Within the Ultimate Void, there were no years, no space or time, no above or below, no beginning or end.
Lin Chen strolled in white robes, his steps slow and light, as though walking through an ordinary street in the mortal world. He bore not a trace of supreme majesty, yet possessed a serenity that stood above the myriad Daos. Behind him, Great Worlds of Freedom slowly took shape, evolved, and flourished. They needed no rules to sustain them, no power to protect them. Created by a single thought of his, they inherently held eternal peace and nurtured perfect Great Daos of their own.
After crossing untold fractures in space and time and passing untold embryos of chaos, he finally encountered a faint, unusual fluctuation ahead.
It was a presence older than the primordial origin, more boundless than the Ultimate Void, more fundamental than all existence. Ethereal and elusive, yet tangibly real, it seemed to be the source of all Great Daos, the end of all realms, the final destination of all invincibility.
Lin Chen paused slightly and raised his eyes.
Deep within the endless darkness floated a speck of light. Small though it was, it could illuminate the entire Ultimate Void. Within that light were no worlds, no living beings, no Dao laws-only an origin presence of perfection, freedom, completeness, and desirelessness.
It was-the Origin of Ultimate Freedom.
It was the ultimate existence beyond the primordial, beyond the void, beyond every known and unknown level, the ultimate vessel of the legendary words: "The myriad Daos return to nothing; I am the Dao myself."
Throughout the ages, no living being had ever reached this place, much less glimpsed its true form.
Even the primordial progenitor of creation had once sensed only a trace of it through the Unseen, and had revered it as his highest faith.
His gaze calm, Lin Chen slowly approached.
When he was just one step away from that speck of light, it suddenly blossomed into a warm, gentle stream of radiance. Without the slightest resistance or hesitation, like a wanderer returning home, like countless streams returning to the sea, it flew straight toward his brow and softly merged into him without a sound.
There was no surge of power, no thunder of Dao tones, no heaven-shaking phenomenon.
Lin Chen merely felt his mind clear slightly. Every past sign-in, every moment of cultivation, every battle, every act of creation surfaced clearly within his heart. A hundred thousand years of settling amid the mortal world, emerging invincible in a single day, treading the heavens, subduing chaos, breaking through the void, commanding the primordial, creating myriad realms... Every experience, every Dao fruit, every state of mind fused completely at that moment, becoming the purest, most perfect, most unfettered Dao heart of freedom.
At that moment, he truly understood.
Signing in for a hundred thousand years had not been about accumulating power, but about allowing his true heart to settle.
Emerging invincible had not been about sweeping away every enemy, but about remaining undisturbed by enemies.
Ruling the myriad realms had not been about determining their rise and fall, but about protecting peace.
Creating worlds had not been about displaying divine might, but about perfecting freedom.
True invincibility had never meant having no worthy opponent, but having no enemy in one's heart and none beneath heaven.
True eternity had never meant remaining imperishable through the years, but following one's heart, without beginning or end.
The true Great Dao had never meant drawing the myriad Daos into one's heart, but having one's heart itself be the Dao, with no need to seek outside.
"So... this is the ultimate."
Lin Chen murmured softly, a clear smile of release lifting the corners of his mouth.
At that smile, heaven and earth remained unruffled, and the myriad Daos were undisturbed. Yet the entire Ultimate Void grew gentle, countless unborn worlds rejoiced, and all that existed and did not exist naturally returned to peace.
He no longer needed to walk, to seek, or to prove his Dao.
Beneath his feet lay the ultimate, within his heart lay perfection, before him lay freedom, and behind him lay eternity.
Meanwhile, in the Primordial Myriad Realms.
The heavens, chaos, the heavenly domains, the void, the primordial-all domains simultaneously shimmered with a layer of gentle golden light. The myriad Daos resounded together, celestial tones rolled vast and mighty, and an eternally imperishable Dao proclamation arose unbidden in the hearts of living beings:
Ultimate freedom, my Dao without end.
In the Mortal Realm, an old farmer tilling his field set down his hoe and gazed toward the sky, reverence on his face.
In the Cultivation Realm, cultivators contemplating the Dao suddenly saw clearly, broke through their bottlenecks, and attained clarity of mind.
Above in the God Realm, the gods bowed their heads, comprehended the true meaning of freedom, and shed their pride and obsessions.
