Translator: CinderTL
"I..."
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon felt his power being stripped away bit by bit, experiencing a weakness he hadn't felt in tens of millions of years—the sensation of being torn from dao unification.
An indescribable panic and terror surged through his heart.
It was like a person who had always stood at the pinnacle, wielding boundless authority, suddenly realizing that no one obeyed his commands anymore, that no one followed his orders. The sensation of plummeting from the clouds left him hollow, the violent descent driving him to the brink of madness.
Fortunately, he was a dao unification being with Heart's Perfection.
Even in the most desperate circumstances, in the most passive situations, he could instantly stabilize his mind to avoid hysteria.
Moreover, his formidable rationality and insight allowed him to discern something from this stripping of power...
"You're using the Dao of Void's high-tier suppression over low-tier beings to strip me of my Grand Dao Power. But the power that completely annihilates this stripping force... it doesn't belong to any of the forty-nine great daos!"
He stared at Li Chunjun in horror, disbelief warring with a growing sense of truth. "Progenitor divine being! You are the progenitor divine being who will forge a new Dao!"
The power that could nullify his great dao of the void...
It was a completely new great dao!
The moment this realization struck him, even the Great Void Ancestral Dragon, with his usually unwavering mental state, couldn't suppress his surge of excitement. "Now I understand why you displayed such extraordinary abilities as a Supreme Sage, despite being a divine sage! Your power far surpasses that of ordinary divine sages! You are a progenitor divine being, the first to appear in billions of years! Hahaha!"
"What I am is irrelevant," Li Chunjun replied. "What matters is that your life and death are in my hands."
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon quickly regained his composure. "What do you want from me? Or what do you seek to learn from me? It's clear you won't kill me until you've obtained what you desire. Moreover, given the rate at which your power nullifies my Grand Dao Power, you can't obliterate me, who has achieved dao unification, in the short term."
He swiftly activated his Heart-Mind. "But you're different. Once news of your existence as a progenitor divine being spreads, countless dao unification cultivators will descend into madness! Even the Supreme Sovereigns and Ultimate Powerhouses will be alerted! At that point, the best outcome you can hope for is to be captured alive and have the mysteries of your new great dao dissected! So, the one who should truly be worried is you, not me!"
Li Chunjun frowned.
Creatures who had achieved Heart's Perfection seemed less susceptible to the fear of death, making it difficult to shatter their minds and collapse their wills.
"I can tell you plainly: more than one dao unification being has taken an interest in you. They are currently converging on this location at an astonishing speed. You've only manifested these extraordinary abilities through the Source of Time, but once they arrive and discover your identity as a progenitor divine being, your fate will be sealed. Your only chance for survival lies in cooperating with me!"
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon continued, "We are both divine sages, bound to assist and support each other. I can conceal your progenitor divine being status, treating you as an ordinary divine sage. Of course, my offer to provide you with a safe space for growth comes with a condition: I wish to uncover the secret of your ability to harmonize multiple daos. Let us help each other, each gaining what we need!"
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon's words carried a certain logic.
Progenitor divine beings hadn't appeared in billions of years.
It seemed that with the emergence of the forty-nine great daos, the Cosmos had reached a state of equilibrium, with no new great daos expected to arise.
If his identity as a progenitor divine being were revealed now, the resulting uproar...
This was far more significant than his unique divine sage status as one who harmonized two great daos within his body...
"Hmm!?"
Just then, Li Chunjun seemed to suddenly realize something.
Crack!
Cracks suddenly appeared across the soul-type Quasi-Immortal Artifact he was wearing!
These two sudden changes jolted Li Chunjun awake.
"The great dao of the soul!?"
No!
It was more than that!
He already possessed a profound understanding of the great dao of the soul, and with Void Power at his disposal, a mere application of the soul dao couldn't have ensnared him.
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon's use of the soul dao was merely a catalyst. The true core...
lay in psychological warfare!
This was a battle on the mental plane!
The clash between his perfected Mind Power and the Great Void Ancestral Dragon's ninth layer peak Mind Power had forcibly carved a fissure in his mental defenses. This allowed the ancestral dragon's soul power to exploit the opening, compelling him to unconsciously follow its line of reasoning!
And this psychological game...
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon's confidence stemmed not only from its Heart's Perfection advantage but also from its deduction, based on Li Chunjun's sudden halt, that he sought something from it!
With a desire present, the foundation for negotiation and psychological maneuvering was established.
"So, from the very beginning, you never truly grasped the situation."
Li Chunjun cleared his thoughts, then fixed his gaze on the Great Void Ancestral Dragon. "Of course, I blame myself too for not completely controlling the situation, allowing you to cling to false hope."
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon keenly sensed the shift in Li Chunjun's demeanor and promptly adjusted his tone. "This negotiation will naturally be led by you. I'm merely trying to demonstrate my value. Only if I prove my worth can these talks continue."
But Li Chunjun had no intention of continuing.
"You beings who measure your lifespans in billions of years have long grown accustomed to viewing all matters with cold rationality. Even the emotional fluctuations you display are merely tools to assert your positions and express your attitudes, not genuine feelings of anger or fear. Having cultivated to such heights... I can't speak for the future, but for now..."
