"A failure of Transcendence from the last epoch... interesting."
Han Xuanji thought to himself; he had previously learned many secrets from the mouth of the Heavenly Emperor.
Even though a chaos epoch had passed, the deeds of figures like the Supreme Divine Venerable were naturally passed down by word of mouth among existences at the Limitless Primordial level.
The world believed that the Supreme Divine Venerable had long since perished on the path of Transcendence, never imagining that he would hide within this Sea of Great Dao Origin for an entire chaos epoch.
Han Xuanji did not speak immediately, but instead quietly observed the other party, who seemed to bear him no hostility.
The other party was hidden here and did not dare to make the slightest move, presumably harboring a bone-deep hatred for the will of chaos.
With this thought, a glint of light flashed in Han Xuanji's eyes, and he already had a plan in mind—this Supreme Divine Venerable was an excellent candidate to win over.
The other party was an old-timer Limitless Primordial Perfection; even if he had suffered heavy injuries, his foundation remained unfathomable. Having cultivated in seclusion within the Sea of Great Dao Origin for hundreds of millions of years, his comprehension of the Dao and familiarity with this place were likely unrivaled by anyone in the entire Chaos.
"Hiding here for hundreds of millions of years, Your Excellency, you must be tired of it."
Han Xuanji no longer hesitated and spoke slowly, his voice spreading across the Sea of Great Dao Origin.
It broke the silence of the Sea of Origin, and at the same time, his gaze locked onto the area where the Supreme Divine Venerable was hidden.
Hearing this, the Supreme Divine Venerable was finally certain that Han Xuanji wasn't bluffing, but had truly discovered him.
"Truly, the youth are to be feared..."
The Supreme Divine Venerable stood up abruptly, his long silver hair falling down, exuding an aura of vicissitude and loneliness from hundreds of millions of years.
His gaze locked heavily onto Han Xuanji, filled with shock and vigilance, yet without much hostility.
An existence who could stand calmly in the Sea of Great Dao Origin and easily see through his concealment techniques was definitely no ordinary person; acting rashly would bring him nothing but harm.
At his Realm, conflicts rarely occurred, and the pursuit was nothing more than Transcendence.
"This old man has hidden here for hundreds of millions of years, yet Your Excellency was able to see through it at a glance. This skill has truly opened my eyes."
The Supreme Divine Venerable's voice was hoarse, weighted with the burden of ages:
"I wonder what Your Excellency's title is, and why you have stepped into this Sea of Great Dao Origin?"
"A Junior from the Great Firmament Heaven Domain, Xuantian."
Han Xuanji nodded slightly, his tone peaceful:
"This Junior felt the wonders of the Sea of Great Dao Origin and came to take a look; I didn't expect to meet a legendary figure like you, Senior, here."
Han Xuanji did not use the 'new' name of Immortal Realm, but rather a more ancient one.
"Great Firmament Heaven Domain? It seems that kid did indeed open up a world; he told me about it back then."
A look of reminiscence flashed in the Supreme Divine Venerable's eyes, and his gaze toward Han Xuanji became a bit warmer.
Clearly, as a fellow Primal Chaos Demon God, he knew the Immortal Ancestor and even had a decent relationship with him.
"But... legendary?"
The Supreme Divine Venerable sneered, a trace of self-deprecation flashing in his eyes,
"Just a failure, that's all. How can I be called legendary?"
He raised his hand to stroke the crack between his eyebrows, his tone full of resentment.
"Back then, when this old man attained Limitless Primordial Perfection, I thought I could step into the Grandmist and break the shackles. Who knew that the will of chaos would secretly strike, damaging my Dao foundation and destroying my Physical Body? If I hadn't risked my life to hide in this Sea of Great Dao Origin, I would have long since turned into nourishment."
At the mention of the will of chaos, the dao-rhythm around him flared with a hint of ferocity; clearly, the hundreds of millions of years of hiding and pain had never truly dissipated.
Han Xuanji observed the other's reaction and spoke slowly, his words pointing directly at the core:
"The will of chaos—it has never hindered just one person's Transcendence, but rather the path forward for all living beings in Chaos."
