Chapter 1186: Saints Descend, Observing Past and Present

The sanctuary had been standing silently on the edge of the beach, showing no signs of activity. As everyone explored the beach, they gradually overlooked its presence.

But now, upon seeing the ancient cavern beneath the sea next to the sanctuary, how could they not realize?

"This sanctuary couldn't have just coincidentally appeared at the edge of this cavern. They must have discovered this ancient relic cavern and then moved their sanctuary here!"

"Yes, it must be because of this current!"

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the cavern, which was truly astounding. Throughout history, countless eras have passed, each separated by hundreds of millions, or even billions, of years. Yet, through all these long ages, who would dare speak of eternal life? Who would claim to live as long as the heavens?

Everyone was utterly astonished, showing great shock.

"This ancient era was truly ancient. Its characteristic was a fondness for sculptural art, and even today, billions of years later, too many relics remain, demonstrating its former glory that spread throughout the distant Immortal Ancient era. But now, this mysterious ancient civilization is even more glorious and terrifying than imagined! Eternal life! Living as long as the heavens!"

"Good heavens! With such a civilization, the saints of that era are incomparable to those of today. It's likely they had already reached an indescribable grandeur, finding a way to contend with the heavens for longevity, a method of co-existence that escapes assimilation by the Great Dao?"

Standing on the beach, the discussions from various transcendent civilizations already felt unimaginable.

They had to report to the saints who backed them!

However, they were all outer cultivators from various cities, unable to report directly to the great beings within the sanctuary. Some of the more astute ones quickly contacted their city lords.

In moments, various nearby city lords descended, seeing the ancient cavern submerged in chaos. Chaos energy faintly swirled around it, imbued with profound Dao essence.

Others could not perceive these details.

But their cultivation level was high, and from those two lines of text, they felt an aura of dominance. It was an invincible aura that suppressed all of history, sweeping across the cosmos and encompassing all under heaven!

This aura of overlooking all under heaven, of surveying the eternal heavens, made them nearly kneel just by looking at the text. Their minds were shaken beyond imagination.

"This overbearing aura... could it truly belong to an ancient cosmic Grand Saint?"

"In the history of the cosmos, did any ancient civilization truly produce such a supreme being?"

"The owner of this abode... who exactly is he!?"

Great enlightened beings who had embarked on the Tenth-Stage path whispered among themselves.

This was indeed beyond their interference. The implications were terrifying, enough to shock the current era and shake this entire chaotic domain, causing all the saints to emerge.

Soon, they delved deeper into the sanctuary to pay respects to that ancient being.

Saints who had attained the Dao of Rules also stirred. Outside the Chaotic Heavens, the rules were blurred, and even they could not deduce the underlying karma. Though omniscient within the cosmos, outside the Chaotic Heavens, they were like mortals.

"Interesting."

In a sanctuary shrouded by an inexplicable force field, a white-haired old man stood up and said calmly, "This land originally had three overlords. The Nine-Headed Ancient Mother was on par with the two of us. Despite having only three bloodlines, she could, by relying on her portable sanctuary, contend with the two of us who possess five perfected bloodlines. But she encountered an unforeseen change... This has now occurred, and I must go take a look... In this world, there are few ancient artifacts I cannot comprehend."

"Yes, Old Ancestor Huaya."

Two Dao Children quickly stood up, saying, "Old Ancestor is the saint who collects the most ancient artifacts. Indeed, the very prosperity of ancient artifacts in this land was a trend initiated by Old Ancestor."

Elsewhere.

A handsome middle-aged man in black robes, calmly drinking wine, suddenly put away a long spear.

"The Nine-Headed Ancient Mother, I once intended to marry her, as a beautiful human-like woman is rare. But she insisted on emphasizing bloodlines, saying I wasn't a match for her, that our lineage wasn't compatible... These hereditary saint families have been corrupted by the theory of bloodlines, acting as if powerful bloodlines and powerful laws are everything..."

