Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1069 Fu Xie Regains His Memory (4200)

Anjing's inner world is located within the [Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm].

Huge changes are taking place.

The foundation of Anjing Cave Heaven lies in 'punishment' and 'annihilation'; it is essentially a crushing furnace designed to destroy celestial demons and various other beings.

The Star of Candlelight is the fire of the furnace, while the four celestial swords that suppress the four poles are four different means of shattering, destroying, and reforging.

Simply put, this is a small world dominated by the principles of 'sharpness', 'destruction', and 'forging'.

The phantom of the Holy Demon was devoured by An Jing during the Holy Demon War in the Tianyuan Realm, forging the first Heavenly Sword, [Heavenly Retribution], which symbolizes 'Heaven's condemnation'.

An Jing's own anger and power forged the second Heavenly Sword, [Heavenly Punishment], symbolizing the 'Heavenly Sin and Punishment'.

Now, although the mark originating from the Supreme Heavenly Demon has been completely shattered by An Jing's Killing Calamity Sword, the essential power it contained has not dissipated.

The nature of this power is so strong that even fragments or imperfect powder can lead to unspeakable consequences.

Therefore, before returning to the Ancestral Dragon Scale, the Ancestral Dragon's will fused this power. With its own power, plus the Candle Star in the Heavenly Punishment Cave, it repeatedly burned, dissolved, purified, and refined this fragment representing the supreme Heavenly Demon imprint, and then completely reforged it into the purest power, all of which flowed into the west of the Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm.

Just like pouring molten iron into a mold.

In an instant, the atmosphere of heaven and earth became extremely solemn and murderous.

As a vast vortex of spiritual energy descended from the sky and rose straight up from the ground, it transformed into opposing funnels and collided at the very center of heaven and earth. Endless spiritual energy, metallic dust, and light converged, forging a long sword from nothingness, which slowly manifested between heaven and earth.

It was a celestial sword with a dark silver body and a black gold blade.

Like dark clouds appearing in the boundless sky, like a black star suddenly appearing in endless light.

Simply staring at someone can make one feel uneasy, fearful, and want to stay away.

That was the third Heavenly Sword.

Its color is silver, its shape is gold, its spirit is solemn, and its blade is black.

Its name is...

【Four Extreme Heavenly Swords - Heavenly Fiend】!
In the east, there is divine retribution; the sword is dark and red, corresponding to the evil influence of the Azure Wood, signifying the severance of life.

In the south, there is Heavenly Punishment, a sword red with a blue edge, representing the evil spirit of crimson flames, and presiding over the judgment of sins.

In the west lies the Heavenly Fiend, whose sword is silver and black, corresponding to the Fiend of White Gold, and is the master of the end of all things.

The Heavenly Calamity Sword is a 'disaster of heaven,' not targeting an individual, but rather an entire race, a dynasty, or even a civilization. It is a divine sword that represents such power, bringing great calamity to a region.

Thus, of the Four Heavenly Swords, only the northern position remains vacant, awaiting the return of the sword symbolizing 'Heaven's Punishment', the Heavenly Punishment Sword.

In the dim light, one could see the phantom of a long sword, its blade white and its edge silver, corresponding to the evil spirit of the Black Water.

An Jing could feel that his power was constantly increasing as the three heavenly swords were forged.

However, his cultivation in both immortality and martial arts had already reached the advanced stage of the Divine Treasury realm, only one step away from the peak. Especially in martial arts, the "Boundless Heart" after the third level of the Divine Treasury realm was essentially a preparation for breaking through to the Manifestation realm. It was a preparation in terms of mindset and will, rather than a specific realm.

Simply put, once you enter this realm, you can begin the 'Great Manifestation of Sainthood' at any time. However, An Jing is preparing to attempt a truly perfect advancement and is not yet ready to embark on the path of manifestation of sainthood, so he has not yet done so.

At this moment, all his attention was drawn to the new changes within the cave caused by the birth of the [Heavenly Fiend] sword.

The forging of the Heavenly Fiend Sword signifies that the 'Metal Laws' within the Tranquil Cave Heaven have reached an unprecedented level of perfection and ultimate perfection. This power is no longer merely sharp and solid, but has also acquired the essence of 'contraction' and 'condensation'.

Thus, under the watchful gaze of Anjing's will, the continuous spiritual energy throughout the entire Heavenly Punishment Realm began to converge towards the heavens, drawn by this principle.

They were compressed, condensed, and finally transformed into a drizzling rain, falling down.

Gold produces water.

When the first rain fell on the land of Tianxing Bitter Realm, a land with only endless ley lines and the Tianxing Divine Tree.

A miracle, or rather, a natural creation, has occurred.

