# 1102
Chapter 1103: The Truth of the Black King
"Hehehehehehe……"
Before An Qingyu and the others could even step through the temple doors, a familiar foolish laughter echoed from the depths of the great hall.
"Cao Yuan?"
An Qingyu and the others exchanged glances and hurried into the hall.
Tai Bai Jin Xing clutched his ceremonial whisk and smiled helplessly, following closely behind them.
Passing through the rear door of the great hall, the view suddenly opened up before them, revealing a transcendent garden space.
This was a vast lake, where pure white clouds drifted across the sky, and emerald green lotus leaves stretched endlessly across the water's surface, swaying gently in the breeze. A bluish-grey long pavilion extended across the lake, leading directly to an octagonal pavilion at its center.
Standing by the lake's edge, the group could faintly make out a familiar figure seated in the center of the octagonal pavilion, attended by several maid servants who were each holding fans, seemingly fanning him.
"Good lord, no wonder Cao 'Thief' vanished. So he was hiding here enjoying fairy maid service?" Baili Pangpang said in shock.
"Something seems off. Let's go take a look."
An Qingyu listened to the endless laughter in the distance and frowned slightly. The group walked through the long pavilion and soon arrived before the octagonal pavilion.
"Hehehehehe……"
Approaching the octagonal pavilion, An Qingyu finally saw Cao Yuan's condition. He was sitting cross-legged on a pristine white Prayer Mat, his eyes vacant, staring at the lake scenery while giggling foolishly. Trails of black flames burned upon his skin, but before they could ignite anything around him, spiritual winds summoned by the massive green fans in the attendants' hands extinguished them.
"What's wrong with Cao Yuan?" Shen Qingzhu frowned.
Tai Bai Jin Xing slowly walked forward from the corridor behind the group.
"The Queen Mother once said that four of the seven fate locks within his body have already been broken. The Black King is desperately trying to break through its 'prison,' causing this young friend to waver between consciousness and Chaos. Whether he can reclaim control of his body depends entirely on his own will."
"The Black King……" Jiang Er murmured the name twice, asking in confusion, "What exactly is the Black King? Is it a Great Xia god?"
"Hehehehehe……"
"The Black King did originate from Great Xia, but it is not a deity…… To be precise, it was a mortal from several thousand years ago who failed in his attempt to ascend to the Supreme God realm."
"A mortal?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.
"Hehehehehe……"
"How could a mortal possibly attempt to reach the Supreme God?"
"That is precisely the strangest part." Tai Bai Jin Xing spoke slowly. "Generally speaking, the Supreme God realm is beyond the divine realm. No matter how powerful a mortal may be, it is extremely difficult for them to become a god, let alone bypass godhood entirely and attempt to reach the Supreme God in a single leap…… Yet somehow, he nearly succeeded."
"After failing to ascend to the Supreme God, for reasons unknown, this mortal lost his sanity and became a monster that knew only slaughter, known to the world as the [Black King]."
"Even though his attempt to reach the Supreme God ended in failure, his power remained terrifying. His combat strength far exceeded that of ordinary gods. However, because he had never actually become a god, he possessed no divine laws. So no matter how powerful the Black King became, he could never truly kill any deity."
"When the Black King lost his sanity and slaughtered all living beings, it was the Heavenly Lord himself who intervened, using a causality technique called 'Prison of Fate's Calamity' to seal him away."
"'Prison of Fate's Calamity'? What is that?" An Qingyu asked. M..
"The Heavenly Lord's divine techniques are beyond my comprehension." Tai Bai Jin Xing smiled helplessly. "I have only heard that the Black King was ultimately sealed within a mortal of special fate. Later, whenever the mortal bearing the Black King died, the Black King would, through the causality technique, automatically transfer into another mortal of special fate……
"And so it continued, through a thousand years of流转, one mortal after another bearing the Black King, passing it down to the present day.
"And these successive mortals who carried the Black King's power seem to have been categorized by your Night Watch as a special type of Forbidden Ruins known as 'Above all beings, below the gods'—it seems to be called…… [Black King's Annihilation Slash]?"
After hearing Tai Bai Jin Xing's description, everyone fell into silence simultaneously. Within the octagonal pavilion, only Cao Yuan's foolish laughter echoed.
"So this is the origin of [Black King's Annihilation Slash]……" Shen Qingzhu nodded thoughtfully.
"But if the Black King is so dangerous, why didn't the Heavenly Lord simply destroy it back then instead of sealing it away?" An Qingyu thought for a moment, asking疑惑.
"The Heavenly Lord's intentions are beyond our guessing. Since he acted this way, there must be some special purpose."
"Couldn't the Heavenly Lord repair those four broken fate locks?"
"No." Tai Bai Jin Xing shook his head. "The fate locks were not created by the Heavenly Lord—they extend naturally from these mortals of special fate who bear the Black King. They are part of their souls. No external force can affect their destiny."
"Hehehehehe……"
An Qingyu gazed复杂ly at the giggling Cao Yuan. "Then, is there really nothing that can be done?"
"I will speak honestly." Tai Bai Jin Xing's expression grew serious. "Currently, this young friend has only two paths left…… Either, through sheer will, use the remaining three fate locks to suppress the Black King within him;
"Or, be completely taken over by the Black King, with the final three fate locks breaking, the Black King is reborn once more, and the Heavenly Lord personally intervenes to lock it away inside another mortal…… However, in that case, this young friend would likely not survive.
"Success or failure, life or death—it all depends on this young friend's own fortune."
An Qingyu's brow furrowed tightly.
"Hehehehehe……"
Slap—!
Just as the atmosphere had grown沉闷and oppressive, Baili Pangpang, standing behind Cao Yuan, suddenly raised his hand and slapped it down onto the crown of Cao Yuan's head.
"I say, Old Cao, we're having a serious discussion here. Can you keep it down a bit?" Baili Pangpang said, eyes wide.
Just as An Qingyu moved to intervene, Cao Yuan's endless foolish laughter suddenly stopped.
An Qingyu froze in place.
The black flames dancing on Cao Yuan's body seemed to diminish somewhat. In those empty eyes, a spark of awareness faintly flickered. His ears twitched slightly, as if listening to something.
"He can hear us?" A gleam of joy appeared in Shen Qingzhu's eyes. He grabbed Cao Yuan's shoulders and gave him a gentle shake. "Old Cao! You can't give up! Seven Nights has one foot already in the grave, yet he's still clinging to life by a thread. You absolutely cannot die! Do you hear me?"
A glimmer returned to Cao Yuan's eyes. The black flames burning on his body grew increasingly sparse.
"The Heavenly Lord said that to help him win against the Black King, some external stimulation is needed…… This is an important reason why you were summoned to the Heavenly Court." Tai Bai Jin Xing smiled, stroking his beard contentedly. "It seems this method is effective."
Just as the group was conversing, a figure pushing a wheelchair slowly approached along the corridor.
"Who said I've already got one foot in the grave?"