Grandpa, times have changed.

Just as the atmosphere at the scene was becoming a little strange.

A ray of starlight came from afar.

Having just begun to adapt to the state of being under the control of Heaven's Will, Chen Huan was preparing to come to the Sword Venerable Hall to tell Bie Xue Ning.

Although they cannot leave the sect, they can still move freely within the Sword Sect's territory.

"Sister, I..."

But before he could get close, Chen Huan spotted five people standing at the entrance to the bamboo forest halfway up the mountain, and the words he was about to say got stuck in his throat.

Besides the expected senior sisters and brothers, Yuan Jun, Mei Zu, and Ling Zu were also there?!
Oh right, we did say we'd discuss a time to come to the Sword Sect together.

But isn't this discussion happening a little too quickly?
"..."

Starlight transformed into human figures, suspended in the air, gazing at the entrance to the bamboo forest.

After confirming that he hadn't misread it, Chen Huan decisively turned and left, instantly transforming back into a ray of starlight and returning to the Star Ancestor's Hall.

The situation her senior brother is facing is clearly somewhat complicated; it would be best for her not to get involved.

Chen Huan came and went, and these actions were naturally observed by the others.

After watching her turn back, Meizu looked at Bie Xuening:

"She seems to need to see you. Aren't you going to check on her?"

"I'll go later."

Judging from Junior Sister Chenhuan's behavior just now, it shouldn't be anything important, otherwise she wouldn't have turned around and left so quickly.

"What if it's something important?" Meizu said seriously, then looked at Yuanjun and Ningruo, "You agree, right?"

"It's not that bad," Yuanjun said calmly.

“If it were something truly important, Fellow Daoist Xingzu wouldn’t have turned around and gone back so easily,” Ning Ruo also said.

"..."

These two have absolutely no teamwork!
But soon, Meizu laughed again:

"However, I thought you would call out to Fellow Daoist Xingzu just now."

This is true.

The other three also highly approved of it.

My junior brother/Brother Xu/Fellow Daoist often avoids this kind of thing by talking about other topics.

I originally thought he would call out to Junior Sister Chen Huan/Fellow Daoist Xing Zu and then change the subject through her.

After all, he's done this before, and he still does it now...

They didn't do that?

"Wasn't she here to see her senior sister?" Xu Xing said. "She probably went back suddenly because she felt the current situation wasn't suitable for her to say what she wanted to say. Why should I have stopped her?"

This answer is so reasonable it's almost unreasonable.

"Let's go."

"Since everyone's here, don't just stand there."

"We just discovered some unusual things while we were investigating in Qingxu last night. I'll tell you about them in detail later."

Upon hearing this, Meizu actually nodded in agreement.

"Yes, this discovery is probably quite significant. You should analyze it as well."

Although she likes to stir things up.

But we still need to distinguish which is more important.

Anyway, everyone's here now, so there's plenty of time.

……

……

the other side.

After returning to the Star Ancestor's Hall, Chen Huan hesitated for a moment before posting what had just happened in the leader's group chat.

Star Ancestor: "I just went to find my senior sister and found Yuanjun, Fellow Daoist Lingzu, and Fellow Daoist Meizu."

Overlord: "!"

Overlord: "/If you say that, I'm no longer sleepy."

Bazun: "Please explain in detail / Eating sunflower seeds"

Danzu: "+1"

Danzu: "Weren't the three of them supposed to discuss a time to go together? They've already decided so quickly."

Xingzu: "I don't know."

Hongzun: "Then I'll go over too."

Chen Huan paused upon seeing the message that Hong Zun had suddenly sent.

Star Ancestor: "Now?"

There was no reply in the group, but a friend with the nickname 'Hong' sent her a message.

Hong: "Yes"

Hong: "I'll be there soon."

Chen Huan looked at the two messages, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Meanwhile, within the leader's group...

Overlord: "??"

Overlord: "Where is he? Why is he so quiet?"

Danzu: "I can tell he's going to send a private message /picking nose"

Dan Zu: "However, I can see the true purpose behind Fellow Daoist Hong Zun's choice to go to the Sword Sect now."

Overlord: "You?"

A guy whose eyes are only on pills and who will most likely be a single dog in the future, you're telling me you've seen through Hong Zun's true intentions as a Casanova?
Dan Zu naturally saw the doubts that filled this message.

However, he couldn't be bothered to argue with a brute.

Danzu: "In my opinion, Fellow Daoist Hongzun definitely wants to take this opportunity to have a frank conversation with Fellow Daoist Xingzu."

