Chapter 1779: At This Time, a Finger Also Shatters the Dream; This Fate, All Knowledge Returns to the Grave

"The Great Emperor Cangsheng has knelt!"

Who was this figure, emerging from the spiritual seed, body indistinct and covered in viscous fluid, yet kneeling in devout reverence, calling for a divine descent?

It was Ai Cangsheng!

The Three Emperors, Ai Cangsheng!

The Ten Thrones, Ai Cangsheng!

He possessed the Six-Stage Calamity Mark and Seven-Stage Starfall.

The Great Emperor Cangsheng, Ai Cangsheng, who could potentially unlock the ninth stage, transforming into an Ancestral Void and dominating heaven and earth, even disregarding the Holy Emperor – he was Ai Cangsheng!

"He… knelt?"

The Ancestral Void transformation loomed, yet Ai Cangsheng knelt. From that moment to him… that single kneel utterly shocked the souls out of the Five Regions' spectators.

The so-called "Divine Descent Art" was not, in fact, the first time it had appeared before the Five Regions. Earlier, on Restoring Heaven Peak of the Xuanyue Ash Palace in the Southern Region, the Dao Palace Master had shown the Five Regions what a "true clown" looked like.

Yet, afterwards, the Dao Palace Master did eventually stand up. It seemed either that Master Shou didn't go for the kill, or that the Dao Palace Master was largely unaffected by the spiritual skill. In any case, although the Divine Descent Art had caused great shock at the time, everyone was relieved when the Dao Palace Master returned, bathed in sacred light.

Later revelations showed that Master Shou and the Dao Palace Master were actually allies, having formed an alliance after the God's Remains. At that point, the shock completely vanished. After all, it could have simply been a well-orchestrated act by the two brothers, presented for the Five Regions.

But…

"The Dao Palace Master would cooperate with Master Shou in an act, but would the Great Emperor Cangsheng?"

Undoubtedly, no!

Someone like Ai Cangsheng, who was usually stern, rarely spoke idle words even in battle, and if he aimed, he dared to target everyone on the Heavenly Staircase from top to bottom.

He wouldn't act!

At least not like Master Shou and the Dao Palace Master, who were so deceitful! The smile with which he deceived Master Shou into not severing the "Hooking Eye" was likely the pinnacle of the Great Emperor Cangsheng's acting in his life.

A person like him, even if he died, would never kneel just to cooperate with Master Shou's appearance or to serve as a stepping stone to validate an opponent…

He would never choose to kneel!

Or choose to utter that phrase…

The "Divine Descent Art" that had sounded like a joke then, and seemed utterly absurd now!

Reality doesn't joke. Yet reality was truly absurd.

Everyone watched as the central head of the Great Emperor Cangsheng slowly split open. His chest also began to crack apart. The entire spiritual seed was burst open by the swelling humanoid figure!

Finally, a slender hand emerged from Ai Cangsheng's gaping maw, and a leg and a step also crossed out from inside his chest. Master Shou then stepped out of Ai Cangsheng's body, running a hand through his hair!

"Hiss."

The Five Regions gasped in cold air. Countless people clutched their foreheads, at a loss for how to describe the current situation.

Xiao Wanfeng gazed at the scene from afar, looking at the former Young Master Xu, now Master Shou, unable to fathom how Master Shou could achieve such a terrifying effect, similar to what the Dao Palace Master experienced that day. Back then, he still had a solution; Master Shou came to his rescue. At worst, he still had Profound Blue on him, and Profound Blue should also be able to help. If all else failed, death was the only option. He was merely Xiao Wanfeng; his death was no big deal. In this world, countless Xiao Wanfengs silently fell every day.

But the Great Emperor Cangsheng was not Xiao Wanfeng!

He wielded the Sinister Bow of Evil! What a pity, the Sinister Bow of Evil was merely one of the nine supreme artifacts, only barely on par with Profound Blue. And in such a battle, it couldn't even shine in the slightest.

The Great Emperor Cangsheng could also transform into an Ancestral Void! What a pity, all his beautiful aspirations after Ancestral Void transformation were human calculations. Human calculations are no match for divine will. In this situation, Master Shou was Ai Cangsheng's "heaven," which is why the Great Emperor Cangsheng was defeated.

