"I have already observed. The Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance does not possess the Authority of Creation, yet he knows how to utilize creation. He harbors a great secret."
"Perhaps it truly is the third path you speak of."
"Within the fortune and faith of living beings lies some power we have never been able to fathom, involving the most fundamental principles."
After the World Lord appeared, the entire spacetime, heaven and earth seemed to freeze. All time and auras felt as though completely frozen at a certain stage.
This was a stage no one had ever set foot in, be it past, future, or present. No one could probe or discover their conversation, and no karma would leak.
The Calamity Master and the Master of Fate were both inwardly alarmed. They understood very little about the True Path Realm, but could indeed perceive the immense gap between themselves and beings of that realm.
Even though they were also existences that addressed themselves as "Master," before the World Lord, they had absolutely no power to resist.
The Master of Fate's gaze flickered darkly. He had believed he was very close to that realm, determined to seize the Dao Fruit of this epoch. But now it seemed he had somewhat overestimated himself.
No wonder Progenitor Xu had always regarded his plans with a dismissive, casual attitude.
"The theory of fortune is illusory and intangible. I once arranged the Radiant Ancestral Court using fortune arts, attempting to use fortune to carry my own Dao path, but ultimately failed. The birth of fortune is a concept of profound mystery—whether it originates from the individual living beings or is bestowed by heaven above, no one can explain clearly..." The Master of Fate's gaze was deep, numerous thoughts flashing through his mind rapidly.
He was called the Master of Fate for a reason. The Dao he carried was precisely the Dao of fortune. Otherwise, he would not have plotted for the Radiant Ancestral Court's fortune, and later, with years of arrangements, left behind contingencies in the Immortal Chu Dynasty, Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, Nanzhao Ancient Kingdom, and other powers and civilizations. Yet, at this point... he still could not advance half a step further.
Only then did he believe he had reached the peak of the End of the Path and had the confidence to vie for Authority.
But facing Progenitor Xu, he still felt that the other was unfathomably deep. He was certain Progenitor Xu had not stepped into Supreme Shattering, much less grasped Authority.
Could it be that within the same End of the Path level, there were still profound differences?
"The Lord of Reincarnation has long been waiting for the World Lord deep within the reincarnation."
At this moment, the Calamity Master spoke. Toward the World Lord, who, like the Lord of Reincarnation, held Authority, he was quite respectful.
In the vast Vast Expanse, existences who wielded Authority were, in the truest sense, unmatched and possessed infinite terrifying methods. They were figures who oversaw the myriad billions of living beings from the True Path Realm. Since ancient times, those who could compare to them were exceedingly few.
Any figure of the True Path Realm could easily destroy a True World with a single palm. In their eyes, whether Newly Born True Worlds, Ancient True Worlds, or Supreme True Worlds, there was little distinction.
They were the apex of the Dao Realms, traversing countless spacetime dimensions with a single thought, wantonly extracting energy from heaven and earth. Any living individual in the Vast Expanse, regardless of their realm, held no more secrets before their eyes.
The deepest part of the Ancient Treasure Civilization was actually a vast, boundless moon, its light blazing and gentle, as if nurturing infinite life.
This was the sole true body of the moon across all the worlds of the Vast Expanse. All moons in all world spacetimes were reflections cast by it.
Below this moon, one could even see a towering divine tree swaying, its branches and leaves thick, each leaf trailing world particles and chaotic substance.
As the wind blew, it produced the rustling sound of worlds colliding. Those world particles, like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind, continuously drifted toward various cosmic spacetimes across the Vast Expanse, took root in the chaotic turbulence, and then, over long years, began to give rise to worlds.
This was the Epoch Ancient Tree. Deep within the canopy of this ancient tree dwelt the Ji Chan Clan.
Around this moon were also ancient stars, one after another, each comparable to a True World. The surrounding star belts alone harbored billions of living beings. Small worlds connected to large worlds, like bubbles layered upon one another, incomparably wondrous.
And around the Epoch Ancient Tree lay a boundless silver sea, rippling at every moment. One silver point of light after another drifted in from various spacetime dimensions. This was the destination of living beings, the dwelling of the dead, and also the place where the true souls of all living beings slumbered and reincarnated after death.
The Reincarnation Sea was endless, boundless. Even a single ripple stirred was broader than an ordinary universe. This was one of the most mysterious places in the Vast Expanse.
