Chapter 1742: The Three Phases' Enclosure Traps All Living Beings, Yin Evil Offers Scriptures and Techniques Are Ineffective

“Hey! Guess who!”

The girl jumped out again, bounding from the cave’s corner. With nimble steps and waving hands, she leaped into the Eye of the Grand Dao, then smiled with crescent eyes, laughing and laughing…

The orange glow of the setting sun illuminated the dim cave world, revealing ravines and scars. Ai Cangsheng’s heart stirred once more. This long-unheard, clear greeting, like a sharp arrow, effortlessly tore through Emperor Cangsheng’s psychological defenses.

Ai Cangsheng sat in the Southern Region, quite imposingly, in his cassia wood wheelchair. As he gazed, his Eye of the Grand Dao showed him both the current continental rules and the girl from the cave in the past.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Zhong Yuanzi, wearing a yellow ribbed headscarf, felt Ai Cangsheng’s gaze grow heavy. Suppressing a shiver of revulsion, he spoke.

He’s changed! Ai Cangsheng had indeed changed a little. Perhaps it had something to do with his headaches? Why did he now look at people the way lovers gaze intensely at each other after intimacy, when they pull back, breathless? He looked at Zhong Yuanzi like Zhong Yuanzi looked at *her* when he was twenty: fiery, deeply affectionate, yet with a hint of self-doubt, due to powerlessness…

“Indeed, one shouldn’t interact too much with Xu Xiaoshou.” Zhong Yuanzi discreetly distanced himself, realizing that Xu Xiaoshou had ‘broken’ Ai Cangsheng. He walked away, only to find Ai Cangsheng still staring fixedly at the spot where he had stood, his gaze so possessive it seemed to claim all the air for himself!

“Something’s not right…” With the keen intuition of a full-attribute demi-saint, Zhong Yuanzi could feel Ai Cangsheng’s spiritual fluctuations from the level of the Grand Dao of Intent; they surpassed the sum of the past thirty years.

He approached again, patting the ‘wheelchair kid’ on the shoulder. “Are you under a lot of pressure from fighting Xu Xiaoshou?”

Ai Cangsheng’s eyes didn't move as he slightly shook his head.

Zhong Yuanzi waved a hand in front of him. “You can see me, right? You’re not having hallucinations, are you?”

Ai Cangsheng paused, his gaze refocusing. But instead of focusing on Elder Zhong, his head turned, scanning the surroundings as if someone were skipping and twirling circles around him. Goosebumps rose all over Zhong Yuanzi’s body. What unclean thing is this?! The Eye of the Grand Dao can see it, but I can’t?

“You…” He tried to speak again.

Ai Cangsheng interrupted with a smile. “It’s not a hallucination, I’m fine, Elder Zhong, no need to worry… excuse me.”

“Excuse me?” “There’s nothing behind me! If your Eye of the Grand Dao wants to see something, it can just see it, why do you need me to move?”

Zhong Yuanzi became even more flustered after hearing this. This was far from ‘nothing’; Ai Cangsheng was heading for big trouble!

“I’ll take it seriously,” he said, his face tense.

“Then take it seriously for a moment, and move aside.”

Zhong Yuanzi was taken aback. He could only take it seriously, assuming Ai Cangsheng was truly fine, and stepped back slightly. Young Ai Cangsheng then stared into the void before him, his lips slightly upturned, smiling with extreme tenderness, as if he had returned to his spirited twenties.

Zhong Yuanzi slowly closed his eyes. He knew what Ai Cangsheng was seeing. The last and only time Ai Cangsheng showed such tender affection was during his ascension ceremony as one of the Three Emperors, when the Hall Master Dao played a prank on him. That prank seemed to have gone too far? In reality, even Yao Yaoyao of the Ten-Member Council knew it wasn't a big deal; it was just a small illusion array. Yet the omnipotent Ai Cangsheng was ensnared by this small illusion, sinking into it willingly, clear-headed and content.

Afterward, as compensation, Hall Master Dao expended great effort to specifically divine a hexagram for Ai Cangsheng, one of the Three Emperors. It was solely for this person. It divined Ai Cangsheng’s past and future. Zhong Yuanzi remembered this clearly because no one else on the entire Sacred Mountain of Cassia had ever received such treatment! He also vaguely remembered that the hexagram Hall Master Dao divined for the invincible Ai Cangsheng, one of the Three Emperors, was named “Kun” (Confinement).

The “Kun” hexagram sounded very inaccurate. With the Eye of the Grand Dao and the Wicked Sin Bow, Ai Cangsheng, a newly appointed Three Emperor, was strong enough to face ten thousand foes. How could he be “confined”? Everyone pressed for an explanation. Even Ai Cangsheng thought the Heavenly Secrets technique was flawed. Not wanting to wake up and being unable to wake up were two different concepts.

