Chapter 1238: The Great Vehicles

Zhong Tian Zhi Yu, where the clouds are deep and the place unknown.

In a white‑jade pavilion floating above the nine‑heaven steel wind, two elders were playing a game of Go. The elder on the left wore an eight‑trigram Dao robe, his hair like a crane's and his face youthful; he lightly tapped the board with his fingers, each move causing the surrounding spiritual Qi to ripple like waves. The elder on the right was clad in a star‑cloth robe, his features plain, his eyes opening and closing as if a galaxy were being born and dying. These two were the long‑renowned Great Vehicle Stage cultivators of Zhong Tian Zhi Yu—Heavenly Mechanism Elder and Star Evolution Sovereign.

Suddenly, the finger that Heavenly Mechanism Elder was about to place hovered in midair; a faint trace of surprise flashed in his eyes that seemed to perceive all things, and he looked toward the distant western sky, his brows barely furrowing.

"Did you also sense it, Dao friend?" Star Evolution Sovereign said slowly, his voice like the unchanging orbit of ancient stars, carrying a hint of gravity.

Heavenly Mechanism Elder set the piece down, nodded, and traced in the air several twisted, obscure law trajectories: "In the western extreme, the law manifests an 'Eclipse Scar', like a festering sore on bone, silently altering the order of all things' end… Such methods are not of Yan Buji's demon head. Yet within this 'Eclipse Scar', there seem to be a few aspects never before seen… 'Silence' and 'Arcane', its Dao appears to have taken another step."

Star Evolution Sovereign nodded, his gaze also turning west, his eyes showing a reversed galaxy as if deducing: "Moreover, where the 'Eclipse Scar' spreads, there are occasional flashes of 'Pure Light'; its intent is stern, bearing a decisive 'Termination' will, though youthful, it is pure beyond compare, able to contend with Yan Buji's demonic thoughts, even… slightly purifying. Strange, when did the western extreme produce such a figure? One who can confront that demon head without losing ground?"

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing doubt and a hint of curiosity in the other's eyes. At their level, ordinary battles are hard to notice, but a clash involving the very source of the Dao, especially a new force capable of resisting a ferocious demon like Yan Buji, is enough to draw their attention.

At the same time, in another hidden cave heaven, a secret realm suffused with blood‑killing aura.

A towering, red‑eyed, crimson‑haired hulking man—Blood Curse Patriarch—snapped his eyes open from the blood pool, baring a set of stark white teeth: "Hey! That old demon Yan Buji, someone actually dared to tug his tiger whiskers? Causing such a stir! Interesting, truly interesting!" His thoughts surged like a raging blood wave, crudely sweeping west; though not as refined as Heavenly Mechanism Elder and Star Evolution Sovereign, he still felt the collision of two utterly different yet immensely powerful 'Termination' concepts.

"Send the order down!" Blood Curse Patriarch's voice boomed like a great bell, making the secret realm hum, "Find out for me! Who is that kid on the west who's sparring with Yan Buji? What's his background? Damn, these days, few can grapple with that old demon! If we can win him over, perhaps we can make use of him…"

In a distant celestial palace, the sound of a qin floated.

A woman dressed in simple palace robes, ethereal as a fairy, the Miao Yin Fairy, was gently stroking a jade qin. The strings trembled slightly, the sound waves naturally harmonizing with the rhythm of heaven and earth. Suddenly, she paused, and the music stopped abruptly. She turned her head slightly, listening to the low whispers of law that ordinary people cannot perceive, carried on the wind.

"Dao friend Yan's 'I Desire' path seems to have taken another divergent road, deeper and more inscrutable… and that opposing Return‑to‑Void intent is steadfast and pure, faintly bearing the embryonic shape of 'replacing my heart with Heaven's heart'… It appears that this pond, tranquil for millennia, will stir again." Miao Yin Fairy murmured, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes, but more was a detached, transcendent observation. She plucked a string lightly, and an invisible message was sent to several of her close Dao friends.

In an instant, across many unknown hidden places within Zhong Tian Zhi Yu, a number of Great Vehicle Stage elders who had long abandoned the mundane world and were secluded in cultivation—some through deducing Heavenly Mechanism, some by keen perception of heaven‑earth laws, some via messages conveyed by their sect's forces—each, to varying degrees, sensed the extraordinary "Dao dispute" in the western extreme beyond ordinary combat.

An intangible information network silently spread among these beings perched at the pinnacle of the cultivation world.

