Chapter 4235: Coercing All Living Beings with the Heavenly Dao

The five mighty experts—Void Heaven, Fate Bone, Undying War God, Ice Emperor, and Blood Absolute Clan Leader—concluded their hunt of the Hidden Corpse in the Hell Realm.

Each gained something.

Void Heaven obtained the Golden Staff, intending to forge a Golden Divine Sword from it.

Ice Emperor acquired the "Ancestor Divine Source" within the Hidden Corpse's body, while Blood Absolute Clan Leader obtained the Hidden Corpse's thirty-one pairs of "Ancestor Blood Wings," both aiming to strike at Half-Ancestor.

Undying War God drank its blood, and Fate Bone seized its bones.

This hunt yielded rich rewards, and the cultivation and strength of the five mighty experts would be elevated to varying degrees.

Yet, no one felt joy.

All gazed anxiously at the bright northern starry sky.

Void Heaven cursed coldly, "Below Ancestor, all are ants. Damn it, I'm not resigned. Give me two more Eons... I, this old man, also have a chance to strike at Ancestor."

"This is a ritual initiated by the Immortal of the God Realm, schemed for who knows how many years. Even an Ancestor might not withstand it," Fate Bone said sarcastically, then proposed, "Now, we should think about where to flee. How about the Abyss of Darkness? Since ancient times, altars have rarely been built there."

Blood Absolute Clan Leader, wielding the Blood Dragon War Halberd and drenched in blood, said in a deep voice, "Fleeing into the Abyss of Darkness only buys a few more days of life. What use is that?"

"It's still better than dying under the ritual's calamitous light. Can't you sense it? That ritual calamitous light forms a storm of destruction, even more ferocious than the fluctuations from King Kṣitigarbha's self-detonation of his Ancestor Divine Source back then. When it spreads here, can you hold out for even one breath?" Fate Bone picked through the Hidden Corpse's bones, casually pressing them onto himself.

Blood Absolute Clan Leader said, "Then let's charge into the God Realm, fight Yan Tingqiu and that Immortal to the heavens and earth, and show them what the wrath of the mortal world is."

"Wrath of the mortal world? What bullshit wrath! One finger from them could crush you," Fate Bone said, sitting on the ground, covering his mouth with a snicker.

Ice Emperor said, "Can you two stop arguing? The Ancestor Divine Light of Imperial Dust is still shining in the northern universe. Whether to fight or flee, we just follow Imperial Dust's lead."

Blood Absolute Clan Leader's eyes bulged like copper bells as he corrected, "I tell you, Xia Huangchao, in the bloodline of my Blood Absolute Clan, there is no such thing as fleeing. Fight! My grandson, Imperial Dust, will surely fight the God Realm to the death. You all better prepare yourselves mentally to die in battle in the God Realm."

Ice Emperor knew that for Blood Absolute Clan Leader, there was no battle he dared not fight. Back then, at mere Grand Void Realm, he dared to charge into the Southern Heavenly Life Death Ruins.

But facing such dire circumstances now, Ice Emperor understood clearly that fearlessness and courage, or a surge of hot blood, were utterly useless.

So many experts in the Sword Realm Star Domain, when the ritual's calamitous light arrived, couldn't even resist before their souls scattered.

How could they fight?

Ice Emperor exchanged a glance with Undying War God, and then each released a doppelganger, projecting toward the Ten-Winged Tribe World of the Undying Blood Clan and the northern universe respectively.

One doppelganger returned to the Undying Blood Clan to stabilize morale and gather troops for the final battle.

The other went to meet Imperial Dust to discuss battle tactics.

"Clang! Clang! Clang..."

...

"Listen, the death knell of the Destiny Temple has sounded!"

Fate Bone pointed to the top of a World Tree deep in the star sea and continued, "The death knell rings, representing Destiny's judgment on the survival of heaven and earth. This is the true day of doom. Destiny's judgment never errs. Blood Absolute, how do you argue now?"

Hearing the death knell's resonant sound echoing through the Hell Realm, Void Heaven turned and left, heading toward Void Exhaust Sea.

If heaven and earth truly had only a few days left, he too would fight for his fate, refusing to sit idly by.

"If you want to hide, go hide in the Abyss of Darkness yourself. I, this Clan Leader, am returning to the Undying Blood Clan to rally the troops. As long as Imperial Dust does not retreat, the Undying Blood Clan will not retreat. This battle has only two outcomes: either die in battle in the God Realm, or trample the God Realm flat!"

