Pre-Ancient Divine Land, inside the Zixiao Palace.
The Primordial Saint's expression was calm, like ice that had not melted for ten thousand ages. Holding the [Heavenly Destiny Divine Record], he waited for a "restart" that might or might not happen.
Almost simultaneously.
On the other side, Lu Yang, who was being secretly observed by the Primordial Saint, also reacted, examining the Final Tribulation that was gradually spreading from the end of the years.
'Something's not right.'
As far as his eyes could see, Lu Yang clearly observed the profound changes upon the Sword Lord's body. Evidently, the Final Tribulation still seemed to have gained the upper hand over her.
But why did she fail? Lu Yang had seen it clearly before—Zhen Qulu's plan was quite perfect. The appearance of the Sword Lord filled his final flaw. Using the Dao of [Thread of Affection] to dual-cultivate with the Final Tribulation, squeeze it dry, and turn its power to her own use—this was indeed feasible.
'However... something went wrong.'
'The [Thread of Affection] was broken free of! The Final Tribulation is no longer just possessing sentience; it has truly birthed wisdom and possesses a self-awareness!'
This was absolutely not naturally generated.
Who did it?
Without a trace of hesitation, Lu Yang made a judgment purely out of instinct: "It's definitely the Primordial Saint. He did something similar in his previous life!"
Almost simultaneously, the Sword Lord also lifted her head.
No, at this moment, she perhaps could no longer be called the Sword Lord. Those originally cold and aloof beautiful eyes were now filled with the light of deathly stillness.
And upon her body, from within the dense cracks, intense concept of calamity continuously poured out, condensing into flickering lights of the apocalypse. Then, a voice completely different from the Sword Lord's—seemingly both male and female, encompassing myriad phenomena—slowly emerged from her red lips, echoing thunderously:
"Let... go... of me."
The voice ignored the distance of space and time, ringing in the ears of all Dao Ancestors and Dao Lords. Like this very world itself, it was omnipresent; sentient beings had nowhere to flee.
The Final Tribulation Dao God!
In an instant, Lu Yang, facing this voice directly, felt as if he had been forcibly separated from heaven and earth by it. Looking around, he found that the entire world was his enemy!
This was not a profound wonder, nor some advanced technique, but an immeasurable majesty vibrating through space-time, forming a tidal wave that was currently surging from the distant future toward the current time point. And the "entire world as his enemy" feeling he sensed was, in essence, just a faint aftershock of this tidal wave!
"Not good...!"
In an instant, Zhu Liuxian, Shan Qiu, and even the Pre-Ancient Dao Ancestors everywhere all stood up. The gazes they cast quickly revealed expressions of shock and anger.
However, just then.
Clang—!
In another region of the Divine Land, the ring of a blade interrupted everyone's shock and doubt. The blade's light was bright, pulling at the infinite spiritual concept of the Pre-Ancient Divine Land.
At this moment, all sounds fell silent.
The originally colorful world was unexpectedly split by a faint line of blade light, turning into distinct black and white, and then slashed outwards!
In an instant, the spreading Qi of the Final Tribulation was entirely slashed into nothingness. The brilliant blade light became the strongest barrier protecting the current time.
"It's Shi Weixiong..."
"After killing Yu Huanjun and sacrificing a Dao Ancestor to his blade, his strength is indeed even greater..."
"Hmm? Wait, that's not right."
Just then, everyone suddenly discovered that among the numerous Primordial Spirit fires originally illuminating the Pre-Ancient Era, one Primordial Spirit had fallen into silence and extinguished without a sound.
The [Accumulated Merit] Dao Ancestor, Shi Quanxian.
"Shi Weixiong committed patricide?"
"Not necessarily. Shi Quanxian might have committed suicide. After all, although Shi Weixiong's path is extreme, it is a path nonetheless. Helping him fulfill it is inherently a form of accumulated merit."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, on a mountain peak in the Divine Land, Shi Weixiong, clad in battle armor and dressed as a military general, held a dripping, bloodstained long blade. He looked coldly at the deathly still color at the end of the years, then raised an eyebrow slightly. An intent immediately headed toward the years.
