Ripples appeared in the River of Time.

They were barely perceptible.

But they were merely ripples; even if they were waves, they could never stop the torrential momentum of the Long River.

The River of Time had been the same since ancient times.

Only when a few gazes fell into the Long River could they vaguely perceive a trace of abnormality.

"This Age of Variables is true to its name; even the Long River has stirred. It truly cannot be underestimated."

"I wonder, if numerous variables appear all at once, will it recreate the glory of ancient times? Or will another catastrophe emerge?"

"I cannot see through it."

A voice echoed faintly within the River of Time.

Nine Heavens.

Lu Qing returned to his own Cave Dwelling.

He looked at his Dharma Treasure.

It was a square Dao Seal.

Its form was upright, and its aura and Dao Rhyme were robust. Vaguely, one could see shadows of Great Daos emerging and submerging within it.

As Lu Qing held this Dao Seal, he unexpectedly perceived a trace of the majestic momentum of Law in the ethereal realm.

"To have one's words become Law—this path is already a great Divine Ability, a path of great Law."

As Lu Qing guided his mind with this Dharma Treasure, he suddenly sensed that his thoughts had a faint, extremely shallow connection with the incomparably lofty and mysterious will of the Nine Heavens.

This connection was ethereal and unfixed, yet it made Lu Qing's eyes brighten.

"It has been said since ancient times that the will of Heaven hangs high. I have touched the Vermilion Bird will of Heaven, but this trace of the Great World's will of Heaven is different."

It felt exactly like the Dao that Lu Qing had perceived since he began his cultivation.

The Dao existed here; others comprehended it, others attained enlightenment from it, and all the various forms of Immortal cultivation in the world were born from the Dao.

The will of Heaven that this subtle connection touched gave Lu Qing the same feeling.

It had no spirituality, no sensory movements of emotion.

It was like a floating cloud, a high mountain, a winding stream—quiet and silent, like the River of Time. It was here, but the world could not glimpse its true face.

Lu Qing brushed away this trace of lofty enlightenment from his heart.

"The will of Heaven is high and distant, but it is not the Great Dao I wish to walk."

Lu Qing felt no reluctance and directly severed this connection.

In a fleeting glimpse, he had used his own Dao Seal to connect to a trace of the Nine Heavens' will of Heaven, but he also perceived from it that his own Dao Heart was incompatible with this trace of the will of Heaven.

He sought the Dao of Nature; he could ascend to the peaks of clouds, or bow down to walk through mountains and seas.

But this sense of the will of Heaven seemed to be heading toward the path of the ruthless Heavenly Dao.

Lu Qing thought of the Unorthodox Immortal Sect.

"The Unorthodox Immortal Sect believes that there is no dharma gate in the world for cultivation, so why seek spells, Divine Abilities, or Laws? One should enter the Dao by forgetting one's own private feelings..."

Now, after touching a trace of the Nine Heavens' will of Heaven, Lu Qing vaguely realized that the Dao methods followed by the Nine Heavens Immortal lineages were also different.

Some sought the Immortal heart, some pursued the Great Dao, some hoped for longevity, and some wanted to merge with the world, becoming a stern and ruthless Heavenly Dao...

These various cultivation paths had created differences in the cultivation philosophies of every Immortal Sect.

"The True Inheritance Assembly at the Sect has concluded, but turmoil has arisen beyond the Four Seas. Prodigies from overseas have emerged, stepping onto the Nine Heavens Continent, wishing to challenge the talents of the world."

"As the Profound Heaven Dao Sect is the Immortal lineage closest to the Four Seas, after the True Disciples have taken their positions, they will need to face this trial as well."

It could be considered a test for those standing in the position of True Disciple of the Dao Sect.

After all, the public image of a Sect's disciples was basically concentrated on the Dao Sect's True Disciples.

If a Dao Sect Walker were established, it would be different.

"However, by vaguely divining the heavenly secrets, I estimate that the Dao Sect Walker will likely have some movements within these few years."

"Calculating the timing of heavenly secrets, having obtained the fated opportunity of the Eight Desolations' variables, this batch of Children of fate has basically cultivated to the Perfection of the Golden Core."

This was an fated opportunity aided by the world; although the Karma was heavy, the fated opportunity was truly impeccable.

Otherwise, even for those with Qi Fortune, relying solely on their own cultivation, who knows how long it would take to reach the Perfection of the Golden Core in just a few years.

Lu Qing had now entered the Dao of Heavenly Secrets, and having walked through the River of Time, he had his own thoughts on the path of heavenly secrets.

He was vaguely on the verge of creating the prototype of a third great world.

However, Lu Qing was not in a hurry.

He was currently calming his heart to polish his own essence, Qi, and spirit.

From the second to the third stage of Void Illumination Realm, Transcending Tribulation did not follow a set pattern.