The Supreme Divine Venerable's gaze narrowed as he said:
"Oh? Could it be that you have also seen the will of chaos?"
Han Xuanji shook his head and explained:
"Although I haven't seen the will of chaos, the ancestor of my Immortal Realm similarly failed in Transcendence because he was hindered by the will of chaos."
"And since its birth, the will of chaos has viewed the living beings of Chaos as pawns in its palm, unable to tolerate even the slightest escape from its control."
Han Xuanji's tone was flat, but every word hit the mark:
"It seems to allow living beings to cultivate, but in reality, it has long since set up shackles. Demon gods born from the Chaos Origin carry a Chaos Brand, making the path of Transcendence incomparably difficult... Even for beings like us born in small worlds, although we lack a deep Chaos Brand, we are still secretly watched by it. At the slightest sign of Transcendence, we suffer its backlash."
Hearing this, the Supreme Divine Venerable's eyes were full of anger:
"I didn't expect him to fail as well. Damn that will of chaos."
"Then can no one break this situation?"
He asked in a deep voice, his gaze fixed intently on Han Xuanji, as if hoping to find a glimmer of hope from his words.
Seeing this, Han Xuanji understood and spoke slowly:
"It's not that there's no one. A great figure once emerged from my Great Firmament Heaven Domain; Senior might not know, but he has already succeeded in Transcendence."
"He succeeded?"
The Supreme Divine Venerable's heart shook.
He didn't expect a being born in this epoch to have already stayed one step ahead of him.
"He actually succeeded..."
The Supreme Divine Venerable muttered to himself, the gloom in his eyes dissipating slightly, replaced by a hint of hope,
"Then how did he succeed?"
Han Xuanji smiled slightly and spoke directly without concealment:
"That Senior, like this Junior, is not a Chaos Innate being, so he did not have a Chaos Brand on him. Transcendence was not difficult."
He did not mention the matter of the transcendence beacon; after all, one cannot know another's heart. Although the Supreme Divine Venerable had a grudge against the will of chaos, he still needed to be tested. Revealing everything at once would be a poor move.
In fact, Han Xuanji had reviewed the future in his simulations and knew many things.
Primal Chaos Demon Gods like the Immortal Ancestor and the Supreme Divine Venerable, even if they had a beacon to smuggle themselves into the Hongmeng Sea, would still easily attract the attention of the will of chaos. This would likely accelerate the destruction of this chaos epoch and might not even result in successful Transcendence.
In the simulation, it was very likely because of that Juntian Merchant Venerable that the will of chaos woke up early, accelerating the end of this chaos epoch.
As for whether the other party succeeded in Transcendence, Han Xuanji was not sure, as the information from the simulation was incomplete.
The Supreme Divine Venerable nodded, his heart full of doubt.
He stared at Han Xuanji for a long time, trying to see any hint of falsehood in his eyes, but Han Xuanji's Eternal Dao Heart was clear and waveless, leaving him unable to see the slightest clue.
"So, Fellow Daoist, what is your meaning?"
Seeing the other party was interested, Han Xuanji said frankly:
"The living beings of Chaos have suffered from the will of chaos for a long time, and the will of chaos is not invincible. If we unite, we might be able to resist it."
Hearing this, the Supreme Divine Venerable shook his head; he had after all suffered at the hands of the will of chaos and did not dare to trust blindly.
"The power of the will of chaos is beyond your imagination."
The Supreme Divine Venerable pondered:
"The living beings of Chaos each have their own thoughts. Demon gods are all arrogant people who seek profit and avoid harm; how can they be easily united? At the slightest carelessness, there will be internal strife, and we will instead become nourishment for the will of chaos."
"Is Your Excellency afraid?"
Han Xuanji said indifferently, then added:
"I wish for the living beings of the myriad worlds of Chaos to have the right to freely seek the Dao, no longer shackled by the will of chaos."
"If Your Excellency is unwilling to face the will of chaos, then you only need to help me suppress the insignificant ones of Chaos and protect my lineage while I search for a way to break the situation."
He stated his request simply, neither mentioning taking control of Chaos nor mentioning using the other party.