The Record of Exterminating Evil from Ashes

The cycle of reincarnation reverses, and heaven and earth move in reverse.

The boundless, pure white celestial realm suddenly trembled, and the eternally fixed law of reincarnation was forcibly torn apart. The originally orderly and ever-flowing threads of time now surged and churned in reverse, emitting fragmented and piercing Daoist sounds of collapse. The ultimate killing trap that had imprisoned heaven and earth underwent an unprecedented change due to the symbiotic bond between the brother and sister.

Cen Jin stood in the center of the illusion, his dantian throbbing with excruciating pain.

In that instant of breaking through the dream and proving his heart, seeing through the illusion, he completely mended the flaws in his Dao heart, all the cracks in his Dao were healed, and his balanced Dao seed reached an unprecedented level of perfection. This was supposed to be the perfect ending moment for Xuan Ye Zun's plan that spanned countless ages, but Cen Wantang's sudden outburst of innate bonds transformed into long, blood-red symbiotic Dao patterns, tightly binding the perfected Dao seed that was about to leave his body.

The crimson patterns took root in the Qi Sea and locked the Dao Foundation, using the shared origin of life and the symbiotic cause and effect as shackles, forcibly stopping the trend of the Dao Seed separating.

High above, Xuan Ye Zun's solidified black mist figure paused slightly.

Since He laid out His scheme throughout the ages, countless geniuses have entered the game, and countless variables have risen and fallen. Some have been trapped by their inner demons, some have perished by fate, and some have been defeated by greed. No one has ever been able to reverse reincarnation and lock their Dao seed at the final harvest. Even the ancient brother and sister who shared the same origin a thousand years ago did not leave behind such a heaven-defying contingency plan.

"Using life to lock the path, using shackles to reverse the cycle of reincarnation."

For the first time, Xuan Ye Zun's indifferent voice lost its complete control and gained a hint of genuine surprise. "So the ultimate form of the Great Dao of Symbiosis is not the balance between good and evil, but rather the coexistence of cause and effect, and the bondage between life and death."

He looked down, his eyes, swirling with black mist, fixed on the black, white and blood-red patterns interwoven in Cen Jin's dantian. His gaze was deep and intense, as if he were reviewing the oversights of an ancient chess game.

"I underestimated the bond between you siblings."

A cold, clear Daoist voice echoed throughout the illusion, yet He did not immediately intervene to suppress it. Xuan Ye Zun had always been obsessed with perfect strategies and flawless Dao fruits. Now that a sudden change had occurred, He did not forcibly tear apart the bonds or plunder the Dao seed. Instead, He waited for the situation to unfold, wanting to see what kind of outcome this once-in-a-millennium variable would produce.

Within the illusion, the reversed power of reincarnation frantically washed over Cen Jin's soul.

Countless long-buried fragments of illusion, remnants of reincarnation, and obsessions of the past were stirred up by the reversal of time. The defeated afterimages of the ancient siblings, the desperate obsessions of the prodigies of past generations who entered the game, and the endless suffering of the common people all surged into the sea of ​​consciousness, transforming into a sky full of demonic illusions, attempting to erode the original heart and overturn the foundation of the Dao when the Dao seed was perfected and the mind was in turmoil.

Darkness breeds, and all kinds of demons spring up.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, countless illusions arise.

The elders who exorcised evil sternly rebuked him, cursing him for going against the righteous path and causing chaos in the sect; worldly cultivators coldly mocked him, accusing him of indulging demons and evil spirits and bringing ruin to the world; countless displaced people cried out in anguish, their cries filled with blood, blaming him for being incompetent and unable to protect the peace of the land; and even more so, the lingering ghost of his ancient brother, with a sorrowful face, murmured the unsolvable fate of eternity.

"There is no solution ahead, and trying to break the deadlock is futile; in the end, we are just pawns in a game."

"All resistance is in vain; it is better to succumb and give up."

A myriad of demonic sounds assault my ears, and countless obsessions disturb my mind.

  

This is the final, deadly method of the Heavenly Gate. The first two gates break through obsessions and defy fate; the final gate is to nurture the ultimate inner demon with a perfect Dao heart and destroy one's original heart with eternal illusion.

