As soon as he spoke these words, even the Ancestral God flew into a rage, intent to kill flaring in his heart.
Back then, the Dragon Court had already sensed the approaching doom, yet no matter how the diviners of the dragon race calculated, they could never divine why they were destined to perish. They sought out the Ancestral God, but even the Ancestral God could give no reason.
Not until the Emerald Rocks arrived, piercing the Three Realms as Dao weeping swept across the world, did they finally learn where their extinction came from.
The Dragon Court, that most magnificent of civilizations, was reduced to ash and dust just like that, and countless supremely powerful beings crumbled one after another into dust.
To annihilate all living beings of the Three Realms, leaving behind only a shattered Earth Immortal Realm that had bred life for tens of millions of years up to this day without ever regaining its former vitality—how could such a thing be dismissed with a single claim that weakness was an original sin?
Lu Yiren said solemnly, "My parents had no ill intent. They were benevolent and charitable, wishing only to spread the principles recorded upon the three Emerald Rocks to this backward universe. Nor did they expect that you would be so weak, unable to receive such a precious gift. Even less did they expect that you would misunderstand them, leading to the tragedy that cost both my parents their lives."
The Holy Venerable said chillingly, "Your parents' death is a tragedy, but the extinction of the Dragon Court and the deaths of countless mortals in the Mortal Realm are not? We were living peacefully, yet you showed up and demanded our Zangification—and if we did not submit to Zangification, we died! What kind of logic is that?"
Lu Yiren sighed. "The price of that ordeal was far too great for both sides. But what has passed is already behind us. Why must the Holy Venerable harp on the right and wrong of that bygone era? We ought to look to the present and the future."
With a solemn countenance, he continued, "The world today has passed through three eras—the Monster Court, the Old Dao, and the New Dao—yet it wanes with each passing day. This is not what my parents wished to see. Your so-called Old Dao and New Dao are both outer daos; the true Great Dao is the Emerald Rock Great Dao. Emperor Haotian, Emperor Taihao, Emperor Shaohao, Emperor Haohong, Emperor Haoying, and Emperor Haoxiang all attested to this. By studying the Emerald Rock Great Dao and gaining insight, they summoned cave abysses, thereby reigning supreme over the world."
Shifting the topic, he said, "Yet, they only grasped the mere surface of the Emerald Rock Great Dao's techniques; they never truly mastered its essence. Fellow Daoist Xu, your scholarship is extraordinary; you are the first human to decipher the Emerald Rock Great Dao. In all these tens of millions of years, you are the only one who has stepped onto the correct path. As the forerunner of the world, why not undergo complete Zangification and ascend to godhood?"
The Holy Venerable sneered. "Complete Zangification? How could one still be human?"
Lu Yiren said indifferently, "Once one has become a god, what does it matter if one is no longer human?"
The Holy Venerable raised his brows, stepped forward, and sneered, "Complete Zangification means exterminating our race and lineage! This is no mere harvesting of leeks; this is tearing them out by the roots!"
Lu Yiren's temper flared as well, and he retorted tit for tat, "And without complete Zangification, do you think your race will not be wiped out? In my view, when the Great Three Realms Tide arrives, you will perish all the faster!"
He sneered, "Yuan Yu, are you even worthy of being called the Holy Venerable? You are stubborn and self-willed, murdering Emperor Qingxuan for your own gain, swallowing other people's cave abysses and refining them for yourself. The Great Dao you cultivate and the cave abysses you use all come from the Emerald Rocks! You are the one who reaped the greatest benefits from them! You know full well that the Great Three Realms Tide is imminent, yet you still indulge in your grand pipe dream of unifying the Three Realms, blind to the existential crisis hanging over your head! What right do you have to call yourself the Holy Venerable?"
The Holy Venerable was consumed by fury, yet every single word Lu Yiren spoke was something he had actually done; it struck straight to the bone.
The Ancestral God stepped forward and said coldly, "The Holy Venerable is selfish, but what he said was not wrong. Complete Zangification means the extinction of our race, and it must never be implemented! Lu Yiren, you are of the alien race of the outer realms, not of our Three Realms' bloodline. You harbor evil intentions and insidious motives!"
Lu Yiren burst into laughter, then his expression suddenly darkened. "The prattle of a rotting corpse, the petty perspective of a common boor! You call yourself the Ancestral God, the primordial spirit of the universe, yet all you care about is receiving reverence from rulers and sacrifices from the common masses! A piece of rotting temple wood who dared not risk his own skin entering the Mortal Realm, so you sent Fellow Daoist Xu ahead to scout the path! Such despicable conduct—how do you have the gall to speak of selfishness?"
