The vast, boundless, infinite universe conceals many mysteries unknown to humankind. At the edge of a universe, a sight utterly inconceivable to ordinary people was unfolding: a spatial rift was slowly tearing open, breaking through the barrier between the universe and the hazy void beyond.
A dry, withered, wrinkled hand appeared in the void. As the hand emerged, this world seemed unable to withstand its power, and the entire world began to tremble. At the same time, a figure appeared beside the rift, shouting loudly in some strange language.
“Begone, outsider!”
The figure formed a hand seal, unleashing a divine ability that condensed countless spiritual wills of the universe and struck towards the outsider's hand. The hand, suspended in the void, endured the assault of countless spiritual wills yet remained utterly unharmed. Suddenly, a cold, deep voice echoed from beyond the universe.
“A mere ant.”
As soon as the words fell, a flickering dark light shot out from the palm of the withered hand, flying at extreme speed towards the newcomer. In a mere blink, it struck where the figure stood. Seeing this, the figure's expression drastically changed, and they inwardly cried out that something was wrong. They hastily formed a hand seal, creating a protective light barrier around themselves. The moment the barrier formed, the attack from the hand collided with it. The violent impact created a powerful shockwave that spread throughout the entire universe, turning all nearby stars and planets into nothingness.
Crack... crack... more and more cracks appeared on the protective barrier. Seeing this, the figure quickly bit their tongue and spat a mouthful of vital essence onto the light barrier. As the barrier absorbed the vital essence, the cracks gradually healed, finally blocking the attack emanating from the hand. The figure let out a long breath and wiped the blood from the corner of their mouth. At the same time, a strange, eerie laugh echoed from beyond the universal barrier.
“Heh... heh... heh... I never expected a being like you to exist in such a small world. Chosen as a Guardian, your cultivation isn't bad. It's just a pity you haven't reached the Hongmeng realm, otherwise, I would have no choice but to flee.”
Hearing this, the figure was startled, inwardly thinking that since the outsider knew he was a Guardian, they must have already invaded and refined other universes. In the boundless void, countless universes and worlds of varying sizes exist. When a universe is destroyed or refined, its Guardian is certainly annihilated, body and soul. When a universe is born from chaos, a Guardian always exists. From its inception, the Heavenly Dao within the universe forms rules and laws, and also creates a person to protect that universe from external invasions. The Guardian represents the Heavenly Dao, possessing immense power, immortality, and indestructibility.
A single attack from that hand had almost overwhelmed a Guardian like him. The figure was filled with deep worry, muttering inwardly.
“I’ll have to use *that*.”
The figure let out a long sigh. He had lived too long, having guarded this piece of heaven and earth for millions of years; he considered his heavy responsibility fulfilled. Indeed, he was the Guardian of this universe, the eighth in line. Before him were Hong Jun, Di Jun, Di Shi Tian, Wang Xiong, Luo Long, Jin Niu, and Jiu Di. When passing on their legacy, the previous Guardians had stepped out into the wider world to seek the Grand Dao. But it seemed that his turn would require him to sacrifice himself to repel the enemy before him. He was seen forming a hand seal, murmuring an incantation.
“Heaven and Earth without limit, myriad laws of the cosmos, Exterminate!”
From that person’s palm, a magical seal appeared, gradually coalescing into a massive grand seal. The aura it emitted caused the entire universe to tremble. It was absorbing all the surrounding energy of the entire universe. At the same time, beside the Guardian, an ethereal, indistinct mass appeared – it was the Heavenly Dao. It pointed towards the withered hand, then looked at the Guardian for a moment before soaring straight towards the massive grand seal.
The Guardian let out a deep chuckle, then roared.
“Outsiders, do not dream of trampling upon our world, our homeland, and forcing us into slavery! Hmph... A pipe dream!”
Then the Guardian’s body dissolved into countless specks of light, streaking towards the grand seal. The grand seal absorbed life energy and spiritual power, growing larger and larger.
The withered hand on the other side, as if it had eyes, witnessed this scene. It couldn't help but cry out in disbelief and horror.
“The Thiên Địa Tinh Thần Ấn... how can this be... ”
The Thiên Địa Tinh Thần Ấn was one of the nine primordial supreme treasures. They were supposed to exist only in the legends of the Great Thousand Universe. In an ancient text, he had accidentally read about these nine types of supreme treasures. He never expected to see one of them, let alone face it now. After a moment of shock, he let out a cold snort.
“Hmph, today I shall see if the power of a legendary supreme treasure truly lives up to its renown.”
