Chapter 822: The Truth Revealed

Ao Jiang and the others were filled with confusion. They found themselves in this suddenly formed personal domain, where their cultivation powers were severely suppressed. Though not completely unable to move, they had lost 99% of their combat capabilities, resembling fish on a chopping board or lambs ready for slaughter.
Whoever created this domain possessed a strength on par with that of a supreme immortal—this was beyond doubt.
An old man with white hair appeared from the dim void. He looked at Su Che and said in a deep voice, “Su Che, since you came to me voluntarily, it seems you have the ability to foresee the future, right?”
“Yes, elder,” Su Che admitted calmly. “I foresaw that you would transport me here seventy years later, so I came here on my own.”
Through his foresight, Su Che knew that his journey to the spatial passage would be full of obstacles and difficulties. It took him seventy years just to reach the supreme immortal’s treasure vault. During that time, Hei Luo was even seriously injured and forced to hide inside a spatial artifact for protection.
Su Che wondered what those supreme immortals were thinking, why they would set so many obstacles and trials for him. In his view, this was nothing but a way to delay things. Could it be that some supreme immortals didn’t want him to grow too fast, or perhaps they weren’t yet ready?
Fortunately, the emergence of the Sky-Devouring Rat allowed Su Che to end this tortuous journey, open a teleportation portal, and reach the entrance of the spatial passage directly…
Since he had already foreseen all this, Su Che certainly didn’t want to waste another seventy years, so he came here on his own.
Inside a hidden cave in the mountains here, the Sky-Devouring Rat had been lurking for three hundred years.
At this moment, Ao Jiang, Hei Luo, Guang Yu, and the others could see the Sky-Devouring Rat and him talking to Su Che, but they couldn’t hear what they were saying—this was, of course, due to the Sky-Devouring Rat’s personal domain.
“Kid, in just over a thousand years, you’ve changed a lot,” the Sky-Devouring Rat said in a calm tone, with no discernible expression on his face.
“Elder, you’ve changed a lot too,” Su Che replied with a smile.
Over a thousand years ago, when Su Che was still in the mortal realm of cultivation, the Sky-Devouring Rat’s domain had merged with his heart, and he had just come back to life. His strength was likely only comparable to that of a sixth-tier Immortal Emperor. But now, even though he hadn’t regained his full strength from ancient times, facing off directly against a supreme immortal shouldn’t be a problem.

Moreover, Su Che could sense that the life form of the Sky-Devouring Rat had completely transformed—it was no longer that of a demon god but had become a true immortal from the Immortal Realm, possessing a legitimate identity and thus no longer subject to the punishment of the Heavenly Dao. This meant the Sky-Devouring Rat had completely submitted to the Heavenly Dao and would no longer defy it; accordingly, the Heavenly Dao would allow it to rapidly regain its strength in a short time. It was likely that before long, another Immortal Lord would be born in the Immortal Realm…

“Giving up something is necessary to gain something else,” the Sky-Devouring Rat said with a faint smile. “Speaking of which, I’ve also benefited from you. Thanks to your great fortune, things have gone smoothly for me since I arrived in the Immortal Realm, with good luck following me everywhere.”

“What do you mean, senior?” Su Che narrowed his eyes slightly.

“That’s right!” the Sky-Devouring Rat nodded. “It’s because of you that the Heavenly Dao allows many demon gods to revive, giving us a chance to live again. My next task is to gather these revived demon gods together, help them transform their life forms, and restore their strength as quickly as possible… Then, all these demon gods will become your allies and backers, supporting you and repaying you!”

“I see,” Su Che nodded, not surprised, as he had already heard these exact words in his prophetic memories.

If there was any downside to predicting the future, it was that many things lost their surprise and some of the fun. But this was unavoidable, as Su Che sensed that the pace of his growth ahead would be extremely fast—often leaving him with no time to catch his breath, with crises and risks everywhere… Earth-shattering events would come one after another, like heavy blows upon his head. Without the ability to foresee disasters, he wouldn’t be able to survive even a few of them and would surely perish, making success impossible.

What the Sky-Devouring Rat said next was not in Su Che’s prophetic memories, indicating that Su Che’s early encounter with the Sky-Devouring Rat had already brought about certain changes…

“A great upheaval in the world is upon us, and you are the one born for this moment,” the Sky-Devouring Rat said. “It won’t be long before unimaginable enemies appear before you. Perhaps even the Heavenly Dao of our universe world will need your protection.”

