Ji Hantian looked at Zhu Xing with respect and asked, "Senior, please enlighten us. What opportunity are you referring to?"
Zhu Xing smiled and said, "The Immortal Dynasty is about to collapse. That is your opportunity."
The Immortal Dynasty is collapsing?
A wave of shock swept through the hall.
For these elders, the Immortal Dynasty and the Sacred Court were the two greatest ruling forces under the heavens, behemoth powers that dictated the course of the world. The chaos that engulfed the lands was, after all, due to the conflict between these two factions.
No matter how many catastrophes occurred, the Immortal Dynasty and the Sacred Court had always endured, standing unshaken at the pinnacle of power. And yet, now, the Immortal Dynasty was falling?
Even Long Qing was visibly surprised, looking at Zhu Xing with disbelief.
Zhu Xing continued with a smile, "Since the fall of the Sun Immortal Emperor, the Immortal Dynasty has installed new emperors to maintain control, but none have been able to quell the internal strife. After thousands of years of turmoil, this towering tree is finally about to collapse. But when it does, the world will flourish with new vitality. Tai Xuan Sect will gain immeasurable benefits—whether it be in Dao techniques, divine artifacts, or treasured lands."
The elders' hearts pounded with excitement.
They began pressing Zhu Xing for details, asking when the Immortal Dynasty would collapse.
Zhu Xing only gave a mysterious smile and said, "Soon."
The news of the Immortal Dynasty's impending collapse spread like a wildfire, shocking the entire world.
If the Immortal Dynasty ceased to exist, would that mean the Sacred Court would reign supreme? Would peace finally descend upon the world?
This thought filled the minds of nearly all cultivators. As a result, more and more individuals and sects began anticipating the fall of the Immortal Dynasty, causing further internal divisions within the dynasty itself.
It was as if fate itself had ordained the dismantling of the Immortal Dynasty. Amid this grand shift, the Sacred Court remained silent.
This was because, long ago, the Sun Immortal Emperor had merged another World with the Heavenly Spirit World, leading to the rise of new powers. Upon hearing that the Immortal Dynasty was on the brink of collapse, these factions from the neighboring world grew rapidly, fearful of missing their opportunity to seize control.
In this backdrop of chaos, ten more years passed.
Deep in the cosmos, within the Desolation Domain, vast mists of the Grand Dao swirled, making the universe seem eerily silent.
At the very edge of the universe, the Gate of the World's End stood unmoving, a monument of eternity.
Seated before the gate in quiet meditation, the Heavenly Spirit God radiated an aura of celestial brilliance, his divine glow dazzling beyond imagination. Bathed in this radiance, he seemed more majestic than the gate itself.
Suddenly—
A red light erupted from the Realm Gate's End, flickering subtly.
Almost instantly, the Heavenly Spirit God's eyes snapped open. A terrifying, icy glow shot from his gaze, scattering the Grand Dao mist around him as if faced with an insurmountable force.
He stood up. The very fabric of space trembled.
Raising his right hand, he grasped into the void toward the distant horizon. As his fingers curled into a fist, the red light from the Gate of the World's End vanished without a trace, restoring everything to silence.
At Wu Shi Dao Field, beside a tranquil lake, Gu An looked up from his claywork.
From his perspective, the immense fortune that once enshrouded the Immortal Dynasty had suddenly vanished.
Without this fortune, the rules that bound celestial beings lost their grip, and the higher force that unified the Immortal Dynasty shattered completely.
What followed would be an unprecedented era of chaos.
Massacres, plundering, vengeance—even those born at the Nirvana Realm, beings once beyond worldly struggles, would reveal the darkest facets of their nature.
The Immortal Dynasty was on the verge of becoming a living hell.
Those in power, the true rulers of the dynasty, would begin carving up territories for their own benefit. Their once-noble masks would be torn away, revealing the fearsome monsters beneath.
Gu An continued sculpting his pottery while observing this grand spectacle.
Through his many reincarnations and lifetimes, Gu An's Dao heart had transcended worldly attachments. The cycle of creation and destruction, prosperity and ruin, was an immutable truth within the Grand Dao. Every world built upon the Dao was bound to witness suffering.
To comprehend the Dao, one must learn to face these calamities without emotional disturbance.
The Heavenly Spirit God had personally dissolved the fortune of the Immortal Dynasty.
At that moment, Gu An saw the inevitable fate of the Heavenly Spirit World—a world heading toward its final end.
The Dao Fruit, which symbolizes the Heart of Heaven and Earth, will eventually emerge, attracting the strongest cultivators under the heavens. When someone finally attains the power of that Dao Fruit, the Heavenly Spirit God will appear, and this time, he will annihilate everything.
