Regarding the distrust hidden in the other’s heart, she also didn’t know how to eliminate it.

In fact, she considered finding someone else as the Guardian of the Ashes; those of average strength she completely disregarded, while powerful beings either schemed or looked down on her.

Only the sorcerer in front of her satisfied her in potential, strength, and character, and was also selected as the successor by the Wisdom Elder; undoubtedly an excellent choice.

"Ha, I never thought that I, Vanessa, would have a day when I needed someone to become the Guardian. Damn Shadow of Annihilation, the harm to the Ashes and me is quite deep."

Vanessa shook her head self-deprecatingly and sped up to catch up.

By the time she caught up to Ivan, her face had already regained its usual calm, and the two directly skipped over the previous topic, as if it had never happened.

"This----"

Not long after, the two arrived at the deepest part of the Chaos Well.

Ivan, seeing the damaged area on the well’s wall up close, couldn’t help but gasp; the damage here was far more serious than he had expected, and could be described as ’shattered’ in terms of this part of the barrier.

"Beyond expectations?"

"A bit."

"The Chaos Well is of such importance to a Great Plane, and if the situation was not so dire, I wouldn’t have made the ruthless decision to stop its autonomous operation.

You saw the result.

The entire Ash Plane can only maintain itself with difficulty, and despite many years passing, the situation within the plane hasn’t recovered even a bit. Most areas remain desolate and barren.

Even after turning into this pathetic state, back then, the Shadow of Annihilation continued to inexhaustibly exploit the plane’s Original Power.

No matter how much I tried to persuade him, how many times, he just wasn’t willing to stop.

I was overly trusting of him at the time and granted him too much power. Attempting a forced stop was impossible, which ultimately led me to take an unfortunate action and made myself a laughingstock across the Star River."

"It indeed seems a bit tragic; we can only do our best to repair it, and there will be a day when it’s perfected."

Facing Vanessa’s explanation and probing, Ivan intentionally or unintentionally diverted the conversation.

In Ivan’s heart, the concerns about becoming the Guardian of the Ashes were far more than just one.

Not only had Vanessa betrayed her Guardian once, but he had also been exiled not long ago by another Great Mother Yanajins, which was likewise a form of betrayal.

Many years ago, he had contact with Great Heavenly Mother Anqiqi of the Elf Plane, and the Four Seasons Heavenly Girl, hailed as a darling of the Elf Plane, was quite possibly annihilated by Anqiqi’s design, leaving only Antoinette.

Three Great Planes, three Great Mothers.

None of them were benevolent, leaving him with less than pleasant memories.

Moreover, the Great Mothers are favored by the entire universe, not bound by any contract, making their acts entirely unscrupulous, and the betrayal of a Guardian comes without any pressure, hardly requiring any significant cost.

Considering all these factors combined, Ivan finds it incredibly difficult to entrust his life to any Great Mother, especially with strong enemies surrounding him.

"This gap overall looks like a beast claw, could it be an accidental intrusion by a Chaotic Giant Beast?"

"It’s a beast from the Chaotic World, but it wasn’t an accidental intrusion; it was set up by someone. This happened shortly after Danaila withdrew her troops, during a period when the plane’s power was weak, otherwise such a major blunder wouldn’t have occurred."

"Then----"

"Afterwards, I suspected Danaila, as well as the Abyss and Shadow, but after repeated verification, none of them were involved. The matter was left unsettled. Sometimes I wonder if my initial suspicion was wrong, that the Chaotic Giant Beast was merely a simple accident."

"What about now, is it an accident?"

"No."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"No."

The two meticulously examined the various shattered parts of the Chaos Well’s barriers while discussing the origins of this damage and what the truth behind it really was. Vanessa has been pondering for thousands of years, yet it remains an incomprehensible account.

She actually has a suspect; it’s the Shadow of Annihilation, from when he was a newly-promoted Supreme.

After that major upheaval, the Shadow of Annihilation profited the most, which she only realized in recent years.

But she didn’t voice it out; the sorcerer already harbors resentment in his heart. If she further sullies the Shadow of Annihilation, that resentment might deepen.

"Great Mother, how do you plan on repairing it? So much time has passed, you should have an internal draft by now."

"I do."

"Feel free to instruct me on what I need to do, as long as I can accomplish it."

"I certainly won’t be polite with you."

Vanessa has considered seeking the Abyssal Stone, naturally with a detailed repair plan in mind; she could actually carry out the repair alone, but insisted on waiting for Ivan to come out of seclusion, mainly to strengthen their connection.

Additionally, she wanted to use this opportunity to reveal some more hidden secrets unreservedly, to display her sincerity.

"No need to be polite."

Ivan doesn’t know her subtle intentions, having previously received considerable benefits from Vanessa, he naturally dedicatedly works for her, doing his utmost to refine the Abyssal Stone he brought back.

The Divine Abyss Stone is a type of Chaos Stone, originating from the Endless Abyss, hence named ’Abyssal Stone.’

Chaos Stone, simply put, is a Chaos Energy Crystal Stone. This Crystal Stone has an exceptionally unusual hardness, making it impossible for the Chaos Well to convert, and even more difficult to melt manually.

The Abyssal Stone also contains Abyssal aura; using it within the Ash Plane first requires the complete stripping away of the Abyssal aura inside and out.

After weighing it for a while, Ivan took out a small piece of the Abyssal Stone for a more detailed investigation.