Everything had changed. Everything had perished.
After Chen Tian's death, the entire universe fell into irreparable turmoil!
Time began to fall into disorder, and no one knew what would happen! The Eight Universes developed irreparable flaws.
Even the passages connecting the Eight Universes were preparing to close, and the reason for all this was that the Eight Universes were about to face destruction!
The end of an era was destined to give birth to an even more splendid era.
The Spirit Lords began to set out, spreading throughout the eight universes.
They now had only one thing to do: control the Eight Universes and prevent them from being destroyed!
But the difficulty was immense. This was far from something that could be solved by mere repairs! Once the Eight Universes were destroyed, the only fate awaiting them would be death!
The Great Universe Will began to collapse. The Spirit Lords were helpless, because this had already exceeded the scope of what they could control.
They were merely products of the Great Universe Will, created to help it oversee the conditions of the eight universes.
Yet now that the Great Universe Will had encountered such a problem, the Spirit Lords nearly chose to give up.
They began preparing to protect the eight universes. Since the source could not be resolved, they would start with the consequences! That was their plan: if they could not control the collapse of the Great Universe Will, then they would control the Eight Universes and prevent them from heading toward annihilation!
If this continued, they might have a chance to reverse the course and bring the Great Universe Will under control.
Perhaps that could give them a sliver of hope! But things went against their wishes. The Great Universe Will began to dissipate, and the Eight Universes began to suffer varying degrees of destruction.
The Eighth Universe was the first to disappear! At the instant it vanished, not a single living creature within the entire universe survived. Along with countless strands of Chaos Power, they were crushed and torn apart by space-time! What a terrifying scene this was!
Those races that perished alongside the universe witnessed its most dazzling moment before death, but before they could share it, they had already embarked upon the road to death. Even their souls could not escape, being directly crushed into fragments.
Within the River of Time, unprecedented turmoil erupted at this node. There was not the slightest trace of life, only a vast and dead silence.
Perhaps the end of the River of Time was the future, and everything in the future was precisely as it appeared before their eyes.
They had survived, but what could they do?
Even the God Kings had become ants, unable to escape. In the end, the Spirit Lords could no longer hold on either. They were strangled by the power of the universe and transformed into a shower of starlight.
At the final moment, experts above the Spirit Lords appeared.
They were the eight Supreme Gods!
They began using supreme arts to resist the universe's collapse!
The ruined universe could no longer be saved, but they had to preserve the source of the Great Universe Will! The flow of time began to accelerate.
It seemed that the collapse of the Great Universe Will had already begun affecting the surrounding space and time.
Everything was speeding up! And it was becoming faster and faster!
In the end, the eight Supreme Gods failed to resist it. Their own bodies perished, and they became lifeless things within the River of Time.
At the very end! An existence above the Supreme Gods appeared. It was the God of Creation! In a daze, a God of Creation made his move, looking as though he was sleepwalking, with his hair hanging messily in every direction.
"Everyone, the world is about to be destroyed. Stop holding back." Seeing his urging, the other Gods of Creation also began to act.
"Where are you going?" the God of Creation asked with a yawn.
"The Time Lost Land."
He rubbed his eyes and finally came fully awake, but that person had already flown away.
Soon, he arrived at the Time Lost Land, because the old man had already been waiting there.
"What? An uninvited guest has arrived?" the old man asked as he walked over.
The God of Creation beside him said, "That man's origins are extraordinary, and this matter is far too serious!"
"Here to discuss something?"
The old man walked inside, brushing past the God of Creation. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Without anyone knowing, he had once fought this man in a duel. Clearly, that man had won.
The God of Creation sat to the old man's left, while the old man sat on the right and turned to look at the man. The man revealed not the slightest trace of killing intent, but his gaze toward the old man was filled with murderous intent! He clenched his jaw tightly and refused to yield under the old man's stare. His brows were like two curved blades, radiating a threatening presence!
However, the old man merely smiled faintly and looked at him casually. His dark eyes seemed like bottomless abysses, swallowing the man and the murderous intent he released.
The God of Creation seemed to sense something amiss as well. He glanced at the old man, wanting to make a move. In the end, the man backed down and withdrew his murderous intent. Seeing this, the old man also reined in his aura.