Danzu: "If we go now, my fellow Daoist will be too busy to help themselves, and no one will disturb them."

Don't let his serious demeanor fool you; he's actually quite the comedian himself.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to join Ba Zun in getting Hong Zun drunk and trying to extract information from him.

Danzu: "Perhaps they've already spoken their minds, and while you, my fellow Daoist, are still in deep trouble, it might be a good opportunity to watch and have some fun."

Danzu: "/Smirking"

After all, Fellow Daoist Hongzun and Fellow Daoist Xingzu were a legitimate Daoist couple, but they separated because of those dramatic events back then.

Now that Fellow Daoist Xingzu wants to talk things out, reconciliation shouldn't be too difficult.

Although he wasn't interested in these kinds of romantic relationships, he had developed his own understanding of them through years of participating in online groups.

Overlord: "..."

It’s time to say it or not.

This analysis...

That actually makes some sense!

Danzu: "How about I analyze your situation further? /smirking"

Overlord: "Get lost!"

Instead of refining your elixirs, what are you thinking about all day long?
……

……

Shortly after.

A clearing in the bamboo grove.

The atmosphere here isn't as strange as I expected.

"Thinking about it carefully, although Gu and Tai mostly appeared to be at odds in ancient times, their stances were aligned when it came to certain things the heavens did," Ning Ruo said. Just now, Xu Xing and Mei Zu explained the anomalies discovered in Qingxu.

After thinking for a while, the group decided to carefully examine the events that occurred in ancient times to see if they could find any clues.

"Brother Xu should know this best."

"Ah."

Xu Xing nodded slightly.

He worked under Gu for a period of time.

"To be precise, Ko and Tai share the same attitude on the matter of the 'method of proving the Way'."

Not only did Gu not want to see new enlightened beings emerge, but Gu also did not want to.

Or rather, when the Cang Clan was the overlord of the Tai Xuan Realm, only 'Tian', a primordial Daoist, wished to see the birth of another Daoist.

Of course, we now know that the reason He facilitated the birth of new enlightened beings was to free them from the limitations of the Heavenly Dao.

As for Xuan, he was indifferent at the time.

"Thinking about it carefully, during the early days of the 'Daoji Method,' it seemed that He had some reservations and chose to stand by and watch when the Great Dao was targeting Heaven."

This could be explained as Him wanting to see Tai and Tian both weakened, and then punishing Tai when he was down.

However, even though Taizhen and Tian were both severely injured, He remained inactive, neither personally attacking Tai nor taking the opportunity to deal with Tian. Instead, He sent these non-Cang clan Dongzhen to wipe out the tribes under Tai's command.

Meanwhile, some elite squads composed of Cang Clan Cave True Immortals were sent by Him to assassinate Hong Zun, who created the 'Dao Ji Method'.

It's just weird.

While it might be said that He values ​​Tai more, He only sent a small team composed of non-Cang clan members to wipe out some non-Cang clan groups under Tai's command.

But to say that He values ​​the 'Daoji Method' created by Hongzun more?
That's not quite right either.

When He failed to assassinate Hongzun in the darkness and faced Tian head-on, He had far too many opportunities to eliminate Hongzun right under Tian's nose.

But He did not.

Only afterward were a few Cang Clan Cave True Immortals sent out, still in the name of Tai.

At the time, they didn't think too much about it, after all, Gu's psychedelic actions were not uncommon.

However, considering the anomalies of Qingxu today, and looking back at the various actions of the ancients.

Every decision He made in the past seemed somewhat...

Feeling restricted and constrained!

Correct!
It's like being restricted and constrained!

This feeling is especially pronounced when facing the sky.

But what exactly does Tian know that makes Gu so wary?

And how does this relate to their discovery in Qingxu last night?

After thinking it over, Xu Xing shared some of his thoughts with the others.

"Since the remnants of the ancient essence can change the core area of ​​Qingxu, is it possible that they are actually one?" Meizu said something astonishing.

One piece?

Everyone paused, but then heard Meizu continue.

"Based on the analysis just now, it is clear that Tian has some extremely important secrets in his hands. Gu does not want these secrets to be exposed to the world, so it is not appropriate to interfere with Tian's actions openly."

"But He could not stand idly by and watch the emergence of those who attain enlightenment later in life, so He separated out the Tai, which was outwardly hostile to Him."

"In this way, He deceived the heavens and prevented Him from bringing about the birth of those who attain enlightenment later in life."

