Chapter 4248: Grand Finale (Part 2)
"Haha!"
Yan Wushen's laughter echoed through the starry void.
"Heavenly Dao Great Emperor, you've finally woken up. I thought you were going to transform into a Dao imprint and dissipate into the heavens and earth."
"Shua!"
Yan Wushen descended onto Yong Shen Sea, his entire body undergoing ancestral divine transformation.
"It's just a brief moment of clarity. Who knows, I might fall back into slumber soon."
Zhang Ruochen understood his own condition well, fully aware of how severe the backlash from time and causality was. Both his divine soul and spirit had suffered heavy damage.
Lin Ke pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "While you're awake, let's discuss something important."
Yan Wushen said, "I also have something major to discuss with you. As I see it, you, Zhang Heavenly Dao, think that since the Human Ancestor fell in the Great Calamity, the Doomsday Sacrifice was stopped, and the Great Calamity was resolved, you believe your work is done. That's why you've relaxed, allowing your humanity to be covered by the Heavenly Dao. With your spiritual will, if we just put some pressure on you, you'll naturally perk up again."
"Can't I relax after a lifetime of bitter cultivation?" Zhang Ruochen replied with a smile.
"Not yet."
This line was spoken almost simultaneously by Lin Ke, Yan Wushen, Chi Yao, and Void Heaven.
Yan Wushen suggested, "Find a place to talk in detail?"
"I'll go too," said Old Drunkard.
Void Heaven looked disgusted. "What are you going for?"
"You can participate, so why can't I?" Old Drunkard craned his neck.
Void Heaven's face was full of deliberate disdain. "I am a member of the Supreme Council, invincible beneath the Ancestors, the future Dao Lord of the Wusheng Dao. Naturally, my status is different. When Ancestors discuss major matters, how can ordinary cultivators be allowed to listen? Didn't you say earlier that the most important thing for a person is to know themselves?"
"You're killing the donkey after it's done grinding."
"So what if I am? I'm invincible beneath the Ancestors. Even above the Ancestors, I can trade blows."
This meeting could be said to be the highest level in the entire universe. Chi Yao and Void Heaven only had the qualification to listen, while other cultivators were naturally shut out.
At the foot of Grey Sea, atop Qing Mountain.
Zhang Ruochen sat on a chair in the main hall of Qing Mountain Inn, his divine thoughts drifting again, as if in a dream, transforming into all things.
Beside him, Chi Yao tightly grasped his hand.
Yan Wushen stood by the window, his figure towering and robust, with the faint shadow of Fengdu Dadi cast on the ground.
Outside the window was a steep cliff and an endless expanse of grey cloud sea.
Void Heaven sat on a bluish-brown stone outside the inn, plucking a vibrant Manjusaka flower, studying it on his own, pondering how it could be brewed into the Forgetfulness Potion.
If Void Heaven knew that Manjusaka could also be brewed into a Love Potion, he might have been more interested.
After waiting for a while.
Hao Tian and Heavenly Mother descended one after another, their Ancestor projections landing at two spots on Qing Mountain's summit.
"Since none of you dare to say it, I'll speak first. Ji Fanxin has definitely developed a major problem. Her behavior is extremely abnormal."
Heavenly Mother's expression was grave as she continued, "Even Imperial Dust was severely injured by the backlash of time and causality. She certainly couldn't have escaped unscathed. I speculate that the Nether Ancestor's undying divine soul has likely already returned from the heavens and earth using her as a vessel."
"Imperial Dust was injured, and his humanity was overtaken by the divinity of the Heavenly Dao."
"Injured on the fifteenth day, born on the sixteenth day."
Clearly, the Ancestors had already discussed this, but considering Fanxin's relationship with Zhang Ruochen and her formidable cultivation, none dared to act rashly.
They could only pray that Zhang Ruochen's humanity would return soon to take charge.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen remain silent,
Yan Wushen said, "Reincarnation is established on the Grey Sea, using the Santu River to connect all worlds and planets in the universe. But precisely the Grey Sea and the Santu River are the Nether Ancestor's foundation. If she makes a move to seize them, reincarnation will be destroyed in an instant."
