Chapter 293: The Dao Began With Me, Ancestral Mystery of All Realms

The Mortal Realm, several more days passed.

The Songyun Dynasty.

The impact of the old Emperor's murder was finally beginning to show, with unrest stirring across the land.

Yet the Dingnan King, the most prestigious among them, made no move—so none of the others dared be the first to step forward.

Seeing the situation could collapse at any moment, the imperial family and the civil official bloc could no longer delay; they immediately proclaimed to the realm that the Emperor had suddenly fallen gravely ill and died of his affliction.

They then installed the eldest prince on the throne before the late Emperor's coffin, and according to the "Last Will of the Former Emperor," appointed three regent ministers to oversee the funeral rites.

The entire capital donned white mourning robes, banned music and entertainment, and prohibited gatherings for drinking…

This was naturally the result of the new Emperor's compromise with the civil official bloc.

After all, the old Emperor had been killed by Xiao Fan—he himself had been seeking "immortal fortune" for eternal life, had never even named a Crown Prince, so how could there be a "last will"?

But still, there was considerable room for manipulation in this matter.

What happens before death and after death can never be the same.

Yet not long after, the disciples of the Ziqing Temple remaining in Jingcheng were mysteriously wiped out.

The largest power outside the imperial family and civil official bloc vanished.

The new Emperor was terrified; though the civil official bloc was also baffled, with this major counterweight gone, their power reached its peak.

…

…

Night was deep, the imperial study dimly lit by candlelight.

No one else was inside—only the new Emperor of Songyun stood with his hands behind his back.

His figure was upright, his eyebrows sharp as swords, his eyes bright as stars—a truly noble visage.

In the prime of his life, his appearance bore striking resemblance to the old Emperor in his youth; even standing motionless, he radiated an aura of stillness like a mountain and depth like a abyss, instilling awe.

Yet now, his brow bore an unyielding weariness.

At the moment he ascended the throne, he had been overjoyed.

After all, who wants to spend a lifetime as Crown Prince—let alone one who was never even named Crown Prince?

This throne of supreme power—could he not desire it? And among his brothers, who did not?

But now that he truly sat upon it, he realized the current situation was far more complex.

The three regent ministers were his own promises.

He had hoped to use the Ziqing Temple's Immortals as a slight counterbalance—they truly possessed supernatural powers!

Yet before long, the Ziqing Temple's Immortals were exterminated.

"Ah~"

He sighed softly, rubbing his temples, unable to help muttering.

"Father, you sought immortal fortune for years—perhaps only at death did you realize the true Immortal was beside you."

Had that earth-shattering battle not occurred, who could have known the Ziqing Temple's people truly wielded supernatural abilities?

No wonder those Ziqing Daoists looked at him with not a shred of respect—sometimes even as if he were ants.

Back then, I thought it was an illusion—but now I see…

To possess such power that moves mountains and overturns seas, transcends mortal bounds—this throne of supreme power must seem to them no more than dung.

"Ah~"

He sighed again.

If only I too possessed such power, this situation would resolve itself effortlessly.

Burdened by unrelenting worry, he returned to the Shenghuang Yuan, picked up his brush, and wrote two bold, vigorous characters on the spread-out paper—Cheng Yu!

This was his name; the Songyun Dynasty, due to its founding Emperor's affairs, deeply revered the Immortal Dao.

According to his mother, the name was taken from a legendary Immortal Sovereign of great supernatural power…

Staring at those two characters, he suddenly felt a surge of impatience, reached out, and was about to toss them away.

Hu hu~!

The candle flame flickered violently, as if a dark wind had surged in, howling without pause.

A foul, impure aura filled all space; faintly, a broken dragon moaned, and a pair of dim, dark eyes fixed upon him.

The new Emperor suddenly felt overwhelming terror—he opened his mouth to scream, but his vision went black, his consciousness plunging into an endless abyss, his body collapsing straight onto the chair.

But the next second!

He snapped open his eyes—his gaze had turned deep and dark, like two slowly rotating black vortices.

The still-unsteady candlelight made his shadow sway; ripples of distortion seemed to ripple through the void.

Low, complex murmurs, as if ten thousand demons and ghosts whispered in unison.

Demon Sovereign!

Demon Sovereign!

Any mortal who heard them would go mad, lose their mind entirely!

Indeed, this man was Cheng Yu, the Demon Sovereign of the Impure Realm.

After sitting in silence for a long while, a faint voice echoed.

"Master Xiao Yu…"

Emotions surged in Cheng Yu's eyes like a raging storm.

Even now, he could hardly believe it.

He had reached the peak of Return to Void, bolstered by the power of the Impure Realm—none among the old fools of Tai Xuan Tian could match him.

But that Master Xiao Yu…

His combat power was so immense, it was almost inconceivable!

When that so-called "Dharma Form" manifested, it directly clashed with him—and even with the Profane Realm's blessings, he was utterly powerless to resist.

And even more absurd was that his Dharma Form wasn't even a close-combat type…

After taking a single divine thunderbolt, he nearly perished, his Dao extinguished!

Just thinking of how Master Xiao Yu had chased him at the end, shouting, "Close combat is my hobby, but spiritual arts are my talent," and beating him like a stray dog, Cheng Yu felt a deep, suffocating bitterness.

If not for the final detonation of the Profane Realm's favor, which blocked him for an instant, I might truly have died at his hands!

