Peak of the Dao Achieved, Return to Great Desolation, Spark Returns to Position, Calamity Wave Surges

Chaos Sea, Green Lotus Sanctuary.

Tongtian slowly opened his eyes, the light of Chaos flowing within them, as deep as an abyss, as if containing the birth and death of countless worlds. The majestic aura of Quasi-Saint Peak was perfectly contained, no longer showing any signs of being superficial. The immense consumption from previously activating the Myriad Worlds Mirror's projection had been completely restored by the nourishment of the Green Lotus's life force and the Chaos Origin, even surpassing his past strength.

He spread his palm, and the projection of the "Myriad Worlds Mirror," formed by the resonance between the Chaos Bead and the Green Lotus Remnant Root, quietly floated there. The mirror's surface was hazy gray, appearing ordinary, yet it contained the heaven-defying power to peer into space-time. Although it was merely a projection and its use came with a great price, it was undoubtedly one of the biggest unexpected gains from this trip.

"It's time to go back," Tongtian said softly, his voice calm but filled with an undeniable determination.

The situation in the Great Desolation had already changed. The shadow of infiltration from other realms was everywhere, and the anomaly on Golden Ao Island had made him feel a sense of alarm. Although Wudang had already begun to act, her strength was still insufficient. His "Spark" was about to return to the battlefield where it was destined to ignite a prairie fire.

He stood up and bowed solemnly to the Green Lotus Remnant Root in the center, which emitted a soft green light and maintained this sanctuary.

"This kindness of protecting the Dao, Tongtian will remember it forever. When I have settled the karmic debts of the Great Desolation, I will surely return to help you reunite your Origin."

The Green Lotus Remnant Root gently swayed, transmitting a faint yet clear sense of longing and encouragement, as if bidding him farewell.

Tongtian no longer hesitated. With a thought, the Chaos Bead above his head appeared, descending streams of Qi to protect his body. He took a step and had already left the vicinity of the Green Lotus Sanctuary, re-entering the violent and raging Chaos currents.

However, this return was worlds apart from when he first entered the Chaos!

With his Quasi-Saint Peak cultivation and a deeper understanding of the Path of Chaos, he was no longer like a blind man touching an elephant, passively drifting with the currents in this perilous Chaos Sea. His figure was like lightning, shuttling through the gaps of raging energy, skillfully avoiding the massive spatial rifts and Chaos Vortexes. He could even vaguely sense the territories of some powerful Chaos beings and detour in advance.

The Chaos Bead's light flowed, not only providing protection but also acting as the best guiding light, clearly sensing the direction of the Great Desolation world. The aura of the Green Lotus Remnant Root also served as a brand, guiding his way back, preventing him from getting lost in this boundless chaos.

Although the journey back was still full of risks, it was now under his control.

After an unknown duration of travel through the Chaos, the vast and boundless crystal wall system of the Great Desolation world, emitting fluctuations of Heavenly Dao laws, appeared ahead.

Compared to the difficulty of breaking out, returning this time was relatively easier. On one hand, his strength had greatly increased. On the other hand, the Great Desolation world's repulsion of external Chaos Qi was far less intense than its suppression of internal beings breaking through the barrier.

Tongtian found a relatively thin area of the crystal wall and once again formed his fingers into a sword, condensing his Chaos Magical Power, and pointed it out with a fierce strike!

Crack!

The crystal wall system was once again torn open by a tiny gap, and the familiar aura of the Great Desolation world rushed towards him.

Tongtian's figure flickered, transforming into a stream of light and darting into it. After he entered, the crack quickly sealed.

Return to the Great Desolation!

Feeling the spiritual energy around him, which was sparse but orderly, and the omnipresent constraints of the Heavenly Dao laws, Tongtian felt as if he had gone through a lifetime. The experience in the Chaos Sea, though brief, had given him a revolutionary understanding of the Great Dao and himself.

The location where he appeared this time was not the Eastern Guixu, but a barren mountain range in the northern part of the Great Desolation, not far from the ancient battlefield ruins where he had previously gone into seclusion.

He did not immediately head to Golden Ao Island. Instead, he first concealed all his aura, his figure merging into the void, and carefully sensed the changes in the world.

Just as he had seen through the Myriad Worlds Mirror, the spiritual energy of the Great Desolation had become more restless. A faint but persistent sense of oppression permeated the world, as if recovering from a serious illness, or as if a storm was about to break. The Sha Qi was several points denser than before, and fragmented information about frequent disasters could be vaguely heard from various places.

The biggest change came from the far east. Even from an immense distance, he could faintly feel the continuous law fluctuations and heart-chilling pressure emanating from there. The seal of the Mysterious Yellow Tower was still in place, but the attacks from the Realm Demon Gods had never stopped. The two sides seemed to have reached a stalemate. The center of gravity of the entire Great Desolation seemed to have tilted towards Guixu.

