The Record of Exterminating Evil from Ashes

The ancient black mist dissipates, and gods and demons open their eyes.

The Nine Heavens Demon Realm, suspended above the mortal sky, abruptly ceased its endless, pitch-black mist. The ethereal figure, which had reigned for millennia, manipulating the game of power, finally shed its layers of chaotic veil, and its eyes, dormant for tens of thousands of years, slowly opened. There was no fierce divine light, no overwhelming killing intent, only a desolate, deathly silence, overlooking the vast landscape and the myriad aspects of human life.

With just a glance, the spiritual energy of the entire Demon-Slaying Mountains was instantly locked, the wind and clouds stagnated, and even the breathing, heartbeat, and flow of Daoist energy of all living beings were invisibly imprisoned.

On the stone platform halfway up the mountain, hundreds of newly initiated cultivators were frozen stiff, their minds gripped tightly, and a bone-chilling cold emanated from their limbs. No one knew what was above them, yet they instinctively felt the insignificance and despair of ants gazing at the heavens. All their passion for pursuing the Dao and their initial aspirations for enlightenment were teetering on the brink of collapse under this supreme pressure.

Cen Jin stood before the crowd, his back straight as a mountain.

He bore the full weight of the Demon Lord's gaze, his dantian trembling violently, cracks spreading and expanding throughout his body, and fragments of his black and white Dao foundation continuously peeling away and rising into the air, mercilessly absorbed by the Nine Heavens Demon Realm. Every inch of his Dao foundation lost weakened the balanced Dao he had painstakingly honed over two years, and every time his Qi was stripped away, it brought him closer to the inevitable end of the game.

Yet his eyes remained clear and bright, without a trace of fear.

He had long seen through Xuan Ye Zun's scheme. The other party's reluctance to descend in his true form and forcibly seize the seed was not out of fear of the remaining power of the mortal world, but rather because He was determined to conclude a flawless game. What He wanted was not a broken seed forcibly seized, but the ultimate Dao fruit nourished by the faith of all living beings, perfected by the new Dao in the mortal world, and ultimately concluding willingly.

Just now, halfway up the mountain, talents gathered and all beings turned to him. The pursuit of the Dao and the sincerity to protect the world of hundreds of cultivators were all transformed into the purest source of Daoist essence, nourishing his balanced Great Dao. But this newborn and vigorous power ultimately became nourishment for the other party to repair the world and perfect himself.

All beings pursue the Way, seeking only peace and tranquility, yet unintentionally they have perfected an eternal game of chess.

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"A thousand-year plan, meticulously calculated at every step—truly a brilliant tactic."

Cen Jin muttered to himself, his voice as cold as frost. He did not resent the cultivators who followed him, nor did he resent the world's ignorance and blind obedience. He only lamented that this ancient chess game was too chilling, turning generations of humans and cultivators into mere pawns and nourishment.

Since the other party wanted a perfect ending, he was determined to ruin that perfect ending.

With a sudden surge of resolve, Cen Jin suppressed the excruciating pain in his dantian and firmly pressed his hand against the scorching, shattered wooden box in his arms. The restless demonic power within Cen Wantang was instantly calmed, and the ancient demonic nature that yearned to break free slowly subsided under the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. He absolutely could not allow Wantang's essence to run rampant, becoming the catalyst for her premature demise.

Immediately, he raised his palm, and the black and white demon-suppressing waist token hung high in the air. The Daoist charms of the old and new paths burst forth, instantly breaking through the demon lord's oppressive aura that enveloped the world.

hum-

A deep, ancient bell tolled, resounding from the deepest part of the Zhuxie Mountains.

The deep, resonant bell tolled, piercing through the clouds and demonic mists, shaking heaven and earth. It was a trial bell rarely seen in the mortal world since the founding of the Exorcising Evil Bureau. For a thousand years, this bell had only rung for great changes in the world, the succession of the Dao, and the ultimate trial. Each resounding bell heralded a complete reshaping of the order of the Dao in the human world.

The bell tolled three times, its sound reverberating throughout the land.

The first sound broke the old rules, and the mountain gate's thousand-year-old doctrines were all loosened; the second sound gave birth to a new path, and the Great Way of Balance in the human world was officially established; the third sound initiated the trials, and the final three barriers of the ancient chess game appeared in the world with a thunderous roar!

Without any pre-set plan or impetus, this ultimate trial, born from the depths of the chessboard of heaven and earth, was forcibly brought to the mortal realm at the very moment the Demon Lord opened his eyes and his Dao Seed was about to mature.

In mid-air, the ancient jade disc, which had been flickering with light and shadow for millennia, suddenly shattered, transforming into countless fragments of spiritual light that reformed into three ancient light curtains spanning the heavens and earth. These light curtains, layered and arranged from top to bottom, were imprinted with obscure and ancient Dao patterns that flowed ceaselessly, each bearing the three eternal constraints of the chess game—the **three life-or-death barriers** that had trapped generations of mortals, locked the path of cultivators, and ultimately led to the rise of the Xuan Ye Venerable.

