Deliberations in the Domain

The four traveled onward, finally descending into a cyan domain of light deep within the chaos.

This was Shichen's Time Domain.

The flow of time within the domain differed completely from the outside world. Fine particles of light drifted through the air, each reflecting a fragment of the past or future. Standing upon the void, one could clearly feel time slowly flowing around them.

"What a fine place."

Yang Mei clicked his tongue twice and casually brushed aside a strand of temporal fragments drifting before his eyes.

"Your domain is growing more and more outrageous. Stay here too long, and even I might be assimilated by it."

Shichen did not answer his joke. He raised a hand and tapped the void.

Several azure stone tables appeared out of nowhere, each bearing jade cups condensed from Chaos Spirit Liquid.

"Sit."

The Chaos Demon Ape did not stand on ceremony. He plopped down, lifted a jade cup, and poured it straight into his mouth. The spirit liquid slid down his throat, and he smacked his lips.

"Doesn't taste like much."

Luo Hou sat upright to one side, his black robes hanging down as his gaze swept across the Time Domain. Inwardly, he was startled.

The pressure emanating from this domain alone was stronger than his full-strength eruption. The first Demon God to be born truly lived up to his reputation.

"You arrived before us."

A gentle female voice came from the entrance to the domain of light.

Everyone turned and saw two figures entering side by side. The woman on the left wore robes white as snow, an endless aura of creation swirling around her. Her features were soft and graceful. She was the Creation Demon God.

Beside her stood a woman in pink, the Order Demon God. Her expression was stern and unsmiling, and even her robes were arranged with impeccable precision.

The Creation Demon God stepped forward and gave Shichen a slight nod.

"We sensed an abnormal disturbance in the aura of the calamity, so Order and I came together."

The Order Demon God went straight to the point. "Shichen, just how serious is the matter of this calamity?"

The instant her words fell, a cold snort sounded from the entrance to the domain.

"Hmph, what is so lively that you did not invite me?"

Everyone looked toward the sound.

The Fate Demon God, Mingyuan, strode in wearing white robes. His face still bore his habitual arrogance. His gaze swept over the gathering before settling on Shichen, his tone carrying a trace of discomfort.

"Do not misunderstand. I merely sensed you gathering together and feared you were plotting something, so I came to take a look."

Yang Mei snorted. "Give it a rest. If you are panicking, just say so. No one will laugh at you."

"Who is panicking?" Mingyuan's expression darkened.

"I am the Fate Demon God, ruler of the trajectories of all things. A mere calamity is hardly worth mentioning."

Though he said that, he honestly found himself a seat and sat down.

Soon after, the Karma Demon God arrived as well. Yet when he saw the Fate Demon God, his eyes visibly filled with anger. Clearly, he still bore a grudge over the beating he had received just after being born.

"I sensed fluctuations in karma and came to investigate. I did not expect so many Demon Gods to have gathered here."

Shichen ignored this and lifted a hand. A flash of cyan light flickered from his fingertips, and a complete map of chaos appeared in the air.

Within the murky gray chaos on the map, wisps of gray-black mist were slowly spreading. Everywhere they passed, the radiance of the origin visibly dimmed.

"This is the current range of the calamity aura's spread."

His voice was calm, yet it carried a heavy weight.

"The Demon God of Disaster has only just been born, yet the calamity aura has already covered nearly thirty percent of the chaos. At this rate, before long, the entire chaos will be eroded."

The gathering fell silent for a moment.

The Creation Demon God's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "The rate at which the origin is declining far exceeds expectations. If this continues, the foundations of chaos will be damaged. We must intervene."

"Intervene? How?" The Chaos Demon Ape scratched his head.

"Beat the Demon God of Disaster to death?"

"Dead monkey, is there really nothing in that brain of yours besides fighting and killing?"

Luo Hou cursed helplessly.

"It is not that simple." The Order Demon God spoke gravely.

"The calamity was not brought about by the Demon God of Disaster. Three thousand Demon Gods will be born one after another, along with countless lesser Demon Gods afterward. Every one of them draws upon the origin. There is only expenditure and no replenishment; sooner or later, the origin will run dry."

Luo Hou raised his eyes. "What choice will the Great Dao make?"

Everyone's gaze fell upon Shichen.

Shichen was silent for a moment before slowly uttering four words.

"Opening Heaven and Earth."

The four words fell, and the entire gathering instantly went still.

Yang Mei's expression changed slightly. "Opening Heaven? Reforging the origin? Then we Demon Gods..."

"Under the Heaven-Opening Calamity, all Demon Gods will perish, and the origin will return to the Great Dao. That is the Great Dao's most likely choice."

Shichen's tone was calm, as though he were speaking of something utterly ordinary.

"Absurd!"

Mingyuan slammed his palm against the table and rose to his feet, his face livid.

"We were all nurtured by the Great Dao. How could It be so heartless?"

"The Great Dao is impartial, and merciless." Shichen raised his eyes to look at him. "Before the survival of chaos, what do the lives of Demon Gods amount to?"

Mingyuan opened his mouth, wanting to argue, yet he could not force out a single word.

He governed fate. More than anyone, he understood the logic behind the Great Dao's actions. All things could be discarded; only the survival of chaos itself was supreme.

The Creation Demon God said softly, "Is there no other way? For example... could we replenish the origin ourselves?"

"A drop in the bucket." The Order Demon God shook her head. "Three thousand Demon Gods, along with countless lesser Demon Gods—the consumption far exceeds the output. Unless... we can find a new source of origin."

"A new source of origin?" Yang Mei raised a brow. "Beyond chaos lies nothingness. Where would such origin come from?"

Shichen did not answer immediately. He sank into thought.

"Perhaps opening heaven can also be carried out differently."

His fingertips lightly tapped the table. After a long while, he slowly spoke.

"What? Shichen, have you gone mad? If you allow heaven to be opened, all Demon Gods will return to the Great Dao."

At those words, the Fate Demon God slammed the table and shot to his feet, staring at Shichen in disbelief. The other Demon Gods all looked over as well, their gazes filled with questions.

"Mingyuan, first listen to what Shichen has to say."

Yang Mei tapped the table, signaling for the Fate Demon God to sit down. Then he looked toward Shichen.

"Shichen, Mingyuan is not wrong. If heaven is opened, we will all transform into the Dao. Why would you still permit it?"

Shichen swept his gaze across the Demon Gods and smiled.

"Of course I know the stakes. But there are different ways to open heaven. That is something to be dealt with later."

"There are two urgent matters. First, contact every Demon God, as well as those born afterward. We must unify our understanding and cease this meaningless internal strife, lest we needlessly increase the loss of origin. Second, wait for Pangu to be born."

"Pangu?" Mingyuan frowned.

"That Demon God of Strength ranked three-thousandth? What can he do?"

"He is the key."

Shichen's gaze was profound. Pangu was the Heaven-opener chosen by the Great Dao. If they wished to rewrite the outcome of the calamity, Pangu was an indispensable part of it.

"The key? A matter that even we highest-ranked Demon Gods find difficult, yet a Demon God at the very end is the key? Could it be that you saw something in the future within the River of Time?"

The Karma Demon God frowned deeply as he questioned him.

"I cannot say. You will understand when the time comes. For now, go and contact the other Demon Gods."

Shichen shook his head. After speaking, he said no more. The other Demon Gods immediately understood that the Great Dao did not permit him to reveal it, so they did not press further. They vanished from where they stood and went to seek out the other Demon Gods.