369: The flawed jade is the king (108).

Wang Yun opened his eyes and found himself in a hazy, gray world.

This was not the Eastern Region, nor was it the Yuan Land, nor was it any part of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Not far from him, a figure was slowly walking past.

Wang Yun subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to ask where this place was.

But before he could speak, the person passed straight through his "body," as if he did not exist.

The person didn't notice a thing, kept walking without stopping, and eventually vanished from Wang Yun's sight.

Wang Yun looked down at his own hands.

He understood.

He seemed to be an observer of time and space.

Just as he was pondering this, the space ahead suddenly surged violently.

A magnificent Dao Palace broke through the Chaos and slowly emerged.

The Dao Palace was ancient and weathered, as if it had existed since the birth of the Universe.

Around the Dao Palace, the figures of billions upon billions of living beings appeared; they were of various races and forms, but without exception, they all bowed piously toward the Dao Palace.

They chanted ancient syllables, their voices converging to form a Dao sound that shook the entire Chaos.

Wang Yun's gaze was involuntarily drawn along the direction where the billions of beings were bowing, looking toward the deepest part of the Dao Palace.

At the highest point of the Dao Palace, he saw the figure of a man sitting quietly in meditation.

He could not see the man's face clearly, but he could distinctly feel an unfathomable dao rhyme radiating from him.

That dao rhyme surpassed any existence Wang Yun had ever seen; whether it was a Great Emperor or a Forbidden Zone Supreme Being, they were all insignificant before that dao rhyme.

It was as if he himself was the Incarnation of the Great Dao.

Wang Yun was profoundly shocked.

What kind of terrifying existence was this?

And why was he seeing such a scene?

Just as he wanted to look more closely, the image before him distorted and shifted without warning.

The Dao Palace, the billions of beings, and that Supreme existence all vanished in an instant.

When the scene stabilized again, he found himself in a place of beautiful scenery and vibrant life.

This was no longer the hazy Chaos, but a small world full of vitality, peace, and tranquility.

Under a massive willow tree not far away, an old man with white hair and a white beard sat with his eyes closed.

In front of him, three boys who looked no more than ten years old were also sitting in meditation, imitating him.

Wang Yun's gaze fell upon the three boys.

The leading boy wore a scholar's robe; he had delicate features and an elegant temperament. Though young, he possessed a steadiness that did not belong to his age.

Even as he sat cross-legged, his mouth moved as he muttered something, seemingly reciting some ancient scripture.

Wang Yun could feel that with his chanting, invisible Great Daos swirled around him, extremely profound.

The second boy wore a neat, short-sleeved martial outfit, cradling a wooden sword in his arms.

He sat bolt upright with his eyes tightly shut and an expression of intense focus; his entire being radiated a sharp, piercing aura.

He was like a sharp sword drawn from its scabbard.

But the third boy was the most eye-catching.

He had long, smooth green hair, exquisite features, and fair skin. Though clearly a boy, his appearance was exceptionally beautiful, enough to make the women of the world feel inferior.

However, completely at odds with his appearance was his expression of utter impatience.

He clearly couldn't sit still; his bottom shifted around on the ground, and he occasionally peeked with one eye to see if the old man had noticed.

Suddenly, the elegant boy in the lead stopped his chanting.

He opened his eyes and gave the green-haired boy a slight smile.

"Junior Brother, Revered Master once said that if the heart is not still, the Dao will not be born. With you being so flighty, when will you ever achieve anything?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a didactic tone, and there was a certain logic in his words.

The green-haired boy curled his lip.

"What's it to you! I just don't like listening to these grand principles!"

The boy holding the wooden sword also opened his eyes; he glanced at the green-haired boy with a slight smirk.

"I don't think it's that you don't like listening; it's that you simply don't understand."

The green-haired boy's hair practically stood on end as he leaped up from the ground.

"What did you say! Say that again if you have the guts!"

"I said, you—don't—un—der—stand."

The sword-holding boy spoke each word deliberately, his eyes filled with obvious provocation.

"I'll kill you!"

The green-haired boy roared and charged forward.

The elegant boy and the sword-holding boy exchanged a glance and struck simultaneously.

Even though it was two against one, they cooperated seamlessly.