One after another, Worlds across the universe will be obliterated. Amid the vast and spectacular destruction, the Heavenly Spirit God will turn and step into the Gate of the World's End.
As he walks through, the gate itself will disintegrate into ashes, marking the end of this universe, the final dissolution of the fractured Grand Thousand Worlds.
Observing this future, Gu An couldn't help but think of An Hao, Li Ya, Long Qing, Xuan Tianyi, and others.
With the Lifespan Dao Field and his own cultivation, even if the universe were to be obliterated, he could still protect those he cared about, ensuring their survival.
But An Hao, Li Ya, Long Qing, Xuan Tianyi, and the others were not the type to stay idle within the Dao Field. They, too, had people they cared about.
This world was like a vast, intricate web—every individual, no matter how insignificant, was connected to countless others, forming an inescapable network that linked the entire cosmos.
A single person could be small, insignificant.
A single person could also be vital, irreplaceable.
Only two choices lay before Gu An.
One, he could destroy the Heavenly Spirit God, thereby offending the Heavenly Court.
Two, he could feign death, abandoning the world he had lived in for an eternity.
He wasn't in a rush to decide. Even if he did choose to eliminate the Heavenly Spirit God, he needed to buy time.
The longer he stalled, the more lifespan he accumulated, and the greater his chances of dealing with the troubles the Heavenly Court would inevitably bring.
"In times of crisis, remain calm. One word: Stall."
Gu An spoke leisurely, his hands shaping the ceramic piece before him. The form of a cauldron had begun to emerge, and on its surface, a dragon-like pattern seemed to take shape.
Standing nearby, Blood Prison Saint asked curiously, "Master, what are you talking about?"
Blood Prison Saint could sense that something monumental had changed in the heavens and earth, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had shifted. All he knew was that the world felt heavier, more dangerous.
"Anything and everything."
Gu An's response made Blood Prison Saint's eyes light up. He felt as if his master was guiding him toward enlightenment.
With anticipation, Blood Prison Saint asked, "Master, how many more years will this chaos last?"
Gu An looked at the ceramic cauldron in his hands and replied, "It will end faster than you expect, and it will be far worse than you imagine."
He was well aware of An Hao's ambitions.
But no matter how great an opportunity An Hao received, even if he merged with the power of the Dao Fruit, he would never be a match for the Heavenly Spirit God.
That was fine.
It would teach that kid a lesson—show him that the world was far harsher than he believed.
When An Hao finally despaired, Gu An would step in.
Thinking of this, Gu An actually started looking forward to An Hao's transformation.
An Hao was strong in many ways, but he lacked deep emotional bonds.
In his heart, there were only two people—Gu An and An Xin.
He always felt that he was born to be alone, that he only needed to repay his debts.
A wife to whom he owed no gratitude? He could discard her without hesitation.
Even though, with his cultivation, he must have sensed that he had descendants, he had never acknowledged them.
This disappointed Gu An.
To put it simply, An Hao lacked responsibility.
Still, it was precisely these flaws that made Gu An more inclined to guide him.
If An Hao had been perfect, then there would have been no need for guidance.
"Far worse? How bad?" Blood Prison Saint asked again.
Gu An glanced at him.
In that instant, a golden light erupted from Gu An's eyes, shooting straight into Blood Prison Saint's forehead.
Blood Prison Saint froze.
Gu An continued working on his ceramic piece, unfazed.
A long time passed.
Blood Prison Saint suddenly gasped for breath.
His chest heaved violently, sweat poured down his forehead, his entire body trembled, and his eyes became bloodshot.
With deep horror, he looked at Gu An and asked, "Master, w-who... was that figure?"
"The Heavenly Spirit God."
Since they were inside the Dao Field, which isolated karma, Gu An was unafraid of the Heavenly Spirit God noticing their discussion.
Blood Prison Saint memorized the name.
His gaze toward Gu An was filled with hesitation, as though words were trapped in his throat.
The power of the Heavenly Spirit God had shaken him to his core.
He never imagined that such an unimaginable force could exist.
The vast Heavenly Spirit World, in the hands of the Heavenly Spirit God, had vanished in an instant, reduced to mere dust.
And it wasn't just the Heavenly Spirit World—countless other worlds had been obliterated at his whim.
Blood Prison Saint wanted to ask Gu An a question.
Between Gu An and the Heavenly Spirit God, who was stronger?
But he was afraid to ask.
Although he respected Gu An beyond words, after witnessing the might of the Heavenly Spirit God, it became difficult to believe that Gu An was truly invincible.