All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes-Chapter 952 - 235: Da Chen’s Movements

It is not the time to question why Universal Brightness secretly contacts Da Chen and the Heaven’s Will Demon Sect. Actually, from Cheng Guang Ancient Ancestor to Dao Chen and Yinzi, no one wants to bother with such trivial matters. At least Universal Brightness is doing it for the good of the Sects, wanting to leave some seeds. After all, if they truly lost the battle against Taiming, they might as well have to rely on Da Chen and Heaven’s Will.

However, if they win, the situation will be reversed. Universal Brightness True Lord sighed, "Alas, in my view, Heaven’s Will Demon Sect appears loose, but actually has few internal conflicts. Since they independently act without clashing and complement each other, they can instead prosper in many aspects. Overall, it is very hard to infiltrate them. I’ve been in contact with them for a long time, only slightly linked with the branch under the Emperor Dharma King. Their view on us is that they hope we can restrain Da Chen from the North, and of course, if we join them secretly, they are quite welcoming and promise me a position as one of the Ten Directions Guardians."

"Ten Directions Guardians?" Dao Chen and Yinzi were somewhat puzzled, "Isn’t it Eight Directions?"

"It was added later." Universal Brightness True Lord shook his head, "There have been more additions, and this position is of the Twelve Stars rank. Let’s not talk about that. There isn’t much to say about Heaven’s Will Demon Sect; it’s Da Chen’s side that’s more complicated."

"In my view, a big issue has occurred on Da Chen’s Imperial Court side. Nowadays, civil and military officials mostly act independently, only superficially aligned with the Imperial Court, while the Eight Directions Kings only nominally obey the Imperial Court, but each secretly formulates their own schemes... If you must say, it’s very similar to the situation our Bright Mirror Sect faced previously."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was silent for a moment. Similar to Bright Mirror Sect’s situation before? Could it be that Da Chen also has many forces launching their rescue plans for the survival of the Imperial Court? Really, Da Chen seems only slightly rotten at the moment, nowhere near the point of collapse or decline towards self-destruction.

"Universal Brightness, any further details?"

Xiyi asked gravely, with Universal Brightness True Lord nodded, "The group I’m in contact with is the Da Chen Civil Official Group. It’s called a group because the person contacting me is different each time, and among them are some infiltrators from Heaven’s Will Demon Sect within Da Chen. Although they claim to be well-hidden, I see them as tacitly collaborating by the Da Chen Civil Official Group."

"The whole Northern Border has turned into this corrupt state due to the Civil Official Group deliberately removing the influence of Dragon Qi in Northern Border, allowing them to act freely and carry out some secret plans. One of Da Chen’s Northern Border Kings, the Conquering King, tacitly permits this, while the Virtuous King has just settled in and lacks his own cadre and therefore cannot detect or stop this."

"Indeed so, but I suspect the Civil Official Group is not alone."

This message corroborated with the Civil and Military Formation Plate An Jing obtained near Broken Blade Mountain, and he recounted his experiences in Linjiang City and interactions with Dragon Martial General, making Universal Brightness True Lord nod repeatedly, "Yes, I was thinking the same, so I said the Civil-Military Group is acting independently, but my interaction was only with civil officials."

"So far, ever since the previous Emperor Xuantian passed away, the Imperial Court has struggled to control Grand Preceptor Hong and Grand Governor Yi. These two hold the Civil and Military Emperor’s Throne, being prominent stars who assisted the Emperor Star’s rule from both sides. As long as they remain assisting the Imperial Court, they are in the Lingxiao Realm—but the concept of assistance is quite vague. If defined subtly, these two might not be so loyal."

In the position of True Lord, Universal Brightness naturally sees far more clearly than ordinary people. An Jing pondered for a while and seized this opportunity to replace You Ruhui inquiring about King Jing-related matters.

"Gentlemen True Lords have broad knowledge."

As the next-generation spokesperson of Bright Mirror Sect, An Jing now speaks and asks without any reservations. He directly inquired, "As our neighbor, the previous Northern Border King of Da Chen, King Jing, fell for various reasons. Is there any reliable information from the elders?"

Although the question was directed at the elders, only Universal Brightness might know some inside stories. Indeed, Universal Brightness True Lord nodded slightly, as if she had anticipated An Jing’s inquiry, and calmly said, "In my view, this might be the doing of Emperor Tianyou."

"Huh?" [What?] [Is there such a thing?]

Hearing this, it wasn’t just An Jing, even Cheng Guang Ancient Ancestor and Xiyi Heavenly Monarch couldn’t maintain composure. Dao Chen and Yinzi further questioned, astonishingly, "Junior Sister, don’t deceive us, King Jing died after Emperor Tianyou, is the sequence messed up?"

"No mistake."

Universal Brightness stated solemnly, "When I contacted Da Chen, Emperor Tianyou hadn’t passed away yet. At that time, I vaguely felt this Emperor didn’t trust King Jing as much as he appeared and was highly suspicious secretly. Many of the Dark Hands that sever the Northern Border’s connection with the Imperial Court now were left by Emperor Tianyou to suppress Northern Border’s rebellion."

"It’s fair to say, without Emperor Tianyou’s actions, the Civil-Military Group couldn’t easily control the entire Northern Border. This was prepared then to deal with ’King Jing’s rebellion,’ but now is harnessed by the Civil-Military Group to create their small kingdom!"

