I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

"That's right." Yan Yue tapped a spot in the circle with her wooden staff. "They will give you a title, a position, a seemingly prestigious identity at the conference. Honorary Elder of the Void, Guardian of All Realms, Chaos Dao Lord—the name isn't important. What's important is that once you accept this title, it's equivalent to acknowledging the legitimacy of the authorization given to you by the Seventy-Two Holy Dynasties. From then on, you can't get around this identity no matter what you do."

"What if I don't want it?"

Yan Yue slammed her wooden staff on the ground. "Then they'll join forces to destroy you. Not now, but when you're alone. The seventy-two holy dynasties of Taixu will join forces, with no fewer than ten experts at the Eternal Realm. Even if Ye Wuji and Bai Shuang risk their lives to protect you, you won't be able to withstand it."

Qin Yuan stared at the circle with a dot on it on the ground, remaining silent for a long time. A breeze blew through the taro field, carrying the scent of earth and grass. In the distance, the bamboo forest rustled in the wind. A bamboo leaf, blown by the wind, swirled and drifted onto the stone table, landing beside Qin Yuan's bowl. He picked up the bamboo leaf, examining it from all angles.

"Locating the Guixu Palace is fine." Qin Yuan placed the bamboo leaf outside the circle, "but the location of the Guixu Palace must be determined by me, not by them."

Two months later, in the Ancient World of Myriad Phenomena.

The last time the Myriad Manifestations Hall in the center of the Myriad Manifestations Ancient Realm was this lively was on the final day of the Great Void Prodigy Battle. Each of the seventy-two Holy Dynasties sent its Holy Lord or Prince, the thirty-six Dao Sects sent their Sect Leaders or Supreme Elders, and the nine ancient clans were led by their respective clan leaders. One hundred and seventeen chairs were arranged in three concentric circles around the central circular platform. Only one chair was placed on the platform; it was reserved for Qin Yuan.

According to the rules of Taixu, the person being discussed sits alone in the center of the assembly, while representatives from various factions speak around the platform. This arrangement itself is a show of force—facing representatives from 117 factions, even if one person simply sits there without saying a word, the psychological pressure is enough to make most people lose their composure.

As Qin Yuan entered the Hall of Myriad Manifestations, everyone seated on one hundred and seventeen chairs turned to look at him. A servant standing at the entrance announced loudly, "The Lord of Guixu Hall, Champion of the Taixu Heavenly Pride Battle, and Conqueror of the Outer Realms—Qin Yuan, has arrived!"

Qin Yuan paused. He knew the first two titles, but where did the third, "Outer Realm Conqueror," come from? He glanced back at Ye Wuji, who was following behind him. Ye Wuji said in a low voice, "I had the Dao Court add them to your name. The more prestigious the title, the more confident you'll be." Qin Yuan didn't say anything and stepped into the main hall.

Today, instead of his usual coarse linen clothes, he wore a robe that Su Yao had specially made for him. It was black, with silver chaotic patterns embroidered on the cuffs and collar, and a chaotic seal tied around his waist. His white hair was tied back with a black rope, making him appear less casual and more sharp than usual. The bone blade wasn't sheathed; it was held in his right hand, the starlight and galaxies on its blade shimmering coldly under the lights of the Myriad Manifestations Palace.

He walked to the center of the circular platform, not sitting in the chair prepared for him, but standing beside it, and plunged the bone blade into the ground. The tip of the bone blade pierced the stone slab of the platform, producing a crisp metallic sound where the blade touched the stone. An invisible wave spread out from the blade, sweeping across the entire hall. Those in the hall with slightly lower cultivation levels simultaneously felt a tremor in their hearts, as if something had swept through their sea of ​​consciousness.

"The Eye of Chaos." The Supreme Elder of the Wuji Dao Court sat in an inconspicuous corner of the third row and chuckled softly, "This kid gave everyone a hard time as soon as he walked in."

