Chapter 4585

In the depths of the void vortex, an endless mirror lake stretched out.

As if all the stars in the heavens had fallen into it, shimmering with radiant starlight, like the Milky Way flowing.

And above this boundless mirror lake in the void.

A figure sat cross-legged in plain sight.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat, sitting silently in the void of the cosmos.

The veil hanging from the bamboo hat covered his face.

Yet one could still discern a transcendent and serene expression, bearing an air of detachment from the world.

A profound and mysterious aura swirled around him.

As if countless galaxies orbited him, evolving various Dao runes.

And he carried an ancient air, as if he had been sitting here for countless ages.

At this moment, this transcendent figure held a fishing rod, as if he were fishing in this mirror lake.

Anyone who came here and saw this scene would feel something was off.

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's gaze likewise fell upon it, a strange color flashing in his eyes.

He sensed that this transcendent figure fishing was not a true body.

But rather something like an imprint or residual shadow.

Yet even if it was merely a residual shadow.

That transcendent aura and the ancient air emanating from him were still impossible to ignore.

Let alone in this special place.

If one said he had no background at all, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao would not believe it.

A thought crossed his mind.

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao stepped forward, clasped his hands slightly, and asked in a neither humble nor overbearing tone.

"May I ask, senior, why are you here?"

Upon hearing Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's words.

The figure seemed to slightly lift his head.

The gaze beneath the bamboo hat's veil turned toward Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao.

In an instant, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao felt an invisible gaze, as if it had pierced through him.

Of course, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao himself had many secrets, not so easily seen through.

"I never expected that after so long, someone would finally come."

"And moreover, it is an interesting little friend."

"Senior..." Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao said.

The transcendent man spoke lightly, his voice hoarse and lingering.

"As you see, I hold a fishing rod, so naturally I am fishing."

"Fishing?"

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's pupils flickered.

He glanced at this void mirror lake, like a starry sky, without a single ripple.

"Senior, this place seems to have no fish."

"Furthermore..."

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao then looked at the tip of the fishing rod held by the transcendent man.

"Senior's fishing rod seems to lack both hook and bait."

Upon hearing this, the transcendent man suddenly chuckled.

He raised his hand and pointed toward the direction Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao had come from through the void vortex.

"Isn't that little worm outside the bait?"

"Now the bait has already been bitten, you say—where is the fish?"

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He naturally understood that the little worm the transcendent man spoke of.

Should be the Myriad-Legged Demon Spider of the Fifth Heaven of the Emperor Realm outside the void vortex.

A Fifth Heaven Emperor Realm ferocious beast, looking upon the vast wilderness, would be considered a top-tier powerhouse.

But in this transcendent man's mouth, it was merely a little worm.

One could see that this transcendent man, though only a residual imprint.

Yet his true strength was likewise unimaginable.

Thinking this, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's eyes flashed with a hint of hidden dark light.

The corner of his mouth curled into a faint arc.

"It seems, senior, you regard this junior as the fish that took the hook."

"Haha, little friend, you are indeed interesting."

The transcendent man's eyes beneath the bamboo hat were deep as the universe.

"In this world, who among all beings is not a fish struggling in the river of fate?"

"I too merely wish to see if this fish has the strength to leap out of the water."

These words made Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's thoughts twitch slightly.

He could feel that this transcendent man bore him no great ill will.

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao clasped his hands solemnly.

"Senior, who exactly are you?"

This transcendent man's origins are certainly not simple.

"Me?"

"I am merely a fisherman forgotten by the ages."

"Look, this Nine Heavens Tianhe, since it is called Tianhe."

"It is naturally suitable for fishing."

"Moreover, it is strange that those fish actually fought each other, rushing in eagerly—don't you find that odd?"

Hearing this, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao fell silent.

The fish referred to by the fisherman.

Are they the vast and monstrous prodigies striving to enter the Nine Heavens Tianhe for trial?

Could it be that the mysterious immortal land still holds hidden secrets?

