Void as One, Life and Death of One Origin

Within the Absolute Void, the Void Ancestor's figure flickered in the purple-gold talisman light. The "Essence of Life" intertwined with the Absolute Void, like the two poles of yin and yang—mutually repelling yet inseparably linked. Xuan Fu could clearly feel that the mysterious power that had guided him to survive in the chaos until now was the Void Ancestor's dormant Essence of Life. The root of every crisis was merely the backlash caused by the imbalance between these two powers.

"Absolute Void is not the end, and Endless Life is not eternal either." The Void Ancestor's voice had shed its coldness and carried a hint of vicissitude. "I was born before the Myriad Daos and possess the dual Essences of 'void' and 'life and death.' I should have maintained the balance between them. But after the Myriad Daos had cycled too many times, the Power of Life and Death gradually tilted toward 'death,' causing stagnation, annihilation, Dao corrosion, and other powers to spiral out of control."

Xuan Fu's Primordial Beginning Primordial Chaos Talisman hovered in midair, its purple-gold radiance resonating with the Void Ancestor's black-and-white power. "You mean that all the previous crises were products of the imbalance in your power? And you guided my growth so that I could help you restore the balance?"

"Yes, and no." The Void Ancestor waved a hand, and countless scenes appeared within the Absolute Void: Xuan Fu dodging the figures of demon gods in the chaos, the moment he fused the Great Dao of Existence and Nonexistence, and his heroic deeds leading all spirits against calamities. "I guided you because you naturally possess the potential for 'Primordial Chaos Balance' within you. The outbreak of the crises was both the inevitable result of the imbalance and a test for you. Only by passing the test can you truly understand the profundity of 'Void as One, Life and Death of One Origin.'"

Before his voice had even faded, the Absolute Void within the Void Ancestor suddenly surged, coming into violent conflict with the Essence of Life. His figure began to twist, while the black-and-white energies tore at each other. Clearly, the imbalance between the two powers had reached its critical point. "I can no longer suppress the imbalanced power. If they are not fused soon, not only will I disintegrate, but the Myriad Daos will also be drawn into the Life and Death Vortex and perish completely."

Without the slightest hesitation, Xuan Fu merged the Primordial Beginning Primordial Chaos Talisman into his own Talisman Path Core. The Myriad Daos Primordial Chaos Power, the Cycle Key, and the Primordial Beginning Mark fused together, transforming into a "Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman." Its surface was covered in Dao patterns bearing the meaning of "Void as One," and it flew toward the Void Ancestor. "I'll help you restore the balance, but you must promise to guard the life-and-death cycle of the Myriad Daos forever and never again let the Power of Imbalance harm living beings."

"Of course." The Void Ancestor's voice carried relief. He stopped resisting and allowed the Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman to merge into his core. The talisman erupted with dazzling purple-gold radiance, forcibly enveloping the Absolute Void and the Essence of Life, guiding the two powers to transform into each other and form a new balance.

The process was exceptionally arduous. The Absolute Void tried to devour the Essence of Life, while the Essence of Life fought back desperately. The clash between the two powers made the Absolute Void tremble violently, and countless void rifts spread toward the Primordial Chaos Realm. Countless cracks appeared in the purple-gold crystal that formed Xuan Fu's talisman body. The origin of the Heart of Myriad Daos rapidly drained away, and golden Talisman Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He had to suppress two extreme powers at once while guiding them into fusion—a pressure far beyond any battle he had faced before.

"Use all spirits as the foundation and stabilize the balance!" Xuan Fu roared. Through the Primordial Chaos Bond, he transmitted his predicament to all spirits in the Primordial Chaos Realm. The faith of countless living beings transformed into pure energy and surged through the bond into his body, replenishing his reserves and stabilizing his Talisman Path Core. Daoist Yang Mei, Donghua, and the others also burned their origins one after another, pouring the power of the Primordial Chaos Realm into the bond and forming a massive Energy Torrent to support Xuan Fu's Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman.

