At Hongjun's words, a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed through the Elder of Chaos's eyes, which had all but been spitting fire.
He abruptly stopped roaring and stared fixedly at Hongjun.
"Oh?"
"You still have a way?"
"What other way could possibly deal with Gu Changqing?!"
He stepped forward, his words carrying a hint of urgency and his last shred of hope.
As long as he could kill Gu Changqing and wash away today's humiliation, he was willing to pay any price!
Yet.
Faced with the Elder of Chaos's questioning, Hongjun sank into a long silence.
For the first time, a trace of stiffness appeared on his face, normally as still as an ancient well.
A way?
If he had a way, how could things possibly have reached this point?
Slay Gu Changqing?
Destroy the Interception Sect, the Earth Dao, and the Human Dao?
He dreamed of it!
But the question was, how?!
Whenever he thought of Gu Changqing's inconceivable first form of Heaven-Opening, whenever he recalled that brat's final, nonchalant muttering, a profound sense of helplessness welled up in Hongjun's heart.
The first form alone could clash head-on with the Chaos Bead.
What about the second and third forms, which he had yet to master fully?
Once that brat mastered them completely, what earth-shattering power would they unleash?
This was simply a problem with no solution!
A variable entirely beyond his control!
He was the exalted Dao Ancestor, fused with the Heavenly Dao, and had prided himself on calculating everything across the ages and controlling the destiny of all living beings.
Yet today, before a junior, every one of his schemes had become a joke.
This sense of defeat was no less crushing than the Elder of Chaos losing the Chaos Bead.
A long while passed.
Hongjun still said