Within the heart of the claw, a point of ultimate darkness condensed. It was not destruction, but the embryonic form of chaos returning to the abyss! As though it were the beginning of the end of all things!
One claw pressed down.
There was no heaven-shaking, earth-shattering explosion.
The Nine Nether deathly qi that filled the sky, the savage and peerless true body of the Jiuyou Ao, was like a painted scroll cast into nothingness. Starting from the point where the clawtip made contact, it silently and soundlessly annihilated and dispersed!
One move!
Merely one move!
The Jiuyou Ao prodigy at the peak of the Void Dao Realm had been defeated!
And it was utter annihilation, without even the slightest trace left behind!
The entire venue fell into dead silence!
All the prodigies, all the elders, stared in shock at the little Golden Crow in the arena, who still looked calm, as though it had merely done something utterly insignificant.
Sweeping through the prodigies, none could withstand him!
A young Immortal King, worthy of the name!
Atop the high platform, Emperor Xi, seated within the Solar Divine Throne, seemed to shift ever so slightly beneath the radiance that shrouded his face.
His gaze fell upon Lu Xuan once more. This time, it carried a deeper scrutiny and a trace of… indescribably complex emotion.
Lu Xuan felt that gaze, his heart calm.
He knew that his performance would inevitably draw this Imperial Radiance giant’s deeper attention.
But this was precisely what he wanted.
Only by standing high enough could he come into contact with the core secrets of this era, and only then would he have the chance to find that similar person and uncover all the causes and effects.
His path of ascent had only just begun.
And the ultimate storm of the Emperor Fall Era was also quietly drawing near.
Before the storm arrived, he had to possess enough power to face it, to seek the truth, and even… to change it!
The Myriad Races Prodigy Grand Assembly came to an end with Lu Xuan’s absolute and unsurprising victory.
Not only did he win first place at the grand assembly, obtaining a wisp of pure ancestral solar qi bestowed by Emperor Xi, as well as the qualification to enter the Divine Kingdom’s Secret Treasury Pavilion and choose one supreme divine ability.
More importantly, his name—Lu Xuan—rose abruptly like a radiant star in the sky of the younger generation of the Emperor Fall Era, drawing the attention of countless great powers.
With the glory of champion upon him, Lu Xuan remained as calm as ever.
He could clearly sense that as his fame soared, that probing gaze from Emperor Xi fell upon him with increasing frequency.
This Imperial Radiance giant had clearly fixed firmly upon him, this anomaly.
Without betraying anything, he collected his rewards and entered the Secret Treasury Pavilion.
Faced with a dazzling array of divine ability scriptures and secret classics from the Emperor Fall Era, each emanating terrifying fluctuations, he was not dazzled.
With the vision of an Immortal King, ordinary divine abilities had long since ceased to enter his eyes.
His goal was clear. He walked directly toward the area where the most ancient and core inheritances of the Golden Crow race were recorded.
In the end, he chose a remnant scroll titled the Chaos Derives Yang Chapter.
This method was not a direct art of attack, but rather expounded on how the solar origin was derived from chaos, touching upon the supreme principles of yin and yang’s rotation, and the birth and destruction of chaos.
It faintly aligned with his fundamental Great Dao—the Chaos Bell, as well as the method of “Severing the Three Corpses.”
This scroll had long since been lost in later ages. At this moment, it perfectly supplemented his understanding of the connection between the sun and chaos.
With his gains in hand, Lu Xuan returned to the Golden Crow clan lands and once again began low-key yet highly efficient cultivation.
On one hand, he used the Chaos Derives Yang Chapter to solidify his foundation and temper the ancestral solar qi. On the other, he continued using an understanding that surpassed the era to rapidly improve this body’s cultivation.
Several decades later, he naturally crossed the Divine King tribulation, condensed an invincible Dao fruit, and his aura grew ever deeper.
