Chapter 1158: Only Truth Endures

Could it exist?

Xu Zhi had merely asked a casual question, yet he received an unexpected answer. Tenth-tier ultimate signified the end of the universe, the point beyond which one could progress further. Could there truly be a higher realm? Xu Zhi looked at Yi Mang, the most formidable figure who could already deduce the universe’s ultimate secrets. In Xu Zhi's view, the universe should hold no more mysteries for Yi Mang, yet he had seemingly discovered an unseen blind spot?

Yi Mang also seemed to grow excited. In his final moments, he appeared to glimpse something, like an old man on his deathbed struggling for breath, experiencing a fleeting moment of clarity. He murmured, "It seems... I seem to have seen..."

His spirit was invigorated, and he began to attempt a deduction. "No wonder my previous deductions yielded nothing," he mused. "It's not a realm that can theoretically exist or be broken through; it's an utterly contradictory impossibility."

"No wonder, no wonder I couldn't deduce it..." Yi Mang's expression grew increasingly agitated, tinged with excitement. He burst into laughter, "Because it's theoretically unattainable! That realm itself is a paradox of the universe: to become the universe itself, to become the true Dao One of Chaos!"

"You saw it?" the figure asked. "A paradox?"

"I saw it, dimly, an incredible possibility..." Yi Mang whispered, his voice gradually fading. No one knew what he had deduced or seen; perhaps he had only glimpsed a corner of it, a potential future. "The Dao diagram, it's the Dao diagram... Only an existence born at the very beginning of the universe, who accompanies it to its end, living as long as the universe itself, can perceive that ultimate realm hidden in the depths... At the universe's end, without destruction, there is no creation..."

"Without destruction, there is no creation?" Xu Zhi was slightly stunned, his entire body trembling.

"A paradox, everything is a paradox... This is impossible to achieve..." Yi Mang murmured. "No being, born at the universe's genesis, can live to its end. Therefore... everything is already impossible. Thus, from beginning to end, it's impossible for such an ultimate being to emerge within the entire universe, to transcend the universe itself and attain that incredible realm."

Xu Zhi paused slightly, feeling the terrifying magnitude of this information; it was already the ultimate mystery of the cosmos. Why must one live from the beginning to the end of the universe? Why must one survive until the Age of Dharma Decline, when the tenth-tier gate closes, to have a chance to break through? The Age of Dharma Decline would be a wasteland devoid of the extraordinary. What great opportunities could possibly exist there? Xu Zhi couldn't imagine! But if what he said was true, it was indeed an impossible paradox!

When all the seats of the Great Dao are filled and the tenth-tier gate closes, the universe enters its decline. Originally, no cosmic ultimate being could live to its end. Ninth-tier would be the limit then! Even after some time, not even ninth-tier Dao-achievers would exist; eighth-tier deities would be the limit. How could a tenth-tier being, transcending two realms, survive from the universe's birth, enduring its assimilation, into that Age of Dharma Decline, and then break through? These conditions were too demanding! Simply impossible!

Xu Zhi no longer had time to ask for the principles or the reasons; he simply posed the most crucial question: "Is there, is there truly no solution?" He was a pragmatic man. He knew that at this final juncture, the principles were less important than the method. Like a mathematical formula, Xu Zhi had no time to ask how it was derived; he first needed to know the specific formula for breaking through to the eleventh tier!

"A method..." Yi Mang's body was already disappearing, crumbling. "I can't fully deduce it; perhaps with more time, I could... If there is a way, the simplest method would be to start now: create a special world, hide within it, and remain hidden until the ultimate Age of Dharma Decline of the universe..."

"Create a world?"

"Yes, perhaps that is a method. Unfortunately, I can no longer see it. I can only hope that a distant successor, whose talent is no less than mine, can also see the end of the universe, establish a realm like an ark of refuge, to traverse to the distant future of the universe, to the final era, when the Dao is proven... If it were truly to be built, I believe the most fitting name for that great vessel would be 'Longevity'..."

"Longevity?"

"There is no eternal life in the world; one only hopes for long life to witness, to journey with the universe to its end... Naming that realm 'Longevity' perfectly captures its essence." His laughter grew louder, unrestrained and hearty.