People say that when one's mind is perfected, all laws cannot harm one.

But no one knows that the path to perfection is most prone to giving rise to demons. The ultimate light can breed the ultimate darkness; the flawless Dao heart can bear the weight of countless ages of delusion.

Countless cultivators are trapped in the final stage because they cannot see through their own perfection, cannot overcome their inner demons, and ultimately their Dao heart collapses, they become useless, and they are completely reduced to dust in the game.

Enveloped in a myriad of illusions, endless darkness eroded his soul, and Cen Jin's figure trembled slightly within the illusion.

He clearly saw that if he were to lose today, the human world would eventually fall completely, the demon realm would be overthrown, good and evil would be united, Xuan Ye Zun would ascend to the supreme position, the ancient chess game would be completely closed, there would be no more new life, no more variables, only endless cycles of repetition and sinking.

He also saw countless versions of himself from parallel universes sinking into depravity, compromising, and giving up at this step, ultimately repeating the mistakes of the ancient times, ending up with their own deaths, the extinction of their species, and the annihilation of all living beings.

Fear, helplessness, regret, despair—all sorts of negative emotions arise and spread, attempting to take root in one's heart and transform into demonic obstacles.

Just as the inner demons were about to take root, Cen Jin suddenly raised his eyes, and all the confusion, wavering, and gloom in his eyes faded away, becoming as clear as the eternal blue sky and as transparent as the first dew of dawn.

Having weathered the trials of human attachments and the trials of bloodline destiny, he has long since seen through the true nature of the world.

The so-called inner demons are not evil spirits from the heavens or demons from the earth, but rather the obsessions we have not yet understood, the illusions we have not yet broken, and the gains and losses we have not yet let go of. When the mind is burdened, demonic obstacles arise; when the mind is unfettered, no demon can invade.

"All illusions are delusion; the true mind is free from demons."

Cen Jin spoke softly, his voice echoing throughout the entire inverted and chaotic illusionary world.

His voice was clear and steady, devoid of any murderous intent, yet containing an extremely profound understanding of the Dao, instantly shattering the illusory demonic sounds that filled the sky. Those phantoms of rebuke, mockery, wailing, and sorrow all crumbled and vanished without a trace under this single word.

He finally deciphered the ultimate mystery of the Heavenly Gate.

The heart's barrier is to break through external rules and attachments; the fate's barrier is to defy innate destiny; and the heaven's barrier is to examine one's true nature.

Xuan Ye Zun used the cycle of eternal reincarnation as a chess piece and human illusions as bait, attempting to make Cen Jin develop inner demons and collapse within the ultimate perfection of his Dao heart, thus defeating him without a fight and sacrificing his Dao seed. But He ultimately miscalculated one point—Cen Jin's balanced Dao was never a flawless and perfect rigid Heavenly Dao, but rather a righteous path for humanity that embraces good and evil, accepts imperfections, and confronts illusions.

He does not seek absolute perfection, therefore he is not troubled by perfection; he is not afraid of all kinds of illusions, therefore he is not disturbed by inner demons.

"I believe in balance, which encompasses both light and darkness, without distinguishing between good and evil, and without fearing falsehood."

There is no pure light in the world, nor is there ultimate darkness. Imperfection is what makes it real, and light and darkness are what make the world.

Cen Jin slowly raised his hand. Deep within his Qi Sea, the flawless black and white Dao Seed suddenly began to circulate, actively shedding a trace of its ultimate perfection and giving rise to a faint, imperfect texture belonging to the human world.

He personally shattered the absolute perfection that Xuan Ye Zun had always dreamed of!

In an instant, the illusory foundation upon which the Heavenly Gate was formed, and the perfect conditions upon which the game of chess was concluded, collapsed in large part.

The previously chaotic and erratic cycle of eternal reincarnation suddenly stabilized, no longer controlled by the game or bound by destiny. The pure white illusory light curtain began to shatter and peel away layer by layer, revealing the true energy of heaven and earth behind it.

"You dare?!"

High above the heavens, Xuan Ye Zun spoke for the first time, his voice filled with disbelief, rage, and astonishment.

