"Not after one, you mean to say he was before one?"
Mr. Gu's laughter was chilling, the cold permeating through the vastness of time, causing the very operation of the Dao to halt: "Utterly preposterous!"
"Indeed, it is so."
Christ could not help but echo in a low voice, "If he were merely in the past or in the future, he would eventually be witnessed by the strong. But now, there is no trace of him, and you say he might exist before the Dao itself. Doesn't that mean he has 'attained the Dao'?"
"If he has attained the Dao, then we are all manifestations of the Primal Beginning, his avatars. We should not exist."
If Ji Xiang had attained the Dao, it would be the Primal Beginning returning to unity. All of them, the wielders of the Primal Heavenly Venerate's power, all the cultivators of the Jade Purity, should have sensed that initial, originating source. And it was highly possible that Ji Xiang would have erased them, leaving them as nameless reflections in the past and future, bearing only the holy name of the Primal Beginning.
Qing Yang's words were incomprehensible to Christ.
Naturally, they also made Mr. Gu laugh in extreme anger.
But the black-clad Ji Xiang had no words to express his suffering.
"I will not lie to you. If you are truly observing him, even if you are in the Origin World, within the Qing Yang Dao Palace, you might not be able to see clearly, but at least you should be able to sense the changes in the Jade Purity."
"The method I used to seize his existence and occupy his worldly form is merely lacking the step of consumption compared to your assimilation."
"Besides, his entire completeness has been taken by me. Now I am him. If he were to undergo a transformation, why would nothing happen to me? Did he abandon this worldly form?"
"He attained the Dao, abandoned his old shell, his spirituality transformed, even his soul and aspirations were discarded. Naturally, you wouldn't know." Yuan Huang spoke softly, considering it a common occurrence. The change of identity was merely a change of form and spirit; even if the shell and soul were replaced, as long as the fundamental spirituality remained indestructible, this cultivator would still be alive and not perished. Yuan Huang, as the Lord of the Underworld, governing a vast netherworld, possessed superior attainments in this regard.
"Impossible," the black-clad Ji Xiang said with a grim expression. "Even his existence has perished. When I seized his 'existence,' my own existence was complete in the end. His spirituality also merged into my body, becoming a part of me. The主体 changed, the spirituality transferred, and I am still Qing Yang, and even more so, the new Ji Xiang."
"If you hadn't come here, I would have thought he should have disappeared by now."
The black-clad Ji Xiang looked at Mr. Gu, "Didn't you say he was destined to have a Heavenly Heart future? Then you, who occupy the future of all worldly Daos, should have found him!"
"Has he not become the Heavenly Heart without anyone witnessing it?"
Of course, someone had witnessed it.
When Mr. Gu traced back to that future, everything in that future was empty and non-existent, frozen outside the countless torrents of time, independent of it. There were also residual traces of Buddhism within it.
It was the Great Sun Tathagata.
However, strangely, the Great Sun Tathagata had also vanished. No matter how Mr. Gu searched, the Great Sun Tathagata and the Five Directional Buddhas no longer existed in any timeline. But he was different from the vanished Primal Heavenly Venerate.
The world still remembered him. His statues remained unchanged in the Esoteric Buddhism, never occupied by anyone else.
Nowadays, except for those connected to the Jade Purity, no one remembers the Primal Heavenly Venerate.
"It seems you haven't found him."
The black-clad Ji Xiang saw it, like seeing an extremely powerful being unable to find an ant's hiding hole, that frantic anger and rage...
Mr. Gu stared intently at the black-clad Ji Xiang. He stood within time, the torrent of time behind him twisted into a ring, like the halo behind the heads of Heavenly Venerates and Buddhas, known as the nimbus, symbolizing the solemnity of Buddhist Dharma or the majesty of Daoist Dharma. Even the depicted figures in Old Christianity had halos behind their heads, showcasing the wisdom of celestial beings.
However, an ordinary halo could not be forged from time.
Only Mr. Gu possessed such majesty, a symbol of supreme existence, with even time manipulated by him, forged into a ring and always accompanying him.
"You are not right!"
"You are hiding something!"
The black-clad Ji Xiang's thoughts were all extinguished.
Of course, he was hiding something.
That blank divine plaque, it seemed even Mr. Gu and the others didn't know about it. This thing, this information, even if he didn't know its use...
But...
It must have some use.
Mr. Gu did not press the black-clad Ji Xiang. In fact, at this moment, his gaze already reflected all of the black-clad Ji Xiang's past, all his thoughts and aspirations.