He stepped forward, disappearing from his spot, and snorted coldly. "Bloodlines, laws... they trust these too much. But I believe human effort can break through limits, and I have successfully broken through; even the most ordinary bloodlines have been transformed into divinity in my hands. But to live as long as the heavens, to be immortal... that's not a limit, that's madness! Does this ancient era truly exist?"

The saints of this land were already largely fixed in number.

There were eleven in total, all having ascended through the ages. Though the number seemed small, these were all Great Dao Saints.

Moreover, they generally possessed two Great Dao bloodlines, and some saints even had three. This implied that each of them had considerable blood of their peers on their hands.

At this moment, they all descended upon this beach.

With a single glance, they saw the ancient cavern.

"Is there a possibility of it being fake?"

The black-robed Spearman arrived and immediately looked at the nearby Old Man Huaya, asking his first question directly.

Old Man Huaya frowned slightly. "Submerged beneath the chaotic sea, it's impossible to tell if it's fake... But judging from the ancient artifacts that those other youngsters picked up from the beach after being washed ashore, they are all real... It seems this land has indeed experienced a deep-sea current that washed up clusters of submerged ruins from the seabed."

As the two of them spoke, the other saints did not interrupt, listening quietly.

After all, the ages were too distant; no one knew the true names of these saints anymore. They were only known by their Daoist titles: Saint Spear, Huaya... these two, plus the Ancient Mother.

These three beings were originally the invincible overlords of this land, ruling-class giants whom other beings dared not provoke.

But that didn't mean other beings were afraid.

Virtually no saint would submit to another saint.

Due to the unique nature of this realm beyond the Chaotic Heavens, one could not kill another; as long as they hid within their sanctuary, even the weakest saint with a single Great Dao bloodline would not die once they were outside the chaos. So, which saint would become a slave, to be commanded by others?

That's why the Nine-Headed Ancient Mother struggled so much earlier.

At the same time, each of them controlled a vast stellar domain, descending to the lower realms to kill newly promoted saints, which was their fastest way to break through.

Therefore, the saints outside the Chaotic Heavens had always appeared quite "harmonious," with almost no instances of the strong bullying the weak. They would even send their avatars to visit the sanctuaries of other beings, discuss the Dao, and explore cosmic knowledge.

That's why Old Ancestor Sufeng showed such a strange expression when encountering the relentlessly pestering Martial Alliance Leader earlier.

No one could kill anyone else; isn't that foolish?

"A mansion of immortal deities, a Daoist home coexisting with the heavens."

The black-robed Spearman's face glowed, radiating an unimaginable splendor. "This ancient era is truly hard to imagine. I genuinely long to return to that ancient land, to contend with those brilliant beings of billions of years past, and experience their greatness... What are your thoughts on this sculptural civilization?"

Old Man Huaya smiled and said, "I've collected quite a few treasures from this sculptural civilization and have researched them deeply. That prehistoric civilization, from countless billions of years ago, is very mysterious, far more formidable than we imagined, possessing various incredible feats... This cavern before us might be a way to uncover those mysteries."

"Is it possible to retrieve it?"

Another saint couldn't help but speak up.

Within this cavern, there might be earth-shattering secrets.

Fishing it out is definitely impossible!

It could only be retrieved by a being risking a dive into the chaotic sea and forcibly salvaging it.

For ordinary saints, entering the chaotic sea would turn them into mortals. But some powerful beings could temporarily resist it, struggling to swim within it like mortals.

"Everyone, you can give it a try. I, for one, cannot do it."

Old Man Huaya said with a smile, "I am most proficient with the chaotic sea and fond of ancient artifacts. No one present has researched it as deeply as I have, and in terms of diving, I am more skilled than anyone... At this moment, it's precisely stuck in that deep pit. I can indeed approach and enter it, but I wouldn't be able to return."

One could approach and glimpse the opportunities within, but once inside, they would surely not return.

The expressions of the surrounding beings darkened.

If even Old Man Huaya said this, they naturally had even less confidence.

"To hear the Dao in the morning and die by evening would be enough..." While that saying holds true, the saints present would not so easily seek their own demise by sacrificing their lives to explore what was inside.

However, the expressions of various beings flickered.