Dao Qiongcang was one of the few who, after divining, also helped interpret the hexagram. What he said was very ambiguous, and Zhong Yuanzi couldn't fully understand it, but he remembered it deeply:

“‘Kun’ (Confinement), also means ‘rigidly concealed.’”“‘Impeded by yin softness, yang hardness has no application.’”“‘Remember three aspects: buttocks confined by wood, dark valley unclear; entering one's palace, not seeing one's wife; mutilated and unaspiring, beneficial for worshipping gods.’”

At the time, everyone was utterly confused, and in fact, to this day, Zhong Yuanzi still hadn't fully grasped the Hall Master Dao's words. Everyone could only interpret word by word, trying to decipher it:

“‘Ai Cangsheng is sitting in a cassia wood wheelchair, appearing confined, but his eyes aren't blind!’”“‘His Eye of the Grand Dao can see, and if he enters a dark valley, he naturally sees everything!’”

Dao Qiongcang smiled without speaking. No one dared to interpret the second point, and this was the only thing Dao Qiongcang had accurately foretold: Lei Xiaoxiao was indeed no longer there. Everyone skipped to the last point, asking the ‘diviner’:

“‘Nose cut off, feet severed, yet unaspiring?’”“‘So to deal with the dark forces across the five regions, he has to use gentle methods, to appease them?’”“‘What's the difference between being Emperor Cangsheng and not being him, then?’”

Not a single person thought the Hall Master Dao was accurate. Because Ai Cangsheng had only recently become one of the Three Emperors, and Dao Qiongcang had only recently become Hall Master; his mind hadn't fully matured yet.

“‘As for ‘beneficial for worshipping gods’…” Yan Wuse scoffed, “The Ancestral Gods are all dead; what's there to worship?”

Dao Qiongcang smiled without speaking. Only when Ai Cangsheng asked did he add a few more words:

“‘Succeeded by the power of the Evil God, confined by the power of the Evil God.’”“‘Succeeded by the Eye of the Grand Dao, confined by the Eye of the Grand Dao.’”“‘Succeeded by being Emperor Cangsheng, confined by being Emperor Cangsheng.’”

Now, Zhong Yuanzi thought, he could somewhat understand one or two points of what the Hall Master Dao had said back then. Because of the Evil God's power, he was confined to the cassia wood wheelchair; because of the Eye of the Grand Dao, he instead sacrificed his own eyes; because of his position as one of the Three Emperors, he was also confined by his aspiration to save the world and its people?

Hexagrams are divined to be broken. When everyone jokingly asked how such a situation could be broken, what Zhong Yuanzi remembered most was… “‘Adhere to the middle path, and all can be broken.’” This was a common platitude from the Hall Master Dao. Only when Ai Cangsheng pressed for details did he elaborate a bit:

“‘If all three aspects are present, then it is confinement, and only confinement.’”“‘If all three aspects are reversed, then one breaks free from confinement, or great calamity befalls.’”

On these matters, the Hall Master Dao never gave a completely absolute answer; everything was stated extremely vaguely, essentially covering all bases. For thirty years, Ai Cangsheng adhered to his role as one of the Three Emperors, indeed following the middle path, and nothing happened. Zhong Yuanzi, therefore, gave no further thought to the “Kun” hexagram.

Only today, thirty years later, did Zhong Yuanzi realize that “all three aspects reversed” seemed to have emerged. At least, two aspects were reversed…

Ai Cangsheng still stared into the void, a faint smile on his face, as if communicating with someone through his gaze. Zhong Yuanzi’s scalp tingled as he realized: “His Eye of the Grand Dao also has things it can't see, which is why he needed me to move, or perhaps his own eyes, blinded by the contract with the Lei Family Pupils, are seeing ‘clear’ things! He's looking around, and that smile… he must be seeing Lei Xiaoxiao again. But the Hall Master Dao is gone, and there are no illusion arrays around. Who is conjuring the Lei Xiaoxiao he sees? The mutilated, those with severed noses and feet; if the Bound Art Seed is not unsealed, then one is confined but unharmed. Once unsealed, he also stood up; something will happen, or he will break free from confinement?”

Zhong Yuanzi didn’t understand the first half of the third aspect. As for the latter half: “‘Beneficial for worshipping gods…’”

Zhong Yuanzi suddenly jolted, snapping out of his wild thoughts. He didn't understand Heavenly Secrets techniques, nor did he have the ability to interpret the “Kun” hexagram divined by Dao Qiongcang. He felt that his earlier thought of “god” was wrong; it shouldn't be like that. Ai Cangsheng must just be a bit nervous, which is why he's seeing illusions.

