdu all appeared in the depths of Chaos.