Chapter 221

"Did Lao Bing really crash?"

This passage from the Mysterious Capital's text left Zhao Si, who was peeking at the screen, stunned for a long time:

Although this chapter opens with the Age of Dharma's End, the Six Sages have vanished, the Heavenly Court no longer exists, and even the entire wilderness's clan structure has undergone drastic change, all evidence suggests that the fate of the authentic Lao Bing is likely grim.

But when the above speculation was confirmed by black-and-white evidence, a sense of loss still made Zhao Si somewhat unable to accept it:

"Locked up beneath Mount Buzhou… same treatment as Monkey Brother, but he got that punishment for causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace—what did you do?"

Zhao Si couldn't help flipping to the historical information in chapter one, trying to find the cause of Jin Bing's crash……

Not long after, a description caught his attention:

When Jin Bing attempted to seize the Primordial Purple Qi to become a sage, the Dao Ancestor once intervened, returning the purple qi that was already within easy grasp to Hong Yun.

At the time Zhao Si still didn't quite understand why, but after thinking, he realized the Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Dao are bound together, and the nobility of humanity is also determined by the Heavenly Dao.

And Jin Bing's stance has consistently opposed supremacism; his reason for striving to become Heavenly Emperor and establishing reincarnation was precisely to balance humanity's noble nature.

Even when Jin Bing slew Di Jiang, he loudly proclaimed to express his grand political ideal: "The Heavenly Dao is wrong!"

Clearly, after becoming a sage he intended to charge into the Purple Cloud Palace and smash the Heavenly Dao's dog head!

Therefore, under these circumstances, the Dao Ancestor naturally would not allow him to become a sage……

But is Jin Bing's ideal something that his cultivation can limit?

Even if he cannot become a sage, he will surely try to resolve the issue at the level of the Heavenly Dao, and that resolution will naturally bring him into conflict with the Dao Ancestor.

For those below sage level to challenge the Heavenly Dao, all one can say is that they will win……

Therefore, theoretically, the only possible reason for Jin Bing to be sentenced and imprisoned would be that he offended the Heavenly Dao.

Zhao Si finished his analysis, then asked, puzzled:

"System, you didn't say before that in chapter one Jin Bing achieved the perfect ending, the Eternal Wilderness? And as the protagonist who cleared the game, he could also be immortal… so how did the future become the Age of Dharma's End? Even Jin Bing is gone?"

【The system does not lie; the Eternal Wilderness is naturally the Eternal Wilderness, and Jin Bing will not die.】

"Then this…"

【No comment; please continue exploring, player.】

"……."

Zhao Si, finding the inquiry fruitless, rolled his eyes and could only continue the game.

However, one could also obtain a piece of information from the system:

"If what the system says is true, then Jin Bing is indeed not dead, and the Eternal Wilderness is indeed still the Eternal Wilderness… but how can the Age of Dharma's End be explained?"

Could it be…… that this Age of Dharma's End is not the true Wilderness?

Zhao Si grew more and more confused……

【You have obtained the handwritten message of the Ancient Emperor Xuan Du; your heart cannot help but be excited! Yet the astonishing matters revealed also leave you deeply puzzled.】

【"The Golden Heaven Emperor, having offended the Heavenly Dao, was imprisoned beneath Mount Buzhou…… the Dao Ancestor's final deadline…… Xuan Du, acting on the order of the Grand Purity Sage, asks Ming He to rescue Jin Bing…… Ming He agrees to rescue, but also puts forward a condition……"】

【You still can't figure out what the above is saying after half a day; after all, you are a mortal born in the Age of Dharma's End, and your knowledge of the ancient Heavenly Court comes entirely from myth and legend, with no grasp of the actual details.】

【You don't know how the Golden Heaven Emperor offended the Heavenly Dao, nor what the so-called "final deadline" refers to…… only regarding Ming He do you understand a bit, because the sage Ming He now drifts in the starry sky, opposing the Heavenly Dao of Hongjun.】

