"I DON'T DARE!" Barely had Tongtian made his offer that Xinzi snapped, his cascading dark hair whirling as if to mirror the panic that possessed every fiber of his body.
Yes, panic, fear. When faced with that stone, Hengye Zhen or not, Xinzi trembled in fear—recoiling instantly.
"Why not? Lord Zhen, the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao is the highest treasure of the Celestial Paradise and a perfect match for your Heavenly Dao Bones, Heart of the Stainless Sovereign, and Eternal God Physique. Even your Divine Father wasn't as good a match for this supreme power as you are. One would think that you were born specifically to cultivate this treasure.
Lord Zhen, 'the Grand Dao is Heartless,' all cultivators learn these words. But only a handful know that they originate from this stone. After absorbing the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao, even without the Divine and Spirit Tomes, you will have access to all the techniques created in Heaven. All mortal techniques will appear to you as well. Fire, water, metal, the various elemental forces will be yours to do with as you see fit, your Glorious Eye of Heaven will reach an unprecedented altitude, enabling you to sweep entire worlds with your third eye.
Alongside all this, your attributes will all improve exponentially, Heaven's Wrath will be yours to command, with a Dao Artifact stemming from Heaven itself. So, I really can't understand why you're so adamant against it." Tongtian spoke facts. In fact, there were other minor advantages, like fixing the defects in Xinzi's Pulse, facilitating the fusion of various forces, or removing the need for Dao comprehension.
But Tongtian forgot to add the little catch. Once he cultivated the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao, Xinzi's Divine Soul would become a gate to Heaven's core, enabling it to act wherever he stood with no regard for realm limitations. Heaven could also try to influence Xinzi's thought process to slowly guide him into becoming its physical avatar.
Of course, others could also try to use Xinzi as the gate that'd lead them to Heaven's core.
That's not bad enough? No problem. Whoever cultivates the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao will be denied emotions and desires for a lifetime. It didn't matter if Xinzi was in the Zhen-body or his true Xinzi shell. His Demon Hearts, Holy cultivation base and Heaven-Trampling Dao Bones would try to put up a fight. But at Xinzi's current cultivation level, how much resistance could he offer against Heaven itself?
In the past, Shenzhuo was offered the chance to cultivate this stone, but he rejected it with one simple sentence: "It's not worth the cost."
"Shenzhuo didn't dare to cultivate that thing, so why would I? I don't want it! I don't need it! Divine Mother!" Xinzi barked in rage, and like all others on the scene, turned towards Yongye.
Silence greeted his screams, confirming his worst fears.
Yanglong and the Heavenly Dukes believed that Heaven could use the stone to turn Xinzi into a weapon against Yongye. But Yongye didn't doubt that she'd not only stay in control of Xinzi but also that, when ready, she'd be able to use him to deal Heaven a devastating blow.
From the start, this...was all that she wanted.
'Divine Mother, you can't do this to me! There is no coming back from this! YOU CANNOT SEVER HEAVEN!' Breaking all decorum, Xinzi sent Yongye a mental message. Her silence didn't mean that he had freedom of choice. If Xinzi refused the stone, then he challenged Yongye's plans.
That challenge would lead him to a fate 100 times worse than the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao.
'Zhen'er, Divine Mother is afraid. The more splendid you become, the more afraid Divine Mother is that one day, you will lose the ability to separate the worthy from the worthless. Zhen'er, perhaps you've lost it already. Otherwise, why would you dare to question Divine Mother's plans? But Divine Mother doesn't care. So long as you cultivate the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao, then Divine Mother doesn't have to worry about what you will become.
Zhen'er, today you take the first step to becoming the absolute being you were always destined to be. Together, we will open all forgotten doors, unlock and take over the Primordial Source. For Divine Mother's plans, you must incorporate the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao.' Yongye gave her reply, and in that instant, Xinzi felt—yes, he felt—that all energy had vanished from his body, making him shrink into an empty husk.
"So this is what it comes down to.
Hahaha! Hahahahaha!
Yongye, oh Yongye, you are...cruel." Xinzi threw his head back, and with no care for pretense, burst into a peal of frenzied laughter.
"Fine! Fine! Then Yongye, remember, from this day onward and till the ends of times, no matter what the future leads us to, please remember...that I didn't refuse to be your son. It is you who insisted...on not being my mother," Xinzi said, flashed Yongye a radiant smile, and without a sliver of hesitation, wrapped his hand around the stone.
For reasons they couldn't comprehend, Xinzi's words stirred the deity's hearts—making them beat faster than they ever did. Even Yaochi who bore Xinzi immense hatred, felt as if needles pricked her from the inside out.
Only Yongye stayed stoic, as unfazed as ever.
'Divine Mother, compared to you, I have only lived for an insignificant period of time. And because of how you've raised me, though I might make moves that don't necessarily please me, I never do anything that I can't live with. So, in good conscience, I can't say that in the past, I've done something that I now regret.
There's just this one thing. Given one thousand opportunities to choose, then one thousand times I'd reject...the chance to be born your son.' Xinzi kept this thought to himself. The jade stone broke into particles of Divine Light, rushing into Xinzi's soul and integrating with his shackled spark.
Others, even if offered the stone, would never have the ability to incorporate the greatest of all Dao.
But for Xinzi, it happened naturally. An infinite amount of knowledge, and a preternatural understanding of myriad abilities, swelled in his Divine Soul. Xinzi closed his eyes, and as he digested the gains, vaster levels of Divine Power than he ever had access to surged from his spark, bringing his heart, bones and flesh a horrifying boost.
Before the Celestial Assembly, Xinzi obtained the Supreme and Unfeeling Grand Dao. From here on, the Zhen-body could accomplish the impossible feat of crushing those seven realms above it—so powerful that some members of the senior generation—all those under one million years of cultivation, would have to bow before its might.
"Present the gifts," following a nod of satisfaction, Yongye said. If Xinzi accepted without hesitation, Yongye would have been worried. But since he struggled with the choice, he still remained on the right track.
One after the other, the Celestial Assembly's deities presented their gifts, a variety of divine treasures, plants and elixirs that, picked at random, could turn a waste into the hegemon of an era.
Xinzi didn't glance at the gifts, and with a grasping motion, pocketed them. Then, his eyes opened wide, shining with a strange mix of emptiness, all-encompassing knowledge and supreme authority.
Heaven's gate appeared to his eyes, then vanished subsequently.
Without a word, Xinzi turned heels, ignoring the Nine Jade Crown to walk out of the throne room. As all focused on the young master's back, a silver light ray surged from Shenzhuo's throne, slamming into the crown. It rose into the air, rushing after Xinzi.
The young master didn't stop. Letting the crown fall into his storage space on his way back to the mortal realm.
'Zhen'er...Divine Father is sorry for being useless. But Divine Father...will protect you.'
