"Chaos Origin — the Primordial Tao!"
In that moment, under the push of four Chaos Origin Daos, the final Chaos Origin Dao evolved from the Innate Five Tai was finally completed.
The Chaos Origin Taiji Dao, Chaos Origin Taisu Dao, Chaos Origin Taishi Dao, Chaos Origin Taichu Dao, and Chaos Origin Taiyi Dao rapidly fused together, giving birth to an entirely new Dao.
After over twenty thousand years of climbing the White Jade Steps, Lin Yuan had been one step away from comprehending the Chaos Origin Taisu Dao. He had accumulated everything to the limit, yet could never take that final step—until now. Pressured by terrifying entities from across space and time, he finally succeeded.
"Fuse."
Lin Yuan moved with a thought.
The five Chaos Origin Daos began to merge rapidly.
More precisely, the Chaos Origin Taisu Dao was integrating into the previous four Chaos Origin Daos.
It was as if a corner of a missing map had been restored, completing a flawless whole.
"This—" Lin Yuan's entire mind was immersed in the newly born Dao. The new Dao, formed by the fusion of the five Chaos Origin Daos, stood above all other Chaos Origin Daos, carrying a faint sense of the Supreme Rule Daos.
As soon as the new Dao was born, it began to feed back into Lin Yuan—into everything he was: his body, soul, mind, will. Every true self, every clone or incarnation—as long as it was Lin Yuan, it was evolving at an unfathomable speed.
"RUMMMMBLE~~" Lin Yuan's consciousness roared. The explosive growth of his body, soul, and spirit was so intense, he momentarily lost awareness of the outside world.
In the chaotic void.
This region had completely become the battlefield to suppress Lin Yuan. Over five hundred terrifying entities from across space-time were risking their lives, their powers drawn together by the will of the Supreme Rule Dao and fully fused—unleashing forces that shook the past, future, and countless timelines.
In fact, beyond those five hundred beings, many legendary lords from the current timeline had also joined in.
Among them were Lord Haotian and Lord Fantian.
For legendary lords from other timelines to invoke the Supreme Rule Dao's will and try to prevent the Milky Way from transcending, the minimum requirement was to survive three hundred million tribulations.
But legendary lords of the current timeline only needed to survive a hundred million tribulations to join this catastrophe aimed at stopping the Milky Way's rise to a new transcendence.
Once the five hundred entities descended, Lords Haotian and Fantian led the charge, and other lords who had survived hundreds of millions of tribulations followed suit.
With such powerful beings at the front, even if this tribulation failed, they could retreat unscathed.
This was the real reason so many of the legendary lords from the current timeline joined in.
If it failed, not much was lost. If it succeeded, the gains would be astronomical.
As a result, over ninety percent of the legendary lords who had passed a hundred million tribulations joined in.
Their numbers reached into the tens of thousands.
However, in the effort to suppress the Milky Way Lord, these ten thousand legendary lords were merely supporting forces.
The true core of power came from the five hundred-plus terrifying entities from other timelines.
As Lin Yuan comprehended the Chaos Origin Taisu Dao and fused the five Chaos Origin Daos into a new Dao, this new Dao began to rapidly feed back into him, immersing his entire mind in it.
Because of this, his resistance against the five hundred entities outside weakened.
The invisible barriers of his outer universe began to dissipate, and his defensive and life-preserving measures gradually shut down.
"A perfect opportunity."
The being radiating infinite light lit up with excitement.
Though it didn't know why Lin Yuan would let his guard down, this was an extremely rare chance.
Even with five hundred terrifying entities going all out, it would normally still take a prolonged stalemate to truly suppress Lin Yuan.
But now—
Lin Yuan had voluntarily dropped his defenses? Wasn't this offering them a golden chance?
"Origin Light!"
The being of infinite light exploded, condensing all of its power into a brilliant beam. That beam rippled through layers of time and space. The other entities, seeing this, also launched their ultimate killing techniques.
With the blessing of the Supreme Rule Dao's will, all these killing strikes fused into a fully contained, dark-grey attack, crashing down on Lin Yuan.
With his outer-universe defenses gone, this deadly strike—fused from all the beings' desperate killing moves and supported by over ten thousand legendary lords—struck Lin Yuan's physical body without resistance.
"Hmm?"
Light reformed, and the being of infinite light was utterly shocked. It stared at Lin Yuan, who appeared to have abandoned defense.
That terrifying fusion strike had landed on Lin Yuan, yet it hadn't shaken him in the slightest. The immense force was completely absorbed, devoured, and neutralized upon contact with his body.
