Chen Ze stepped forward slowly, his divine sense threading its way into the depths of the Dao Seed.
"Heavenly Dao?" Chen Ze called softly, a trace of worry in his voice.
The Dao Seed trembled faintly, but gave no response.
Chen Ze's heart tightened as his divine sense probed even deeper into the Dao Seed.
At the core of the Dao Seed, the Heavenly Dao Phantom identical to him sat cross-legged with closed eyes, countless fine chains of laws winding around it.
These chains were not restraints. Instead, they seemed to be some kind of protective mechanism, isolating the Heavenly Dao Phantom from the outside world.
"Is it repairing itself?" Chen Ze murmured.
He noticed a tiny crack between the Phantom's brows, from which a faint violet-gold glow seeped.
"Backlash?" Chen Ze's pupils contracted slightly, and he instantly understood the reason.
To withstand Immortal Emperor Ling Yu's palm strike, the Heavenly Dao had lent him too much power, damaging itself in the process.
"Heavenly Dao, how are you?" Chen Ze called again as he sent a wisp of Chaos Purple Qi into the Dao Seed.
Chaos Purple Qi was originally the Heavenly Dao's power. Now that it was fed back into it, the light on the Dao Seed's surface immediately brightened somewhat.
Then, a faint ripple came from within the Dao Seed.
"I'm fine... I just need... time to recover..." The Heavenly Dao's voice sounded in Chen Ze's sea of consciousness, weak but clear.
Chen Ze let out a breath of relief, only to tense up again. "How long will it take to fully recover?"
"I'm not sure..." The Heavenly Dao's voice came in fragments. "That palm strike from Immortal Emperor Ling Yu... contained power... that harmed me more severely than expected..."
A trace of guilt flashed through Chen Ze's