You say you can't approach it or bring it back, but who knows if that's true or false?

Perhaps you're waiting for everyone to leave, then secretly returning to dive to the seabed and observe this ancient artifact?

One must be vigilant!

Their gazes flickered, seemingly intending to keep watch over this coastline.

Old Man Huaya also smiled faintly, as if understanding the other saints' thoughts, but chose to ignore them. He simply said, "It appears there truly is some kind of ancient deep-sea current continuously washing ancient artifacts ashore... According to its geographical location, this current should stagnate within this area."

"Does that mean there might be more ancient artifacts near this coastline?" the black-robed Spearman asked. "Could there be more than just this one cavern?"

"Precisely."

Old Ancestor Huaya stroked his white hair and chuckled, "However, the chaotic current will swirl at the end of the coastline and settle in a bay... While other nearby coastal areas might have some, they will only be scattered."

"Which bay is the primary end point of this current, where it swirls?" a saint asked coldly.

Old Man Huaya remained silent, looking towards the distant sanctuary.

The saints were startled, looking at the sanctuary standing silently in place, which encompassed a concave stretch of coastline, making it impossible for other beings to approach.

To get around to that bay themselves, they would have to swim from a nearby coastline to approach it, which was essentially impossible.

"This sanctuary covers the entire end point of the current? Taking all ancient relics for itself?"

"This is simply outrageous!"

"It's not that we haven't heard of some ancient ruins being occupied and covered by certain saints' sanctuaries to isolate other saints and monopolize benefits, but we never imagined..."

"This is our territory!"

Anger flashed in their eyes as they looked at the sanctuary.

Perhaps the other party was powerful, and even if they joined forces outside, they couldn't break through the opponent's sanctuary. After all, these saints, when outside the chaos, were without laws, their power reduced to less than one percent.

However, there were means to attack the sanctuary; they were just more cumbersome.

They could move their own sanctuaries closer to collide, where both sides would exert their full strength.

"Even if the other party is powerful and from outside, with over ten saints here, all moving their sanctuaries and joining forces to surround and kill him, unless he is a legendary, unknowable multidimensional saint... otherwise, even the most powerful Five-Perfected Saint would suffer bitter defeat!" a saint said. The rules of this land were closed, establishing fixed powers, so no matter how strong outsiders were, it was difficult for them to contend with the local powers.

However, moving sanctuaries was inherently costly and very slow.

And if you moved your sanctuary, your opponent would also move theirs, like two snails, one chasing the other, making it very difficult to kill each other. That's why it was so peaceful outside the Chaotic Heavens.

But now was different.

With their sanctuaries slowly moving in from all directions to encircle him, where could the opponent's sanctuary escape to?

Even a Perfected Saint, no matter how heaven-defying their Great Dao bloodline, would be directly defeated.

Moreover, two Perfected Saints were already among them.

"Everyone, don't be hasty."

Old Man Huaya chuckled, looking benevolently at the sanctuary, and said, "Let's pay a visit to the owner of this sanctuary. I imagine he isn't the type to hoard everything. Look at the stone tablet in front of the sanctuary's gate; clearly, he is willing to share this opportunity."

The others thought about it and agreed.

The other party wouldn't dare go too far!

The other party drifted through various currents, their whereabouts elusive, tracing the currents' paths. But if he hoarded everything, he would surely be surrounded and killed by the local beings. Therefore, he certainly wouldn't act recklessly.

"Saint Huaya makes sense."

"Indeed."

The saints all agreed.

They couldn't help but manifest their avatars to seek an audience at the sanctuary's entrance.

After all, no being would enter another saint's sanctuary with their true body; that would be tantamount to offering oneself up for slaughter. Even when visiting other saints' sanctuaries to discuss the Dao, no matter how good the relationship, they would send an avatar, as hearts are separated by bellies... Mutual scheming among saints was completely normal!

*Click*.

The sanctuary's gate opened wide.

"Please enter, Saints," a clear voice came from the entrance.

The saints stepped inside, but upon observing the transcendent grand world within the sanctuary, they felt their scalps tingle.