"Impossible..."
The being of infinite light couldn't believe it. That fused, dark-grey strike was stopped so easily? Was the Milky Way Lord's defense really that impenetrable?
If it was, why had he struggled during their previous siege?
"Was he hiding his strength? Or did he just break through?"
The being pondered. Only those two possibilities could explain what had just happened.
It leaned toward the former. After all, breaking through during battle was unheard of. The stronger one was, the more difficult it became to break through without extremely refined conditions.
A breakthrough mid-battle? Maybe when weak. But for beings nearing the end of the path to transcendence? That was fantasy.
Lin Yuan stood there silently. His body now was unimaginably strong. Without using any techniques, he could withstand the desperate strikes of five hundred terrifying entities and over ten thousand legendary lords—purely through his physical form.
"Are you all ready to die?" Lin Yuan opened his eyes, gazing at the five hundred terrifying entities and the ten thousand legendary lords.
"Hahaha..." The being of infinite light laughed, looking at Lin Yuan. "Milky Way Lord, we truly underestimated you. You hid such a terrifying defensive capability."
"I admit, in terms of defense, you are number one across all dimensions and times. No other legendary lord can compare to you."
It spoke seriously.
"But that's all."
The being shook its head. "Strong defense doesn't mean you can kill us. We each have countless life-preserving methods, with backups across past and future timelines. As long as a single living being remembers our names, we are effectively immortal. What can you use to kill us?"
To these five hundred entities, only the Supreme Rule Dao's will could truly annihilate them.
Even the path of 'Infinite Origin' had little risk to them. The hardest part was locating the true origin of time.
Lin Yuan looked at the gathered entities, a subtle mark appearing on his forehead.
That mark was the essence of the new Dao born from the five fused Chaos Origin Daos. Lin Yuan activated it, and an invisible force spread outward from him.
As that force expanded, it instantly shattered the many layered prisons built by the five hundred entities.
BOOM BOOM BOOM~~~ Prison after prison crumbled. The five hundred terrifying beings now directly felt the pressure of the expanding force.
"This...?"
The being of infinite light's pupils contracted. It felt an unprecedented oppression. Even its soul trembled in fear.
"We can't block this. Absolutely can't block it."
Its eyes widened in horror. Instinct screamed that this force was irresistible.
"How can this be?"
"How?!"
The being couldn't believe it, but had no time to dwell. It exploded once again, turning into beams of light fleeing in every direction.
If it couldn't block it, it wouldn't try. It would run.
The other beings, equally sharp, sensed something was wrong and immediately began to flee as well.
Further away, the ten thousand legendary lords from this timeline had no time to escape. Nearly a thousand were instantly touched by the force.
"AAAHHHH!!!"
One two-hundred-million-tribulation legendary lord with twin horns was stricken with terror. As the force swept through, his body, soul, will—all were obliterated without resistance.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so terrifying. But as the force spread, even his past selves, future selves, timeline backups—even traces of his existence—were being wiped away.
Once every trace was erased, he would be truly, permanently dead. No revival possible.
How could he not be terrified?
"Milky Way Lord, I was wrong, I was—"
The force continued, and the twin-horned lord's plea abruptly ended. He was utterly erased.
"Milky Way Lord!"
The being of infinite light reappeared, staring at the vanishing point of the twin-horned lord, realizing he had truly died.
The twin-horned lord had only survived two hundred million tribulations. To truly kill him? Only the Supreme Rule Dao could do it.
Even this being could at most destroy a few of his core bodies. Not fully kill him.
Yet now, he was gone. Entirely.
"You've transcended?" the being asked in a low voice.
Lin Yuan's methods were already beyond its comprehension. A casual strike could now utterly destroy a two-hundred-million-tribulation legendary lord?
"Far from it," Lin Yuan gently shook his head. He then looked at the five hundred entities, including the being of infinite light. "Now it's your turn."
BOOM!
The invisible force surged. The being of infinite light couldn't dodge—only endure.
"No transcendence?"
Just by brushing the force, the being lost over forty percent of its past and future timeline incarnations.
"Go."
"Everyone, go!"
"Return to your own timelines."
The being was terrified. It hadn't yet died like the twin-horned lord, but had already lost over forty percent of its time-spanning presence. If Lin Yuan struck again, it would end the same.
"Return to our own timelines?"
The five hundred entities immediately understood what that meant.
They weren't beings of this timeline. If they could return to their own, Lin Yuan would have to follow to kill them.
Without the Supreme Rule Dao's permission, interfering in past timelines would invoke catastrophic backlash on Lin Yuan.