“This doesn't mean anything; he's Ai Cangsheng. The Ten Revered Ones are unkillable; not even Xiang Yaoyao can be killed by anyone.” Zhong Yuanzi completely convinced himself, relaxing his mind. But then a voice suddenly sounded beside him, causing his composure to shatter.

“Hey.”

Ai Cangsheng spoke! He spoke to the air, his fingertips twitching slightly, as if he wanted to raise his hand and greet someone. But he held himself back.

“You…” Zhong Yuanzi couldn't hold back and was about to step forward.

He saw the smile vanish from Ai Cangsheng's lips as he looked up. “It’s nothing.”

Zhong Yuanzi confirmed that Ai Cangsheng was looking at him and speaking to him. He took a long, deep breath. Is it really nothing?

“Hey! Guess who!”

Ai Cangsheng was amused again. Lei Xiaoxiao leaped out from the cave corner again, her faint dimples showing, full of smiles. Since Xu Xiaoshou had stirred his memories once, Lei Xiaoxiao had appeared no less than ten times, each time vividly real. But before, she would stop. This time, after waving her greeting, she didn't freeze in the distance. Instead, her smiling eyes opened, and she added:

“Big brother, big brother, did you know, when you got the Wicked Sin Bow, I also got this.”“The Eye of the Grand Dao was given to you, but this thing, Xiaoxiao forgot to give you.”

Her right hand was hidden behind her slender waist, clutching an ancient text, which she couldn't hide at all. Ai Cangsheng just watched with a faint smile, unmoved. Lei Xiaoxiao waited for a while; receiving no response, she wasn't disappointed either. She hopped a step, almost darting right in front of Ai Cangsheng in the wheelchair, causing him to lean forward slightly, then, realizing something, lean back again.

“Ta-da!” Lei Xiaoxiao revealed the ancient text from behind her waist.

Ai Cangsheng, however, didn't spare a glance for the crumpled ancient text. He was still staring at the fair, delicate face before him; he could almost smell the soft, fragrant breath coming from her.

“Just take a look!” Lei Xiaoxiao's delicate nose wrinkled, and she let out a dissatisfied huff. Only then did Ai Cangsheng's gaze shift, moving to the ancient text in her hand—!

Everyone in the Southern Region knew. Before his corruption, the Art Ancestor gathered the strengths of a hundred schools and combined the theories of art cultivation to compose his own cultivation method, named [Original Name], later abbreviated by posterity as [Abbreviated Name]. It recorded the Art Ancestor's lifelong learning, representing all of his thoughts before his corruption, untainted by a single bit of pollution. One could say, whoever obtained it truly received the Art Ancestor's genuine legacy. As for things like the Art Ancestor's power or the Evil God's power, those were merely external forces cultivated from this heart method.

Ai Cangsheng knew even more. It recorded the nine paths of the Bound Art Seed, including but not limited to the three types he had learned, which was a clear path directly to the Ancestral Gods. And unlike some Ancestral Gods who used two Ancestral God Fate Stones to enhance themselves, the Art Ancestor only ever used one Ancestral God Fate Stone, even up to and after his corruption. This wasn't just a reduction from ‘two’ to ‘one’; it might even contain the idea of reaching ‘zero.’ If he obtained it and viewed all its contents, Ai Cangsheng knew that with his talent, he might truly grasp the path to ‘self-inscribe fate stones, becoming a god and an ancestor, without needing external aid.’

Lei Xiaoxiao was right before him, breathing softly. It was handed right before his eyes, within easy reach. Ai Cangsheng's lips curled into a smile, his thoughts rippling, yet his heart remained still as stagnant water, like the stagnant pond after he lost Lei Xiaoxiao years ago. He closed his eyes, crushing all the potentially real illusions before him, and silently murmured:

“Su Yin, you can influence me, but you cannot control me.”

“Look!”“What’s that? Behind Master Shou, a… moon has appeared?”“A black moon disc… What?! The Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation, it’s all sucked in? Just gone!”

Amidst the rumbling, the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation had clearly passed its calm initial phase and was trending towards a climax. Master Shou was originally submerged by the lightning tribulation. Half of the sixth layer of the Dead Sea was also submerged by the lightning tribulation. But suddenly, a surge of Dao aura fluctuations, Master Shou opened his eyes again, and behind him, a translucent black moon disc appeared. The moment the moon disc appeared, the vast Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation was instantly ‘swallowed’ into it, and Master Shou burped on the spot. At that moment, the brilliant light shining from his eyes seemed capable of shattering all corners of the Five Regions!

