The Great Dao of Balance Descends Again! Big Cup

"Li Changshou has returned..."

"He never left. He has been hanging in the dark corners of people's hearts through the Path of Heavenly Demons, watching you and me all along, Dao Ancestor."

"The Heavenly Demon Venerable's Spirit Core was planted even before the Investiture of the Gods Killing Calamity. He had prepared for this long ago, Dao Ancestor."

"You misjudged this living being, Dao Ancestor..."

"He did not flee. He never even intended to seek out his homeland, Dao Ancestor."

"He played you and me for fools, Dao Ancestor."

"The variable never vanished. There has always been a variable between Heaven and Earth. The One That Escaped has already taken shape—this is an ominous sign, Dao Ancestor."

"You have already lost, Hongjun."

"Fellow Daoist, your heart is in turmoil."

Purple Firmament Palace, Purple Bamboo Grove.

The Dao Ancestor stood before the chessboard with a gloomy expression. Before him, the Travel Manifest flickered unstably, while gray-robed old Daoists stood all around him.

The gray-robed old Daoists spoke without cease.

Mockery, ridicule, slyness, cold smiles, loss, despair, wails of grief—every face bore a different expression, like an exhibition and gathering of Heaven and Earth's selfish desires.

The Dao Ancestor's burly body trembled continuously. His ever-composed face had actually twisted somewhat at this moment.

"Find him. Find him from the corners of living beings' Dao Hearts!"

The gray-robed old Daoists all spoke at once, saying the same words in gentle tones: "As you wish, owner of Heaven and Earth."

At that instant, their expressions were astonishingly alike.

A faint mockery.

The gray-robed old Daoists turned into streams of light and scattered, leaving only the Dao Ancestor in the Purple Bamboo Grove.

Hongjun stood before the Travel Manifest, his expression shifting between light and dark. He seemed to have forgotten what it meant to