"Heavenly Mechanism Dao friend, do you know the roots of that Dao friend in the western extreme?" a cold thought crossed the void, entering Heavenly Mechanism Elder's heart‑lake, coming from the Northern Ice Palace's Ice Soul Xuanma.

"The Return‑to‑Void intent… could it be a resurgence of the ancient Return‑to‑Void lineage?" another hoarse yet authoritative thought sounded, belonging to Xuan Yuan Patriarch of the Central Realm Imperial Sect.

"Hmph, whoever it is! To spar with Yan Buji that brat is commendable! Just hope he doesn't get devoured by that demon too quickly!" This was Blood Curse Patriarch's blunt thought interjecting.

"Dao friends, observe quietly. This youth can provoke Yan Buji to unleash his full power; his Dao is extraordinary. Yet, a tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. Let us see whether he can survive this Dao dispute before we discuss anything else." Star Evolution Sovereign's thought was calm, yet carried an unmistakable resolve.

The exchange was brief and cryptic, and soon each fell silent. At their level, they would not state positions lightly, nor rashly intervene in such a Dao dispute. Yet a seed named 'Han Wuxian' had already been planted in these Great Vehicle cultivators' hearts. They all watched, watching the western extreme's Dao dispute's ultimate direction, watching the newly rising 'Return‑to‑Void Dao Master', whether he would be a fleeting bloom or truly possess the potential to stir the world's fortunes.

Within the Lingxi Realm

Blood Curse Patriarch's roiling blood‑sea phantom was the first to emit a booming thought, brimming with unabashed excitement: "Ha ha! Delightful! Yan Buji's old brat has been tyrannical for years, and finally someone dares to slap his ears! That kid in the west, whoever he is, I admire his audacity!"

Heavenly Mechanism Elder's eight‑trigram phantom slowly rotated, a voice of calm yet with a hint of worry came: "Blood‑curse Dao friend, do not draw conclusions too early. Yan Buji's 'I Desire' path is already cunning and hard to defend; now, observing its 'Eclipse Scar', it also reveals an unprecedented 'Silence' intent, perhaps no longer the Wu Xia A Meng… The western extreme Dao friend's 'Return‑to‑Void' intent, though pure, is overly sharp, its foundation still shallow, I fear… fortunes are hard to predict."

Star Evolution Sovereign's star‑river phantom flickered with points of starlight, his voice echoing like the depths of the universe: "Heavenly Mechanism Dao friend's words are not without merit. Yet, can the great Dao dispute be measured by ordinary logic? This youth's rise from obscurity to directly oppose Yan the Demon, his movement, his heart, his Dao, are all far from trivial. Observing his 'Return‑to‑Void' intent, it is not merely destruction; within lies a will to 'define termination', a path… unseen before." His tone carried a hint of scholarly curiosity.

Miao Yin Fairy's qin aura rippled faintly, the ethereal sound sounding: "Star Evolution Dao friend means this youth may be a major variable? Yet, this variable‑induced storm may be beyond what the western extreme can contain. If Dao friend Yan is forced to the brink, with his nature he could overturn the board, dragging half the cultivation world into ruin—not impossible. Then, how shall we position ourselves?" Her worry was evident, leaning toward stability.

"Hmph! Miao Yin Fairy is too cautious!" Blood Curse Patriarch's blood sea churned even more violently, "We both know what Yan the Old Demon truly is! If he pushes further, will there still be a place for us in Zhong Tian Zhi Yu? Now that someone can restrain him, perhaps even wound him, that's a great boon! As I see it, covertly aid that western kid, make him bite Yan the Old Demon harder! Both sides wounded is best!"

The ever‑silent Xuan Yuan Patriarch's dragon‑qi phantom emitted a low, majestic voice, bearing the weight of a sovereign's judgment: "Blood‑curse, do not seek only fleeting pleasure. Both of their Dao involve 'Termination' and 'Silence Extinction'; regardless of who wins, for the vitality of this land, it is likely not an auspicious sign. And if Han Wuxian wins, where will his 'Return‑to‑Void' path lead the world? To an end under order, or to absolute void? This balance is hard to grasp."

Heavenly Mechanism Elder replied: "Xuan Yuan Dao friend's concern is profound. I have deduced the Heavenly Mechanism and only see heavy mists over the western extreme, hidden killing intent, and also… a hint of an ancient taboo being triggered. Yan Buji likely seeks more than a simple duel. And Han Wuxian is the most crucial yet most unstable piece on this board."