Chapter 1804: The Call of the Ancestral Court
Time flowed on, and the three heroes of the reform had long since become ancient legends. Emperor Yanfeng and Jiang Baigui had initiated the Yankang reforms in a tiny corner of the world, Qin Mu had walked out of the Great Ruins and entered Yankang, the Heavenly Alliance had been established, the Upper Firmament had invaded, and the First Yankang Calamity had occurred—all of these histories had grown so old that even those who had lived through them found their memories yellowed with age.
Although those events were still branded into their minds, the faces and voices of the people in those memories had long since blurred.
Emperor Yanfeng, as the first Heavenly Emperor, had already gone to the Ancestral Court. The Sage Jiang Baigui was also elusive, appearing and disappearing like a divine dragon. The Sage Hall still stood high above the Upper Capital, but the Sage was rarely seen within it.
As for the one who had single-handedly shouldered the Yankang reforms, Heavenly Venerable Mu—since he had entered the Ancestral Court and sealed it, he had never returned.
Every so often, people would return from the Ancestral Court—some who had achieved the Dao, and some who had failed to do so. They would recount the battles in the Ancestral Court to the world, telling of those heart-stopping campaigns.
At first, the people found these war stories novel and fresh. Some felt their blood boil, wishing they could fly off at once to fight alongside their predecessors, while others sighed in regret for those who had fallen in battle.
But later, after hearing the stories so many times, they grew indifferent.
After all, the war in the Ancestral Court was still ongoing. It had begun in the age of legend and continued to this very day without resolution, and it would likely continue into the future.
They felt that the war in the Ancestral Court had nothing to do with them, serving only as occasional fodder for idle conversation over tea.
Human life is greater than heaven; gods serve humanity; the people's daily needs are the Dao—these were the guiding principles of the Yankang reforms. Yet even these had seen their reversals.
When a million years of history had passed, the successors could no longer remember why their predecessors had established such reform principles. Some were devoured by power, swayed by desire, and began to rot.
One Heavenly Emperor after another relinquished power and departed for the Ancestral Court. By the time of the thirty-second Heavenly Emperor, the phenomenon of hereditary succession appeared. By the forty-fifth Heavenly Emperor, there were even attempts to implement dynastic rule.
In the end, it was more than a dozen retired Heavenly Emperors, led by Emperor Yanfeng, who rushed back from the Ancestral Court to put an end to this farce.
From that point on, divinity was merely a position.
Above, the Heavenly Dao operated; below, Lord Tu Bo and the Six Paths of Reincarnation governed. Those who had achieved the Dao and the Heavenly Emperors managed the myriad worlds, everything in perfect order.
After this incident, the legends of the Ancestral Court once again caused a stir. After all, the sight of more than a dozen legendary Heavenly Emperors returning from the Ancestral Court to suppress a rebellion was truly spectacular and awe-inspiring.
Among the myriad worlds, there were no lack of powerful beings who set out to search in the direction of the Ancestral Court. But what they encountered there was an inconceivable phenomenon—they simply could not enter the Ancestral Court.
After a few more years, the Ancestral Court gradually faded from memory once again. Wave after wave of new prodigies stepped onto the stage, displaying their brilliance across the myriad worlds.
The connection between the Ancestral Court and the Prime World gradually grew sparse. In the past, Dao achievers returned from the Ancestral Court every three thousand years; later it became four thousand, then five thousand, and then ten thousand, then twenty thousand.
By the time several billion years had passed, the starry sky had grown even more vast and boundless. New heavens had appeared, the myriad worlds were farther apart, and the Prime World had become even more immense. Simply reaching the Ancestral Court had become a difficult matter.
The war in the Ancestral Court had nothing to do with the people anymore. The vast majority had no idea that bloody battles were still raging there. They did not care about these things, did not know why these people fought, why they slaughtered one another, why they died in battle, and did not care whether the warriors there lived or died.