Just like the Golden Core stage passing a layer of Karma Tribulation to wash away one's mortal Karma.

For this tribulation of the third stage of Void Illumination Realm, Lu Qing's spiritual platform was clear and hazy, seeing a trace of premonition of heavenly secrets emerge.

He could vaguely glimpse that it would be a Heart Tribulation.

He just did not know in what form this Heart Tribulation would descend.

Illusion? Heart Demon? Distracting thoughts in his Dao Heart?

All sorts of things were but a fleeting point in the lake of his heart, stirring not a ripple.

Lu Qing's thoughts were not wrong.

In his divination of heavenly secrets, he could vaguely see that after the True Inheritance Assembly, there should be another wave of turmoil and tribulation.

After all, he had experienced the tribulation in the Vermilion Bird World; after all sorts of Calamity Qi of heaven, earth, and man emerged, one was in the tribulation and could not help oneself.

A slight fluctuation in heavenly secrets could trigger a Killing Tribulation.

The Northwest Cave Dwelling remained as quiet as before.

Profound Heaven Dao Sect.

Atop a famous mountain, there was an Immortal pavilion and training ground standing in the clouds.

The vault of heaven was clear and vast; near the Immortal pavilion, celestial clouds parted, and streaks of light occasionally flew through the sea of spiritual essence clouds.

Inside the pavilion, two or three True Disciples were raising their cups and drinking together.

Auras of Dao Rhyme flowed from their bodies.

Among them was a young man in white, appearing to be in his twenties.

Beside him were two others: one in a blue robe, with breaths of the Water Great Dao permeating his surroundings.

The other had eyes with strange brilliance.

All three were among the True Disciples.

Some disciples nearby lowered their heads.

Outside the door, a follower hurriedly transformed into a streak of light and flew down.

"Senior Brother Lu, it is not good."

A trace of worry appeared on this disciple's expression.

The young man in white in the middle was Lu Zhenyang.

Seeing his hurried appearance, a trace of displeasure flashed through his heart, but he did not show it on his face.

He said, "Panicking and rushing—impatience is the greatest taboo in cultivation. Whatever important matter there is, you must speak calmly."

Beside him, the blue-robed youth Fan Tianyi smiled and looked over with curiosity.

The last person, the youth with strange eyes, made no sound and watched silently.

But all three were great Cultivators of the Void Illumination Realm stage.

When their three gazes converged, they carried an extremely terrifying aura.

The disciple's face turned pale, and he secretly groaned in his heart.

If he had known that Senior Brother Lu was hosting friends here, he would never have taken on the task of delivering the message at this moment.

However, thinking of the message, he could not afford to be afraid.

He hurriedly said, "Greetings to the three Senior Brothers."

"Senior Brothers, someone from the Golden Feather Sect has arrived. The Golden Feather Sect's prodigy, Tang Yun, who is known as the Little Immortal, has issued challenge letters to all ten of the Profound Heaven True Disciples."

The expressions of the three True Disciples changed slightly.

Seeing the expressions of the three Senior Brothers, the follower continued somewhat dryly: "It is not just the Golden Feather Little Immortal Tang Yun; an Innate Sacred Spirit from the Divine Path has also issued a challenge order, speaking to the True Disciples of the Nine Immortal Sects. Along with this, there are movements from..."

"There is the Spirit Dao Futu Palace, Azure Sea Sword Mountain, the Innate Sacred Spirit lineage, the Ancient God lineage, and the Incense Divine Path has also sent people to join in the excitement..."

Inside the Immortal pavilion, there was immediate silence.

The disciple blurted out the names and origins of all the challengers.

The Demonic Path was also not willing to lag behind, although the ancient Demonic Path was not considered human.

But now that the era had changed and the world had shifted, the words "exterminate demons" had become nothing more than empty talk.

The Demon Realm was also not peaceful.

The remains of a Primordial Demon Race had emerged.

It seemed to declare that the breaking of the Demon Realm's seal was a certainty.

It was just that how the Heavenly Domain would handle the Formation issue also needed attention.

However, for the high-level great Cultivators, these were many storms.

But for the disciples and prodigies in the positions of True Disciples, the battles between prodigies were the major events that attracted the eyes of countless Cultivators and disciples.

"Is this the Profound Heaven Dao Sect?"

South Heaven Continent.

A floating Immortal island traversed the ocean, passed through space, and arrived above the vault of heaven of the Continent, a vast ocean of fate.

On the Immortal island, there were countless palaces and pavilions, and patches of spiritual essence drifted out from the Cave Dwellings where they cultivated.

Someone looked up; floating clouds obscured the moon, covering the sky and hiding the sun.

"What a great commotion; this is heading for the Profound Heaven Immortal Sect!"