Chapter 1661: Receiving Reincarnation Across, Dao Ancestor's Legacy and Suicide Beginning

Jingren!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized. Cui Yin had been gone for so long, and the internal and external seals were severed, so why was there no visual connection with Jingren? His second true body was connected to him telepathically. Previously, when his main body was outside and Jingren was in the ruins, he could transfer the effects of 'Sadness' during battles with Bei Huai, allowing Jingren to cry on his behalf for free. Otherwise, during the Four Symbols Secret Realm incident, he might have been killed by Bei Huai—Bei Huai's ability was too disgusting; it could forcibly interrupt enemy spells and create many combat opportunities. Later, when his main body entered the ruins and Jingren went outside, he could also use their previous connection to have Jingren ask Li Fugui and Long Xing some questions. But now… Why had they lost contact? Could it be that Cui Yin's blockade was still active, and the Divine Ruins still allowed entry but no exit?

"What's wrong?" Dao Qiongcang turned his head, hearing the question, thinking Xu Xiaoshou had recalled something about his master and broken free from the lingering effects of the Memory Path.

"Do you have any way to confirm that Cui Yin genuinely can't interfere with entry and exit from the Divine Ruins?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't elaborate.

Dao Qiongcang replied with a smile, "That's up to you, Young Master Shou. You're the master of the Divine Ruins, controlling the Heaven Realm Core. Why don't you try changing the Guiding Path here?"

Change… What does that mean?

"Don't ask, just listen to me and change it first," Dao Qiongcang said. "Grasp the Heaven Realm Core and mentally trace the 'Guiding Path'. You don't need to change it to its normal state, and you probably couldn't anyway. Just restore it to the state it was in before Cui Yin's influence, as set by the God-Slayer Dye Ming, allowing free entry and exit." Dao Qiongcang spoke mysteriously.

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated, considering that everyone was still in the Divine Ruins, so he could trust the flashy old Taoist's words. He then brought out the Heaven Realm Core and did exactly as told. The world didn't shake, nor was there any buzzing sound. Silently, the Guiding Path switched back to the way it had been set by the God-Slayer Dye Ming.

"What exactly does that mean?" After he finished, Xu Xiaoshou had a bad feeling. Because he genuinely couldn't change the Guiding Path to allow specific return points to certain locations on the Sacred God Continent via the tree gate, rather than just exiting the way one entered. Theoretically, Xu Xiaoshou understood: coming from the Sacred God Continent required the term "Feather Ascent," which was essentially not spatial teleportation, but a form of "guided reincarnation." Going from here, it naturally had to be "guidance," not just a quick jump through space and various chaotic currents. But while he understood the theory, the subjective feeling wasn't pleasant. —After he left, Ai Cangsen might have been waiting for him with a bow pointed at his forehead for half a month; the thought was quite terrifying. And, of course, the feeling of being predicted by Dao Qiongcang was even worse.

"Are you going to tell me or not?!" Seeing Xu Xiaoshou's displeased expression, Dao Qiongcang finally seemed to speak plainly, pointing his finger towards the other side, indicating the Sacred God Continent: "They don't know what happened here. But looking at the entire continent, even though the craze for entering the ruins has passed, everyone likely realizes something is wrong here. There's still a group of people who, after long deliberation and struggle, will call out 'Dye Ming' and choose to risk it for a chance—their lives have no other path. Before, they could enter but not leave. Now, you change the rules, then kill one person and see if they die or go out. Wouldn't that make it clear?"

What a simple and brutal method! But wasn't it a bit too inhumane?

Just as he was thinking, Dao Qiongcang suddenly pursed his lips, his eyes curving into a silent smile.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils trembled. "You..."

"Yes, Young Master Shou, I'm done killing."

There were actually still people in the Divine Ruins. Earlier, when Cui Yin was still present, these people were directly refined by the grand formation upon entering, honorably assimilating with Cui Yin. Regardless of whether they were Dao Slashing or Grand Void. Now that Cui Yin was gone, those who still dared to enter the Divine Ruins in small groups had successfully survived. They landed in the First Heaven, finished watching the entrance animation in their minds, then opened their eyes and stood frozen.

