380: Chapter 371 The Sixth Incarnation: Heavenly Venerable (59)

"Self-destruct?!"

The thoughts of the Ancient Venerables of "Time," "Space," "Destruction," and others transmitted unbelievable shock and fury simultaneously!

"Impossible! The 'heaven refining cauldron' was forged by our joint efforts, based on supreme Dao Laws and the Origin of the heavens. It is incredibly stable; how could it suddenly lose control and self-destruct? Unless..."

"Unless someone planted a hidden hand during the refining process!"

The cold thought of Dao Monarch "Order" rang out, containing a killing intent that almost froze time and space.

"It's Shangqing! It must be him! Only he had the Opportunity to plant such a hidden hand behind all our backs! He planned this long ago!"

"He wants to destroy the 'heaven refining cauldron'! Destroy our Opportunity for Soul Transformation!" Dao Monarch "Chaos's" thought was filled with violence and madness. "Why? He is also a beneficiary! He also wants to ascend to Soul Transformation!"

"The Great Dao is one..." Dao Lord of Death's thought became incredibly icy. "He wants to destroy the 'heaven refining cauldron,' this 'shortcut' that could give birth to a new Soul Transformation, forcing everyone to return to the most primitive and cruelest struggle for the Great Dao! He wants to... clear the field!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the thoughts of all the Ancient Venerables stalled, followed by a surge of endless anger and a trace of... panic!

That's right!

Shangqing didn't care at all whether the "heaven refining cauldron" could successfully refine the various Dao Monarchs; what he cared about, from beginning to end, was only "the Great Dao is one, reaching the peak of Soul Transformation"!

While the existence of the "heaven refining cauldron" was a shortcut, it was also a massive uncertainty, and even more so, an "anomaly" that could give birth to an existence beyond their control!

From the very beginning, perhaps he never placed his hopes of achieving Soul Transformation upon this heaven refining cauldron!

He participated in the refining perhaps just to destroy it personally at the most critical moment, dragging all competitors, including these Ancient Venerables, back to the same starting line, or even killing them all off!

"What deep calculation! What a ruthless heart!" Dao Monarch "Destruction" roared. "Stop him! No, stop the 'heaven refining cauldron' from self-destructing!"

However, it was already too late!

"Boom—!"

An earth-shaking roar erupted from within the "heaven refining cauldron"!

Upon the cauldron's body, the glow of the ten-colored Dao markings had reached its limit, as if it would completely explode in the next instant!

Hideous cracks began to spread across the indestructible walls of the cauldron!

Endless terrifying energy, mixed with various Laws of the Great Dao and filled with an aura of destruction and frenzy, spilled from the cracks, scorching the surrounding time and space until they warped and shattered!

"No—!"

Several Ancient Venerables let out roars of anger and unwillingness, attempting to suppress and stabilize the "heaven refining cauldron" with their own Great Daos, but the power accumulated within the cauldron was simply too vast and too violent!

The sum of countless Dao Monarchs' lifelong cultivation and Great Dao Origins, triggered by the Dao Rhyme planted by Shangqing, was like a powder keg with a lit fuse, or a volcano suppressed for eons, spiraling completely out of control!

Their suppression was like trying to put out a bonfire with a cup of water; instead, it accelerated the energy's frenzy!

Hideous cracks spread wildly across the cauldron's walls, and the light of destruction pierced through, illuminating the entire battlefield in a ghastly white!

"Damn it!"

Within the eternally silent thought of Dao Lord of Death, such clear fury surged for the first time!

The self-destruction of the "heaven refining cauldron" was enough to heavily wound or even destroy their projections present, causing their true bodies to suffer significant involvement and backlash!

But, Dao Lord of Death was, after all, one of the oldest and most profound existences.

After the initial shock and anger, his thought quickly returned to a state of cold calculation.

He watched the "heaven refining cauldron" about to explode and release world-destroying power, glanced at the other Ancient Venerable projections and remaining Dao Monarchs frantically trying to flee, and finally, his gaze seemed to pierce through the chaotic battlefield, looking toward the "myriad treasures river" at the edge of the destructive tide, still trying to hold its ground, and the "Humanity" Dao Monarch upon the river who had surprised him slightly.

"Shangqing... good, good, good!"

Dao Lord of Death's thought was so cold it seemed capable of freezing the Soul.

"You want to clear the field, to muddy the waters, to let everything return to the most primitive slaughter... This Seat shall grant your wish!"

"Everyone," his thought swept over the Ancient Venerables of "Time," "Space," "Destruction," "Order," and "Chaos" like an icy storm, "there is no need to hold back anymore."

No need to hold back?

What does that mean?

The thoughts of the other Ancient Venerables transmitted doubt and a slight premonition of ill omen.

In the next moment, the answer was revealed!

"Boom!" An aura of death, purer, older, and more Soul-shuddering than the ripples of the impending self-destruction of the "heaven refining cauldron," suddenly descended!

It was not a projection, nor a thought, but... the true body!

Beside the "heaven refining cauldron," the originally illusory projection of Dao Lord of Death, composed of deathly silent thoughts, suddenly burst with light!

Endless gray mist emerged out of thin air from the Void Realm, surging frantically into that projection!

The projection rapidly solidified and expanded, as a terrifying Dao Rhyme—seemingly from the end of all things, capable of withering all living beings and returning the world to eternal silence—spread out like a physical substance!

Merely the diffusion of this aura caused several Dao Monarchs at the edge of the battlefield, who were slightly slower to flee, to let out shrill wails; their flesh, Divine Souls, and even their Great Dao Laws began to irreversibly wither, Decay, and move toward their end!

"death, you..." Dao Monarch "Time's" thought transmitted shock. "You actually descended with your true body at this time?! A Heaven-Reaching Dao Treasure is about to self-destruct here; your true body..."

"Projections are no longer useful."

Dao Lord of Death's cold voice rang out directly, no longer a transmission of thought, but a real whisper, seemingly from the depths of the Nine Netherworld, containing a hint of almost imperceptible helplessness and resolve that made Dao Monarch "Time," who was familiar with him, shudder.

"Shangqing destroyed the 'heaven refining cauldron' and our path to a steady harvest. Now, we either sit by and watch all our efforts go down the drain, or... take a risky gamble to seize that final, most chaotic, and most likely Opportunity amidst this explosion!"

His words spoke the cruelest current reality.

However, Dao Monarch "Time" instantly realized the deeper crisis and Shangqing's vicious calculation!

Indeed, for ancient Dao Monarchs like them who wielded the Root Great Daos, lived nearly as long as heaven and earth, and had long been able to resist dao transformation, the manifestation of their will was enough to trigger the resonance of the Laws of the heavens and stir up boundless killing tribulations.

But that was, after all, merely a "manifestation," an extension of will and a portion of power.

But a "true body" was a different matter entirely!

Through endless eons of Cultivation and assimilation with the Great Dao, their true bodies had long been deeply bound to the Root Great Daos they wielded. In a sense, their true bodies themselves were part of the operating Laws of heaven and earth!

They were the embodiment of "death" itself in the mortal world, the guardians and observers of the river of "Time," the foundation and weavers of the dimension of "Space"...

Once such existences fully manifested their true bodies and descended upon this "present world," the resulting heavenly anomalies and Law upheavals would be unimaginable!