Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1072 Greetings to the Master of the Demon-Subduing Sword! (5800)
An Jing was initially somewhat confused.

It's not a feeling of being lost and unsure of what to do—that's not it at all.

An Jing always had a goal; he was very clear about what he was going to do next, and his spirit, will, morality, and beliefs were all incredibly firm.

He will not lose his courage to fight for any reason, nor will he stop in the face of danger. He is not afraid of moral tests, and he will kill when he needs to kill and save when he needs to save.

He firmly believed that he was on the right path, and he believed that he was not alone in this world.

If there is anyone in this world who represents the unity of knowledge and action, then An Jing is it.

His thoughts are his intentions, and his intentions are his actions.

What truly confused him was, 'Who exactly is the enemy?'

Is it a celestial demon? The calamity that swept across the heavens, bringing depravity and destruction?

Or is it... humanity itself?
Furthermore, can we really attribute all the sins in the world to the demons without question?
This is a problem that sounds simple, but is actually very complex.

According to An Jing, in his memories originating from another Earth, all the conflicts, suffering, and evils in the world originated from humanity itself.

Because he came from a world without supernatural powers, An Jing was absolutely certain that even without the Heavenly Demons and the Abyss, humanity would never achieve universal harmony, happiness, and well-being. It was impossible for them to simply transcend all ignorance, selfishness, and anything else.

Killing the Heavenly Demon will make the world better? That's utter nonsense. Of course, the Heavenly Demon must be killed, because the world won't improve without killing the Heavenly Demon—these are two separate concepts.

In short, a world without supernatural powers is just as rife with greed and corruption, and just as filled with war and death.

Therefore, An Jing truly never took the Heavenly Demon's declaration, that theory that "everything is our fault," to heart from the very beginning.

Because he knew very well that whether it was the decay of the Great Chen Dynasty or the conflict between martial artists and mortals, everything stemmed from 'humans oppressing humans'.

This mistake is not the fault of the Heavenly Demon. Humanity's malice, stupidity, selfishness, and greed are instincts that flow in its blood and can never be erased.

But the problem is... what if everyone in the world started to believe that the sins they committed were caused by the demons?
Humans eating each other is the fault of the demons.

Humans killing each other is the fault of the demons.

When people deceive each other, it is the fault of the demons.

When people oppress each other, it is the fault of the Heavenly Demon.

Humans fighting each other is the fault of the demons.

When people are jealous of each other, it is the fault of the demons.

—If everyone really takes this 'for granted'.

—Doesn't that just give all the evil beasts in the world a convenient excuse to shirk their responsibilities?!
An Jing firmly believes that this kind of blame-shifting and responsibility-shirking behavior is undoubtedly a form of depravity, and the most powerful and despicable one at that—unwilling to admit one's mistakes, let alone bear the consequences of those mistakes.

Human beings should judge themselves with their own hands.

With knives and swords, with blood and fire.

If we don't personally eliminate those scoundrels, if we don't let the blood of a bunch of beasts stain the earth red, how can humanity say that it has absolved itself of its sins? And how can it walk easily into the future?
An Jing has always held this view.

But the problem is coming.

In this world, the Heavenly Demon actually exists.

Moreover, the existence of the Heavenly Demons seems to genuinely induce humans to make mistakes.

At least, in the Huai Xu Realm, in this world after An Jing's reincarnation, that is the truth.

Therefore, An Jing couldn't help but feel somewhat confused.

that……

"Who... should I kill first?"

"If I focus on slaying the Heavenly Demons, does that mean I'm letting those scum of the human world go, allowing them to survive and even absolve themselves of all guilt?"

"But if I go and settle scores with humanity first, wouldn't that give the Heavenly Demons an opportunity to cause even greater disaster?"

"Damn it... If we really give those beasts an excuse, and they can comfort themselves before they die, thinking they are 'excusable'..."

That's absolutely disgusting!

"The Heavenly Demons are this kind of depravity... So that's how it is. Is this your purpose? To support the depravity of all evildoers, even including their pitiful wishful thinking, excuses, and self-comfort?"