And within the black-clad Ji Xiang's thoughts, all the figures appearing in those thoughts began to transform into Mr. Gu!
One thought enters, one thought becomes ten thousand thoughts, ten thousand thoughts become the mind's thought. His mind is seized, becoming an empty shell.
"You!"
The black-clad Ji Xiang was terrified. He wanted to resist, but his face also began to change towards Mr. Gu. He glared fiercely at Mr. Gu, but it was more like the final cry of a stray dog at the end of its rope.
"You ate my worldly form, and the identity of 'Ji Xiang' died. My spirituality is connected to my main body. Aren't you afraid I will erode your Jade Purity power, turning you into an ignorant, unfeeling void existence!"
Mr. Gu sneered and suddenly said,
"Let me tell you, there were not just thirteen Jade Purity cultivators since ancient times."
Mr. Gu was about to reveal a great secret, and just as he spoke, Yuan Huang and Christ both trembled violently. Mr. Gu's voice suddenly changed.
It was a vast and chaotic roar, indescribable and ineffable, as if transmitted from the most distant primordial era, or surging from the future. Merely hearing the sound caused a slight distortion and aberration in everything that Yuan Huang and Christ saw with their eyes, and even perceived with their divine senses.
The black-clad Ji Xiang was dumbfounded.
"You? Just you?"
Mr. Gu's gaze was disdainful. The light of time shone down, causing the Dao nature on the black-clad Ji Xiang's body to rapidly collapse, scattering like dust, causing him immense suffering.
"You are of no further use. I don't need to ask you any more. Since you are hiding something from us, I will directly seize all your divine thoughts to explore the truth within."
"Using these thoughts, I will travel to the 'past' that exists within those thoughts!"
A person's thoughts are memories. Memories are the silhouettes and remnants of the torrent of time. With these thoughts, Mr. Gu could even trace back to any time that existed and was remembered within those thoughts.
Therefore, Mr. Gu was everywhere. The Jade Purity origin could not be defended. Only the past of ancient existences had barriers; these were ramparts constructed by vast eras, the convergence of the thoughts of myriad beings. Thus, changing one person's thoughts was not enough to change time, unless the thoughts of all beings, even mountains, rivers, and grass, in an era were changed, to completely alter everything in that era.
This was the greatest torrent of time. Even for Mr. Gu to go against the current would require a price, because the more ancient the beings, the more their aspirations and memories never contained Mr. Gu.
However, now, Mr. Gu had devoured the origin of Confucianism, the world of Zhaoming.
This had brought about a tremendous change.
Now, Mr. Gu possessed "Azure History" and "Rites and Music"!
The black-clad Ji Xiang was shocked and astonished, watching as Mr. Gu reached out with a beckoning gesture.
The Chapter of Azure History descended!
"I possess the divine ability to assimilate aspirations, and now, holding the Chapter of Azure History, I command the two teachings of Confucianism and Daoism."
One thought could enter the minds of myriad beings.
His figure instantly became more towering and terrifying than the ancient gods and demons of legend. Projected from the future, it covered all the torrents of time.
The black-clad Ji Xiang gave a wry smile, "You... what exactly are you! I am not a Jade Purity anomaly, you are the Jade Purity anomaly!"
As Qing Yang, the origin of the Dao, his true form had not yet manifested in the world. The portion of existence he had painstakingly seized was about to be destroyed and assimilated by Mr. Gu, and he was powerless to stop it.
"Since ancient times, countless Jade Purity cultivators have feared me..."
Hum—
Divine light emanated from Christ. He smiled, though his true appearance was indistinguishable within the white halo. He made a move, attempting to protect Qing Yang.
Yuan Huang drew streams of black energy from the past. This calamitous energy, piercing through history, surged and covered this dream of the dead.
"Ridiculous."
"You wish to protect Qing Yang and fight me? With just you two?"
Mr. Gu burst into laughter, as if witnessing the most amusing thing in the world.
The world of Zhaoming had failed. In his eyes, now that he had devoured the origin of Confucianism, these two were nothing more than ants.
He could even expel them from this dream of the dead with a single thought.
All the Corpse-Shedding Immortals here had already become him, occupied by him. The dream of the dead had long become his paradise. And now, having devoured the origin of Confucianism, even Azure History and Rites and Music were at his service.
"Are you going to deal with him?"
Christ's voice was grand and solemn. Mr. Gu chuckled,
"It's merely a matter of eliminating a 'Dao One.' You don't need to think I'm going to eat him. Eating him is of no use."
"Dao One is bullshit."
