Chapter 3902: The Life Ancestor’s Past, Crossing Others and Crossing Oneself
The chaotic shadow was silent for a moment, then retracted its aura, revealing its true form.
He wore a white robe, covered by a purple-sleeved embroidered cloak, with a wooden hairpin binding his hair. A carefree and unrestrained smile could not conceal his noble temperament.
"How long have you been suspicious?" Gong Nanfeng asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Ling Yanzi told me."
"Oh! No wonder. Where is she?" Gong Nanfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Back then, when Grandmaster sent me to Xumi Temple, you deliberately followed along, didn't you?"
"Exactly."
Gong Nanfeng said, "A long, long time ago, I saw the traces of fate. I had to see the outcome with my own eyes, didn't I? You did not disappoint me."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Are you really the artifact spirit of the Celestial Pivot Needle?"
"Really."
Gong Nanfeng was very frank and sincere, a hint of smile in his eyes. "Aside from everything related to my identity as the remnant soul of the Life Ancestor, I haven't lied to you about anything else."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Then I'm very curious. The Hongmeng Clan of the Great Dark Mountain should have your descendants, right? Why didn't you choose a better vessel for possession, but instead chose a divine artifact?"
When Zhang Ruochen mentioned the "Hongmeng Clan," the few ancient beings present showed shocked expressions, looking at the young man opposite them in disbelief.
"That is the Great Dark Mountain, that is the Hongmeng Clan. I am merely a remnant soul. To break into the Abyss of Darkness, I would have to cross the Three Rivers and Seven Ridges, and then possess a cultivator of the Hongmeng Clan. Impossible."
Gong Nanfeng shook his head with a smile. "Possessing the artifact spirit of a divine artifact is much easier!"
"No, not possession. Let's call it devouring and merging!"
"Zhang Ruochen, you have seen the Extinguishing Lamp. It can devour your divine soul and thus possess you. Of course, I can also devour and merge with the former artifact spirit of the Celestial Pivot Needle, gaining a chance to cultivate anew. Because the Soul-Devouring Lamp was originally refined by me; it was I who bestowed upon it the ability to devour souls and merge."
The Extinguishing Lamp was the previous artifact spirit of the Soul-Devouring Lamp, a spiritual power cultivator and a powerhouse from the era of the Second Confucian Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Celestial Pivot Needle is not a particularly powerful divine artifact, nor is it your ideal vessel for possession. I guess this is just a transitional method for you!"
Gong Nanfeng nodded. "As you guessed in your heart, I used the Celestial Pivot Needle as my body. After my cultivation reached a certain level, I returned to the Great Dark Mountain once. And I became the Mountain Lord of the Great Dark Mountain."
"You are the Mountain Lord? That's impossible!" Yuansheng exclaimed in shock.
Yuan Jieyi and Cang Mang also exchanged glances, momentarily unsure whether they should bow to the man before them.
It must be known that the Mountain Lord of the Great Dark Mountain had always been a mysterious existence they revered, arguably the spiritual leader of the Twelve Ancient Clans.
The three ancient beings did not believe it, but Zhang Ruochen did, and he became even more curious. "Since you could become the Mountain Lord of the Great Dark Mountain, it shows that your cultivation at that time had reached the pinnacle. Why didn't you abandon your artifact body and choose a suitable vessel from the Hongmeng Clan?"
A hint of frustration appeared in Gong Nanfeng's eyes. He sighed. "Man proposes, heaven disposes. In that era, a figure of unparalleled talent emerged in the upper realm, disrupting all my plans."
"You mean the Great Venerable?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Gong Nanfeng nodded. "Whenever an extraordinary powerhouse appears in the upper realm, they inevitably sweep through the Abyss of Darkness. I felt it was not the time for possession, so I had to start over and make arrangements. A head-on clash would certainly not be a match for the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, so I had to use softness to overcome hardness."
"Thus, Ling Yanzi was born under my careful cultivation!"
"The Immovable Bright King Great Venerable was different from that cold and domineering ruthless figure, the Great Demon God. He was not made of iron and stone. He shared the same weakness as you—he yielded to softness but not hardness, full of love and respect for life, not viewing all things in the world as mere ants."
"So, someone had to tell him about the tragic experiences and helplessness of the ancient beings, the grudges and karma of history, to stir his compassion. Only then would the ancient beings not end up like they did in the Chaos Era."
When mentioning the Chaos Era, a cold glint flashed in Gong Nanfeng's eyes.
