Master?

Zhong.

Wu Wang felt that his Dao Heart was somewhat insufficient.

"What Zhong?"

"My name is Chaos, also known as the Eastern Emperor. I am the vessel of time, the defining principle of Heaven and Earth."

The blue-clad 'Wu Wang' spoke softly, a slightly apologetic smile on his lips.

"It is my fault for disturbing you, Master, while you are still growing."

Wu Wang was a bit stunned.

He gazed at the great bell, which was marked with numerous scratches. Its Dao rhythm was exceedingly obscure, yet it felt somewhat familiar.

"Retrospection?"

Zhong answered, "It is I."

Wu Wang murmured, "You... you're influencing the present me from the future?"

"I dare not disturb you, Master," Zhong said softly. "I am merely ensuring that I can be smoothly birthed to execute your will, Master. I was born from your will."

"I don't quite understand," Wu Wang gestured with his hands, not even sure what he himself was trying to convey.

He asked, "Where are you now?"

"I have not yet been born, Master. I am in the future."

Zhong said with a smile, "You have already grasped a part of my body: the Star God's disc. You still need to obtain more treasures, and it will be you who refines them into me. Then, I will begin to accompany you, Master, through the battles in the Great Wilderness."

"Not yet born, how... Explain it to me in detail."

Zhong answered, "This Great Dao is quite complex, Master. Your current Dao Realm is too low; you are unable to understand or comprehend these matters."

Wu Wang was immediately a bit flustered.

Zhong disdains me.

What kind of cultivation experience was it to be told by one's own future Divine Artifact that one's Dao Realm was too low?

"Just explain," Wu Wang said calmly, clasping his hands behind his back. "I'm listening."

"Yes. Possibilities."

Zhong stepped forward slowly, his hands held somewhat nervously before him, fingertips lightly touching.

He said, "I am the most special existence among Divine Artifacts because you endowed me with this Great Dao.

"This Great Dao cannot be depicted; it originates from possibility, defines possibility, and also binds possibility.

"To take the simplest example, when you reach a crossroads, three paths appear before you, and in the next instant, you will decide which path to take.

"When outsiders are unaware of your thoughts, there are three choices in the next instant, leading to three possibilities: left, middle, or right.

"When the next instant arrives and you choose a path, the three possibilities converge upon your choice.

"Time is like a long river, yet its embankments are only built up to 'now.' Consequently, the past loses possibilities; it is audible, visible, but unchangeable. The next instant of the future, however, can be changed.

"Time flows ceaselessly forward. The residual images of the material world continually pave new embankments, and the will of living beings becomes the scenery upon these embankments.

"But any will has the potential to slightly interfere with the flow of the river of time."

Wu Wang nodded calmly, saying indifferently, "Oh? Mere superposition state collapse. What else?"

Zhong was taken aback for a moment.

"To understand such a profound Great Dao at your current stage truly earns my admiration. You are indeed the most brilliant pearl in the river of time of the Great Wilderness, the hope of all living beings, and the nightmare of Divine Spirits."

Wu Wang urged, "First, tell me: if you haven't been born, why do you exist?"

"I do not exist in the moment you are in, only the disc, my embryonic form."

Zhong hurriedly said, "You endowed me with characteristics, using me to suppress time, to suppress countless possibilities.

"You can imagine that if time stood still, every possibility would be like the crossing branches of a tree, spreading out into innumerable twigs.

"Of course, time cannot stand still, so branches keep disappearing, and the paths that need to be suppressed aren't too numerous overall.

"When time stands still, for this endless tree of possibilities, as long as one connecting line exists—as long as one path reaches the moment of my birth in the future—then I will be born through this thread of possibility.

"Afterward, I can suppress other paths where I could not be born, from that node in the future, negating all other possibilities.

"This is to ensure that I can be born."

CLANG—

As Zhong finished speaking, the large bell beside him gently vibrated, its lingering sound swirling around Wu Wang's ears, stirring layers of realization within him.

But then, Wu Wang suppressed these realizations, gazing at the large bell.

"What have you done to me?"

"Master, I am an extension of your will."

Zhong spoke softly, "I have tried to minimize the impact on your growth period.

"What should be most deeply engraved in your memory are the three retrospections. That was when you had too little information at your disposal and were forcibly overpowered by Emperor Shun's Order incarnation. There was only one possibility to avoid Emperor Shun's Order incarnation.

"But that possibility was too harsh and would have caused you to lose your close friends and family.

"You valued them immensely, so I took the liberty of intervening three times at a medium level, allowing you to find an easier path."

An easier path... That wasn't easy at all.

"There seems to be a flaw," Wu Wang said indifferently. "If I had lost then, you wouldn't exist later."