A moment later, the green-haired boy was pinned to the ground by the two, unable to move.

He was the youngest and had the lowest cultivation; he was no match for his two Senior Brothers.

"Waaaah... You all just know how to bully me! I'm telling Revered Master!"

The green-haired boy ran to the old man, tearfully complaining about the "evil deeds" of his two Senior Brothers.

The old man under the willow tree opened his eyes.

He didn't scold the other two boys, but merely patted the green-haired boy's head kindly.

"Do not be angry, do not be vexed."

"Know that a heart of wrath can burn down a forest of Karma..."

The old man began to lecture him on grand principles.

The green-haired boy was impatient and hot-tempered; he couldn't listen to any of it.

He cried even louder, feeling that Revered Master was also favoring those two bad Senior Brothers.

Watching this scene from the side, Wang Yun felt a sense of warmth for some reason.

He could see that although the two boys liked to bully the green-haired boy, they were very careful with their strikes, making it more like brotherly play.

And this green-haired boy, though seemingly hot-tempered, had a gaze that revealed purity and kindness deep within his anger.

Time flowed by.

Under the old man's tutelage, the boys gradually grew up, and their cultivation deepened day by day.

That small world was always filled with peace and laughter.

However, this peace did not last long.

Without warning, the sky of the entire Initial Universe turned dark.

A terrifying aura descended.

Wang Yun saw countless bizarre creatures, radiating an ominous and eerie aura, flooding in from the cosmic frontier like a tide.

Wherever they passed, stars were extinguished, the Great Dao collapsed, and all life was devoured and corrupted.

That was an extremely ominous and Eerie Race.

Their arrival plunged the entire Initial Universe into massive Chaos and disaster.

Under the willow tree, the old man opened his eyes, his expression exceptionally grave.

He looked at his three Disciples, who had now grown into men.

"Go."

"Protect the billions upon billions of living beings in this Universe."

"Yes, Revered Master!"

The three responded in unison, their expressions solemn.

They soared into the sky, meeting the boundless, eerie tide.

At this moment, they were too strong.

Wang Yun could not estimate their strength at all.

He could only see the elegant young man's words becoming Law; runes containing ultimate truths flew from his mouth, capable of suppressing the eeriness of an entire Star Domain.

The sword-wielding young man struck with a single sword, and the brilliant sword light could tear through the Universe, slashing thousands of eerie creatures into nothingness.

And the green-haired young man transformed into a massive Dharma Image, holding a azure pagoda; every movement possessed infinite power.

Their power far exceeded the scope of the Supremes or even the Great Emperors in Wang Yun's knowledge.

However, the Eerie Race was too numerous, seemingly endless.

And among those eerie creatures, even more terrifying existences were hidden.

Wang Yun saw that while the green-haired young man was purifying a world polluted by eeriness, despite his hot temper, his eyes were full of compassion; he tried to strip the eerie aura from the creatures instead of directly destroying them along with the world.

He was supremely kind and pure at heart.

He had a fiery temper but a supremely kind and pure heart; this in itself was extremely contradictory.

But it was precisely this moment of hesitation that allowed a powerful, lurking eerie creature to ambush him, leaving him heavily wounded.

The battle became increasingly difficult.

The defensive lines of the Initial Universe were being constantly compressed.

It looked as if the entire Universe was about to fall.

The old man under the willow tree stood up.

With one step, his figure appeared at the center of the Universe.

Wang Yun only saw the old man reach out and make a gentle stroke across the entire Initial Universe.

"Divide."

As the single word fell.

The entire Initial Universe was actually split in half by him.

Following that, the old man looked at the endless eerie army, his expression calm.

"Seal."

He uttered another word.

His body began to burn, transforming into endless light and Law, forming a brand new third-party world independent of those two halves of the Universe.

That world generated a powerful suction, pulling in the entire Eerie Race along with those great terrors.

Ultimately, the old man used his own body as a cage to Seal away all the eeriness and the ominous.

The Initial Universe was saved.

Wang Yun looked at the Universe split in two and the third-party world formed from the old man's body that sealed all the eeriness, his soul shaking violently.

He thought that this astounding scene would end there.

However, the images continued.

Another shift...