During the Chaos Era, demon gods like the Great Demon God, Baal, and Gai Mie invaded the Abyss of Darkness, beating the Twelve Ancient Clans until they had no power to resist, forcing them to submit. Male royalty became mounts for strange beasts, and female royalty became demon consorts and slaves.
Over ten million years had passed, but the noble ancient beings could never turn over this page of shame.
Gong Nanfeng had not experienced that era, but as the former clan emperor of the Hongmeng Clan, once the leader of the ancient beings, how could he swallow this anger?
Gong Nanfeng calmed his emotions and continued, "As the saying goes, heroes have a hard time overcoming the beauty trap. Even I didn't expect that Ling Yanzi would fall in love with the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable!"
"Didn't the Great Venerable detect the return of your remnant soul as the Life Ancestor?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"I never met him face to face, and I didn't dare to! After that, I hid in the Destiny Temple in the form of the divine artifact Celestial Pivot Needle, not daring to let my original divine soul leave the artifact's inner world. Later, I found the frustrated Luo Can, who was then the Fortune Divine Venerable, and cultivated him into a messenger to travel to and from the Great Dark Mountain for me. As for what happened afterward, I don't need to say more, do I?"
As he spoke, Gong Nanfeng had already walked up to Zhang Ruochen. There was no killing intent in him, only a faint smile on his face, as if an old friend was recounting past events.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If the story were that simple, why did the Great Venerable trample the Destiny Temple back then, searching everywhere for you? Also, did you establish the Quantity Organization?"
Gong Nanfeng said, "Women, they are just so unreliable. She can be the most useful weapon in your hand, but when she develops true feelings, she often becomes the one who backfires the most."
"I think it must have been her who betrayed me. The Immovable Bright King Great Venerable believed that I, this returning remnant soul of the Life Ancestor, was the Immortal, the culprit behind the Withering Death Art, which is why he searched for me everywhere."
"You have to understand, at that time, the rules of heaven and earth were just beginning to loosen. I was the only one whose remnant soul had returned. Such a misunderstanding was only natural!"
"As for the Quantity Organization you mentioned, it does have some connection to me, but... it's not worth mentioning."
Gong Nanfeng was clearly being insincere.
His eyes could not deceive Zhang Ruochen.
It was a complex look, shifting among hatred, fear, and fighting spirit, finally settling into confusion.
This was the first time Zhang Ruochen had seen a weakness in him, so he struck back mercilessly. "Is it the Nether Ancestor?"
Gong Nanfeng looked at Zhang Ruochen with a strange gaze, suppressed all negative emotions, and said lightly, "Perhaps so."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I have heard that the Nether Ancestor was the first ancestor to breach the Abyss of Darkness, piling the corpses of ancient beings into a grand mountain, the Great Dark Mountain. At the Great Dark Mountain, the Nether Ancestor, stepping on a mountain of bones, accepted the worship of the twelve clan emperors and appointed them as the Twelve Nether Sons."
"That battle broke the backbone of all ancient beings, shattered all their pride and self-respect, and they could never hold their heads high again."
Yuansheng was already in tears, glaring at Zhang Ruochen with cold, fierce eyes.
Yuan Jieyi and Cang Mang also had red-rimmed eyes, clenching their fists tightly.
The wounds of the ancient beings were being torn open again and again, making them want to roar at the sky, hating that they were not born in the Primordial Era to die fighting at the Great Dark Mountain.
Hating that they were not born in the Chaos Era to self-destruct their divine sources and perish together with the Great Demon God.
Only Gong Nanfeng remained calm.
He knew this was Zhang Ruochen's counterattack, using the humiliation he least wanted to mention to wound his spirit.
He could have denied Zhang Ruochen the chance to speak, but he had been lonely for too many years, suppressed for too many years, and he desperately wanted to find someone to pour out everything in his heart.
If he could not face his own heart honestly, then the inner demon would always exist.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "I have also heard that the Life Ancestor was one of the twelve clan emperors at that time, one of the Nether Sons appointed by the Nether Ancestor. I wonder if the rumor is true?"
"True! The past is vivid, as if it happened yesterday."
Gong Nanfeng laughed again. "I thought I had a chance to surpass the Nether Ancestor, to defeat him, and to restore the broken backbone and legs of the Twelve Ancient Clans. But after reaching the Ancestor Realm, I realized that the Nether Ancestor was still on another high mountain. I spent my entire life only able to gaze at him from afar, unable to catch up, unable to surpass, living in his shadow for a lifetime."
