348: Chapter 339 The Sixth Incarnation: Heavenly Venerable (Twenty-Seven)

Closely following the whisper of "death"—

"Buzz—!!!"

The majestic Dao Rhyme representing "life" and "Creation," like the first ray of light at the dawn of creation, warm yet restless, carrying the infinite possibilities of birthing all things as well as birthing aberrations, swept through.

Wherever it passed, eerie vegetation grew out of thin air in the desolate and barren domains, twisted life was born in dead worlds, the Bloodlines of countless living beings surged, their potential mysteriously stimulated, while simultaneously breeding unspeakable madness and mutation.

"Swoosh..."

The phantom of the shattered long river of "Time" appeared faintly above the heavens, an indifferent will swept across, and the flow of time began to undergo regional, irregular, and chaotic acceleration, reversal, or freezing.

On the ruins of ancient Dynasties, phantoms of the past reappeared, newborn stars accelerated through their entire lives, and life in certain areas experienced a hundred generations of Reincarnation in an instant...

Time lost its inherent dignity and Order.

"Crack, crack..."

The cornerstones of "Space" were vibrating, and the axes of dimensions twisted and folded.

The barriers between countless worlds became fragile, with brief spatial rifts and folded passages appearing randomly, and even entire Star Domains being squeezed, stretched, and displaced by invisible forces.

The stable Universe structure seemed to have become a toy that could be kneaded at will.

"Boom! Crack—!"

Pure thunder of "Destruction" tore through the Void Realm, not targeting any specific goal, but as a declaration of "existence," branding its ultimate true meaning of annihilating everything into every inch of the trembling Laws.

Wherever it passed, stars were extinguished, space returned to the void, and only that pure Dao Rhyme of "The End" lingered for a long time.

...

The Origin Dao Rhymes of the other ancient existences no longer hid themselves, one after another in their own ways, washing and cleansing this world—which they regarded as a "chessboard" and "hunting ground"—with their supreme majesty and the true meaning of the Dao, like an invisible tide.

At this moment, no words were needed; the ten thousand Daos chimed together!

At this moment, the stars trembled, and all living beings prostrated!

If one were to say that this vast world and the endless Great Dao were like a "World Tree" that supported all meaning of existence.

Then, these oldest existences who were currently sweeping through the world with their Dao Rhymes and announcing their return—what they controlled and what they embodied—were the most primitive and fundamental "trunk" and "core root system" of this giant tree that carried all life and evolution!

After them, the "Dao Sovereigns" of later generations who were born and rose during the long eons—the Daos they proved might be brilliant or unique, but in essence, most were already relatively clear and specific "main branches" derived from the "trunk" of this giant tree.

And further back, those so-called "Great Daos" or "Fruit Positions" that relied on the branch Laws or were formed by mixing several Daos were more like the "lush foliage, and the flowers and fruits adorning them" spreading out from the main branches.

Dao Sovereign and Dao Sovereign were fundamentally different; the gap between them was like cloud and mud!

At this moment, when those oldest "Source Dao Sovereigns" who constituted the "trunk" of the World Tree no longer hid and were no longer silent, but in their most primal state, boisterously transmitted their boundless "Dao" and "Will" to every corner and every "leaf" of the entire "World Tree" like the strongest pulse of the tree's own life—

All "latecomers" who inhabited, attached to, and grew upon this giant tree, no matter which level of the branches and leaves they were in, inevitably and nakedly felt the most primitive and profound... fear and awe originating from the "Foundation of Existence" itself!

To the "peerless Geniuses" among Acquired beings, they might be born with a Dao Body, possess extraordinary Comprehension Ability, or be blessed with Luck, considering themselves the darlings of the era.

Yet at this moment, any wisp of the sweeping, vast Dao Rhyme—which far exceeded the sum of the Daos they had cultivated throughout their lives—made them instantly realize that the "Dao" they had pursued all their lives and took pride in was as tiny as dust and as fragile as thin ice before these ancient existences!

They seemed to see the "end" of their Dao path, and above that "end" stood a "firmament" that was fundamentally impossible to understand, reach, or even look at directly!

Their pride was shattered, their Dao Heart shaken; there was only the trembling and suffocation originating from life's instinct.

To the Golden Core True Persons who presided over regions and enjoyed the worship of ten thousand people, they were earthbound immortals in the eyes of ordinary Cultivators, transcendent experts whom even Dynasty emperors had to treat with respect, capable of cutting off rivers with a wave of a hand and deciding the life and death of millions with a single thought.

However, the whisper of "death" that filled the world froze their Primordial Spirits and stagnated their magic power; the "life" restlessness that birthed all things caused their blood and Qi to flow backward and their Dao Foundations to become unstable; the chaotic "Time" and distorted "Space" even made them doubt their own existence and perception.

The power they relied on to run rampant in the world was like a candle flame in a gale before this Origin Dao Rhyme that covered and defined everything, liable to be extinguished at any moment.

For the first time, they felt so clearly that they were merely slightly stronger "insects" attached to a certain leaf of the giant tree; every unconscious tremor of the leaf was enough to decide their life or death.

And even for those "later-generation Dao Sovereigns" who had already transcended a single world, established their own "Dao Realms," were honored as "Dao Sovereigns" by billions, and thought themselves carefree and eternal, coexisting with the Dao—the feeling at this moment was the most complex and the most... desperate!

They could clearly "perceive" what kind of supreme "Dao" true meaning, pointing directly to the source, was contained within the Dao Rhyme sweeping the world!

That was the source of the "Great Dao" they had pursued with all their heart and through countless tribulations!

In comparison, the "Dao Realms" they had established and the "Great Daos" they controlled seemed like clumsy imitations, like rootless duckweed!

What caused their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering even more was that they could feel their "Dao Realms"—which they had painstakingly opened, managed, regarded as their lives, and even relied on to delay "dao transformation"—were violently trembling, wailing, and even showing minute cracks originating from the Origin under the washing of this vast Dao Rhyme from the world's "trunk"!

It was like a parasitic vine feeling the awakening and displeasure of its host!

The "paradise" they thought was independent and transcendent was actually so vulnerable before the will of the "trunk." There was no need for specific targeting to "strip" or "destroy" it; merely the "trunk" unconsciously "stretching its limbs" was enough to make these "branches" and "parasites" precarious!

They "saw," or rather were forced to perceive, that vast and majestic power that spanned ancient and modern times and stood above all Daos! That was not a level of power they could understand; it was the source of the "Dao" manifesting its own existence!

"What... is this?"

"The Great Dao is wailing? Heaven and earth are trembling?"

"Unimaginable existences... have awakened? Have returned?"

"The Great Golden Age... is this the true Great Golden Age? So... terrifying?"

Countless thoughts of horror, bewilderment, and despair rose in the hearts of countless powerful beings across the heavens and myriad worlds.