Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1074 Empty Mulberry Heart, Supreme Will (5600)

"real or fake?"

An Jing's tone carried an obvious hint of skepticism. He shook his head in disbelief: "If you had such an ability, then your dragon race wouldn't just be rich, but would have already unified Huai Xu—taking anything indefinitely without any problem? Isn't that just a wish-granting machine?"

"In a sense, it is indeed a wishing machine, but you have to be able to pick it up."

Jin Qixu smiled, his tone gentle and patient. He raised his hand, indicating that An Jing could try as he pleased: "Please. As long as your 'cause and effect' is substantial enough, theoretically, even a Dao soldier can be retrieved from the long river of history."

"cause and effect?"

Upon hearing this term, An Jing's heart skipped a beat, and he understood immediately. He nodded slightly and said, "It seems to be a system similar to the one used for exchanging items in Jin Yuan Tian?"

—Not bad. Looks like after I change things here, I can go to Jin Yuan Tian to submit the task and get the reward. I can get the reward twice for one thing!

Thinking this, An Jing smiled, said no more, and stepped forward, finally arriving in front of this 'treasure trove'.

A ring of past and future, a river of the ever-flowing past and future.

The world has infinite futures and infinite pasts, so the river of the future leads to endless darkness, while the river of the past is formed by countless streams converging into amber, with each facet reflecting infinite possibilities.

When An Jing focused his gaze, everything instantly became crystal clear before his eyes.

He saw countless images, scenes, and even descriptions resembling those in books or panels resembling those in comics in the billions of facets of the Amber River.

Here, everything that has ever happened is recorded and preserved in the most direct and essential way.

All the complexities of the material world become as simple and clear as a novel, a comic, or a projection.

An Jing could even imagine that for those beings who had reached this place and merged with the Great Dao, the past and future of these two rivers flowing on the inner side of the world were nothing more than things that could be changed, erased, or corrected at will.

"...This is not simply a treasure trove."

In an instant, An Jing understood completely. He let out a long breath and said in a deep voice, "Essentially, this is the control center of the Huai Xu Realm."

In this 'Star Sea Throne on the Inner Side of the World,' the place where the Ancestral Dragon once roamed, the world is viewed like a storyteller's own narrative. This is a true realm, one that perhaps only a Dao-Merging Supreme Being can fully comprehend!

Even Ling Xiao, here, is merely someone who 'can see more than I can'!

An Jing believed that if a Daoist master were to reside here, it would not merely be about 'taking' things from the story, but rather about directly altering everything in the River of the Past and Future, just as an author might modify words or an artist might paint on a scroll!
All that has died can be easily revived. Even if the soul is shattered, everything is empty, devoured and eroded by the Heavenly Demon, and turned into nothingness, a Dao Integration expert can easily restore everything that has been destroyed and turned into nothingness, as if nothing had ever happened.

The so-called nothingness is also divided into levels. True nothingness can only appear when all people and things, including those who have merged with the Dao and even Hongyuan, have forgotten it. The mere Heavenly Demon cannot completely erase it.

And the essence of this 'illusion and reality' and 'falsehood and truth' is the supreme authority within the world.

And Zhulong, perhaps, was born to possess this authority.

“True,” An Jing said softly, “This is the real ‘truth’.”

This is the true 'reality,' the 'truth' that supports the 'myriad phenomena' of the external world.

Here, the Dao can use its infinite power to create a completely new tributary of possibilities out of thin air, allowing something that did not exist in the world to be born.

For example.

A world operates naturally, and everything that comes into being is a story. This story may have no protagonist, but it definitely has its own plot, and everything that follows a logical progression is what makes a book.

However, in this place, the Daoist can rewrite the entire world as if it were a fan fiction!
They can alter reality and illusion, turning falsehood into truth, and transforming the mysterious into reality!
This is already a kind of "god".

"Just Zhulong is not enough."

As if he had seen through An Jing's thoughts, or perhaps he had communicated with An Jing in the future, Jin Qixu shook his head and explained softly, "The Candle Dragon, which controls the light of the universe, also needs to control the space, and the other three divine dragons that control the phenomena and spirits must gather together to transform into the [Dao God] with dragon horns, a human head, and a snake body."

"Its horns represent time, its scales represent all ages, its blood extends endlessly, and its pupils see in all directions."

"That is the primordial world, the Great Dao deities naturally born, the most original Dao-merging Saint Venerable."

"The Ancestral Dragon Saint Venerable is not a complete Dao God, because that is an existence that only exists in the most primitive world. The process of the Huai Xu Realm nurturing the Great Dao God was interrupted."

"But this is also a good thing. The Ancestral Dragon only needs a part of the Great Dao to become a Saint Venerable, while the other powers are integrated into all things in heaven and earth. In this way, everything will be orderly and have potential."

"The battle between Dao-mergers is essentially a process of rewriting numerous possibilities and creating different timelines." Fu Xie's voice also echoed in An Jing's heart: "Simply put, it's like an endless river trying to flow towards an endless plateau, competing with another river to see who can seize more territory."

"If they really collide, the erosion between the rivers will create 'chaos,' which is an area that neither side can predict—our timeline is the chaos that was born after the conflict between the Ancestral Dragon and the Supreme Heavenly Demon."

“Because it is chaos,” An Jing instantly understood, “therefore, it is not omnipotent.”

He perceived this so-called treasure trove, this infinite ring, once again, and gained a deeper understanding of its essence.

Taking something from this 'Ring of Past and Future' is like taking a prop out of a novel. Once the prop is taken out, the story in the novel will not be missing anything, because it is a product of the infinite power overflowing from the Heavenly Dao of Emptiness.

However, this use is not entirely without restrictions.

One can only choose things that align with one's own 'cause and effect'.

Just as exchanging for powerful items in the farthest heavens requires completing corresponding tasks and unlocking related side quests, extracting treasures from this infinite ring also requires Anjing to possess the relevant karma. This karma is a kind of 'merit' that transcends worldly value; once used up, it needs to be accumulated again.

"This is the essence of Taiyin Wuji... and it is indeed the same as the exchange with Jinyuantian."

An Jing, sensing the cause and effect he possessed, couldn't help but laugh.

“If it were someone else, no matter how much karma they accumulated, it wouldn’t amount to much. This is an automatic feedback mechanism where ‘the greater the deed, the greater the reward,’ so the dragons don’t need to worry about anyone using this treasure trove for other purposes.”

"But I'm different. I've done so many things, and they're so big!"

Under his perception, the enormous karmic consequences of his actions in the Zhaolin Realm—suppressing all the contemporary geniuses, awakening the Ancestral Dragon, and ending the source of the Blood Sea Calamity—were almost equivalent to 500,000 merits in the Far Heaven!
You can exchange two fragments of the Haotian Mirror for one set of the Zhulong Battle Armor from Ancestor Xiyi!

His actions were comparable to those of a Celestial Venerable—and indeed they were. It was because of Anjing that the Divine One Sect Master was completely defeated. As for the subsequent awakening of the Ancestral Dragon, that was another matter entirely. This thing was ineffable and could not be affected by cause and effect. Moreover, it was the source of the creation of a position from nothing.

Moreover, An Jing glanced around and found that he could exchange many things for them.

In the river of past and future, countless rare treasures and divine skills flowed past him.

Lost fragments of ancient Daoist scriptures, divine weapons used by a certain Celestial Venerable when he was in the Divine Treasury Realm, innate spiritual roots that could transform a person... He could exchange for any of these things at will, and could easily produce many of them.

But these are obviously of little use, at least for An Jing, these treasures are meaningless to a normal 'divine treasure'.

Jin Qixu stood quietly to the side, smiling. He believed that An Jing would definitely find what she truly needed.

Fu Xie felt the same way. Although he had some suggestions, he also felt that it was the best choice for An Jing to make his own decision.

And indeed, An Jing was found.

"For me, I can be self-sufficient in all external things, and internally, everything about me is almost perfect, except for the final 'path of the spirit' and the complete 'Five Emperors Law'."

He has already obtained the White Emperor's inheritance of the Five Emperors' Laws. He can seek the laws of the Yellow Emperor, Red Emperor, and Green Emperor in the Tianyuan World. The only thing he still lacks is the Black Emperor's Law, which corresponds to the Ren and Gui waters of the North and the [Mysterious Light and Dark Spirit Mysterious Chapter].

And this corresponds precisely to the Northern Sword—[Heavenly Punishment]—that is still in its illusory stage within the four corners of his grotto-heaven.

In that case, An Jing needs to consider matters related to the 'Path of the Spirit' and the 'Black Emperor Law'.

An Jing was responsible for both of these things.

The Way of the Spirit represents the ultimate control over the circulation of spiritual energy and the essence of energy. If one wants to prove this immortal art, the key point is obviously in the tranquil cave heaven.

Everyone's spiritual path is different, and the spiritual path of the Cave Heaven Method undoubtedly lies in the 'Divine Tree', the central hub of the entire spiritual energy circulation. The Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree is transformed from An Jing's true spiritual blood and the Ancestral Dragon Seed. In other words, it is like the Divine Tree incarnation of the Ancestral Dragon, and is half of An Jing's body.

If it can be elevated to a higher level, triggering the Great Five Elements Cycle of the entire Cave Heaven World, endlessly regenerating, then it must also be a spiritual path, and in the future it can connect with the flow of time in both directions.

Since that's the case, An Jing decided to exchange for a divine item.

Is there anything that can be related to both the Black Emperor and the Divine Tree, and ideally, it can also drive the rotation of the Five Elements and echo the annihilation principle of 'Heavenly Punishment'?

There seem to be many conditions, but there are actually some that meet the criteria!

Anjing's will probed into the ceaseless river of time, and the light and shadow of countless treasures flowed through his mind. Finally, his gaze locked onto a legend originating from the primordial era.

—During the time of Shun, Gonggong stirred up a great flood that swept across Kongsang.

Emperor Zhuanxu was born from Ruoshui, and actually lived in Kongsang. He then ascended to the throne.

—The vast expanse of the empty mulberry tree, the expanse of the eight directions.

The waters of Gonggong, the land of the Black Emperor, the vast and desolate land of the eight directions, are silent and still, where the trees that nurture the sun and moon are born!
Without hesitation, Kongsangmu raised his hand and transferred nearly half of the merits he had gained in defeating heroes of the past and present and quelling the Blood Sea Calamity in the Zhaolin Realm into this Ring of Past and Future.

Thus, a supreme divine object, comparable to the branch of the Jianmu tree and even surpassing it in some concepts, answered his call.

hum!
With a soft hum, the ring of past and future suddenly accelerated, the light of the universe intertwined, and the space was turned upside down. From the deepest part of the long river of light flowing into the future, from the very source of the still stream that solidifies history like amber, a crystal-clear point of light, as if containing the mystery of the beginning of heaven and earth, quietly emerged.

It flew in and landed in Anjing's palm.

That was a tree heart.

A crystal-clear, glass-like heartwood, exuding a boundless and vast aura, seemingly containing a complete world within it.

Within it, the sun and moon revolve, stars and rivers flow, all things are born and die, the five elements circulate, and all living beings in the world are born.

【The Quiet Heart of Kongsang】

The mulberry tree, which should be hollow, still retains a heart. This heart is quiet and still, and it is the 'emptiness' itself that existed when the universe was first created, in the vast and boundless time, and the place where the sun and moon moved.

Kongsang is the world, and the world is a hollow divine tree. The 'heart of emptiness' and 'illusory truth' that should not exist but do exist are the silent heart of Kongsang divine tree. It is the existence of all things in the world itself, a kind of 'illusory' existence that is 'illusory' to those who are in harmony with the Dao, but is also equally real.

All was silent, and I was the only one left.

The tranquility of Kongsang is precisely a 'collection of legal principles'!
Although it is not infinite, it is undoubtedly a divine object of the Dao of the Grotto Heaven!

Without the slightest hesitation, An Jing moved his mind, and the tree heart entered his body, descending into the [Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm].

In the blink of an eye, the world has changed!

The moment the [Quiet Heart of Kongsang] entered, the core of the entire Heavenly Punishment Realm, the Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree that spanned heaven and earth, emitted a joyful hum. The earth trembled, the earth veins rose, and it stretched out its core roots, gently accepting and merging with the tree heart.

In the next instant, the entire cave world came to life.

In an instant, the ocean trembled.

Within the Heavenly Punishment Realm, the sun and moon began to revolve.

Above the heavens, the boundless divine power of the moon and the sun began its first true cycle!

The sun and moon rise and set, and darkness and light alternate.

For the first time, the unchanging bitterness was imbued with the colors of time and the flow of years.

Beneath the earth, the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are no longer separate entities, but under the guidance of the roots of the divine tree, they have begun their first truly significant great cycle!

Metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal...

On the boundless sea within the cave, for the first time, the Yin and Yang ocean currents that drive all things appeared. They rotated endlessly, a microcosm of the 'endless river flowing towards the future' and the 'river frozen in time'!

The Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree, Anjing's half-body, began to grow at this moment. Its crown reached the sky, its roots supported the earth, and its trunk was the pillar of heaven, the altar and throne of the Dao God.

An Jing is the only [Dao God].

In harmony with the Dao.

Although Anjing is already a true spirit of the grotto heaven, he still needs a way to fully 'integrate with the Dao'.

The Heavenly Dao of Embracing Emptiness is the collection of all things in the Emptiness, yet it still needs to create the Ancestral Dragon as the agent of its will.

An Jing had a premonition that when his other half—the Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree—also 'merged' with the Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm, he would step into a higher realm.

That would be a fundamental leap, a "true realm" that regards all things, beings, past and future, as pictures in a book.

Before that, everything was an illusion, a false realm.

This change in aura caught the attention of Jin Qixu, who was standing nearby.

He didn't know, nor would he try to sense, what An Jing had exchanged for, but Jin Qixu could feel that An Jing seemed to have merged with the entire world, becoming even more unfathomable. Even the power of time and light could hardly fathom it, and for the time being, he could not communicate with 'An Jing of the future'.

He couldn't help but ask, "What... do you want to exchange for?"

"I still have a little more to accomplish," An Jing said with a smile, snapping out of his reverie. "Wouldn't it be a pity not to finish it?"

"Exchange them all."

He reached out his hand again. This time, An Jing did not choose a specific divine object, but instead went back to a period of time after the beginning of the world.

"Jia and Yi represent wood, Bing and Ding represent fire, Wu and Ji represent earth, Geng and Xin represent metal, and Ren and Gui represent water!"

The ten Heavenly Stems, representing the Yin and Yang aspects of the Five Elements, constitute the ten most fundamental elements that form the laws governing all things!
Although this thing is theoretically incredibly expensive and extremely difficult to obtain in the current world, it is very cheap in this Infinite Ring. An Jing can exchange for it all at once!

In an instant, ten divine essences containing the purest principles of law flew out from the river of time and all flowed into the tranquil grotto.

Within the Heavenly Punishment Realm, the Great Cycle of the Five Elements was finally completed, becoming perfect.

On the northern horizon, the phantom of the sword "Heavenly Punishment," symbolizing end and annihilation, suddenly solidified considerably.

It is just one final opportunity away from being fully manifested!
The whole world became incredibly clear and incredibly 'real' at that moment.

An Jing also gained more and more insights.

The internal array of a martial artist is essentially 'illusory'.

Compared to the physical martial artist, the array within the body is entirely formed from the pure Qi of spiritual energy, containing laws and principles that can be changed at any time, modified and transformed by the martial artist to create various laws and principles.

But all of this is ultimately just a mirage. Even if the Great Heaven manifests itself and the universe within one's body transforms into a physical entity using the power of heaven and earth, it is still a "transformation of heaven and earth by another." In essence, it is a fabricated set of laws that one creates for heaven and earth to fill, which is a small-scale "empty proof within an illusion."

That sounds reasonable.

But what if we switch to the Dao?

A true, original being who has attained the Dao, that is, the Dao God of Heaven and Earth, for Him, aren't the myriad worlds themselves the essence and qi within His body? The master of the elephant, the supreme being of all elephants, hence the title Elephant Emperor, that is the original Dao God.

Before the Emperor, there is the very essence of the Way of Heaven and Earth and all things.

The 'Dao God Elephant Emperor' can manipulate the world within the body at will, just like a martial artist manipulates the array within their body. This is the difference between illusion and reality. Martial artists are not only minor saints and demons, but also minor Dao Gods.

And now.

Anjing found another way.

To merge with the Dao in the boundless and vast universe is fraught with difficulties. But to merge with the Dao in the finite world of one's own personal grotto-heaven is entirely feasible!

The most crucial aspect is a fundamental improvement.

As long as one elevates the essence of their own grotto-heaven to the same 'status' as a great world, then having merged with the Dao of the grotto-heaven, one will possess that difference between 'reality' and 'illusion'!

That is the essence, an improvement in rank. Although it is different from a true Dao God, it is definitely a shortcut to the Dao!
"Man can create things into tools, gods can create man into living beings, heaven can create gods, and the Tao can create heaven and earth."

"I have already been able to create the 'Hundred Forms of the Furnace,' almost to the point of godhood. Once I transform the Heavenly Punishment Divine Wood into the God of the Bitter Realm, I will be the Heaven of the Bitter Realm; this step is not far off. And the next step, once I can freely create all things in heaven and earth, I will be the [Dao] of the Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm!"

An Jing understood. He suddenly realized, "And this is the final step of the Cave Heaven Technique: [Manifesting the Supreme Being]!"

"The Supreme One is the ultimate! That is the Dao. I do not want to become the 'Cave Heaven itself,' but rather the 'Dao' that 'creates heaven and earth,' which is the 'Supreme God, the supreme will'—this is the future of the Cave Heaven Method!"

At this moment, with the arrival of the ten Heavenly Stems and Spiritual Objects, the operation of the Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm began, just like a real furnace.

The newly formed 'Hundred Forms of the Furnace' were also somewhat completed due to the perfection of the Five Elements. Although they still did not have solidified bodies, they would not be evaporated. Instead, they spontaneously began to operate, absorbing spiritual energy and nourishing the divine tree. They began to surround the divine tree, constructing a huge ring, a primitive [natural magic array].

This is the beginning of the first 'Spiritual Blessed Land' in the Heavenly Punishment Bitter Realm.

And the Hundred Forms became the first batch of laborers in this world cycle.

As the core of the world, the Heavenly Punishment Divine Tree was now covered in a brilliant golden hue, radiating endless light and heat, like a second sun.

—The vast expanse of the empty mulberry tree, the expanse of the eight directions.

The rising and setting of the sun and moon, the darkness and light of all things—this is the divine!

(End of this chapter)