"What a Divine Ruin!" It truly lived up to its name as a battlefield of gods; it was incredibly ruinous. Why did it look like it had been ploughed by an ox, with not a single good patch of land? Even after wandering for most of the day, logically, so many years had passed. Even if the battle had been utterly devastating at the time, given the spiritual energy concentration and the unclaimed holy power here, spiritual plants should have grown in clusters, and spiritual creatures should have been flying everywhere by now, right? But there wasn't even a single tenth-grade spiritual herb, let alone first- or second-grade ones, or even holy medicines! There wasn't even a single divine weapon or sharp blade, only broken fragments from edges and corners, with anything the size of a fingernail considered large!

"It doesn't look like there was a battle of gods in the past, but rather like a battle of gods ended just yesterday..." Liu Guifen scratched his head, finding the place very strange. Born in the Eastern Region, Liu Guifen was 172 years old, possessed a Pure Yang Body, and had never broken his cultivation. He cultivated quickly, finally achieving Grand Void 63 years ago. To speak a bit boastfully, the Eighth Sword Immortal at that time was nothing. Liu Guifen had a dream: to participate in the Ten Venerables, becoming the Great Emperor Guifen of the Sacred God Palace—a resounding title. After a hundred years, he finally had an epiphany: this wasn't a dream; it was a fantasy. He had tried for the Ten Venerables five times, failing the preliminary rounds every time. It didn't matter; he had successfully outlasted the Ten Venerables, as the Sacred God Palace had now officially announced the competition would no longer be held. And now…

"Divine Ruins, Old Man Liu Guifen, I'm here!" Thud. Just as he finished his boast, a blurry figure suddenly dropped in front of him, where no one had been.

Liu Guifen's century-plus of experience in the jianghu told him that the newcomer meant trouble. The white-robed figure landed and smiled at him. Soon after, he offered a dagger: "Commit suicide."

In his 172 years of life, Liu Guifen had never been so speechless. This was too ridiculous. "I, Liu Guifen, a dignified Grand Void, a prominent figure in the Eastern Region. At the very least, I am the current palace master of Guifen Hall, having weathered countless trials in the jianghu, witnessed the rise and fall of four generations of Ten Venerables, and the pasts and fates of over twenty Sword Immortals..."

"Uh." Before Liu Guifen could even curve his lips into a smile or adopt a defensive stance to resist, his thoughts suddenly fractured. As if he had detached from life and death, he calmly nodded: "Okay." In his memory, ever since he was bullied as a child, he had harbored a firm conviction: if he could live to 172, he would go to a certain dilapidated ruin, find a certain person, take their dagger, cut his own throat, and end this unremarkable life... His entire life had been a struggle for this. And today, he could finally embrace the end.

Liu Guifen closed his eyes, his heart devoid of desires, possessing the stillness of dust settling. "Slice." The dagger passed across his throat; no blood splattered. An invisible, illusory tree gate appeared, and Liu Guifen stumbled through it, vanishing.

"Gasp!" Liu Guifen startled awake, sitting upright, drenched in cold sweat. What met his eyes were cave walls draped with cobwebs, a small stone table covered in dust... His brain ached faintly. Liu Guifen rubbed his head, memories flooding in like a tide. Cave, stone bed, isolated cultivation, a desperate gamble... A hundred seventy-two years of mediocrity; rather than growing old with such an unremarkable life, it was better to enter the Divine Ruins and gamble for a Half-Saint opportunity. Succeed or die trying! And then...

"How did I get back?" Liu Guifen was puzzled. He remembered deliberating for over half a month, then calling out "Dye Ming" and entering. What was happening now?

He rubbed his head twice; not only did his brain ache, but the outside of his head hurt too. He vaguely felt some liquid tracing the corner of his eye, bringing an astringent sensation—blood? Liu Guifen quickly stopped rubbing his head vigorously.