Meanwhile.
Within the space-time channel, looking at the Sword Lord, whose cracks were growing more numerous and completely unstoppable, Zhen Qulu wore a helpless expression and sighed somewhat dejectedly:
"We failed..."
Before his voice faded, he felt a resonance. Turning his head to look behind him, he also saw the blade light slashed out by Shi Weixiong, which stopped the Final Tribulation from tracing back time.
Immediately after, the blade light condensed into a physical form.
Shi Weixiong's consciousness crossed space-time and surfaced. Upon appearing, he said crisply: "The path is broken; better to give it to me to sacrifice to my divine blade."
With that, he turned his gaze again.
And there stood Cang Hao and Myriad Laws, expressionless. Du Xuan appeared calm on the surface, but the depths of his eyes were full of panic; he was somewhat losing his composure.
"You as well."
Shi Weixiong continued: "The path is broken, and it's impossible for me to reopen the channel to let you back; that would only give the Final Tribulation an opportunity to invade the present."
"Therefore, right now, you are dead either way."
"Either you die at the hands of the Final Tribulation, or you die at my hands... If you die at the hands of the Final Tribulation, even your Primordial Spirit will be silenced, and you will never be reincarnated."
"If you die at my hands, your Primordial Spirits will be used by me to sacrifice to the blade, ultimately leaving a sliver of hope. If I succeed and attain Deity Transformation, you lot will also rise to the heavens."
Shi Weixiong's explanation was crisp and straightforward, laying out all the pros and cons directly on the table. Alas, it was ultimately still death. Zhen Qulu was one thing, but Cang Hao and the others had come through the era of the Primordial Saint, thoroughly tempered by trials. How could they possibly trust the promise of an outsider?
Furthermore—they had their own way out.
"There is no need."
Cang Hao shook his head with a calm tone. He then exchanged a glance with Myriad Laws. Subsequently, they both channeled their profound wonders simultaneously, their two figures gradually overlapping.
Fusion! Unity!
In their previous life, after switching to cultivating the [Seven Emotions Heaven-Reaching Art], Cang Hao and Myriad Laws had displayed a similar method, using fusion to increase their strength!
This scene was entirely taken in by Lu Yang.
And looking at the completely identical intent of [Supreme Forgotten Emotions] in the eyes of Cang Hao and Myriad Laws at this moment, Lu Yang suddenly felt a deep chill.
'Cultivators of [Supreme Forgotten Emotions] can fuse.'
'Cang Hao and Myriad Laws can... then what about Taiyuan Xian and the Primordial Saint? There's no reason they can't. This method is simply identical in effect to "One Mind"!'
The Primordial Saint truly hadn't lived all these years for nothing.
Whether it was the Three Lifetimes Body or One Mind, he had secretly learned the World Honored One's methods to perfection, even innovating upon their foundation.
Soon, the fused Cang Hao-Myriad Laws spoke:
"Please excuse us for not seeing you off; farewell."
At these words, Shi Weixiong instantly felt a resonance. He turned his head to look toward the Zixiao Palace in the Pre-Ancient Divine Land, only to see a celestial light rising strikingly from there.
"RUMBLE!"
The celestial light pierced through space-time. Like an invisible giant hand, it casually parted the veil, caught Cang Hao-Myriad Laws in its palm, and then violently retracted.
Altering causes, changing effects!
In an instant, the original history was erased.
It changed from [Cang Hao and Myriad Laws joined forces to assist the Sword Lord] to [Cang Hao and Myriad Laws never came; it was only residual majesty that assisted the Sword Lord].
The world changed because of this.
This was a method unique to the Light Sea, completely different from the Pre-Ancient Divine Land, so much so that Shi Weixiong couldn't react in time to stop it. A strange color surfaced in his eyes.