"You still don't understand."

Zhong sighed lightly. "In the timeline woven from countless possibilities, as long as there's one timeline where I am born, then I can suppress all other timelines.

"You may find it easier to accept this way of putting it: there are actually no parallel timelines.

"Of course, timelines are not parallel. It's more like a single line to the left of 'now,' which is fuzzy on the right, with the origin point constantly moving from left to right.

"The properties you bestowed upon me are immortality, eternity, and absolute supremacy over the years. Therefore, as long as there's one possibility that gives rise to me, I will inevitably exist when all future possibilities collapse into a fixed timeline.

"Unless you never came into this world; then the initial possibility wouldn't exist."

After a pause, Zhong pondered carefully, then continued, "A static analysis shows that, in fact, one-third of the paths can lead to my birth.

"That is to say, without my intervention, the overall probability of you becoming a supreme expert and forging me in the future is one-third."

This?

So, as long as I *could* possibly be awesome, then I'm *destined* to be awesome?

Internally, Wu Wang cursed this as outrageous.

This is too much! This cheat is way too overpowered!

But on second thought, it seemed to be *his own* cheat... Well, never mind then.

Wu Wang kept his expression impassive and said, "So, you negated the other two-thirds of possibilities. This inevitably still interfered with me."

"Master."

Zhong looked somewhat distressed and sighed. "This is truly unavoidable, as cause and effect are intricately linked, and the changes in possibilities are inherently unpredictable.

"Moreover, it is your will that shaped me. I am just your instrument, a vessel for one of your Great Dao.

"You needn't worry about me scheming against you; that in itself would be an insult to me."

"What's the deal with retrospection?"

Zhong explained, "It was me erasing the established timeline, returning to a state where possibilities coexisted, and letting you make your own choice. This consumed a considerable amount of my power."

Wu Wang frowned and said, "If you used retrospection on me several more times, wouldn't my vital energy be greatly depleted, and I'd just perish?"

"Before you would have to undertake the final retrospection that would deplete you, I will intervene strongly."

"Strong intervention refers to?"

Zhong said, "Intervening in even earlier possibilities, ensuring you can safely navigate the crisis without needing to be involved."

Wu Wang continued to ask, "So you mean everything must develop in the direction you anticipate?"

Zhong replied, "Master, it is the direction *you* anticipate; otherwise, you would not forge me. I am merely a Divine Artifact in your hands.

"—Please do not resent my constant emphasis on these points. I truly fear that if you make up your mind, you might decide not to forge me."

Wu Wang's expression softened slightly. "Then, the 'me' that accompanies you at this moment—can he sense that you are conversing with me now?"

It responded with a laugh, "Hasn't this conversation already become part of your memories?"

Wu Wang was momentarily lost for words.

Zhong said, "You do not like interference from others, which is why during those three retrospections, I deliberately let you glimpse the phantom of Emperor Fuxi.

"But Master, the future is not predetermined, and you are bound by no fate.

"In the span of time from your present moment until my birth, the stories you leave behind, the trajectory your life takes—these are all your own decisions.

"My existence is to protect your path forward, to ensure you become the sovereign of the Great Wilderness.

"And when you and I finally meet, this fragment of my consciousness will erase itself.

"Eternal beings only retain their spiritual nature from the past."

Wu Wang smiled and said, "Tell me, how many times have you influenced me?"

"Countless times, but all were very subtle influences. You are probably most concerned about the recent one."

Zhong sighed and said, "When your spiritual mind is particularly focused, you may glimpse future events you might experience.

"I simply, when you broke through the seal, amplified your negative emotions towards the Gold God across several potential timelines extending from that moment.

"The Star God's Dao is your current foundation. The sooner you merge with the Star God, the sooner I can arrive before you."

Wu Wang asked, "If I don't choose the Star God's Dao, will you continue to intervene?"

"Master, I wouldn't dare to do so. But you will inevitably choose the Star God's Great Dao; it's just a matter of when that juncture occurs.

"Assisting your fusion with the Star God's Dao now, by leveraging Zhu Rong's birth, is what my analysis indicates as the most effortless and comfortable juncture for you.

"Because the starry sky is void, as you already know."

Zhong bowed his head slightly and said softly, "Constrained by the Temporal Dao Rules, I cannot tell you too much, or you yourself will suffer a greater backlash from those rules."

"Backlash?"

"Simply put, conversing with my future self comes at a small price for you.

"Unless you encounter danger, I will avoid direct communication with you in the future.

"You should still be able to ask me one more question. Consider it a small privilege. You would do best to ask if there are any shortcuts ahead."

Shortcuts?

