Within the Jade Lake Immortal Domain, Han Yi sat cross-legged atop the Divine Power World.
He manifested his True Body of an Ancient God, towering at 98,000 feet. According to the classification of True Bodies and Cultivation Realms, a Supreme Truth Realm Ancient God typically ranges from 30,000 to 100,000 feet. This True Body of his had already reached the peak of the Supreme Truth Realm for Ancient Gods.
This was precisely why he had decided to prioritize advancing his Ancient God Realm first.
The looming crisis filled him with urgency. Advancing his Sixth-Tier Sword Flight further would require considerable time, while an Ancient God in the Supreme Truth Realm could ascend to the Void Extremity Realm in far less time.
Choosing the faster path, Han Yi adjusted his plan: he would cultivate Sword Flight only after reaching the Void Extremity Realm as an Ancient God.
Moreover, upon reaching the Void Extremity Realm, the fusion of the Immortal Path and the Divine Path would undoubtedly elevate his strength to new heights, potentially granting him the power to shake an Immortal Monarch without even needing to wield the Yueguang Ancient Divine Artifact.
Within the Divine Power World, Han Yi activated the Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon. He absorbed the golden, ownerless, pure divine power, channeling it into his body and continuously refining it into his Divine Aperture World.
The Divine Aperture World began to evolve, its number and space expanding. The Innate Divine Spirits within even began to ascend to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realms.
Han Yi's Divine Power Worlds numbered in the tens of millions. The combined power of countless Golden Cores and Nascent Souls, converging within him, propelled his Ancient God Power to its zenith.
As his Ancient God Power coalesced and grew, Han Yi's True Body of an Ancient God began to rise slowly but steadily, gradually approaching the critical threshold of a hundred thousand zhang.
While Han Yi remained immersed in his Ancient God cultivation, the outside world erupted into turmoil.
Three years later, the Chaos Evil God descended upon Great Luo once more, this time landing within the Eastern Sovereign Demon Court. Once again, Evil Mountain's influence loomed in the shadows.
The Eastern Sovereign Demon Court dispatched several Great Sages to suppress the threat, but they were brutally defeated and fled in disgrace. Even Kunpeng, the Demon Master, proved powerless against the Evil God.
Next, even Demon Emperor Jun himself intervened, only to discover that the Chaos Evil God was like a festering wound embedded in his very bones—suppressible, yet impossible to eradicate.
The demon realm trembled in fear.
Finally, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, now a Heavenly Venerable, was compelled to act. This marked the first time a Heavenly Venerable had ever intervened.
Golden light flooded the heavens and earth, completely enveloping the land tainted by the Evil God. With a single strike from Eastern Emperor Taiyi's palm, the Chaos Evil God let out a final, agonized howl before being utterly annihilated.
Later...
Some powerful immortals speculated that the Lord of the Evil Mountain had intentionally brought this Evil God to the Eastern Sovereign Territory, aiming to provoke the Great One into action, all for some unknown purpose.
However, this theory was drowned out by the collective awe at the Heavenly Venerable's overwhelming power.
Ten years later, another Chaos Evil God descended, this time to a location that shocked all the major factions: the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
The Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool was the site where the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable met his demise, and the region that remained after the destruction of the Heavenly Pool Immortal Sect.
This vast area existed in a half-Void state, with countless fragmented landmasses floating within the pool, forming inner, middle, and outer layers.
Han Yi had first visited the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool in search of the Qingping Sword Division, as he'd learned of its location.
During that visit, the Great Abyss Divine Blade had unexpectedly entered his Inner Space, leaving him utterly astonished.
That incident had occurred a thousand years ago.
The Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool lay between the territories of the Sui Zhu Immortal Court and the Imperial Court Immortal Court. Its massive size dwarfed ordinary Dao Fields, reflecting its former ownership by the Heavenly Pool Immortal Sect, which had nurtured the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable, one of the epoch's greatest powerhouses.
Though the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable's mysterious demise led to the destruction of the entire Heavenly Pool Immortal Sect, his status as a Heavenly Venerable still commanded reverence from all immortals in the Immortal Realm.
Had the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable not fallen, the Heavenly Pool Immortal Sect, with him at its core, would have inevitably established a new Immortal Court.
Of course, the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable's demise occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago, and whether anyone still knows the secrets of that era remains uncertain.
Now, in the late Eighth Epoch, a third Chaos Evil God has descended upon Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
Moreover, the malevolent entity emitted during its descent far surpasses that of the first and second Chaos Evil Gods.
In truth:
The first Chaos Evil God, which descended upon the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, possessed strength surpassing that of an Immortal Sovereign, though it fell far short of a Dao Ancestor. The second Chaos Evil God, which descended upon the Eastern Sovereign Monster Court, was even stronger, so much so that even a Dao Ancestor couldn't drive it away, ultimately forcing the Heavenly Venerable himself to intervene.
As for the third Chaos Evil God, judging by the malevolent entity it emitted during its descent, it is not something a mere Dao Ancestor could eradicate. This entity is undoubtedly a far greater threat than the first two.
