Sweeping across the heavens, starting with the first emperor of the ancient times.

As the Daoist Master opened his eyes, the entire Hong Realm changed along with the heavens.

Daylight suddenly turned into night, the sky itself turned black, the sun disappeared, leaving only a suffocating darkness.

The beings of the Flood Realm looked up, their faces filled with horror.

"Why...why is it dark?"

"What's going on? What happened?"

"Venerable One! The Venerable One is in the Central Heavenly Palace! Has something happened to the Venerable One?"

Countless cultivators flew into the air, looking towards the direction of the Heavenly Court.

Their hearts were trembling.

That darkness instilled an instinctive fear in them.

"The Guru will be alright... The Venerable One is so powerful..."

Someone was muttering to themselves, their voice trembling.

"This darkness... I sense something ominous..."

"What exactly happened to the Venerable One? Can anyone tell me?"

Someone rushed up to the Heavenly Court, wanting to get close to the Central Heavenly Palace.

But they were blocked by an invisible force, a dark and evil force.

At that moment, a thought arose in everyone's mind.

His Excellency may have encountered a problem, and a serious one at that.

Hongjie was plunged into unprecedented panic.

……

In the main hall of the Heavenly Court, Jiang Hao and Gu Feng sat facing each other.

The aroma of tea wafts through the air, and celestial light dances around.

The two were discussing the details of merging the two worlds. This was a huge project, not something that could be accomplished in a few words, but they had almost finished discussing it.

After all, Jiang Hao and Gu Feng are both decisive and quick-thinking people.

At this moment, Lingbao Tianzun and Yuanshi Tianzun entered one after the other.

Moreover, both of them had very serious expressions, furrowed brows, and hurried steps.

Seeing the expressions on the two Celestial Venerables' faces, Jiang Hao realized that something must have gone wrong. He put down his teacup and quickly asked.

"Fellow Daoists, what's wrong? What's the problem?"

Lingbao Tianzun took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Dao Zun may be in trouble."

Jiang Hao frowned.

Is there something wrong with Dao Zun?

After Jiang Hao went to the Immortal Realm, he learned that many years ago, Dao Zun was severely injured by the Celestial Lord of the Immortal Realm and others, and fled with serious injuries.

They have been missing ever since.

Jiang Hao had also searched around the Immortal Realm, but found no trace of the Dao Venerable.

However, because of the things left behind by the Daoist Master, he knew that the Daoist Master was still alive, so he was not too worried. Jiang Hao always thought that the Daoist Master was still cultivating somewhere.

Now, something's gone wrong?

Yuanshi Tianzun stepped forward and explained, "It's like this, just now, I suddenly felt inexplicably panicked."

"Since I began my spiritual practice, I have never had this feeling before. My mind is restless, as if something bad is about to happen."

Lingbao Tianzun nodded: "Me too."

"I couldn't find the reason, so I went to find Brother Yuanshi. I just found that Brother Yuanshi had the same feeling, so we began to look for the cause."

"But we couldn't find the reason at all. Finally, Brother Yuanshi suddenly took out a talisman left by Daozun and we realized that the problem was actually with Daozun."

At this moment, Yuanshi Tianzun also took out a talisman from his sleeve.

The talisman was light blue and about the size of a palm.

It was covered with densely packed runes.

At this moment, the spiritual light on the talisman was very faint.

Like a candle flickering in the wind, it could be extinguished at any moment.

Jiang Hao took the talisman and carefully sensed it; the spiritual light within it was indeed faint.

It's like it's being suppressed by something, and it could go out at any moment.

This talisman contains a wisp of the Daoist's spiritual consciousness. The talisman's spiritual light is faint, indicating that the Daoist has encountered danger.

Fortunately, they weren't all wiped out. Thankfully, this means the Daoist Master is still alive.

This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

"I'll give it a try."

At this moment, Gu Feng spoke up, "Let me deduce the approximate location of this Daoist Master."

Jiang Hao handed the talisman to Gu Feng, and the three of them looked at Gu Feng with some anticipation.

This is the work of a Celestial King; there's a good chance of success.

Gu Feng took the talisman and closed his eyes.

The Celestial King's divine sense surged out like a tide, extending outward along the causal lines within the talisman.

Unfortunately, the effect was not good, because Gu Feng kept frowning throughout the process.

Sure enough, a moment later, he opened his eyes, shook his head, and said.

