Chapter 1804: The Call of the Ancestral Court
Time flowed on, and the Three Heroes of the Reform had long since become ancient legends. Emperor Yanfeng and Jiang Baigui had initiated the Yankang Reform from a tiny corner of the world. Qin Mu had emerged from the Great Ruins and entered Yankang. The Heavenly Alliance had been established, the Upper Realm had attacked, and the First Yankang Calamity had occurred. These histories had grown so old that even the memories of those who had experienced them had yellowed with age.
Although those events were still branded into their minds, the voices and faces of the people in those memories had become blurred and indistinct.
Emperor Yanfeng, as the first Heavenly Emperor, had already gone to the Ancestral Court. The Sage Jiang Baigui was also elusive, appearing and disappearing like a divine dragon. The Sage Hall still stood high above the Upper Capital, yet the Sage's traces were rarely seen within it.
As for Mu the Honored One, who had single-handedly supported the Yankang Reform, he had never returned since entering the Ancestral Court and sealing it.
From time to time, people would return from the Ancestral Court—some who had achieved enlightenment, and others who had not. They would recount the battles in the Ancestral Court to the world, describing those thrilling and heart-stopping campaigns.
At first, the people found these stories novel. Some were filled with burning passion, wishing they could fly there immediately to fight alongside their predecessors. Others sighed in regret for those who had fallen in battle.
But later, after hearing the stories so many times, they became indifferent.
After all, the war in the Ancestral Court continued. It had started in the age of legends and was still going on without resolution. It would probably continue into the future.
They felt that the war in the Ancestral Court had nothing to do with them. It was merely something to chat about over tea or after meals.
"Human life is greater than heaven; gods serve humanity; the people's daily needs are the Dao." This was the guiding principle of the Yankang Reform. Yet even so, there were reversals.
As millions of years of history passed, successors forgot why their predecessors had established such a principle. Some were consumed by power, swayed by greed and desire, and began to decay.
One Heavenly Emperor after another relinquished their power and went to the Ancestral Court. By the time of the thirty-second Heavenly Emperor, the phenomenon of hereditary succession appeared. By the forty-fifth Heavenly Emperor, he even attempted to implement a system where the world was ruled as a single family.
In the end, it was over a dozen retired Heavenly Emperors, including Emperor Yanfeng, who returned from the Ancestral Court to put an end to this farce.
From then on, the position of god was merely a post.
Above, the Heavenly Dao operated. Below, there was Lord Tu Bo and the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Those who had achieved enlightenment and the Heavenly Emperors governed the myriad heavens and realms, everything orderly and well-managed.
After this incident, the legends of the Ancestral Court once again caused a stir. After all, the legendary dozen or so Heavenly Emperors returning from the Ancestral Court to suppress a rebellion was truly a spectacular and awe-inspiring sight.
Among the myriad heavens and realms, there were powerful beings who set out to search for the location of the Ancestral Court. But when they arrived, they witnessed an incredible phenomenon and were completely unable to enter.
Years passed again, and the Ancestral Court gradually faded from people's memories. Wave after wave of new prodigies stepped onto the stage, displaying their brilliance across the myriad heavens and realms.
The connection between the Ancestral Court and the Primordial Realm also grew sparse. At first, those who had achieved enlightenment returned from the Ancestral Court every three thousand years. Later, it became every four thousand, then five thousand, and then every ten thousand, then twenty thousand.
By the time tens of billions of years had passed, the starry sky had become even more vast and boundless. New heavens appeared, the myriad heavens and realms grew farther apart, and the Primordial Realm itself became more expansive. Simply going to the Ancestral Court had become a difficult task.
The war in the Ancestral Court was no longer relevant to the people. The vast majority had no idea that bloody battles were still raging there. They didn't care about it, didn't know why these people fought, why they killed, why they died, and didn't care whether the warriors there lived or died.
Those predecessors and ancient sages were like stars in the night sky—hanging high and far away.
