Chapter 168: The Gamble Begins, All Things as Chess!

Ji's proposal, like a massive stone striking a calm lake,

it raises not ripples, but a towering wave capable of overturning everything.

Integrate one's own Great Dao's Primordial Source completely into the victor's Dao.

Never to rise again for eternity!

This Gamble is ruthless to the extreme, and crazy to the extreme as well.

Yao's heart missed a beat; she looks at Sun Wukong, her eyes full of worry.

This is no longer a matter of win or loss; it is a Gamble on the survival of the Dao,

betting whether the meaning of one's own existence will be completely erased.

However, the battle intent on Sun Wukong's face not only does not wane, but burns even more fiercely.

He looks at Ji, and within his Fiery Golden Eyes, besides the towering arrogance, there is also a hint of… amusement.

It's like a gambler seeing an ultimate Gamble that makes his blood surge.

"Interesting."

Sun Wukong grins, showing a set of stark white teeth.

"Truly interesting."

Ji's gaze slowly shifts from Sun Wukong to Yao.

His silhouette, formed of pure darkness, shows a barely perceptible ripple.

"Your Dao has altered the pattern."

Ji's voice remains as calm as a pool of Dead Water, yet within it there is a hint of never-before-seen inquiry.

He represents Fixed Number, represents the end; everything lies within his calculation.

But Yao's appearance, this newborn world birthed by the Illusory Dream Dao, is a complete variable.

A variable he cannot calculate, nor easily erase.

Sun Wukong, bearing the Golden Cudgel, nods broadly and carelessly.

"That's natural."

"I've long said, a two-person card game lacks vigor."

"Now with three-way stalemate, it's truly fair, and even more fun!"

His tone is relaxed, as if discussing a countryside game, not a high-stakes Gamble deciding the fate of three Supreme Existences.

Ji looks back at Sun Wukong.

"Given that, the Gamble's rules need to be redefined."

He no longer mentions erasing everything with force, because he knows that no longer works.

This newborn world has already formed countless ties with Yao's Dao and Sun Wukong's Dao.

Forceful destruction would only harm all three parties, even affecting the Void Seed he truly desires.

"Your turn."

Sun Wukong watches him with interest, wanting to see what new tricks this "end"-obsessed fellow can devise.

Ji slowly raises his hand, pointing to this vast, Vitality‑filled newborn world.

"The board is this world."

"The pieces are the myriad Living Beings that will be born in this world in the future."

"And the three of us are the players."

His voice bears no emotion, yet seems to contain a supreme principle echoing through this realm.

"The rules are simple."

"Ten thousand years as the term."

"We three will turn each of our Great Dao's Primordial Sources into three seeds, planting them into the core of this world."

"Let this world evolve freely, let all Living Beings choose freely."

"After ten thousand years, see what kind of climate this world ultimately presents."

Ji's gaze sweeps over Yao, then returns to Sun Wukong.

"If this world ultimately chooses Creation and harmony,

and heads toward eternal prosperity, then Yao's Dao has won."

"If this world ultimately chooses endless struggle and change,

floating amid chaos and rebirth, then your Dao has won."

"If this world, after experiencing all prosperity and struggle,

ultimately chooses Deathly Silence and calm, embracing the final 'unity', then… it is my Dao that has won."

"The victor takes that Void Seed."

"And the loser…"

Ji's voice pauses, becoming even colder.

"Offer one's own Great Dao's Primordial Source to the victor, becoming an eternal part of them."

As the words fall, the entire world seems to freeze for a moment.

Sun Wukong's Smile slowly recedes.

He knows Ji is serious.

This fellow intends to use a world's cycle,

to test whose Dao among the three is the ultimate truth.

Yao listens quietly beside him, sweat already seeping from her palms.

She understood that from this moment on, she was no longer the girl who needed to be protected.

She had already become, in this Supreme Gamble,

a key player on equal footing with Sun Wukong and Ji Ping.

Each of her thoughts, each evolution of her Dao,

will affect the future of this world and decide the fates of the three Supreme Existences.

Pressure pressed down like mountains and seas.

But more than that, there was an unprecedented sense of responsibility, and a… excitement of creating the future.

Ji's gaze was as deep as an abyss; he firmly believed that both prosperity and resistance were merely processes.

The end of everything must inevitably be an ending.

"All things return to one"; that is the Universe's eternal, unchanging ultimate truth.

But Sun Wukong was exactly the opposite!

What he sought to prove was that there is no such thing as a final point!

Life lies in struggle! The Universe lies in change!

"Freedom" and "Variables" are the fundamental forces behind all growth and the Universe's evolution!

This is a battle of ideas at the root.