“Boundless Stillness Orb!” Xu Xiaoshou was almost ecstatic. This newly awakened second-awakening skill truly had the function of transforming all energy in an instant. It manifested in the form of a ‘Heavenly Dog Devouring the Moon,’ summoning a translucent moon disc with a silver rim and black interior, like a gluttonous Taotie beast head feasting, floating behind him. When this ‘Boundless Stillness Orb’ was manifested, all energy-form attacks would be consumed, transformed, and suspended within it. Suspended right inside the ‘Boundless Stillness Orb’!

Xu Xiaoshou could choose to use the ‘Boundless Energy,’ which was like primordial chaos after being transformed within the Boundless Stillness Orb, to replenish his continuous consumption when activating other second awakenings. He could also choose to continue storing the ‘Boundless Energy’ within the Boundless Stillness Orb, continuously accumulating power, using it like an external Dragon Ball for a breathing technique—solving problems like insufficient spiritual essence or saint force base on the spot. Or he could choose to instantly detonate all the energy within the Boundless Stillness Orb and hurl it out to annihilate enemies.

“Stillness Orb…”“Stillness Orb, how great!”

One wave of tribulation lightning from the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation only charged the Boundless Stillness Orb with perhaps less than one ten-thousandth of its potential power. At this moment, the black moon behind him was translucent. Xu Xiaoshou tried feeding it a wisp of Heavenly Ancestor's power and found it was also rapidly transformed. He then tried feeding it a shred of sword intent; it was still transformed completely with no effort. What ‘Feast’ could consume, the Boundless Stillness Orb could consume. And things that ‘Feast’ wouldn't dare to consume or would have difficulty digesting, such as Ancestral Source Power or Thorough God Sense, the Boundless Stillness Orb dared to consume, could digest, and held outside the body, not affecting his own. Furthermore, the higher the level of power consumed, the more noticeable the change in the black moon.

Xu Xiaoshou fed it several waves. He discovered that initially, the Boundless Stillness Orb was translucent. As the stored energy increased, this black moon tended towards materialization. In other words, when the energy storage reached a full hundred percent, the black moon would completely transform into a physical entity, and…

“Boundless Stillness Orb, open!” When unleashed at full power, it could display up to nine ‘Heavenly Dog Devouring the Moon’ moon discs, arranged in a fan shape behind him! At maximum, nine Boundless Stillness Orbs could be manifested! Judging by the increase in the Boundless Stillness Orb's energy storage from the Ancestral Source Power and Thorough God Sense he just fed it, this even meant… if possible, while in the Boundless Stillness Orb state, he might be able to fight nine against one, consuming all attacks from the nine other Ten Revered Ones!

“No, no, no…” Xu Xiaoshou quickly calmed down; this was a bit too grand. Leaving other things aside, just take Shen Yi: if he swung his Overlord's Staff, that wouldn't be energy, it would be raw power! The Boundless Stillness Orb probably wouldn't be of any use. At most, he could detonate the stored energy for a suicide attack to avoid a tragic death under the staff and a ruined reputation.

“But Ai Cangsheng’s Wicked God Arrows are energy!” Xu Xiaoshou felt a surge of satisfaction. His Boundless Stillness Orb completely countered Ai Cangsheng, completely countered Spirit Refiners, and perhaps even completely countered Saint Ancestors! During the decisive battle, even if Ai Cangsheng unsealed his Bound Art Seed, it would likely still primarily take the form of energy attacks. He would have at least half of his abilities restricted by him! Unless… Xu Xiaoshou’s thoughts flickered, and suddenly a horrifying image appeared in his mind: Su Yin activating seals on the divine throne, and the Corrupted Dog feasting on the Heavenly Ancestor’s Eye.

“Art…” Pure ‘Art’ could indeed transcend the scope of ‘energy,’ directly invoking the Grand Dao to blast enemies. Hiss, I almost forgot, did Ai Cangsheng inherit the Art Ancestor’s legacy, or the Evil God’s legacy? Does he truly understand Art, or not?

“Never mind, it’s not important.”“Ai Gou (Ai Dog), truly a little dog!”

He quickly deactivated the Boundless Stillness Orb to prevent anyone with ill intent from discerning its effects. Xu Xiaoshou didn't even need the Boundless Stillness Orb to convert the lightning tribulation energy to pass the tribulation; he could withstand it himself. Without overthinking, he directed his thoughts to the Awakening Pool, continuing to exchange for Awakening Stones and revel in his second awakenings.

“Change…”“Come on, Jin Ren.”“You absolutely must live up to your self-inflicted death on the Sacred Mountain; give me something good!”

He tossed an Awakening Stone. It arched and leaped over the Awakening Pool. While undergoing tribulation, Xu Xiaoshou chanted incantations, uttering continuous Daoist sounds:

“Jin Ren returns to heaven, boundless is the magic power, quickly as per command!”