These five hundred beings were nearly invincible in their own times. Their deaths would have unimaginable impact. The backlash would be unbearable—unless Lin Yuan had transcended.
"Go, go, go!"
"Return now!"
One after another, the entities tried to ride the timeline's repulsion and return to their origins.
This meant the tribulation failed, but that was better than dying here.
"Trying to flee?"
Lin Yuan saw through them. He slowly closed his eyes.
"Heaven and Earth are my prison."
When his eyes opened again, the mark on his forehead erupted. The formless force expanded across the infinite dimensions and timelines.
At that moment, all space-time in this dimension became a prison.
No exit.
Even those not of this timeline were trapped.
"No!"
Faces twisted in terror. Some entities self-destructed their combat bodies.
But even those left traces. And the formless force followed those traces, spreading to the beings' past, future, and all backup methods.
Swoooosh.
The force rippled like waves. Legendary lords who had survived a hundred million or two hundred million tribulations couldn't last even an instant—they were utterly erased from past, present, and future.
Even those who had survived nearly three hundred million tribulations could only last a few breaths longer—then were similarly erased.
The five hundred entities nearing the end of the transcendence path were tougher, but under the sweeping of the new Dao's formless force, their erasure was only a matter of time.
High above time and space, Lin Yuan sat like a god. The entire dimension below became an alchemical furnace, refining legendary lords and terrifying entities alike.
Space-time trembled. Timelines twisted and collapsed.
A silver-white figure rode a timeline, trying to return to its origin.
"I've finally passed my two-hundred-millionth tribulation..."
A smile appeared on its face. "I, Wanwei, am now one step closer to transcendence."
This silver figure—Lord Wanwei—had just completed a Supreme Rule trial by slaying a tribulation target in the distant future. He was returning to his original timeline.
Just then—
A turbulent, chaotic space-time forcefully dragged him in.
At first, Wanwei didn't care. But upon closer look, he felt an overwhelming suffocation.
The entire space-time was sealed. Once inside, he was completely cut off from his origin—no return possible.
Even more shocking—an unimaginable massacre was occurring.
Countless legendary lords were falling, their corpses and blood filling the void.
Even the terrifying entities—each having passed over three hundred million tribulations, nearing the end of the transcendence path—were dying with no resistance.
Wanwei had landed in a lucky spot, untouched by the formless force—yet surrounded by corpses. Legendary lords who had survived hundreds of millions of tribulations lay like ants.
Wanwei struggled to lift his head, looking toward the heights of space-time.
There, a figure sat cross-legged. All the slaughter on this battlefield had come from that single being.
Wanwei stared, dazed, at the figure—like an ant gazing at the heavens.
...
The slaughter did not cease with Lord Wanwei's "accidental entry." No matter how the terrifying beings from other timelines struggled, they were swiftly wiped out under the sweep of the formless aura—every trace of their existence across past, present, and future timelines erased.
"What… what is happening? I've never heard of this! So many lords perishing at once—and perishing completely. Has this been covered up by the will of the Supreme Rule Dao?"
Lord Wanwei stood frozen, terrified. He had observed countless timelines, roamed many future epochs, yet never heard of a massacre where even legendary lords who'd survived a hundred million tribulations were slaughtered like dust.
Shhhhhh—
In the distance—
Ripples of formless aura spread, forcing a figure into visibility. It was Lord Return to Ruin.
Faced with the formless aura, even beings at the edge of the path to transcendence were barely clinging to life—let alone Return to Ruin.
His body, soul, will were being rapidly annihilated. All of his life-saving methods across past, present, and future were compromised. The feeling of approaching total death sent Lord Return to Ruin into a panic.
"Supreme Rule Dao Will! Are you not going to act?! This is the target you told us to stop?! Hahahaha! Damn you, Supreme Rule Dao Will!"
In his final moments, Lord Return to Ruin lost all restraint, filled with endless resentment and unwillingness, cursing the Supreme Rule Dao Will.
Indeed—
This tribulation test, even if failed, would not bring destruction from the Supreme Rule Dao Will.
It had sounded like a good deal.
But with Lin Yuan's current strength—
There was no need for the Supreme Rule Dao Will to erase them. The Milky Way Lord wiped them out directly.
And Return to Ruin was not alone in his resentment—many other legendary lords and terrifying beings felt the same.
What Lin Yuan did to them was understandable.
After all, they had done the unthinkable first—using Lin Yuan's kin, family, and friends as leverage.
So his retaliation was perfectly justified.