Blood Absolute Clan Leader pointed at Fate Bone, roared these words, then stepped through space, vanishing into it.

Fate Bone looked at Undying War God and Ice Emperor. Seeing them unmoving, he said sheepishly, "I was just making a suggestion. Can't I even suggest? Look, he got angry. He actually got angry. How boring..."

"Swoosh!"

Pan Yuan Ancient God, Dragon Lord, Well Daoist, Undying War God, Ancient God Nest Ancestral God, Feng Tian, Gai Mie, Shi Tian, Gong Xuanzang, Old Drunkard, and other top-tier experts from all sides—dozens of figures with profound auras—projected their doppelgangers, all bowing to Zhang Ruochen.

They were enough to represent the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms and the Ten Clans of Hell.

The experts of heaven and earth could not lift their heads, dared not look directly.

A few from the Heavenly Court Universe exchanged glances, communicating with their eyes, guessing that the Second Confucian Ancestor's earlier forceful attempt to descend upon the Heavenly Court, only to be repelled, was likely the work of this person.

This was an unexpected joy!

Seeing Ji Fanxin and Lady Shiji, naturally many cultivators were secretly shocked.

Especially Ji Fanxin. Her spiritual power was not restrained, released outward, constantly entangled and contending with the divine thought of the Space-Time Human Ancestor. Her aura was too terrifying, suppressing even the doppelgangers who had rushed here.

Originally, they had projected their doppelgangers here, wanting only a command from Imperial Dust to unite hearts and boost morale. But deep down, they knew that confronting the God Realm, even with all forces combined, was like smashing an egg against a rock, with a negligible chance of victory.

Uniting with Nether Ancestor and Lady Shiji for this battle against the God Realm was the only way to have a real fight.

In their eyes, Ji Fanxin was Nether Ancestor.

Nether Ancestor was no good person, but at the moment of doomsday survival, there was no good or evil, only victory, defeat, life, and death.

Zhang Ruochen looked at the gods and said, "The Space-Time Human Ancestor used the Ancestor Divine Source within Jie Tian's body to ignite the main altar on the Wuding Divine Sea, initiating the Doomsday Ritual. Space is decaying, and all paths will be extinguished."

"The Sword Realm Star Domain has already been annihilated in the ritual. The ritual's calamitous light will soon arrive here, then sweep through the entire universe. No place will be spared."

Here, the gods felt the terror of the ritual's calamitous light even more clearly.

Extreme brightness and extreme destruction were constantly approaching.

"Imperial Dust, just tell us how to fight. The Heavenly Court Myriad Realms will follow your lead," Pan Yuan Ancient God said.

Feng Tian said, "The Destiny Temple and the Ten Clans of Hell are willing to use the power of all living beings to assist Imperial Dust in conquering the God Realm."

"The Sword Realm is not yet dead. They are all rushing to the northern universe," Dragon Lord said. "Does Imperial Dust have a way to stop the Doomsday Ritual?"

Zhang Ruochen said, "Once the Doomsday Ritual begins, it cannot be reversed. Under the ritual's calamitous light, even Ancestors are like sacrificial medicine."

"But there is still a glimmer of hope! The God Realm has a main altar, continuously absorbing sacrificial energy. Destroy it, and there is a thirty percent chance of interrupting the Doomsday Ritual. Who dares to charge into the God Realm?"

The gods exchanged glances, some smiling, some rubbing their fists.

Undying War God looked around and said, "Who dares not to charge into the God Realm?"

"If Imperial Dust commands, even if there is only a thirty percent chance, or even just ten percent, we will fight the God Realm to the death. This is to fight for our fate. No objections," Gong Xuanzang said.

Feng Tian asked, "Only a thirty percent chance?"

Well Daoist had cultivated the Five Elements False Ancestor Body, his battle intent blazing, his full blood qi bursting with nowhere to vent. "Thirty percent is enough. Even if we can't stop the Doomsday Ritual in the end, as long as we defeat the God Realm and occupy it, the God Realm will become the new home for all realms and all clans. I don't believe the Space-Time Human Ancestor will sacrifice the God Realm along with everything else!"

Zhang Ruochen said, "To have a one hundred percent chance of stopping the Doomsday Ritual, we must destroy the main altar on the Wuding Divine Sea. That is the root of all calamity!"

The gods fell silent.

Who dared to approach the ritual's calamitous light?

Touch it, and you die.

