Chapter 1000: Furnace Nourishes All Scriptures
Nine Stars Aligned in a Row!
On Earth, people at various astronomical observatories were shocked. Such a wondrous scene was occurring in the outer realms, causing many jaws to drop to the ground, eyes wide and mouths agape.
This kind of phenomenon was not impossible. In the year 2000, a seven-star alignment had occurred. Theoretically, the nine major planets could also align in a straight line, a cycle that repeats every six thousand years.
Yet, what they saw before them was truly too shocking to be easily understood. Suddenly, nine great stars had appeared in the outer realms, their light blazing intensely, as brilliant as nine suns.
How could these nine great stars suddenly appear in the solar system? It was as abnormal as a demon, completely unrealistic, utterly incomprehensible!
And a set of photos transmitted back by an outer space probe was even more shocking. A great earthquake seemed to occur in every research institute. In the distant void of the cosmos, there were actually bolts of lightning tens of thousands of feet high flashing.
The most shocking thing was that a moment ago, a person had been charging through the sea of lightning, as if a divine war was taking place, dueling against humanoid lightning bolts—something utterly unbelievable.
Such mysterious images were naturally top-secret documents, impossible to appear in the mortal world. They were sealed by various powerful institutions, accessible only to a few relevant personnel for review.
"Go to a church and find a priest to ask what exactly is happening. It would be best to go to the Vatican and consult the Pope. What does this scene portend?"
"The Pope... he was killed by people from the Heavenly Court three years ago."
"Then go to the Heavenly Court and consult the Celestial Masters there!"
...
The Heavenly Court's buildings in various places were grand and sacred, even surpassing the Vatican's churches. On this day, many important figures came to visit, earnestly seeking advice from the clergy, which significantly increased the pure faith power of the Heavenly Court.
Ye Fan's severing of the Dao and crossing the tribulation was an opportunity for the Heavenly Court. As time passed, the Heavenly Court buildings in various places resonated with each other, actually giving birth to strands of divine radiance, creating a magnificent spectacle. Those nearby saw their chronic ailments cured.
This was a sign of great prosperity, but also a possible omen of self-destruction. Everything depended on whether the Lord of the Heavenly Court could survive!
In the outer realms, white bone fragments, golden blood, and pieces of torn flesh were scattered everywhere, shimmering with immortal radiance, crystalline and translucent, transforming into various Dao phenomena.
They disintegrated, then regenerated, constantly changing. Sun, moon, stars, rivers, majestic ancient stars, brilliant star domains—every drop of blood was a wondrous scene.
Ye Fan's true self disintegrated, his blood and bones transforming into resplendent starry rivers, as well as mysterious and ancient stars, exuding an aura of eternal vicissitudes, corresponding to all the stars in the heavens.
At this moment, densely packed everywhere were points of light, generated from the annihilation of his hair, bone fragments, and internal organs—extremely eerie.
Dimly, various scriptures seemed to come from ancient times. Someone was silently reciting and praying, blessing the present life and the future.
Ye Fan's original self was destroyed, almost killed in the void. Even his primordial spirit became specks of light, transforming into ancient stars revolving within this sea of stars.
Nine young Great Emperors struck simultaneously. No one could block them; it had always been so since ancient times. They were the protagonists of heaven and earth in their respective eras. Even if there were a so-called number one person today who could attain the Dao and become an Emperor, they would only become one of them.
The true self, along with the primordial spirit, shattered in the void. The fetal bones transformed into stars as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, emitting a radiance that illuminated the past, present, and future. The nine Great Emperors did not strike.
Because they were attracted by another target and attacked it instead.
The Past Self was a very blurry figure, sitting cross-legged in the past. The starry rivers flowed, and his Dao phenomena were born from heaven, submerged by the silver light of time, as if separated by the long river of time, forever unreachable.
The nine young Great Emperors struck together, attacking forward, but it felt as distant as ten thousand ages. They could not touch him immediately.
"Crack"
Among the humanoid lightning, one cultivator possessed an extraordinary secret art. As his hands moved, it seemed to reverse time and space, sending his power striking into the past, crashing into the Past Self.
The Past Self counterattacked, reciting ancient scriptures for the present life, as if sitting cross-legged in the ancient era, opposing the young Great Emperor across the long river of time.
The two struck repeatedly, attacking each other. This was a bizarre battle, almost illusory, impossible to see clearly. It was not a meeting of true bodies, but a crushing of Dao principles.
The Past Self blocked one Emperor for Ye Fan, buying time. The shattered bones and golden flesh, which had transformed into sun, moon, and stars, and the vast starry river, rapidly evolved. All scriptures turned into patterns, densely covering every ancient star.
"Boom"
The other young Great Emperors also displayed their means and struck. They evolved the ultimate Dao, their powerful force destroying all illusions, attacking the Past Self, causing him to quickly wear away.
"Past Self..."
Among the shattered fetal bones, Ye Fan let out a sigh. He transformed into stars, corresponding with the stars of the heavens, seizing starlight to forge his true Dao body.
Far ahead, the "Dao Self Ye Fan" understood the Dao clearly, standing in the future, comprehending the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, realizing his own Dao. Heaven and man resonated; it was impossible not to attract attention.
The nine young Great Emperors attacked forward, strangling the future Dao Self. Their methods were heaven-defying. After the first strike missed, someone quickly performed a strange art, capable of harming even one standing in the future.
As long as they could reach him, any enemy would be annihilated. No one could stop nine young Great Emperors; not a single person could be found throughout the ages.
Enlightening the Dao in the future, the Dao Self Ye Fan was also slain, becoming a void. Only ancient stars, starry rivers, and star domains remained in the sky.
