Heavenly River Essence

Time rewound a moment.

Wolong Pass.

The mighty pass that had guarded the East Sea Cultivation World for hundreds of thousands of years—now the final battlefield before its curtain fell.

Outside lay boundless light and heat, as though a Buddhist great sun had descended upon the mortal world, casting all creation into a Flowing Light Sea of Fire. Yet at its core was an unprecedented darkness. All light seemed to be devoured there, while anything insufficiently hard would be shredded into particles too fine for the naked eye to see.

Within that darkness stood two figures. One was Lin Chen; the other was... Heavenly River Venerable.

"Still... defeated."

Heavenly River Venerable did not look at Lin Chen. Instead, he gazed beyond Wolong Pass. Through the endless Flowing Light Sea of Fire, he seemed to see the Dragon Palace Army pressing down upon them, a trace of desolation and sorrow upon his face.

"Once body and Dao have perished, there is no need to cling to anything in this world," Lin Chen said. "Venerable, rest assured and depart. When I seize Heaven and Earth Orthodox in the future, I will set chaos right and return things to their proper source."

"Whatever began with me shall naturally end with me as well!"

"Back when Fellow Daoist lay dormant in the East Sea, you were cautious in every step, yet laid plans everywhere. You began with trifles that we had never considered. Wind rises from the tip of a green duckweed, yet in the end, you raised the great calamity now sweeping the East Sea in one stroke." Heavenly River Venerable spoke faintly. "The caution, power, and wisdom to use small to win big even while in a weak position that this revealed... before you had absolute confidence, you would never have emerged