"No, I'm being blocked by a very strong force. That force is extremely powerful, surpassing even the level of a Celestial King. I can't break through."

Gu Feng's expression was not good.

He is the Celestial King.

Even with the help of the Celestial King, he couldn't even deduce a single position.

What exactly is that power?

A sense of unease welled up inside him; that force made him very uncomfortable.

Upon hearing this, Lingbao Tianzun and Yuanshi Tianzun's expressions changed.

"Power surpassing that of a Celestial King?"

Jiang Hao's expression also darkened.

Even the Celestial King couldn't predict the outcome.

It was also blocked by a power that surpassed that of a Celestial King.

This is terrifying.

Dao Zun has indeed run into a big problem.

Jiang Hao took the talisman and tried to deduce it himself.

His divine sense seeped into the talisman, probing outwards along the lines of cause and effect.

In the void, an endless barrier of darkness stretched out before them.

His consciousness struck the barrier, but it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, receiving no response.

Looking at the dark barrier blocking his way, he sighed inwardly, "Oh no, my worst fears have come true."

Jiang Hao had sensed this power before; it was the power of the Strange Clan, and its essence was extremely high.

What does this mean? It means that the Daoist master may have been corrupted by a strange source.

This is indeed a major crisis; no wonder the talismans left by the Daoist Master are in such a state.

"No wonder Lingbao Tianzun and Yuanshi Tianzun were panicked. When Daozun was in trouble, these two really did have a premonition."

Jiang Hao's mind was in turmoil.

This made him even more certain that there was indeed a connection between the three.

Jiang Hao thought to himself, "Could these three really be projections of those three?"

Lingbao Tianzun, Yuanshi Tianzun...

Aside from the Daoist Master being slightly different, everything else is basically the same. This...

"Weren't those three from mythology in my previous life? How come they actually exist in this world? What's the connection between the two worlds?"

"And these three are so strong and amazing here. They truly deserve to be called authorities."

Jiang Hao was filled with emotion. He then withdrew his divine sense and looked at the three Lingbao Heavenly Venerables with a solemn expression.

"This is the power of a strange race; the Daoist Master may have encountered darkness's corruption!"

Jiang Hao did not hide this fact; the people in this match were all top experts from his own side, so there was no need to conceal it.

Upon hearing the name "the strange race," Gu Feng's brows furrowed sharply.

"A strange race?"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Darkness has returned?"

A murderous intent flashed in Gu Feng's eyes, and his body surged with immortal light, causing the entire hall to tremble slightly.

He hated the strange race to the core. The shattering of the Nine Heavens and the long absence of the Chaotic Ancient Emperor were all inextricably linked to darkness.

Now, that force has reappeared.

Jiang Hao looked at him and said in a deep voice, "That's right, I won't mistake that power."

Gu Feng took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions.

Lingbao Tianzun said in a deep voice, "So, Daozun... is being targeted by the strange race?"

"Based on the current situation, this is very likely the case."

Jiang Hao nodded.

As for the specifics, he didn't know either.

The Daoist Master has no idea what realm he is in now, or what he has encountered.

Lingbao Tianzun and Yuanshi Tianzun exchanged a glance, their expressions growing even more unpleasant.

"Fellow Daoist, can Daoist Venerable... hold on?" Lingbao Tianzun asked.

Jiang Hao remained silent for a moment.

"It's hard to say. The power of the strange origin far surpasses that of a Celestial King, and we can't deduce it either, so we can't help him."

He can only rely on himself now.

Everyone fell silent; this feeling was truly unpleasant.

Moreover, the resurgence of dark forces is absolutely terrible news.

Jiang Hao turned around and looked at Lingbao Tianzun and the other two.

"But in any case, we must be prepared. The matter of Dao Zun means that darkness may be about to make a comeback."

Yuanshi Tianzun nodded, his expression solemn.

"The strange race has been silent for so many years, and their sudden movement is not a good thing. It seems we must speed up our cultivation."

"Yes, we need to work even harder."

Jiang Hao looked into the distance and slowly said:

"Although we don't know why darkness suddenly reappeared, we must be prepared."

"Everyone must improve their strength as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, when catastrophe strikes, no one will be able to escape it."

The atmosphere in the main hall was somber.

……

In the heavens, the other half of the Seed of Darkness drifts through the void, searching for a new, suitable one.