Despair!
Absolute despair!
Two fully realised Heavenly Daos, impossible to match.
Qin Li watched helplessly as his friends and family were killed one by one.
Yet he was powerless, able only to flee, running wildly, wandering in the darkness, leaving behind a trail of terror.
Qin Li kept using “The Sole Flaw”, but with the heavens and earth on the brink of restarting, spacetime in chaos, he could only teleport short distances, losing his last hope of escape.
In a certain sense, this was the suppression of the macroscopic laws.
For the third era had become a prison, everything within it doomed to destruction and restart, with no one able to escape, except the First and Second Heavenly Daos, half a step to the Other Shore.
“How did it come to this?” The Supreme Immortal Venerable wept, tears unstoppable, the Immortal Emperor in sorrow, the Divine Emperor in anguish.
Even the cold-blooded Heavenly Emperor shed tears.
They couldn’t accept this outcome.
Behind them.
Cries of agony rang out.
The suffering of Qin Li’s loved ones.
Like invisible demonic claws, clutching Qin Li’s throat, nearly suffocating him.
“Don’t kill me, I have nothing to do with that little bastard Qin Li…” Han Ying was so terrified he soiled himself, but it was futile.
“Qin kid, run, get far away…” Dugu Laomo roared, a Great Emperor in rank, yet he fell in an instant.
“Damn it! I hate this ending, I won’t die by your hand…” Chaos chose to self-detonate, preserving his last shred of pride and dignity.
He had prophesied the great destruction, yet never altered the fate of the heavens.
Eight hundred million glimpses, yet nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand.
Chaos went mad, vanishing in the destruction.
The slaughter ended.
Not a single soul remained.
Only darkness and terror lingered.
“Dao Ancestor, it’s almost our turn!”
The Supreme Immortal Venerable was nearly deranged, giggling foolishly, devoid of any will to survive.
Had Qin Li not kept dragging him along in their escape, he would have stood still and awaited death. “We’ve been abandoned, but we still have a chance.”
Qin Li, like a gambler who’d lost everything, was pushed to the cliff’s edge, his face twisted with ferocity and distortion. “Eat these Great Dao Immortal Fruits, we’ll fight to the death, no matter the cost.”
He raised his hand.
Ten immortal fruits.
These weren’t a hidden trump card.
They were refined from the dissipating power of the Third Heavenly Dao.
He handed them all to the Immortal Venerable, a desperate last stand.
“Dao Ancestor, it’s useless, we can’t win!” The Supreme Immortal Venerable laughed deliriously, his eyes filled with gloom, longing only for a quick death to end all suffering.
Not just him, the Heaven-Defying Immortal Sword trembled slightly, the sound of Qin Nitian’s weeping. After finally reuniting, he watched his wife and daughter perish, unable to accept it.
They were utterly defeated, in strength and in spirit.
“Well said!”
A sinister voice boomed, clinging like a parasite.
The wills of the two Heavenly Daos quickly caught up.
Surrounding them, they trapped Qin Li and the Immortal Venerable, forming a death trap.
“It took some time, but we’ve vented the Third Heavenly Dao’s frustration. Now, we’ll torment you properly!”
An unsolvable deadlock.
The enemy was invincible, their allies broken.
Qin Li scanned the darkness of the six directions, the turmoil of the ten realms.
Like a drowning man, a parched traveller, lost in a boundless void.
This oppressive despair, a piercing dagger, a choking noose, drove him to madness.
Then!
Qin Li smiled.
Like the prophecy of Chaos.
He let out a profound, enigmatic smile.
Only this time, it was more bitter, more helpless, more resolute.
“Qin Li, what are you laughing at?” The First Heavenly Dao was taken aback, sneering coldly.
“I’m not Qin Li!”
Qin Li’s words shocked everyone.
The Second Heavenly Dao was puzzled. “If you’re not Qin Li, then who are you?”
“I am the Great Dao, and also the World Tree!” The World Tree gripped the Heaven-Defying Immortal Sword tightly.
The First Heavenly Dao laughed heartily. “It seems you’ve gone mad, your sense of self collapsing. Isn’t Qin Li the Great Dao?”
“No!”
The World Tree sneered.
He spoke slowly, word by word:
“Qin Li is Qin Li, the Great Dao is the Great Dao, two separate entities.”
These words stunned not just the three Heavenly Daos, but even the Supreme Immortal Venerable and Qin Nitian within the sword.
“What’s going on?” Everyone shared the same question.
The World Tree explained slowly.
Dragging out his words, buying time:
“Qin Li was just a mortal, not the reincarnation of the Great Dao’s primal spirit.”
The Third Heavenly Dao couldn’t believe it. “You’re talking nonsense. If Qin Li was just an ordinary person with no background, how could he climb to this level through effort alone?”
The World Tree, clad in green robes, said, “I slashed myself nine times, splitting off a fragment of wood and entrusting it with the Great Dao’s primal spirit. But the backlash was too severe, and I fell into a deep slumber.”