Subsequently:
This time, instead of immortals from the Sui Zhu Immortal Court or the Imperial Court venturing forth, the six major powerhouses of the Immortal Realm simultaneously dispatched their immortals to Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool to purge the malevolent entity and annihilate the Evil Immortal.
These six great powers were each led by a Dao Ancestor: Donghuang, Age Candle, Lingxiao, Imperial Court, Luo Tian, and Pure Yang.
To the Immortal Realm's astonishment, the battle did not end swiftly but dragged on indefinitely.
The Chaos Evil God that descended first seized the core of the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool. Then, it established an Evil Formation, rapidly summoning three more Chaos Evil Gods from the Void. United, the four Chaos Evil Gods, with the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool's core as their center, each occupying a cardinal direction, formed the Chaos Evil God Alliance.
Even more shocking was the alliance's name: Evil Mountain.
Throughout this process, while Evil Immortals of the Immortal Monarch level appeared, the mysterious Lord of the Evil Mountain remained unseen.
The creation of the Evil Mountain Alliance by the four Chaos Evil Gods inevitably reminded the Myriad Immortals of the original Evil Mountain, one of the Three Great Dark Factions of the Great Luo Immortal Realm.
This dark entity was slowly lifting the veil before the eyes of the Myriad Immortals.
Moreover, since the Chaos Evil Gods were only lurking within the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool and not expanding their influence, the six great powers of the Immortal Realm began to harbor different thoughts. The conflict between the Immortals, Cultivators, and Chaos Evil Gods gradually transformed into a protracted war of attrition.
Sixteen years later...
After returning to the Immortal Court from the Divine Power World, Han Yi heard the news and was completely stunned.
"This can't be right."
"Weren't the Chaos Evil Gods, with their conflicting Dao Principles, supposed to be incapable of coexisting peacefully?"
Back in the Omniscient Immortal City, it was precisely this principle that had led Han Yi to swiftly use the Divine Sealing Art to imprint the Evil God's consciousness onto the Heaven-Devouring Mark on his arm, causing a conflict.
Yet now, four Chaos Evil Gods had descended upon the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool to jointly establish a new Evil Mountain.
This was the source of his shock.
Even Taiyuan was alarmed by this development.
"Impossible."
"The Chaos Evil Gods are beings of Non-Dao. Their Great World has been obliterated, leaving only a single, unified Dao Principle. When they come into contact, their instinctive reaction is to clash."
"Therefore, it's absolutely impossible for two Chaos Evil Gods to coexist in the same place."
"Unless..."
Taiyuan initially denied the possibility, but then seemed to recall something.
"Unless what?" Han Yi pressed urgently.
This situation was highly abnormal. Based on his experience, such an anomaly invariably concealed even greater dangers.
"Unless one of the Chaos Evil Gods has become an All-Daoist," Taiyuan replied.
A change came over Taiyuan's voice, and Han Yi could sense a flicker of fear within it. This startled him deeply. For over a millennium, this mysterious elder—suspected to be the Blade Spirit of the Great Abyss Divine Blade—had dominated the Immortal Realm, overlooking the Chaos with an unshakable arrogance.
Yet now, the terror in his voice could only mean that some cataclysmic event had occurred, an event that threatened the All-Daoist.
To date, Han Yi had heard Taiyuan mention three entities active in the Immortal Realm: the Wayless One, the Inverter of the Dao, and the Sacrificial Daoists. Even the Inverter of the Dao merely surprised Taiyuan, without inspiring fear.
What kind of entity could the All-Daoist be to instill such dread in Taiyuan? Could it be one who has mastered all the Dao Principles?
Sensing Han Yi's confusion, Taiyuan suppressed the fear in his voice and began to explain slowly:
"Though your cultivation realm is insufficient, your strength is considerable. You'll inevitably learn these things eventually."
"The entities within the Chaos can broadly be divided into the Six Chaotic Paths and the Three Ordered Paths."
"The Six Chaotic Paths are: the Path of Annihilation, the Counter-Dao, the Path of Chaos, the Path of Dao Sacrifice, the Path of Deception, and the Non-Dao."
"The Three Ordered Paths are: the Seek Path, the Transformation Path, and the Fusion Path."
"Among them, the Path of Annihilation is the most terrifying. They sweep across realms, annihilating Dao Principles and creating death zones. The Counter-Dao ranks second, reversing Dao Principles to gain unimaginable power."
Han Yi had never heard of the Path of Annihilation before.
Taiyuan then turned to explaining the Three Ordered Paths.
"The Pathseekers, you are already familiar with."
"All who enter Chaos, whose Great World remains intact and whose Dao Principles remain stable, can be called Pathseekers."
"Immortal Monarchs, Immortal Sovereigns, Dao Ancestors, and Heavenly Venerables from the Primordial Great World, even the Great Eternal Wisdom World, all become Pathseekers upon entering Chaos."
At this point, Taiyuan paused for a full three breaths. Just as Han Yi thought the ancient being was falling silent again, Taiyuan's aged voice echoed faintly once more.
"According to legend..."
