In the void, a long river shimmered as it flowed silently, its countless tributaries branching away. The dead were like this water, while all the splendor of the past lay buried upstream, like a sunken city lost beneath the sea.
Meng Qi returned to a time shortly before the Heavenly Court fell. His figure appeared outside Jade Void Palace, high above the world, and he immediately sensed the ancient, solemn, majestic, and profound aura within its halls.
The foremost of the Three Pure Ones, the first Heavenly Venerable of the Daoist sect—Yuanshi Tianzun!
He had received his inheritance, benefited from his grace, and taken up his title, yet to this day, he had never met him face-to-face!
The sound of the great doors opening echoed through the dark, profound halls. Meng Qi stepped inside calmly and followed the familiar path toward Jade Purity Hall. Along the way, he saw old residents of Jade Void Palace, such as the White Crane Boy, who had long since died of old age. They paid no attention to Meng Qi's arrival, seemingly unaware of him altogether, as strange as figures living inside a painted scroll.
Before long, Meng Qi reached the doors of Jade Purity Hall. He saw the cloud bed at the head of the hall, the flawless and luminous orb of precious light, and the ancient Heavenly Venerable who looked like a middle-aged man, majestic and profound. In his palm rested the Three Treasures Ruyi, pale gold tinged with purple and white. Layers of seemingly real and unreal phantoms rose and fell around him: Brahma, creator of the world, and the blind, foolish gods. They were all "other selves" of Yuan Shi who had defeated the projections of other shores in the most ancient universe and seized absolute dominance. Together, they seemed