"But after the Daoist brother who was the 'Celestial Tribulation' attained immortality, the Heaven's purpose of seizing the essence of the Daoist became a pipe dream."

"Gu also understood this, so he turned his attention to the human race. Naturally, there was no need for Him and His incarnation 'Tai' to continue their open hostility."

"This explains why the Taihe Ancient, which was originally at odds with Taihe, suddenly reconciled."

'Tai' and 'Gu' were originally one, but were they used to confuse the public and deceive 'Tian'?
After pondering for a while, Yuanjun suddenly spoke up in rebuttal.

"No, the Tai that died in Qingxu was on the same level as us, not an incarnation of past authority."

Back then, Tai fought against nine opponents single-handedly and held out for quite some time before finally succumbing.

If Gu had this ability as an incarnation, he wouldn't have been forced to merge with them.

"Moreover, Heaven itself descended to earth as the Cangzu Ancestor as the will of Heaven, and an incarnation could not possibly hide from Him."

That is the will of Heaven in the Tai Xuan Realm.

Having penetrated all the laws and laws and understood all changes, he can almost be called 'omniscient' except for those who have attained the Dao!
Even if he was weakened after descending to earth and transforming into the Azure Ancestor, it was still something that an avatar could not hide.

Tai can only be an independent, innate enlightened being!
"How about this?" Ning Ruo seemed to have thought of something as well.

“The ancient and the great are one, but they are not incarnations. Instead, they have split themselves into two different ‘selves’ from the root level.”

“The ancient is the original ‘self’, while the great is the ‘self’ that has been differentiated.”

"As for the reason..."

"I think it's pretty much the same as what Meizu just said."

"Or to be even bolder, Gu actually knew Tian's purpose from the beginning, but the secret that Tian possessed was too heavy, and He could not bear the impact of the secret being exposed."

"After Brother Xu attained immortality, Heaven's plan could no longer be realized. Therefore, Gu, as the 'original self,' and Tai, as the 'differentiated self,' reached a reconciliation."

Bie Xuening listened quietly without making a sound.

She actually had some guesses as well.

But after hearing their thoughts, she still felt that Lingzu and Meizu's guesses made more sense.

"But what does this have to do with the accident that happened during the Cang Clan's path to enlightenment?"

"Moreover, as the first innate Daoist to attain enlightenment, what secret could Gu possibly be unable to bear?"

If you don’t understand, just ask.

This is a very good quality.

That's what my junior brother told her in the past.

Ning Ruo thought about it carefully:
"Let me address the first question: the unexpected incident that occurred during the Cang Clan's path to enlightenment."

“My previous guess was that the relationship between Gu and Tai might be that of ‘original self’ and ‘differentiated self’. This kind of separation at the root level means that Tai itself is an independent individual, rather than an appendage of Gu.”

“Gu’s desire to reclaim Tai signifies the demise of the individual ‘Tai’.”

"Perhaps at the beginning, Tai didn't think anything of it, but when it came to the moment of its demise, its individual will to survive changed its thoughts."

"He cannot accept his own demise, much less accept that his existence was merely a means to deceive the heavens."

"Therefore, through his connection with the ancients, he retained a trace of himself."

For beings at their level, as long as they have a shred of something to rely on for survival, they will not truly perish.

This means that as long as the 'differentiated self' is unwilling, the ancient 'original self' cannot make it perish.

"In the years that followed, His own weakness and the instinct to desire independence caused the last trace of His 'differentiation of self' to harbor resentment toward the ancient, or rather, the Cang Clan itself."

"Moreover, regardless of Tai's true origin, as an innate enlightened being, He, the source of the Law Order, is the ancestor of the Cang Clan."

“Naturally, they also have the right to interfere with each Cang clan from within.”

It must be said that Ning Ruo's guess was very reasonable.

At least from the current situation, it is very reasonable.

This can not only explain why the essence of antiquity could cause anomalies in the core area of ​​Qingxu, but also explain the unexpected events that occurred during the Cang Clan's path to enlightenment.

This could even explain to some extent why Bie Xuening saw Gu Congqing emerge from the core of the ruins.

The two are originally one.

The place where Tai fell can also be seen as the place where Gu fell. It is perfectly normal that Bie Xuening, who wields the supreme killing sword path, could not detect it.

"Let me explain the second question."

If we accept Ning Ruo's statement, just how significant is the secret that would make Gu willing to sever his own secrets at the very root?

If our previous guess was correct, then there's only one possibility—

"The secrets that Heaven holds are enough to turn Xuan and Gu against each other." (End of Chapter)