"Formidable means... Taiyuan Xian?"
"Not like Zhu Liuxian or Zhen Qulu, who relied on their own Daos to understand by analogy and thereby interfere with [Time]. Rather, his essence is the Dao of Time."
After speaking, he looked somewhat surprise at the final Light Sea Dao Lord present.
"Are you not leaving with them?"
Du Xuan: "..."
At this moment, Du Xuan's expression was incredibly twisted. Was it that he didn't want to leave with Cang Hao and Myriad Laws? Fuck his mom, they didn't bring him when they left!
On the other side, Shi Weixiong also realized this, a look of understanding on his face: "That makes sense. Their Primordial Spirits have anomalies and possess some kind of connection with Taiyuan Xian, which allowed them to be taken away across space. You have no connection, so naturally, you cannot leave... Since that is the case, do you intend to die to the Final Tribulation, or be sacrificed to my divine blade?"
After saying that, he even looked at Du Xuan and shook his head:
"A pity, you are a bit weak."
At these words, Du Xuan inhaled deeply. For a moment, he only felt freezing cold all over, the chill piercing to his bones. Almost instinctively, he looked toward one person.
'Sisui...'
Once best friends, they hailed from the same world realm, the two most stunningly talented individuals of that realm, leaving behind countless myths and legends.
They were once rivals, yet appreciated each other, eventually becoming the best of friends. They explored the mysteries of ascension together and ultimately broke through simultaneously, pioneering the ascension legend of that world realm and stepping into the vast Light Sea Great World. They had once promised to stand at the summit together.
—These beautiful memories came to an abrupt halt.
Because this world is unfair. The gap between a genius and a prodigy is sometimes vaster than the gap between a genius and a dog.
Facts proved:
He, Du Xuan, became the strongest in the world realm because that was his limit. While Sisui became the strongest in the world realm because that was the world realm's limit.
And after stepping onto the broader path of cultivation, Sisui immediately displayed talent far exceeding his own. The two who had once run neck and neck quickly widened the gap. The mutual discussions and joint progress of the past gradually turned into him solely listening to Sisui explain profound principles to him.
Negative emotions? Of course there were.
But Du Xuan hid them well, because he knew very clearly— how many cultivators like him were there? If it weren't for Sisui, he would only be an ordinary person lost in the crowd.
He was unwilling for this to be the case.
And so he chose to bear disgrace and a heavy burden... which was also the moment he characterized his friendship with Sisui as [Bearing Disgrace and a Heavy Burden].
He changed.
During the Battle of the Dao Lords 129,600 years ago, when Sisui was defeated, did he truly have no options at the time? In fact, no, he did have a way.
The method was very simple.
If, at the time, he had disregarded everything, forcibly broken into the battlefield, and self-destructed to open a path, perhaps he himself would have encountered problems, but he could have fought for a chance of survival for Sisui.
Yet he did not do so.
This couldn't be more normal; Myriad Laws didn't either. Between life and death, there are no small matters. His unwillingness to self-destruct was completely human nature; the human heart is simply like that.
What was wrong with it?
All along, Du Xuan believed this and had successfully convinced himself. But what he couldn't accept the most was... Sisui also thought this way.
Du Xuan could be certain that Sisui was absolutely able to see the situation clearly back then, knowing that as long as Du Xuan sacrificed his life, Sisui could have escaped. Therefore, after Sisui was freed, Du Xuan thought up many righteous explanations to justify his thoughts from back then, feeling he had done nothing wrong.
—Yet Sisui didn't ask.
Sisui didn't take it to heart at all. Or rather, he also believed Du Xuan's actions back then were reasonable, so he didn't hold his past actions against him.
Du Xuan almost went mad.
It was only at that moment he truly discovered the change that had occurred within himself. Sisui was still the same person from back then, but he was no longer.
Yet he had always pretended he hadn't changed.
Sisui was sealed, halting at Golden Core Perfection, while he had ascended to the third layer of the [Paramita]. Was there truly not a hint of secret joy in his heart?