Especially the main altar at the very center of the ritual's calamitous light?

At this moment, Ji Fanxin finally spoke, "The main altar of the God Realm suppresses the origin of the Heavenly Dao. Only by destroying the main altar can the power of the Heavenly Dao's origin be released."

Zhang Ruochen's gaze flickered with slight strangeness. Was this the ultimate secret she had just uncovered, exposed by the Space-Time Human Ancestor?

"What is the origin of the Heavenly Dao?" Feng Tian asked.

Ji Fanxin said, "In the ancient desolate era, the Human Ancestor used great divine abilities to capture the origin of the Heavenly Dao and suppressed it in the God Realm. By comprehending the power of the Heavenly Dao's origin, he created the Space-Time Divine Martial Mark. Through mastering time and space, he thus controlled all matter and energy in the universe."

"But living beings and cultivators were beyond his control. Thus, the ancient Qi Refiners first emerged, and then Nether Ancestor appeared, threatening his rule of coercing all living beings with the Heavenly Dao."

"Therefore, the Ancestors among the ancient Qi Refiners were annihilated, all traces erased, and even the rules of heaven and earth were altered, no longer suitable for Qi Refiner cultivation."

"To control these cultivators who could rise at any moment and defy the heavens, the Human Ancestor created various Divine Martial Marks, claiming it was to open a path of cultivation for all living beings. In reality, it was a shackle, allowing him to take their lives at will and control their cultivation achievements."

"From then on, no more powerhouses like the Wu Ancestor or Nether Ancestor emerged!"

"The Human Ancestor also took this opportunity to have all living beings build countless altars, offering continuous blood qi sacrifices every year, enjoying billions of years of worship at his leisure."

"Now, he intends to use these countless altars to sacrifice the entire universe, completing his final transformation and striking at the realm beyond Heavenly Beginning Self-End."

"It can be said that all Divine Martial Marks in the universe are released from the origin of the Heavenly Dao and are completely controlled by the Human Ancestor."

"A large portion of the energy for the Doomsday Ritual he initiated comes from the origin of the Heavenly Dao. Therefore, this Minor Calamity is no different from a Major Calamity, and no one can withstand it."

"The sacrificial energy in the universe is absorbed into the God Realm. Only after being transformed by the origin of the Heavenly Dao can the Human Ancestor absorb it."

"Thus, the main altar in the God Realm is the Human Ancestor's vital point. Destroy it and release the origin of the Heavenly Dao. Even if we cannot stop the Doomsday Ritual, the Human Ancestor will have failed in his efforts."

The gods were shocked. Who could have imagined that as early as the ancient desolate era, the origin of the Heavenly Dao had been captured?

Coercing all living beings with heaven and earth—such means would make even Ancestors sigh in admiration.

"Can't even the Heavenly Dao contend with the Space-Time Human Ancestor?" someone asked such a despairing question.

Ji Fanxin glanced at Zhang Ruochen beside her and said calmly, "In the ancient desolate era, the Heavenly Dao had no consciousness. That the Human Ancestor could capture its origin must mean he mastered some powerful divine ability or an unfathomable divine artifact."

"Earlier, when he activated the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, what he drew from the God Realm was the power of the Heavenly Dao's origin."

"Heaven and earth have no consciousness, no good or evil, no right or wrong, no emotions, no joy or sorrow. But after being captured by the Human Ancestor, the Human Ancestor's good and evil became the Heavenly Dao's good and evil. Coercing the Heavenly Dao to command all living beings," Pan Yuan Ancient God interpreted thus.

"What exactly does the origin of the Heavenly Dao look like?" Well Daoist was extremely interested.

If he could seize a wisp of it, or take a single breath, it would surely be a great tonic, perhaps even making Ancestorhood attainable.

Ji Fanxin said uncertainly, "It should be similar to a mark! Because the Space-Time Divine Martial Mark created by the Human Ancestor is in the form of a mark. The Divine Martial Marks you all have obtained are also in the form of marks."

Well Daoist wanted to ask more, but was interrupted by Undying War God's roar: "Stop asking so many questions! Now, gather all forces, integrate the Divine Army and Saint Army, and march on the God Realm. Fight until heaven and earth are overturned!"

"Swoosh!"

Undying War God's doppelganger projection vanished first.

Well Daoist shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "What I wanted to ask is, wouldn't going to the God Realm with Divine Martial Marks on us be suicide?"

"I will remove everyone's Divine Martial Marks!" Zhang Ruochen's tone was somewhat low.