"Hiss!" He spread his hand to look, sucking in a cold breath. Resting quietly in his hand was a green dagger, with fresh bloodstains from his head and a piece of flesh.

"I sliced this off?" "I almost killed myself?" "Damn it, how did this dagger appear...?"

Just as Liu Guifen was scared half to death and about to leave his seclusion to throw this ominous object far away, his mind suddenly vibrated. Mysterious mists wafted out, gathering into indistinct, fragmented ancient images that were hard to discern but felt grand, powerful, and eternal! "What was that...?" Liu Guifen hesitantly twitched his lips, his eyelids fluttering twice. He shook his head, trying to get rid of those unrealistic thoughts.

"Ding." A clear sound appeared. At that, Liu Guifen shot up, his terrifying Grand Void aura directly shattering the entire cave and bursting through the ceiling. "What is it?!" "Get out of my mind!" "Old Man, I don't believe in these things, scram!" His pupils almost bulged out. He desperately clutched his forehead and threw the dagger far away again. But the next instant, the dagger returned to his hand, transformed and vanished, imprinting itself into his flesh as a faint tattoo on his palm. "Blood recognition?"

Liu Guifen's mind reeled. How absurd was this? "I just scratched my head, and this thing recognized me as its master because it cut off some flesh? Was it a divine artifact, an evil artifact, or..."

"Wait!" Divine Ruins? "I returned from the Divine Ruins? Forgotten the experience inside, but gained this ancient item?" After Liu Guifen calmed down, he felt his blood flow quicken and his body heat up—not due to his Pure Yang Body, but from intense excitement!

"An opportunity?" "An opportunity!" Yes! Liu Guifen didn't believe in these things. But after 172 years, fate had given him an opportunity. Was that alright, not too much? Believing for once wouldn't lead to death, right? He calmed himself, thinking that since it had come, he should accept it and find out the origin of this dagger.

He waited for about a quarter of an hour. The dagger continuously absorbed his spiritual essence. Liu Guifen was a Grand Void, not someone in the first or second post-heaven realms; if it needed spiritual essence... he had plenty! He desperately supplied it, unafraid of death. Until finally, the sound he almost thought was a hallucination rang out again.

"Ding!" That instant was eternity. It felt as if a century had passed. When Liu Guifen came back to his senses, he shook his head and smiled. He slowly raised his eyes, looking towards the forest before him. The lingering glow of the setting sun fell upon his aged face, dyeing the crow's feet at his eye corners with patches of golden scales... A gentle breeze wafted, carrying faint scents. The plants were fragrant, and all things had spirits. Having lived for 172 years, Liu Guifen felt for the first time that the world was so colorful and vibrant!

In his mind, perhaps because it had absorbed spiritual essence, more information appeared this time: "Ding!" "Detected a Pure Yang Body with a bone age of 172, unique in this era, meeting the 'Unique' standard." "Dao Ancestor Inheritance activating..."

Dao Ancestor? Liu Guifen's heart skipped a beat; he said nothing. Although being directly identified as single for nearly two centuries was a bit annoying, he hadn't expected that to count as "unique." Presumably, the dagger artifact was automatically detecting; it was fortunate he still had such a unique trait. "A mediocre life, yet I never thought this old man had such an extreme aspect; it's quite astonishing..."

It had to be said, the four characters "Dao Ancestor Inheritance" made his heart pound. Having lived several lifetimes compared to ordinary people, Liu Guifen had heard of the Ten Ancestors, but never a Dao Ancestor. No matter, it couldn't possibly be an ancestor fabricated by the dagger artifact, could it?

"Ding!" "Detected this plane is too small, spiritual energy is scarce, Dao Ancestor Inheritance activation failed." "Please, 'Liu Guifen,' begin tasks to successively unlock parts of the inheritance, gradually ascend to the Great Dao, and become the Primogenitor."