Ye Fan's true body was evolving. Several ancient scriptures were melted in one furnace. He was transforming, giving birth to his own Dao, nourishing all scriptures within himself, containing all Daos in one body. He turned himself into a dragon bone, piercing through the essence of various scriptures, leaping out.
"Spirit, faith, Dao—shed the mortal body, leap out of the shackles, and give birth to a Dao of my own."
He used heaven and earth as a furnace, various scriptures as fire, burning himself, heating the furnace red, refining his own body, and tempering the true self.
Flesh and blood transformed into ancient stars, Dao bones into starry rivers. This was a strange change, one that even Ye Fan himself could not control, seeming both real and illusory.
Looking closely, it was still flesh and white bones. But with a fleeting glance, they were ancient stars, one after another, full of life, evolving the aura of the beginning of all things.
"The Dao as a thing is vague and indefinite. In it there are forms; in it there are essences..."
The faint sound of scripture chanting rose again. The Past Self reappeared, as if sitting cross-legged in the ancient era, blurry and indistinct, reciting scriptures for the present life.
The Past Self was born in the past. There was no such thing as annihilation or non-annihilation. As long as Ye Fan's original self lived, a single thought could arise again. With endless pasts changing, it could not be cut down or killed.
The nine young Great Emperors were, after all, only heavenly tribulations, humanoid Dao marks, not real people. They were only responsible for destruction and could not think like humans. Therefore, they went to kill again.
They ignored the true self, the original self, because at this moment it was shattered, transformed into stars as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The primordial spirit was the same, no longer a living entity.
The same was true for the Dao Self Ye Fan. As long as Ye Fan's true consciousness remained, there would be a future, endless possibilities, and it could also arise again in a single thought, manifesting the Dao Self!
Time passed. His single true consciousness wandered between the Past Self and the Dao Self, causing the nine young Great Emperors to constantly strike, consuming precious time.
This was a miracle. From ancient times to the present, only he had used this method to hold out for so long against nine young Great Emperors.
Some of the nine great stars hanging in the void had already dimmed. The time was too long. Although several young Great Emperors had been replaced, the total time of the heavenly tribulation was still long enough. The phenomena were about to disappear.
And it was at this moment that Ye Fan's transformation reached a certain point. The nine Emperors did not kill his disintegrated fetal bones because he truly no longer existed.
In a sense, his true body had died. All that remained was an unextinguished powerful will, wandering between the Past Self and the Dao Self.
"Boom!"
Ye Fan nourished all scriptures in one furnace, contained all Daos in one body. His flesh, blood, and bone fragments finally recombined, transforming into a dragon bone that pierced through all scriptures. He leaped out, evolving his own Dao.
Although it was a prototype, not yet perfect, it had already resolved the hidden danger of the five secret realms being difficult to connect. Now, his entire body was as one.
The true body manifested a divine form, revealing a Dao phenomenon!
The sound of scripture chanting, the deafening Dao hum, and so on came one after another. The Past Self and the Dao Self, one from the past and one from the future, walked together. Like yin and yang, or like two merging Dao energies blending together.
The Book of Changes says: "One yin and one yang are called the Dao."
Yin and yang are the parents of all things in the world, the source of change in the universe. The Past Self and the Dao Self merged, transforming into a golden Taiji circle.
They merged, and what they transformed into was the Dao. At this moment, the true self was reborn within the golden circle. Ancient stars, starry rivers, and star domains came together, shining brilliantly, manifesting Ye Fan's true body.
The Past Self and the Dao Self merged, producing a wondrous change. Within the golden Taiji circle, the original self was reborn. Ye Fan reappeared in the human world.
Yin and yang merged, transforming into the Dao. Scriptures were densely packed, covering the entire circle. Ye Fan was the natural Dao mark curve in the middle, manifesting in reality.
"Leaping out, my Dao!"
Ye Fan shouted, charging up from among the nine young Great Emperors, defying the heavens. He very much wanted to duel with one of the young Great Emperors, to compete with the strongest of the past.
However, at this moment, the nine great stars dimmed, and all the humanoid lightning receded. Too much time had passed; everything was about to disappear.
The Dao bears heaven and earth, encompasses all things, contains the essence of the universe.
Ye Fan's body shone, as if composed of ancient stars and star domains. He had been killed dozens of times, but emerged reborn. His five secret realms were now connected, linked by starry rivers. He had finally stepped onto his own path.
The Past Self and the Dao Self merged, combining to give birth to the Dao, nurturing the true self. It might still be very imperfect, but it had a prototype.
Starlight dotted everywhere. Ye Fan's body seemed to be made of countless stars. He had initially stepped onto his own path, his entire body connected. Every drop of blood was like a living ancient star.
"One ancient star, one great Dao. Smelt all things, nourish all scriptures in the furnace, contain all Daos in the body, and return them to one furnace body. This is my Dao foundation and beginning."
Ye Fan punched forward, but unfortunately, the nine great stars vanished, all disappearing. His fist passed through the phantom bodies of the nine Great Emperors, and they were gone.
The heavenly tribulation had not yet disappeared. The sea of lightning was still there, but the most terrifying and dangerous moment had passed. Ye Fan drew millions of bolts of lightning into his body and refined them all.
The cauldron hung above his head, advancing and retreating with him. He ascended the heavens step by step, letting out a soft shout: "Dao, arise!"
Using lightning as a guide, he inscribed the Dao onto the cauldron. Before Ye Fan's brow, the cauldron clanged, merging with him, the two becoming one.
He placed great hopes on this cauldron. If his flesh, blood, and fetal bones were like ancient stars and starry rivers, then this cauldron was the "One" that leaped out.
Ye Fan ascended the heavens, arriving at the deepest part of the tribulation, entering a magnificent ancient building complex, also formed from lightning.
"Is this the Heavenly Court of the ancient era?" He stood before the Southern Heavenly Gate.