Then the old man suddenly leaned back in his chair and exhaled with an exceedingly subtle motion. A bead of sweat unconsciously slid down the back of his neck.
The old man said, "State your purpose for coming here."
The man sat upright and adjusted the clothes on his chest. "I came to find you for a very simple purpose: cooperation."
"Cooperation?" the old man said incredulously.
Anyone would know—one need only use their toes to understand—that cooperation between this man and himself was impossible!
"Continue. Explain it clearly," the old man said.
The man took out an object and placed it in the center of the table. A flat map of the universe then unfolded.
"This is a detailed map of the Eight Universes, compiled from countless Old Worlds. It shows every place that can be reached, as well as every place that cannot," the man said.
"My purpose in coming to find you is precisely this! You will make a move."
The old man did not answer immediately. He understood all too well that when he had requested this map back then, the man had rejected him outright! At that time, he had exhausted all his resources over this map, only to return empty-handed! The old man did not believe him. He did not trust the man before him! It was utterly absurd! If not for their past ties, let alone entering the Time Lost Land, the man would not even have been allowed to set foot across the gate! "Do you know what you are saying?" the old man said blandly, his tone turning somewhat cold.
The man was not surprised by the old man's attitude. He merely curled his lips into a smile. "I keep my word. Am I really not worthy of your trust?"
The old man hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why do you think I should trust you?"
Once invincible, he had possessed both immense strength and extensive connections. He had been involved with certain secret histories and covertly carried out certain confidential operations.
This world was not that simple. Regarding all the secrets behind the Eight Universes, he knew only a portion of them!
His question proved that there was still room for discussion. The man sorted out his thoughts and continued, "You don't have to trust me, but surely you can at least trust this thing, right? Do you really think I would bring something fake to negotiate with you?"
"This isn't..." The old man hesitated.
The man chuckled softly. "That's right! It is exactly as you imagined! Outsiders might not know, but you could never fail to know whether this map is real or fake!"
The old man's expression first froze, then filled with worry. He began weighing the benefits and drawbacks, and finally let out a helpless sigh.
The man said nothing either. He knew what the old man was thinking, and the old man understood it perfectly as well. The secrets recorded on the map were incredibly seductive! That place was the source of everything, and in the end, the source was the universe itself.
"You don't need to put on such a pained expression. After all, this is something you have always dreamed of obtaining." The man looked at Old Dean with a trace of amusement, as if the old man's disguise struck him as somewhat laughable.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
The old man's speech was no longer sharp. In its place was a sense of vicissitude. His energy and spirit had grown listless, like a deflated balloon, making the already elderly man look even more aged.
He had begun to compromise, because the map was truly far too important to him! "I don't need to say how important the map is. So I am offering it as the condition for our cooperation, and my demand is simple: you must help us resolve this crisis with all your strength!"
Slap! "What?!"
The old man shot to his feet after slamming the table. The man's outrageous demand had sent his hair flying with rage. Did he expect him to sell his life like a dog for the map?!
How could that be possible! Moreover, if he made even the slightest mistake, he could die!
The man gestured for him to sit down and calm himself. "I am not you. Your demand naturally requires a corresponding price. Besides, if I were you, I would agree to it."
The old man said nothing, merely watching the man make a spectacle of himself.
"My demand is not excessive. You should know that we are now facing the impact of the universe's collapse, while you happen to need the map!" the man said, spreading his hands.
"Hmph! Who knows whether your map is real or fake? Perhaps it is merely a bluff. What does the destruction of the universe have to do with me?" the old man said forcefully.
"Hahahaha!"
The man burst into loud laughter, clearly finding the old man's words hilarious! "When the entire world faces the danger of collapse, this place of yours will also be destroyed on all sides! Not to mention anyone else—even if all of us stay here, can we guarantee that we will remain safe and unharmed?"
"This..." "Well? What is your final decision? Time waits for no one!" the man said with narrowed eyes, not saying anything more.
The old man rested his chin on one hand and pondered, casting a sidelong glance at the man. "You must give me the map first. Otherwise, I will not make a move!"
The man chuckled softly, then tossed the map over.
Before you continue