The earth trembled slightly, and something was sprouting, gestating, growing, and preparing to be born in the soil that had been soaked by the golden rain.

then……

Under Anjing's watchful gaze, 'it' broke through the soil.

It was not a tender sprout of grass or tree, but a strange... nascent life form that Anjing had never seen before.

Not a dragon.

It's not a snake.

It is not humanoid.

It's not a sacred tree either.

It's not a Frankenstein's monster.

Rather... something amorphous.

Its core element is 'wood'.

The roots of the Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree spread throughout the entire cave, and those ubiquitous, even the smallest root tips, under the nourishment of this spiritual rain, have been revitalized.

They broke off and fell away, transforming into seeds containing life force; these are the 'lifespan' and 'core' of these nascent spirits.

Next comes 'fire'.

When these sacred tree seeds come into contact with more spiritual energy, the power within them, originating from the Candle Star, is ignited. Gentle, purplish-blue flames rise on the seeds, and this purifying flame that devours evil truly becomes the 'power' of living beings.

Finally, there is 'gold'.

The flames ignited the sacred tree, which then melted the ubiquitous metallic ore in the Bitter Realm. Not to mention, a golden rain had just fallen, and this endless gold was melted by the flames, turning into flowing, scorching liquid metal.

These liquids were instinctively drawn to the core of the sacred tree and the flames, enveloping it and becoming the 'body' that these beings could shape at will.

Wood is the core, fire is the power, and metal is the body.

A strange creature made of metal, fire, and wood.

A completely new being, constructed entirely from the laws and principles of the Tranquil Cave Heaven, was thus born. "Is this even possible...?"

An Jing raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised: "A grotto-heaven can generate life on its own? Especially in my Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm, I myself feel that the ecology is a bit extreme, with heavenly punishment, heavenly calamity, and heavenly curses everywhere... how can there still be creatures that can be conceived and born?"

“Of course you can.” Fu Xie’s voice rang out, his tone matter-of-fact: “A grotto-heaven is a small world, a manifestation of the Dao of Creation, and can naturally give birth to new life… In fact, if a grotto-heaven created by a person cannot even give birth to new life naturally, then this grotto-heaven is undoubtedly a failure!”

"However, generally speaking, this can only be accomplished at the level of at least Manifestation Saint."

At this point, Fu Xie gestured for An Jing to pay attention to those strange little creatures again: "Don't be too happy yet—the Ancestral Dragon is the 'Ancestor of True Spirits.' His power erased the mark of the Supreme Heavenly Demon, and the remaining part is what allowed your cave to possess the power of creation ahead of time."

"In other words, the tiny creatures you create in your world are not actually complete."

An Jing lowered his head, looked up at the sky and earth again, and then frowned.

Indeed. As Fu Xie said, these beings are not whole.

They were unable to have a physical form, like clumps of writhing, hot, amorphous liquid metal.

They tried hard to imitate the shape of the Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree at the center of heaven and earth, or to imitate the outline of the mountains, in an attempt to form a stable shape, but each attempt ended in failure.

The moment their bodies condense, they melt again due to the burning of the internal flames, ultimately maintaining a shape that is somewhere between solid and liquid, resembling a slime monster.

They drifted aimlessly across the barren land, each wriggle leaving a scorched mark on the burning earth.

An Jing watched intently, already understanding the situation.

"Something is still missing..."

He muttered to himself.

Amorphous shapes don't necessarily mean wrong. On the contrary, amorphous shapes can also be life. Amoebas can be, slimes can be, and the slimes he saw in his previous life were all life. Metal slimes are undoubtedly a kind of life as well.

However, even slimes and other living beings should have a 'shell' that isolates them from the outside world. Just like human skin and the membrane on the surface of slimes, it prevents the inner parts of the creature from being exposed.

"Let's just call these little guys 'The Furnace of a Hundred Forms' for now."

An Jing named these metallic beings, which were like living furnaces, constantly releasing light and heat. He pondered, "Metal generates water, water nourishes wood, and water can also overcome fire... Indeed, only the principles of 'water's' immersion, envelopment, and cooling can stabilize the bodies of these metallic life forms whose essential core is 'burning wood'."

The final Northern [Heavenly Punishment] is such a force.

Of course, besides the four Heavenly Swords, there is an even more crucial element.

That is wisdom.

These creatures are now merely primitive creations acting on instinct. They need a true guide, a source that endows them with wisdom and imagination.

That is, in the central region, the four heavenly swords merged into one, [Heavenly Punishment and Heavenly Collapse]...

At that time, the elements of wood in the east, fire in the south, metal in the west, water in the north, and earth in the center, along with the sun and moon in the sky, yin and yang, the five elements and the seven luminaries, will rotate endlessly, and a complete cycle of creation will be born.