What? That tone! "Ascend to the Great Dao, become the Primogenitor... is that what 'Dao Ancestor' means?" Liu Guifen was greatly alarmed. This thing's tone was too arrogant; could that Dao Ancestor be above the Ten Ancestors? And it even knew his name... Uh, it seemed the priorities were reversed. Given how arrogant it was, it probably came from some "Divine Realm" or similar place, so naturally, knowing his true name was no big deal.

"Dagger, how do I start the tasks?" Liu Guifen tried calling out in his mind. With his 172 years of jianghu experience, he attempted to address the "Dao Ancestor Inheritance" as "dagger" first. Offend it first, then compensate it. Back and forth, they would become acquainted, and he would have forged a connection—this wasn't being slick, this was how one conducted oneself in society. If he didn't offend, he couldn't get close; they would be fated but not destined to be together this life—Liu Guifen's theoretical knowledge was quite comprehensive.

The "Dao Ancestor Inheritance" seemed to have too grand a scope; it didn't care about his lowly address for it. After hearing him, it simply aloofly presented a list of light.

Liu Guifen squinted, still somewhat unaccustomed. A list appeared before him, filled with tasks and rewards: "Submit a tenth-grade spiritual sword, reward Contribution Points: 1." "Submit a tenth-grade elixir, reward Contribution Points: 1." "Submit a tenth-grade formation disk, reward Contribution Points: 1." "Submit a tenth-grade cultivation method, reward Contribution Points: 1." Row after row, column after column, why was it all "submit"? Although completing the tasks seemed simple, "you're a Dao Ancestor Inheritance; you should bestow something upon me!" Looking at it this way, it seemed like a scam, only taking and never giving?

"Dagger, what are Contribution Points for?" Liu Guifen noticed the detail. His intuition told him this thing might be able to change his destiny against all odds.

The dagger was too aloof; it still didn't speak. After merely making a "ding" sound, a box popped up with a redemption list: "Ancient Martial Arts · Nine Dragon Body Forging Art, cultivate to the final chapter, can open eight gates, 30 million Contribution Points..." "What? Can open eight gates?" Liu Guifen finished silently reading, immediately astonished. His heart pounded faster as he continued to look down: "Legacy Mark Tablet Divine Artifact · Hundred-Foot Sword, 10 million Contribution Points... What? It even has Legacy Mark Tablet Divine Artifacts?" "Heavenly Secret Art from beginner to basic, 100,000 Contribution Points... What? It has Palace Master Dao's Heavenly Secret Art? Does it have from basic to proficient?" "Violent Saint-Breaking Pill... Oh my god, this can directly make one a Saint, even with drawbacks and after-effects, but it's only 1 million Contribution Points?" "What's the highest prize? What is it?!" Liu Guifen realized he might have seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and had to see his "ultimate dream." Today, dreams were no longer fantasies!

Pulling the list to the very top, Liu Guifen was startled by the shimmering golden words: "Dao Ancestor Inheritance, 1% progress, required for redemption: 100 million Contribution Points." "Note: Each 1% unlock of the Dao Ancestor Inheritance brings a qualitative leap to the Dao Ancestor's successor."

Qualitative leap... Liu Guifen stumbled. The dagger didn't explicitly state what kind of leap it was, but he could already imagine. And 100 million Contribution Points... He'd stake his life! He had to earn enough! If he could earn 10 billion Contribution Points in this life...

"Heh..." Liu Guifen laughed with his head down.

"Heh heh..." Liu Guifen raised his head and laughed.

"Ah ha ha ha..." Liu Guifen threw his head back, laughing wildly amidst the mountain forest. He could already see his future. His fate, after 172 years, was finally changed for this old man!

"Great Emperor Guifen?" "No! Dao Ancestor Guifen!" "And a Primogenitor, a Primogenitor above the Ten Ancestors!"

After a burst of excitement, Liu Guifen fiddled around a bit more and finally figured out what the dagger's "Dao Ancestor Inheritance" was. It was about doing tasks, earning Contribution Points, exchanging them for anything, and once 100 million were accumulated, exchanging them for the Dao Ancestor Inheritance. Simple and brutal!