But the Supreme Rule Dao Will?
These terrifying beings from other timelines had endured billions of tribulations. They knew from past experience that no matter how brutal the tribulations the Supreme Rule Dao Will imposed, there was always a sliver of hope.
No matter how slim that hope, there was always a chance of survival.
But now?
Faced with the Milky Way Lord seated atop time and space, they were like fish on a cutting board—no way to stop him, no way to flee.
How were they supposed to pass this trial?
With what?
Under such circumstances, the Supreme Rule Dao Will naturally became the outlet for all the dying lords' rage and despair.
"I don't understand. Why would the Supreme Rule Dao Will set down a tribulation with zero hope of success? Was it just to kill us?"
"Or maybe… the end of the 'Endless Tribulation' path is a dead end, and every lord who reaches the edge is sent here to be erased by the Milky Way Lord?"
One by one, the terrifying entities vanished with infinite resentment and unwillingness.
Lord Return to Ruin was no exception. Before being completely erased, he detonated his remaining life-saving anchors across other timelines, scattering them as pure resentment and obsession.
These traces couldn't revive him—but they could carry a message, a warning to future lords—
"...Don't go! Whatever you do, don't go!!!"
The slaughter continued. Lord Wanwei, still dazed in a corner of the battlefield, faintly heard the dying curses and laments of the others.
"The Supreme Rule set down this tribulation?"
"The Endless Tribulation path is a dead end?"
"All final tribulations lead the tribulation-taker here?"
Wanwei's soul trembled. He thought of himself—if he continued down the Endless Tribulation path, would he too have to face that figure seated atop all of time?
Buzz buzz buzz— The formless aura continued to spread, finally sweeping over Wanwei's corner of the battlefield.
Wanwei gave a bitter smile—he couldn't even muster despair.
And he had been worrying about the future?
From what he'd just seen, anyone touched by that aura was utterly erased. Wanwei, having stumbled into this space and been cut off from his origin timeline, knew his fate was sealed.
He would vanish here, just like the others.
"Maybe it's better this way."
"Dying later or now makes no difference."
Wanwei's thoughts churned. If he was destined to face that being in the future, he'd rather be erased now than suffer again later.
He did not want to walk into this space again.
Just then—
Lin Yuan, seated atop time and space, seemed to sense something. He glanced down at a corner of the battlefield.
Looking upon the frozen Lord Wanwei, Lin Yuan instantly understood why he was here.
With Wanwei's level of strength, he wasn't qualified to be summoned by the Supreme Rule Dao Will to oppose him.
"Accidentally fell into this time-space?"
Lin Yuan immediately grasped the situation.
In fact, he had once benefited from Wanwei's timeline—so he wouldn't act against him. Instead, he gently summoned a wisp of power to return Wanwei to his original timeline.
At that moment—
The formless aura sweeping toward Wanwei dissipated.
And the prison-like time-space—sealed from all exit—was quietly torn open.
A gentle force wrapped around Lord Wanwei, pulling him into the tear and far away from this dimension.
The slaughter continued.
The entire Infinite Dimensional Multiverse had become Lin Yuan's killing ground.
Every legendary lord of the current timeline who had participated in the assault was being wiped out.
They had used any means necessary to threaten him—so he had no need to hold back.
"What's going on?"
"Why are all the legendary lords dying?"
The remaining lords were parched with fear. Over ninety percent of the hundred-million-tribulation lords in this timeline had joined in trying to stop the Milky Way Lord's ascent up the White Jade Steps.
But a cautious ten percent had abstained—and unknowingly avoided this calamity.
"Milky Way... Has the Milky Way Lord transcended?"
"Those terrifying beings from other timelines—they've survived over three hundred million tribulations, some nearly at the very end of the path—and they were all completely annihilated?"
"Too terrifying."
"If this isn't transcendence, then what is?"
From a distance, many legendary lords watched the massacre unfold, their hearts filled with awe and fear.
"So this is the Milky Way…"
The Violet Light Lord swallowed hard. He recalled the scene from Wanwei's timeline, where Lin Yuan had summoned a future self.
That image showed an endless White Jade Stairway—with only one figure ascending: Lin Yuan of the future.
"So... I had already seen the end of this tribulation," the Violet Light Lord murmured.
At that time, Lin Yuan's future self had still been climbing, unimpeded.
Meaning this tribulation—the attempt to stop his climb—was doomed to fail from the start.
But no one had expected it to fail in such a brutal fashion.
Every participating lord, without exception, had been completely annihilated.