After firmly inserting the bone blade, Qin Yuan sat down in the chair. He glanced around at the 117 chairs in the hall and recognized several familiar faces—Ye Wuji was sitting in the position of the Wuji Dao Court, nodding slightly to him; Bai Shuang, wearing the holy robe of the Heavenly Pivot Saint Lord, sat in the front row, her expression indifferent but her eyes warm; the representative of the Immortal Temple was an elder Qin Yuan had never met before, but the young man standing behind the elder was the Immortal Realm prodigy who had voluntarily withdrawn from the semi-finals, and he clasped his hands in a fist salute to Qin Yuan.

"The Lord of Guixu Palace has arrived; the Chaos Assembly officially begins." Presiding over the assembly was the Lord of the Myriad Manifestations Ancient Realm, an elderly man with white hair and beard but remarkably vigorous spirit, whose cultivation was unfathomable. He unfurled a jade scroll and read aloud: "The main topic of this assembly—the definition of the relationship between the Great Void, the Eternal Heaven Realm, and the myriad realms after the removal of the external threat. Representatives from all sides will speak in turn."

The first to stand up was the sect leader of the "Myriad Arrays Dao Court," ranked fifth. The Myriad Arrays Dao Court had been defeated by Qin Yuan in the quarterfinals of the Heavenly Pride Battle, with two key members seriously injured and forced to withdraw—a grudge they held dear. The sect leader went straight to the point: "Qin Yuan, the Lord of the Guixu Palace, has rendered meritorious service in the conquest of the outer realms; no one denies that. But merit is one thing, status is another. The Guixu Palace does not belong to any faction within the Taixu Realm, and Qin Yuan himself is neither a Taixu cultivator nor a subject of the Seventy-Two Holy Dynasties. According to the ironclad rules of the Taixu Realm, cultivators from the lower realms are not allowed to establish Daoist temples within the Taixu Realm. The very existence of the Guixu Palace is a violation of these rules."

"The Iron Laws of the Great Void were established 50,000 years ago." Bai Shuang stood up before the leader of the Myriad Array Dao Court could finish speaking, and the chilling aura of the Ice Soul Law spread from her body. "50,000 years ago, the Chaos Holy Dynasty still existed. When the seventy-two Holy Dynasties joined forces to overthrow the Chaos Holy Dynasty, why didn't they talk about the Iron Laws? Now they're using rules from 50,000 years ago to restrain conquerors from other regions. The Myriad Array Dao Court is quite adept at playing this double standard."

"Celestial Pivot Saint Lord, Qin Yuan helped you get your position." The leader of the Myriad Array Dao Court sneered, "Gratitude is understandable, but public and private matters should be kept separate."

"I sit in this position because I was chosen by the subjects of the Heavenly Pivot Holy Dynasty, not because anyone helped me get it." Bai Shuang's voice turned cold, and the chill of the Ice Soul Law condensed into a thin layer of ice on the floor of the hall. "As for the Myriad Array Dao Court, their combined attack formation was defeated by Qin Yuan alone in the quarterfinals of the Heavenly Pride Battle. If you can't accept defeat, just say so directly, no need to beat around the bush."

The leader of the Wanzhen Daoting sect had a livid face and was about to retort when an old voice came from the third row.

That's enough.

The Supreme Elder of the Wuji Dao Court stood up. He looked much older than his actual age, his withered body wrapped in a wide Daoist robe, like a dried bamboo stalk. But his eyes were astonishingly bright, and wherever his gaze swept, even the air seemed to thicken. He was one of the oldest Eternal Realm cultivators still existing in the Taixu Realm. No one knew his exact age, only that when he first went into seclusion, half of the seventy-two holy dynasties had not yet been established.

"I summoned Qin Yuan today not to interrogate him," the Supreme Elder said, walking to the platform and standing opposite Qin Yuan. "I've come to ask him a question." Looking into Qin Yuan's eyes, he asked, "What power did you use to shatter that eye in the outer realm?"