Inside the Emperor Phoenix Tower, Red Dust had meant to refine the Dao Fruit and return to her peak. Instead, it had sunk into the tower's ninth floor. Even she could do nothing about it.
"I was too optimistic. I've only made things harder for myself..."
"Pan was terrifyingly powerful. Under the weight of his aura, even I couldn't resist.
Before I knew it, he'd surpassed me by so much. Those others died for nothing.
But did she really sacrifice herself? Probably not. Her obsession with the Dao runs too deep.
Everything she's done has been in pursuit of it.
Such selfless sacrifice just isn't like her."
Far from the heart of the chaos, a man murmured to himself, still shaken.
"What a terrifying aura!"
Several people beside him looked aghast. Golden blood trickled from their mouths; they had clearly suffered serious injuries.
"Thank goodness we listened to Huang. Otherwise, we would've gone straight to our deaths."
"What a pity, though. That Heaven-Opening destroyed many great worlds and countless living beings.
The karmic burden was so immense that even someone as powerful as Pan lost his physical body..."
In their eyes, Pan could not have died completely.
"This world is vaster than any great world we've ever seen."
"We'd best stay out for now. The world has only just been created. Who knows what measures Pan left behind to keep it intact?"
"Indeed. He was too powerful. Even one safeguard he left behind would be beyond us."
They had all joined with the Dao, but there were vast differences within that realm. Pan stood at its pinnacle, while they had only just entered it. Huang might have advanced some distance, but even he had yet to attain that overwhelming strength.
The Dao Fruit was gone from the Emperor