"My Dao has reached its end. The Dao of the past cannot advance me further. It is a part of me, and I have already proven something similar.
"As for you, you are still on the path, walking too slowly. Thus, you are destined to become a part of me as well. However, now, without the existence of the Primal Heavenly Venerate, it is not wise to consume you."
"If you know this, then stop. I do not wish to deplete my strength at this moment, lest it delay my time and prevent me from finding the thirteenth person."
Yuan Huang suddenly said,
"From the past, we have always known of your existence. You are a person of the past, but you were trapped in the future and cultivated the Heavenly Venerate Dharma of later generations, a Dharma that has never appeared in all of history. The past has no Dharma to restrain you, and the future does not possess such a Dharma, because you obtained your Dharma from the future of the future, a divine ability obtained only after the future."
"But now, you do not seem like a true person of the past. Although your name appears in the scriptures of the Primal Heavenly Venerate, it is not complete. You appear using the scriptures of the Primal Heavenly Venerate, yet you cannot reveal your Dao name. Your surname is Gu... perhaps that is not your surname or title, but a representation of the past."
"You are not a Jade Purity cultivator... No, that's not quite right..."
Yuan Huang paused suddenly, and Mr. Gu narrowed his eyes, revealing a chilling smile.
"To be able to wield the Underworld with the Lesser Vehicle of the Heavenly Heart, to help your subordinates invert cause and effect, and create the foundations of Qin and Han. Although you appear the weakest, you have unique methods. I have been chasing you for so many years, and you have never been entangled by the affinity of the Azure Silk."
"You are indeed a great threat. Have you already understood a part of my true form?"
Yuan Huang: "You are a Jade Purity cultivator, but not the kind of cultivator we are."
"We cultivate the Dao of Jade Purity, relying on the form of the Primal Beginning, or tracing back, or proving that we ourselves are a Dao or the origin of the Dao of the Primal Beginning. If successful, then we have attained the Dao, which is to become the true Primal Beginning, before the Dao itself."
"And you, you are also a 'Jade Purity cultivator,' but you are... you should be..."
"Jade Purity!"
Mr. Gu: "You have understood my words very well."
"Since ancient times, there have not been just thirteen Jade Purity cultivators."
"But there are only thirteen positions for 'Jade Purity' cultivators. In fact, you have not yet become 'Jade Purity itself,' so you cannot comprehend my realm."
"And with my existence."
"In the past and future, no one else will ever be able to cultivate to become 'Jade Purity'! I am that Jade Purity realm, only lacking the position of the Primal Beginning."
In the world of the past, Jade Purity once represented—"Immortal Dao!"
...
The torrent of time reversed.
On the Divine Platform, a colossal, broken figure was illuminated within golden light, with half its face and half its body missing.
"Half of my body was destroyed, the Emperor Heaven shattered, the origin changed, leading to the extinction of Confucianism."
"I need to, once again..."
"The origin can be contested. Whether sentient beings are annihilated or not, it can start anew."
Zhaoming's remaining half began to disintegrate. As it disintegrated, in the distant past, in the Han Dynasty shrouded in mist, the Heavenly Heart realm Great Confucian scholars, whose bodies and existences were merely historical shadows, their bodies, existences, spirituality, and roots began to become clear.
And beneath Zhaoming, a massive array disc was rotating, which was the third supreme Dharma of Confucianism—Yi.
The Book of Changes, symbolizing infinite transformations, was the head of the Six Classics of Confucianism!
The Dao of Yi is vast, all-encompassing, and complete, cycling endlessly.
The past is the future.
Since all futures have been locked by Mr. Gu, then the Book of Changes shall be derived anew.
Re-forge the future!
"You assimilated me, but you don't realize that once you use Azure History, you will also bear the imprint of my Confucianism, which cannot be removed. I can also use your body to re-derive my half. Since ancient times, whether Confucianism fought or retreated, whether it won or lost, no sect, no celestial god, no king, no powerful being who claimed to be an ancestor, and not even any dynasty, has ever been able to completely eradicate Confucianism."
Among the Three Teachings, the one with powerful assimilation capabilities was actually Confucianism, not Daoism. Daoism possessed strong exclusivity, hence its pride in being "solitary."
Regardless of victory or defeat.
As time flowed, all things became fleeting clouds, only Confucianism remained strong, existing in the next dynasty. Zhaoming admitted that he was far less powerful than Mr. Gu, but Mr. Gu could not completely destroy him.
The Great Elephant Heavenly Dragon possessed the power to shake the earth and overturn the heavens, yet there were still insects upon it.
The transformations of the Book of Changes shift with the times!