Previously, Zhang Ruochen had only removed the Divine Martial Marks of one-third of the cultivators in the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm because losing the marks would reduce their combat power.

Thus, he wanted to proceed gradually.

Now, in this critical time, he could only adopt a radical strategy.

Before leaving, Feng Tian no longer concealed her inner feelings. She looked at Zhang Ruochen with deep affection and lingering attachment. That upright, outstanding figure, comparable to any towering Ancestor or Great Emperor in history, was fully imprinted in her pupils.

Compared to back then, Zhang Ruochen had shed his greenness and arrogance, filled with mountain-like steadiness and unfathomable majesty.

This farewell might be eternal.

She might never have another chance to say goodbye, never another chance to pour out her feelings and the bitterness in her heart, like the cultivators who died in the Sword Realm.

Not everyone can be grand and spectacular. Not everyone can pour out all their sorrow and parting when they leave this world.

Most, when they die, cannot even leave a single last word.

It is beyond their control!

But Feng Tian only glanced once before resolutely departing.

The death knell had sounded, and the Doomsday Ritual was right before their eyes. There was no time for her to pour out her feelings. As the Hall Master of the Destiny Temple, she could not be shackled by romantic attachments.

From knowing each other with mutual disdain, to parting in silent wordlessness. Contradictions and attachments, love, hatred, favor, and authority—these were the processes in between.

If this turn of the back truly meant eternal farewell, then it was fate's decree.

After all the gods' projections had vanished, Zhang Ruochen finally dared to look at the place where Feng Tian's back had disappeared. "To conquer the God Realm, we need an Ancestor to lead, or else we will be a heap of loose sand, shattered at the first blow. Madam, would you be willing to return to the Hell Realm and lead the armies of the Ten Clans?"

Lady Shiji was surprised and wanted to speak.

Even she, an outsider, could see the intense emotion in Feng Caiyi's glance just now, her eyes full of mist. Why didn't Zhang Ruochen go to the Hell Realm himself to lead the Ten Clans' armies, but instead asked her to go?

Ji Fanxin said, "Imperial Dust and I still have important matters to discuss. His meaning is my meaning. Go on ahead!"

"Since the lady commands, how dare I disobey."

Lady Shiji cupped her hands, bowed to Ji Fanxin, and then vanished into a spatial rift.

Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands behind his back, looking at the ritual's calamitous light drawing ever closer, and recalled, "Back then, when I was still at the Great Saint Realm, the Human Ancestor took me to Xumi Temple, using Xumi Saint Monk's corpse as a boat and Time Esoterica as oars, rowing upstream against the River of Time, going to the Primordial Beginning, to the singularity at the universe's birth. Using the energy contained in that singularity, I cultivated the perfect First-Rank Sacred Intent."

"This perfect First-Rank Sacred Intent, I initially planned to fuse using the seven Sacred Intents of Yin, Yang, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, naming it the Yin-Yang Five Elements Sacred Intent."

"But when I truly fused them, I found that with my insignificant power, I could not control the balance of seven aspects. So, I absorbed the two paths of Time and Space, using Time and Space to maintain the balance of the seven paths. Thus, the First-Rank Sacred Intent fusing nine Sacred Intents was born!"

This secret had always been hidden in Zhang Ruochen's heart, and even Chi Yao had only been told part of it.

The "Singularity Attaining the Dao," "Foundation of Nine-Path Balance," and "Encounter on the Path to the Primordial Beginning" were being narrated for the first time.

This was Zhang Ruochen's ultimate secret!

Zhang Ruochen continued, "On that journey, I encountered assassinations from many formidable figures in history, but also received protection from many powerful beings. Why do you think that is?"

Ji Fanxin listened quietly.

Zhang Ruochen went on, "I once doubted the reality of going to the Primordial Beginning, thinking it was a grand dream or an illusion. After all, no one can travel to such a distant past, especially when I was only a Great Saint?" "No one can maintain consciousness under the explosive power of the singularity, but I did."

"Going to the beginning of heaven and earth's creation, to countless epochs ago, experiencing countless Major Calamities, using the singularity's power to cultivate the First-Rank Divine Path—even if I told it, no one would believe it."

"Tell me, if this isn't a dream, what is it?"

"There is only one explanation," Ji Fanxin said with extreme seriousness. "You are the consciousness born from the Heavenly Dao. Zhang Ruochen is the Heavenly Dao itself of this universe."