CHAPTER 173: THE FUTURE FORESEEN BY THE DIVINE EYE

“Speaking of which, Wind Dragon, I also saw something strange just now.”

Lu Chen’s Divine Psyche Incarnation continued releasing streams of spirit qi as he guided the orbs and the chaos sphere to slowly fuse together. “At the instant the Divine Eye formed, my mind seemed to drift into a strange place.

“It was at the edge of a cliff. Both sides had once been covered with towering trees, but by the time I looked at it, everything was set ablaze. The entire place was in ruins. Broken walls and scattered corpses were everywhere, some wearing the battle robes of Heavenly Mandate Hall.”

Still staring at the orbs and the chaos sphere as they shrank and pressed together, the Divine Psyche Incarnation went on: “Most importantly, at the cliff’s edge, I saw fragments of the Dragon-Slaying Sword and the Earth-Shattering Spear.”

“The Dragon-Slaying Sword and the Earth-Shattering Spear... shattered?”

“They were broken. But... is that really a problem?” He lowered his head, casting a doubtful look at Wind Dragon. “Those two weapons are still intact. It must have been nothing more than an illusion born of my inner demons.”

“No, no. You’ve already stepped into the Qi Regulation Realm. Every vision you experience during your cultivation has meaning.”

“Could it be...”

Wind Dragon coiled around the orbs and the chaos sphere, his voice rising with urgency. “Little Lu, I think I’ve found the answer.

“I once heard the elders speak of the legend of the Ancestral Dragon—the Northern God Zhulong. His eyes embodied yin and yang, and his breath shaped the four seasons. The races born from his bloodline inherited fragments of that power, making their cultivation unimaginably formidable. But that was not his most terrifying ability.

“His greatest power was the mysterious force of time itself. The elders said that mastering both the laws of time and space might grant a glimpse of the Ancestral Dragon’s temporal power. Yet as the strongest of all laws, how could mere humans ever hope to comprehend them both?

“That power was no longer something that could be called a law. More frightening still, it allowed one to move freely along the river of time without suffering any consequences.

“At first, I thought it was just a legend. But the appearance of that green-robed Daoist left me with no choice but to believe it. The power of time is real. It truly allows one to cross the river of time.”

As he spoke, Wind Dragon surged forward, carrying the Divine Psyche Incarnation out of the path of another violent impact. “The Ancestral Dragon’s temporal power lies within his pupils. Now that you’ve obtained his ocular art, they must carry a trace of that power. And the Tower of Time in the small world has already let you interact with it ahead of time.”

Wind Dragon’s gaze shifted to the sphere in the sky, his eyes deep and contemplative. “I believe that the moment you condensed the Divine Eye, you brushed against that power. The strength sealed within the scripture resonated with the Tower of Time, letting you catch a glimpse of the future.”

“Wind Dragon...” The Divine Psyche Incarnation gave him a thoughtful look. “If what you say is true, then what I saw might really be something that will happen.

“But in that scene, no one else was there. Only corpses scattered across the ground, the lonely cliff, and flames devouring the skies.”

He lowered his head, finding Nantian Wan’er watching him from below. “Wan’er wasn’t there. Little Jian wasn’t there. Not even Little Jun was there. The disciples of Serene Void Academy were nowhere to be found. All that remained were fragments of their weapons. Where were they exactly?”

“Don’t waste time brooding. As long as you keep getting stronger, you may be able to avoid that future. Even if the ground is littered with corpses, they’ll only be the enemy’s corpses.”

“Heh... we’ve let the Eyes of the Ancestral Dragon rattle us too much. We actually forgot our own strength.”

Wind Dragon sneered as he carried Lu Chen, weaving between the surging waves of light. “Little Lu, don’t forget, you still have the others in the small world. You have the hundred thousand demonic beasts, along with us chieftains. Even if the top sects of this continent joined forces against us, we’d have nothing to fear.

“We once dominated the continent three hundred thousand years ago. Now, in this age where spirit qi is scarce, crushing them would be all the easier.

“And even if Lord Seventh forbids us from leaving to help you, the small world has already fused with you. If you ever face mortal danger, just open the passage. No one on this continent could stop your escape.”

“You’re right. I’d actually forgotten. The Eye of the Ancestral Dragon really did frighten me.” Looking ahead, the Divine Psyche Incarnation sneered along with Wind Dragon. “It seems the massacre of Greenheaven Village left a deep scar in me. As soon as I heard about my friends in danger, I forgot all about my trump cards.”

His gaze fell on the black-and-white orbs, now fully merged into the chaos sphere. “Still, we must move faster. Even with such strong cards in hand, that vision may yet come to pass. The stronger we are, the easier it will be to face it when the time comes.”

“Hahaha! Yes, the stronger we grow, the more the enemy fears us!” Wind Dragon’s booming laughter echoed through the mindscape as he carried the Divine Psyche Incarnation straight toward the chaos sphere. “Only a sliver remains. Let’s finish the fusion!”

“Yes, let’s end this!” the Divine Psyche Incarnation shouted, his right hand half-clenched. The Hunyuan Greatsword tore through layer after layer of barriers before falling into his grasp. “Dao Art, Spirit Light Chains! Green Sovereign Divine Tree!”

The Green Sovereign Divine Tree rose beside the divine chamber, thousands of vines lashing toward the chaos sphere. Ten Spirit Light Chains burst from Lu Chen’s palm, climbing up the Green Sovereign Divine Tree and piercing straight into the chaos sphere.