"Regardless of whether they are from the Six Chaotic Paths or the Three Ordered Paths, all beings have a sliver of potential to evolve into a special existence: the All-Daoist."
"The All-Daoist, before whom all myriad paths bow in submission, can reverse the Inverter of the Dao, grant rebirth to the Path of Annihilation, and bring the Wayless One to submission."
"According to the legends, becoming an All-Daoist is one of the necessary conditions for becoming a Transcendent."
"As for the Transcendent, they transcend the Myriad Realms and Myriad Daos, transcend time and space, transcend everything. They are incomprehensible, invisible, Supreme beings. Even the Heavenly Venerable are as insignificant as ants before them."
With these words, Taiyuan sighed softly and fell silent.
Han Yi was stunned, his inner shock reaching its limit, unable to be surpassed.
"In the Chaos, there are the Six Paths of Order, the Three Paths of Disorder, the All-Daoist, and the Transcendent."
"Is this... the true face of Chaos?"
"Compared to them, the Primordial Great World is indeed trivial."
Han Yi took a deep breath, his eyes radiating golden light—the yearning for Chaos.
If I persist, if I endure, could I one day become one of the Supreme beings in Chaos? Could I even become the Immortal, space-time transcending Transcendent that Senior Taiyuan spoke of?
If that day comes, would it mean I could return to Earth, reverse time, and revive my beloved kin?
The thought sent a shiver of excitement through Han Yi.
He called out to Senior Taiyuan several times, but receiving no response, he stopped. He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down completely.
The Nine Paths of Chaos described by Taiyuan, leading to All-Dao Transcendence, were both the ultimate goal and an immensely perilous path. For Han Yi, reaching that pinnacle remained an incredibly distant aspiration.
There was no way to rush this process.
His most immediate priority was to ascend to the Void Extremity Realm as an Ancient God.
Indeed.
Over the past sixteen years, Han Yi's cultivation as a Supreme Truth Realm Ancient God had reached its peak. He stood just one step away from breaking through to the Void Extremity Realm Ancient God.
Further absorption of divine power would no longer transform his True Body of an Ancient God. Only by enduring the Void Extremity Divine Tribulation and crossing into the Void Extremity Realm could he achieve new breakthroughs.
This was why he had left the Divine Power World.
Before departing, he had preemptively stockpiled countless Divine Power Crystals in his Divine Aperture World. These crystals would provide sufficient energy to withstand the Divine Tribulation and the subsequent weakened state.
Yet he never anticipated that after sixteen years, he would emerge to such explosive news—and hear from Taiyuan himself about the supreme legends of the Nine Paths of Chaos, All-Dao, and Transcendence.
Though this goal remained impossibly distant, it instantly ignited his resolve, fueling him with boundless motivation.
Han Yi had received the news at the Golden Immortal Hall, and Taiyuan's words came to him as he emerged from the hall.
His turbulent emotions were noticed by some of the Golden Immortals present, but it was clear that in his current state, he wished to be left undisturbed. Even those familiar with him refrained from approaching.
Once Han Yi had calmed down, the Golden Immortals entering and exiting the hall greeted him, and he returned their greetings one by one.
After a short while, he left the Heavenly Candle Hall and returned to the Primal Art Dao Field to visit Golden Resonance Daoist.
Ever since he returned from the Ancient Vault Dao Ladder years ago, Golden Resonance Daoist had been in secluded cultivation. Han Yi had been worried about him and had been checking on him periodically over the years.
He had expected this visit to be no different, but unexpectedly, he sensed a new change in Golden Resonance Daoist's aura within the tightly sealed Palace.
Due to the Palace's Formation Arts, Han Yi couldn't enter without force. However, with his perception abilities, he could still sense the changes in the Palace's aura from outside the Formation Arts.
During his previous visit, Golden Resonance Daoist's aura had shown no signs of change.
This time, sensing Golden Resonance Daoist's aura, Han Yi found it even more concentrated and sharper, resembling pure Sword Intent.
This Sword Intent felt familiar to Han Yi.
His memories flowed through his mind, quickly settling on the sight of the handleless Giant Sword he had seen during his multiple visits to the Palace years ago.
That's right, he thought. When they first met, Golden Resonance Daoist was already a Peak Golden Immortal, standing before that Giant Sword. Clearly, this Immortal Sword holds great significance for him.
Han Yi had investigated the sword's origins back then, but all he learned was that Golden Resonance Daoist had brought it back from beyond the sect's borders. There was no other information.
It seemed Golden Resonance Daoist had finally found his path to becoming an Immortal Monarch, and unexpectedly, it was connected to this Giant Sword.
Given time, he would undoubtedly achieve Immortal Monarch status.
Han Yi felt genuinely happy for Golden Resonance Daoist.
After leaving the Primal Art Dao Field, he visited the Immortal Market Palace. The Immortal Ease Pavilion was flourishing smoothly, requiring no further intervention from him. He then went to the Azure Shu Mountain Range, where the sect's development was ably managed by Yuan Hong, leaving him nothing to worry about.
Finally, he departed from Age Candle and headed north.