"What's most worrying is that if she uses reincarnation to initiate a Minor Calamity, all our efforts will become a wedding dress for her," Hao Tian said.
For the Nether Ancestor to achieve immortality, she must initiate a Minor Calamity.
This was an irreconcilable contradiction.
Suddenly.
Everyone sensed something and looked toward the sky beyond.
The grey cloud sea began to churn, and a pleasant voice reached the summit of Qing Mountain: "So, are you all going to join forces against me?"
Ji Fanxin and Lady Shiji appeared at the foot of Qing Mountain, both possessing stunning beauty that captured the essence of heaven and earth, surpassing even the splendor of the Manjusaka flowers.
One in front, one behind, they ascended the mountain.
"Is she admitting it?" Void Heaven said.
With Zhang Ruochen and Lin Ke present, even if the Nether Ancestor had truly returned, there was nothing to fear.
When they reached outside Qing Mountain Inn, Ji Fanxin's aura reached its peak, her pupils blazing with Nether radiance for ten thousand zhang, as if she were standing atop the Great Nether Mountain, built from the bones of ancient primordial beings, looking down upon the world. All gods were like ants before her.
Though Lady Shiji was an Ancestor and possessed eternal, unparalleled beauty, she was rendered utterly colorless beside her.
"If I wanted to make a move, I would have done so before the Great Calamity, not saved Zhang Ruochen."
The Nether Ancestor naturally wouldn't admit that Fanxin's will had been dominant at the time.
Meeting Zhang Ruochen's gaze in the inn, she added, "Rest assured, I'm only borrowing her body temporarily. Once my cultivation recovers to the Heavenly Beginning Self-End, I will separate from her to avoid being controlled by her."
Yan Wushen's tone was steady, but with a hint of eagerness: "You haven't recovered to the Heavenly Beginning Self-End yet?"
"What, want to try? Before me, you should at least address me as Ancestral Master," Ji Fanxin said, her presence overwhelming all directions, her eyes carrying the domineering and sharpness accumulated over billions of years.
Time and space on Qing Mountain were frozen, rules unable to flow. Yan Wushen felt that suffocating fluctuation of power, knowing it was not something he could challenge now. He stepped back with a smile: "Ancestral Master has great spirit."
The entire aura of Qing Mountain was dominated by Ji Fanxin.
Her accumulated might over ten thousand eras made even Ancestors seem like floating clouds and dust.
Heavenly Mother asked, "May I ask the Nether Ancestor, what is your view on the Minor Calamity?"
"You want to ask if I still seek immortality, don't you?" Ji Fanxin said.
Heavenly Mother did not avoid Ji Fanxin's sharp gaze: "And the answer?"
"Heavenly Beginning Self-End is not the ultimate realm of the Great Dao. Naturally, I have higher pursuits. Without immortality, how can one pursue that intoxicating ultimate realm?"
Ji Fanxin's tone was matter-of-fact, not like an explanation, but a declaration of her resolve.
Hao Tian said, "So you're saying the contradiction cannot be reconciled? Nether Ancestor, do you think we will let you recover to the Heavenly Beginning Self-End?"
"Boom!"
The Ancestor powers of Hao Tian, Yan Wushen, Heavenly Mother, and Ji Fanxin collided on the dimensional plane of consciousness.
Their eyes clashed like swords and blades; anyone caught in between would be torn apart instantly.
Void Heaven immediately regretted it. If he had known it would be this dangerous, he would never have come to Qing Mountain's summit.
He stood up, intending to slip away quietly.
Lady Shiji blocked his path, cutting off his escape route.
"Pa!"
Zhang Ruochen tapped his finger on the table, dispersing the collision of their consciousness.
A cool breeze blew across the mountain summit.
The inn's wine flag fluttered in the wind.