The Divine Psyche Incarnation shouted, “Avatars, return!”

Lu Chen’s physical body in the outside world echoed the command. The first avatar, Lu Qing, opened his eyes. With a sweep of his hand, he drew the other two avatars back into Lu Chen’s sea of consciousness.

“Original, we’re here.” Lu Qing looked toward the Divine Psyche Incarnation hovering in the sky and immediately channeled his strength over. “What do you need us to do?”

The Divine Psyche Incarnation thrust the Hunyuan Greatsword into the heart of the chaos sphere. “The chaos sphere will unleash one last surge. Spread out around the island and the divine chamber. Do not let the power of Void destroy it.”

“Got it.”

Lu Qing pulled out the Twin-Fish Medallion from the Heavenly Pool to gather spirit qi. “Second, get ready to activate Dao Art. Third, put everything you’ve got into summoning the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.”

Standing at the center of the divine chamber, Lu Qing silently chanted: The Innate acts as the body, the Acquired acts as the function. Nature gives rise to the Dao, and the Divine Tree bridges the land and heaven.

He formed a series of hand seals and pressed the Twin-Fish Medallion down.

It fused into the divine chamber, unleashing a massive surge of spirit qi from its core. Lu Qing turned and shouted, “Second, begin gathering Dao Art and spread the energy outward!”

“Got it, boss.”

The second avatar shouted, “Dao Art, The Way of Nature!”

He flashed to the center of the chamber. His green robe billowed without wind as a brilliant Dao Art radiance spread outward beneath his feet.

Within three breaths, the radiance of the Dao Art filled the chamber. The floor shimmered like a vast ocean, with the black and white twin fish swimming freely across its watery surface, circling around the second avatar.

He shouted again: “Dao Art, Yang Purifying Water!”

The twin fish halted, plunging into the center of the Dao Art to become the black and white eyes of yin and yang.

A Taiji symbol formed at the center, with the Earth Plate within it, the Human Plate circling that, and the Heaven Plate surrounding them all.[1]

The three plates whirled around the Taiji symbol, surging with power. Meanwhile, waves of blue Yang Purifying Water rose from the Innate Bagua Diagram, condensing into a shimmering barrier above.[2]

Lu Qing poured his spirit qi into the Dao Art, then rushed out of the chamber together with the second avatar. “The protective shield of Yang Purifying Water is formed. Third, it’s your turn!”

Still lacking self-awareness, the third avatar stammered, “U-understood... boss.”

He then leaped into the heart of the Innate Bagua Diagram. “Green Sovereign... Divine Tree!”

With a roar, he pressed his right hand against the yin-yang line of the Taiji symbol. From its center, a small Green Sovereign Divine Tree sprouted. It quivered uncertainly, then its branches and leaves burst outward, growing rapidly.

Outside the divine chamber, the larger Green Sovereign Divine Tree felt the pull. With a shudder, it severed its vine-like roots and dissolved, merging into the tree within the Taiji symbol.

Lu Qing’s voice rang out: “It worked. Third, get out!”

He raised his head and saw the vines, once broken away, now coiling tightly around the Hunyuan Greatsword. The blade, buried in the chaos sphere, continued to devour the power of Void. “It’s still not enough...”

He then glanced down, only to see the divine chamber fully encased within the Green Sovereign Divine Tree’s trunk.

The Bagua Diagram stretched outward. The Divine Tree reinforced the water shield as it swelled with relentless force.

The three avatars darted to different positions, guiding the shield’s expansion. It grew—one zhang, two, ten, a hundred... a thousand.

By then, the shield spanned nearly a thousand zhang, while the Divine Tree had risen to eight hundred. But the expansion had been rushed. No anchor had been set in the east. The barrier there had only reached halfway before faltering.

The three avatars sat cross-legged at the south, west, and north positions. “Original, something’s still missing...”

Lu Qing gazed at the weakened eastern shield and sighed. The east is the most vital position. It represents the direction of life. Without a formation eye there, it will become a flaw. The power of Void will break through.[3]

“It’s already at its limit?” Lu Chen’s gaze locked on the eastern shield. It was clearly weaker than the other positions. “Without a formation eye in the east, its strength is reduced by nine-tenths. I need to find a way, and fast.”

1. In the Taiji Diagram, the Earth Plate lies closest to the center, forming the foundation and representing the physical world and the body. Surrounding it is the Human Plate, symbolizing consciousness, action, and the practitioner’s role as a bridge between Earth and Heaven. The outermost layer is the Heaven Plate, embodying the cosmic realm and the universal laws that govern all. Together, the layers reflect a Daoist view of reality: the material supports the conscious, and the conscious aligns with the cosmic order. ☜

2. To picture it more clearly, imagine the Taiji symbol as the heart of the formation. Nested within this symbol are the three Plates—Earth at the core, Human around it, and Heaven forming the outermost ring—rotating in harmony with the Taiji’s endless cycle of yin and yang. Surrounding all of this is the greater Bagua Diagram, its eight trigrams forming the framework of heaven and earth itself. From the Bagua rose waves of blue Yang Purifying Water, which wove together with the revolving Plates to form a vast shimmering barrier above. In this way, the Taiji and the Plates served as the core, while the Bagua spread outward as the encompassing shell, the two layers reinforcing one another like body and armor. ☜

3. The East is represented by the trigram Zhen (震). It symbolizes growth, vitality, and movement, like springtime when all things awaken. Because of this association with renewal and rising energy, the eastern position in the Bagua is often linked to life force, health, and longevity. ☜