The Last Sentinel

Suddenly, a series of hurried, heavy footsteps broke the silence outside the corridor. A moment later, the old steward walked out quickly, his expression tense and his face full of anxiety. His brows were furrowed with undisguised seriousness, and his steps were hurried, clearly indicating that something unusual had happened inside the pavilion.

The gentleman uncle, Godot, and the necromancer who were waiting outside the corridor instantly stopped their casual conversation and rushed forward almost simultaneously, their expressions different but all tense.

"Sir, is there trouble inside?" the gentleman asked first, his tone anxious.

Godot followed closely behind, his heart pounding with anxiety. He hurriedly asked, "Is Ye Feng alright?" He was filled with worry about the opportunity he had staked his entire fortune on, fearing that something might go wrong along the way.

The necromancer standing nearby bowed slightly and softly echoed, "Do you need our help?"

The old steward glanced at the three of them with a solemn expression, then raised his hand slightly to signal them to step back and not block the passageway. His tone was authoritative and left no room for argument.

All three were astute enough to instantly understand the implication and tactfully retreated to a corner of the corridor, standing there holding their breath. Their eyes were fixed on the old butler's tall, straight back, and they whispered among themselves, each speculating about the changes taking place inside the pavilion.

The gentleman's gaze was deep as he stared at the tightly closed doors of the pavilion. His tone was resolute: "Judging from this commotion, this is no small matter. A top-tier figure is surely about to arrive."

Godot frowned slightly, his eyes full of hesitation: "A big shot?" He considered himself to have mingled in various void planes and seen many powerful figures, but he had never seen a scene that could make the visa officer's residence so solemn.

The gentleman pointed to the old butler's retreating figure, his expression solemn, and slowly explained, "The star chart that the butler just brought into the pavilion is no ordinary magical artifact; it is a genuine epic treasure. It has accompanied the supreme powerhouse of the dimensional battlefield for several eons, experiencing countless life-and-death battles, imbued with endless Daoist charm and killing intent, its power defying the heavens. When the old visa officer first retired for rest, in gratitude for his lifelong achievements, that great figure gifted him this treasure as a protective token."

"This astrolabe not only possesses immense supernatural power, but also carries the supreme face and authority of that great figure!"

"The purpose of this token couldn't be clearer: it's a declaration to all realms that anyone who opposes the old visa officer is opposing that great figure! Pangu Academy, bound by rules and propriety, might not act rashly, but that great figure is unrestrained by rules and regulations; his words are law, and he can exterminate an entire clan without mercy!"

Godot was startled and nodded repeatedly, secretly shocked by this overwhelming power: "So that's how it is! There's such a deep layer of origin!"

The necromancer standing nearby raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "Uncle, who exactly is the owner of this astrolabe?"

The gentleman lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, his tone carrying a hint of awe and mystery: "According to the secrets I've uncovered about the old visa officer's past, the owner of this astrolabe is only one person—Frost Ancestor."

The young mage's eyes were filled with confusion: "Frost Ancestor? I've never heard of this powerful being."

The gentleman lowered his voice and slowly explained, "Legend has it that the Frost Ancestor's clan and sect all attained enlightenment and took human form from the Heavenly Spirit Tree. Its true form is an unparalleled divine tree, the specific species of which is unknown. Throughout the ages, all those fortunate enough to glimpse its true form have perished and vanished, leaving no trace in the world."

Before the words were finished, the void outside the pavilion door suddenly trembled, and a pure and extremely cold frost light path stretched out from the sky. The silvery-white cold mist stretched endlessly, freezing all the floating stardust and Daoist charm along the way, and the chilling pressure swept over the entire corridor.

The old butler, who had just been dignified and composed, now adopted an extremely humble posture, bowing almost at a ninety-degree angle, bowing respectfully, and remaining solemn without daring to make the slightest movement.

The three men, including Godot, felt a chill run down their spines, their bodies tense, and a cold shiver run through them. They knew perfectly well that for a steward of such a prestigious mansion as the old steward to kneel before them, the newcomer's power and influence far surpassed their comprehension. At this moment, the slightest disrespect or lapse in concentration would be annihilation. Without hesitation, the three bowed deeply, mimicking the old steward's posture, suppressing their aura, gathering all seven senses, holding their breath, and barely daring to breathe too heavily.

A moment later, the soft, light sound of footsteps, like crunching snow and breaking ice, slowly rose. A clear, desolate voice, carrying the chill of ages past, echoed throughout the entire pavilion: "Which brat shattered my star chart is still here?"