The Ancestral God's face turned livid.
When cursing someone, one hits where it hurts, and Lu Yiren had indeed exposed his sorest spot.
He truly placed immense value on the reverence of rulers. Whether in the era of the Monster Court or the ancient era, whoever ascended the imperial throne—no matter how bloodily the heavens and earth were torn apart in the struggle for power—had to revere the Ancestral God.
The Ancestral God wielded unfathomable power and controlled the sacrifices of all mortal beings; without his approval, not even an Immortal Emperor could sit securely on the throne!
This was precisely why back then, Qingxuan and the Holy Venerable had insisted on getting rid of the Ancestral God before eliminating the Last Lord of Ziwei!
As for Lu Yiren's accusation that he had feared entering the Mortal Realm and thrown Xu Ying in to scout ahead, that had indeed been the Ancestral God's petty calculation. At that time, specks of light had appeared in the Mortal Realm; the Ancestral God had not known what was happening there and feared he would be unable to return if he went himself, so he had taken advantage of Xu Ying's tribulation to cast him across to investigate.
Only after Xu Ying repaired some of the Great Daos of heaven and earth had he rushed over.
Looking down haughtily at the Holy Venerable and the Ancestral God, Lu Yiren said, "Ancestral God, that you were able to grasp the Dark Heavenly Dao was only because of my indulgence. Had I forbidden it, you would still be a sickly invalid right now! The Mortal Realm's Heavenly Dao has been restored, and the Great Three Realms Tide has already begun. Instead of thinking about how to bring mortals to the Mortal Realm to cultivate the star wastes and open up new lands, the very first thing the two of you thought of was slaughtering each other over your petty, insignificant interests! Utterly foolish!"
Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang exchanged a glance. Yuan Weiyang quietly transmitted her divine sense: "Why do I feel that his scolding is completely justified?"
Xu Ying nodded repeatedly.
Yuan Weiyang quickly said, "Don't nod like that! If the Holy Venerable and the Ancestral God see you, they'll know we're badmouthing them."
"Old bastards do wrong and people aren't even allowed to talk about it?" Xu Ying replied in astonishment.
Yuan Weiyang covered his mouth.
Xu Ying stuck out his tongue and licked her fingers.
Yuan Weiyang hurriedly withdrew her hand, glaring at him fiercely.
Lu Yiren sneered, "The Holy Venerable might not know what will happen when the Great Three Realms Tide arrives, but could you, Ancestral God, not know? The Heavenly Immortal Realm is approaching. Instead of making early preparations to face the crisis, you slaughter your own kind and still look so pleased with yourself! A low-grade deity, a senile old fool like you—how did you manage not to die ten million years ago?"
The Ancestral God choked with rage. "Y-you..."
Xu Ying quickly comforted him, "Ancestral God, why let him get under your skin? Mind the injuries on your body."
The Ancestral God's heart chilled; the wounds upon his body had indeed not yet healed.
The Holy Venerable spoke in a chilling voice, "Your words are high-sounding indeed, but you are an alien, not of our kind—"
"You are not even as good as that monkey," Lu Yiren said, casting a contemptuous glance at him. "That monkey knew the Great Three Realms Tide was approaching and worried about upheaval in the Mortal Realm and Heavenly Immortal Realm, so he was the first to cross the sea, braving the cosmic cesspool to reach the Mortal Realm. After coming here and encountering me, he hurried onward to the Heavenly Immortal Realm. A monkey imprisoned for seven hundred thousand years still possessed such concern, yet you call yourself the Holy Venerable? Are you worthy?"
The Holy Venerable's hair bristled with fury, killing intent soaring skyward. He barked, "I am inferior to Daoist Wukong?!"
Yuan Weiyang urged, "Holy Venerable, calm your anger. Take care not to reopen your wounds."
The Holy Venerable snorted and said coldly, "An alien from beyond the realms who calls himself an Outlander, yet constantly babbles about righteousness as if caring for our Three Realms, when in truth he harbors malicious intent! Lu Yiren, your petty tricks might deceive others, but they won't fool me!"
Lu Yiren said casually, "Why would I need to fool you? Fellow Daoist Xu, as long as you nod to complete Zangification, I will immediately kill the Holy Venerable, imprison the Ancestral God, and help you eliminate all your rivals. You can ascend the imperial throne and unify the Three Realms. Then, in your capacity as Dao Ancestor, you can promote the Emerald Rock Great Dao across the world, gather the faith of all living beings, cultivate the supreme Great Dao, and become both Holy Venerable and Ancestral God!"
The Holy Venerable and the Ancestral God grew tense, watching Xu Ying closely for fear that he might agree.