Even in this Heavenly Punishment Realm, which is named after 'punishment' and 'annihilation', the possibility of 'creation' is still brewing...

"So that's how it is, this is 'Tai Chi'."

An Jing slowly exhaled: "This is probably the realm of the Cave Heaven Method corresponding to the 'Manifestation of Sainthood' realm, namely [Creating Heavenly Pivot].

"The pivot is the one that governs the changes of Yin and Yang. If the beings within me can perfect the circulation of my inner celestial realm, spontaneously making it operate, grow stronger, and become more and more powerful, or like working cells, spontaneously operating various functions for my inner celestial realm and containing endless spirituality, then I can truly [manifest the Supreme] and become the 'Minor Heavenly Dao'!"

The Way of Heaven is not only the Way of Heaven and Earth, but also the Way of the True Spirits of All Living Beings. These 'Hundred Forms of the Furnace' derived from the power of peace are the most primitive life forms. But if even they can become 'humans', then the peace that creates them is naturally no longer just a human, but a 'celestial being', the true 'Way of Heaven'!
"You have indeed grasped it..."

An Jing's words made Fu Xie feel very gratified, and An Jing also turned his head to look at the phantom of the divine sword that appeared beside him.

This illusory figure not only contained a sword, but also a hazy figure, much like the one An Jing had first seen in his dream. This figure was incredibly ethereal, far less real than the sword, yet it undeniably existed.

【unlimited】

Fu Xie is a sword that has merged with the Dao and has infinite forms. Because it has been corrupted by the Heavenly Demon, it is both a celestial sword and a demonic sword, as well as a celestial being and a demon, possessing all kinds of identities... This is the source of Fu Xie's confusion, because like the Ancestral Dragon, it fights against other 'demonic selves' in infinite parallel time and space.

This is an eternal battle. Even other Daoist masters who have returned to the Void would find it difficult to help Fu Xie defeat himself. The ancient sacrifices of those Daoist ancestors were not only used to seal Fu Xie as the foundation for those great demons, but also in the hope that the prayers of all living beings could help Fu Xie defeat his demonized self.

Now, Zu Long has used his power to correct Fu Xie, causing Fu Xie to manifest more towards the aspects of 'immortal' and 'immortal sword'.

At this moment, Fu Xie turned around, and the hazy figure also turned its head, seemingly revealing a smile: "An Jing, now you have reached the point where you can be guided and taught."

“If it were any other ordinary person, they would definitely need my guidance along the way, but you don’t need it. Rather than being master and disciple, we are more like fellow Daoists, fighting side by side.”

“You already have your own ‘evil-subduing in your heart’.”

"Above this point, it's a path only you can walk on your own, and it will be difficult for me to teach you any more about cultivation."

At this point, He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, patted His chest, and said with relief, "Fortunately, I am just a sword, and I am not good at being a teacher—from now on, I will become your strength and blade, and fight alongside you!"

"Fu Xie, you've become much more sober."

An Jing was also quite emotional at this moment. In the past, Fu Xie was either asleep or spoke incoherently, and his attitude and stance were constantly changing, which was really worrying. But now that he has stabilized, An Jing vaguely realized that Fu Xie's main consciousness was the same 'Fu Xie' that he first encountered at Xuanming Manor.

As for Fu Xie's relief, An Jing shook his head: "I know you don't want to be a teacher, but don't think you can just give up so early—there are still many things I don't know, things that Zu Long didn't have time to tell me, and I just wanted to ask you."

"Well, you ask."

Fu Xie responded frankly, "My memories have recovered quite a bit. Although there are still some gaps, I can probably answer most of the questions that puzzled you before."

"Ok."

In his own little world, time is entirely determined by An Jing himself. He accelerated the flow of time within him, making a moment in the outside world equivalent to a thousand moments in the Heavenly Punishment Realm.

After accelerating, An Jing and Fu Xie's illusory figures sat cross-legged facing each other. He earnestly asked, "Although I have many questions to ask, as expected, the question I care about most is still that one."

"What exactly is going on? The Dao Court, Huai Xu, the Great Immortal Huai Xu, the Heavenly Dao, and the essence of the Heavenly Demon Tribulation... Why did you shatter? How did everything evolve into what it is now?"

"I am truly perplexed by all of this. It's like a swordsman wandering in an empty, rainy night. Even if he wants to draw his sword to cut something, he can only cut the rain, and he can't find the source at all."

After a pause, An Jing said in a deep voice, "Or let's talk about a more fundamental issue: Fu Xie."

"What exactly is the Heavenly Demon?"

(End of this chapter)