"He was like a god standing on high, smiling at me, a smile of mockery and ridicule."
"I swore with the most venomous oath that I could not simply disappear from the world. I had to keep living, no matter the cost."
"It was then that I saw a distant future time and space, a heavenly opportunity coming from the future. That heavenly opportunity was you!"
"In my despair, I finally saw a glimmer of dawn."
"I knew that you were my chance, my only chance to surpass the Nether Ancestor and reclaim everything I had lost. Zhang Ruochen, you cannot be a match for the Nether Ancestor because you do not understand him. I cannot be a match for the Nether Ancestor either, because I do not have a First-Rank Divine Path."
"But together, we can surely defeat the Nether Ancestor. I need your divine soul and body. How about entrusting the future to me?"
Gong Nanfeng's eyes were incredibly sincere.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Sorry, I want to face the future myself."
Gong Nanfeng said, "I am only merging with your divine soul, not possessing you. You should understand that I have this ability. What difference does it make whether I face the future or you face it? We are already inseparable."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head again.
The look of anticipation in Gong Nanfeng's eyes faded. "Fine, in the end, we still have to fight to the death. Before you die, what else do you want to know? I can tell you everything. You may not believe it, but even now, I still regard you as my best friend."
"Why?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Gong Nanfeng said, "Because you have a power that makes people want to get close. Just one thing, no other cultivator can achieve."
"What thing?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Gong Nanfeng said, "No matter their cultivation level, any friend by your side can laugh and talk freely in front of you. Your mindset and their attitude toward you are truly enviable. Can you see this in any other Divine Venerable-level powerhouse?"
"Perhaps it's just because you have hidden yourself too deeply and are too lonely!"
After a moment of thought, Zhang Ruochen added, "Actually, I do have some doubts. Ten eons ago, your cultivation must have been very high, right? After the Great Venerable disappeared, why didn't you choose to possess the descendants of Ling Yanzi?"
Gong Nanfeng laughed. "After that epic battle ten eons ago, the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable did indeed disappear, perhaps even die! But Ling Yanzi was still alive. Her cultivation at that time was not much weaker than mine. She told me that if I dared to possess her descendants, she would surely perish together with me."
"I cherish my life too much; how could I dare to die? Of course, I agreed! As long as she lived, I would never lay a hand on the descendants of the Kunlun Realm Zhang Clan. So, I set my sights on the bone body of that time, using it as a transition, waiting for you to be born."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You actually keep your promises so faithfully?"
"You underestimate me too much! If I didn't have even this bit of spirit, how would I qualify to be the Nether Ancestor's opponent?" After a pause, Gong Nanfeng added, "Of course, she also gave me the Mani Pearl to study. That was my condition!"
"The Mani Pearl might be the most important artifact related to the Nether Ancestor. In all the world, the only one who can defeat the Nether Ancestor might be the Nether Ancestor himself. The Mani Pearl was born to counter the Nether Ancestor, a means left by Ancestor Kasyapa's good thoughts for future generations. It was only by thoroughly studying the Mani Pearl that I successfully refined the Selfless Lamp."
Zhang Ruochen understood in his heart, finally knowing who had given him the Mani Pearl. "How strong are you now?"
"Very strong, strong to a height you cannot comprehend."
Gong Nanfeng then burst into laughter. "I'm lying to you! Didn't you say it yourself? The Celestial Pivot Needle is just an ordinary divine artifact. With such an artifact body, the height one can reach is severely locked. Over ten eons, my cultivation progress has been minimal. I can only rely on the method I told you to avoid the Eon Calamity and barely survive."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Splitting off more than ninety percent of your spirit, cultivating it into a physical body, using it as a false son to take the calamity for you?"
"Of course, it's not as much as ninety percent; it's a bit less." Gong Nanfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How much less?"
"Ninety percent less. I am the Life Ancestor; fate is the spirit of heaven and earth. I still have this bit of means. In this era, the rules of heaven and earth are inherently flawed and growing weaker. Being able to perceive the flaws of heaven and earth allows one to do what others cannot." Gong Nanfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Alright, I have no more questions."
Gong Nanfeng clearly did not want this atmosphere to end so abruptly, but the smile on his face gradually faded. "No matter who it is, when facing life and death, they will be serious. Next, I will show no mercy!"
