Chapter 307: I had no choice!

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor laughed.

That dry, wrinkled skin shifted, pulling out a chilling arc.

"Well asked."

The old ancestor slowly rose to his feet; his previously withered aura vanished, replaced by a bone-chilling greed and fervor.

"This old one's fleshly vessel has been simmering for three thousand years in this sunless meteorite."

"His lifespan is ending, his origin exhausted." The old ancestor step by step descended from the altar, his withered fingers tracing intricate patterns in the void, sealing all the meteorite's exits.

"Although the Stellar River Grand Array can draw spiritual qi to prolong life, it cannot fill the thousand-holed life pattern of this old one; the old one wishes to truly transcend, to break the cage of this defective Heavenly Dao, and there is only one way."

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor stopped ten steps before A Qi, looking down from above.

"Devour the Heavenly Dao's chosen Child of Destiny, strip your life pattern, and finally become the new Heavenly Dao of this Heavenly Pivot Origin Realm!"

A Qi reeled as if struck by lightning, stepping back repeatedly.

"You… you passed on to me the Blood Burning Infant Technique, for the purpose of…"

"Of course, to raise pigs."

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor mercilessly pierced A Qi's final fantasy,

"Do you really think this defective Heavenly Dao chose only you as its Child of Heaven's Mandate? On this wasteland, the fragments of destiny left by the Heavenly Dao are not just yours."

"If this old one were to seek them out one by one and devour them one by one, wouldn't that be too troublesome?"

"Rather than that, pick a greedy, ignorant fool like you, teach you a quick-success method, use the vast blood qi of cultivators to pry open your meridians, hasten the maturation of your Dao foundation, so this old one can use you to draw out all the fragments of the Heavenly Dao."

A Qi's mind buzzed.

As it turned out, from beginning to end, he was merely a joke.

The white-clad person regarded him as a stepping stone, while this ancient immortal sovereign saw him as a great tonic.

No one truly cared about this so‑called Child of Heaven's Mandate; in the eyes of those ancient monsters who have lived countless ages, he wasn't even worth a dish.

"Old thing, do you really think you've got me figured out?"

A Qi was forced into a desperate situation, his ferocity flaring.

He no longer held back, drawing backhand that ebony dagger; the blood-colored true essence of his Eleven-Stage Unity Realm burst forth without reserve.

"I can sever that person's karma; today I can sever you just the same!"

The blood-colored true essence stirred up a fishy wind within the meteorite's core.

A Qi exerted force with his feet, the alloy ground was stamped into a deep pit.

His whole body turned into an afterimage, the ebony dagger carrying the sharpness that rends space, straight for Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor's throat.

This strike gathered all the power A Qi had obtained from devouring dozens of high‑level cultivators over the past days.

He was confident that even a steward of the Four Great Conglomerates facing him would be split in two by this blade.

What's more, this old man before him had just overdrawn his lifespan and was on his last legs.

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor stood where he was, not even lifting an eyelid.

Just when the dagger was half an inch from the old ancestor's throat, A Qi's motion came to an abrupt halt.

It was not blocked by an external force, but his true essence within had completely run amok.

That blood-colored spiritual power, which had been as obedient as an arm and finger, now turned into countless fine chains that reverse-wound around his meridians and bones.

"Ugh——"

A Qi let out a beast‑like groan, the dagger clanged to the ground.

His knees gave way, he crashed hard onto the hard ground, his whole body spasming, unable to move a single finger.

"A mayfly shaking a tree—utterly ridiculous."

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor stood with hands behind his back, looking down from above to scrutinize the prey beneath his feet.

"The Blood Burning Infant Technique was created by this old one back then to enslave cultivators; back then, using this method, this old one controlled many in the sect who had to obey him. Every drop of others' blood qi you absorbed has etched this old one's exclusive array pattern in your dantian. You intend to kill this old one with the power he gave you?"

The old ancestor shook his head, his tone full of mockery.

Child, you are too naïve. Without this old one secretly suppressing your mixed blood qi, you would have blown up when breaking through the Eight Realms. Do you really think you got here by talent alone?

A Qi lay on the ground, his eyes bulging, staring fixedly at that withered face.

He was unwilling.

The image in the water mirror of overthrowing the conglomerates and ruling the world still lingered in his mind.

He is clearly the Child of Heaven's Mandate, he clearly ought to have a brilliant future; why should he die in this dark corner?