At that time, An Jing was indeed at a loss.

It was as if he hated that the sky had no handle and the earth had no ring; he couldn't fathom what this strange being, the Heavenly Demon, was all about.

Fortunately, this confusion did not last too long.

Because Fu Xie provided the answer, revealing the true nature of the Anjing Heavenly Demon.

The archetype of depravity

Essentially, "Subduing Evil" means that the Heavenly Demon is "everything".

All obstacles, all confusion, all cowardice; all hatred, hesitation, despair, and distress.

All forces and concepts that make people feel bound, unable to break free, and unable to move forward.

They are all demons.

The Demon King's past declarations may not have been mere boasts.

They are indeed the obstacle to everything.

It turned out to be the case.

The Heavenly Demon is 'everything'.

all.

Great.

The Heavenly Demon claimed to be the root of all evil. This answer did not make An Jing hesitate; on the contrary, it made him feel relieved like never before.

“So that’s the setting.”

His furrowed brows relaxed, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Precisely because it is everything, it is equivalent to non-existence."

"I originally thought that slaughtering the beasts among humans would benefit the Heavenly Demons; and focusing on killing the Heavenly Demons would allow the beasts among humans to survive... But you're telling me that the Heavenly Demons are 'all obstacles'?"

"That means that as long as they are beasts, as long as they are obstacles, killing them is equivalent to killing the Heavenly Demon, which is to weaken the Heavenly Demon!"

"Isn't this a double blessing!"

Therefore, there is no need to be confused anymore.

An Jing strengthened his resolve and his path.

He rose from his own grotto.

Outside, inside the Ancestral Dragon Hall.

An Jing rose from in front of the ancestral dragon scales.

He let out a breath.

This breath, seemingly light, was actually as heavy as gold. The heavy energy, visible to the naked eye, was like a solid entity. The moment it hit the ground, it collapsed with a bang, turning into layers of overlapping rings that surged and spread in all directions, like rolling clouds and waves, causing the solid floor of the hall to tremble.

Behind him, the phantom of a broken blade quietly appeared.

Fu Xie floated silently, yet it seemed to be the center of heaven and earth, and the surrounding void was uneven because of its existence.

"Fu Xie, it seems you've found yourself again, and you've gained new abilities."

An Jing said with a smile, her tone light, while Fu Xie also chuckled and said, "It's not about getting, but about finding back—I already possessed it, and now, I'm just picking it up again."

An Jing gained a great deal from this trip to Zhaolin Realm.

The martial arts advancement is to the [Divine Treasure] level, and through the 'Nine Tribulations Ascending to Heaven', the advancement is to the high-level Divine Treasure level, which is close to the peak.

His cultivation level also rose accordingly. He began the formal "Seven Returns and Nine Revolutions" process through the "Heavenly Furnace Nourishing the Dao" and the "Dragon Forging Abyss" of the Taibai Haoling Divine Restriction, reaching the high-level of the [Purple Mansion]. However, he still needs to continue refining.

The same applies to the path of Feathered Ascension Cave Heaven. It has just forged the third pole [Heavenly Fiend], and only the fourth pole and the final 'Four Poles Returning to One Cauldron' are needed to reach the peak.

Of the four immortal arts, An Jing has already comprehended 'Law', 'Nature', and 'Destiny', only lacking the final 'Spirit'. And An Jing has also had inspiration for the Way of Spirit. Based on the Taiyin and Taiyang Wuji and with the Cave Heaven Method as the core, he will probably be able to break through soon.

Just now, An Jing had already begun to feel the effects of the [Creation from Nothingness] position bestowed by the Ancestral Dragon, even though its specific effects were not yet apparent.

First, the spirit of the cave has already been conceived in his cave, which is a basic manifestation of the creation of a person from nothing.

Although the 'Hundred Forms of the Furnace' is currently an amorphous and incomplete true spirit, there is no doubt that it has an extremely high status and great potential. As long as it is tempered and trained, guided and designed by An Jing, and with reference to the design of the 'Dragon Pearl Base' and 'True Spirit Armament' of the Dragon Clan in the Great Wilderness Realm, as well as the series of designs of the 'Thousand Winds' celestial machinery in the Tianyuan Realm, it will definitely be a great help to him.

