Chapter 1728: The Trend Will Pass

"You are Xinghan."

Imperial Preceptor Jiang Baigui first saluted the Sword God of the High Emperor, Bai Quer, then Yi Shisheng, before approaching Xinghan. He looked him over, recognized him, and asked, "You helped the Sword God of the High Emperor destroy the Divine Strategy Left Guard?"

Xinghan stood up, his body ragged and covered in wounds, but he felt no pain. His body was an assembled one, and he had long ago erased all pain sensations.

In fact, he rarely experienced human emotions.

The two saints, appearing once every five hundred years in Yankang, finally stood face to face. Xinghan turned his head to look at Jiang Baigui, examining him for a few moments. He found his face repulsive and oddly similar to his own, an indescribable dislike.

This aversion stemmed from the light of rationality and wisdom in Jiang Baigui's eyes. Xinghan also possessed this light of rationality and wisdom, but they had chosen different paths.

"You are late. I fought this battle for you," Xinghan said indifferently, shifting his gaze.

Jiang Baigui nodded.

"Now Yuanjie has become scorched earth. Yankang is the last peaceful place. Xinghan, with your abilities, protecting Yankang is protecting your future lineage." Jiang Baigui's gaze also avoided him, moving to his left, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, though they faced opposite directions. He continued, "The Heavenly Court is bound to fall. In the future, Yankang's reforms will spread throughout the entire Yuanjie and all the heavens and myriad worlds. You have great potential."

"You are a saint; I am not."

Xinghan shook his head, kicking a box. "I am merely a seeker of the Way. Whether Yankang wins or the Heavenly Court wins, I can survive. I detest the remaining humanity in my heart; it makes me act irrationally. This time, I nearly destroyed all my collections of so many years. How could I do it a second time? Since you are here, I will leave Yankang, leave Yuanjie, and find another place to settle."

"A saint?"

Jiang Baigui laughed heartily. "Do you truly believe there are saints in this world? Actually, no. The so-called 'saint appearing once every five hundred years' merely refers to the highest intelligence born within that five-hundred-year period. People like you and I are the most intelligent in our respective five centuries. Even looking back a million years or forward a million years, we would still be among the most intelligent individuals."

Xinghan turned to face him, puzzled. "So you understand this. I thought you considered yourself a saint. Since you understand, you must know that there are very few people in this world whom we can truly respect, because the entire world is filled with fools. That's why we seem abnormal; to others, we are strange. We find our actions and conduct perfectly normal, but they find us too rational and inhuman. In truth, humanity is simply a manifestation of foolishness."

Jiang Baigui turned around, and the two finally faced each other directly.

"But there *are* saints in this world," Jiang Baigui said. "Saints are not defined by birth, but by their words and deeds. I am not a saint born every five hundred years, but I can *become* a saint."

Xinghan burst into laughter, shaking his head. "Unity of knowledge and action? Foolishness. What benefit does being a saint bring you? Will it lead you to the Dao, or protect you from death? You are inferior to me. I am freer than you, and I have more ways to preserve my life."

Jiang Baigui smiled. "I have three establishments. First, to establish education: Yankang widely promotes education, spreading it throughout the world, so people are no longer ignorant, no longer worship gods, so they understand the 'what' and the 'why,' and thus naturally become fearless. Second, to establish words, which is to establish knowledge: to impart knowledge, to teach understanding. The body can decay, the primordial spirit can be annihilated, but words can last forever; through words, one can know and act. Third, to establish merit, which is what I am doing now: great merit involves promoting the Way of the Post-celestial, greatly expanding economic preparedness and wartime readiness, and fostering the prosperity of Post-celestial beings. Small merit involves destroying the Heavenly Court. After these three establishments, I will achieve the Dao."

Xinghan listened quietly as he finished explaining his philosophy. After a moment, he said, "There are too few like us in this world. I admire you, but I do not agree with you. There's no need to try and keep me; you cannot. I'm leaving."

He stepped away, and the box scurried over to Bai Quer, nudged her leg in farewell, then quickly chased after Xinghan.

Jiang Baigui watched him leave, then withdrew his gaze. "Senior Bai, the High Emperor's warriors are admirable. There's no need to trouble you with the subsequent battles."

Bai Quer shook her head. "This is the desire of the High Emperors throughout history, and it is my own desire."

Jiang Baigui sensed her resolve and no longer tried to dissuade her. "In that case, we shall depart immediately."

Yi Shisheng collected the nine High Emperor Heavenly Emperors into the coffin, seemingly hoping his senior brothers would transform back into zombie-demons within it. However, this was almost impossible.

