Xu Zimo could no longer control the silver-white lines inside his body. To him, this was unacceptable. Who knew whether that thing was some ominous entity? With such an unstable factor living in one’s body, how could anyone feel at ease?

At this moment, as the black-and-white gases formed from the yin-yang fish surged into his mind, Xu Zimo could sense the Dao more clearly than ever. More importantly, he could feel the presence of the silver-white lines within him. They were breathing. In other words, those silver-white lines were living things.

“You’ve accumulated enough to ascend to Infinite Dao. To condense a Dao Fruit and step into the Dao Fruit stage, all you lack is an opportunity,” the voice of the True Martial Progenitor echoed atop the mountain, vast and imposing. Above them, the gentle breeze condensed, gathering as if it were shifting into a storm.

“I will give you this opportunity,” the ancestor continued. “I’ll help you achieve the Infinite Dao realm, but everything after that, your soul path, your mastery of edicts, will depend on you.”

As he spoke, the True Martial Dao Fruit above his head floated forward. A Dao Fruit did not look like an actual fruit, but rather the embryonic form of one’s own Dao, a shape that could be anything. The True Martial Dao Fruit’s edicts flowed like threads around Xu Zimo’s crown.

Everyone is a dragon; everyone is True Martial.

The ancestor extended his hand, touching lightly with his fingertip. A torrent of power surged into the space between Xu Zimo’s brows.

“The Dao Fruit concerns your own Primordial Edicts. I’ll open the Gate of Myriad Mysteries for you, go find the Dao Fruit that belongs to you.”

When the words fell, Xu Zimo felt everything before his eyes and ears vanish. He stood in a world of silence. Wherever his gaze fell, it seemed to reach all the way up to the Four Heavens of the Upper Heavens and down to the masses at the bottom of the mortal worlds. His thoughts carried divinity.

Within his True Fate World, the azure planet, the God World, began to turn endlessly.

“What path should my Dao Fruit take?” he asked himself. Even he felt a moment of confusion.

Walk the path of invincibility and crush all before him.

Condense an invincible Infinite Dao.

But even invincibility had forms. Anyone could aim for an invincible Infinite Dao, an invincible blade intent forming a Blade Dao Fruit, an invincible fist intent forming a fist Dao Fruit. There were even deeper versions, like the True Martial Progenitor’s Dao Fruit built upon the ideal that everyone could practice martial arts and everyone could become a dragon. One could base a Dao Fruit on mountains and rivers, or even the Nine Heavens.

All things in existence could become a Dao Fruit.

Because there were too many possible paths, Xu Zimo felt lost.

He recalled everything he’d experienced along the way.

Some called him a Demon Sovereign, his emergence meant the world’s doom. Many sought to kill him, shouting about eradicating evil on behalf of the Dao, and even heaven itself rejected him. Yet others, like his Infernal Archon Paimon, wished to follow him and regarded him as a beacon in their lives.

“We’ve cultivated for millions of years,” they said, “only to change the idea that demon means evil. If we can follow the Infernal Lord, we’d die without regret.”

He walked a path opposite the world. And there was another issue. The True Fate World he had created, the existence of the God World, if it were ever exposed, the heavens would erupt in fury. Imagine it.

How could the heavens tolerate another world’s existence? The moment it was discovered they would annihilate him. This was why Xu Zimo rarely used the powers of the True Fate World. Only when facing Infinite Dao cultivators did he occasionally draw upon its edicts.

At this stage, creating the God World was already an act of defying heaven, making him its enemy. As the Infernal Lord, he also opposed the masses; someone would eventually die.

In the end, he had no path, or rather, only one.

Absolute Annihilation.

Annihilate everything...

Annihilate all beings...

Annihilate all worlds...

Annihilate even the High Heavens!

Only then could he walk to the end and allow his God World to become the main world, with himself as the one who defined its rules.

“If that’s the case... then I’ll just take Absolute Annihilate itself as my Dao Fruit!” Xu Zimo roared in laughter.

His black hair flew wildly, and infernal energy surged in his eyes.

“I want to cut down this sky and wipe out every living being. Then I’ll build another world of myriad wonders.”

In that moment, his mind became crystal clear. No stray thoughts. No hesitation. Only destruction, endless destruction. He would follow one path to the end, smash through every barrier, and do what others wouldn’t even dare imagine.

Outside, the True Martial Progenitor suddenly opened his eyes. He stared at Xu Zimo floating in the void, frowning. Something was wrong. Dense darkness floated around Xu Zimo, darkness that devoured and buried everything. Even someone of the ancestor’s realm felt threatened. Not by Xu Zimo’s power, but by the Absolute Annihilation Edict itself, which posed a danger to his own True Martial Edict.

The Absolute Annihilation Edict was something he knew. But Xu Zimo’s destruction wasn’t the same as the destruction that existed within heaven and earth. Because within the world, nothing truly died. All things were left a sliver of life. This was why the Dao was imperfect and could not reach ten; nine was the limit. One part was hidden, leaving life for all beings.

Yet Xu Zimo’s destruction was destruction of the tenth degree, total and absolute annihilation, leaving no chance of survival and not bound by the Dao of heaven and earth. Wherever he existed, he became the source of all destruction.

“So you’ve finally understood,” the ancestor murmured. “I don’t know how far you will go. It’s a pity, if you had cultivated tens of thousands of years earlier, you would’ve had a place in my campaign to slay the heavens. But now I can’t wait that long. If I fail, I truly hope the next one to challenge the heavens will be you.”

At that moment, the destruction rule around Xu Zimo grew stronger, as if it had surpassed the limits of destruction itself.

“This is annihilation. Today, I condense the Absolute Annihilation Dao Fruit, let heaven and earth rejoice!”

Xu Zimo’s voice boomed across the world though his mouth never opened. The black aura surrounding him shot skyward. It was not darkness, nor demonic energy, nor simple destruction, but the unique Absolute Annihilation Edict belonging solely to Xu Zimo.

Condensing this Absolute Annihilation Edict had cost him greatly.

What was Absolute Annihilation?

In a sense, any edict with offensive force could kill. Whether you slay someone with a sword beam or a blade, whether you burn them with fire or smash them with your fist, power itself has no morality. Only those who wield it do. So when it came to power, Xu Zimo accepted everything.

From the God World, he extracted every type of force. If it could harm, he absorbed it all and combined it into one.