After a brief silence, Ji Fanxin said, "I've already said, if I wanted to act, I would have done so long ago. Why wait until Zhang Ruochen woke up? Residual Lamp Monk, their vision is too narrow. First, tell them about the situation outside this universe."
Lin Ke stood by the cliff, smiling: "Residual Lamp is just a former Dharma name. I've already returned to secular life. May I ask the Nether Ancestor, how much do you know about the Battle Axe Void?"
Ji Fanxin said, "My understanding only comes from exploring traces left before the ancient times in this universe. But at the beginning of this era, the events of the Primordial period were erased by the Human Ancestor, who also tampered with history. I didn't experience it myself, so I don't know the full truth."
Heavenly Mother was drawn in by their conversation, recalling what White Jade Divine Emperor had said, and asked, "What exactly happened at the beginning of this era?"
She knew that Zangjin Baihu and White Jade Divine Emperor's mother, the immortal "Baize" from the previous era, had died at the beginning of this era.
Zhang Ruochen, whose divine thoughts had been drifting, suddenly spoke: "What is the Battle Axe Void?"
"The so-called Battle Axe Void is a starry region in the universe where there are almost no galaxies. The entire area is pitch black."
As he said this, Lin Ke pointed at the void above the grey cloud sea.
"Hua!"
Space trembled slightly, and a vast, boundless cosmic star sea appeared in the void, colorful and endless.
Each speck of light was a star.
Among them, a region suddenly turned pitch black, with only a small cluster of starlight remaining, like an isolated island, cut off from the vast star sea.
"This is the Battle Axe Cosmic Great Void, about 18 million light-years in diameter!" Lin Ke pointed to that corner of the star map.
"What... how many? Did you add an extra 'ten thousand'?" Void Heaven exclaimed in shock.
For context, the entire Yellow Spring Star River was only 100,000 light-years long. Without space wormholes or the Santu River Ancient God Path, even gods would struggle to cross it in a lifetime.
Even with one step covering 129,600 li.
The diameter of the Heavenly Court Universe was roughly similar to the length of the Yellow Spring Star River.
However, the Yellow Spring Star River was long and narrow, while the Heavenly Court Universe was scattered in all directions.
In terms of the breadth of dense starry space, the Heavenly Court Universe was several times larger than the Yellow Spring Star River.
18 million light-years!
Void Heaven wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing.
Hao Tian noticed something, staring intently at the small cluster of starlight at the center of the dark void on the star map, and said uncertainly, "Is that... the universe we're in?"
Lin Ke nodded: "If you look from an infinitely distant vantage point, this universe of yours resembles a short axe. The yellowish-brown handle is the Yellow Spring Star River. The four directions of the Heavenly Court Universe form the axe head."
"Of course, I didn't draw this star map myself. I found it at the Assembly of Living Beings."
"It's no easy feat to glimpse the full picture of the Battle Axe Cosmic Great Void."
The hearts of everyone present were thrown into turmoil. They couldn't accept what they were seeing.
The universe they lived in was merely such a tiny speck of light, like a geographical isolated island, far from civilization.
But if outsiders could see them, why couldn't they see the outside?
Hao Tian murmured, "I've been to the edge of the universe. Beyond the edge, space becomes thinner and thinner, eventually turning into nothingness. It's like the nothingness of the Void World—empty, with no matter, no rules of heaven and earth, just endless darkness and void, stretching without end."
"Entering it, the nothingness erodes the physical body, erodes the soul, until it grinds a person down to nothing."
"Looking back, it's fortunate I didn't go deeper. An 18-million-light-year diameter of nothingness and darkness could bury any cultivator. This is the true Endless Abyss, so deep it inspires fear."
Heavenly Mother stared at the star map in the void, unable to calm down for a long time: "Frogs at the bottom of a well? The universe we thought was ours is just a speck of light. Our entire world is just a corner of someone else's star map."
Lady Shiji was also shaken, sighing, "What difference is there between this and being imprisoned on an isolated island?"
"Exactly, it's imprisonment," Lin Ke said.