With the support of the Belief of All Spirits and the Primordial Chaos Power, the Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman shone ever more brilliantly. The conflict between the Absolute Void and the Essence of Life gradually subsided. The two powers began flowing through each other according to the talisman's Dao patterns, forming a black-and-white Balance Vortex. The Void Ancestor's figure stopped twisting and gradually solidified. The black-and-white power around him also stabilized, radiating the ultimate rhythm of "Void as One, Life and Death of One Origin."

Just as the balance was about to be fully achieved, a strange purple light suddenly erupted from within the Void Ancestor. It belonged neither to the Absolute Void nor to the Essence of Life. Instead, it came from the "unknown domain beyond life and death," carrying the sinister rhythm of "tampering with balance" as it tried to destroy the fusion of the two powers.

"It's the remnant power of the Lord of Tampering!" The Void Ancestor's voice carried fury. "He is a rebellious will beyond the Myriad Daos. He has always tried to tamper with the balance of life and death and turn the Myriad Daos into his puppets! The previous imbalance in power was also secretly caused by him!"

The purple light rapidly spread, forcibly tearing apart the Balance Vortex. The Absolute Void and the Essence of Life erupted into conflict once more. Cracks appeared in Xuan Fu's Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman, while the purple-gold crystal of his talisman body was corroded by the purple light, leaving behind a strange purple mark. He could feel that the Lord of Tampering's power was extremely sinister. It excelled at lurking and destruction, making it very difficult to eliminate completely.

"Use the Primordial Beginning as a shield and the Primordial Chaos as a blade—destroy the tampering!" Xuan Fu burned the core origin of the Heart of Myriad Daos. The Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman erupted with a massive purple-gold talisman blade that slashed toward the purple light. At the instant the blade collided with the purple radiance, countless strange runes were purified, and the purple light began to rapidly recede. But the Lord of Tampering's power was exceptionally tenacious. Like a festering wound in the bone, it clung stubbornly to the Balance Vortex and could not be cut away completely.

The Void Ancestor did not stand by either. He urged his newly stabilized Power of Life and Death into a black-and-white talisman seal, coordinating with Xuan Fu's purple-gold talisman blade to attack the purple light from both sides. "The Lord of Tampering excels at lurking. His remnant power must be hidden in the core of the Balance Vortex. Only by completely purifying the core can we eliminate it!"

Xuan Fu's heart tightened, but he did not hesitate. He completely fused the Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman with his Talisman Path Core, transforming into a streak of purple-gold light that drilled into the core of the Balance Vortex. At the core, a purple "Tampering Rune" was rapidly rotating, constantly releasing tampering power and destroying the balance between life and death. Xuan Fu wasted no words. He urged all his power to envelop the Tampering Rune as the Dao patterns of the balance between life and death rapidly spread, attempting to purify it completely.

The Tampering Rune let out a sharp hiss. Purple light surged violently as it tried to break free of the encirclement. Xuan Fu could feel that a strand of extremely faint consciousness was hidden within the core of the Tampering Rune—the remnant soul of the Lord of Tampering. The remnant soul struggled frantically, wanting to escape the Balance Vortex and return to the unknown domain.

"Don't even think about escaping!" Xuan Fu gave it no chance. He urged the power of the Primordial Beginning Mark to its limit, and the Dao patterns of the balance between life and death formed a sturdy cage that firmly trapped the Tampering Rune and the remnant soul. At the same time, he drew upon the Void Ancestor's Power of Life and Death, forming black-and-white flames that burned the Tampering Rune and the remnant soul.

The purple light rapidly faded within the flames. The power of the Tampering Rune was gradually purified, while the remnant soul let out anguished wails and slowly dissipated. Just as the Lord of Tampering's remnant soul was about to vanish completely, it suddenly erupted with intense purple light, engraving its consciousness into Xuan Fu's Talisman Path Core. "Xuan Fu, do you think this is the end? I have buried countless Tampering Seeds throughout the Myriad Daos. Once the time is right, they will erupt. When that happens, the Myriad Daos will ultimately become my puppets!"