Longevity, then? No eternal life in the world, only the hope for long life to witness! Only the hope to witness until the very end of the universe... Xu Zhi trembled, falling into complete silence.

He watched Yi Mang vanish, the Great Dao roaring as it returned. He couldn't help but sigh; what he had received seemed far from simple.

A grand spectacle: a meteor shower far grander than any before, interwoven with threads of shimmering light, rained down. This was the phenomenon of an ultimate saint's passing, their Great Dao dissipating and returning to the universe. "Truly beautiful," Xu Zhi thought. He looked up, a faint smile gracing his lips.

Yi Mang, that resolute cosmic figure, had finally reached this point, embracing his final moment. They had debated the Dao together on his last day, both content. "I desire a brilliant death," Xu Zhi suddenly recalled Yi Mang's words. He suddenly felt that Yi Mang's final moment was indeed brilliant enough. He had endured unimaginable solitude, established the Dao for the cosmos, and sought benefits for future generations. The spectacle of his death could astound heaven and earth.

Xu Zhi knew that this determined man, though seemingly decayed, fallen, and having abandoned his initial dream to turn the mortal world into a sea of suffering where everyone was born into its depths, had in reality created this sea of suffering yet persisted in his endeavor to build a true paradise for the entire universe. This seemed highly contradictory; a "sea of suffering" and "paradise" were clearly antithetical. Yet the world was full of such contradictions, to the point where even Xu Zhi was somewhat confused.

Xu Zhi turned and left. He did not erect a monument or build a tomb for his fellow Daoist, Yi Mang. Xu Zhi understood clearly that for a being of this caliber, the entire universe was his tomb. His epitaph was already engraved within this cosmos. Dao-proven saints were still eternally immortal. Their so-called death was assimilation by the universe, becoming entirely part of its rules, losing their individuality. But how was that not another form of eternal life? His greatness, like a star, hung in the sky after his death, becoming the most dazzling one. "Your achievements are too great for anyone to describe, but in the Dao diagram seen by future generations, you will forever be the most brilliant, the first primal branch of heaven and earth."

Xu Zhi departed from that universe. He returned to the outside, gazing down upon the changes in the false Dao universe, then looking up at the myriad stars of the true universe. He observed the true universe, its Dao diagram having accumulated over 14 billion years, twinkling like countless stars—over a hundred million points of light. Each was the eternal mark left by a Great Dao saint who had proven the Dao throughout history, like gravestones imprinted within the universe.

Before, he had felt no tangible connection to the cosmic root of this Gate of Great Dao, though he could see the rules composing the universe. But now, he felt an unimaginable profundity. This ancient Dao tree could be said to be a colossal graveyard, with ancient, gleaming tombstones burying the most powerful beings from over 10 billion years of history. Xu Zhi couldn't help but look at the most dazzling initial branch. "That was also the first saint between heaven and earth," he mused, "who also proved the rule of matter and struck the first blow to open up the cosmos. Are you another Yi Mang from 14.1 billion years ago?" He couldn't help but smile. Perhaps everything he had deduced had followed a similar trajectory in history; a "Yi Mang" truly existed 14 billion years ago, at that very moment, benefiting future beings like them...

"Another magnificent era, yet unfortunately, no one is here to share it with me." After bidding farewell to Yi Mang, Xu Zhi merely smiled faintly and sipped his tea. He knew clearly that this was neither the first nor the last time. He was destined to deduce era after era, taking the great heroes of each age as his teachers, using them as pioneers to forge paths toward the ultimate end. He had many teachers, but he only bid farewell to those worthy of his respect.

Xu Zhi looked up again, observing the mature Dao diagram of the grand universe. "All great beings in the world pass with their eras, yet only the eternal, unchanging rules they sought stand everlastingly."

"The era of primordial chaos and creation has now completely ended."

With that, Xu Zhi gently turned to the next page of *Genesis*, which recorded a simple line of text:

At the end of the primordial cosmos, Yi Mang established rules for heaven and earth to extend its lifespan. From this point, heaven and earth experienced birth, aging, sickness, and death, marking the end of the Age of Chaos Deities.