He stared at the Great Void Ancestral Dragon, each word deliberate: "I don't like it!"
"Emotions are also a form of communication," the Great Void Ancestral Dragon countered, attempting to steer the conversation back on track. "We should each state our demands first. What do you want from me? If it's not a matter of principle, I'll agree as a demonstration of my sincerity."
"You've realized it, yet you still maintain a certain confidence, believing the situation hasn't completely spiraled out of control," Li Chunjun said.
"But have you considered this?" he continued. "I believe I'm no match for you in this mental game. So, to ensure my safety, why not simply eliminate you first and replace you with a target I feel more secure against?"
He added, "After all, as you just mentioned, other dao unification experts are already rushing here at full speed."
A ripple stirred deep within the Great Void Ancestral Dragon's mind.
He had indeed realized it.
Li Chunjun was overturning the chessboard!
He seemed determined to abandon all conventional strategies and simply flip the table.
Yet, the dragon's immediate concern wasn't the act itself, but whether this was merely another layer of their mental game.
As he pondered this, an invisible ripple emanated from Li Chunjun.
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon sensed with alarm that Li Chunjun, himself, and the very void they occupied were being rapidly pulled toward another dimension.
That dimension...
Was the Void!
And even more so, it was Nothingness!
Everything was plummeting swiftly from the realm of "existence" toward the realm of "non-existence."
This sudden shift finally caused the Great Void Ancestral Dragon's expression to turn cold and severe. "Li Chunjun, we could have helped each other, achieving mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. Your current actions are forcing me to choose Jade and Stone Burn Together!"
He declared his unwavering resolve: "I will reveal the truth about your progenitor divine being to every Dao Venerable, Supreme Sovereign, and Ultimate Powerhouse! By then, there will be no place for you in the vast Cosmos. Like those progenitors, you will be forced to flee the Human Territory and seek refuge in the deepest reaches of the starry sky!"
Li Chunjun had no doubt about the Great Void Ancestral Dragon's capacity for action.
A dao unification expert with Heart's Perfection would never hesitate when decisive action was required.
But...
"You still approach this situation with the rational mindset of beings who have lived for hundreds of millions, even billions, of years. You treat your dao unification understanding of the forty-nine great daos as common sense. But have you considered the possibility that the void great dao I have forged is fundamentally different from the forty-nine you comprehend? If I so choose, I can erase every message you attempt to transmit!" Li Chunjun countered.
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon's mind churned with emotion.
But this time...
It wasn't merely a declaration of stance or a display of attitude.
It was...
A genuine surge of intense emotion erupting from the depths of his soul.
As his emotions roiled, the great dao of the void and the great dao of the soul within him erupted with sudden force.
Li Chunjun effortlessly evaded the great dao of the soul using his Void Power. As for the Void Power, he simply pressed down with his hand.
The suppression of a high-tier being over a low-tier one prevented the Great Void Ancestral Dragon from unleashing even a third of the great dao of the void's true power.
In that moment, he could clearly sense himself, the surrounding starry sky, and even the great daos of the void and soul he had merged with, being rapidly stripped away and annihilated. A being nearly immortal was dragging him toward a bottomless abyss of eternal annihilation within the Cosmic Void!
"Stop!" the Great Void Ancestral Dragon finally cried out, his voice desperate.
He's flipping the table!
Li Chunjun wasn't using the threat of flipping the table as a psychological tactic, a bargaining chip in a game of wits!
He...
He genuinely wanted to flip the table!
He...
He couldn't afford to play this game!
He wanted him dead!
"Li Chunjun, what do you want from me? Just tell me! How can you know I won't give it to you if you don't ask?" the Great Void Ancestral Dragon pleaded urgently.
His Mind Realm, once calm and rational like a still, ancient well, was now in utter turmoil.
Yet Li Chunjun remained silent.
This attitude...
He was wary!
He couldn't outmaneuver him, so...
He planned to find a less "clever" Dao Venerable to fulfill his needs!
This need might simply be another dao unification at the Supreme Research Institute, or even...
Another ordinary dao unification!
He was entirely replaceable!
"Stop! Li Chunjun, we are both innate divine beings, naturally aligned. I will do everything in my power to fulfill your demands..."
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon unleashed the full force of his Mind Power and mental power, desperately trying to invoke the Grand Dao Power for a final stand.
But to his despair...
It was gone!
The Grand Dao perception he had established through dao unification...
It had vanished!
As if completely stripped from his dao unification state and cast into the abyss.
Everything seemed too late.
This realization finally shattered the Void Saint's Heart's Perfection, causing him to lose control of his emotions. "No! Li Shengsheng... why this? Why this? Show mercy!"
Li Chunjun didn't even glance at the dao unification being again.
Void Power completely engulfed him...
The Great Void Ancestral Dragon lost not only his Grand Dao and Qi, but also his Heart-Mind and Mind Power, all utterly annihilated.
Buzzing!
Silently, everything that constituted the Great Void Ancestral Dragon was erased.
Reduced to nothingness.
(End of the Chapter)
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