The first level is the mental barrier, which examines the obsessions of good and evil; the second level is the life barrier, which breaks the destiny of bloodline; the third level is the heavenly barrier, which reverses the ancient chess game.

The three stages progress in turn, each more challenging and difficult than the last, encompassing human nature, destiny, and the chessboard of heaven and earth—an ultimate dead end that no one has been able to fully overcome in the past thousand years.

On the main hall of the peak, the pupils of the elders who had been standing frozen suddenly shrank, and they stared in horror at the strange changes in the world.

"It is... the Three Trials of Exorcising Evil, lost for a thousand years!" The Grand Elder's voice trembled with shock, his previous arrogance completely gone. "Ancient texts record that these three trials are the ultimate barriers between good and evil in the world. Throughout the ages, countless peerless geniuses have been trapped in the barriers of their own hearts and perished in the barriers of their own lives, with no one able to reach the final heavenly gate!"

The other elders were all shaken to their core, their eyes filled with complex emotions and fear. They had spent their lives adhering to old rules and talking about eliminating evil, but they never knew that the righteous path they had pursued and the doctrines they had followed were nothing more than the first shackles and cages that bound their hearts.

The ancient road, which has stood for a thousand years, was trapped at the first hurdle from the very beginning, never having taken a single step forward.

"Heaven and earth set the stage, the three trials determined the outcome."

Deep within the Nine Heavens Demon Realm, the indifferent voice of Xuan Ye Zun once again filled the mortal world, devoid of joy or anger, yet proclaiming the fate of everyone: "Cen Jin, you are the only variable throughout the ages, cultivating the Way of Balance and bearing the power of all living beings, you are most qualified to pass these three trials and shatter this world."

"If you succeed, you can take charge of a new path for humanity and bring peace to all people."

"If I cannot overcome this obstacle, the Dao Seed will be mine. The game of chess in the human world will come to a complete end. Good and evil will be reset, and heaven and earth will be unified under my rule."

A straightforward gamble, a cruel choice, lay before Cen Jin.

There is no way back, no compromise. Either break through the barrier and defy fate, or perish and the world falls into ruin.

Halfway up the mountain, hundreds of new cultivators looked up, their gazes all fixed on the tall figure before them. At this moment, they had long since cast aside factional disputes and the divide between the old and the new, their hearts filled only with pure expectation and trust. They entrusted their initial aspirations for the Dao, their lifelong hopes, and the future of humanity to this one and only person who could break the deadlock.

Hundreds of sincere Dao hearts and pure beliefs transformed once again into warm Dao energy, continuously flowing into Cen Jin's body, repairing his cracked cosmic energy and stabilizing his incomplete Dao foundation.

The power of all living beings is no longer nourishment for the game, but rather the source of his confidence to overcome obstacles and break through the impasse.

Cen Jin's gaze was firm as he looked up at the trial light screen that floated in the three layers of heaven and earth. He spoke in a deep voice, each word ringing out: "I will conquer the three trials, break my destiny, and shatter the chess game."

"Today, I will use my Dao seed to test the eternal heavenly gate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the black and white Daoist aura around him surged dramatically, the evil-suppressing waist token trembled in mid-air, and the power of the old and new paths merged perfectly, transforming into a beam of spiritual light that pierced through heaven and earth, rushing straight towards the first trial light screen.

The first barrier opened immediately.

Within the light curtain, there was no killing intent, no perilous situation, only endless repetition of human history and the obsession with cultivation. Countless aged voices echoed in his ears, the doctrines and rules of the righteous path for thousands of years, the rebukes and doubts of the elders of the mountain gate, and the deep-rooted prejudices of good and evil among the people.

"Good and evil cannot coexist; demonic blood must be eradicated."

"A cultivator should slay evil and prove the Dao, and not allow even the slightest trace of evil to entangle him."

"To tolerate evil is to go against the right path; to condone the source of disaster is to bring chaos to the world."

Countless obsessions entered the ears, brainwashing layer by layer, attempting to force the challengers back to the shackles of the old path, to submit to the rigid rules of either good or evil, and to eradicate all new ideas of the path.

Countless disciples and lower-level cultivators standing and watching were in a daze, almost assimilated by the overwhelming obsessions and reverted to their old prejudices. Even some of the conservative cultivators hesitated and became confused, their Dao hearts wavering.

This is the difficulty of overcoming the mental barrier; without breaking free from the obsessions of the human heart, one can never escape the first layer of the cage of this thousand-year-old game of chess.

But Cen Jin's original heart was firm, and he was impervious to all laws.

He stood firm as a rock amidst the torrent of obsessions, his eyes clear and calm. With a soft voice, he shattered countless illusions: "Right and evil reside in the heart, not in rules. Good and evil reside in actions, not in blood."

A single word can dispel attachments and enlighten the mind.

The swirling, illusory sounds of obsession shattered instantly, and the layers of dogmatic barriers that bound the mind collapsed with a deafening roar. The first trial's light barrier shone brightly, slowly dissolving and dissipating—the mental barrier was broken!

