Chaos Dao Sheng Jue

This is not a metaphor, but a fact that is happening right now.

At this very moment, a fist-sized ball of crimson-gold flame is slowly taking shape in the location of Lu Chen's heart.

That wasn't real flame, but rather a "heart fire" formed from the essence of life and will. With each wisp of it, the cracks on Lu Chen's body would spread further, and his aura would weaken.

But in contrast, the light in the grooves grew brighter and brighter.

The eerie blue light of the Yin Mirror, the golden light of Lu Chen's divine essence, the white light of the words "Soul Suppression" intertwined, and the projection of Lu Chen's "Heart Fire" was attempting to fill the gaps in the original fire.

The four elements are incomplete, and the five elements are lacking. Even if the heart fire is used as a substitute, it is ultimately not the true original fire.

The prophetic poem says "there is a glimmer of hope," but where exactly is this "glimmer of hope"?

Lu Chen's consciousness gradually blurred as he burned. He could feel his life slipping away, like fine sand in an hourglass, irretrievably diminishing.

But strangely, he showed no fear; instead, he was unusually calm.

Just like we saw in the Reincarnation Demon, he rejected the old Taoist's "reboot" plan and chose his own path. So now, paying the price for this path seems only natural.

It's just... a bit of a shame.

He hadn't yet seen the day when the Divine Domain was restored, hadn't yet found a way to return to Earth, and hadn't yet had any intimate moments with Ye Rushuang and the others.

As Lu Chen's consciousness grew increasingly blurred, just as he was about to sink into eternal darkness, a voice rang out.

It doesn't come from the outside world, but from the deepest part of one's heart.

"Giving up already?" The voice was young, with a hint of teasing, and also a hint of...familiarity.

Lu Chen struggled to gather his fading consciousness: "Who?"

"Guess?" the voice laughed. "There's a prize for guessing correctly."

Lu Chen wanted to curse. What the hell was going on? The other person was still in the mood to joke with him at a time like this, but he didn't even have the energy to curse.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." His voice turned serious. "Who I am isn't important. What's important is that you can't die here."

"Do you think I wanted this?!"

"You can think about it," the voice interrupted Lu Chen, "Have you forgotten the last line of that prophetic poem?"

Lu Chen was taken aback. The prophetic poem was incomplete; the last line he saw was "only then is there a glimmer of hope." Could there be more to it?

"Use your heart as fire, your life as fuel, and there will be a glimmer of hope... But the hope lies not in the fuel, but in the spark." The voice slowly recited, "That is the complete sentence. You have misunderstood."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, what you need to do is not burn yourself to fill the void, but use your 'heart fire' to ignite the 'true spark'," the voice said. "Although the primordial fire has been taken away, its 'spark' has always been here, deep within the altar, sealed by these predecessors with their last lives."

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat: "The flame is still there?"

"It exists, but it's sealed away. It needs a specific 'key' to be awakened." The voice paused. "And you are that key."

"why me?"

"Because you possess the Chaos Dao Life Technique, because you are an 'anomaly,' because you inherently possess the power of the fire's origin, and because you refused the 'reboot.'" There was a hint of approval in the voice.

“Those ancient predecessors would rather sacrifice themselves to seal away the embodiment of evil than accept the old Taoist’s perfect restart plan. Their will and their path remain in this altar. Only those who make the same choice as them can gain their approval and awaken the spark.”

Lu Chen understood that this was not a matter of power or opportunity, but a matter of choosing the "Dao".

The old Taoist priest chose to restart, so he could take the primordial fire with him, but he couldn't awaken the flame. These ancient predecessors chose to seal it, so they left the flame behind, waiting for those who would come after them.

Lu Chen, in the Samsara Reflection, made the same choice as his predecessors.

"What should I do?" Lu Chen asked.

“It’s very simple,” the voice continued. “Inject your inner fire into the black stone slab in the center of the altar—that’s the ‘core fragment’ of the Dao Foundation, and the seed of fire is sealed inside.”

"But now I..."

“I know you’re not doing well.” The voice chuckled. “So, I’ll lend you a hand. After all… you’re kind of my ‘half-comrade’.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle yet powerful force suddenly flowed into Lu Chen's body from the void!

That was not the power of life, nor the power of divine essence, but a more ancient and primordial power.

It is like a warm spring, nourishing the veins that are about to dry up and stabilizing the mind on the verge of collapse. Most miraculously, this power contains an understanding of "fire"—not a burning fire, but a "fire of vitality," a "fire of civilization," and a "fire of hope."

Lu Chen instantly understood the source of this power: it was the former owner of the Chaos Dao Life Technique!

It was that ancient being who left runes in the "Gap of Time," prophesied on the altar, and orchestrated all of this countless years ago!

“Senior…” Lu Chen murmured.

"Stop talking nonsense, your time is running out." The voice became urgent. "I can only help you stabilize for three breaths. Within three breaths, ignite the fire, otherwise I can't save you."

Lu Chen no longer hesitated. He concentrated all his will and controlled the dying flame in his heart, slowly moving it toward the center of the groove—there was indeed a palm-sized, darker black stone slab there.

A breath. The Heartfire touched the stone slab. Dense sealing runes appeared on the surface of the stone slab, each containing power at least at the Transcendent Realm. But the Heartfire did not forcefully break through; instead, it "penetrated" into it like water—because Lu Chen's power and the power of the seal shared the same origin.

Two breaths. Inside the stone slab, a faint, almost extinguished white flame was stirred by the fire of the heart. It trembled, like someone awakened from a long slumber, bewildered and weak.

Three breaths! Now!

Lu Chen poured all his understanding of the "Tao," his belief in "protection," and his persistence in "hope" into his heart fire!

"Wake up!"

A silent cry resounded at the level of the soul.

The white flame trembled violently, and then... burst into flames!

It wasn't crimson gold, nor deep blue, nor any known color, but a pure, indescribable "white." That white wasn't glaring or cold; instead, it gave people a feeling of warmth, inclusiveness, and the nurturing of all things.

The primordial fire, the true spark, has awakened!

Almost simultaneously, the corresponding area within the groove emitted the same white light.

At the same time, the entire altar shook violently, but this time it was not a sign of collapse, but rather... a rebirth!

The shadows emerging from the cracks emitted a shrill cry under the white light, melting and evaporating as quickly as ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.

The shadows on the platform were also suppressed and purified, turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating into the air.

The enormous skeletons surrounding the altar slowly "melted" in the white light, turning into countless points of light.

These points of light did not dissipate, but instead converged into a river of light, flowing into the four-colored light wheel at the center of the groove.

The light wheel spun faster and faster, eventually transforming into a pillar of light that shot into the sky, piercing through the gray mist of the Abyss of Reincarnation and shooting straight into the unknown void.

In the center of the pillar of light, a new stone tablet slowly rose from the groove…