Putting everything else aside, Anjing's cave is not just his own energy and material reserves, but a complete logistics base.

"The Ascension Path needs a complete industrial system to sustain itself, a complete maintenance platform, and a 'collection' of upgrades, repairs, and fine-tuning. Therefore, the Ascension Path is limited by large companies and powerful forces."

"However, if every cultivator of the Ascension Path cultivates their own cave heaven and sets up a base inside their cave heaven—not requiring a base as powerful as mine, nor even requiring beings like the Hundred Forms of the Furnace, but only requiring automated equipment like the Dragon Ball base—the cultivators of the Ascension Path could take care of various different forms, have sufficient adaptability to various situations, and even be self-sufficient!"

This is An Jing's idea. The 'foundation building' stage of the Immortal Path, Martial Path, and even the Ascension Path will cause the cultivator's physical body to become spiritualized, transforming into all kinds of spiritual objects. The cave heaven sublimated based on one's own body will naturally contain all kinds of spiritual objects of the same origin, which are absolutely suitable for self-healing and repair.

This is undoubtedly a correct path of the [Way of Ascension to Heaven], and An Jing has once again perfected this path.

In addition, the position of "creating from nothing" has other benefits.

For example, An Jing could sense that this position contained an extremely powerful set of laws.

Just like the "Seven Luminaries and Seven Fiends Righteous Heaven and Righteous Law" in his destiny's "Seven Fiends Tribulation", the "Misty Descent of True Spirit True Law" in this category is also a Taoist scripture.

It even contains the "following and reversing the flow of time" mentioned by the Ancestral Dragon, a "transcendental method" used to break through the Return to Emptiness Dao and ascend to the highest realm.

The original purpose was to make the small business a new generation of creation out of nothing, to gain power, and to prepare for the subsequent 'journey to the capital'.

But now, seeing Xiao Qi lively and playful, frolicking and having fun with the 'Hundred Forms of the Furnace' in the cave, An Jing began to understand what Zu Long meant.

Although small businesses were indeed created by the will of Heaven to solve the chaos of things arising from nothing.

But, can life created for a purpose truly only be subject to that purpose?

An Jing disagreed.

If there are no intelligent tools, that would be better; create an intelligent being and let it embark on a path that is bound to be arduous.

To make a newborn child bear a responsibility that would overwhelm the Celestial Venerable.

An Jing felt that this was not a good thing.

It's not just a matter of suitability, but also a matter of whether one has the ability to accomplish it.

"In the future, whether you want to create something from nothing or not, it's up to you."

An Jing closed his eyes, focusing his mind on his own grotto-heaven. He placed the position of 'Creation from Nothingness' within the Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm, beneath the Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree, at the deepest part of the dragon vein, and whispered, "Wait until you can understand this responsibility. It's always reserved for you."

"As for now, I will temporarily take over your responsibilities."

Meanwhile, Fu Xie also reaped considerable rewards.

Just as An Jing made great progress in strength and once again consolidated the foundation of his cave heaven and the Great Dao, Fu Xie also obtained, or rather regained, a portion of his power during this trip to the Zhaolin Realm.

The simplest difference is that Fu Xie now possesses enhanced teleportation capabilities and virtually no cooldown speed.

The enhanced ability to travel is easy to understand; in other words, An Jing can now travel directly to the Great Wilderness Realm based on the senses of the 'fragments'.

The cooling speed is easier to understand. An Jing no longer needs to wait for the concept of a sun and moon cycle in the outside world; he only needs a sun and moon cycle within his own cave.

As is well known, the essence of the Sun and Moon in An Jing's inner cave is a mixture of the two great supernatural powers of Taiyin and Taiyang Wuji, along with other things. In other words, as long as An Jing uses his internal energy, he can travel through the void.

Besides, Fu Xie will not be easily rejected by the Heavenly Dao.