Then, from the hand, a faint black mist seeped out, gradually growing denser and forming a dark, gloomy world that enveloped the hand. An entire section of the universe was swallowed.
The grand seal, having absorbed enough energy, shot straight towards that dark, gloomy world with terrifying speed. The two sides collided violently, and the shockwave spread throughout the entire universe. Planets and stars near the direct impact point shattered into dust, vanishing without a trace. Distant regions were knocked off their original orbits, and countless species living in the universe were annihilated. The white light of the grand seal gradually eroded and shattered the dark world. The two types of energy slowly nullified each other. After a moment, the grand seal gradually gained the upper hand, then broke through and surged straight into the withered hand.
The hand was seen to gradually crack and burst, spewing out countless streams of black qi. Then the grand seal attacked straight through the cosmic barrier. On the other side, a gaunt old man, strangely dressed with long, flowing hair and clothes fluttering without wind, stood amidst a dark chaos, his face contorted in a frenzy of agony. His hand was trying to tear open a bubble the size of his head. Then, from within it, a grand seal shot out and slammed directly into his chest.
The old man shrieked miserably, spitting blood as he flew backward. His right hand was now just a wrist, from which black qi was emanating. He himself possessed a powerful cultivation at the Hồng Mông Cảnh, just one step away from entering the gate of Hỗn Độn and reaching its peak. The old man had been severely wounded and pursued from the center of the Đại Thiên vũ trụ to its very edge by several powerful beings who had joined forces to eliminate him, because he had obtained the inheritance of the Hỗn Độn Cảnh Ma Đế. If he were to reach the Hỗn Độn Realm, the Đại Thiên vũ trụ would face a great catastrophe.
Back then, the Hỗn Độn Ma Đế had unleashed a great catastrophe, causing untold suffering and annihilating myriad realms. He desired to dominate all, to spill blood everywhere, to destroy everything that hindered his path to the legendary realm—a realm no one had achieved in all eternity, even beyond Hỗn Độn itself.
That year, the Mo Di was besieged by other Chaos Realm experts. Over ten powerful individuals ambushed him, yet he calmly eliminated three of them, leaving the rest severely injured. Just as everyone thought he would finish them all off, an ancient old man suddenly appeared. He was the first among trillions of beings to comprehend the Chaos Realm, and as the pioneer, that old man was terrifyingly powerful, beating the Mo Di into a miserable state. During his battle with the old man, the Mo Di actually evolved the final layer of his Demonic Scripture, truly proving himself a peerless genius.
After evolving the Demonic Scripture, the Mo Di had already stepped one foot into that hazy realm. He fought a great battle with the old man, neither side gaining an advantage. The shockwaves from that battle destroyed countless realms and annihilated trillions of living beings. In the end, seeing the suffering of all life, the old man had to sacrifice himself, burning his Great Dao to perish together with the Mo Di. But who would have thought that the Mo Di's Demonic Scripture inheritance would be preserved, and that scrawny old man would coincidentally obtain it? For some unknown reason, he was discovered and pursued, fleeing all the way here.
The old man coincidentally discovered a universe that had just formed a few billion years ago (to many, that's a long time, but the grand omniverse has existed for trillions of years). The old man was overjoyed, intending to refine and absorb that universe to restore his cultivation, perhaps even gaining the opportunity to step into the Chaos Realm.
Who would have thought he would end up losing more than he gained? He was furious, thinking that if he hadn't been injured, how could this tiny universe have troubled him? What he least expected was that within it existed one of the nine supreme Chaos treasures, something even the Mo Di of old never possessed. Had he not been injured, no one could have stopped him. The old man's severe injuries became even more critical. He was being ravaged by the chaotic energy within him; even his primordial spirit was being corroded. Knowing he wouldn't last much longer, he glanced at the bubble-like universe and let out a grim chuckle.
“Mo Di's Demonic Scripture inheritance…haha…cough…cough…”
The old man formed a hand seal and shot a black beam of light into the bubble-like universe. As soon as he finished, his primordial spirit and physical body dissolved into a puddle of black liquid.
That Dao Seal also flew into the bubble, swiftly pursuing the black energy, intending to capture it. As soon as it entered the vast, boundless space, the Heavenly Dao fell into chaos and slumber. After the battle, with the Heavenly Dao in slumber, the guardian burned its life force to unleash a single strike, annihilating the outsider, leaving behind its inheritance on the Heaven and Earth Star Seal, which drifted erratically through the cosmic void.