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's mind filled with many doubts.

However, this senior seems unwilling to reveal his identity.

At the next moment, the fisherman suddenly spoke.

"But you have reminded me of an old acquaintance from the past."

"An old acquaintance?" Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao showed a strange expression.

"No, calling him an old acquaintance is not quite fitting."

"Perhaps he should be called... a fishing companion."

"Only, my fishing companion does not fish for fish, but for karma."

"On you, I sense the aura of his lineage."

The fisherman's words made Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao ponder deeply in his heart.

Behind him stood the Jun family, the Jiang family, and the Yun clan and other forces.

It seems this fisherman should know some senior elder from his background family.

And specializing in fishing for karma refers to...

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao secretly pondered.

The fisherman leisurely put away his fishing rod.

"But since the fish have already swum before me, if I do not try, it would be a pity."

"Out of respect for that fishing companion, I can give you a chance."

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's mind stirred.

The fisherman slowly rose to his feet.

Immediately, the surrounding void suddenly shifted.

There was no earth-shattering slaughter, nor any overwhelming pressure like mountains and seas overturning.

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao only felt his vision blur.

He seemed to find himself at the center of the universe, with countless stars flickering beneath his feet.

The fisherman's figure stood at the edge of the boundless firmament.

At this moment, he seemed no longer that careless fisherman who could never catch a fish.

But rather like a true enlightened ancient immortal.

That aura caused Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's heart and spirit to tremble slightly.

The fisherman's cultivation realm is unfathomable; he should be counted among the top-tier giants of the vast expanse.

Moreover, this is merely a residual imprint aura left behind.

His true self must be even more unimaginable.

The fisherman's voice rang out, carrying a soul-shaking inquiry.

"In this world, all beings are trapped by the pursuit of immortality."

"I ask you: if one day your cultivation reaches the heavens and you gain the chance to become immortal."

"Will you follow heaven's will, bear the mandate of the Dao, and seal your immortality?"

"Or will you defy heaven, shatter these myriad heavens and Dao, and seize that sliver of immortal opportunity?"

These few words are like a direct interrogation of the heart.

Strictly speaking, this is stricter than any trial.

For the trial tests not mere combat power or cultivation.

Nor is it even a test of the Dao-heart.

For those who seek immortality, their Dao-heart is already steadfast.

What this trial actually tests is the so-called path.

Ultimately, what path one walks, and what kind of immortal one becomes.

This made Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao inevitably think of the vast expanse since ancient times.

The ideological conflict between the Heavenly Court and the Jun family.

The Heavenly Court follows heaven's mandate and acts in accordance with heaven.

The Jun family does not believe in heavenly fate; human determination conquers heaven.

Given Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's position, he naturally should uphold the Jun family's ideology.

After all, he had already defied heaven in the Nine Heavens Immortal Domain, and the Immortal Domain's will still targeted him as the Seven Emperors who defied the sovereign.

But now, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao has had a new thought.

He naturally agreed with the Jun family's philosophy, but it was not simply that.

He, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao, had his own path of carefree ease, and naturally he would also have his own philosophy.

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao stood atop the Starry Firmament, facing this soul-penetrating questioning.

His expression remained unchanged, without the slightest ripple.

He simply spoke calmly.

"Heaven's will is inscrutable; why should I follow it?"

"As for those who defy Heaven, there have always been such people since ancient times; I am no exception."

Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao's words paused, and then he continued speaking.

His tone was calm, yet it carried an absolute confidence and domineering aura.

"I, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao, seek neither to follow Heaven nor to defy it."

"If Heaven blocks me, then Heaven shall collapse; if Heaven follows me, then Heaven shall endure."

"The Way of Heaven is not worthy to dictate my choices."

"Even, becoming an immortal is not Jun's sole purpose."

"Because someone once said, becoming an immortal is easy, but carefree ease is hard."

"So I, Within Within Within Within Within Jun Xiaoyao, seek neither to follow Heaven nor to defy it, only to wander freely in the world!"