All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 422 - 65: Confession (1/3)

Chapter 422: Chapter 65: Confession (1/3)

An Jing exited the Enlightenment State.

The gains from this session of enlightenment were immense, not to mention that An Jing had comprehended the fundamental True Intent of the "Demon Spirit Method" and "Martial Arts" through it, he also realized his fourth Divine Abnormality "Heaven’s Virtue," as well as the additional Divine Abnormality "True Spirit Blood" after the perfection of the five Divine Abnormalities.

Next, he could first cultivate "Bright Mirror Heart" and "Heaven’s Virtue."

The former was not difficult, as An Jing had already gained experience and personal insights from his Mirror Self imbued by Guangchen Dust.

As for the latter, a perfect opportunity was required, but this opportunity did not require waiting; instead, it called for him to frequently connect the meridians along his spine daily, activating all the nerves and channels throughout his body, and perfectly mastering the changes in his Essence Qi and Spiritual Fiend.

This step complemented the Qi Refinement from the "Taibai Luminous Godly Ban’s Nine Prohibitions," and An Jing felt that if he could achieve accomplishments in the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban, the cultivation of this fourth Divine Abnormality would be relatively simple.

Moreover, An Jing also realized where to seek his fifth Divine Abnormality: the True Dragon Spine and Dragon Qi from You Ruhui, combined with a cultivation method similar to "Demon Core," would be the key to the perfection of his five Divine Abnormalities.

"If there are already six Divine Abnormalities, could there be a seventh?"

An Jing pondered in his heart, "Perfect the Four Symbols and Five Elements, return to the innate, and create True Spirit Blood—after that, it’s achieving ’Dao Manifesting in Flesh’... This might just be the seventh Divine Abnormality."

An Jing didn’t dwell on it too much, as he was sure that by the time he cultivated to that point, everything would be clear.

Full of ambition, he bid farewell to Huo Qing and Iron Hand, taking Cang with him, and returned to Embracing the Void.

"...Self-initiated enlightenment."

After An Jing left, back in the small cottage, Iron Hand, smoking a cigarette, sat on his sofa gnawed by Cang and fell into deep thought: "Such talent, such potential, and this aura and strength... Even among those top-ranking family disciples with inheritances of Cave Heavens, it’s just like this."

"But which power does he belong to? Could it really be a local sect? Damn it, is it the sect that found the Ancient Path Sect ruins? Could it be just like the wild speculation I had a few days ago..."

Iron Hand became silent. He was still contemplating An Jing’s origins, while Huo Qing brought over a cup of tea and set it on the armrest beside him, "Why trouble yourself, Uncle? If An Jing comes from a great background, we’re unlikely to find out; and if An Jing’s background is ordinary, it wouldn’t make much difference even if we did."

"You’re quite optimistic," Iron Hand looked up and glared at Huo Qing with his one eye. He picked up the tea and said grumpily, "The bigger the background, the bigger the trouble that can be stirred up. If we get involved, we could be crushed to pieces without care..."

—Being crushed to pieces doesn’t scare me; what I fear is failing my brothers and not completing the mission.

Huo Qing didn’t know what Iron Hand was thinking inside. He was rather accepting of the situation, "I’m someone who has already died once. What’s there to fear from being crushed to pieces again? At least by following him, I indeed lead a life I never imagined before."

"The stronger his power and talent, and the bigger his background, the better, isn’t it? It’s all the same, working for a company or for a major power in the Wilderness."

Iron Hand couldn’t refute this because he himself was a member of the Guiyi Army, a major power from the Wilderness.

With this thought, Iron Hand heaved another long sigh, looking toward the direction of Chonggang Town, "To tell you the truth, I think it’s time I stopped keeping you in the dark."

He lifted his hand, patted the sofa beside him, signaling Huo Qing to sit down. Once the young man was seated, he spoke in a very calm tone: "Xiao Qing, I know you’ve always been wondering how your parents really died—You’re quite intelligent. You know that even if companies are at odds with each other, hiring spies and assassins, they wouldn’t target new employees like your parents."

"Even if they were caught in an accident, your parents were Qi Refinement cultivators, with Protective Body Talismans at hand; they wouldn’t die that easily, would they?"

As soon as Huo Qing sat down, he subconsciously thought to stand up again. Indeed, as Iron Hand said, he had always doubted that story’s veracity, but Huo Qing was also aware that with his own power and resources, it would be impossible for him to find out the truth.

If Iron Hand and the others wanted to deceive him, it could only be for his own good. After all, Huo Qing wasn’t the kind of person who would make a fuss and demand "I have the right to know the truth."

He would remember, and he would stay silent.

But now... Iron Hand was actually going to reveal the truth to him?!