【That is to say, Grand Purity sent Xuan Du to seek Ming He's aid because he knows Ming He will become a sage in the future, and this sage's ability and prestige surpass even Grand Purity's, enabling him to rescue those punished by the Heavenly Dao—something Grand Purity cannot do, but Ming He can……】

【From this, your assessment of Ming He's strength is still too low…… but what gives him such strength? An unremarkable veteran innate deity, his abilities might not even measure up to those of Di Jun and Taiyi, the two brothers—how did he become a sage? How does he remain so formidable after becoming a sage?】

【You simply can't make sense of it.】

【Holding this confusion, you continue to rummage through this Heavenly Court hall, trying to find any other useful information.】

【But you are disappointed; this hall contains nothing—no intentionally left information, no unintentionally left information, not even any extra items…… the whole hall is empty and bare, completely just an enlarged crude wooden hut; aside from the deliberately left table and chairs and that diary, there is nothing useful……】

【To be frank, you are suspicious of this obviously deliberately left information: with nothing else present, they left only a vague diary, which at first glance seems problematic…… its source and purpose are both dubious.】

【"Please, Ming He, save me……"】

【Jin Bing has also read this passage left by Xuan Du; his brows furrowed tightly, as if he were trying to recall something…… but in the end he still couldn't remember, merely having a vague feeling: he seemed to have indeed been imprisoned somewhere……】

【His reaction leaves you utterly astonished: could…… this really be the authentic Jin Bing? But no, you checked—his body is not that of the dragon clan but of humanity, so he cannot be the authentic one!】

【Besides him, those like Di Jun, Xuan Du, Guang Chengzi and their ilk, you have also verified each one—they are all humans like you, fundamentally pirated copies……】

【"I think the answer should be beneath Mount Buzhou."】

【Jin Bing, whose thoughts have come to naught, earnestly proposes to you: to investigate what actually happened, we must make full use of the available information; since the information mentions Mount Buzhou, we might as well really go there.】

【Mount Buzhou?】

【You are somewhat hesitant, for no other reason than that in your past life you died in the "Fairy Realm" scam; the Fairy Realm is problematic, so Mount Buzhou naturally is as well, its interior likely full of Ming He's schemes—one slip and you'll lose both body and dao!】

【However, after thinking it over, you still decide to give it a try; having finally found a useful clue, you certainly cannot lightly give it up……】

【But there's no need to rush this; there's no necessity to make it so urgent.】

【Mount Buzhou certainly needs to be visited, but we should wait until after pacifying the Five Regions of the Wilderness, then go—step by step; we've endured dozens of eons already, so this bit of time is nothing……】

【……】

【After forty-two eons, nine meetings, fourteen cycles, the two heavenly courts moved toward union, called the "Gold-Mysterious Heavenly Court"; the Gold and Mysterious Emperors were jointly honored, the capital was set at Shouyang Mountain, based on the enfeoffment system, establishing effective rule over the four regions of the Wilderness.】

【The Four Wilds were well governed; mortals were the populace, cultivators the officials, and the two gradually adapted to each other.】

【But the Four Wilds are exhausted, while the Heavenly Court officials' craving for spiritual energy remains far from satisfied: the conquered territory is too vast, so the number of officials the Heavenly Court must maintain is naturally indispensable.】

【To disburse salaries, the reserve spiritual energy in the treasury could only be continuously dispensed, but the Heavenly Court had no income, thus becoming a stalemate of consuming the mountain's stores……】

【The heavenly officials had waged plundering wars for dozens of eons; their urge to loot had long become second nature, and seeing the Heavenly Court's insufficient revenue, they voluntarily stepped forward to request battle.】

【Who is the target of the attack?】

【Answer: Zhongzhou!】

【Although Zhongzhou is a utopia under the symbiotic model, with mortals and cultivators both satisfied and happy…… it nevertheless cannot avoid being placed on the Heavenly Court's list of conquests, for the only object left in heaven and earth that can be attacked is it.】