Of course there was.
He believed from the bottom of his heart that his [Bearing Disgrace and a Heavy Burden] was worth it, that everything was [Joy After Hardship]... Yet he was unwilling to admit this thought.
Even regarding the ongoing efforts to rescue Sisui—although he participated, he was not active; it was mostly spearheaded by Myriad Laws, with him assisting. How much selfishness was there in this?
'So that's how it is...'
Various events of the past flashed through his eyes, finally turning into deep melancholy: 'No wonder... no wonder only I still have a massive flaw remaining in my Primordial Spirit.'
Also having forged their Primordial Spirits using external power, although the World Honored One and Lu Yang's Primordial Spirits also had flaws, they were nowhere near as massive as Du Xuan's.
Once upon a time, Du Xuan had also wondered why, but gained nothing.
It wasn't until today that he finally realized:
'If I haven't even figured out [Who am I], how could my Primordial Spirit be complete?'
If he could recognize [Me], then whether good or bad, whether admitting his own change or repenting his past mistakes, the Primordial Spirit would react to it.
Yet he was stuck in the middle.
Clearly having changed, but unwilling to admit it. A perfect disguise, even if it could fool Sisui, could not fool his own heart, nor could it fool the Primordial Spirit he had forged.
'It was all an illusory dream in the end.'
Du Xuan closed his eyes. He didn't call out Sisui's name, nor did he cry for help... even though his heart desperately wanted to cry for help, utterly unwilling to perish.
Yet he never parted his lips.
He had changed long ago; he was no longer the peerless hero of that small world realm. Yet he forcibly maintained this facade, wanting to face death calmly.
Just like his disguise over countless years.
If it were Sisui killing him, perhaps he would cast aside his misgivings and no longer disguise himself. But right now, Sisui was watching him... how could he reveal his true face?
This person alone, he did not want to be looked down upon by.
Moreover, as long as he could act well enough, who knows, maybe Sisui would be just like back then and actively strike to save his life for the sake of their past friendship?
Destiny, despair, struggle, anger... numerous thoughts flowed through his heart.
Du Xuan gritted his teeth tightly. His pursed lips stifled the cry for help that had surged to his throat, and instead spat out a sentence he instantly regretted.
"Do... do it."
In the next second, blade light flashed—
Du Xuan died.
Another Primordial Spirit fire extinguished. When everything dissipated, the place where Du Xuan had stood had lost his silhouette, leaving only a sigh.
Inside the Zixiao Palace, the Primordial Saint also witnessed the entire process.
Beside him, Cang Hao and Myriad Laws had separated once more, their gazes calm. The state of [Supreme Forgotten Emotions] left them entirely unmoved.
"A death well deserved."
The Primordial Saint said coldly: "Du Xuan's Primordial Spirit had been flawed for many years, possessing too many untimely emotions. In the end, he still died because of the human heart."
The human heart is poison!
In the Primordial Saint's view, cultivating for transcendence requires abandoning the secular world. It is inherently a solitary journey on the Great Dao; on this path, the existence of the human heart is merely a stumbling block.
If your human heart is too heavy, harboring gratitude, then do you still want to transcend? Since you want to transcend and abandon everything, you should inherently give up the thoughts of the human heart.
"Du Xuan and Myriad Treasure were both like this."
"Conversely, Nian Yao saw it clearly. Therefore, among the Dao Lords, aside from myself, her achievements were the highest, further corroborating my theory."
"It's just a pity..."
At this, the Primordial Saint shook his head again: "Her luck was poor; she ultimately fell short by one move. With me here, it was impossible for her to achieve anything."
Almost simultaneously.
Deep within the future time, the Sword Lord—whose entire body was now completely covered in fine cracks and the deathly still color could no longer be concealed—suddenly lifted her head.
"Primordial Saint..."