It wasn't that the Great Emperor Cangsheng was defeated. It was simply that Master Shou won, by virtue of his control over hearts and desires.

"Young Master Xu's sword…"

"No, Master Shou's sword…"

"No! Neither!"

Xiao Wanfeng didn't know what he was rambling about, shaking his head for a long time. He had initially been thinking about how to evaluate Young Master Xu's sword, then changed his mind, agonizing over Master Shou's title. In the end, he realized that the two were not contradictory; the man and the sword were one:

"The First Sword Immortal!"

"It is fate, it is destiny."

The Eye of the Grand Dao grew darker and deeper. The frail body, beyond repair, turned to dust. In the dark spiritual vision, the world before him once again split in two, and an ethereal, hollow voice drifted from an unknown place:

"Ai Cangsheng, you regret not listening to my words!"

"Xu Xiaoshou uses his name as a sword, Starfall as power, space as a foundation, manipulating human emotions and desires, toying with spiritual will, and your spiritual will… Tsk!"

The voice chuckled as it spoke, following cold mockery with stinging sarcasm: "I once said, love and evil are one, and the Calamity Ancestor has a path."

"But alas…"

The words were left unfinished. In Ai Cangsheng's ear, a sudden chilling sound seemed to flash. The scene before his eyes shattered, and the fragmented murmurs from the residual power of Calamity Shadow completely vanished.

But as Ai Cangsheng struggled to discern the world…

"Whoosh!"

The last scene in his soul's memory froze on Xu Xiaoshou, on the dark light shooting from the tip of that finger. He realized that it wasn't just Calamity Shadow that had shattered.

"I… lost…"

"Fingersnap of Annihilation."

Xu Xiaoshou, using the Divine Descent Art, landed in the Southern Region from the Central Region, with Ai Cangsheng's body as his landing point. After emerging from the body, he pointed a finger back, without hesitation striking the center of Ai Cangsheng's soul body's forehead.

A shimmering light flickered. Soul energy erupted violently. But to most observers in the Five Regions, they could barely even perceive a change in the wind. They couldn't see soul bodies.

"Fingersnap of Annihilation…"

Only at this moment did Xu Xiaoshou truly understand what the Fingersnap of Annihilation was. A finger that causes illusory dreams to shatter, that is the Fingersnap of Annihilation. The Passive Fist destroyed the body of Ai Cangsheng with the Six-Stage Calamity Mark, and this finger shattered the dream of Ancestral Void Ai Cangsheng dominating everything.

The ancient sword cultivators of the Five Regions were probably exhilarated by the unparalleled excellence of the "Second World" from that earlier sword strike. Only Xu Xiaoshou knew that it wasn't just ancient sword art; it was spiritual sword art. Nor was it merely the "Second World"… It was an "Ai World" (World of Love), temporarily constructed using Illusionary Sword Art as a guide, the Intent Dao Plate as its core, Spatial Awe radiating across the Five Regions, and consuming the entire power of Boundless Jizi, resembling the Flower Saint's Flower World.

In reality, it couldn't even be called an illusion. To circumvent the Eye of the Grand Dao, Xu Xiaoshou intervened with his intent during Ai Cangsheng's most mentally volatile moment, when his spiritual will boiled with the greatest fear of the Fingersnap of Annihilation, just before death. The Eye of the Grand Dao could perceive the laws of heaven and earth, but what it couldn't see was oneself. Using the sword as a guide, and the Grand Dao of Intent, he intervened in Ai Cangsheng's consciousness. That sword strike drained all his stored boundless power, effectively using the entire Five Regions to make Ai Cangsheng dream once. Or rather, to conduct an unknown deduction.

"The Ancestral Void transformation, it was real…"

"The spiritual seed's nine-stage seal release, that was also real…"

"The Ten Thrones targeted by the Hooking Eye, that was still real…"

"Including the spiritual seed nurturing a god, and after going all out, dominating all high-level individuals on the Heavenly Staircase, leaving only Gou Wuyue's heart untouched—that was even more real!"

Ai Cangsheng was indeed radical. After Ancestral Void transformation, it was truly possible for him to realize this idea. But truth and falsehood were intertwined, falsehood and truth. Only the most crucial Ancestral Void transformation was fake; it was briefly simulated using boundless energy and bizarre trickery. He only had the aura. An aura comparable to that of an Ancestral God. If it were real, Kui Leihan and Bazun An would not have remained indifferent; they would have fought to the death. Those involved were confused, but observers saw clearly; they had evidently seen through it.

