Chapter 1439: Great Daoist Brush Master

After Ye Guan promised not to spout nonsense again, Sui Gujin finally stopped scolding him and returned to her usual cold demeanor.

Within the spacetime tunnel, the two were silent for a long time. Ye Guan was the first to break the silence. "Lady Sui, what do you think the Great Daoist Brush Master is doing right now?"

Sui Gujin said nothing.

Ye Guan said, "It's been too quiet lately. Something's definitely up."

He looked toward the end of the spacetime tunnel, and a complex light flashed in his eyes.

Since the death of Shang Hongyi's clone, neither she nor the Great Daoist Brush Master had made any further movements. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

Sui Gujin remained silent.

Suddenly, Ye Guan wrapped his arms around her waist. Her delicate figure trembled slightly, and her gaze gradually turned cold. It was so cold that it seemed to freeze the spacetime tunnel around them.

Unexpectedly, she didn't lash out or overreact. Instead, she calmly asked, "Why are you being so forward today?"

Ye Guan smiled. "Maybe it's because this might be the last time we'll get along so well. After this, we will have to face the Great Daoist Brush Master. I know what kind of person he is. He's mysterious, and when he makes a move, it's always out of everyone's expectations."

Sui Gujin remained silent. She looked at the starry skies and said, "Don't overthink it. I have a few cards up my sleeve, too."

Ye Guan nodded and said nothing more.

This time, their journey through spacetime was long. It took more than ten days. During that time, they crossed countless starry domains and star fields.

Finally, they arrived at a quiet star field. Ye Guan scanned the surroundings, and everything appeared to be devoid of life.

Sui Gujin said, "Let's go."

With that, she flew toward the distance and Ye Guan followed beside her.

In the distance stood a man with an ancient bronze spear in hand. The way he stood made him appear like a war god. He was none other than Que Zhan!

A single droplet of water was floating next to him.

Ye Guan's gaze fell on the droplet. Curious, he asked, "Is the Ancestral Starry Domain really contained within that single droplet of water?"

"Yes," Sui Gujin replied with a nod.

Ye Guan was amazed. "How is that even possible?"

He was shocked, as that droplet of water looked just like an ordinary drop of water.

"The vast expanse is indeed vast. There's no end to the wonders within it."

Ye Guan didn't respond. He understood now. That droplet represented an advanced civilization of an entirely new level, far beyond anything known today. He felt like a caveman who had just seen a spaceship for the first time.

Ye Guan looked around. Everything appeared to be quiet, but there were hidden auras and presences nearby.

In the vast expanse, anyone with the power to get involved in this would never miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Ye Guan looked at Que Zhan and knew that a fierce battle was inevitable today.

"

Hahaha!

" An uproarious peal of laughter echoed from the depths of the starry skies. Moments later, a man and a woman appeared. The man was none other than the Great Daoist Brush Master, and the woman was Shang Hongyi.

The Great Daoist Brush Master looked at Ye Guan and smiled.

"So we meet again, kid."

Ye Guan smiled back. "I didn't expect you to show up so quickly. I actually don't know how to react."

"

Oh?

Why's that?"

Ye Guan replied, "In my mind, I figured you'd wait for a critical moment to stab me in the back. Hit me when I least expect it, you know what I mean?"

"

Hahaha!

" The Great Daoist Brush Master burst out laughing. "Am I really that foul in your eyes?"

"Honestly, you're not too bad. If not for the difference in ideologies, you're actually pretty likable."

The smile on the Great Daoist Brush Master's lips faded. "It feels weird to hear you say that."

Ye Guan smiled and responded, "The Great Dao Contest is ultimately just a contest. Others can fight for it just as much as I can. Just because someone is my competitor doesn't make them the villain and me the hero."

"I respect that you look at it from a big-picture perspective," the Great Daoist Brush Master said with a thumbs up.

Ye Guan grinned. "So are we fighting now?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master shook his head. "No, I'm just the one calling the shots. Have you seen a chess player becoming a chess piece?"

"Makes sense."

The Great Daoist Brush Master glanced at Sui Gujin standing beside Ye Guan and smiled. "Is she your new partner?"

"Lady Sui Gujin and I are collaborators."

The Great Daoist Brush Master smiled and said nothing more.

Just then, Sui Gujin said, "All those below the Domain Lord Realm, retreat."

She was clearing the field! Her actions immediately drew discontent from countless civilizations and forces observing in the dark.

An old man appeared, staring at Sui Gujin with a hostile face. "Young lady, the Ancestral Civilization doesn't just belong to your civilization. It belongs to all of us."

Sui Gujin glanced at him but did not respond.

Shang Hongyi chuckled. She looked at the old man with a smile that made people's skin crawl. "You old fossil. She told you to retreat to save your lives. Do you even know what kind of situation you are in? You bunch of ants think you can call the shots? What are you thinking?"

"What?!" The old man flew into a rage. "You're all from high-tier civilizations, while we're all from low-tier ones. You've already blocked every path to ascension for us.

Now that there's finally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to ascend, you want to shut us out again so you can reap and enjoy the benefits for yourselves? Could you all be any more shameless?"

Shang Hongyi's eyes narrowed slightly. Her urge to kill was already surging.