As the world fell silent, all the cultivators snapped back to reality. The lifelong obsessions of good and evil that had lingered in their hearts began to loosen, and their Dao hearts instantly became clearer. The crowd gazed at the young man in the center of the stone platform, their eyes filled with shock and awe. They finally understood that the difference between the old and new Dao order was never about the strength of cultivation, but about the level of one's vision and the authenticity of one's heart.

Once the mental barrier is breached, the second life-threatening barrier immediately follows.

The second layer of light suddenly lit up, and crimson light spread across the sky, enveloping the entire Demon-Slaying Mountain Range and Cen Jin's entire body. This trial did not test one's Dao heart or obsessions, but only examined one's bloodline destiny and innate cause and effect.

Within the luminous curtain, endless crimson demonic light surged, revealing Cen Wantang's dormant demon lord essence and eternal destiny. The rules of heaven and earth ruthlessly pronounced their judgment, each word chilling to the bone: "Brother and sister coexist, good and evil share the same origin. The demon lord's descent into the world will inevitably destroy humanity. This is an eternal destiny, one that no one can break."

Countless past causes and effects, future catastrophes, and trajectories of destiny emerge, with the endings of countless timelines highly overlapping—as long as the Demon Lord's origin continues to exist, the human world will eventually be overthrown, and all living beings will eventually perish.

Fate is irreversible, bloodline cannot be altered; this is the ironclad law of destiny that has bound countless people throughout the ages.

The elders of the main peak, their faces grim, shouted in a stern voice, "Destiny is sealed! Quickly eradicate the demonic bloodline and sever the root of the calamity; there is still a chance to defy fate and prolong our lives!"

"Sacrificing one person to save all others—this is the only righteous path!"

Amidst the overwhelming cries, the oppressive force of destiny, and the relentless pressure of the laws of heaven and earth, Cen Jin was forced to make a choice: either sever ties with his own hands, kill his loved ones, obey fate, and protect humanity; or cling to kinship, bear eternal infamy, and watch as catastrophe descends.

Throughout history, countless geniuses have been trapped in this pass. They either ruthlessly pursue their path to enlightenment, becoming pawns in the game, or sacrifice themselves to protect their loved ones, their lives and paths extinguished. There has never been a third outcome.

But Cen Jin did not retreat an inch.

He raised his hand to tightly protect the wooden box in his arms, his eyes filled with both tenderness and determination, his voice resounding as he defied fate: "Destiny is determined by heaven, but the human heart is determined by me."

"She is my sister, not the root of all evil. Blood ties are a gift from heaven, good and evil are determined by human actions. Heaven decrees that I must sever ties to prove my path, but I will instead guard my heart with tenderness; Heaven decrees that my brother and I must walk different paths, but I will instead coexist and live together!"

"So-called destiny is nothing more than a game of chess, a set of shackles used to bind people's hearts. I don't believe in fate, I don't accept destiny!"

boom--

The resolute Daoist voice shattered the crimson light barrier, causing the countless destiny patterns to crumble inch by inch, and the scarlet demonic light to dissipate completely. The second barrier, which had imprisoned the soul for eternity, broke in response!

Two passes were breached in succession, causing the heavens and earth to tremble and the sea of ​​clouds to surge.

Halfway up the mountain, hundreds of cultivators, their hearts filled with fervor, bowed deeply, their minds completely surrendering. They had witnessed firsthand how someone had broken free from their obsessions with their true nature and defied fate with their loyalty, forcefully tearing apart the age-old shackles of the game.

The elders of the main peak stood pale and slumped, utterly devoid of the courage to refute. The righteous path they had upheld throughout their lives, and the destiny they had believed in, had been completely overturned and crushed by the young man single-handedly.

Just when everyone thought the impending breakthrough and a new beginning were about to arrive, the third layer of the sky, suspended between heaven and earth, suddenly lit up with a bang.

The most dangerous, unpredictable, and uncharted **ultimate heavenly gate** has finally descended.

Unlike the previous two trials, which were filled with the allure of obsession and the pressure of destiny, this first trial was devoid of illusions, judgment, and oppression; there was only a vast and boundless pure white world. In the center of this world, a perfectly formed, flawless black and white Dao Seed floated silently. This was the Zhou Tian Dao Seed that Cen Jin had poured his heart and soul into, and which was about to be fully formed.

At the same time, deep within the Nine Heavens Demon Realm, the figure of Xuan Ye Zun slowly solidified, and the ancient black mist gathered into shape. He stepped through the air step by step, finally descending from the depths of the chessboard to the mortal world.

He looked down, a perfect smile playing on his lips, and whispered:

"When the barrier of the heart is broken, all attachments cease. When the barrier of fate is broken, destiny is emptied."

"Walk all the paths I have laid out for you, and cultivate the most perfect balance of the Dao."

"This final hurdle was never your way out..."

"This is the final battle in my harvesting of Dao seeds."

As soon as the words fell, the third Heavenly Barrier suddenly sealed off the surrounding world, isolating all spiritual energy, all ties, and all escape routes. The entire mortal realm froze instantly, and the originally incomplete chasm in Cen Jin's Qi Sea began to rapidly repair itself and approach perfection under the nourishment of the Heavenly Barrier's power!