The people below stiffened, sweat seeping from their temples as they lowered their heads even further, holding their breath with nothing but terror in their hearts.
He raised his head toward the deep chaos, a hint of distant longing passing through his eyes. "Hundreds of millions of years... truly a long time. From this day forth, in this chess game of heaven and earth, it is time for my Demon Realm to take the pieces."
"Mm?"
His words paused. He suddenly frowned, his gaze shooting toward a corner of chaos as he muttered to himself, "Why does this aura feel so familiar? Who could it be?"
A trace of doubt stirred in his heart. His eyelids lowered halfway, a cold gleam flashing as his entire body became a streak of black, tearing through chaos in an instant and hurtling into the distance.
At the same time, in the most secluded depths of chaos, a towering willow tree stood in silence, its roots deeply embedded in the Chaos Origin.
Its branches and trunk glowed jade-green, divine light flowing across them, its entire form steeped in an aura of ancient eternity.
Only upon its main trunk lay a fierce rift, bottomless and yawning like the maw of a colossal beast swallowing the heavens.
"Mm?"
Within that rift, a blurry face abruptly emerged. Its eyes opened and looked into chaos as it murmured, "This man's cultivation is far from shallow... What divine being is he?"
Before the words fell, a black figure had already appeared before the willow, no more than several dozen steps away.
The willow tree gave one shake, its branches and leaves slightly trembling. Suppressing its alarm, it spoke, "Greetings, fellow Daoist. Dare to ask your honored name? Why have you come to this place?"
The newcomer wore an ink-black