"Milky Way…"
In a remote location, the twelve-eyed beast who ran the Time-Space Shop also watched.
It wasn't even a legendary lord, and could barely perceive the battle, but it still sensed that all the terrifying beings and legendary lords who had attacked had been crushed by the Milky Way Lord.
Too many had died—just the current timeline alone had lost over ten thousand legendary lords who had passed a hundred million tribulations.
Ten thousand legendary lords…
That was the accumulation of countless ages, all wiped out in Lin Yuan's purge.
Those who watched from afar were untouched, but no less terrified. For the legendary lords of this era, a dark age was beginning.
They had witnessed it with their own eyes—once-mighty lords falling like ants, slaughter flooding all of heaven and earth.
Time passed.
To completely wipe out every participating legendary lord, Lin Yuan spent several days slaughtering.
The greatest challenge was the terrifying entities from other timelines. Their life-saving methods were simply too numerous. Even with the overwhelming power of the new Dao formed from the five Chaos Origin Daos, tracking and eliminating every method took effort—especially those that involved the mind, where even a single living being remembering their name could serve as an anchor for their return.
Lin Yuan had to expend considerable effort to eliminate those anchors.
But it was only effort. After a few days, the slaughter was complete.
"Disperse."
With a thought, the time-space that had been sealed like a prison was released.
Maintaining such a seal had been draining—even for him. Now that the battle was over, there was no need to sustain it.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan glanced toward the Infinite Dimensional Multiverse.
More precisely, he looked toward the Supreme Rule Dao Will that ran through it all.
RUMMMMBLE— The Supreme Rule Dao Will stirred—then quickly receded.
It was not a sentient being, but a force that upheld the infinite dimensional order. It had no thoughts, no consciousness. It could not act against an individual directly.
Even now, with Lin Yuan climbing the White Jade Steps, the Supreme Rule Dao Will had never struck him. Instead, it had summoned the strongest lords from other timelines.
"It doesn't want a transcendent being to arise in the Infinite Dimensional Multiverse... The Endless Tribulation path likely doesn't lead to true transcendence."
Lin Yuan was nearly certain.
The Endless Tribulations originated from the Supreme Rule Dao Will. If it did not want a transcendent to appear, then that path could never lead to transcendence.
Whoosh!
Lin Yuan flipped his right hand.
The Chaos Void reappeared in its original place.
He took a step and returned to the Chaos Void.
"Milky Way."
"Milky Way."
"Milky Way."
Mo-Xu-Jun and the other time-beings watched Lin Yuan appear not far away, their expressions filled with both shock and reverence.
Though Lin Yuan had stored the Chaos Void inside his inner universe, and only now released it...
Mo-Xu-Jun and the others had left avatars outside, between the cracks of space-time.
The battle between the Milky Way Lord, over five hundred terrifying entities from other timelines, and ten thousand legendary lords of the current timeline—how could they not sense the aftermath?
Even beings of the first realm of time could detect the echoes of that war.
"It's all over."
Lin Yuan nodded toward Mo-Xu-Jun and the others.
"All over?"
Mo-Xu-Jun and the others exchanged glances, scalp tingling.
Before the Chaos Void was stored, they had felt the pressure of the approaching enemies. And now, all those terrifying beings were... gone?
"Milky Way, those enemies…"
Rahu asked hesitantly.
He already had suspicions. And because of Lin Yuan, he'd made contact with some time-lords who'd shared almost unbelievable information.
"All dead."
Lin Yuan glanced at Rahu and said casually, "Completely dead."
At those words—
Mo-Xu-Jun and the others were struck with a strange sense of confusion.
They had all prepared to die—prepared to erase themselves to prevent enemies from threatening Lin Yuan.
But now, it was the enemies who had all been wiped out.
A long while later—
Mo-Xu-Jun composed himself and couldn't help but ask, "Milky Way… have you transcended?"
The other time-beings of the Chaos Void perked up.
They all wanted to know the answer.
In fact, so did all the remaining legendary lords in the Infinite Dimensional Multiverse.
Though many guessed that the Milky Way Lord had transcended, it was still just speculation.
"Transcended?"
Lin Yuan's expression remained calm. He didn't answer directly.
Instead, he looked beyond the Chaos Void, to the infinite dimensional heights.
It was as if he were watching his true self still climbing the White Jade Steps. Having comprehended the final Chaos Origin Dao, Lin Yuan had undergone a complete transformation. Even after days of slaughter, his true body had never stopped ascending.
He looked back at Mo-Xu-Jun and the others and smiled faintly.
Then he gave his answer:
"On the path."
...