The old steward bowed and replied with utmost respect: "Reporting to Frost Ancestor, the person is currently in the pavilion and is being personally looked after by Lord Wright."

Before the words were even finished, a fierce frost swept across the area with a speed beyond dimensional perception. Before Godot and his two companions could even react, they were enveloped by the ultimate freezing power, instantly solidifying into three crystal-clear ice sculptures, their life force, aura, and thoughts completely frozen, motionless.

Inside the pavilion, frost flowers froze and filled every inch of space with a bone-chilling cold, as if the air itself had been frozen solid. Ye Feng subconsciously wanted to turn around and look at the person who had come, but he was shocked to find that his body was already covered with a layer of frost as thin as a cicada's wing, and the chill spread from his soul to his limbs and bones.

His pupils constricted sharply, a monstrous storm raging within him. He was no longer a mortal body of flesh and blood, but a pure soul and spirit, unaffected by ordinary physics and laws, yet he had been easily frozen by his opponent! This terrifying method far exceeded all his understanding of his current cultivation level. Before he could even deduce his opponent's cultivation level, all his thoughts, ideas, and perceptions were frozen solid by the frost, and he stood frozen in place, transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture.

Visa officer Old Wright no longer dared to show the slightest air of seniority. He quickly stepped down from the main seat, bowed deeply, and said in a tone full of awe and sigh: "Wright greets Your Excellency. It has been many years since we last met. Your Excellency's demeanor remains as unparalleled as ever. However, Wright is now old and no longer qualified to follow Your Excellency in conquering the world and guarding the dimensional battlefields."

Before Wright stood a tall, handsome young man with his hands behind his back. He wore a moon-white robe embroidered with silver patterns, his silver hair and eyebrows as white as frost and snow, a translucent frost flower mark gleaming silently between his brows, wisps of cold mist swirling around him. His figure was as imposing as a solitary, cold peak, his deep, glassy eyes as still and unfathomable as an ancient, frozen pool, devoid of any emotion. Beneath his refined appearance lay the coldness and majesty of countless ages, an aura that kept strangers at bay.

Frost Ancestor's gaze fell indifferently upon the scattered fragments of the star disk on the ground, a faint glint in his eyes. This was Wright's second high-dimensional star disk, and also his most precious epic relic. It had suddenly collapsed when he used it to test Ye Feng's potential limit. What began as hair-thin cracks quickly spread and exploded, until the entire treasure shattered into more than ten fragments.

Wright was already in a state of utter confusion and fear. This was not only a treasure, but also a protective token given to him by the Frost Ancestor, carrying an unparalleled origin. If the token were to shatter, it would directly attract the true form. At this moment, a deep sense of fear and unease still lingered in his heart.

Frost Ancestor bent down, lightly picking up a fragment of the star chart with his fingertips. His cold voice remained calm and undisturbed: "I can sense that the star chart touched an extremely terrifying forbidden seal, which forced it to shatter. Tell me, what secrets did you uncover when you used the star chart to examine this boy?"

Wright suppressed the terror surging within him, his body trembling slightly, and replied respectfully, "Reporting to Your Excellency, I...I witnessed the fall of Pangu."

The words "Pangu's Fall" resounded like a thunderclap. For the first time, genuine astonishment appeared on the youthful and handsome face of the Frost Ancestor, and ripples suddenly appeared in the icy pool in his eyes. Even he, who stood at the pinnacle of all realms, could not remain calm upon hearing these four words.

Wright dared not pause and continued to report in a deep voice: "My lord, when I first investigated, I only found that he was bound by an extremely complex Pangu Lock. Its level and binding power far exceeded any seal in the world. It was comparable to the supreme shackles used to imprison top-level dimensional war criminals. It was a terrifying restriction that I had never seen in my life."

"But upon further investigation, I was horrified to discover that within his memory projections, there were billions of dimensional war criminals imprisoned by Pangu!"

Upon hearing this, Frost Ancestor immediately interrupted, his tone heavy with disbelief: "Wait! Dimensional war criminals! Billions? Do you know what you're saying? Dimensional war criminals who could be locked up by Pangu's restrictions are extremely rare throughout the history of dimensional battlefields! And you dare say his homeland has billions?"

"That is indeed the case." Wright nodded solemnly and continued, "I continued to investigate and discovered that this group of dimensional war criminals, numbering in the billions, has never appeared in any of the Pangu Academy's historical records. Even the supreme Pangu who sealed all living beings is not listed in the academy's historical register."

"As you know, Pangu is not a single person's name, but the exclusive code name of the academy's supreme powerhouse. In each generation of Pangu, only when the previous one died in battle could the next one inherit the lineage, and the succession was perfectly connected and historically verifiable. But this Pangu is completely outside the orthodox lineage and cannot be found anywhere."

