"Am I too late?"
Facing Qin Sheng's question, the Demon Lord's gaze was lofty and unfathomable, as though it contained the world, time, fate, and all else—the vicissitudes of eternity.
A dead Other Shore was still an Other Shore. Even if only a single will and a lingering shadow remained, there was no need to elaborate on how terrifying it was.
In truth, the Demon Lord had foreseen many things happening at this moment before his fall hundreds of thousands of years ago.
The River of Time surged onward. The past and present were singular, but the future had countless tributaries. Those at the Other Shore could see each possible future and occupy portions of the River of Time's downstream "tributaries," using various means to turn certain timelines into established fact.
For example, the Gold Emperor had concealed the timelines in which Gu Xiaosang was the target of Reduction to Emptiness, ultimately turning an illusory future into the real present.
Yet as long as one could not occupy every future timeline, this world would eventually produce variables, and things beyond the expectations of those at the Other Shore would happen.
Qin Sheng's existence was undoubtedly such a variable. After all, the Demon Lord could not possibly have foreseen before his death that The One World would gain a transmigrator.
Especially since, when Qin Sheng's soul arrived in this world, it had been concealed by Infinite Land—silent and utterly hidden.
Only after truly attaining Transcendence and proving the Dao Fruit could one occupy all futures, reach a state of omniscience, and make everything develop according to one's will.
Still, that was only relative. At present, only the Dao Venerable had proven the Dao Fruit, and no one could restrain him.
Once the Three Pure Ones attained Transcendence, the Dao Venerable naturally