As for why Dao Qiongcang didn't see through his own sword, or rather, the spiritual sword art… Xu Xiaoshou pondered it, concluding that either Dao Qiongcang was playing dumb, or he was in a state of intense mental fluctuation, similar to Ai Cangsheng.

It no longer mattered. Everything about Ai Cangsheng was too perfect. If it could truly be achieved, perhaps it could bring peace to the world. However, in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, the probability was very low; otherwise, Ai Cangsheng wouldn't have waited until this moment to choose to take everyone.

What was most unacceptable was…

The Hooking Eye had also targeted him!

"If you had taken Gou Wuyue with you, and left behind only me, a mere Xu Xiaoshou,"

"perhaps I would have chosen to dismantle the Second World and save the Fingersnap of Annihilation, allowing you and them to perish together."

There was no "if." And he didn't want too many accidents to happen.

After the Passive Fist, fully charged at 1000, shattered Ai Cangsheng's six-stage body, this Fingersnap of Annihilation, with over 600 charge value, was undeniably unleashed, shattering not just Ai Cangsheng's dream. But also his "spirit"!

Ai Cangsheng's soul body was indeed powerful, but it lacked the spiritual seed's sealed release. This soul body, at most, could only reach the pinnacle of Saint-level, achievable by a zero-stage Ai Cangsheng. If discussed in terms of Dao, it would be no higher than Transcendent Dao-transformation. In reality, Xu Xiaoshou, whose Spiritual Dao Plate had undergone Transcendent Dao-transformation, could see that Ai Cangsheng's soul body was indeed stronger than most. But in its zero-stage state, it was still a little short of the 80 represented by profound mysteries. Once struck by the Fingersnap of Annihilation, destruction was inevitable.

"But!"

The soul's light rippled across the void. Ai Cangsheng was dead in body and spirit, yet even Drunken in the Wind realized what this implied:

"Saint's Three Lives!"

"Of the three paths—body, spirit, and intent—as long as one remains undestroyed, revival is possible."

"Master Shou destroyed the Great Emperor Cangsheng's body and, through a roundabout method, destroyed his spirit. But as long as half a wisp of consciousness remains…"

As he spoke, the Five Regions collectively shuddered.

Terrifying! Too terrifying, the kind that made one's blood run cold upon closer thought!

If an ordinary Saint were to revive with only residual consciousness, it would surely take decades or even centuries to recover. Logically, such a person could live, but revenge would be largely hopeless. Did you not see, back then from Void Island to Yunlun Mountain Range, even Sword Saint Rao Yaoyao, who escaped with a sliver of residual consciousness, was found and killed by Master Shou. Until her death, she was unable to put up any effective resistance. If Rao Yaoyao was like that, then for lesser individuals, how much power would remain from a sliver of residual consciousness goes without saying.

But Ai Cangsheng was not like that!

Ai Cangsheng was one of the Ten Thrones! The Ten Thrones cannot be judged by ordinary standards!

"Will there be another twist?"

Drunken in the Wind murmured, attempting to find Ai Cangsheng by manipulating the main Transmission Mirror before Master Shou could locate the Great Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness.

How ridiculous. Even Xu Xiaoshou wasn't particularly keen on searching for Ai Cangsheng's residual consciousness anymore. He knew that once the power of the spiritual seed's seal was exhausted, Ai Cangsheng would no longer be the Ai Cangsheng of before. His physical body had been blasted apart. His soul had been annihilated. Even if his intent could swallow mountains and rivers or cover the heavens, could he, relying solely on that, defy fate and change his destiny?

No!

He (Ai Cangsheng) would have time to recover. But he (Xu Xiaoshou) could grow even stronger during that time. Just as Bazun An had the audacity to not completely eradicate all his defeated opponents, at this moment, Xu Xiaoshou understood that anyone who successfully enacted revenge did so only because their opponent wasn't strong enough.

"And I!"

"Am the strongest!"

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, a mental awakening was triggered, startling Xu Xiaoshou. As expected, the information bar popped up:

"Received Guidance, Passive Value: 1."