Those predecessors and sages were like stars in the night sky—hanging high, distant and far away.
Only the Dao achievers of Yankang, whether in seclusion or spreading their teachings, still cared about the war in the Ancestral Court, asking those who returned from there for news of that one person.
"He has been there for a million years now, hasn't he? Is he still guarding that place?"
"Yes. A million years—that is the entire history of Longhan, Chiming, Shanghuang, Kaihuang, and Yankang combined. And he has held on for so long. He said that once the number of Dao achievers in Yankang reached a certain level, there would be a final decisive battle. At that time, he would return."
...
"He has been guarding the Ancestral Court for ten million years now, hasn't he? Has the war there still not been resolved?"
"No. The hidden dangers in the Ancestral Court are too great. He cannot extricate himself at present. Wuji's power has grown again, Wuyai the Elder's strength has increased, and other changes have occurred in the Ancestral Court. The treasure halls of the Young Masters have descended, and several new Hall Masters have appeared. He said he would return."
...
"A hundred million years have passed. The world has completely changed. Is he still guarding that place?"
"Yes, he is still guarding it, suppressing Wuji, suppressing Wuyai. Last time, he went to Yujing City in the Ancestral Court and fought his way into the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. His strength has grown even greater. He told us joyfully that the day of his return is not far off."
...
"A billion years have passed. When does he plan to fight the decisive battle? When will he return?"
"Wait a while longer. Wuyai is not a concern, and the two Young Masters cannot fully descend either. But the Dao achievers of Yankang are still too few, not enough to oppose them. Wait a while longer."
...
Three and a half billion years had passed. The world had changed so drastically—seas turned to mulberry fields—that even the Dao achievers who had devoted themselves to enlightenment felt somewhat xa lạ when they woke from their seclusion.
The starry sky had grown even more vast. The Four Extreme Heavens were farther from the Prime World and the myriad worlds. Xuan Du had risen higher, and the Underworld's domain had expanded further. Even Lord Tu Bo, Qin Fengqing, and Heavenly Venerable You found it extremely difficult to govern such a vast Underworld universe.
They first divided the Underworld universe into four jurisdictions, forged four additional Six Paths Heavenly Wheels, built four great Dao halls, and established four hall Yama Kings. Later, as the Underworld universe grew even more vast, even four jurisdictions became difficult to govern.
The Four Hall Yama Kings gradually became the Ten Hall Yama Kings, and in the future, as the universe continued to grow, it might be necessary to establish additional Dao halls.
On this day, an envoy from the Ancestral Court arrived at the Prime World to meet the two ancestors, Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian, and said: "The Heavenly Venerable requests that the two ancestors summon all Dao achievers and return to the Ancestral Court."
Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian were overcome with excitement. Even with their Dao hearts cultivated to the fortieth level of heaven, they could barely steady their minds.
The two Dao Ancestors walked out of their ancient Dao halls. Ripples of the Great Dao spread from the halls, like the trembling of space itself. Though it sounded terrifying, the common people were completely unaware.
Wave after wave of Dao fluctuations spread across the Prime World, reaching the other heavens—the Prime World, Xuan Du, the Underworld, the Four Extreme Heavens, and the myriad worlds. Sleeping Dao achievers awoke, ancient deities revived, hermits of famous mountains, peddlers and hawkers, cart pullers and soup sellers, workers in the supervision factories—all raised their heads, sensing the call of the two Dao Ancestors.
Those with power set it down and handed it to their successors. Those with families made arrangements for them and packed their belongings. Those who were alone resigned their divine posts, hanging their official seals on the plaques above their office doors.
The vast majority had forgotten the Ancestral Court, but they still remembered. They knew of the war there, knew of the sacrifices of those who remained behind.
Since that person had summoned them, they would set aside everything and go to the Ancestral Court.
The myriad worlds were far apart. Even traveling via the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge would take many years. These Dao achievers each bloomed with their own Dao resonance, traversing the cosmic void with their own cultivation, rushing toward the Prime World to rendezvous with their fellow Daoists.
