Sitting and discussing the Dao with several giants such as Wuzhong, Six Paths of Reincarnation, and the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit had benefited him immensely.
All manner of utterly different true meanings of the Great Dao collided and blended within his heart, greatly broadening his horizons and enriching the foundation of his own “Chaotic Solar Great Dao.”
In particular, the profundities of Immortal King Wuzhong that touched upon the essence of time, as well as the pure life-purification Dao principles of the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit, had given him tremendous inspiration.
“Chaos encompasses all things, and thus should also evolve all things.”
Lu Xuan sat cross-legged at the center of the chaotic currents. Above his head, the Chaos Bell hung quietly, shedding countless strands of black-and-yellow qi.
“The sun is the source of light, and also contains the fierceness that burns all things to ash.”
He closed his eyes, his mind and spirit sinking completely into his body.
The ancient inherited scriptures of Donghuang Taiyi flowed through his heart like a river of stars, mutually confirming the insights he had gained from this discussion of the Dao.
He began to reorganize his own Dao and arts.
First was the evolution of chaos.
He no longer treated chaotic qi merely as a means of defense or suppression, but attempted to use it as a foundation.
To simulate and evolve the process of something arising from nothing.
With a movement of his mind, the chaotic currents swirling around him began to separate. The clear rose upward, the turbid sank downward, and vague embryonic forms of earth, water, fire, and wind flickered in and out within them, as though a miniature chaotic world were being opened.
This process consumed an extreme amount of mental energy and magical power, but his understanding of the essence of chaos deepened at an astonishing speed.
Next was the ultimate state of the sun.
He reviewed the different powers of law possessed by the True Dragon King and the Immortal Monk King, attempting to fuse these two seemingly contradictory conceptions into the true solar fire.
Thus, the true solar fire would not only possess the wild violence to incinerate everything, but would also gain a measure of eternal will that remained unchanged through the ages, as well as a penetrating force condensed to the utmost limit.
Most important of all was the fusion of chaos and the sun.
This was the core of his own path.
In the past, he had mostly used the two powers side by side.
At this moment, he attempted to combine the inclusiveness and evolution of chaos with the universal illumination and destruction of the sun on a deeper level.
“Dong…”
The Chaos Bell seemed to sense its master’s progress in comprehending the Dao, and of its own accord, it emitted a low and mysterious Dao sound.
The sun, moon, stars, earth, water, fire, wind, and the scenes of the myriad races of the primordial world manifested on the bell’s walls became even more vivid, as if demonstrating to him the supreme principles of the birth and death of the universe and the rise and fall of civilizations.
Time flowed swiftly within this independent spacetime.
The aura around Lu Xuan at times became ethereal and chaotic, as though he were about to transform into the source of all things.
At times it became blazing and resplendent, like the great sun at the core of the universe.
And at times the two merged, emanating a unique Dao rhythm that was both ancient and newly born.
His magical power was being refined, his primordial spirit was sublimating, and his perception of the rules of the Great Dao grew ever clearer.
The Dao fruit within him that belonged to an Immortal King was, at a slow yet firm pace, becoming more complete.
He even separated out a wisp of his mind and, combining it with his insights this time, carried out an even deeper deduction of the Ten-Sun Golden Crow Grand Formation.
Lu Xuan entered seclusion deep within the Golden Crow ancestral land, devoting himself to digesting what he had gained from the discussion of the Dao.
Yet the distant Primordial Ancient Realm did not welcome any lasting peace.
At first, there were only some extremely subtle, barely perceptible abnormalities.
Cultivator squads patrolling the shattered borderlands of the ancient realm would occasionally vanish into thin air, unable to send out even the slightest distress signal.
In some barren star regions near the realm wall, the radiance of the stars would dim inexplicably, as though concealed by an invisible curtain.
The spiritual qi circulating between heaven and earth would occasionally ripple with a deathly stillness that made the soul uneasy.
These signs were scattered and hidden, like stones tossed into the sea, and did not immediately trigger widespread alarm.
But the few giants guarding the core of the ancient realm.
Especially Immortal King Wuzhong and the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit, who were the most sensitive to spacetime and life, opened their eyes almost at the same moment.
“Something is wrong.”