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen struck first, his body radiating tens of thousands of talisman lights. With unimaginable speed, he punched Gong Nanfeng in the chest.
Fleeing was meaningless.
Only by fighting, with the determination to burn one's bridges, could one fight to the death.
But this punch, gathering all of Zhang Ruochen's strength, felt like hitting a cloud. His body lost its center of gravity and uncontrollably leaned forward.
Gong Nanfeng charged forward, directly crashing into Zhang Ruochen's body.
Zhang Ruochen stood still on the spot, talisman lights swirling around him.
Time seemed to stop.
Inside his body, the Embryo Origin Place was a boundless sea of divine qi, occasionally crossed by rivers of nine-colored Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules.
Gong Nanfeng stood on the sea of divine qi, gazing in all directions. "This is the Embryo Origin Place? The birthplace of Wuji? Truly bounded yet borderless."
Zhang Ruochen's billions of divine soul thoughts gathered before him, condensing into one form. He raised his right hand above his head.
Above his palm, the Dao Soul Platform appeared.
"Whoosh!"
A powerful spatial gravity erupted, landing on Gong Nanfeng.
"With just this, you can't deal with me."
Gong Nanfeng flew straight toward Zhang Ruochen's divine soul.
The ten-billion-fold spatial gravity emitted by the Void-Solid Stone inside the Dao Soul Platform seemed to have no effect on him. His speed remained very fast.
But this was, after all, inside Zhang Ruochen's body, at the very core of Wuji. With just a thought, Zhang Ruochen's divine soul could go anywhere.
This was Zhang Ruochen's home-field advantage. Even if the remnant soul of the Life Ancestor was stronger, it would be severely weakened in the Wuji realm.
Countless light marks appeared in the sky above.
These light marks were Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power thoughts.
All spiritual power thoughts condensed into another Zhang Ruochen, holding the Emperor Talisman in his hand, activating tens of thousands of talisman patterns, and striking at Gong Nanfeng.
Gong Nanfeng did not dodge or evade. With just a wave of his hand, all the talisman patterns were scattered.
"Even in the Wuji realm, even with the Dao Soul Platform and the Emperor Talisman, you are still far from my match," he said.
The voices of both Zhang Ruochens sounded simultaneously: "I thought the talisman patterns wouldn't even get close to you before dissipating on their own. But the Emperor Talisman's patterns not only got close to you but also forced you to act! It seems that here, you are not that strong."
Gong Nanfeng said, "But this level of strength is enough! Your resistance now is meaningless."
"It has meaning!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The gap in our cultivation is indeed vast. I cannot defeat you. Even in the process of possession, at best, I can only fight to a mutual destruction."
"But I have another choice. I don't need to defeat you; I only need to hold out until the Eon Calamity arrives. If by then you still haven't possessed me, my certain death will become your certain death."
Gong Nanfeng said nothing. The twelve kinds of light in his pupils burst forth simultaneously, illuminating the sea of divine qi in twelve colors.
A never-before-felt power of fate enveloped Zhang Ruochen's divine soul body and spiritual power thought body, pressing down on him so that he could not move at all, as if bearing the suppression of heaven and earth.
He could only struggle bitterly between heaven and earth.
Gong Nanfeng approached Zhang Ruochen's divine soul body step by step, his eyes growing more determined and confident, full of longing for the future.
"Whoosh!"
Just as he stepped within eighteen zhang of Zhang Ruochen, a binding sensation came from under his feet, as if he had fallen into a swamp.
Gong Nanfeng looked down and saw that Zhang Ruochen had prepared in advance, setting up a formation here. The formation was driven by nine-colored Ancestor Divine Qi, and the formation patterns, like vines, coiled around his legs.
Just as he was breaking the formation, Zhang Ruochen's divine soul body broke free from its restraints and rapidly retreated.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Gong Nanfeng's legs flickered with the power of reality and illusion as he flew out of the nine-colored formation. His five fingers turned into five long rivers, containing the five different powers of life, calamity, danger, anger, and reality.
"Bang!"
The five fingers struck the Dao Soul Platform, sending the ninety-nine-zhang-high altar flying backward.
And Zhang Ruochen's divine soul body had already collided with the Dao Soul Platform first, merging into it.
The struck Dao Soul Platform revealed countless Daoist secret patterns and images on its surface, its light surging, continuously absorbing the rule patterns from Zhang Ruochen's Embryo Origin Place.