After the purple light dissipated, the Lord of Tampering's remnant soul vanished completely, and the fusion within the Balance Vortex resumed. But Xuan Fu's heart was heavy. He could feel that the Lord of Tampering's consciousness imprint truly remained within his Talisman Path Core. Through the imprint, he could faintly sense that countless tiny Tampering Seeds had indeed been buried in every corner of the Myriad Daos, like time bombs that could erupt at any moment.

The Void Ancestor's balance between life and death was fully achieved. His figure became increasingly solid, the black-and-white power around him flowing smoothly and radiating a gentle yet mighty pressure. "Xuan Fu, thank you for helping me restore the balance. The Lord of Tampering's seeds are indeed troublesome, but as long as the balance between life and death remains stable, they cannot erupt easily."

He waved a hand, sending a stream of black-and-white energy into Xuan Fu's body to purify the consciousness imprint in his Talisman Path Core. "This is my origin of life and death. It can temporarily suppress the seeds' activity. But to eliminate them completely, you must find the Lord of Tampering's true body and kill him once and for all."

Xuan Fu nodded, his mind made up. "I'll find the Lord of Tampering's true body as soon as possible, eliminate all the Tampering Seeds, and protect the balance of life and death throughout the Myriad Daos."

The Void Ancestor said no more. He waved a hand, and the void rifts within the Absolute Void rapidly closed. The passage leading to the Primordial Chaos Realm also reopened. "Go, Xuan Fu. The future of the Myriad Daos still needs you to protect it. I will remain in the Absolute Void, stabilize the balance between life and death, and prevent the Lord of Tampering from causing trouble again."

Xuan Fu did not linger. He transformed into a streak of purple-gold light and flew toward the Primordial Chaos Realm. He knew that the threat of the Lord of Tampering was far from resolved, and an even more dangerous battle was about to begin.

When he returned to the Primordial Chaos Realm, all the spirits cheered and celebrated the achievement of the balance between life and death. Daoist Yang Mei, Donghua, and the others gathered around him with relieved smiles. Xuan Fu told them about the existence of the Lord of Tampering and the danger posed by the Tampering Seeds, and everyone's expressions immediately grew solemn.

"The Lord of Tampering's power is too sinister. We must find his true body as soon as possible, or the consequences will be disastrous." Daoist Yang Mei's Power of Space rapidly circulated as he investigated every corner of the Myriad Daos, but he found no trace of the Lord of Tampering.

Xuan Fu's Spiritual Sense also spread throughout the Myriad Daos. With the help of the Void Ancestor's origin of life and death, he sensed the locations of the Tampering Seeds. He could feel that countless seeds were scattered throughout the Myriad Daos. Some were hidden within the consciousness of living beings, some within the laws of the Great Dao, and some even within the Core Area of the Primordial Chaos Realm. Completely eliminating them would be extremely difficult.

At that moment, Xuan Fu's Spiritual Sense suddenly detected a faint fluctuation of tampering power at the very edge of the Myriad Daos. This fluctuation did not come from a Tampering Seed, but from the Lord of Tampering's true body. He seemed to be hiding in the "Tampering Domain on the Edge of Myriad Daos," secretly observing the movements of the Myriad Daos.

Xuan Fu's expression instantly turned solemn. He knew that the Lord of Tampering's true body had to be incredibly powerful, far surpassing all his previous enemies. But he did not retreat in the slightest. His heart was filled with resolve.

"I'm going to find the Lord of Tampering's true body," Xuan Fu told the others. "You will guard the Primordial Chaos Realm for me and closely monitor the Tampering Seeds. Notify me immediately if you discover anything abnormal."

Daoist Yang Mei, Donghua, and the others nodded one after another, indicating that they would do everything in their power to guard the Primordial Chaos Realm. Xuan Fu said nothing more. He urged the Primordial Chaos Power, transformed into a streak of purple-gold light, and flew toward the Tampering Domain on the Edge of Myriad Daos.

