All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 596 - 197: The Way of the True Person

Chapter 596: Chapter 197: The Way of the True Person

If one says that a person is a kingdom, then this kingdom must inevitably be one filled with flaws and burdened with significant hidden dangers.

Too many ancient imperfections have been passed down with the bloodline, be it in terms of breathing, thinking, vision, the nervous system, or even the spine which has made upright walking uncomfortable for humans.

These innate defects, being present from birth, have thus never caught people’s attention. Everyone regards them as [normal], taking no note of them, even priding themselves on these flaws, considering them a testament to some [special and superior] rationale, proving humanity to be the Leader of Ten Thousand Spirits.

Foolish, despicable, pitiful.

Humans are the Leader of Ten Thousand Spirits because they can transcend their own folly, surpass their own flaws, compensate for their physical form with wisdom, supplement their instincts with morality, and fill the void of desire with resolution.

How dare you claim to pursue the Great Dao and what is right, or call yourself a Cultivator if you cannot even admit to your mistakes and flaws?

With the power of Heavenly Tribulation, An Jing completely shattered the layout of his physical body and reorganized his meridians and organ structure, making his body more ’rational’ and closer to the ’Dao’.

[True Person]

At this moment, An Jing somewhat understands why, upon reaching the Divine Storage Realm, a Cultivator is revered as a ’True Person’.

A real person, truly standing tall between heaven and earth, unique, shaping oneself with one’s will, giving birth to oneself with one’s desires!

The blurry and ignorant self, born of parents that one had no choice in, is among the multitude—merely ’human’.

Yet, through one’s Cultivation and strength, by choosing and manifesting the real self that one desires to be, one can be called a [True Person]!

The entire Martial Meridian realm demands the constant sharpening of both body and spirit, grinding oneself from being a person to a True Person!

Continuously accepting the Ren Gui Yin Yang Qi contained within heavenly thunder, An Jing’s Water Spirit Root became ever more spirited and solid. Though still not as potent as An Jing’s original, the fact that the Spirit Root continued to grow and strengthen was undeniable. One could foresee that during future Heavenly Tribulations, his Spirit Root would grow to an unimaginable extent.

However, this is actually not the grandest gain An Jing has reaped from this Heavenly Tribulation. By reconstructing his body, An Jing finally understands what the so-called [Dao Becoming Flesh] truly embodies.

[There was something nebulous and complete before Heaven and Earth were born. Quiet and void, standing alone and undergoing no change, revolving without wearying]

[It comprehends all creation; constancy itself is the root of change]

"How can the Dao be eternally unchanging?"

An Jing realizes with certainty: "Adaption, transformation, innovation, moving with the heavens, changing with time... It is through destruction that one rebuilds, transforming through tribulations, which could be Human Tribulations or Heavenly Tribulations. When facing difficulty, one should not cling stubbornly to outdated ways, but should continuously embrace the new, allowing oneself to grow and become stronger!"

"The growth of the Spirit Root and the shedding of the physical form are just superficial!"

"This truly is [Dao Becoming Flesh]!"

Although the third thunder is still ongoing, An Jing has already survived it.

In reality, [Nine Tribulations Ascension] is not meant to be used in this way—even the Dragon Clan relies on Dragon Balls and other auxiliary methods to alleviate the power of the Heavenly Tribulation, filtering out the destructive forces and absorbing the essence of Creation within.

While the effect is not as immediate as with An Jing, the Nine Tribulations essentially implies taking it slow, gradually Cultivating, and using safer intensities to induce a transformation in quality.

However, An Jing is not a dragon, his lifespan is not as extensive, so he directly embraces all of it, accelerating his growth at the fastest rate, and only thus can he fully comprehend the true intent of ’destruction followed by construction, Dao Becoming Flesh.’

Aside from this, An Jing was also contemplating another matter.

"Nine Tribulations Ascension is derived from the modification of the Ancestral Dragon Heavenly Destiny True Spirit True Method; I am facing the Seven Fiend Tribulation, but indeed I carry the seed of the Ancestral Dragon within."

"Now that it has come to this, I am indeed of the Seven Luminaries and Seven Fiend, and it would not be difficult to pose as the Jiuli Commanding General, but the Secret Technique [Fate Altering Technique] that teacher gave me is not merely for disguise, it can actually allow the Fate Pattern to wield strength beyond its own significance."