This was Fu Xie's original ability, but because of the interference of the Heavenly Demon Fu Xie in the infinite parallel universe, the Heavenly Dao became wary of this possibility, which is why it limited Fu Xie's travel time.

Another mystery has been solved: the reason why the time travel led by Fu Xie was time-limited was mainly because of the Heavenly Demon. After Fu Xie was inspired by the Ancestral Dragon and suppressed his Heavenly Demon side, this hidden danger was eliminated.

"The only problem."

An Jing said to the phantom of Fu Xie behind him, "The other Heavenly Demons Fu Xie have not been eliminated yet, they are just suppressed by you. We need to find a way to solve this problem."

"It's actually very simple." Fu Xie was full of confidence: "I am broken, and Tianmo Fu Xie is naturally broken as well. As long as I, the 'main body,' find the other fragments first and complete myself, I can naturally suppress Tianmo Fu Xie better."

"Currently, it seems that your other fragments have also begun to operate independently—the fragments from the Tianyuan Realm have joined the Great Wilderness Realm, and the fragments from the Great Wilderness Realm have also sent 'Yu Feng' to them."

An Jing, on the other hand, had a different view: "Yu Feng's existence is a coordinate. He possesses the divine power of the Heavenly Dao, which we can all see. He is the 'eye of the Great Wilderness Heavenly Dao.' The Great Wilderness Heavenly Dao observed every step of our battle, and it also knew about the situation of the Huai Xu Heavenly Dao."

"As for the Great Wilderness Realm's purpose, although it seems to be just a casual attempt at the moment, if nothing unexpected happens and the Ancestral Dragon Scale is really taken away by the Great Wilderness Dragon Clan, then it will not be you who will be awakened, but the Fuxie Fragment of the Great Wilderness Realm."

“Hmm…” Fu Xie pondered, “What you said is indeed correct. The fragment of Fu Xie in the Great Wilderness Realm? Perhaps it has also awakened its own will independently, and is ‘another me’.”

“That’s not surprising. At the very least, He shouldn’t be ‘Heavenly Demon Subduing Evil’. The fact that He wanted the Ancestral Dragon to awaken this point means that He has quite a few memories. Perhaps He wants to be the original body—I don’t care. Subduing Evil isn’t a single being. I don’t necessarily have to merge with Him. Let’s have a good chat about it later.”

Compared to An Jing's vague wariness, Fu Xie was quite optimistic in this regard: "Instead of this, An Jing, it's time to go out—the Ancestral Dragon Palace has been rebuilt, the Ancestral Dragon Scales have returned, and now, the Four Seasons Dragon Gods and others are waiting for you outside, along with at least a dozen, in fact dozens or even hundreds of Heavenly Venerables' gazes."

"I think you're really going to become famous."

"what."

The potential prying eyes of hundreds of Celestial Venerables would have made most people's legs go weak, but An Jing was not afraid at all. He even laughed and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Initiating a great calamity, scheming against each other, and fighting for power, in the end, isn't it all about wanting to become 'above the heavens'?"

"As a result, one by one, the Celestial Venerables of all generations couldn't even defeat the Supreme Heavenly Demon and the imprints of other Celestial Venerables... If you ask me, these people are simply not qualified to reach the pinnacle of power."

These words were incredibly arrogant, but Fu Xie felt that An Jing was being somewhat modest: "To be honest, even in the Dao Court era, these Lingxiao cultivators would not meet the requirements for achieving Dao Integration. Don't think that achieving Returning to the Void is easier than achieving Lingxiao; to achieve Dao Integration, at the very least, you need to make the 'Heavenly Dao' willing to accept you."

"This is an element where temperament is more important than talent. These Lingxiao talents are all qualified, but their temperament may not be. Under the Dao Court's review standards, they cannot become Dao Masters."

"And me?" An Jing asked with a smile.

"Leaving aside the fact that your temperament is certainly up to par, given your talent, An Jing definitely deserves a different training system."

The two men, one swordsman and one swordsman, chatted casually as they walked out of the main hall of the Ancestral Dragon Palace.

