(Sorry, everyone! The automatic release I set up didn't go through. I only just noticed and published it right away!)
The sound of the Dao echoed on and on.
From the depths of the void, the vast River of Time slowly emerged. Its surging waves roared as though welcoming their ruler home.
Across the Myriad Heavens and Ten Thousand Worlds, every cultivator attempting to peer into the past or disrupt time was struck by the suddenly churning waves. At best, their Dao foundations shook. At worst, they were severely injured and coughed up blood on the spot.
Time began to flow through Hundun once more.
The self-destruction that could have annihilated everything had long since been washed away by the power of time. The Demon Gods regained their ability to move and looked toward the Time Temple as one.
Pangu was the first to stride forward. He pulled Shichen into an excited bear hug and laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! Brother Shichen, you're finally out of seclusion! I missed you like hell!"
Shichen patted him on the back and laughed. "All right, all right. Do you have any idea how strong you are?"
Only then did Pangu let go, grinning as he stepped back.
The other Demon Gods gathered around them.
The Fate Demon God folded his arms and looked Shichen up and down, surprise flickering in his eyes.
Shichen was suffused with Dao resonance. When the Fate Demon God probed him with divine sense, a stabbing pain shot through him, as if he had touched something forbidden.
"So this is the Chaos Realm, Seventh Heaven?" The Fate Demon God clicked his tongue in wonder. "You've entered the late stage of the Chaos Realm. It's like you've become the Dao itself—mysterious and impossible to perceive."
Then he snorted. "But that speech was