With his eyes tightly closed, resisting the Heavenly Tribulation from the outside and refining thunder within, a flash of realization crosses An Jing’s mind: "Therefore, why cannot the Seven Luminaries and Seven Fiend be ’Ex Nihilo’?"

"In Embracing the Void, it is the Seven Fiend Tribulation; in Tianyuan, it springs forth from Ex Nihilo. The two are not in conflict!"

This is but a train of thought. To transform the thought into reality, a long journey remains, yet An Jing now has a path, and what comes next is but to tread it.

The Heavenly Tribulation is coming to an end.

Above the Heavenly Dome, the swirling clouds disperse, the eight winds come to rest, as the final flash of Thunder Light disappears with the gradually fading mist and the Heavenly River, merging into An Jing’s body.

Now, An Jing’s entire body, once charred black by the thunder’s strike, cracks and peels layer by layer, shedding its old skin, revealing a fresh body glittering like white jade and refined iron, with silver Daoist Patterns twinkling amidst the intertwining blood-red sinews and cyan meridians, like veins and tendons beneath the skin.

This time, his gains are tremendous. The Heavenly Tribulation sent down by the Heavenly Origin Heavenly Dao brings both destruction and law, and indeed his opportunity, allowing him to comprehend many things.

"Trials are expensive."

Opening his eyes, An Jing’s gaze swirls with dark green light, Godly radiance undulates within them, as imposing as the divine thunder above the Heavenly Dome.

The Heavenly Tribulation of the Tianyuan Realm not only nurtured his Ancestral Dragon seed but also set the Seven Fiend Tribulation into motion.

"Trials are destruction, termination, a negation and annihilation. This comes at a great cost, something even the heaven and earth cannot bear too often. Precisely because each [Termination] bears immense significance, the Seven Fiend Tribulation is thus the Heavenly Mandate."

He raises his renewed arm, observing his flesh now further refined through Body Refinement and mutters to himself, "Emerging anew from tribulation is fortunate. Many things, even if destroyed, will re-emerge... Without yielding something new, such [Termination] is pointless – therefore past Seven Fiend Tribulations have failed. They brought destruction, but after the end, it was still the scene of bygone days..."

"What do you mean?" Subdue Evil senses something profound, feeling that An Jing may have realized something very important, while Itself, an entity best at slaughter and destruction, also senses a thought exceedingly familiar.

An Jing starts to smile, lifting his head to gaze at the Heavenly Dome, gesturing to the sky: "The meaning is simple."

As he waves his hand, he speaks slowly, "A tribulation cannot be wasted. Having endured this tribulation, I must return it to the cosmos, for this is Tianyuan Realm’s compensation to me."

"It appears a harder effort is in order. Slay more across both realms."

"So it is."

Subdue Evil understands: "Indeed, there is a need to slaughter more."

With the Tribulation traversed, An Jing’s Water Spirit Root grows within him, the Ancestral Dragon seed strengthens, even the progression of the Innate Taoist Body advances, and touches upon the Seven Fiend Tribulation – truly, a great harvest.

But now is not the time to conclude such gains.

"Huo Qing, come here!" An Jing looks around, spots his brother, and beckons, "Time to go! Quickly, before everyone arrives!"

"Coming!" Having observed the entire process and recorded the natural array of thunder in his Jade Slip, Huo Qing is utterly enraptured – had An Jing defeated the thunder head-on, the gains wouldn’t be as substantial, but as An Jing withstood all the thunder, his recordings are without precedent in completeness.

He arrives at An Jing’s side with swiftness aboard Tengshuang White, bringing the Jade Slip, then witnesses the youth summoning a golden Divine Weapon: the Kanming Bell, "Kanming Bell, conceal our forms, it’s time to leave!"

"A magic treasure! A sentient magic treasure!" Even after countless shocks, Huo Qing couldn’t help but be stunned at this scene: "An Jing, you actually have a sentient magic treasure for your Protective Body?!"

"Not mine, just borrowing it for now," replies An Jing, while Huo Qing thinks silently – if it isn’t yours, surely it belongs to your elder, your master, your protector, what difference does it make?

But it matters not. With a magic treasure for protection, the anxious heart he held finally rests: "I never thought I’d be protected by a magic treasure one day!"

"Heh." An Jing chuckles, "There’s much more ahead that you’ll find unexpected."

In an instant, a flash of gold, and both An Jing and Huo Qing vanish under the protection of the Kanming Bell.

A while later.

Various teams of different origins start to appear in this charred valley, in the aftermath of the Heavenly Tribulation.