Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses Chapter 1139 - 1129: Great Ultimate Origin Freedom Technique (Part 2)

Even though Ji Xiaoyu had not known Gu An for countless years, she understood his character well enough to believe he had a hidden motive for behaving this way.

"So, what gives you the courage to stand against me?"

Gu An’s question rang out, his voice easily overpowering the chaotic noise echoing across the Creation Long Stairs.

Faced with such a staggering difference in power, the Dao Guardians were gripped by an unprecedented pressure that made it difficult for them to even breathe.

Watching Gu An, Li Ya felt a mixture of relief and lingering anxiety.

The fact that Gu An had spared the Dao Guardians suggested that some compassion still resided within him. However, Li Ya wondered if his own pride would allow him to be ensnared by the machinations of the Great Dao.

The unfolding events had finally brought clarity to Li Ya’s mind.

If the Great Dao truly lacked emotion, how could the current situation have escalated to this point?

If the Great Dao possessed a conscious will, was it perhaps an existence far superior to even the Immortal Gods?

The Immortals of the Heavenly Court often boasted of creating all life, yet living beings did not simply offer up their lives for the Immortal Gods because of that claim alone.

True creation was essentially the act of borrowing external powers; such a debt of grace should not give one the right to dominate the existence of every living soul.

Li Ya found the mysterious Dao Will far more terrifying than the enigma that was Gu An.

The Wanyuan Dao Ancestor materialized upon the Creation Steps. He was not alone; other Great Dao entities were arriving as well, all of them frozen in shock by the sight before them. Though they had missed the preceding events, the sight of the broken and despairing beings around them sent a shiver down their spines.

Taking a steadying breath, the Wanyuan Dao Ancestor turned toward Gu An and shouted, "Senior, are you the source of that horrifying power?"

At that moment, Gu An’s aura surged, reminding the Ancestor of the dark energy that had nearly killed him before. It was a reality he found hard to reconcile.

Why would he be struck down only to be saved later?

Was he merely being toyed with?

The Wanyuan Dao Ancestor cast aside his fear; even if death was his fate, he demanded an explanation. He cared more for his Dao Universe than his own life, and he could not simply watch as Gu An consumed it.

"It is me, and yet, it is not me."

Gu An looked down at the Wanyuan Dao Ancestor, his response devoid of emotion.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Wanyuan Dao Ancestor asked, his brow furrowing.

"The power you sense now is mine. However, the power you encountered previously does not belong to me."

Gu An spoke the truth plainly, hiding nothing.

This was a realization he had only grasped after attaining the Source Ancient Dao Ultimate Realm.

During his breakthrough, he had mistakenly assumed the dark energy drifting through the Great Dao was his own, but he was wrong. That power originated from another being who had surpassed the Infinite Supreme Saint.

That entity had perished during their own breakthrough, leaving behind a power that could not fully vanish. It drifted through the Endless Dao, eventually being weaponized by the Dao itself.

Whenever a new Source Ancient Dao Ultimate Realm emerged, malicious intent would manifest, drawing that power forth. Gu An had managed to suppress it in time to prevent the Dao Universe from being devoured. There had been Dao Universes lost in the past, proving his current strength could not alter what had already occurred.

This was all a deception orchestrated by the Dao.

It intended to make him believe he was a creator of sin, shattering his mental resolve so that he would truly fall into the abyss and become the darkness all life feared.

Hearing this, a spark of hope ignited within the Wanyuan Dao Ancestor. He asked cautiously, "Are you saying that beyond our sight, there are other mighty beings pulling the strings from the shadows?"

He spoke loudly, ensuring his words reached the ears of everyone present.

Upon hearing his words, more Dao Guardians began to realize the truth. Looking back, the situation was indeed suspicious. The Dao’s strange behavior in forcing them to battle Wushi felt less like a natural force and more like the actions of an emotional being.

Standing among the Immortal Gods, Tian Hao let out a sigh of relief, a grin spreading across his face. Just as he had suspected, his master had not changed.

He would never forget the feeling of being rescued by his master when he was in total despair. From that moment on, he had yearned to be just like him. Even after regaining his memories as the Son of Heaven, that childhood wish remained unchanged.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom erupted from the depths of the void. Countless beings turned in terror to see a crimson fissure tearing through the darkness, far larger and more menacing than the Creation Long Stairs.

Within that bloody rift, a massive eye snapped open. It was a frigid eye with golden pupils that seemed to contain entire star systems. Its sheer scale made even the Saints feel a sense of suffocating horror.

The eye appeared to come from a place beyond the Dao, peering into everything within it.

"What is that thing...?"

A Heavenly Court Immortal whispered, trembling just from catching a glimpse of that gaze.

The Wanyuan Dao Ancestor looked on from a distance, filled with equal dread.

"It is... that feeling... it's him..."

The Wanyuan Dao Ancestor stammered, his frame shaking as if the power of the curse he had once suffered was returning to claim him.

Gu An turned his head to look, showing no sign of shock.

In his vision, a figure stepped out from the center of the massive pupil. It was a man with white hair clad in a Black Robe, the hem of which was shredded as if he were a vengeful spirit emerging from the Abyss.

Golden chains trailed behind the white-haired man, tethering him to the colossal eye.

"You are truly a nuisance, forcing me to show myself."

The white-haired man spoke slowly, lifting his chin. His expression was one of cold apathy, though his eyes burned with an intense desire to kill.

The sight of him left everyone in a state of disbelief.

Was this the Will of the Dao?

If so, did it mean that every living soul had been nothing more than a plaything for this being?