"Indeed, Emperor Tianyou passed away before King Jing, but King Jing’s easy defeat was precisely due to Emperor Tianyou leaving hidden means on the Imperial Court side. Otherwise, as a Town King himself, unless struck by Lingxiao, King Jing couldn’t have fallen so easily."

"That’s why I said, instead of King Jing dying at the hands of others, it’s more apt to say King Jing died because of Emperor Tianyou, only that Emperor Tianyou, due to various reasons, went ahead, and someone used the means he left to eliminate King Jing!"

For others, like Cheng Guang Xiyi, Dao Chen Yepo, and others, this was baffling right now. They completely couldn’t understand why—because in their memory over the recent centuries, King Jing was an ardent loyalist of Emperor Tianyou, assisting the Young Emperor’s accession, a loyal minister who acted for the Imperial Court’s service in every manner. He seemed far from being a rebel for whom secret means would be set.

But An Jing is different.

He thought of the ’Heart of Heaven and Earth’ in King Jing’s hand.

"Is it because of the Heart of Heaven and Earth..."

An Jing pondered internally: "Although it is just a fragment of a fragment, a tiny piece of the Heart of Heaven and Earth, if truly utilized, it might indeed be possible to enact a sweeping reform throughout the entire Heavenly Ancestor."

"Moreover, even if taken out separately, it can indeed establish an independent kingdom, a small Heavenly Ancestor, threatening the supreme authority of the Imperial Court... If it is said that Emperor Tianyou is on guard against this, it’s not surprising."

Being able to exchange for one Heart of Heaven and Earth fragment means being able to exchange for a second one, just as An Jing can exchange for a second Haotian Mirror Fragment. In the Endless Heavens, as long as the merit is sufficient, so too are the various puzzle fragments.

In such a case, if Emperor Tianyou truly knew the source of King Jing exchanging the Heart of Heaven and Earth, he would definitely worry that King Jing would secretly accumulate power and replace him.

Although he ultimately did not do so and fell, the means he left behind, combined with the schemes of others, still led away King Jing.

"As for now, we need not pay much heed to the movements over in Da Chen."

Finally, Universal Brightness True Lord concluded: "Not to mention they are still confronting the Shangxuan Sect, but just their internal divisions alone, they have no spare energy to confront us, who already possess the Lingxiao Dao Soldiers and three Heavenly Lords, head-on... The only worry is one thing."

At this point, Universal Brightness True Lord looked worriedly from the heart at Chenyinzi and Cheng Guang Ancient Ancestor: "Senior Brother, and Ancestor... how much lifespan do you have remaining?"

"About a month." [Approximately three to four weeks]

Chenyinzi and Cheng Guang Ancient Ancestor frankly revealed their remaining time. Chenyinzi stroked his beard, looking gratified at An Jing: "Do not worry, I have already failed to breakthrough and am at the end of my lifespan. Being able to breakthrough to a Heavenly Lord under the support of the Divine Mirror Ancestor and fight the last battle for the sect has been a blessing from the heavens. Now, the sect has the Haotian Ancestor above, the current Xiyi Eldest Senior, and in the future, there is still Jing’er, so we are no longer needed."

[I have gained some insight into the Carefree Path. In this last month, I will retreat in seclusion in the Cave Heaven and try to leave my Dao resonance on the Lifebound Magic Mirror, passing on the legacy for the sect.]

Cheng Guang Ancient Ancestor was even more straightforward in arranging his affairs: [The Path of the Bright Mirror is indeed the fundamental true transmission of the Bright Mirror Sect, but as the Ancestor and the Three-Life Mirror said, if a sect has only one path, it will be like the Taiming Sect going to extremes on the path of reincarnation, until finally losing themselves completely and becoming puppets of the Great Dao.]

[I do not overestimate myself, but another path can indeed allow seekers of the Dao and practitioners of the Dao to reflect on each other, understanding whether their current state is deviating or becoming extreme—I am willing to be the mirror, allowing the Bright Mirror Sect to have one more path, one more choice.]

"Sigh, I may not even live for another three years, it seems the future of this sect truly must be entrusted to the younger generation."

Upon hearing this, Universal Brightness True Lord’s expression became evidently somber, and Ye Po True Lord couldn’t help but sigh longingly.

The three Heavenly Lords, ultimately, are just brief flashes in the pan. The future of the Bright Mirror Sect, apart from Mingguang Dust in the Great Wilderness Realm and Biying in closed seclusion, probably has only one Heavenly Lord and three True Lords available, which, for an Upper Gate sect, is exceedingly weak, even weaker than the Taiming Sect of the past.

At this point, everyone held earnest hope, looking to An Jing.

And An Jing had thoughts of his own.

"I think."

Although An Jing was not averse to being the spokesperson for the sect, it was undoubtedly too early now. He contemplated for a while and said aloud: "Respected ancient ancestors and true lords, it’s a bit too early to speak of death now."

"Since your bodies are about to decay and fall apart, can we try collectively switching to cultivate the Path of Transformation, to see if it can extend life?"

Saying thus, even though An Jing had a premonition that he would be struck by lightning if he left the Cave Heaven right away, he still expressed his thoughts: "If we use the resources of Huai Xu Realm to cultivate the Path of Transformation, the Heavenly Dao might be a bit displeased, but if we use resources from other worlds, might it be different?"

The premonition of the Heavenly Tribulation vanished.

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