Chapter 454: You... Noticed

The moment Tian Yongheng made this realization, it was as if the final shackles had finally been broken.

Cracks continued to spread throughout the blood red heavens, extending across the boundless sky like countless fractures in a glass mirror.

The earth trembled, the mountains, rivers, and endless wilderness began to distort, their very existence becoming fragmented as the world surrounding him gradually shattered.

Even the Death Qi and resentment that had permeated the Lower Realm dissolved into countless specks of light, revealing the boundless darkness concealed behind them.

Tian Yongheng watched the scene unfold, his expression gradually returning to its usual calm.

He had been deceived, however, the deception was not perfect.

Good that he realized it quickly enough, otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Unfortunately, before he could feel the slightest sense of relief, an indescribable chill suddenly rose from the depths of his heart.

His body stiffened, his pupils contracted violently, and the blood flowing through his veins seemed to freeze in an instant.

This feeling...

He had experienced it once before.

Decades ago, on Kunlun Divine Mountain, when his clone was discussing matters with Tian Yun, Di Tianyang, and Hu Xuanji, an incomprehensible gaze had suddenly descended upon him.

At that time, even his true body within the protection of the Dao Field was seen through by that existence, making him feel as if every secret of his existence had been exposed before that gaze.

It was an experience he could never forget.

And now... that same gaze had descended upon him once again.

No, perhaps it was even more terrifying than before.

The darkness surrounding him suddenly rippled.

Then, an enormous blue eye slowly emerged from the depths of existence.

It was difficult to describe its size. Even the word enormous seemed utterly inadequate.

Its pupil appeared to contain an endless expanse of time, while the faint blue radiance surrounding it stretched across dimensions that Tian Yongheng could neither perceive nor comprehend.

There was no physical body accompanying the eye, only that single eye, suspended above him as though it had existed since the beginning of creation.

And yet, Tian Yongheng felt that this eye was not just observing him.

It was observing everything.

The past, the present, and the future.

Countless possibilities, endless timelines, and the innumerable changes occurring throughout the River of Time seemed to be reflected within its pupil.

The most profound principles of the Dao of Time flowed across its surface, intertwining with one another in patterns that transcended the understanding of Immortals and Gods alike.

Just a single glance at those principles was enough to make Tian Yongheng’s consciousness tremble.

He felt as if his thoughts were being pulled into an endless river, where every moment of his existence was stretched into countless timelines and alternate realities.

Birth, death, reincarnation, the rise and fall of civilizations, the destruction of worlds, the nurturing of countless lives, all of these scenes flashed through his consciousness in an instant, leaving him with the horrifying impression that his entire existence was nothing more than a tiny fragment floating within an incomprehensibly vast current.

Tian Yongheng immediately averted his gaze.

Even so, the feeling did not disappear.

His Essence Soul trembled uncontrollably, and the foundations of his Earth Immortal existence seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

This was not simply a matter of cultivation realms.

It was not a difference between an Earth Immortal, a Heaven Immortal, or even an Immortal Sovereign, but something even more fundamental, akin to a status, a state far surpassing his own.

The existence before him stood at a height that rendered such distinctions meaningless, a height so immeasurable that even attempting to estimate it would be an act of arrogance.

If the other party wished to destroy him, perhaps there would be no need for an attack.

Just witnessing that eye might have been enough to cause his consciousness to collapse beneath the weight of information he could never comprehend.

An information hazard. A single glance, and the very act of perceiving it could become the cause of his destruction.

Tian Yongheng had encountered countless powerful beings throughout his cultivation journey, yet, compared to the eye before him...

They were no different from mortals standing beneath the night sky, attempting to measure the boundless cosmos with their naked eyes. And he was no different.

The difference was just that he had finally realized how insignificant he truly was.

At that moment, a voice reverberated within his consciousness.

It did not originate from the eye, but rather, it seemed to emerge from the very depths of Time itself, passing through the endless River of Time and resounding throughout every corner of existence.

"You... noticed."

The words were neither loud nor quiet.

They also did not contain any discernible emotion, but the moment they appeared within his consciousness, Tian Yongheng felt the surrounding space tremble.

It was as though the very concept of sound had become subordinate to the will of the speaker.

Tian Yongheng clenched his fists.

His fingers trembled slightly, but he forced himself to raise his head.

He could not fully look at that eye.

Every instinct within his being screamed at him to avert his gaze, to flee, and to abandon any thought of understanding the existence before him.

But he knew that escaping might not be possible.

And even if it were, where could he escape to?

If this existence truly stood beyond the limits of his understanding, then perhaps every place he could imagine was already within its reach.

He had spent his entire life pursuing immortality, believing that sufficient strength would eventually grant him the freedom to decide his own fate.

Yet, at this moment, he could not even determine whether his next breath belonged to him.

How utterly ironic!

Tian Yongheng took a deep breath, suppressing the terror that threatened to overwhelm his consciousness.

Fear was a natural response to danger, and the existence before him was the most terrifying thing he had ever encountered.

But fear alone would accomplish nothing.

If he was going to die, he would at least try to understand why.

His gaze remained lowered, unable to directly meet the enormous blue eye.

Then, with considerable difficulty, he spoke.

"Who... are you?"

His voice sounded unusually hoarse.

Even uttering those three words required him to resist the overwhelming pressure bearing down upon his existence.

After a brief silence, he continued.

"And what is your purpose?"