Another hundred years passed, and he touched the Supreme realm. With the Dao of chaos deriving yang, he crossed through it with ease. His True Solar Fire underwent a qualitative transformation, becoming a higher-level Great Sun Immortal Flame, and he officially stepped into the pinnacle of the human Dao domain!
His speed of breakthrough once again shocked the entire Golden Crow race, and even drew sidelong glances from other great clans within Emperor Xi’s Divine Kingdom.
A Supreme was a mainstay in any era, and such a young Supreme with limitless potential was even more a seed of a future giant!
However, Lu Xuan was not satisfied. He could feel that the sense of oppression and unease between heaven and earth was becoming increasingly obvious.
The fluctuations coming from the direction of the Boundary Sea grew more and more frequent. At times, one could even faintly hear the rumble of colliding laws from the far shore.
The dark clouds of war had already begun to gather.
On this day, Emperor Xi’s decree descended upon the Golden Crow clan lands, summoning the newly advanced Supreme—Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan knew in his heart that the moment for all cards to be laid bare might soon arrive.
He composed himself and followed the envoy, once again arriving at that towering Solar Divine Palace.
Deep within the divine palace was not a resplendent hall of gold and jade, but an boundless starry sky.
Emperor Xi was not seated upon his divine throne. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back amid the starry sky, facing away from him, gazing up at the radiant galaxy that seemed to conceal hidden danger.
At this moment, he had withdrawn the endless radiance he bore when he patrolled the heavens, revealing his true appearance—
He was a heroic man with an ancient, unadorned face and eyes as profound as the universe.
“You have come.”
Emperor Xi slowly turned around, his gaze calmly falling upon Lu Xuan. The scrutiny from before was gone, replaced instead by a depth that seemed to see through everything.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Lu Xuan maintained his courtesy, though his mind was on high alert.
“No need for formalities.”
Emperor Xi waved his hand. His gaze seemed able to pierce through Lu Xuan’s body and look straight into the origin of his soul.
“Upon you, there is the aura of the downstream reaches of the river of time, and also… a trace of solar true intent that shares the same source as this emperor, yet is even more ancient, even more chaotic.”
He had indeed noticed!
And even more thoroughly than Lu Xuan had expected!
Lu Xuan remained silent, neither admitting nor denying it.
Before an Imperial Radiance giant, especially an existence who might be related to the most fundamental secrets of his own being, any lie could bring about unpredictable consequences.
Emperor Xi did not press him. Instead, he changed the subject and pointed toward the boundless starry sky, especially in the direction of the Boundary Sea.
“Have you felt it? That sea… grows less and less peaceful.”
Lu Xuan followed his gaze and looked over, then nodded gravely. “Darkness is coming.”
“Yes. Darkness is coming.”
Emperor Xi sighed softly, and within that sigh were vicissitudes and heaviness.
“A great age that has shone brilliantly for countless epochs may, perhaps, finally be nearing its curtain call. Countless sages have gone forward one after another, dyeing the Boundary Sea with blood, yet they could not halt it in the slightest.”
He looked at Lu Xuan, his gaze becoming sharp.
“You are not of this age, yet you have risen within it. Is it opportunity, or… mission?”
Meeting Emperor Xi’s gaze, Lu Xuan said calmly, “To seek the Dao’s proof, and to resolve cause and effect.”
“Well said—seeking the Dao’s proof, resolving cause and effect!”
A trace of appreciation flashed through Emperor Xi’s eyes.
“No matter where you come from, no matter what mission you bear, since you have entered this age and taken on the karma of this world, you ought to contribute your strength to it. Beneath a great calamity, no one can remain untouched.”
He flicked his finger, and a source imprint of ultimate purity, containing the radiance of an emperor, flew toward Lu Xuan and merged into the space between his brows.
“This is a wisp of my source imprint. It can help you comprehend the Chaos Derives Yang Chapter more quickly, and at a critical moment, it may also help you withstand one fatal crisis. But remember: external power is ultimately illusory. Only one’s own strength is the true foundation.”