"I once suspected that the Pangu in his memory was just a different being with the same name, not the true lineage of our Dao. But upon further investigation, I glimpsed the secrets of his memories—Pangu fought against three thousand chaotic demons, creating heaven and earth, using his body as a seal to imprison the entire homeland and sky!"

"Though those memories were blurry and incomplete, the combat levels and law fluctuations were at the highest level of a top-dimensional battlefield, far beyond the level of conflicts in the lower realms. It was precisely when I explored to this point that the star chart could not bear the burden and collapsed and was damaged, forcing my observation to stop."

At this point, Wright quickly reminded him, "Sir, you can take a closer look at his right eye."

Upon hearing the sound, Shuangzu turned around, his gaze sweeping over Ye Feng's eyes. At first glance, they appeared to be ordinary entropy pupils, nothing special. But in the next instant, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he sensed something extremely strange. He slowly stepped forward, his figure closing in, his gaze fixed on Ye Feng's right eye, analyzing it carefully for a long time.

After a long pause, Frost Ancestor slowly inhaled, smoothing his tightly furrowed silver brows. His tone was extremely solemn: "The purity of this Entropy Eye is ridiculously exaggerated. It far exceeds the combined net worth of all known entropy prodigies in the heavens, by a hundred trillion times! He is truly the Entropy Child, born from the very essence of entropy!"

"Your Excellency has a discerning eye!" Old Wright quickly echoed, a shrewd calculation flashing in his eyes. "Pangu Academy is now widely recruiting prodigies in the Entropy Dao, seeking to reshape the Entropy Dao system. This young man's Entropy Dao laws are the most complete and pure, and his talent surpasses all his peers. In my humble opinion, Your Excellency should devote all your efforts to supporting him and cultivating him into a core leader and powerful figure within the academy. When Your Excellency retires in the future, someone will be able to inherit your lineage and continue your prestigious reputation."

Frost Ancestor remained noncommittal, raising his hand and unleashing a vast, icy Daoist aura. Ye Feng's body instantly blurred, displaying a mosaic-like effect. His memories were forcibly stripped away and analyzed layer by layer like a rotating slideshow, leaving no frame or inch unexposed. Information and secrets of all the powerful beings in the heavens were completely revealed to Frost Ancestor. Even top-tier beings such as the Limitless Demon Lord, the First Affection of the Primordial Chaos, and the Master of Machinery could not escape his detection.

However, when the memory slideshow reached the "Journey to the West" segment, the screen suddenly froze and came to a complete stop.

Old Wright immediately focused his gaze, and in the frozen image, he saw an old Taoist priest standing gracefully. He wore a plain white turban and a white crane-feather cloak, his long, snow-white beard cascading down to his chest. His face was lean and dignified, untouched by worldly defilement. His eyes were gentle and compassionate, yet held a profound depth of antiquity; Taoist spirit and Zen wisdom were perfectly integrated, transcending the mundane world. Beside him, a couplet shone brightly, revealing the secrets of the hidden realm: "Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Xieyue Sanxing Cave."

"My lord, this is the Bodhi Patriarch from his memories of Journey to the West," Wright quickly explained. "This person is extremely mysterious; even those dimensional war criminals couldn't fathom his background. They only knew that he taught a rebellious disciple named Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. As for this old Taoist's real name..."

Frost Ancestor suddenly interrupted, his tone complex: "His name is Bodhi Patriarch."

Wright was taken aback, his face full of surprise: "Sir, you knew about this?"

A helpless, bitter smile appeared on the handsome face of the young Frost Ancestor. He slowly closed his deep eyes and said softly, "How could I not know him? My youthful appearance is entirely thanks to him."

Wright was shocked and asked in a trembling voice, "He...he's the adult's enemy?"

"I suppose so." Shuangzu opened his eyes, his gaze filled with the complexities and melancholy of years gone by. "But in terms of seniority, I should call him Senior Brother, my eldest senior brother."

Wright was completely stunned, speechless, and utterly incredulous.

Frost Ancestor raised his eyes to gaze into the distant void, his voice distant and wistful: "You know my origins. My true form is an ancient, snow-covered white apricot tree. My senior brother, on the other hand, is a Bodhi tree. In the beginning of time, we shared the same roots and grew together. He sheltered me from wind and snow and protected me from countless calamities, his kindness to me as heavy as a mountain. And it is precisely because of this that I am bound by his Dao, forever frozen in my youthful form throughout the ages, never to grow up again."