He had schemed for eternity, exhausting the calculations of human hearts, destiny, and reincarnation, even going so far as to use the illusion of heaven and earth to mend the flaws in Cen Jin's Dao Seed, all to wait for this perfect Dao Fruit to mature and bring the project to a close. But at the very last moment, the opponent destroyed His own perfection, leaving behind only the flaws, completely shattering His ultimate plan.

Why wouldn't I dare?

Cen Jin looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes showing no reverence, no hesitation, only a clear and honest heart. "You seek perfection, I will uphold my principles. You wish to conclude, I will break the deadlock."

"What you need in your game is a flawless seed of the Way, a closed-loop cycle."

"My path is to seek freedom in the world and a heart free from demons."

The moment the words were spoken, a profound Daoist resonance resounded.

Within the Qi Sea, the crimson symbiotic patterns and the black-and-white balanced Dao Seed completely merged into one, no longer a shackle forcibly locking the seed, but transformed into a part of the Great Dao's origin. The Dao Seed was no longer perfectly perfect, but it was truly vibrant, truly autonomous, and truly freed from the constraints of the game's rules.

The symbiotic relationship between siblings is no longer a shackle of fate, but a foundation for breaking the deadlock; the imperfection of the Dao seed is no longer an innate flaw, but a heaven-defying asset.

The illusory world completely collapsed, and the pure white sky shattered into countless points of light, dissipating into the world.

The imprisoned human world was restored, the wind rose again, spiritual energy flowed again, and people's hearts were revived. The stagnant atmosphere of the Demon-Slaying Mountains was completely broken, and hundreds of new cultivators on the mountainside came to their senses. Looking at the fading light curtain of the Heavenly Gate in the sky, their hearts trembled and their eyes filled with tears.

They saw that lone figure venturing into the barrier, breaking through all the illusions of the ages with his own will.

Above the main hall, the elders stood frozen in place, their faces ashen and their minds reeling. Their lifelong adherence to the perfect Dao, the rules of good and evil, and the destiny of Heaven had been shattered and utterly overturned by the young man's own hands. The foundation of their old Dao had collapsed completely.

The Heavenly Gate has fallen, and all three passes have been breached.

The mind is free from attachment, the fate is free from bondage, and the heavens are free from demons.

Standing atop the sea of ​​clouds, Cen Jin exuded a gentle yet powerful Daoist aura. Having endured three trials of life and death and the baptism of the eternal illusion, his Daoist heart underwent a complete transformation, becoming perfect and flawless, truly reaching a new realm of transcending the game and standing independently in the world.

The evil-suppressing waist token trembled slowly in his palm, the black and white patterns intertwined with the newly formed blood-red symbiotic texture, the old and new paths completely merged, and the power of authority covered the entire mountain gate and the vast land.

From then on, the new path of humanity officially took root in the world, no longer bound by the game of chess, no longer constrained by fate.

But the crisis has never subsided, and the final game has only just begun.

The Nine Heavens Demon Realm is shrouded in towering black mist.

Xuan Ye Zun's figure solidified completely, releasing his ancient, dormant pressure that enveloped the entire mortal realm. He no longer held back, no longer tested; his indifferent eyes surged with boundless rage and extreme greed.

The ancient chess game nearly came to a complete end, but at the last moment, it was forcibly broken by a flawed Dao Seed and a bond between siblings. His perfectly planned conclusion vanished, the Dao Fruit he had accumulated over countless ages was lost, and his grand schemes were all in vain.

"What a wonderful example of a pure and untainted heart, what a wonderful example of overcoming imperfections."

Xuan Ye Zun chuckled coldly, his voice icy and piercing, echoing throughout the eight wastelands and six directions, "You destroyed my eternal perfection and severed my supreme path."

"Since the perfect Dao Seed has shattered and the closed loop of the game has been broken... then I will overturn the entire mortal realm and forcibly seize the Dao!"

As soon as the words fell, the dark mist of the demon realm, which blotted out the sky, suddenly accelerated its descent, carrying a terrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth, and pressed down fiercely on the Demon-Slaying Mountains and the vast human world.

At the same time, the cracks in the shattered wooden box in Cen Jin's arms suddenly widened, and the ancient demon lord's original essence, which had been dormant in Wan Tang, was completely awakened by the chaotic energy of heaven and earth, and was about to break through the shackles and appear in the world!