“Su Che, don’t think that just because you have the ability to foresee the future, you can avert all disasters in advance. You must understand that this ability was given to you by this universe and can only conform to its laws. Once faced with external enemies, your foresight will fail.”
The Sky-Devouring Rat’s tone grew heavier: “You must have already guessed that there is more than one universe within the Chaos Realm. The Origin Demons are merely explorers from an external universe.”
“And you are a blade forged by heaven, meant to eliminate demons and protect this universe from destruction by external forces.”
“Su Che, you’ve already figured this out, haven’t you?”
Su Che nodded silently. In fact, he had a deeper understanding in his heart.
What was the purpose of the Immortal Prison?
By now, Su Che had realized that the Immortal Prison was a offspring born in advance by this vast universe when it sensed a survival crisis.
If its own strength was not enough to protect the universe in the face of an external invasion, it could carry the Immortal Prison along with some life seeds from this world, flee to the Chaos Realm, find a safe place, release the Immortal Prison world, create a new universe from scratch, and build another true vast universe.
That was the purpose of the Immortal Prison!
As its owner, he bore two missions: to protect the present or to create a new future.
Su Che had figured this out, but he still had doubts about other things.
So he asked, “Elder, since I bear such a mission, shouldn’t all the great immortals in the Immortal Realm unite to defend against external enemies? Why is everything still so ambiguous, with less than half of them being friendly to me?”
“Great immortals?”
The Sky-Devouring Rat sneered faintly: “They have lived in this universe for countless years. Do you really think they care about the survival of this world?”
“A person’s ambition is endless and boundless. Some of them wish for the laws of this universe to perish, so that the shackles that have bound them for ages will also vanish. For them, this means breaking through barriers of power and achieving true freedom, allowing them to explore the chaotic realm full of unknowns and opportunities without restraint.”

“Some people long to explore different cosmic worlds, constantly enhancing their power until one day they become the supreme warriors in the entire Chaos Realm, then go on to explore other realms beyond chaos. Perhaps, if such realms truly exist…”
“Others desire to create their own vast cosmic world within the Chaos Realm, becoming the supreme Heavenly Dao.”
“In any case, it takes them an extremely long time to become Immortal Lords. Their numerous ambitions and desires can only be locked deep within them, with nowhere to be fulfilled or expressed. In truth, they are no different from ordinary beings—bored by monotonous, unchanging lives, they too long for change and opportunities. Do you understand now?”
“I do.”
Su Che nodded and replied, “In that case, their thoughts aren’t wrong. If it were me, living in the same routine for trillions or even quadrillions of years, I would also get bored.”
Becoming a peak warrior gives one the most complete understanding of this cosmic world. After living in it for countless years, one has seen, experienced, and enjoyed everything to the fullest…
To them, this cosmic world becomes a prison, and those so-called peak warriors turn into the highest-ranking prisoners.
Trapped here, imprisoned forever.
Su Che truly understood now. From the perspective of some Immortal Lords, they would wish for outsiders to break this prison so they could escape and enjoy a brand new, more wonderful life.
So-called Immortal Lords are just beings with great power; their desires and ambitions are no different from those of ordinary people!
Lao He also shook his head with a wry smile in the Immortal Prison: “Poor Heavenly Dao. It long knew it couldn’t rely on those Immortal Lords to protect it, so it created an Immortal Prison and then forged you. No wonder they say you’re heaven’s favorite.”
“Yes,” Su Che agreed in his heart. “In this cosmic world, the power of the Heavenly Dao is supreme. But once external forces break the laws of the universe, the Heavenly Dao’s self-preservation ability is even weaker than that of those Immortal Lords who can escape to the Chaos Realm at any time.”
It’s like when two countries go to war—the ruler of the defeated country often ends up in a tragic fate, while his ministers can flee everywhere or even surrender to the enemy.
It wasn’t until now that Su Che truly understood everything. Yet he asked again, “Elder, how do you know all this?”

The Sky-Devouring Rat smiled and said, “I already said it just now—I’m benefiting from you. I’m one of the first demon gods to fully recover. Among those of shorter stature, I stand out as the strongest. That’s why the power of the Heavenly Dao sought me out, and I readily submitted. I’m about to enter the ranks of Immortal Lords, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the entire universe.”
Su Che also smiled and said, “It can’t be said that you’re benefiting from me. Don’t forget, I’m still your successor in power.”
The Sky-Devouring Rat laughed heartily, but soon became serious again and said, “Su Che, I suspect that among those dozen Immortal Lords, someone has already fully sided with the foreign forces. This person is extremely hidden; even the power of the Heavenly Dao can’t expose them. So, before the foreign forces invade officially, this person will be your greatest enemy. You must be extremely careful.”
“The power of the Heavenly Dao is omnipotent—can’t it even see through a traitor?” Su Che asked in confusion.
“Foreign forces are not under the control of the Heavenly Dao or bound by its rules,” the Sky-Devouring Rat replied solemnly. “In the future, it will be such forces you’ll have to face.”