"Is the Imperial Preceptor planning to go to Lanfeng Valley?" Bai Quer asked.

Jiang Baigui shook his head. "Lanfeng Valley is defended by my master, Wen Tiange. His wisdom surpasses mine; he can hold it. The true decisive battle is not in Lanfeng Valley, but in Xuantu."

He looked up. In the sky, countless suns moved away from Yankang, yet the air was still incredibly hot, scorching many parts of Yankang into barren land.

Those suns spun like a carousel, a testament to Moon Heavenly Venerable and Lang Wan's utmost efforts to hold back Xuantu's sun and moon guardians, though they couldn't completely deter such a massive army.

"Youdu is already under Yankang's control. If Xuantu also falls under Yankang's control, then the overall situation can be decided," Jiang Baigui said. "Even if Lanfeng Valley wins, it would only be a minor victory, a Pyrrhic victory. My goal is not to merely block the Heavenly Court's offensive, but to uproot the Heavenly Court entirely! Xuantu is crucial! With Xuantu and Youdu, the dynamic of attack and defense will shift!"

Xinghan, with his box, walked towards a nearby spiritual energy transfer bridge, seemingly talking to himself or the box. "Yuanjie is no longer suitable for me. Now, Emperor Haotian and Grand Prime believe I am dead, and I have repaid Cult Master Qin's favor. The world is vast, allowing me to roam freely. I owe no one."

The box followed him, its lid clattering open and closed, as if conversing with him.

"Because of a momentary impulse, your lifelong collection turned to nothing. You must feel pained too, right?" Xinghan smiled.

He passed through Yankang's spiritual energy transfer bridge to other heavens and, looking around, couldn't help but frown. Many people in various heavens were fleeing, as the Heavenly Court's divine demon army captured living beings from other heavens for food and plundered their wealth, leaving other heavens in chaos.

Xinghan traveled through more than a dozen heavens and couldn't help but frown. These heavens were no longer suitable for his academic pursuits.

Some of the fleeing people were escaping to other more remote heavens, some even to Yuanjie, and many gods and demons went to Yankang, intending to ally with Yankang to jointly resist the Heavenly Court.

Even though Xinghan had little interest in world affairs, he now perceived something significant.

"Jiang Baigui is indeed the smartest person in five hundred years; he saw the rolling tide of events. Emperor Haotian's perverse actions have lost him the people's hearts. Yankang has become the place where the people's will lies. As time passes, its military strength will grow ever stronger. The Heavenly Court's demise is imminent."

His eyes flickered as he headed towards the Ancestral Court, silently thinking, "Jiang Baigui can truly become a saint, but I won't be inferior to him. I have basically thoroughly researched the Heavenly Court's gods and demons, and collected all sorts of brains. There's no need to remain with the Heavenly Court. Now, only one place holds great attraction for me."

He traveled through space, coincidentally missing Xu Shenghua, and thus had no opportunity to know about the incident in the Ancestral Court.

Even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have retreated; instead, he would have been even more delighted.

Xu Shenghua, carrying Qin Mu's coffin, traveled a long distance and arrived in Yankang during the fiercest part of the Battle of Lanfeng Valley.

Lanfeng Valley had become a blood-soaked battlefield, bearing the brunt of the Heavenly Court's Divine Master and Water Master main forces. Almost everyone, regardless of whether they had comprehended the Ancestral Court Dao Realm system, was on the front lines. Grand Beginning, Lan Yutian, First Ancestor, Village Chief, Emperor Yi Yue, Southern Emperor, Northern Emperor, and others also joined the fray!

Although Yankang had many masters, its troop strength was severely insufficient, making it extremely difficult to hold the battle line.

Xu Shenghua carried the Coffin of Burying Dao onto the battlefield. He opened the Lacerating Dao Divine Nails on the coffin one by one, and the coffin lid lifted slightly, emanating a misty divine light from the narrow gap.

A profound Dao might suppressed the current era. The Dao might emanating from the coffin immediately astonished everyone; anyone could feel that terrifying majesty of the Great Dao.

"Heavenly Venerate Mu's coffin!"

The two Taiji Ancient Gods immediately sounded the retreat signal, held their formation strictly, and watched the approaching Xu Shenghua nervously.

Xu Shenghua exerted force and hurled the massive Coffin of Burying Dao. The colossal divine coffin whistled past the front lines of both armies, landing with a thud directly between them.

The two Taiji Ancient Gods immediately gathered, and their bifurcated Taiji Sand Board, a supreme treasure, crashed shut. The Dao might of Taiji permeated the area, the sand board's yin and yang spun, intensified to the extreme by the two ancient gods, ready to respond to any unforeseen circumstances.