As for the tasks... Of course, he couldn't earn points just little by little. This inheritance came too late; the initial tasks were clearly for Post-Heaven Spirit Refiners to complete. Liu Guifen was never a pessimistic person and wouldn't ponder why such an opportunity came so late. The benefit of receiving the Dao Ancestor Inheritance at 172 was that he could directly skip the novice phase and complete the highest difficulty tasks!

"Let this old man see, what kind of difficult tasks are there..."

"Join the war between Can Yue Immortal City and the Sacred God Palace, become Xiao Kongtong's right-hand man, reward Contribution Points: 10 million." Yes, high-difficulty tasks weren't just about submission; they perfectly intertwined with the current situation on the Sacred God Continent. This dagger was too spiritual; after examining him, it also examined this plane and just casually issued "training tasks"? Advanced! Truly advanced!

"But Can Yue Immortal City is the territory of ancient sword cultivators, and I don't even have innate sword intent; I'm destined not to become Xiao Kongtong's right-hand man..." Liu Guifen thought for a moment and gave up on this task.

He then picked through the list again. Some tasks involved developing influence in the Southern Region, resisting interdimensional spatial rifts in the Northern Region. Even more outrageous, one asked him to plant trees in the Western Region, transforming the entire yellow desert of the Western Region into green. "Reward: 1 billion Contribution Points!" "That's directly one-tenth of the Dao Ancestor Inheritance!" "Absurd! If this old man didn't know that the desertification of the Western Region wasn't due to natural evolution but had other hidden variables, I might really go plant trees... But looking at it this way, this Dao Ancestor Inheritance is quite benevolent." Liu Guifen smiled, and after concluding that this was a "righteous inheritance," he skipped the task. Actually, even if the inheritance were evil, he felt it would be acceptable, as long as he could redeem real items. After all, with weapons in hand, one could be righteous or evil; it primarily depended on the person. And he, Liu Guifen, with his Pure Yang Body, was a god of justice!

Not daring to speculate further, Liu Guifen quickly found the only high-difficulty task he believed he could handle: "Go to the City of Dead Pagodas, infiltrate the Crossroads, and become the Master of North Street, reward 10 million Contribution Points."

City of Dead Pagodas, Crossroads... Before this, Liu Guifen wouldn't even dare to imagine, nor would he ever go to such a gathering place for death row inmates and villains. How was this different from walking to his death? The Crossroads had four street masters; what did that even mean?

"Master of East Street, Shen Yi!" Just the mention of that title, that name, echoing in his mind was enough to scare Liu Guifen, who had participated in the Ten Venerables competition and been eliminated early but observed the battles, to the point his liver almost split. But now... Shen Yi? Hmph! Just a mere Shen Yi!

"Claim." Liu Guifen unhesitatingly claimed the Newbie Inheritance Grand Gift Pack. Upon opening it, he found treasures worth 200 million Contribution Points. 100 million were Contribution Points, clearly meant for him to redeem a small percentage of the Dao Ancestor Inheritance, to achieve a qualitative leap first. The other 100 million were treasures, including the Ancient Martial Arts · Nine Dragon Body Forging Art he had just seen, the Legacy Mark Tablet Divine Artifact · Hundred-Foot Sword, and other spiritual techniques, killer moves, and so on... With this gift pack opened, among all Grand Voids, who could be Liu Guifen's match?

"Hahahahaha!" "Hahahahaha!" Liu Guifen threw his head back and laughed wildly, tears streaming down his face. No one could understand the joy of good fortune striking in old age; it was almost as good as having a child late in life. But the latter... Liu Guifen knew that in this lifetime, that was impossible for him. Unless Contribution Points could be exchanged for a child, otherwise, if he cultivated with someone with his Pure Yang Body, he would instantly lose his cultivation and die on the spot.