【For spiritual energy, for the unification of the Wilderness, this battle must be fought!】

【But officials with insight also raised their concerns: the demand for spiritual energy is a bottomless pit, yet heaven and earth have limits; with this level of demand, even after conquering Zhongzhou, how many more years could it last?】

【Then they each put forward their opinions: some thought the Central Province could not be unified, and should instead develop animal husbandry here, making the Central Province a farm, treating the cultivators there as pigs, regularly slaughtering a batch and then raising the next batch…】

【Some thought the Central Province could be unified, and the Central Province model could be copied; the unification war is already over, next we should turn the war machines back into tractors, store the weapons, let the horses graze on the southern mountains, and the Heavenly Court needs to use the Central Province model to establish a peaceful world…】

【Some also thought to restart the spirit stone industry of the Sea of Blood, issuing spirit stones as stipends; given the regeneration speed of the Sea of Blood's spirit stones, it would be sufficient to supply the Heavenly Court's expenses…】

【Everyone's suggestions were all usable, but…… you weren't willing to agree to any of them.】

【Your purpose in establishing the Heavenly Court was to cut off the sin of cannibalism, not to rebuild a "legal" cannibalistic system, and besides, the Immortal Dao is not a necessity for ordinary people, so you naturally would not agree to these.】

【"The Immortal Dao needs a dignified ending!"】

【You have made up your mind, and together with Jin Bing you issued the decree: attack the Central Province! Unify the Five Regions! This is the final battle against the old era!】

【With the decree issued, the Four Wastelands all mobilized and prepared for war, imitating the strategy of the ancient equal Heavenly Court's attack on the Central Province, surrounding it from all four directions, so as to let Mount Buzhou be restored once again!】

【After forty-three yuan eight hui nine yun, the Golden Mysterious Heavenly Court issued the expedition decree; the Four Wastelands surrounded the Central Province, but considering the special circumstances of the Central Province cultivators, indiscriminate slaughter should not be allowed; instead, the focus should be on persuading surrender.】

【The Central Province had long been free of war; mortals enjoyed endless pleasure, cultivators also reveled in it, a scene of peaceful times.】

【Suddenly confronted with a war of this scale, the cultivators panicked en masse, utterly unaware of how to resist!】

【As soon as the Heavenly Court's fierce troops arrived, they often won after just a few exchanges; the Central Province cave heavens that knew they were inferior would decisively kneel and surrender, which made the eager Heavenly soldiers and generals fume, cursing them as "a hundred million cave heavens all disarmed, yet not a single man among them!"】

【But things having come to this, the Heavenly soldiers could only hold their noses and accept……】

【Upon learning that the Golden Mysterious Heavenly Court had been established and was about to unify the Wilderness, the strongest cave heavens of the Central Province hastily activated teleportation arrays, holding an emergency meeting at the foot of Mount Buzhou to discuss countermeasures.】

【The result of the discussion came out quickly: "Our and their strength are not on the same level at all; resistance would only add casualties, serving no purpose."】

【So, kneel……】

【Thus, the Central Province's hundreds of millions of cave heavens reached an agreement, and sent representatives rushing to the East Wasteland border to deliver an unconditional surrender document to the Heavenly Court!】

【The news reached Mount First Yang; the imperial court was utterly bewildered, angrily muttering: "A bunch of softies raised in honey jars, what are you surrendering for? You've surrendered, where are we supposed to find spiritual energy now!"】

【But no matter how everyone cursed in private, outwardly they could only report joy to the two heavenly emperors: the Central Province has been pacified, the Five Regions unified!】

【However, your attention is now not on the imperial court or the war, but you stand face‑to‑face with a gang of pirated ancients, looking at the thing just dug up from beneath Mount First Yang, and you begin to doubt life……】

……

(End of chapter)