Immortal King Wuzhong stood within the Spacetime Divine Palace, his gaze piercing through layers of void and falling upon those abnormal regions.
The illusory river of time flowing at his fingertips captured traces that seemed to have been forcibly erased.
“Something… is spying on us. It is not the aura of the foreign realm. It is even more… ancient, a deeper darkness.”
The countless branches of the Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit’s heaven-reaching willow tree swayed gently in the void, sensing the rhythm of life flowing between heaven and earth.
“Darkness… is encroaching. It is very faint, but its essence is extremely high. It is slowly assimilating the vitality at the edge of the realm.”
The thought It transmitted carried solemnity.
“It shares the same origin as that beyond the Realm Sea.”
Very soon, Immortal King Six Paths of Reincarnation also relied on his Reincarnation Eye to capture fragmented images from the lingering souls of some fallen cultivators—that was a terrifying figure formed from pure darkness and chaos!
“It’s them!”
Immortal King Six Paths of Reincarnation’s weak voice carried a trace of alarm.
“The dark beings from the depths of the Realm Sea! They have truly found their way here!”
The situation was already clear!
The minions from the other shore of the Realm Sea, from the true source of darkness, had quietly approached the Primordial Ancient Realm!
They were clearly searching for the sealed Primordial Gate—or, more directly, treating the ancient realm itself as prey!
“They are still probing. Their scale is not large, and their movements are secretive.”
Fury burned in the dragon eyes of the True Dragon King. His new wounds had yet to heal, and now he had heard more disastrous news.
“But since they can feel their way to outside the realm wall, it means they have already roughly locked onto our coordinates!”
“We cannot sit and wait for death!”
The Immortal Monk King pressed his palms together, yet the Buddhist light around him carried a murderous intent.
“This darkness far surpasses the foreign realm. Before their great army bears down on us, we must make preparations!”
A flash of decisiveness passed through Immortal King Wuzhong’s eyes.
He knew full well that with the remaining strength of the ancient realm as it was now, they might still be able to deal with the harassment of small groups of dark beings. But if the main force of darkness from the depths of the Realm Sea truly descended, then by relying on them alone, they would absolutely be unable to withstand it.
“We cannot hesitate any longer.”
Immortal King Wuzhong said in a deep voice.
“We must summon reinforcements!”
The reinforcements he spoke of did not refer to the Immortal Domain, but to other fellow Immortal Kings who, like him, had roamed the Realm Sea for years resisting the darkness, as well as other Immortal Kings wandering within the Realm Sea!
Some of these Immortal Kings were old acquaintances of his. Others he had never met before, but in the face of a common enemy of all heavens such as the source of darkness, as long as they received the message, most would not stand by and do nothing.
Immortal King Wuzhong raised both hands, and spacetime Dao principles condensed between his palms, transforming into spacetime Dao talismans one after another.
At the same time, Immortal King Six Paths of Reincarnation forcibly endured his injured body and drew upon the power of reincarnation, branding the coordinates of the ancient realm and the karmic mark of their plea for aid onto the Dao talismans.
The Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit scattered life radiance, granting the Dao talismans the spirituality to pierce through the mist of the Realm Sea.
The True Dragon King and the Immortal Monk King also contributed a wisp of their source aura, strengthening the identifiability of the Dao talismans.
“Go!”
With a low shout from Immortal King Wuzhong, several spacetime Dao talismans erupted with dazzling light, instantly piercing through the void and sinking into the boundless, vast Realm Sea!
These Dao talismans would be like beacons, shuttling through the Realm Sea, searching for Immortal King-level existences who emanated the aura of light and order.
They would transmit the crisis facing the ancient realm and the message requesting aid!
After doing all this, the expressions of Immortal King Wuzhong and the others did not relax.
The Realm Sea was vast and boundless, filled with lurking dangers. Whether those fellow Daoists could receive the message, whether they would come to aid them after receiving it, and when they could arrive—all of it remained unknown.
“Before reinforcements arrive, we must hold the line!”
Immortal King Wuzhong’s gaze swept over everyone.
“Reinforce all defensive lines and activate the remnants of the ancient guardian grand formations! All cultivators, raise your vigilance and be ready to meet the enemy at any moment!”