"Enough, no more nonsense."

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor extended his right hand, fingers curled into claws, reaching for A Qi's heavenly spirit cover.

A clump of greenish ghostfire ignited in the old ancestor's palm.

As long as he extracts that fragment of defective Heavenly Dao fortune, separates and devours it, he can substitute for part of the Heavenly Dao.

Afterward, he will be confident in drawing out everyone who has ever obtained a fragment of the Heavenly Dao!

At this critical moment.

The space within the meteorite's core, sealed layer by layer by the old ancestor, rippled without warning like a water wave.

There was no heaven‑shaking phenomenon, nor any overbearing force that could break the array.

That ripple was like a drop of water falling onto a still lake—gentle, casual, yet bearing an absolute reason that transcends all laws of the Heavenly Pivot Origin Realm.

A bronze gate woven from pure Grand Dao laws suddenly appeared above the altar.

The gate doors slowly opened.

A spotless white‑robed figure, Gu Yuan, stepped out from the gate with hands behind his back. At his side, Gu Xuan Ce was holding an array disk, walking and cursing.

"Young master, the space in this dump is hard to find; it took me half a cup of tea's time to calibrate the teleportation gate's landing point." Gu Xuan Ce casually tossed the array disk into his storage ring, glanced around, and said, "Wow, quite lively."

The bronze gate dissipated.

The interior of the meteorite fell into a deathly silence.

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor's hand, aimed at A Qi's heavenly crown, froze midair.

That cluster of eerie green soul-searching ghostfire trembled violently due to its master's extreme shock, nearly extinguishing.

A Qi struggled to move his eyes, looking at the white-clad youth who had left and returned.

Ecstasy and disbelief intertwined in the depths of his eyes.

He didn't die!

He wasn't exiled!

Gu Yuan smoothed his cuffs and slowly walked down the altar steps.

His gaze swept over A Qi lying on the ground, then lingered on the faint water-mirror aura lingering in midair, finally coming to rest on Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor.

"So that's how it is."

Gu Yuan clapped his hands and laughed lightly, his tone carrying a hint of appreciative realization.

"I was just wondering why you, old turtle, would go to such lengths to educate a refugee from the wasteland. It turns out you've been eyeing the last strand of fortune remaining in the broken Heavenly Dao, hoping to stage a defy-heaven, change-fate drama."

Gu Yuan walked up to Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor, the two of them now less than three feet apart.

"Such scheming, such patience—indeed worthy of a hero's making. It clears up a major doubt of mine."

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor retreated several steps, his back slamming hard against the stone pillar at the edge of the altar.

The pride he took in his scheming and calculations collapsed utterly the moment he saw Gu Yuan appear unharmed.

"Y-you... how could you possibly return?"

The old ancestor's voice trembled, as if he had seen a ghost,

"Karma has been severed, the Heavenly Dao's rejection is now set in stone. That Void Abyss can crush even a True Immortal, yet you not only didn't die, but you can precisely locate your way back?"

"Karma? Rejection?"

Gu Yuan seemed to have heard something extremely amusing, turning his head to look at Gu Xuan Ce.

Gu Xuan Ce snorted contemptuously:

"Old fogey, have you been stuck in this backwater so long your mind has rusted? My young master goes wherever he pleases and returns wherever he wants. You dare to flaunt that pathetic space-displacement technique of yours?"

A Qi lay on the ground, listening to this exchange; the spark of hope that had just ignited in his heart was doused with a bucket of ice water.

He finally understood.

The red karma line he had risked his life to sever was never an anchor point binding the white-clad person.

It was deliberately left by the other side for him to cut.

The other side deliberately entered the void vortex merely to disappear for a moment, so that this master-disciple pair could fight it out, laying all their cards on the table.

Gu Yuan lowered his gaze, looking at A Qi.

"Your sword work is indeed not bad. Too bad your mind isn't very sharp."

A Qi's face was ashen, the words of plea caught in his throat, unable to be spoken.

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor knew the tide had turned against him. Even spatial exile could not affect the opponent, and his frail body had no chance of victory.

The old monster's will to survive at this moment overcame all his dignity.

He bent his knees and knelt upright before Gu Yuan.

"Fellow Daoist… no, Exalted Immortal, please see clearly!" Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor kowtowed to the ground, his voice sorrowful, "Everything I have done was done out of necessity!"