“When I awoke, the Heavenly Emperor found me, nourishing me with immortal qi to keep me alive. But I was betrayed by the Third Heavenly Dao, narrowly escaping into the Immortal Kingdom’s Green Lotus.”
“Later, I met Qin Li. He was supposed to die, but I revived him. I was too weak, unable to hide myself, and fell back into slumber.”
“Qin Li didn’t disappoint me. He not only mastered the Heaven-Deceiving Sacred Technique, but also obtained the Mysterious Form, masking the heavens’ sight. I finally had a chance to breathe and show my power!”
“I could have taken over Qin Li’s body, but I dislike killing. So I waited for him to face a calamity and perish, planning to claim his body then.”
“But this kid was unexpectedly tenacious, beyond my expectations. I began to admire him. In the Saint Realm, I occasionally lent a hand. Unexpectedly, he discovered me outright.”
When he reached Saint Nine, I merely offered a few pointers, and Qin Li realised, ‘I am me, even if I’m not the Great Dao reincarnated, I am still myself.’”
“Thus, Qin Li suspected he wasn’t the Great Dao’s reincarnation.”
“In the end, he was right.”
“Over the years, using Qin Li as cover, I steadily recovered, nearly regaining my original strength.”
“Later, we discussed it and decided to play a game of true and false Qin Li. When I switched from white robes to green, I began masquerading as him.”
“That’s why, when Qin Li’s loved ones were just wiped out, I didn’t act rashly, choosing instead to flee and buy time.”
“What!”
“It’s like that!”
The three Heavenly Daos all showed shock.
The Supreme Immortal Venerable and Qin Nitian were utterly shaken.
In the past, whenever Qin Li achieved something great, everyone took it for granted.
Because he was presumed to be the Great Dao’s primal spirit, no matter how incredible, it seemed normal. But Qin Li was truly just an ordinary mortal.
A son-in-law by marriage.
A fortunate son-in-law.
Rising from the very bottom, step by step.
He received help from many along the way, but relied more on his own efforts.
Surviving peril after peril, clawing back from the brink time and again, transforming himself repeatedly, surpassing countless prodigies and heroes, and with a heart of benevolence, giving back to all beings.
“I was reversed by a mere mortal!” The Third Heavenly Dao shrieked. Losing to the World Tree left it resentful but resigned, yet losing to a mortal was the greatest insult imaginable.
“Where’s Qin Li?”
“Where is Qin Li really?”
The First Heavenly Dao’s face darkened, scanning all directions.
“Up there!” The Second Heavenly Dao narrowed its eyes, pointing upwards.
Their realm was too high; with a little focus, nothing in the vast universe could escape their sight.
Above the great sun.
At the edge of the cosmos.
Qin Li had been hiding there, as a contingency.
But the situation had spiralled far beyond his control, the enemy unmatched.
The World Tree despaired, and how could he not?
In utmost helplessness, Qin Li resolutely chose to depart.
His body, soul, and will had long vanished.
Only a shadow remained.
Solitary and alone.
The Supreme Immortal Venerable stammered in shock:
“It carries Qin Li’s aura, why is it just a shadow?”
The First Heavenly Dao’s expression changed drastically. “Not good! He’s left a shadow in place, Qin Li is traversing the river of time backwards.”
The Second Heavenly Dao said coldly, “This is a mark of light and shadow, his coordinate. He must be attempting to cross spacetime to reach the Other Shore.”
“We still have a chance!” The World Tree roared hoarsely, hysterically. “Pull yourself together, buy Qin Li time!”
Crack, crack!
The Supreme Immortal Venerable, like a ravenous beast.
Instantly rallied, frantically devouring the Great Dao Immortal Fruits, converting them into power.
Beings are fragile, crumbling into despairing wrecks, yet also resilient, fighting with all their might for even a sliver of hope.
“No chance!”
The First Heavenly Dao struck.
A fist shrouded in darkness, aiming to shatter them both.
The World Tree exerted all its strength, slashing horizontally with the sword to block the killing blow.
Boom!
Crack!
With a tremendous explosion.
The Heaven-Defying Immortal Sword bent, its blade covered in fine cracks.
“You can’t hold me off for long!” The First Heavenly Dao pressed ferociously, its assault unmatched.
“Is that so?” Qin Nitian’s voice rang out. The immortal sword kept cracking, but its power surged, blazing with brilliant immortal fire.
He was burning the Heaven-Defying Immortal Sword, trading it for one final burst of strength.
“I’ll go after Qin Li!”
The Second Heavenly Dao seized the chance, charging towards the heavens.
“Don’t ignore me!” The Supreme Immortal Venerable, like a furious beast, roared forth.
He too began to burn—an Immortal Venerable, three immortal roots, over a dozen immortal fruits, all turned to fuel, unleashing a torrential force.
