Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1040 The Sacrifice of the Holy Ancestor Xuan Tian

—To become the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao.

An Jing wasn't surprised at all. He had already figured it out: Destiny was just a servant of the Heavenly Dao, but if the Heavenly Dao was also a mess, then Destiny was probably the scapegoat.

But as the saying goes—some people don't want to take the blame, and some people want to take the blame but it's not their turn yet!
The Great Chen Dynasty is clearly the one it wants to carry on its legacy. Just as An Jing himself analyzed, each destiny contains the authority of the Heavenly Dao. The combination of multiple destiny contains the 'essence of the Great Dao that the Heavenly Dao of Huai Xu refuses to let the Lingxiao people understand'.

That is the key to "Above the Heavens, Returning to the Void, One Path".

The ambition of the Great Chen Dynasty lies here—or rather, the ambition of all the Heavenly Sects in this world is to achieve that goal.

To become... [above the heavens].

Thinking of this, An Jing exhaled and raised his eyes, calmly staring at the half-real, half-illusory blood-red figure in front of him.

What exactly happened back then?

He inquired.

Xuan Guangyun's blood-red shadow swayed slightly in the scorching wind. He let out a long sigh: "It's a long story, and I'm afraid it has to start from the beginning of my Great Chen Dynasty. But you all probably already know some of those things, so I won't go into details."

His voice was filled with endless weariness: "In short, since the Holy Ancestor, successive Xuan Tian Emperors have either been too cautious or deliberately altered the records, to the point that by our generation, we no longer know the origin of the Yingtian Immortal Tree and believe it to be a sacred tree that protects the country and contains the authority of the 'Heart of Heaven and Earth'."

"However, one day, Brother Guangshao (the late emperor) discovered the secret of the Immortal Tree of Yingtian, or rather, he claimed to have heard the voice of the Immortal Tree... Because I had already gone to the farthest heaven at that time, I showed many special characteristics, and also because I was the closest to him, he came to me to discuss countermeasures."

Xuan Guangyun closed his eyes, as if lost in a distant memory: "He asked me to discuss... how..."

"Release the spirit of the Undying Tree".

"You want to release Wu Zhong Sheng?" An Jing narrowed his eyes, surprised, but quickly realized: "No, your goal is not simply release, but separation!"

"You have realized that something from nothing cannot be completely controlled, but the foundation of the Great Chen Dynasty is built upon the Divine Tree. Therefore, you plan to take a different approach, using the Minor Heavenly Heart to transfer the will of the Undying Tree, and then obtain a complete and fully controllable body of the Undying Tree. Based on this, you will begin the great undertaking that the Great Chen Dynasty did not compete for at the beginning of its establishment: the conquest of the entire Northern Xuanji Continent!"

"You intend to rectify the mistakes of Da Chen, to set Wu Zhong Sheng free, and to revitalize Da Chen from its stagnant and corrupt state, thus reviving this Heavenly Sect!"

"In other words..."

"You want to become the 'Lord of the World' first!"

Without a doubt, this is an incredibly correct and incredibly bold idea.

If it succeeds.

“Yes.” Xuan Guangyun lowered his eyes and said softly, “It is difficult, but it is not impossible for a Xuan Tian Emperor and a Jin Yuan Tian Walker—we have indeed obtained a new ‘Heart of Heaven and Earth’.”

"Next, as long as enough Heavenly Demons are sacrificed, and the purest Xuan Yuan Pure Light is used to replenish the heart of Heaven and Earth, transforming it into an Immortal Tree seed, it can take root and sprout."

Upon hearing this, You Ruhui subconsciously touched her chest. She remembered the demonic mark that she and An Jing had noticed on the dragon skeleton, and whispered, "But you failed."

Her voice trembled slightly, yet she analyzed with unusual calm: "You failed to sacrifice the Heavenly Demon."

"Because the demonic mark within the imperial lineage caused trouble during that grand ceremony, the late emperor died as a result, while you survived and wanted to continue the great cause, but you were betrayed by the civil and military officials in the court."

"Those civil and military officials may have also been corrupted by the Heavenly Demon!"

“No, Mingjing.” Xuan Guangyun raised his head, interrupting his daughter’s speculation, his voice filled with a deep pain: “We succeeded.”

However, the released will is not of the immortal tree.

He paused for a moment, as if using all his strength, before uttering that name that was enough to overturn everything.

"It is... the Holy Ancestor!"

Holy Ancestor!

The founding emperor of the Great Chen Dynasty, [Holy Ancestor Xuan Tian Sacrifice]!
This name is indeed enough to shock everyone.

Both An Jing and Jin Yanhua frowned deeply, while You Ruhui was struck dumb, frozen in place, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Holy...Holy Ancestor?"

“Yes.” Xuan Guangyun gritted his teeth, his golden eyes burning with deep-seated hatred: “The voice that Guangshao heard back then was not fabricated, but belonged to the Holy Ancestor!”

"His will is eternal and indestructible, and has long since transformed into a pillar that controls the Immortal Tree of Yingtian, using the destiny created from nothing to conceal his existence in order to achieve immortality!"

"But even He has reached the limit of deceiving the Heavenly Dao, and is now about to perish."

"In order to prolong its existence, it deceived Guangshao, deceived me, and deceived us, its descendants! During that ritual, it devoured Guangshao's soul, and Guangshao fought against it with all his might, which is why there is talk of 'passing away'!"

"And I inherited Guangshao's will, trying every means to fight against him, but my imperial bloodline was also controlled..."

“Within the Imperial Court, there were already envoys of the Holy Ancestor. They secretly controlled the Imperial Court, and the civil and military officials were probably all his people... I don’t know. I was just a wisp of imperial blood that was separated at that time. Judging from the subsequent developments, 'I' was undoubtedly defeated and died.”

"It's all my fault. I could have broken through, but I held back to maintain my level. And now that I want to break through, my Emperor Blood is already under control, and I can't move at all..."

At this point, Xuan Guangyun's expression darkened. He turned to his daughter, his semi-transparent figure seeming as if it might dissipate at any moment: "I'm sorry, Mingjing, I can't fight against my imperial bloodline, especially in the Imperial Court... You really have suffered a lot. If it weren't for Anjing..."

Before he could finish speaking, a warm hug interrupted him.

You Ruhui stepped forward, wanting to tightly embrace the illusory figure of her father. Although she only managed to grab air, her attitude was crystal clear.

"Don't say that, Father." After regaining her footing, she took a deep breath, her voice deep but unusually calm: "You and Mother did everything in your power to keep me alive, Uncle Yunzhi helped me escape from Da Chen, and you even gave me the Heart of Heaven and Earth..."

"This is not your fault. It is absolutely not your fault that you cannot defeat an ancestor who plotted against his own offspring."

Xuan Guangyun fell silent. The blood-red figure trembled slightly. He reached out, wanting to hug his daughter back, but could only feel her real body temperature through his arms.

“You’ve grown up… really, you’ve grown up.”

Meeting You Ruhui's resolute gaze, his expression gradually softened, seemingly with a hint of relief: "When I awoke, I was in utter despair."

His gaze swept over the crowd, as if he could see beyond the Zhaolin Realm, to the Huaixu Realm, which was shrouded in a sea of ​​blood and filled with endless suffering.

"The Blood Sea Demonic Sect has unleashed a great calamity, and the Great Chen Dynasty is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary in secret—the Holy Ancestor has probably completely devoured Guang Shao's soul and has now regained his vitality. What He needs now is to completely devour the will of the Undying Tree and then use the laws of creation to recreate a physical body..."

"To live another life!"

(End of this chapter)