A faint sigh followed Du Xuan's, carrying immense unwillingness, yet to no avail. Her final Primordial Spirit thought marched toward annihilation within the Final Tribulation.
In the next second, blade light shone.
The blade light that had slain Du Xuan did not pause in the slightest, killing the Sword Lord on the spot as well. Only at the very end did it aim remotely at the dejected Zhen Qulu.
"Fellow Daoist, do you have anything else you wish to say?"
"Time is running out."
Shi Weixiong's voice seemed slightly rushed.
Zhen Qulu looked around, and finally shook his head helplessly: "Beware the Ancestors of the Name and Form schools, and Taiyuan Xian. Their style has changed."
"For transcendence... they already resort to any means necessary."
"My failure was also caused by them... After me, you are likely the last one, Fellow Daoist. If possible, find a way to eradicate them first."
Shi Weixiong nodded slightly: "Alright."
With that, Zhen Qulu closed his eyes. The blade light flashed, pulverizing his Dharma Body. The profound wonder of killing three attained Daoists entirely converged onto the blade light.
Subsequently, the blade light slashed backhand.
The space-time channel linking the present and the future was shattered on the spot, isolating all the deathly still colors outside. Only after doing all this did Shi Weixiong retract his intent.
But before leaving.
Whether it was him, or Lu Yang and the others who had been constantly monitoring this drastic change, they all saw a silhouette within that gloomy Qi of the Final Tribulation.
The Final Tribulation Dao God, Terminus Tiger.
His gaze was filled with a yearning for vitality. His lips moved slightly, and a calm voice drifted out from within the years: "There will not be a next time."
The voice came to an abrupt halt.
However, everyone knew clearly that this was absolutely no empty threat. The Final Tribulation Dao God, having gained self-awareness, would inevitably try every possible means to reopen the space-time channel.
Therefore, if the space-time channel opened next time, it would no longer be the Dao Ancestors saving the world.
It would only be the descent of the catastrophe!
Meanwhile, in the Pre-Ancient Divine Land below.
"Zhen Qulu has also failed."
Zhu Liuxian sighed mournfully. As things stood, only Shi Weixiong was left. Yet this Dao Ancestor's plan was to clash head-on with the Final Tribulation—it was truly hard to believe.
On the other side, Lu Yang also wore a thoughtful expression.
'It must be the Primordial Saint's handiwork.'
'Zhen Qulu's failure must be because of him, and the Final Tribulation Dao God was also awakened by him. But what benefit does this bring him? What on earth does he want to do?'
Lu Yang tried to put himself in the Primordial Saint's perspective.
'The things I know, the Primordial Saint definitely knows too, perhaps even more... So, like me, he must have had doubts about [Jun].'
However, in the end, he had let go of his doubts.
But what about the Primordial Saint?
'He could not possibly let it go. Given the Primordial Saint's style, he would inevitably first assume that [Jun] is a bad person with ulterior motives, and then act based on that premise.'
Then what would he do?
Just as Lu Yang was pondering, a voice suddenly drifted over:
[Senior, Senior Xuande...]
It was Luxian.
Lu Yang immediately lifted his head, looking toward the direction of the Zixiao Palace. In his ear, Luxian's tone seemed quite rushed, and his voice was inexplicably lowered:
[The Primordial Saint forced his way into the Zixiao Palace!]
[I hid, and he is currently setting up a ritual in the Zixiao Palace. I have seen that ritual before; it's exactly the same as the one the Ancestral Dragon performed in the Immortal Nexus back then!]
The Ancestral Dragon's ritual?
The intelligence Luxian sent caused Lu Yang to suddenly feel enlightened, as if filled with perfect wisdom: 'The Primordial Saint... he wants to recreate the transcendence ritual the Ancestral Dragon used back then?'
'The Ancestral Dragon and [Jun] had a deep relationship...'
'So this means he suspects the Ancestral Dragon's transcendence ritual was learned from [Jun], and that [Jun]'s true goal is a great sacrifice of sentient beings?'