Wu Wang smiled faintly. Was he the kind of man who would resort to shortcuts and cheating to win?

Wu Wang asked, "What is my best path now?"

"Go to the Heaven Palace. Poach their talents."

CLANG—

The Eastern Emperor's Bell swayed gently as if struck by some unseen force.

Wu Wang's vision blurred momentarily, and the mysterious Illusionary Realm shattered in an instant.

A strand of white hair fluttered up. Wu Wang looked down to see that the long hair on his chest had turned silvery-white.

Wu Wang hurriedly glanced at himself and, discovering that only a third of his long hair had turned silver, sighed in relief.

This seemed to be the price Zhong had mentioned.

Deep within him, the images of his conversation with the Eastern Emperor's Bell gradually grew vague.

Wu Wang desperately tried to commit these things to memory, but an invisible ripple continuously washed through his mind, erasing these memories as if with an eraser.

Just then, the disc in the Star God's palm trembled slightly.

TING—

It was the sound of a bell again, but this chime was distant and faint. Yet, it allowed Wu Wang to retain most of the blurry images in his mind.

The only thing that remained clear were those six words.

*Go to Heaven Palace. Poach their talents.*

This?

Is this bell even a proper, serious bell?

Is it polite to say something like that so directly?

Moreover... Xihe's presence was a bit too overwhelming, and Chang Xi seemed a little two-faced. Besides, they were both married, with ten or twelve children each! Morally and psychologically, he couldn't accept it.

Ugh, could 'poach their talents' possibly mean going after strong gods like the Young Master or the Earth God?

Wu Wang shook his head. Just as he was about to carefully process the sensation, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder, and an intense Heavenly might appeared above his head.

That Heavenly might was not just vast; it was on the verge of solidifying and collapsing the cave dwelling itself, plunging all living beings within hundreds of miles into a deathly stillness.

This is...

Divine Light burst forth from Wu Wang's eyes, treating the solid mountain walls as if they were nothing. The thick clouds in the sky outside appeared within his mind.

A transcendence catastrophe!

It was actually his own transcendence catastrophe!

Only then did Wu Wang realize that his Dao Realm had unknowingly stepped into a realm he had never before entered.

Myriad starlight swirled around his body, and the light formed by two intersecting galaxies warmed his Dao body.

As his spiritual mind circulated, it was as if he stood outside Heaven and Earth, amidst the stars, gazing down at all living beings below.

His thoughts flowed like water. He was now sitting in the quiet room of the cave dwelling, his eyes filled with Divine Light, his heart brimming with enlightenment. Then he shook his head and chuckled, a hint of tranquility showing in his eyes.

'The future is not predetermined; different possibilities exist, but all possibilities should lead to our encounter.'

If a woman had said that to him, how romantic it would be.

Wu Wang stood up. His fingers brushed through his silver-white hair, restoring them to their black color. He seemed to walk on the ground, yet he left not a single footprint in the light layer of dust.

He dispelled the Barrier and lifted the cloth curtain.

The several beautiful figures waiting anxiously at the cave entrance were all stunned at that moment.

"Um."

Wu Wang said with a smile, "Wait for me to transcend this catastrophe, and we can chat when I return."

Jingwei and Ling Xiaolan both took half a step forward, but Lin Suqing had already voiced a reminder, "Young Master, please be careful. Perhaps you should try to stabilize your condition a bit more?"

Wu Wang responded with a calm smile.

He was the Star God; what Heavenly Tribulation should he fear?

"Just a moment."

WHOOSH—

Wu Wang left an afterimage where he stood. The afterimage trembled slightly, and he had already vanished in an instant.

In the next moment, Wu Wang stood tall high in the sky, his long, unbound hair fluttering of its own accord. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked up towards the highest reaches of the clouds.

Above the tribulation clouds, exotic beasts gathered in hordes, and the phantoms of a hundred gods lingered.

Below the tribulation clouds, the demonic cultivators of the Annihilation Sect stared in astonishment at the sky, at the figure standing quietly between Heaven and Earth.

"Sect... Sect Master, he's transcended?"

Yang Wudi cried out, his voice trembling, while the expressions of the surrounding Annihilation Sect members became increasingly stupefied.

Especially those demonic cultivators whose cultivation had not progressed much over the decades—they now wished they could just end it all with a single slash of a blade, tears streaming down their faces.

When the Sect Master arrived, they were at their current realm.

When the Sect Master became an Immortal, they were at their current realm.

The Sect Master was about to weather the transcendence catastrophe, and their realms... remained as immovable as a mountain.

"Quick! Send out the invitations far and wide! Prepare for the feast!"

The cultivators of the Annihilation Sect were instantly invigorated.