Just as Dao Ancestor Hongjun's Dao heart churned, and a fear he had never tasted in his life entangled his true spirit.
A faint, clear radiance surfaced on the Jade Talisman suspended above Tongtian's head.
A voice came from within the Jade Talisman.
The voice was not ostentatious, yet it passed beyond the shattered firmament over Jiepai Pass and fell into the hearts of every being watching this place.
"Hongjun."
The tone was gentle, even carrying a hint of conversational amusement.
Yet as that name fell, Dao Ancestor Hongjun's Heavenly Dao avatar shuddered on the spot. The patterns of laws around him flickered chaotically, and even the Heavenly Dao Wheel behind him dimmed a shade.
He recognized this voice.
He had never heard it before, but the Heavenly Dao Origin was already sounding a shrill warning deep within his will. That fear spread outward along every root of law, beyond even his own ability to suppress.
The source of this voice was that expanse of purple-gray nothingness that could neither be observed, divined, nor entered.
It was the very being who had casually flicked the Heavenly Dao Wheel away.
"You are nothing but a puppet spawned by the Heavenly Dao. After borrowing a little authority, did you truly take yourself for the master of this world?"
The voice in the Jade Talisman rang out again, its amusement edged with sharpness, leaving him no room at all.
"You sit and watch your disciples slaughter one another, place all living beings on a chessboard, and use one tribulation after another to maintain that pitiful little balance of yours."
"Is this your Dao?"
"You think you hold dominion over the Primordial World. To me, you are merely a little insect in its nest, moving dirt to build its burrow-so earnest in your toil,