It also involved some supreme profound rule. Even a Dao Realms existence here would be suppressed, unable even to rise into the air.
The surroundings of the Reincarnation Sea were a land without visible borders, vast and without end. Yet every day, numerous beings, relying on instinct, guided the drifting Soul Lights into the sea, cycling endlessly, awaiting the day someone would take over their duty.
At this moment, above the Reincarnation Sea, spacetime blurred, and a fissure appeared. The World Lord, the Master of Fate, and the others emerged here.
The originally calm Reincarnation Sea began to ripple ceaselessly, and then terrifying storms arose. Countless Soul Lights, guided by primal instinct, swayed unsteadily under the pull of this aura, as if about to shatter.
However, as the World Lord raised his scepter and tapped lightly, the storms here subsided. Then, beneath the sea's surface, a pitch-black, profound passage appeared, like a vortex leading to an endless abyss.
The group stepped forward and soon vanished into it.
By the shore of the Reincarnation Sea, on a desolate, icy reef, a pale-faced woman in green robes was calming the Soul Lights that had become chaotic and frightened from the earlier storm. Only then did she look toward the depths of the Reincarnation Sea.
She was very beautiful, ethereal and gentle. Her eyes were quiet and peaceful, like warm, limpid jade, or a flawless, luminous moon.
Beside her was a silver-haired maiden with delicate features and crystalline eyes. However, both she and the silver-haired maiden had their ankles bound by some specially-made shackles, the edges of the wounds raw, unable to heal.
"Master, how much longer do we have to be punished..." the silver-haired maiden looked pitifully at the green-robed woman beside her.
"I don't know..." The green-robed woman shook her head, reaching out to gently stroke her head. "I've dragged you down."
In the depths of the Reincarnation Sea, the scene was different again. The silvery, brilliant sea surface seemed to lie still in the sky. Beneath the sea, palaces and cloud towers stood, grand and solemn, exuding an awe-inspiring, ancient majesty, having existed for who knows how many ages.
With the arrival of the World Lord and the others, this silent, deep sea floor seemed to suddenly revive. Many formidable and terrifying auras continuously swept past. This was the deepest part of the Ancient Treasure Civilization, containing many of the most profound secrets of all worlds. Even ordinary Ancestral Dao Realm figures were unqualified to set foot here.
However, these auras all subsided when they swept over the Calamity Master.
The Ancient Treasure Civilization had five great royal clans. The master of the Calamity Clan was the Calamity Master before them, standing in the End of the Path realm, and also one of the five Reincarnation Ancient Emperors of the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
As for the World Lord, his expression remained indifferent and calm from start to finish. He stood there, yet no one could sense his existence.
Unless it was someone of the same level, or he deliberately let others know of his presence, not even an End of the Path figure could capture a single wisp of his aura.
At that moment, at the end of the underground palace, an ancient pair of eyes opened, as if an ancient great sun had risen from the endless depths of darkness—terrifying, vast, and majestic. Spacetime, Dao laws, and the cosmos all shattered within that eye.
"Enter." His voice was calm and ancient, as if speaking for the first time in countless ages.
However, aside from the World Lord and the others, no one could hear it.
There, space distorted, and a great path was born from the dark void, extending beneath their feet and swiftly bringing them into the underground palace.
Within the hall, it was pitch-black and profound. But as they arrived, light began to appear, illuminating the majestic, golden divine palace, like the residence of an ancient Son of Heaven, permeated with dense Great Dao substance and chaotic mist.
Standing at the center of the hall was a figure wearing a crown and a black-and-red greatcloak.
He appeared very old, yet in the next moment very young, even immature. Faces of various ages shifted upon him constantly, as if caught in some kind of reincarnation. Merely standing there, he oppressed the Master of Fate and the others, causing their expressions to subtly change.
"Lord of Reincarnation..."
Only the World Lord's expression remained utterly unchanged. The two were both figures who controlled Authority, existences standing in the same realm.
Generally speaking, even End of the Path level existences would not easily reveal themselves and meet. But this epoch was exceptionally unique. End of the Path existences, rarely seen in hundreds of epochs, had successively appeared.
Now, even those like them who had grasped Authority could not avoid showing themselves.