Just when Huo Qing wasn’t sure whether to be surprised or delighted, Iron Hand’s next words turned everything into shock: "Your parents and I are members of the Guiyi Army."

"My parents... are from the Guiyi Army?!" The moment he heard this, Huo Qing felt a chill shoot up his spine, neck, and skull, and he exclaimed incredulously, "They were, and you too, Uncle, are spies?"

For the residents of Xuanye City, and even of the Tianyuan Realm, knowing such a close connection with the Guiyi Army was definitely not a matter to be brushed off lightly—especially since Huo Qing’s life had recently become more stable and hopeful, with his own strength climbing steadily.

For the locals of Xuanye City, this was tantamount to happiness.

But if I were to be linked with the Guiyi Army, all of this happiness would be nothing but castles built on sand. The moment Iron Hand and his people are discovered, I would be wiped out by the company’s guards along with them, becoming a corpse forgotten by everyone, just like those in the Black Market of Xuanye City.

If it were an ordinary person, they would surely harbor subconscious hatred towards Iron Hand, and perhaps even towards their parents.

—After all, they left me nothing, they died early and abandoned me, brought me into a world full of suffering, and now, just as I am about to reach a place of peace, they drag me back into the abyss...

Even if this hatred would soon disappear due to morality, the sensation of plunging into the abyss is unmistakably real.

But Huo Qing was not an ordinary person.

"I didn’t reveal any weaknesses."

Faced with such unsettling news, he instead calmed down immediately.

Like an Array Master who realizes there are conflicts and contradictions within his Formation, his first thought wasn’t to blame himself for the arrangement, but to recall if he had been exposed or made any slips. Huo Qing pondered, "My actions have all been those of an ordinary local from the Floating Dust Plains. Although my Xuanye City identity won’t hold up under scrutiny, at worst they would find out I’m from the Day Tiger Gang."

"The main problem lies with you, Uncle Iron Hand. Have you found something wrong on your end?"

"...No."

As he observed the now-grown Huo Qing, Iron Hand was somewhat dazed, vaguely seeing the shadow of his former brother in the young man. He chuckled hoarsely and exhaled a puff of smoke, "It’s not that we found anything unusual, but rather that our mission might have already ended... or perhaps it has just begun."

"Xiao Qing, your parents were spies the Guiyi Army sent into Xuanye City. Their mission was to infiltrate a secretive exploration company within the Luofu Group. That company is a core department used by the Luofu Group specifically to explore the ruins of the ancient Dao Courtyards. However, in recent years, we have not detected any presence of their personnel in the outside world."

"Our intelligence indicates Luofu Group has been continuously investing resources in this company, but their personnel have not been seen in the Wilderness at all. This abnormal behavior indicates two possibilities. The first is that this company is a front for a faction within the Luofu Group to embezzle resources."

"The second..."

Iron Hand looked towards Chonggang Town, "They have gained control of a Dao Courtyard ruin completely isolated from the outside world, one which even the Guiyi Army cannot detect."

"Regardless of whether it’s the former or the latter, it’s significant for us. If we can infiltrate it, at the very least we’ll know where Luofu’s resources have been going recently."

Iron Hand summarized, "If we could thwart their plans and seize key equipment, that would be even better."

"You mean..."

Huo Qing, too, immediately considered this possibility. He swallowed hard and looked in the direction of the warehouse, "You’re talking about Chonggang Town and the Ancient Immortal Ruins..."

"Yes."

Iron Hand continued smoking, his expression grim: "The death of your parents wasn’t a result of Luofu discovering their spy identities, but rather they were killed by assassins from another company."

"But now, it seems it might not be another company, but other collectives outside of the Luofu Group that are curious about Luofu’s activities. Their conflict spilled over to us, and so we were crushed."

"Looking at it now, if Luofu has been exploring the Ancient Immortal Ruins beneath Xuanye City, everything makes sense. The Guiyi Army’s intelligence network, no matter how strong, couldn’t possibly penetrate this deeply."

"But there’s still a significant doubt: if this Ancient Immortal Ruin has always been here, it logically should have been discovered long ago, and couldn’t have been hidden until now."

"But if it hasn’t always been here, then when did it appear? And why is it able to move beneath the ground?"

"The only certainty is that this Ancient Immortal Ruin is exceptionally special, and Luofu was caught unprepared by its existence, revealing slight flaws that we were able to detect... Regarding the recent Black Market incident, according to our intelligence, an important Magic Artifact being escorted by Luofu was lost."

"Why would that important Magic Artifact have been transported to Xuanye City? There are many conjectures at the moment, but in my view..."

Iron Hand crushed the cigarette in his hand, "It has a crucial role in exploring the Ancient Immortal Ruins."