Only those who had achieved enlightenment in Yankang—whether in seclusion or spreading the Dao—still cared about the war in the Ancestral Court. They would ask those who returned from there for news of that one person.
"He's been there for a million years, hasn't he? Still guarding that place?"
"Yes. A million years—the history of the Dragon Han, Chi Ming, Supreme Emperor, Kai Huang, and Yankang eras combined. He has persisted for so long. He said that when the number of those who achieve enlightenment in Yankang reaches a certain level, there will be a decisive battle. Then, he will return."
...
"He has guarded the Ancestral Court for ten million years, hasn't he? Has the war there not been resolved yet?"
"Yes. The hidden danger in the Ancestral Court is too great. He cannot extricate himself now. The power of the Wuji has grown again. The strength of Wuya the Ancient has increased. There have been other changes in the Ancestral Court. The palaces of the Young Masters have descended, and several more Palace Masters have appeared. He said he will return."
...
"A hundred million years have passed. The world has completely changed. Is he still guarding that place?"
"Yes, he is still guarding it, suppressing the Wuji and suppressing Wuya. Last time, he went to the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court and broke into the Hall of the Lofty Firmament. His strength has grown even greater. He joyfully told us that the day of his return is not far off."
...
"A billion years have passed. When does he plan to fight the decisive battle? When will he return?"
"Wait a little longer. Wuya is no longer a threat, and the two Young Masters cannot fully descend either. But there are still too few who have achieved enlightenment in Yankang to oppose them. Wait a little longer."
...
Three and a half billion years had passed. The myriad forms of the world had changed like the sea turning into mulberry fields. The changes were so great that even those who had achieved enlightenment and devoted themselves to the Dao felt somewhat unfamiliar when they awoke from their seclusion.
The starry sky had become even more vast. The Four Extremities Heavens were farther from the Primordial Realm and the myriad heavens and realms. The Xuan Du had risen higher, and the You Du's scope of influence had expanded. Even Lord Tu Bo, Qin Fengqing, and the You Heavenly Lord found it extremely difficult to govern such a vast You Du universe.
First, they divided the You Du universe into four jurisdictions, building four more Six Paths Heavenly Wheels and four great Dao halls, appointing four Yama Kings. Later, as the You Du universe grew even more vast, even four jurisdictions became difficult to manage.
The four Yama Kings gradually became ten Yama Kings. In the future, as the universe continued to grow, it might be necessary to establish other Dao halls.
On this day, an envoy from the Ancestral Court arrived in the Primordial Realm to see the two ancestors, Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian. The envoy said, "The Heavenly Honored One requests that the two ancestors summon all who have achieved enlightenment and return to the Ancestral Court."
Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian were incredibly excited. Even though their Dao hearts had been cultivated to the fortieth heavenly realm, they could barely steady their minds.
The two Dao ancestors walked out of their ancient Dao halls. The ripples of the Dao spread from the halls, like the vibrations of space. Although it sounded terrifying, the common people were completely unaware.
Waves of Dao ripples spread across the Primordial Realm, reaching the other heavens, the Xuan Du, the You Du, the Four Extremities Heavens, and the myriad heavens and realms. Those who had achieved enlightenment and were in slumber awoke. Ancient gods revived. Recluses in famous mountains, peddlers and laborers, cart-pullers and porridge-sellers, workers in the supervision factories—all raised their heads, sensing the call of the two Dao ancestors.
Those with power set it aside and handed it to their successors. Those with families made arrangements for them and packed their belongings. Those who were alone resigned from their divine posts and hung their official seals on the plaques of their government offices.
The vast majority had forgotten the Ancestral Court, but they remembered. They knew about the war there and understood the sacrifices of those who remained.
Since that person was summoning them, they would set aside everything and go to the Ancestral Court.
