Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 242 - 186: The Final Game (Part 2)

"Were it not for the inherent flaws and interrupted path of this tradition, it might have replaced the orthodox Qi Refining Technique and dominated the mainstream..."

True Yang Ancestor thought this in his heart, yet he was not particularly concerned.

On the Immortal Dao, there are countless branches, each with its own merits surpassing the orthodox traditions, but each has flaws that reduced them to minorities.

He had already achieved the Golden Core and treaded upon the Heaven-Reaching Dao, so naturally he wouldn't envy cultivators of other traditions, let alone a pitiful and lamentable puppet.

"Zhenyang!"

Almost simultaneously, two figures appeared beside True Yang Ancestor—Three Mountains Ancestor and Dugu Tianyi.

"You've come."

True Yang Ancestor nodded slightly, smiled, and said:

"You're so quick, it seems you set out immediately upon receiving my message."

"Of course."

Three Mountains Ancestor said as a matter of course:

"This is the most critical moment, we must come to guard it ourselves, lest any accidents occur."

"Indeed."

Dugu Tianyi stroked his beard, smiled, and sighed:

"This is the culmination of our centuries of effort, we must come to witness it ourselves."

All three of them were not young, the oldest among them over four hundred years old.

And because of a series of events related to the Five Elements Secret Realm, it occupied almost half their lifetime, taking nearly a century just to cultivate the Realm Breaker.

Even for esteemed Golden Core Ancestors, how many centuries does one have in a lifetime?

"Indeed, so many years have passed..."

True Yang Ancestor and Three Mountains Ancestor lamented, the atmosphere of their conversation relaxed considerably. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

While idly chatting, the three quietly waited until this breakthrough was complete, as the Spiritual Energy Vortex dispersed completely.

"I did it!"

Qian Le turned around, looked at the three, and said with a booming voice.

"Yes, congratulations."

True Yang Ancestor smiled and responded, the three of them clapping in unison.

Qian Le scratched his head, glanced around, and showed a hint of confusion:

"Why don't I see Uncle Yu Wen?"

"Oh, he couldn't come due to some matters."

Dugu Tianyi, with a composed expression, changed the topic as he stepped forward:

"Come, let us give you a thorough examination."

"Okay."

Qian Le obediently nodded, sat down, and let True Yang Ancestor and the others use their magical power and divine thought to wield Daoist skills for investigation.

After examining Qian Le's body inside and out, and even probing his divine soul's memory multiple times, the three finally felt relieved.

"No problem!"

True Yang Ancestor transmitted via divine thought, his tone containing a hint of excitement:

"His cultivation is truly Foundation Establishment Perfection. Using the blood sacrifice to open the main gate is absolutely fine!"

"Indeed!"

Three Mountains Ancestor's tone was filled with emotion:

"After waiting so many years, the blossom has finally borne fruit!"

Back then, they had searched Yu Wen Tai's memory, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the sect personally inspected the periphery of the core area, thus believing firmly in the conditions required for blood sacrifice from a Realm Breaker.

To meet this condition, they made concessions and compromises many times, nearly gathering all the resources of Da Li, finally finding a suitable candidate and cultivating for a hundred years to obtain this 'key.'

"Take care, we'll come to see you in a while."

True Yang Ancestor patted Qian Le's head, spoke cheerfully, and then left together with Three Mountains Ancestor and Dugu Tianyi.

The Realm Breaker finally reaching perfection meant that the Five Elements Secret Realm, sealed for over a hundred years, was finally about to reopen.

Next, there's a series of things they need to do, and only when everything is arranged properly will it be time to use this 'key.'

"Creak..."

Accompanied by the slow closure of the iron door, the last trace of light vanished.

Layer upon layer of powerful arrays activated once more, completely isolating and sealing the pitch-black underground palace from the outside world.

"..."

Qian Le sat silently on the mat, like a lonely statue.

After numerous divine soul modifications and twisted control, his mind was akin to that of a seven- or eight-year-old child, particularly slow to react to the outside world, almost like a mechanical puppet.

In the darkness of solitary existence, he had long been accustomed.

But suddenly announcing the completion of a cultivation task sustained for over a hundred years did catch him slightly off guard.

He sat there dumbfounded, his mind barren, nearly devoid of extraneous thoughts.

But suddenly:

"Splash..."

The serene lake surface rippled, like someone tossed a stone into the heart lake.

"Why am I here?"

A question suddenly surfaced in Qian Le's heart.

This abrupt thought surprised him, causing him to jump up, anxiously pacing in the dark palace.

He had no idea how to handle this situation, as no one had taught him, nor could he learn.

Gradually:

As time passed, the ripples in the heart lake grew larger, various thoughts proliferated:

"Why haven't I acquired wealth and riches? This isn't what was promised."

"Where are my parents? Since coming here, I haven't seen them at all, it's a bit strange..."

"I shouldn't have gone to Celestial Continent Nine Mansions, otherwise I wouldn't have been targeted, what a regretful decision!"

"The cave mansion on the East Sea likely holds the path beyond Nascent Soul, I must go there and need to hurry before the appointed time..."

Layer upon layer of waves spread, undercurrents surged until they created splashes and hit the shores of the heart lake, activating the array engraved in the divine soul.

Qian Le's expression suddenly froze, his mind booming as if struck by a giant bell.

After a breath of three, his gaze shifted from a dazed stupor to hawk-like sharpness, faintly glowing.

"What's happening?"

"Why am I here..."

He glanced around, his divine thought scanned, his face changed as he realized something and began sorting through his memories.

"...I understand."

After a while, he took a deep breath, making a judgment in his heart:

"First, my true self has already died."

"Second, there's an issue with my memories."

Only with the true self dead would he 'reborn' into this body, taking over the Realm Breaker's identity.

And importantly:

He didn't remember when he set up this contingency plan, not even a bit.

His mind about this plan only stayed at the point of failure concerning Kang Continent's Du Bu Daoist, which entirely didn't match his current state.

This could only mean one thing—

"That's really ruthless of me."

Yu Wen Tai smiled:

"To prevent any chance of the worst-case scenario, I even fooled myself."

"But looking at it now, this contingency plan worked, and the cost was worthwhile."

Regarding 'his own' life arrangements, Yu Wen Tai was very satisfied.

The identity of the Realm Breaker was so important, guarded personally by several Golden Core Ancestors, it was almost impossible to encounter harm, safer than his true self.

And even more importantly:

The Realm Breaker's spirit root and cultivation technique were identical to his, perfectly inheriting his entire strength.

In leveraging the 'Array of Ten Thousand Souls' Thoughts' to break the divine soul control, his current state was almost no different from a normal cultivator, he also had the capital to impact the Golden Core Realm.

"Is this a blessing in disguise?"

Yu Wen Tai chuckled, but his eyes flashed with a hint of coldness.

If he intended to break through to the Golden Core Realm, he could have intercepted the soul thought aura long ago, without waiting for the Five Elements Secret Realm to open.

Seizing the Realm Breaker's body was an absolute last resort, fraught with hidden dangers and compromises, a forced choice in his desperate situation.

And now he was very curious:

"Who exactly forced me to this point?!"