However, the old man showed no fear. He raised his head proudly and said, "Want to kill me? Then you'd better ask my brothers if they'll allow it."

Just then, countless powerful cultivators appeared behind him. There were hundreds of thousands of them in total, with cultivators of all kinds, including True Saints.

Clearly, those from low-tier civilizations knew they couldn't stand against the Old Lands or the Great Immortal Domains, so they chose to band together. They couldn't win with quality, so they focused on quantity.

Shang Hongyi suddenly flicked her sleeve.

Schwing!

Before the old man could even react, his head flew off and tumbled thousands of meters away.

There was dead silence.

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators stared at the old man's headless figure in disbelief.

Shang Hongyi looked at the crowd.

A middle-aged man trembled. "Lady Shang, please don't misunderstand. We weren't really his brothers—"

Before he was done speaking, the crowd dispersed like frightened birds.

Shang Hongyi clapped and looked over at Ye Guan, eyes full of provocation.

Ye Guan ignored her and turned to look at the other side. A few hundred meters to the right stood a masked man, and there were twelve black-robed figures behind him.

Noticing Ye Guan's gaze, the masked man nodded slightly at him and stared at him with glimmering eyes.

Ye Guan withdrew his gaze and looked to the left. There, an old hunchback stood with a cane, looking incredibly aged. Those still around were certainly no ordinary individuals.

Suddenly, Shang Hongyi laughed. "Everyone, if you wish to enter the Ancestral Starry Domain, you'll have to deal with him first."

Shang Hongyi's gaze landed on Que Zhan.

Que Zhan was the Seal Guardian!

Everyone turned to look at him. Just then, he stepped forward. When his foot landed, a mysterious power swept across the battlefield, and everyone's cultivation base was instantly suppressed!

Shang Hongyi's expression changed drastically as a sword silently appeared right in front of her.

Schwing!

Before she could even react, her head flew into the air. Blood began gushing like a fountain. The sudden turn of events stunned everyone present. Then, all eyes turned toward Ye Guan.

The attacker was Ye Guan.

His cultivation wasn't suppressed?

Everyone was shocked and confused.

Ye Guan opened his palm, revealing the Qingxuan Sword in it. This was the first time he used the Concealed Sword, a technique combining Master Pagoda's Concealment Technique, allowing an attack to be completely silent and undetectable.

The attack exceeded Ye Guan's expectations. It was far better than what he had imagined, but there wasn't a trace of joy on his face.

The woman he killed wasn't the real Shang Hongyi. It was only a clone. Ye Guan looked at the Great Daoist Brush Master in the distance.

The Great Daoist Brush Master smiled. "You're not thinking of killing me, are you?"

"You've lived through three generations. How could someone like me possibly kill you?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master burst out laughing. "Don't worry. I won't make a move this time. I'm not the type to bully the weak."

"You're quite a hypocrite. If my aunt and my father weren't around, maybe that kind of talk would move me."

The Great Daoist Brush Master didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Being part of the third generation of a family is pretty good. Why would you go through all this trouble?"

"Can I ask you something, and will you answer me honestly?" Ye Guan suddenly asked.

"Ask away."

"Is the Ancestral Civilization the original civilization of this observable universe?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master nodded. "Yes."

"Then how did that Ancestral Civilization come into being?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master didn't answer.

"What I really wanted to ask is this—if the vast expanse is unimaginably and infinitely vast, then why do you keep chasing after me? Are there no other talents out there? Is there no one else like me out there? Can't you just mess with someone else instead?"

The Great Daoist Brush Master chuckled. "I can only answer half of your question."

Ye Guan nodded. "I'm all ears."

"It's because you're more terrifying than your father. Your father founded the Guanxuan Academy only because he wanted to prove himself to his father. He never truly intended to establish a real Order.

"However, you're different. You truly are in pursuit of an Order. You've yet to fully mature, but you already have a big heart. Your heart's bigger than your father's and grandfather's."

"No one can predict what might happen if the entire vast expanse believes in you. And if that belief turns into pure faith power..." The Great Daoist Brush Master smiled and shook his head before adding, "I can't even imagine it."

Ye Guan stared at the Great Daoist Brush Master and asked, "So what is it? Do you not want me to unify the vast expanse? Or do you not want someone to become more invincible?"

"In this vast expanse, there can only be invincible beings, such as your aunt and the others. However, there can't be someone who becomes invincible with faith as their foundation.

"The vast expanse is meant to be diverse. Unification would be a disaster, especially if the unification isn't achieved through one's strength. Let's not even talk about conquering starry regions, as you have yet to conquer yourself."

"And..." the Great Daoist Brush Master said, shaking his head slightly. "Your mindset is still that of a human. You only see things from a human's perspective.

"You've yet to realize that the world houses not just humans but all sorts of beings..."

"You're wrong!" Ye Guan raised his head and stared at the Great Daoist Brush Master. "Your concerns are valid, but you haven't answered my question at all.

"You're just trying to make me doubt myself. You're trying to break my Dao heart. The real reason you're doing this is that you're benefiting from the current Order. What I'm doing threatens your interests. And your identity is far more than just the 'Great Daoist Brush Master'!"

The Great Daoist Brush Master's eyes narrowed.

Sui Gujin glanced at Ye Guan, and a flicker of surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes.