Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1115 The Late Emperor's Contingency Plan (35)

No.

An Jing frowned, his thoughts running deeper: "This is merely to prevent the technique from being abused; it doesn't prevent those who have learned the Imperial Scripture from using it—unless, using the 'cannibalism' method requires special authorization, and this authorization can only be known by one person, and that person is..."

That's us.

Dao Ling calmly said: "[The Heavenly Demon Secret Contract, the true core of the Emperor's Book technique, the art of cannibalism, can only be mastered by one being.]"

And that being is us.

The cycle of heaven and earth, the principle of the Great Dao's recurrence... This is the core of the Great Dao's laws, the divine covenant governing the operation of heaven and earth. By sealing this Dao, the Heavenly Demons are instinctively powerless to resist and can only obediently serve as our dogs, guarding this greatest secret. Anyone who wants to explore it, or who explores it to this extent, will encounter the Heavenly Demons' countermeasures, even the Xuan Tian Emperor... is no exception.

The Dao Spirit, who had been completely refined by An Jing, calmly explained, but upon hearing this, An Jing frowned.

"The late emperor."

He muttered to himself, this was indeed a point An Jing had overlooked before: "The late emperor explored to this extent? Back then, he didn't just want to spread this cultivation method to Prince Jing, but because he had already explored to this most fundamental level?"

We do not know.

Dao Ling said: "We were separated from the main body twenty years ago. Apart from a small amount of information released by the Imperial Court, we know nothing about the past twenty years."

Dao Ling truly did not know.

But not knowing is itself an answer.

An Jing's sharp mind and keen insight allowed him to grasp the key point in an instant.

First, it's 'twenty years'.

This point in time, if we move back, happens to be around the time of his birth, which is also the day the late emperor passed away, and the day when a demonic disaster broke out in the northern frontier, leaving Prince Jing in a state of utter chaos.

It seems that the Dao spirit residing in this Imperial Book was personally cut off by the late emperor at that crucial juncture and entrusted to this inheritance... In other words, this secret book that records the fundamental laws of the Great Chen Dynasty is probably a backup plan left by the late emperor!
Did the late emperor believe Prince Jing or his own son in his ability to control the Dao Spirit, or was the Dao Spirit simply easier to control?
No wonder I was able to control it so easily just now. I thought a Dao Spirit would have some strong resistance.

If that's the case, then what exactly is the purpose of the Prince of De who sent this book to me... no, it should be said that it is the little emperor behind the Prince of De, the one who personally entered the Zhaolin Realm and is most likely the current 'Nature Master', Xuan Mingyu...?
In just a moment, An Jing found the answer.

"Interesting. Using this method to subtly show goodwill, and to circumvent the problem of 'heavenly demon interference,' avoiding repeating the mistakes of the late emperor and dying under the dual counterattack of heavenly demons and Dao spirits... In the end, is it to deceive the Holy Ancestor's Dao thoughts and the entire court of officials, and then tell me the cause and effect of all this?"

An Jing nodded thoughtfully, then smiled and said, "This kind of clever little idea is indeed ingenious."

Although Jing Wang Xuan Guangyun could be considered half-resurrected on You Ruhui's side, the time when Jing Wang left behind a backup plan was obviously earlier than when the late emperor severed the Dao Spirit.

The secrets he knew did not involve this final and most crucial section, and his memory of it had become fragmented and scattered over time. In terms of detail and accuracy, it was completely incomparable to the Spirit of the Word in the Book of God.

In addition, An Jing noticed a detail.

"Dark Gold Dragon Bone... Original Version".

An Jing suddenly realized something. He looked at Dao Ling and understood: "The original imperial book inheritance that Xuan Tianji developed back then must have a similar original record of the method of eating people in heaven and earth—and Xuan Tianji must have had a group of blood relatives and close friends who cultivated this method with him back then!"

"Just like me, my grotto-heaven method also has my companion star, as well as some friends and successors I have chosen to cultivate. We verify each other, so that a lineage can be completed at the fastest speed!"

Because he was similar to Xuan Tianji, only better than him, An Jing was able to understand everything at the fastest speed.

Those capable of cultivating the original Imperial Scriptures were undoubtedly the core of Xuan Tianji's inner circle, the veterans and pillars who had followed him in conquering the empire. But precisely because of this, as original shareholders, their authority and understanding of the secrets were second only to Xuan Tianji himself. The hierarchy within the Imperial Court was difficult to define, and ultimate authority was even more difficult to consolidate.

This has become the biggest hidden danger.

If the 'Heavenly Demon Pact' is to be used as insurance, the key must be held by only one person, by one will.

"Therefore, Xuan Tianji secretly plotted to kill his closest blood relatives and friends who followed and trusted him. He then disposed of their remains in the Zhaolin Realm, a place where the Zhenwang (King of Towns) rarely attended in person... This was to ensure that all core authority was absolutely and exclusively in his own hands."

An Jing closed her eyes.

All he could say was 'ignorance'.

To prevent future decline, we start declining now. What's the difference between this and 'Trees will be broken by the wind when they grow up, so let's compress all the trees into the size of bonsai'?
Both are forms of depravity and calamity. The big tree has its own strength and trials, while the small tree has its own calamities and shortcomings. At least the big tree collapses because of its size, while the small tree is trampled to death with a single step!

Of course, An Jing also knew that talking about this with the ancients was really too much of a hindsight, and that Xuan Tianji probably really couldn't see what would happen 30,000 years from now.

After all, he is not himself.

and many more.

Thinking about this, An Jing noticed another detail.

According to this logic...

Xuan Mingyu, this young emperor, deliberately entered the Zhaolin Realm in search of this secret technique. His ultimate goal was to obtain the exclusive access to this unique 'cannibalistic method'...

What was his real purpose?

Although the answer was almost self-evident, An Jing still shook his head and sighed, "I hope it's not the worst-case scenario. I've seen far too many stories of people resorting to any means to gain power, ultimately turning into cannibalistic tyrants. In the history of Earth before the advent of supernatural powers, there are far too many of these stories."

"If the same drama continues to unfold in this world..."

Raising his head, An Jing's gaze seemed to pierce through the void, reaching the distant capital of Huai Xu Realm.

“Xuan Mingyu.”

"In that case, you really bore me and are not worthy of being a naturalist."

Now that things have come to this, with the information provided by this spirit, many details are clear, and refining this spirit is definitely a good decision.

Now, only one question remains.

"What exactly are your laws?"

An Jing's tone returned to calm as he asked, "From what I can see, Xuan Tianji is indeed exceptionally talented. He has integrated the Five Emperors' Laws to create the New Heavenly Sect, limiting potential corruption, using demons to control demons, and developing a completely new civilized order... It is indeed a grand undertaking, far more impressive than those martial artists who only know how to repeat the cycle of reincarnation, life and death, and are like crops."

"But what does that have to do with eliminating the Heavenly Demon?"

“This has absolutely nothing to do with what you said at the beginning, ‘the only way to eliminate the demonic invasion.’”

(End of this chapter)