Lu Yang judged others by himself, almost instantly guessing the general idea of the Primordial Saint's thoughts, and also understanding his plan: "He intends to strike first and gain the upper hand, the dove occupying the magpie's nest, completing the great sacrifice ahead of time and finally using this power to transcend... Is it that simple? No, there must definitely be something else."
The reason was simple.
'Taking a step back, even if the Primordial Saint successfully transcended, he is not a Deity Transformation. Even counting Taiyuan Xian, they are only equivalent to the ninth layer of the [Paramita].'
This kind of transcendence was no different from Sisui's.
Both were [False Transcendence].
In other words:
'He definitely won't give up on the Seed of the Great Dao either. If the great sacrifice of sentient beings is what he uses to transcend, then the Seed of the Great Dao is what he uses to attain Deity Transformation!'
He wants it all!
However, the problem was, with so many Dao Ancestors blocking the way, what could he do to snatch the Seed of the Great Dao? To put it bluntly, the difficulty in this was immense.
Because the Primordial Saint had made too many enemies.
Setting aside anything else, Lu Yang's side would not allow the Primordial Saint to succeed, and the Pre-Ancient Dao Ancestors mostly had no goodwill toward the Primordial Saint's faction either.
What should he do then?
Lu Yang considered from the Primordial Saint's perspective, and quickly thought of a countermeasure:
'Since I have made too many enemies, then I'll find a way to bring out someone who has made even more enemies to draw the fire for me!'
—The Final Tribulation Dao God!
The symbol of the apocalypse, the concept of destruction, while also possessing self-awareness and yearning to come to the present time point—using it to draw fire was simply perfect!
'What's even more brilliant is that right now, the Seed of the Great Dao is in the future, in the Final Tribulation. But if the Final Tribulation Dao God comes to the present time point, then the future will be empty, and the Seed of the Great Dao will lose its defenses because of this. When that time comes, if the Primordial Saint smuggles over, the Seed of the Great Dao will be practically within his grasp!'
A base-swap tactic!
Using the Final Tribulation Dao God to stall all opponents, then heading to the future himself to obtain the Seed of the Great Dao. The entire plan borrowed strength to strike back—simple yet hard to stop!
'Wait, that's not right...'
In the next second, Lu Yang abruptly awakened.
Who said he had to transcend first before going to get the Seed of the Great Dao to seek Deity Transformation?
If he were the Primordial Saint, he could completely open the space-time channel first, let the Final Tribulation Dao God in, and then go over to get the Seed of the Great Dao and achieve the higher realm of Deity Transformation.
Wait until he had absolute strength, then come back to perform a great sacrifice of sentient beings and seek transcendence!
At this thought, Lu Yang immediately looked up at the Zixiao Palace, transmitting his voice: "Luxian, about the Primordial Saint being in the Zixiao Palace... who else have you told?"
[Eh?]
Soon, Luxian gave a somewhat puzzled response: [All the Dao Ancestors, of course. After all, right now only the Dao Ancestors have the ability to stop him...]
"Its a trap!" Lu Yang's eyes sank.
The Zixiao Palace was bait!
The Primordial Saint was likely just waiting—waiting for all the Dao Ancestors to go to the Zixiao Palace, gather together, and then open the space-time channel to wipe them all out with the Final Tribulation Dao God!
What to do?
As things stood, the Primordial Saint's plan could no longer be stopped. Even if the Dao Ancestors didn't go, it was impossible to change the outcome of the Final Tribulation Dao God's imminent descent.
Should he restart?
'...No!'
'In terms of cultivation, I am far inferior to the current Primordial Saint. The secret that the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] can still restart is the greatest trump card in my hand. It can only be used at the most critical moment, when it can truly decide victory or defeat. If I play it now, this card will be completely wasted.'
At this thought, Lu Yang abruptly rejected the idea of restarting: 'Perhaps the Primordial Saint is just waiting for me. Restarting at this time would probably play right into his hands!'
(End of Chapter)