After all, what grew inside that kid Xu Ying's skull wasn't a brain, but rebellion; back in the day, after emptying the nightstool just a few times, he had been brazen enough to clamor about killing the Ancestral God and becoming the Ancestral God himself.
Xu Ying said, "Brother Daoist, why must you be so fixated on Zangification?"
Lu Yiren shook his head. "Without Zangification, you remain merely a mortal body. Your so-called immortals are nothing more than mortals who cultivated; they have never truly transcended. Only through Zangification can the Emerald Rock Great Dao and divine arts be brought to their utmost zenith. Only through Zangification are you sufficiently exalted."
Xu Ying pondered for a long time, remaining silent.
Growing somewhat impatient, Lu Yiren said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, decide with a single word."
Xu Ying suggested cautiously, "How about I take you as my master? We can push the matter of complete Zangification back a bit. I have drifted for half my life, lamenting only that I have never encountered an enlightened lord... Or what if I take you as my adoptive father? Let us not rush into complete Zangification. First, let us localize the Emerald Rock Great Dao and adapt it into a cultivation method for the New Dao. Adoptive Father, what do you think?"
Lu Yiren stared at him expressionlessly.
Xu Ying blinked and quietly nudged Yuan Weiyang.
Yuan Weiyang, standing behind him, transmitted: "Ah Ying, I suspect he suffered mutual injuries with the Ancestral God and the Holy Venerable, so his wounds might not be healed yet. We don't have to bow our heads..."
Xu Ying discreetly waved his hand.
Yuan Weiyang looked up and said, "Adoptive Father, I think Ah Ying is right. Forcing complete Zangification right off the bat definitely won't do. How about we localize the Emerald Rock Great Dao first, and then compare the merits of localization against Zangification? If localization is better, we go with localization. If Zangification is better, then we go with Zangification."
Xu Ying nodded repeatedly.
Lu Yiren's face remained cold, a fierce light gleaming in his eyes. Clearly, he was having none of this miserable pair's nonsense.
Seeing this, Xu Ying made a split-second decision and summoned the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler, pushing his cultivation to the absolute peak. Radiating murderous aura, he shouted, "Lu Yiren, don't think we fear you! The wounds of the Ancestral God and the Holy Venerable have long been healed by me—we were just waiting for you to walk into the trap! Where are the disciples of my Perfect Dao Sect?!"
Old Zang Jingming, Ming Wangsun, and the several thousand Zang people roared with murderous intent, their voices booming like thunder.
The Ancestral God and the Holy Venerable each let their auras surge sky-high, poised to fight Lu Yiren to the bloody end at any moment.
Lu Yiren shook his head. "Xu Ying, when I expounded the Dao just now, your reactions to my sermon already laid bare your depth in the Emerald Rock Great Dao. Because of that, I know down to the finest detail how much of the Ancestral God and Holy Venerable's strength you could heal and restore. Do you truly believe that with your strength, you can stop me?"
Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed abruptly.
Lu Yiren's sermon had seemed like an exchange, but in truth it was a probe—and an extraordinarily brilliant one at that!
The murderous intent in Lu Yiren's eyes grew thicker and thicker. But suddenly catching sight of that murderous white bone divine dragon wielding two battleaxes, his expression shifted abruptly. Turning away, he said indifferently, "I'll spare your lives—consider the debt repaid!"
His figure vanished into the darkness.
Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, and the others were dumbfounded, unable to understand why he had refrained from a massacre at the final moment.
The Holy Venerable said, "This place is no longer safe to linger. Once you finish crossing the tribulation, leave as quickly as possible to avoid complications!"
Xu Ying asked, "Lu Yiren said Daoist Wukong swam across the cosmic cesspool to reach this place and then headed for the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Is that true or false?"
The Holy Venerable said, "He likely wouldn't stoop to lying about such a thing. It should be true."
Xu Ying looked up at the sky, where he could see a river of stars running through the cosmic expanse. That heavenly river was the river of indestructible spiritual light formed from the physical body of Far Ancestor Big Dragon. As for the Earth Immortal Realm and the Heavenly Immortal Realm, they had not yet appeared in the celestial phenomena.
Yuan Weiyang asked, "Lu Yiren said his parents brought the three Emerald Rocks to lift the Three Realms out of ignorance and bring enlightenment. Is that true or false?"
The Ancestral God said flatly, "False, of course. Bringing you catastrophic annihilation and then claiming it was to enlighten you? Kill such people whenever you see them—Heaven itself approves."
Xu Ying mused, "Lu Yiren urging us to undergo Zangification seemed like it was for our good, but in truth it harbored ill intent. Summoning cave abysses also feels suspicious. After all, the Dao weeping that swept through the ancient era emanated from those very summoned cave abysses. No matter how you look at them, these cave abysses are rather strange..."