Along the way, they inevitably caused a stir, creating all sorts of extraordinary phenomena across the myriad worlds.
People could not help but marvel, spreading the news to one another—they had seen living legends, living myths.
Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian waited quietly. Two days later, around the Dao halls where they resided, World Trees rose one after another, their various Dao fruits illuminating the sky of the Prime World.
After a hundred days, the World Trees had formed a forest.
After a year, a forest of World Trees surrounded the Dao halls.
Beneath the World Trees stood deities and sages—the elite and tinh nhuệ of the myriad worlds over these three and a half billion years.
Their various Great Daos made the entire Prime World shine like the most brilliant gem in the universe, colorful and magnificent.
The two ancestors waited for a hundred years. When all the Dao achievers of the myriad worlds had gathered, Lan Yutian looked upon such a magnificent scene, his heart surging with emotion.
This was the fruit that person had earned for the Seventeenth Epoch universe with thirty-five billion years of his own time!
In the end, the thousand words in Lan Yutian's chest condensed into a single sentence.
"To the Ancestral Court!"
This great army of Dao achievers marched forth in grand procession, following Lan Yutian and Xu Shenghua toward the Ancestral Court.
"Thirty-five billion years?" Lan Yutian asked Xu Shenghua.
"Yes."
Xu Shenghua nodded, as calm as ever: "Thirty-five billion years."
But there was a passion surging in his eyes that he could hardly suppress.
"Is he still there?" Lan Yutian asked.
Xu Shenghua said: "Still there."
Qin Fengqing caught up with them, was silent for a moment, then asked: "Will this be the final battle?"
"Possibly."
Xu Shenghua said: "Perhaps it is the final battle, or perhaps it is only the beginning. For us, it is the final battle. For him, it might be a beginning."
He paused, then broke into a smile: "He is a person who cannot sit still. Some called him a silly fool, foolish and naive, curious about everything. I too am amazed that he could stay so steadily in the Ancestral Court, suppressing it for so long. Others said he had no patience, and indeed he had none. But this time, his patience has been longer and greater than anyone's."
"How has he gotten through all these years?"
Kaihuang Qin Ye caught up with them and asked: "After I returned from the Ancestral Court, I rarely saw him. Have you two been to the Ancestral Court?"
"He wouldn't let us return, afraid of alarming the enemy."
Xu Shenghua shook his head: "We have never gone back either."
Xing Han walked over carrying his box, saying: "Apart from us, very few people in this world still recognize him."
Jiang Baigui walked over and said calmly: "It is enough that we recognize him."
Xing Han glanced at him. The two Sages had never gotten along with each other.
Jiang Baigui's gaze searched among the Dao achievers until he found one person. He stepped forward and asked: "Patriarch Si Qin of the Creator race? Where is your mother?"
"Mother's lifespan was exhausted in the year I achieved the Dao."
Patriarch Si Qin's face darkened. He said: "I arranged for her reincarnation, but she refused to awaken her past life, willingly becoming a brand new life. I often go to see her. She is living well now, but she no longer recognizes me."
He carried a painting on his back, saying that Lang Wan had asked him before her death to bring this painting to that person in the Ancestral Court.
"May I see it?" Jiang Baigui asked.
Patriarch Si Qin took down the painting and handed it to him.
Jiang Baigui unrolled it. In the painting was a stretch of Yao Pool, with flowers in the water. Beside it was a great green serpent visualized through divine consciousness, its head broad and wide.
Lang Wan stood atop the serpent's head, her expression not cold and aloof, but bearing the shyness of a young maiden.
Beside her, a young man visualized a flower and offered it to her.
Jiang Baigui rolled up the painting and returned it to Patriarch Si Qin. After a moment, Jiang Baigui looked up and said: "If heaven has feelings, heaven too would grow old. The Divine King chose to grow old. We should not disturb her."