In the Emperor Realm, great emperors relinquished their authority and wandered freely among mountains and rivers, with no more strife.
Deep within chaos, ancient beasts slept peacefully and heavenly venerables sat in stillness, no longer harboring ambitions of conquest.
In the Heaven Beyond Heaven Domain, the realms lived in harmony, and venerables imparted the Dao, free to follow their hearts.
In the Hongmeng Holy Land, every member of the Creation Clan knelt in worship, tears filling their eyes as they finally understood what the true Dao was.
Beside the Eternal Dao Platform, the Void Dao Lord shuddered. A light of complete understanding flashed through his eyes, and the Great Dao of the void surrounding him instantly reached perfection, bringing him into a supreme realm even he had never dared imagine.
He looked up in the direction Lin Chen had departed and bowed respectfully, his voice gentle yet firm:
"Your subordinate congratulates you, Supreme One, on attaining the ultimate Dao, free for eternity."
At that moment, although the living beings of the myriad realms did not know what had happened in the ultimate land, they all felt peace, joy, and completeness from the depths of their hearts.
They knew that the Supreme One who had signed in for a hundred thousand years and emerged invincible had reached the end of everything, attaining a supreme realm beyond description and beyond surpassing.
The Ultimate Void.
Lin Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his white robes fluttering gently.
With a slight stir of his thoughts, scenes of mortal life in the Mortal Realm appeared around him: flagstone paths, small bridges over flowing water, curling cooking smoke, and the bustle of voices. It was where he had first signed in, the starting point of all his original aspirations.
There were no earth-shaking Divine Abilities, no power to destroy heaven and earth, only the most ordinary, most genuine, most heartwarming bustle of mortal life.
He had once been a mere mortal, silently signing in amid the mortal world, asking nothing of his future and seeking no invincibility, simply holding to an ordinary heart.
When he emerged, winds and clouds surged and the myriad realms bowed in worship, yet he still remembered his original aspirations, neither enamored of authority nor trapped by his mighty reputation.
Now that he had attained the ultimate Dao, he was still the youth who had come from the Mortal Realm.
Countless powers could not equal a single thread of his original aspirations.
The allegiance of the myriad realms could not compare to his own freedom.
Invincible through the ages, he wished only for peaceful years.
"A hundred thousand years in the mortal world, freedom within a single thought."
Lin Chen whispered softly. Countless scenes of mortal life flashed through his eyes before finally settling into lucid clarity.
He slowly raised his hand and swept it gently across the entire Ultimate Void.
In an instant, all unborn space-times found stability, all worlds nearing destruction gained continuance, all struggling beings found release, and all Dao laws bound by obsession attained perfection.
He created no new rules, established no new order, and ruled over no realm. He merely let everything return to the way it should have been.
This was the ultimate Dao-neither disturbing, nor controlling, nor binding, nor abandoning.
This was the invincible heart-neither startled, nor arrogant, nor wild, nor desolate.
The years were endless; space and time had no end.
Some said the Supreme One had become the Ultimate Void, present everywhere.
Some said the Supreme One had returned to mortal life in the Mortal Realm and become an ordinary person again.
Some said the Supreme One sat within a Great World of Freedom, quietly observing the changes of the ages.
Others said the Supreme One had never left, that his figure lay hidden in every wisp of wind, every drop of water, every cloud, and every living being's smile.
No one knew where the Supreme One was, and no one understood what form he took.
But everyone knew.
As long as they held peace in their hearts, they could feel the Supreme One's presence.
As long as they remained true to their hearts, they walked upon the Supreme One's Dao.
As long as they yearned for freedom, they possessed invincible power.
From that moment on, Lin Chen's legend was no longer one of conquest and invincibility, but of perfection and freedom.
No longer one of majesty and worship, but of warmth and protection.
No longer one of final destinations and ultimate limits, but of eternity and endlessness.
His white robes remained unchanged, as did his original aspirations.
Signing in for a hundred thousand years, he had not failed the mortal world.
Emerging invincible, he had not failed the passing years.
Attaining the Dao of the ultimate realm, he had not failed his true heart.
The road ahead had no bounds; his Dao had no end.
From then on, throughout heaven and earth, through all ages of space and time, through all existence and all freedom, his Dao resonance flowed, and his peace accompanied all.
After signing in for a hundred thousand years, I emerged invincible.
The ultimate has no realm; my Dao is eternal.