The Ancestral Dragon Core; Arriving at the Heavenly Origin Realm

The sun, moon, and stars revolved through cycles of birth and death within its eyes, while billions of years passed in its gaze in no more than the snap of a finger.

There was neither shock nor fear in Xiao Qing's eyes.

Only insight.

Only understanding.

He had long sensed that, at the instant he became an Innate Chaos Deity, several gazes spanning the River of Time had fallen upon him from both past and future.

Those beings standing at the pinnacle of the Chaos Universe had "seen," in their respective eras, the sight of a newly born Chaos Divine Spirit breaking through countless years downstream.

The one before him was one of them.

The Chaos dragon watched Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing watched it as well.

That exchange of gazes lasted a long time.

So long that the River of Time resumed its flow, so long that the chaotic currents calmed their frenzy, so long that countless fragments of time drifted silently between them like snowflakes falling into the deep sea.

After a long while.

The Chaos dragon spoke.

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on becoming an Innate Chaos Deity."

Its voice was like thunder at the dawn of Chaos, deep and majestic. Every syllable stirred ripples throughout the Chaos Void.

Wherever those ripples spread, fragments of time shattered one after another, and the chaotic currents retreated on their own.

Yet it carried an ancient weight of time.

The voice did not come from the dragon's mouth. It came directly from the depths of Chaos, as if the entire Chaos Void were its voice box.

Xiao Qing gave a slight nod.

He was not surprised by the congratulations.

He spoke calmly. "Fellow Daoist, are you the legendary Ancestral Dragon?"

A faint glimmer flashed through the Chaos dragon's enormous eyes.

The light was