Da Xuan Martial Saint Chapter 1524 - 731: Primordial’s Invitation_2

Even combined, the seven couldn't hold their ground against Chen Mu in his present state.

Should Chen Mu decide to break their earlier pact and seize all the resources for himself, they'd lack any power to oppose him and would simply have to yield.

As Venerable Wutian and his companions grew worried, Chen Mu at last directed his eyes toward them.

With his face remaining steady, he addressed them evenly, "Fellow Daoists, as per our deal, feel free to grab what you require from the treasures we've gathered, and share them out as you see fit. I'll claim just this Primordial Marvel for myself. How does that sound to everyone?"

With those words spoken,

Chen Mu flicked his wrist, summoning the assortment of items they'd gathered before alongside Venerable Wutian and the rest—among them numerous corpses from Venerable Level Exotic Beasts and various Great Dao marvels—into the empty space.

At the sight of this, delight filled Venerable Wutian and the others, who replied together:

"We have no objections."

Though they were barred from laying hands on that Primordial Marvel, causing a touch of regret, each understood clearly that the whole effort to secure this Primordial Marvel involved none of the seven—it was solely Chen Mu's doing. Even if they snatched it away, they couldn't protect it from the Primordial Palace Master and would surely forfeit it in the end.

Securing a Primordial Marvel demanded far more than grasping just one kind of Great Dao; take Black Blade Venerable, who commanded two types of Great Dao— he'd still struggle immensely to handle a Primordial Marvel by himself.

In essence,

Across the cosmos, beyond the Primordial Palace Master and the five Supreme Venerables such as Chen Mu, just the ancient Venerables wielding three types of Great Dao possessed the means to seize one independently, thanks to their ability to fend off Supreme Venerables to some degree.

Besides that, solely a full alliance of numerous Dao Venerables could rightfully pursue a Primordial Marvel. In these times, that's how most Primordial Marvels get allocated.

Swish.

Venerable Wutian and his group advanced, promptly beginning to split up their individual shares and rewards. With the Source Sea fully crumbling and some time left, they'd collected plenty already, so nobody intended to venture deeper into danger.

Chen Mu observed as Venerable Wutian and the others sorted through their spoils, paying little heed to their discussions or arguments over shares. After stowing the Primordial Marvel away without fuss, he moved ahead and vanished silently from view.

...

Beyond the Source Sea.

Amid the boundless emptiness, Chen Mu's form emerged without a sound.

This area was meant to form a domain inside the universe, yet with the universe now broken apart, it had become a zone of utter void—absolute emptiness devoid of substance, dimension, or duration.

Just Dao Venerables were capable of traversing such absolute emptiness.

Chen Mu exited the Source Sea, then pivoted, surveying the whole expanse of the Source Sea. Through his vision, the Primordial Sea—formed from three varieties of Origin Dao in disordered shape—could be seen steadily breaking down and dissolving.

All the Origin Dao essence held in the full Source Sea was gradually drawn into the Origin River, reshaped from disorder to structure, and swallowed up, transforming into faint flows inside the Origin River.

While Chen Mu examined the shifts in the Source Sea,

In a certain spot within the Source Sea.

Deep inside a brilliant silver sea, a golden-armored silhouette meditated in lotus position.

Before him, in the heart of the silver waters, loomed a grand and immense swirling maelstrom, where roaring Primordial Power kept pouring and gathering at its core, nurturing a wonder.

Abruptly,

The seated figure, with his lance laid over his knees, lifted his eyelids, the glow of Origin Dao shimmering in his irises.

"Another fellow Daoist..."

The Primordial Lord whispered low, "Within a single cosmic cycle, two fellow Daoists have arisen. Might there be a link between him and Cang Mang Venerable?"

As a Supreme Venerable and timeless being, the Primordial Lord recognized how rare it was for the immense universe to produce a Supreme Venerable—usually not even once across scores of cosmic cycles.

Yet in this Reincarnation Era, Cang Mang Hall Master attained enlightenment first, then Chen Mu burst forth unexpectedly.

Has the Supreme Origin shifted in some way?

Or does a unique circumstance tie these two together?

Swish.

A thread of radiance mirrored in the Primordial Lord's gaze as he peered into the Origin River, seeking details on Chen Mu.

Yet his view of history and tomorrow met only turmoil, uncovering no secrets.

As fellow Supreme Venerables, built upon command of three kinds of Origin Dao, they'd delved deeper into Dao's essence, reaching a preliminary merging of Great Dao, which made peering into one another inherently tough.

Truthfully, the Primordial Lord kept watch over the realm's Dao Venerables, and upon Chen Mu's rise to Dao Venerable, he deliberately scrutinized him. However, beyond noting Chen Mu's extraordinary gifts and potential in cultivation, nothing unusual appeared.

"Everyone has their chances, who knows who will take that step in the end."

With the probe yielding nothing, the Primordial Lord gave a faint head shake and directed his sight back to the swirling mass before him.

Boom!

In the instant that followed, the maelstrom quaked, silver radiance streamed forth, and a finished marvel materialized from its depths.

"Just a Great Dao marvel."

The Primordial Lord shot it a quick look and felt no draw, simply gesturing to yank it in by force and claim it, before rising, grasping his Divine Spear, and striding away into the silver sea's profound reaches.

...

River of Time.

Tucked in the folds of time and space, upon an isolated isle.

A straw-caped senior perched at the shore, gripping a plain rod for angling that looked like a mere branch plucked from a tree, its thread loosely knotted at the end.

He seemed like a plain old man angling in the everyday realm, but a nearer look showed that every tiny twitch of the rod sent waves through time, the emptiness warping with the thread.

He served as the Island Master of Time-Space Island, ranking among the pinnacle Supreme Venerables alongside the Primordial Palace Master, of matching antiquity.

In fact,

Legends claimed the Island Master of Time-Space's age outstripped even the Primordial Palace Master's.

"Another one..."

The Island Master of Time-Space remained still, as surrounding time-space wove and floated ceaselessly, his presence radiating pure isolation, a faint spark alone flickering in his eyes.

Only he knew his days were nearing their close.

Despite ruling time-space and blending time into the void, he'd endured countless Universe Silences, his spirit worn down by Origin Dao until scarce essence lingered, nearing a state of raw time-space laws.

Folks thought the Island Master of Time-Space shunned meddling in cosmic affairs and never built a group like the Time Temple. In truth, it wasn't reluctance, but that he'd turned into a slowly rotting bit of flotsam.

Back then,

Time-Space Island buzzed with life, hosting countless souls, his kin and comrades often by his side, even Dao Venerables who pledged to him.

But across scores or hundreds of cosmic cycles, everything withered. Be it his former allies or the Dao Venerables who'd come to Time-Space Island for Dao talks, their essences vanished into the Dao, merging with the Origin River to form segments of ultimate laws.

These days,

The Island Master of Time-Space held no curiosity for the Source Sea. He realized that claiming any number of Primordial Marvels from it wouldn't help him. He grasped that the divide to Transcendence lay not in the enigmas of Primordial Marvels.

He could have strayed onto the false trail, but realizing it at this point came far too late.