That is at this moment.

Alone with his sword, he felt an almost tangible pressure.

Just as Fu Xie said, at this moment, the Ancestral Dragon Palace was surrounded by the gazes of many Heavenly Venerables.

Even more than just the Celestial Venerable.

The Huai Xu Ten Heavens Sect, the 108 Upper Gates, the 800 Middle Gates... all were swept up in the Blood Sea Calamity in a single day, and the core of this Blood Sea Calamity was the Ancestral Dragon Palace and the Zhaolin Realm.

Just now, the Ancestral Dragon Saint Venerable manifested a phantom image, and his divine power swept across the entire Huai Xu, sweeping away the entire Blood Sea Calamity. Clearly, something went wrong on the side of the Ancestral Dragon Palace.

Unlike the Heavenly Sect, which had a general idea of ​​what had happened, many of the upper and middle sects had no idea what had happened. However, they all had some of the Lingxiao inheritance and foundation. At this moment, many Dao soldiers and Dao talismans came across the heavens and earth to investigate.

In an instant, the celestial phenomena of the entire Zhongheng Dao Continent changed drastically. Although the sky was not completely dark yet, only a gloomy dusk, enormous stars shone brightly at the top of the sky, flowing with various Daoist charms and divine radiance, transforming the entire celestial sea into a dazzling Milky Way.

These are the gazes of the Celestial Venerables, which descend as stars.

It fell on An Jing as she strode out of the main hall.

Their gaze, their will, and their radiance spread like ripples, intending to probe and deduce the current flow of fortune and future direction of Anjing, intending to see through Anjing's body and essence, intending to clarify all the causes and effects of Anjing, and to know what exactly happened within the 'Zhaolin Realm'.

Hundreds of gazes, each representing a different Lingxiao Law, intertwined to form an invisible and intangible net, descending upon An Jing who had just stepped out of the main hall.

But it was at that very moment.

At the very moment when all wills were focused on An Jing.

The broken, illusory blade of Fu Xie, positioned behind An Jing, trembled slightly.

Sonorous.

A sword rang out.

In an instant, all the Celestial Venerables who were spying, or the foundation of Lingxiao, all felt their vision and their will being violently distorted and shaken by this sword cry!

It was as if all the light and all the laws projected in one's eyes suddenly converged into a long beam, and this beam of light transformed into a sword blade, following the trajectory of cause and effect, fiercely slashing back towards the source of their will!

Then, the stars dimmed.

【ah! 】

For a moment, several of the weaker Celestial Venerables cried out in surprise. Far across the endless sea of ​​heaven, they instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes. But soon, blood dripped down, and the sword energy, sharp enough to defy even space and time, slowly subsided upon contact with blood, leaving the Celestial Venerables stunned: "This...this kind of sword energy...could it be that the Heavenly Sword Subduing Evil is no longer a fragment...?"

While the powerful beings from the Heavenly Sect were not in such a sorry state, the turmoil in their hearts was even more intense.

[Even the 'Mirror of Celestial Evolution' cannot see through it?]

[Unanalyzable... This sword intent, could it be?!]

Could it be that this 'Subduing Evil' is no longer a fragment, but...?

At this moment, all the Heavenly Venerables were stunned, their hearts filled with disbelief.

"Insolent junior."

At that moment, Fu Xie's voice rang out calmly, a stark contrast to the bewildered chaos before his awakening. His tone was calm yet sharp: "With the help of the Ancestral Dragon Saint Venerable, I have regained my past memories. How dare you spy on me and my sword master like this?"

"If I were to slumber, you would call me 'Subduer of Evil,' and I would not hold it against you. Now that I have awakened, what shall you call me?"

There was silence.

Above the sky, hundreds of brilliant stars dimmed and receded at this moment.

Immediately afterwards, voices and wills, some ancient, some majestic, some upright and peaceful, crossed the void and came, transforming into a ceremony of audience.

[Junior Ling Xiao greets Heavenly Sword Subduing Evil—]

[Greetings, Master of the Demon-Subduing Sword!]

(End of this chapter)