Having suspended the Chaos Bell at the center of the Spirit Immortal Valley, using its supreme power to initially suppress and regulate the fortune of the entire Xuan Ying Continent, Chen Chang'an stood with hands behind his back in the courtyard.
He could feel that the restlessness and chaos in the world, caused by the seepage of tribulation power, had been temporarily soothed, yet his mind remained not the slightest bit relaxed.
He suddenly raised his head, gazing calmly at a seemingly empty patch of void in the courtyard, and spoke softly:
"You've been watching for so long. If you have something to say, why not speak directly?"
As his words fell, that patch of void rippled gently like water.
Two familiar figures silently materialized.
They were still those two youths with twin buns in their hair, dressed in daoist robes, their faces childish yet their eyes profound and ancient.
They bowed to Chen Chang'an in greeting, their posture respectful, yet their tone remained as placid as ever, as though they were merely delivering an ordinary message:
"The Master's decree, requesting the Immortal Venerable to come for a discussion."
Chen Chang'an looked at these two "old acquaintances" he had met twice before, and the gravity of the first encounter and the probing of the second were both absent from his heart.
Through their previous two encounters, that layer of mysterious and awe-inspiring "filter" surrounding that lofty existence had gradually faded in his mind.
He gave a slight nod, his expression composed:
"Lead the way."
No questions, no hesitation. He rose calmly, took a single step, and was already before the two youths.
The two youths bowed once more, then turned and with their small hands, lightly traced a line through the void.
An invisible portal quietly opened, but beyond it was no ordinary spatial passage—it was a realm of unknown chaos and swirling dao rhythms.
Chen Chang'an's face remained calm as he followed the two youths, stepping into that chaos.
His figure vanished, the void ripples subsided, and the courtyard seemed as though nothing had happened at all.
The next moment, Chen Chang'an found himself standing in that grand palace, both familiar and strange.
The palace was still vast, magnificent, and cold, suffused with an eternal desolation and supreme majesty.
Above the dome, stars rotated as if encompassing all the myriad worlds.
At the far end of the palace, that lofty Daoist still sat upon a woven mat, his figure blurred, as if merged with the Great Dao itself, or perhaps merely an eternal phantom.
"You've come."
The Daoist's voice rang out, calm and unruffled, yet it seemed to resonate directly in the depths of Chen Chang'an's heart lake, stirring the Great Dao's resonance.
Chen Chang'an clasped his hands slightly: "May I ask why you have summoned me?"
The Daoist did not engage in pleasantries, cutting straight to the point, his tone still flat but carrying an unprecedented gravity:
"The Great Tribulation is at hand, and karmic debts must be settled. This is the last time I will seek you out."
With that, he gave a slight flick of his sleeve.
An ancient scroll—neither gold nor jade, neither silk nor paper—emanating a faint primordial yellow glow yet bearing no writing upon it, materialized from thin air and drifted slowly toward Chen Chang'an.
Chen Chang'an reached out and took it. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, as if bearing infinite weight.
He unfurled the scroll and swept his gaze across it.
The scroll remained entirely blank, with no names whatsoever. But when his divine sense touched it, countless pieces of information naturally surged into his sea of consciousness.
It was a "list."
A "tribulation list" intimately connected to this great tribulation of heaven and earth.
Upon the list, just as before, aside from himself and Ji Hongli, nearly everyone connected to him and blessed by fortune was named!
Xiao Chen, Han Yu, Jiang Che, Ji Lingxiu, Lu Xiaoluo, Chen Xingcai, Li Hanzhou... even Xi Yan and Zhu Weiyang were included, with none omitted!
However, unlike the previous time, on the "opposite side" of this list, there were now two names that had only ever circulated in certain ancient legends or casual tales!
The appearance of these two names meant that certain ancient beings, who had long transcended the mortal world and should never have been drawn into this tribulation again, had been forcibly dragged into this reckoning!
The complexity and peril of the situation far exceeded imagination.
Chen Chang'an looked at the list and suddenly smiled.
That smile carried a trace of mockery, a trace of understanding, a trace of helplessness—but notably, no surprise.
He raised his head and looked at the lofty Daoist: "Are you still trying to persuade me, for the sake of the so-called 'greater good of all living beings,' to make an 'appropriate' choice? To sacrifice some, to preserve others?"
The Daoist was silent for a moment, his voice still placid but carrying an undeniable finality:
"Such is the destiny of tribulation, not something human power can reverse."
"Only by going with the flow can the embers of civilization survive."
"To gain something, one must first let go. This is the will of Heaven."
Chen Chang'an slowly shook his head, his gaze as resolute as ever, his tone calm but ringing with conviction:
"I respectfully decline."
"It remains the same words: those who have achieved long life, who enjoy endless years and wield boundless authority—having received such blessings, they must bear the corresponding responsibilities."
"The Great Tribulation arose because of them, so the karmic debt should be borne by them first."
"And these disciples beneath my gate," his voice deepened slightly, carrying an unquestionable protectiveness, "were all born and raised after the last tribulation, with no karmic connection to it whatsoever."
"What sin have they committed?"
"Why should these younger generations bear the tribulation for those seniors who enjoyed eternal life?"
"Just because they... were born later?"
These words were nearly a direct condemnation of that invisible "injustice."
The palace fell into silence, with only the faint dao tones of the revolving stars remaining.
That lofty Daoist showed no anger, nor even the slightest disappointment. He merely watched Chen Chang'an quietly, his blurred face revealing no expression whatsoever.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice still flat:
"If that is your choice, then go."
"In ten years, we shall see the outcome."
As his words fell, without waiting for any reaction from Chen Chang'an, the space around him instantly twisted and folded!
The next moment, Chen Chang'an was back in the familiar courtyard of the Spirit Immortal Valley, the orchids still fragrant, the spirit spring still bubbling, as if everything that had just happened was but a dream.
His hands were empty—the primordial yellow scroll had vanished.
Chen Chang'an stood in place, his brow slightly furrowed.
This time was entirely different from the previous two encounters.
In that final instant of spatial transition, he clearly caught a trace... of an extremely subtle yet unmistakably real emotional fluctuation.
It was not disappointment, not regret, and not anger.
Rather, it was a kind of... cold, almost indifferent displeasure—as if an ant had repeatedly defied him, testing his bottom line.
That existence seemed to have truly... grown somewhat irritated.
[
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