Millions of gods and demons held their breath, nervously watching the divine coffin.

Xu Shenghua walked past the Heavenly Court's divine demon army, heading towards the tattered Lanfeng Valley.

He left Qin Mu on the front lines, with no intention of bringing the coffin into Lanfeng Valley.

Both armies were silent, countless eyes fixed on the divine coffin. Only the ancient beasts summoned from the Beast Realm let out uneasy low roars.

Even though Xu Shenghua's demeanor was peerless, no one looked at him; their gazes were all drawn to the divine coffin.

The numerous soldiers of the Heavenly River Water Master and Heavenly Court Divine Envoys had sweat and blood mixed together, dripping from their foreheads onto their battered divine armor.

The sweat beads on the faces of the two Taiji Ancient Gods also increased, wishing to send someone to inspect the divine coffin, but not daring to give the order.

The atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.

In the distance, within the Heavenly Court's grand encampment, Emperor Haotian and Grand Prime were also staring intently at the divine coffin, their hearts tightening.

Emperor Haotian had been blaming Grand Prime for acting on his own initiative and executing Heavenly Venerate Xinghan, but now seeing Xu Shenghua carrying the coffin, he realized he had wrongly accused Grand Prime.

Suddenly, several fingers protruded from the coffin's crack.

Everyone's pupils contracted. They saw those fingers grasp the coffin lid and gently push it. The Coffin of Burying Dao creaked, sounding particularly jarring in the silent battlefield.

When the coffin lid fell to the ground, millions of Heavenly Court Divine Master and Water Master soldiers collectively retreated several steps, tightening their grip on their divine and demonic weapons.

Suddenly, an ancient beast from the army let out an earth-shattering bellow, turned and fled, breaking many soldiers' formations.

"Don't move!" Lunar Lady's voice was hoarse, unclear if she was heard.

From within the Coffin of Burying Dao, a brilliant Dao light soared into the sky, connecting directly to the firmament, like a grand curtain of Dao light slowly unfolding. Within the Dao light, a World Tree slowly ascended.

However, no one looked at the World Tree. Everyone's eyes were fixed intently on the opening of the coffin.

A figure slowly sat up from within the coffin, his side facing the Heavenly Court Divine Master and Water Master, then slowly turned his head.

*Clatter!*

The Heavenly Court Divine Master and Water Master soldiers were instantly startled, a commotion erupted, and they turned and fled in all directions.

The two Taiji Ancient Gods quickly issued orders to restrain their armies, but who listened to them?

Dominated by extreme fear, everyone, including the ancient beasts, fled for their lives, heading towards the Heavenly Court's grand encampment!

At the same time, Emperor Haotian's decree came from the Heavenly Court's grand encampment, ordering the Taiji Ancient Gods to retreat.

The two ancient gods were unwilling, looking back at the severely damaged Lanfeng Valley, only to meet Qin Mu's gaze.

The two ancient gods were startled and immediately retreated.

Emperor Haotian saw the divine demon army surging like a tide towards the Heavenly Court's grand encampment, and suddenly felt a sense of sorrow that the overall situation was lost.

Immediately, he brightened up again, silently thinking, "I still have a chance! As long as Third Young Master breaks the red string knot seal, I can turn the tide! I only need to maintain the Heavenly Court's situation for these few years!"

"Heavenly Venerate Mu!"

An earth-shattering cheer suddenly erupted from Lanfeng Valley. The gods and demons of Yankang's Carefree Village cheered. Their voices were initially chaotic, but then everyone's voices converged into a mighty, earth-shattering torrent!

"Heavenly Venerate Mu! Heavenly Venerate Mu!"

This torrent was as passionate as the Yankang reforms, spreading like wildfire, reaching one divine city after another, transforming into an even louder and more inspiring roar.

Xu Shenghua walked into Lanfeng Valley. Lan Yutian hurried forward, asking puzzled, "Daoist Brother Xu, why is my brother sitting there and not getting up, and why is he turning his head so slowly?"

"Cult Master Qin is turning his head so slowly because he has fifty very long divine nails hammered into his wounds," Xu Shenghua said. "When he sat up, he was already in terrible pain, probably still trembling. Turning his head must have been even worse; those nails are very long."

Ling Yuxiu also rushed over. Hearing this, she grew even more worried. "My husband was left there..."

"Nothing will happen," Xu Shenghua comforted. "Even if Cult Master Qin were dead, his lingering prestige would still be present, let alone with a breath of life still in him?"