Gong Nanfeng was well aware that Zhang Ruochen's divine soul body hiding in the Dao Soul Platform was just a way to buy time.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen was certain that Gong Nanfeng would not dare to go all out. If he did, although he might break the Dao Soul Platform, he could also destroy Zhang Ruochen's Embryo Origin Place, or even his physical body.
Then what would be the point of possessing him?
In this possession, Zhang Ruochen could fight with his life. But Gong Nanfeng had to be as careful as peeling the shell of a raw egg without damaging the inner membrane.
He wanted to replace the egg's shell, not tear the egg apart.
At this moment, outside the Embryo Origin Place, above the Bone Sea.
Thick and pitch-black calamity clouds gathered from all directions, converging above Zhang Ruochen's head.
Lightning flashed in the clouds, like glowing flood dragons shuttling through, emitting deafening roars.
The Eon Calamity had arrived.
...
The white-haired skeleton, who had just arrived at the Bone God Temple, suddenly changed his expression drastically, looking toward the end of the sky. "Not good, he has prematurely triggered the Eon Calamity. Zhang Ruochen is in danger!"
The Black and White Daoist naturally knew who "he" referred to, and instead felt a bit of joy in his heart.
Since the Life Ancestor had prematurely begun the possession, then he himself would not have to face such a terrifying enemy. At least, not now.
But thinking of the curse on his body, his face immediately fell. He said nervously, "What do we do now? If we rush over now, will we make it in time?"
"It will be in time!"
The white-haired skeleton added, "If the possession fails, you will be in time to collect his corpse. Hmph, once the possession begins, the Life Ancestor's remnant soul must have already entered Zhang Ruochen's body. Even a Half-Ancestor would be helpless."
"Damn it, damn it, he's not playing by the rules! He might even trigger my Eon Calamity early."
The white-haired skeleton couldn't be bothered to waste words with the Black and White Daoist. He hurriedly flew toward the Ten Thousand Bone Cave, planning to hide below to avoid the Eon Calamity's resonance.
"Collect his corpse!"
The Black and White Daoist's eyes lit up.
Then, turning into a black and white divine light, he flew toward the direction of the calamity clouds.
...
The Qishier Pin Lian, dressed in white Buddhist robes, with a green lotus mark between her brows and holding a string of prayer beads, walked out of a corpse temple. She looked up at the calamity clouds racing across the sky.
In this corpse temple, although everyone wore Buddhist robes and everyone knelt to worship the Buddha, chanting sutras, they were all covered in rotting flesh, with ferocious faces.
A Buddhist cultivator draped in a kasaya chased out from the pagoda. His face was a mix of rotting flesh and white bones, but he had a kind brow and kind eyes. He bowed to the Qishier Pin Lian. "Great One, are you leaving?"
The Qishier Pin Lian nodded, took out a volume of ancient scripture, and handed it to him. "If the Buddha is in your heart, you will naturally become a Buddha. Don't care how others see you; you should stick to your own heart!"
"Thank you for the guidance, Great One."
The Buddhist cultivator received the ancient scripture with both hands.
"I have a question. I wonder if the Great One can enlighten me? I have a boat, three inches long and two inches and eight wide. I don't know whether it should cross others or cross myself?"
A deep voice came from outside the temple.
In the cold wind and falling leaves, the Nutian Shenzun walked in dressed in white. He was tall and imposing, exuding authority without anger.
The Qishier Pin Lian looked over, calm and unruffled. "May I ask, benefactor, where is this boat of yours?"
The corpse clan Buddhist cultivator in the kasaya was also curious. Where in the world was there such a small boat?
Wasn't it smaller than a palm?
The Nutian Shenzun pressed his right hand to his heart. "Right here!"
The Qishier Pin Lian said, "Cross others before crossing yourself; cross yourself before crossing your heart. If heaven does not cross you, you must cross yourself."
"If heaven does not cross you, you must cross yourself. Is this your choice?"
The Nutian Shenzun climbed the last step, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before him. His eyes, full of anger, eventually softened. "After all these years, you should at least come home to see. The starry sky may be far, the roads many, the hatred and killing intent thick, but the White Clothes Valley has always been there, and I have always been there. Yet, for a million years, no one has returned, leaving only an empty grave to be sacrificed to year after year."
The Nutian Shenzun said, "This boat of mine has been hacked and chiseled by your knife and axe, riddled with holes. How can it still cross itself?"