Guidance? At this moment, in the entire world, how many people were left who could guide him? Not a single one. Humans simply couldn't do it. Only the Ten Thrones and gods could.

"Calamity Shadow?" Xu Xiaoshou decisively realized that Calamity Shadow must be behind this. After all, that fellow had most likely chosen to possess Ai Cangsheng's body—the fact that Ai Cangsheng remained unaffected showed the unparalleled strength of his will.

The Five Regions' Transmission Mirror feed, after Drunken in the Wind's frantic searching, was forcefully redirected to Master Shou by the old patriarch, Feng Tingchen.

"Buzz!"

The Intent Dao Plate suddenly radiated outwards. Based on spatial awe and extending through the marks left across the Five Regions, its range could quickly reach the entire continent.

"Residual consciousness…"

Searching this way, Xu Xiaoshou initially thought he wouldn't find anything, that Ai Cangsheng should have vanished without a trace. As it turned out, he had overestimated Ai Cangsheng and underestimated the Intent Dao Plate.

Residual consciousness was everywhere!

"So much?"

After his physical body and soul shattered, the scattered residual consciousness belonging to Ai Cangsheng gathered in the Southern Region. As for the other four regions, there was none at all?

"How bizarre!"

Ai Cangsheng was not in the Southern Region. Although Ai Cangsheng was born in the Southern Region, he could essentially be considered a Central Region native, having overseen Saint Mountain in the Central Region for over thirty years. Over all these years, the number of times he personally came to the Southern Region, as far as Xu Xiaoshou knew, was only this battle, this one time!

"How did all his consciousness explode in the Southern Region?"

"In the Central Region before, and just now the Eastern Region, did he not leave behind any residual consciousness at all, make no contingency plans?"

"Did he… just want to die?"

As the Intent Dao Plate swept across, dark clouds gathered in the Southern Region sky. It was as if the Tomb of Returning Souls had reappeared; countless residual consciousnesses belonging to Ai Cangsheng were rapidly summoned into the clouds.

"Wuwuwu…"

Wicked winds rose everywhere, swirling sand and uprooting trees. Yet the people of the Southern Region paid no heed, each watching with surging emotions, faces flushed, overwhelmed with excitement:

"He's coming, the Great Emperor Cangsheng is about to revive!"

"Master Shou can't kill him, he absolutely can't!"

"The Great Emperor Cangsheng is invincible, he can undergo Ancestral Void transformation, he is the strongest, he can completely become…"

At this moment, countless Southern Region people, countless wills, converged like a river, flowing into the cloud consciousness above the sky:

"An Ancestral God!"

With a rumble, as a faint, similar thought flashed through his mind, Xu Xiaoshou was startled awake as if struck by a lightning bolt. What did he see? He actually saw the myriad beliefs of the Southern Region coalesce and take form, transforming into a purple, bizarre, and frenzied "Wish Power," also heading towards the clouds.

"Thorough Divine Intent?!"

It wasn't just Xu Xiaoshou. The moment such a Second-Generation Thorough Divine Intent of this form appeared, converging at the peak of the Southern Region, it already startled the progenitor of Thorough Divine Intent.

Under the dark wine cellar, Kui Leihan, who remained completely unaffected even when targeted by the Hooking Eye, suddenly raised his head, gazing into the distance.

"Hic…"

He let out a satisfied burp. Strong alcoholic fumes sprayed out of the wine cellar, gushed out of the blacksmith's shop, seeped out of Qingyuan Mountain, turning into sizzling currents that swept across rivers and borders, directly crossing into the Land of Sin.

"Zzzzt!"

All of Xu Xiaoshou's hairs stood on end. At that moment, he felt as if he had been suddenly jolted by electricity, instantly waking him up!

This purple Wish Power, merging into the cloud consciousness, clearly intended to nurture something…

What was it? Ai Cangsheng?

"Wait!"

"This sea of clouds?"

"Isn't this precisely the 'Art of Returning Souls Tomb' that Ai Cangsheng failed to unleash just now?"

"No! Not the Tomb of Returning Souls, it's… the Tomb of Returning Consciousness?"

Just as Xu Xiaoshou realized what it was, his pupils dilated. Only then did a greatly distorted voice, seemingly filled with torment and suppressing pain to force out words, believed to be Ai Cangsheng's, spread:

"Kill me!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, kill me quickly! Hurry!"