"It seems Laozi and Haotian can still stabilize the situation for now," Tongtian judged in his heart, "but this stalemate cannot last forever."

He tried to sense the locations of Wudang, Kui Niu, and Sanxiao. Through the secret marks he had left before, he quickly confirmed that Wudang was active near Golden Ao Island, her aura stable; Kui Niu was in the East Sea with Ao Guang; and Sanxiao was in seclusion in the ancient battlefield secret realm, their auras having grown.

Slightly relieved, his gaze turned towards Golden Ao Island, his eyes sharpening. The strange dark fluctuation he had seen through the Myriad Worlds Mirror could not be ignored.

He moved, about to head to Golden Ao Island, when suddenly, his heart stirred, and he took out the projection of the Myriad Worlds Mirror again. Since this treasure could peer into space-time, why not take this opportunity to see the current situation of those key figures again? Especially the disciples on the Investiture of the Gods.

He took a deep breath and injected his divine sense and magical power into the treasure mirror again. This time, he had experience, controlling the output, not seeking a wide-range observation, but focusing on a few specific targets.

The mirror's Chaos Qi churned, and the image gradually became clear:

Image One: Heavenly Court, a side hall in the Dou Department. Zhao Gongming was handling official duties, his face still somewhat pale, clearly suffering from the after-effects of damaging his True Spirit last time. However, in the depths of his eyes, amidst the dead, numb silence, there was a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of light, like a spark waiting to ignite a prairie fire in the darkness. He would occasionally stop writing and look out at the void beyond the hall, his fingers unconsciously twisting, as if calculating something.

Image Two: Heavenly Court, Thunder Department. Wen Zhong sat on the Thunder Pool, surrounded by lightning, cultivating. His aura was more majestic and sharp than before, but his brow was furrowed, as if he was under immense pressure. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, looked in a certain direction, a trace of extremely complex worry and determination flashed in his eyes, then he closed his eyes again, drawing in lightning even more frantically to temper himself.

Image Three: Lower Realm, a human city. A seemingly ordinary storyteller in a tea house was animatedly recounting ancient Investiture of the Gods tales, drawing thunderous applause. Tongtian's gaze, however, sharpened. He saw that the storyteller had an extraordinary foundation, and a trace of extremely pure Shangqing Immortal Method aura was hidden within him. Moreover, among the content he narrated, there were allusions expressing dissatisfaction with the current Heavenly Court and the Western Teachings! This was likely an old subordinate of the Intercepting Sect, deeply hidden, whom Wudang had contacted!

Image Four: Netherworld Underworld, deep within the Reincarnation Disk. Empress Pingxin's figure flickered in and out of the endless light of Reincarnation. She was not paying attention to Guixu, but was looking down at the very bottom of Reincarnation, where something seemed to be suppressed. Her eyes were filled with solemnity and... a hint of exhaustion. Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, looked up, her gaze seeming to pierce through the Myriad Worlds Mirror's scrutiny, and had a momentary exchange of glances with Tongtian, then the image fluctuated violently and disappeared!

Tongtian grunted, cutting off the connection again, his face turning pale, but his eyes shot out brilliant light!

Valuable! Extremely valuable!

Gongming and Wen Zhong did not seem to have completely despaired, and were even preparing in secret! Wudang's actions had yielded results! And Empress Pingxin... what was she suppressing? Did she know he was spying?

Just as he was processing this information, the scale in his embrace, which he used to contact Ao Guang of the Dragon Palace, suddenly vibrated urgently and became hot!

Tongtian immediately took out the scale, and Ao Guang's extremely anxious divine sense transmission flooded his mind:

"Sect Master! This is bad! The Guixu battlefield has changed! That Demon God, unable to break through for a long time, actually split into several Demonic Thought clones comparable to Quasi-Saints and bypassed the main sealing area of the Mysterious Yellow Tower, infiltrating the Great Desolation! One of them is heading towards Golden Ao Island! Its target... its target is likely aimed at that thing beneath the island! Or it might have discovered Fairy Wudang's whereabouts! I am entangled by several Chaos Demon Monsters and cannot break free, please come quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Tongtian's eyes suddenly shot out cold light!

As expected! The thing beneath Golden Ao Island had attracted trouble! It might even involve Wudang!

He could no longer afford to rest. His aura erupted, the pressure of Quasi-Saint Peak unleashed without reservation, stirring up the winds and clouds for thousands of miles!

"Abomination! How dare you defile my former territory!"

He let out a long roar that echoed through the Northern Julu Continent! His figure instantly tore through the void, transforming into a dark gray stream of light that ripped through the heavens, moving at an unimaginable speed straight towards the East Sea's Golden Ao Island!

This time, he would no longer hide, no longer keep a low profile!

He would use thunderous might to completely crush the Demonic Thought clone that dared to covet the Intercepting Sect's former territory!

He would let all beings in the Great Desolation know that he, Tongtian, had returned with his peak power!

The Spark has returned to its place, and the Calamity Wave has begun to surge!