"Depart!" Liu Guifen turned his head to look west. Central Region, City of Dead Pagodas, Crossroads, Master of North Street! First, become Great Emperor Guifen, then Dao Ancestor Guifen... This world would ultimately be Liu Guifen's!

"Oh, right, I need to receive the inheritance first."

"That's it?" "All killed?" In the Divine Ruins, observed through the Heaven Realm Core, and rewound through spatial mysteries, Xu Xiaoshou could clearly see that Dao Qiongcang, in that brief instant, had slaughtered precisely 3,762 people in the Divine Ruins. While he was here, all those individuals, no matter where they hid, were found by him, and all were handed a dagger. Then they committed suicide! Without any resistance!

"But they didn't die, did they?" Dao Qiongcang said with a slight lift of his lips and a smile in his eyes: "If no one dies, I'm not a bad guy. And I never arbitrarily control others' lives; I advocate 'equivalent exchange'—anyone who has done something for me, even if it's just this one experiment, I will give them an opportunity."

An opportunity? Xu Xiaoshou looked suspicious. Could anything good come out of his mouth? It wouldn't be an opportunity to refine them into Heavenly Secret Puppets, euphemistically called "eternal life," would it?

"Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed." Dao Qiongcang smiled ambiguously: "In short, they will get what they want, and I will get what I want. In a sense, I am very fair."

Get lost! Xu Xiaoshou didn't bother playing guessing games with this riddle-master here and asked sharply: "Where did they go after they left?" "Don't tell me you didn't leave a failsafe on them, that you don't know where they went!"

Dao Qiongcang shook his head sincerely: "This, I truly don't know, Young Master Shou. Even if I had a failsafe, how could it break through the barrier between the Divine Ruins and the Sacred God Continent and awaken within them? I'm just Dao Qiongcang, not a Dao Ancestor!"

After a pause, he stretched out his hand and began to count on his fingers with clanging sounds, his fingers glowing with golden light, then continued: "But if I were to guess, there's a 70% probability they returned to their original positions. Xu Xiaoshou, stop thinking about it. Go back and face Ai Cangsen; he's probably been waiting for you for a long time."

At that time, he had been reckless... Xu Xiaoshou sighed heavily, his mind deeply conflicted. If he had seen Shen Yi's strength earlier, he would never have uttered such boasts in front of Ai Cangsen. Li Fugui, I regret not listening to your words; my heart aches intensely!

"But it's not without a solution..." Soon, Xu Xiaoshou looked up, regaining his composure. Since people could leave, it meant his connection with Jingren should be able to communicate. So why couldn't he see Jingren's side? The truth, there was only one!

"Jingren, committed suicide..." This was still Xu Xiaoshou's heavy point. It was probably because Jingren realized he couldn't contact his main body, fearing that he, as the sole second true body, would occupy the main body's qualification for another 'birth'. So instead of staying idle outside, he'd rather commit suicide to give his main body a chance—the Divine Ruins were so dangerous, his main body would surely need to 'birth' someone to help fight. The truth was, once the connection was severed, Jingren didn't know that his main body was unaware of his suicide, and Xu Xiaoshou, the main body, had continuously not dared to 'birth' another, fearing he would 'burst' Jingren. He had to maintain this connection, waiting to see when it could be re-established so he could send Jingren to the Eastern Heavens to invite the Eighth Sword Immortal. As a result, neither side benefited, their intentions were wasted, there was no synergy, and the Eighth Sword Immortal was only invited after being summoned by the Eye of the Heavenly Ancestor.

"My Jingren..." Jingren hadn't managed to help much, but Xu Xiaoshou acknowledged his intention to commit suicide; he was somewhat moved and decided to 'birth' another.

"Here's what we'll do," Xu Xiaoshou said to Dao Qiongcang, simultaneously unbuttoning his clothes and casting a vanishing spell: "I'll birth... I'll summon an external avatar. My main body will stay in the Divine Ruins for now, and I'll have him go with you to the Southern Region to see if he can contact me. If he can, I have many tricky maneuvers I want to try."