"No wonder he's from the Supreme Tai Xuan Tian…"

If only I could reach that Supreme Tai Xuan Tian myself, how could I fear him!

Too bad…

Cheng Yu calmed his emotions, then lifted his gaze outward.

For now, the only option is to recuperate in this mortal realm, waiting until those visitors from the Supreme Tai Xuan Tian depart, then seek a way to purge my accumulated sins, and afterward cultivate merit…

Soon, the vast Jingcheng appeared before his eyes, every detail as clear as patterns on his palm.

Three astonishingly powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators clustered together, beside them a Jin Dan whose aura was equally terrifying.

"…"

He suddenly doubted whether all these years of cultivation had been wasted—had he cultivated nothing but dogshit?

Are cultivators from the Supreme Tai Xuan Tian really this terrifying?

Weary, Cheng Yu ceased paying attention, turning his focus instead to the drifting violet qi hovering above Jingcheng.

"Zi Qing Guan…"

Though he had suffered heavy injuries, his insight remained intact.

These drifting violet qi were clearly left behind by those hypocritical bastards of Zi Qing Guan after their deaths.

A pack of man-eating monsters, still daring to call themselves the righteous path.

"Hah, perfect fuel for my recovery."

!. du

Cheng Yu opened his mouth and inhaled.

The violet qi, faint and ethereal, seemed drawn by his pull, drifting and converging toward him, swallowed into his mouth.

Instantly, the violet qi was refined into pure life energy.

Though the quantity…

Never mind.

The mortal realm's spiritual energy is scarce; having any at all is enough—he didn't mind.

Cheng Yu rose from his chair, walked around the Shenghuang Yuan, and headed outward, yet memories stirred within him, triggered by the violet qi now in his belly.

Zi Qing Guan had once been an obscure little sect.

But somehow, it acquired the "Refining Humans into Pills" method, and from then on rose rapidly to become a renowned great sect within Tai Xuan Tian.

Of course, such methods weren't rare—he had traveled beyond the realms, and in nearby minor worlds, some small sects also practiced Refining Humans into Pills.

Speaking of it, the Three Realms were full of man-eaters; the one who didn't eat people became the "Demon Sovereign"—truly…

But then again, I'm no saint either.

Arriving outside the Imperial Study, Cheng Yu calmed his thoughts; the violet qi he had swallowed stirred slightly, causing him to unconsciously lift his head and glance upward.

But that single glance!

That one glance froze him completely in place.

For now, the night sky, which should have been filled with silver moon and countless stars, was entirely covered by boundless rolling violet qi.

The heavens seemed ready to collapse at any moment, yet also revealed countless profound principles—even the very essence of Dao!

Its depth was unfathomable, its reach immeasurable, mystically sublime, ineffably exalted.

Like the primordial chaos that had always existed, the origin of all transcendence.

The beginning of Dao, the source of Law.

Without sound, the violet qi churned, manifesting a pair of cold, indifferent eyes that filled the cosmos, transformed all phenomena, covered the entire world, and obscured all perception.

Cheng Yu's gaze met theirs.

Boom!

In an instant!

He felt as if his past, his Dao, everything about him, had been fully exposed and dissected.

Like standing naked in the snow.

"I am the Origin of Dao, Ancestor of All Xuan Realms."

Vast, ethereal, boundless…

Every adjective in the world seemed fitting for that voice—resonating within his heart, yet shaking the eight directions.

The Ancestor of Dao's Origin!

"Dao…" Cheng Yu trembled as he reached out his hand.

As if trying to grasp that transcendent source, those infinite insights.

But the next moment, the sky was clear and bright, cold moonlight spilled down, stars dotted the night.

As if everything just now had been an illusion.

Cheng Yu stood frozen, one hand raised, like a statue of wax.

"Your Majesty!"

A sharp, anxious voice came from beside him.

But it was a eunuch with a pale, clean-shaven face, who hurriedly ran over from afar and then knelt before Cheng Yu in a tiger-crouching posture.

"Your servant…"

"I am unharmed."

Cheng Yu lowered his hand, closed his eyes, and exhaled softly.

"Leave. I wish to be alone."

"But Your Majesty, Your servant…"

The eunuch pressed his forehead to the ground, still wishing to say more.

"I said, leave." Cheng Yu opened his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of impatience.

Instantly, the eunuch's gaze grew dull, then he rose mechanically, turned, and walked away.

After all, he was Cultivation Realm: Return to Void Peak; dealing with an ordinary person was easy.

Only after the eunuch had vanished into the distance did Cheng Yu stare at the sky for a long while, then reluctantly withdraw his gaze and turn back into the Shenghuang Yuan.

With a casual wave, the door seemed pulled by an invisible force and shut firmly.

Cheng Yu strode to the Shenghuang Yuan and sat down on the chair.

Leaning back, he took two deep breaths, then closed his eyes.

In his consciousness sea, countless violet, dazzlingly radiant runes spun, their light spilling and bathing him—he felt his injuries had healed considerably.

Its form was unknown, yet its meaning was clear!

This cultivation method is named—

The Scripture of the Dao's Origin Anchor

By aligning one's own Dao with the Primordial Ancestor of the Dao, using it as an anchor, one draws oneself forward, breaks through boundaries, and ascends to the Grand Mystery!

No need to purge one's own karmic sins, nor to perfect external deeds.

This is the Primordial Ancestor's gift!

He, too, could ascend! (End of Chapter)