The Tampering Domain on the Edge of Myriad Daos was an exceptionally strange region. Its laws had been forcibly tampered with, space and time were in chaos, and energy was distorted. Strange purple light filled every corner, embodying the power of the Lord of Tampering. Xuan Fu's Spiritual Sense was heavily suppressed in this region, making it difficult to accurately locate the Lord of Tampering.

Along the way, countless monsters controlled by tampering power pounced on him. These monsters were living beings of the Myriad Daos that had been eroded by Tampering Seeds. They were powerful and utterly fearless of death. Xuan Fu did not hesitate. The Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman flew out repeatedly, purifying the monsters one after another as he advanced toward the Core Area of the Tampering Domain.

When he reached the Core Area, Xuan Fu finally saw the Lord of Tampering's true body. It was a strange figure floating within a purple vortex, without any fixed form. Countless Tampering Runes revolved around it, radiating the terrifying pressure of "tampering with everything." Its power was even greater than Xuan Fu had imagined. Every law in the Tampering Domain lay under its control.

"Xuan Fu, you really came." The Lord of Tampering's voice carried a strange laugh. "I had planned to lurk a while longer and act only after the Tampering Seeds had fully erupted. Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, I'll kill you first and then take control of the Myriad Daos!"

The purple vortex surged violently, and countless Tampering Runes shot toward Xuan Fu. Wherever the runes passed, Xuan Fu's Primordial Chaos Power was forcibly tampered with. The purple-gold crystal of his talisman body was also corroded by the purple radiance, leaving behind even more purple marks.

A hint of resolve flashed through Xuan Fu's eyes. He fused the Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman with the Void Ancestor's origin of life and death, erupting with a massive purple-gold talisman blade that slashed toward the Lord of Tampering's true body. "Lord of Tampering, your era is over!"

At the instant the talisman blade collided with the purple vortex, the entire Tampering Domain trembled violently. Purple-gold and purple radiance devoured and transformed each other, forming a massive Energy Vortex. Countless Tampering Runes were purified, and the Lord of Tampering's aura began to rapidly weaken.

Just as the talisman blade was about to strike the Lord of Tampering's true body, he suddenly erupted with terrifying purple radiance, completely fusing his true body with the origin of the Tampering Domain. "You want to kill me? It won't be that easy! I'll have you and the Myriad Daos tampered with together!"

The Tampering Domain began to rapidly contract. Countless streams of purple energy converged toward the core, forming a massive Tampering Vortex that sought to devour Xuan Fu completely. It even attempted to tamper with the balance of life and death throughout the Myriad Daos, turning every existence into the puppet of the Lord of Tampering.

Xuan Fu's heart jolted. He knew that the Lord of Tampering intended to self-destruct the domain and perish together with him. Without the slightest hesitation, he urged the power of the Life-Annihilation Balance Talisman to its limit. At the same time, he drew upon the faith of all spirits and constructed a "Life-Annihilation Guardian Array" at the center of the Tampering Vortex, attempting to stop its expansion.

But the Lord of Tampering's self-destruction was far too terrifying, and the barrier of the Life-Annihilation Guardian Array was rapidly collapsing. Purple radiance completely corroded Xuan Fu's talisman body. Cracks began to appear in the purple-gold crystal, and the origin of the Heart of Myriad Daos rapidly drained away.

At that critical moment, Xuan Fu's Spiritual Sense suddenly detected a familiar aura deep within the Lord of Tampering's core. It came neither from within the Myriad Daos nor from the Tampering Domain, but from the "Eternal Domain Beyond Life and Death." It carried the ultimate rhythm of "Eternal Unchanging," causing even his power of the balance between life and death to tremble.

Xuan Fu's heart tightened. He knew that the owner of this aura might be an Ultimate Existence even more terrifying than the Lord of Tampering and the Void Ancestor. And this existence seemed intent on using the Lord of Tampering's self-destruction to shatter the balance of life and death throughout the Myriad Daos and bring them under the control of the Eternal Domain.

An ultimate crisis concerning the life, death, and eternity of the Myriad Daos had quietly descended upon the core of the Tampering Domain.