The myriad heavens and realms were far apart. Even using the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridges would take many years. These enlightened beings each released their own Dao resonance, using their own cultivation to traverse the void of the universe, rushing toward the Primordial Realm to reunite with their fellow Daoists.
Along the way, it was inevitably shocking, causing various strange phenomena across the myriad heavens and realms.
People were inevitably astonished, spreading the news. They had seen living legends, living myths.
Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian waited quietly. Two days later, around their Dao halls, World Trees sprouted one after another, their various Dao fruits illuminating the sky of the Primordial Realm.
After a hundred days, the World Trees formed a forest.
A year later, a forest of World Trees had formed around the Dao halls.
Beneath the World Trees sat a host of divine beings, the elite and essence of the myriad heavens and realms over the past three and a half billion years.
Their various Daos made the entire Primordial Realm shine like the brightest gem in the universe, colorful and magnificent.
The two ancestors waited for a hundred years. All the enlightened beings from the myriad heavens and realms had gathered. Lan Yutian looked at this magnificent sight, his heart surging with emotion.
This was the result that person had secured for the universe of the Seventeenth Era with thirty-five billion years of his own time!
In the end, the thousands of words in Lan Yutian's chest condensed into a single sentence.
"To the Ancestral Court!"
This great army of enlightened beings, vast and mighty, followed Lan Yutian and Xu Shenghua as they set out for the Ancestral Court.
"Thirty-five billion years?" Lan Yutian asked Xu Shenghua.
"Yes."
Xu Shenghua nodded, as calm as ever. "Thirty-five billion years."
But there was a surging passion in his eyes that was hard to suppress.
"Is he still there?" Lan Yutian asked.
Xu Shenghua said, "Still there."
Qin Fengqing caught up with them, was silent for a moment, then asked, "Will this be the final battle?"
"Possibly."
Xu Shenghua said, "Perhaps it will be the final battle, or perhaps just the beginning. For us, it might be the final battle. For him, it might be the beginning."
He paused, then smiled. "He is a restless person. Some call him a silly roe deer, foolish and curious about everything. I am also amazed that he could stay so steadily in the Ancestral Court, suppressing it for so long. Others say he has no patience, and indeed, he doesn't. But this time, his patience has surpassed everyone's, lasting longer than anyone."
"How has he spent all these years?"
Kai Huang Qin Ye caught up with them and asked, "After I returned from the Ancestral Court, I rarely saw him. Have you two been to the Ancestral Court?"
"He didn't let us go back, afraid of alerting the enemy."
Xu Shenghua shook his head. "We haven't returned either."
Xing Han walked over, carrying his box, and said, "Besides us, there are very few people in this world who still recognize him."
Jiang Baigui walked over and said calmly, "It's enough that we recognize him."
Xing Han glanced at him. The two sages had never gotten along well with each other.
Jiang Baigui's gaze swept through the crowd of enlightened beings, finally finding one person. He stepped forward and asked, "Chief of the Creators, Si Qin? Where is your mother?"
"Mother's lifespan was exhausted in the year I achieved enlightenment."
Chief Si Qin's expression darkened. "I arranged for her reincarnation, but she didn't want to awaken her past life. She was willing to become a completely new life. I often go to see her. She lives well now and no longer recognizes me."
He carried a painting on his back, saying that Lang Wo had asked him to bring it to that person in the Ancestral Court before she died.
"May I see it?" Jiang Baigui asked.
Chief Si Qin took down the painting and handed it to him.
Jiang Baigui unrolled it. The painting depicted a Yao Pool with flowers in it. Beside it was a large green snake visualized by divine consciousness, its head very broad.
Lang Wo stood on the snake's head. Her expression was not cold and aloof but had the shyness of a young girl.
Beside her, a young man visualized a flower and offered it to her.
Jiang Baigui rolled up the painting and returned it to Chief Si Qin. After a moment, he looked up and said, "If heaven had feelings, heaven would also grow old. The Divine King chose to grow old. We should not disturb her."