The Holy Venerable frowned slightly and glanced at the three Supreme cave abysses behind him.
These three cave abysses were the source of his achievements; without them, he could never have cultivated to his present heights.
Yet judging from the current situation, there was indeed a high probability that, just as Xu Ying said, the cave abysses were harvesting tools rather than implements for boosting their combat prowess!
However, abandoning these three Supreme cave abysses would inevitably deal an enormous blow to his strength!
His expression shifted between light and dark. Suddenly, he stepped in front of Xu Ying, invited him to sit atop the Emerald Rock, and dropped to his knees. Thump, thump, thump—he knocked his head against the ground in three loud kowtows!
Stunned beyond measure, Xu Ying quickly stood up and supported him with both hands, exclaiming in surprise, "Holy Venerable, what is the meaning of this?"
"You are the founder of the New Dao. I intend to sever my own cultivation realms and cultivate the New Dao!"
The Holy Venerable declared, "I will walk your path and learn your Dao methods. In the future, you and I are very likely to become enemies. I bow to you first as my teacher to repay the favor of imparting the Dao. That way, if we become enemies down the line, I won't have to hold back when striking you down!"
With that, he leapt off the World-Crossing Golden Ship and drifted away.
Xu Ying waved his hand. "Holy Venerable, your injuries aren't fully healed yet!"
From afar, the Holy Venerable's voice carried back: "Having listened to you expound the Dao for so long, I can heal them on my own without relying on the hands of others!"
Yuan Weiyang asked in a whisper, "Ah Ying, should we take the chance to ram the ship into him and crush him to death?"
The Holy Venerable whistled away at incredible speed and vanished without a trace.
Overjoyed, Xu Ying chuckled, "Truly my virtuous helpmate! Next time, just ram straight in—no need to ask."
Hearing that, the Ancestral God began calculating in his mind whether he ought to take his leave early as well.
A few days later, with hands clasped behind his back, the Holy Venerable sauntered into the seclusion retreat of the Three Supremes and Six Wonders—the Immortal Emperor, Creation, Yaoluo, and the others. His mind was at ease as he thought to himself, "Before I abolish my old cultivation realms, there is one more thing I must do. Since achieving success, I have never been so disheveled, nor have I ever been driven to such straits. This lost face, I will reclaim with my own hands!"
With a flicker of his figure, he arrived before Creation Supreme and struck out with a palm. Instantly, the Daming Palace hidden within Creation Supreme's Supreme cave abyss burst forth, and in an instant, tens of thousands of Dao landscapes emerged, engulfing everyone!
Creation Supreme roared furiously, channeling the Qi of Creation to manifest the Wheel of Creation, pushing his cultivation to the absolute limit!
BOOM!
The Wheel of Creation was blasted through by a single palm strike, shattering into pieces. Creation Supreme spat blood, flying backward in a straight line!
The Holy Venerable raised his other hand and snatched Yaoluo's Great Luo Subduing Heaven Swords. Clenching all the flying swords in his grasp, he crushed down hard, twisting them into a tangled mess like fried dough twist.
"Yaoluo, the Immortal-Slaying Sword was broken by Qingxuan and me, not by you!"
With a flick of his sleeve, the Holy Venerable hurled the mangled swords out. Yaoluo dodged the swords, but the floating cloud flying sleeve slammed into his chest, snapping twelve of his ribs in a series of sharp crunches.
The Holy Venerable's silhouette flashed. In the next moment, Old Ancestor Boshan was stuffed into his own Myriad Sands Star Alms Bowl; Dao Lord Luofu was planted upside down in his own Ziwei Demon-Quelling Cauldron; and Dan Xuanzi had all four limbs snapped and was locked inside his own Yuantu Seven-Color Lamp.
Dao Lord Yuanying was crammed into the Lunar Primordial Golden Sphere. Mister Dongshi fared no better; his Space-Disrupting Yin-Yang Rings consisted of two hoops—one locked around his neck, the other around his ankles.
As for Fairy Fire Bell, surrounded by her own nine fire bells, she was blasted until bruised, battered, and on the brink of death.
The Holy Venerable stepped in front of the stiffly standing Immortal Emperor Supreme. With a light lift of his right hand, the thousands of Dao trees and Dao fruits collected by Immortal Emperor Supreme flew into the air.
"I really want to beat you to death,"
The Holy Venerable glanced at the Immortal Emperor. Leaving every single Dao tree and Dao fruit untouched, he said indifferently, "Yet I want even more to see how Xu Ying will slay you. Mingzun, live well."
Chapter 641