A Dao struggle that no one can persuade the other in!

"Fine!"

Sun Wukong slammed the Golden Cudgel heavily onto the ground, and the black‑gold Equal Heaven Dao Rhythm instantly swept outward.

"I, Old Sun, will gamble this ten‑thousand‑year span with you!"

"Betting on the future of this world!"

He was bold as the clouds, filled with absolute confidence.

He believed that as long as there are Living Beings, there will inevitably be Unyielding and resistance!

His Way of the Equal Heaven was destined to become this world's final choice!

Ji slowly nodded, as if Sun Wukong's reaction surprised him not at all.

"Then, let's begin."

As soon as the words fell, his body, composed of pure darkness, began to slowly contract and coalesce.

In the end, all that represented "ending" and Deathly Silence, the Silent Extinction Path, transformed into a… pitch‑black seed.

The seed was small, no larger than a fingernail cap.

But the moment it appeared, the surrounding light, energy,

even the faint breeze Yao had just created was silently devoured by it.

It was like a conceptual black hole, representing the end of all things.

Ji flicked his finger once.

The pitch‑black seed then became a streak of light, silently shooting into the very core of this newly‑born world.

Having done all this, Ji's figure became far more ethereal, as if merely a faint shadow.

He looked at Sun Wukong and Yao, waiting quietly.

Sun Wukong, seeing this, let out a wild laugh.

"It's my turn, Old Sun!"

A thought flickered in his mind, that unruly, Unyielding defiance of Heaven and Earth,

the Way of the Equal Heaven's Primordial Source, which seeks to shatter all rules, also began to rageously coalesce.

Without Ji's Deathly Silence and restraint.

Sun Wukong's Dao Seed, the moment it appeared, was a raging black‑gold thunderstorm!

Within the storm, lightning flashed and thunder roared, filled with endless change and infinite possibilities.

At times it turned into towering flames, intent on incinerating the heavens.

At other times it became boundless black ice, aiming to freeze eternity.

This is the embodiment of "Variables"!

"Go!"

Sun Wukong shouted loudly, and that black‑gold thunderstorm howled as it surged into the world's core!

For a moment, the world's core was split: half Deathly Silence devouring everything, half unending Variables raging.

The two diametrically opposite Great Dao Primordial Sources began the most primal confrontation and infiltration.

Now, only Yao remained.

The gazes of the two Supreme Existences simultaneously focused on her.

Yao took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

She was neither as cold as Ji nor as violent as Sun Wukong.

A gentle, warm halo emanated from her.

It was the light of Life, the light of the Dream Realm, the light of Harmony.

Her Illusory Dream Path's Primordial Source began to coalesce.

Finally, in her palm appeared a crystal‑clear seed radiating a rainbow of light.

The seed was so beautiful it intoxicated the heart.

It neither devoured everything like Ji's Dao Seed nor raged endlessly like Sun Wukong's Dao Seed.

It simply floated silently, yet seemed intertwined with the world's mountains, rivers,

The flora and trees all generated a wondrous resonance.

It represents "existence" itself.

It represents "Harmony" and "Creation".

Yao opened her eyes, her gaze filled with resolve.

Her jade hand gave a gentle push.

The multicolored seed drifted and fell into the world's core.

Buzz—!

When the third Dao Seed returned to its place, the entire world jolted violently!

At the world's core, the pure darkness representing Ji,

and the raging thunder representing Sun Wukong,

when they touched Yao's multicolored halo, actually… ceased their mutual attacks and erosion.

Yao's Dao, like a bridge, a Harmony agent.

It does not suppress either side, but adopts an almost inclusive stance,

temporarily… linking the other two extreme Great Dao together.

Creation, change, termination.

A complete cycle has formed at the core of this newborn world!

The Gamble officially begins!

Sun Wukong, Ji, Yao.

The three Supreme Existences float silently in midair, watching the world below begin its intense evolution.

Their gazes pierce the endless void, seeing the world's core.

The three Dao Seeds embodying their ultimate ideals have begun to sprout.

All things have already become a game!

And at that moment, an anomaly suddenly erupts!

At the far edge of this newborn world, on a freshly formed barren black soil,

a faint wisp of life essence actually… was born!

It is neither a flower nor a grass.

But a most primitive… undead creature, formed from black soil and dry bones out of thin air!

It lifts its head bewildered; within its hollow eye sockets, there is no Línghún flame.

Yet instinctively, it kneels toward the direction of the world's core.

It is worshipping.

The direction it worships is neither Sun Wukong nor Yao.

But that Dao Seed representing termination and Deathly Silence…

【Silent Extinction】 Dao Seed!