The World Lord and the Lord of Reincarnation had been acquainted many epochs ago. If one spoke of the renowned figures of the True Path Realm in the current Vast Expanse, the World Lord and the Lord of Reincarnation could absolutely be considered allied.
"This coming Epochal Reckoning will begin ahead of time. I have already sensed the omens. Next, the five great royal clans will assemble their armies and, in coordination with the descending envoys, carry out the Great Reckoning," the Lord of Reincarnation spoke.
The World Lord said, "I am already aware of this matter. The Epoch Cataclysm has been advanced much earlier than in past eras. If not for the existence of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, the Epoch Cataclysm would have been delayed much longer. This must be the purpose of the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance."
The Lord of Reincarnation asked calmly, "Have you met him?"
The World Lord shook his head. "I have not met him personally, but I have observed from outside the Heaven-Slaying Alliance a few times."
The Lord of Reincarnation seemed to fall into thought, then asked, "What do you think of the plan he is advancing?"
"He likely possesses a method unknown to us. Perhaps it could be the third path," the World Lord said.
"A method of creating something from nothing?" The Lord of Reincarnation nodded.
At that moment, Progenitor Xu suddenly stepped forward a few paces and interjected with a composed expression, "Rather than a method of creating something from nothing, it would be more accurate to say he can condense a substance closer to the origin from the essence of faith and fortune—a substance that, to this day, none of us have ever been able to grasp, nor know how to obtain..."
The Lord of Reincarnation looked at him and said, "You followed the Lord of Heaven's Proxy for quite some time. You must have made some discoveries from him."
Progenitor Xu glanced at the World Lord beside him and spoke bluntly, "The World Lord has controlled the Authority of Creation for countless ages, so he surely knows that creation itself is a process of transformation—using some substance, absorbing energy and essence, and changing it into another substance. Worlds, life, opportunities, and fortunes are all like this."
The World Lord's expression did not change. This was no secret in itself. Even he could not achieve creation from nothing. Whether creating a Great Thousand World or Multiverses, he needed to draw energy from heaven and earth and then fundamentally alter and arrange the substance.
This was a natural law; energy and matter did not appear out of thin air.
Thus, after observing the geyser-like changes in opportunities and fortunes within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance over this period, he was even more convinced that the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance held a path unknown to them. The transformation from nothing to something he carried out relied on the power of faith and fortune.
Within faith and fortune, there absolutely lay secrets they could not yet penetrate or understand.
This was also the reason he had come to find the Lord of Reincarnation this time, to attempt to discuss and fathom this with him.
"Could it be that the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance possesses some supreme treasure we know not of, bearing a function akin to Authority?" the Lord of Reincarnation asked.
The two paths in the current Vast Expanse had been discovered bit by bit by countless ancient sages over endless ages. To suddenly be told there was actually a third path would be somewhat difficult to accept.
Therefore, he would rather believe that Gu Changge held a supreme treasure unknown to them.
After all, before the Vast Expanse was born and heaven and earth were separated, this world had already harbored certain secrets that remained unclear to them even now.
There were some individuals who, even without controlling Authority, still possessed means to rival them.
Those supreme treasures were referred to as Authority Supreme Treasures. But as for how exactly they appeared, even they did not know. The Lord of Reincarnation only knew of such matters, but even he had never encountered one.
"On this point, I can be certain. He does not possess such a supreme treasure. What he has relied on has always been his own methods and strength, never changing."
"If both of you do not believe me, you can take a look at this."
Progenitor Xu seemed to have anticipated this. With a faint smile, a dense dark light emerged in his hand. Within it steamed terrifying particles of matter. Even in this space suppressed by several of them, it faintly showed signs of breaking free.
"Flesh and blood?" The Lord of Reincarnation's gaze fell upon it, seemingly startled.
At the same time, in the Ancient Treasure Civilization, deep within the canopy of the Epoch Tree, majestic ancient palaces stood.
A woman in colorful robes, her eyes closed, sat cross-legged, enshrouded in rainbow mists.
One could see strands of chaotic mist diffusing, inhaled and exhaled through her mouth and nose, as phantom images of small worlds flickered in and out of existence—resplendent and extraordinary, grand and magnificent.
"Second Sister..."
Before her, a woman in black robes stood quietly in the center of the hall. Her cold, alluring face carried a trace of complexity.