346: Chapter 337 The Sixth Incarnation: Heavenly Venerable (Twenty-Five)

Through the long silence and the waiting and deduction of countless eons, they had long since realized this cruel reality.

This world was like a 'container' that possessed an 'Innate defect,' unable to nurture a 'perfect creation' that surpassed the material of the 'container' itself.

To achieve 'Soul Transformation,' one must first... repair this 'container,' mending the heavens and earth and bringing Perfection to all Daos!

However, 'mending the heavens and earth' was easier said than done.

This process could not be forcibly pushed by human effort, nor could it be completed by one or two ancient existences.

It required a specific 'timing' that gathered the Luck and variables of an entire eon; it required the collision and evolution of countless 'variables' and 'Opportunities' in the unseen, and it required...

A core 'variable' or 'key' capable of leveraging, guiding, and even 'catalyzing' this completion process!

"And this 'Great Golden Age,'" the flow of the 'Time' will carried an unprecedented certainty, "is that long-destined 'final Opportunity for completion' that gathers all the Luck, Karma, and variables of this eon!"

"The tide of this great age will sweep through all the Daos of this realm, triggering a violent manifestation, collision, and blending of all the silent, unproven, entangled, and opposing Dao Origins."

"The intertwining destinys of infinite living beings, the intellectual sparks of countless civilizations, and even those 'variables' and 'keys' born of destiny will all provide the final 'puzzle piece' or the ultimate 'driving force' needed to complete those missing, imperfect fundamental Daos within this unprecedented 'Great Vortex'!"

"When all Daos are mended and the world is without defect..." the intent of 'Space' carried a hint of anticipation, "the 'chasm' spanning between 'Dao Venerable' and 'Soul Transformation' will temporarily vanish! The 'Iron Law' that locks away 'ascension' will reveal a... fleeting 'fissure'!"

"That is the unique and final... ultimate leap for which we have waited through endless eons, the Opportunity to achieve the 'Soul Transformation' divine rank!"

"Only at this moment! Only this one chance!" The 'Destruction' thunder roared, with killing intent and determination rising together. "Miss this 'completion,' and the world will return to its cycle of 'defectiveness.' We will sink back into endless silence until the next eon's Reincarnation... and the next 'Great Age' capable of triggering 'completion' may never come again!"

Resolute intent echoed in the unknowable place, and the projections of all the ancient existences were permeated with a desperate, all-or-nothing solemnity.

However, within this solemnity, an extremely subtle yet impossible-to-ignore sense of incongruity flowed quietly like an undercurrent amidst the collision of Dao Rhymes.

A brief silence followed.

"Since it is said that 'completion' is imminent and the 'chess game' has begun... why..." Its intent paused slightly, as if weighing its words or sensing something, "...has 'destiny' still not arrived?"

"destiny"!

The moment those two words were spoken, the already heavy Dao Rhymes in the unknowable place seemed to suddenly freeze and sink several degrees!

Even the thunder of 'Destruction' seemed to dim for an instant, the pulsing of the 'life' egg showed an extremely minute lag, the flow of the 'Time' river seemed to choke, and the stability of the 'Space' foundation experienced a flicker of instability.

'destiny'—the ultimate conceptual Incarnation that governed all trajectories of destiny, fixed Karma, and the great torrent of trends in this world!

It was one of the most mysterious and most feared existences among all Daos!

It did not directly intervene in life and death, creation and destruction, or define time and space; rather, it wove, pulled, and heralded the 'inevitable trajectories' and 'final outcomes' of all things in the river of time—trajectories that appeared accidental but were actually woven into a net!

Ordinary beings have their destinies, Dynasties have their rises and falls in Luck, stars have their orbital paths, and even the manifestation and silence of the 'Dao' might have long had a vague outline to follow in the vision of 'destiny'.

The terrifying aspect of this oldest 'destiny' Dao Venerable was that, endless ages ago, in a distant eon when most Ancient Venerabless were still active and had not yet fallen into their current deep 'silence,' He had already utilized His peak mastery over 'destiny' and 'trends' to perform a deduction that shook the past and present.

He saw... this Great Golden Age.

Not only did He see the opening of the Great Age, He saw the Great Vortex triggered by the Key and the Well, gathering all the variables of this eon.

He saw the various Daos colliding and blending within the vortex, eventually moving toward completion.

He saw even more...

At the moment completion was finished and the fissure appeared, it was not any of those currently discussing, gambling, and plotting... who would be able to successfully make the leap.

What He saw was a... meteor appearing out of nowhere.

Its roots unknown, its Origins unclear, yet it rose within the Great Age with an unstoppable momentum!

That being bore... secrets beyond measure!

Wielded... methods that embraced change!

Defeated... every enemy in its path!

With overwhelming force, it stepped over the corpses and Dao Fruits of all contenders, gathering the Luck of completion, and made the ultimate leap within that fissure to become the sole...

Soul Transformation Divine Rank!

The fragment of the 'future' glimpsed by 'destiny' was thus: an unknown, extremely powerful existence would, as if by heavenly mandate and the trend of the times, sweep away everything, take the lead, and ascend to that sole divine rank.

And they, these ancient Dao Venerables who had plotted for countless eons, would all become... insignificant stepping stones on its ladder to divinity!

To these Ancient Lords who were proud and had pursued transcendence for endless ages, this prophecy was no different from the most vicious curse and the most thorough negation!

Unwillingness!

These words, like the most blazing Dao Fire, roared to life in the depths of the hearts of every Ancient Venerables who had been silent for endless eons!

Who were they? They were 'death,' 'life,' 'Time,' 'Space,' 'Destruction,' 'Creation'...

They were the source Incarnations of the most fundamental concepts that constituted this world!

They were the original seekers of the Dao who had remained undying through countless eons!

How could their dignity, their Dao paths, be allowed to be dictated by a glimpsed 'future image' and become stepping stones for another's ascension?

"What 'destiny' saw may indeed be the 'world's trend' under a certain thread, the 'endgame' with the highest probability after countless Karma are intertwined." The will representing 'Time' flowed within the shattered river of time; its message was no longer merely indifferent, but possessed a cold, almost obsessive rationality. "However, trends can be changed, and destiny can be reversed! One only needs... to pay a high enough price, introduce enough 'variables,' and throw the chessboard... into enough chaos!"

And for these ancient Dao Lords, no sacrifice was too great to be unacceptable!

"Price?" The giant coffin representing 'the end' transmitted a cold intent, an indifference toward the existence of all things. "What we lack least is time, and... things that can be discarded."

Thus, after 'destiny' fell into a nearly eternal silence to repair Dao injuries caused by peeking into the future...

These ancient existences, who had fought and balanced each other for endless ages, did something unprecedented—

They joined forces!