The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 269 The Will of Heaven (Two Chapters Combined)

Gu Fangchen thought he was mentally prepared to overestimate his mother, but when Xiao Zhenwu said that, if he had been drinking water, he would have spat it out.

Moreover, you have to teleport in front of Xiao Zhenwu and spray him in the face.

He twitched his lips, looked at Old Deng across from him, carefully observed his expression, and made sure that he wasn't teasing him.

"call……"

Gu Fangchen let out a long breath and asked:
Why does the 'Way of Heaven' have a will?

This question may seem like a trivial matter, but it is actually very important.

According to the information Gu Fangchen currently possesses, the "Heavenly Dao" of this world should not actually have a will.

The Great Way is formless, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth.

The Great Way is impartial, yet it governs the cycles of the sun and moon.

The Great Way is nameless, yet it nourishes all things.

The "Way of Heaven" should simply be a set of orderly rules that encompass everything and allow it to develop naturally, without having its own will.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been that line in the memories Ning Caiyong transmitted to Gu Fangchen earlier—

"The six directions and the universe are filled with stars, the great furnace of heaven and earth is originally without the Dao, and those who attain the Dao in the vast and mighty world end up as dowry for flies and insects."

"Heaven and earth have no inherent way," which means that the great way and rules between heaven and earth are not something that humans can easily intercept and control.

The "Tao" that is given to people is actually a means for certain external wills to disguise themselves and try to devour the world.

Therefore, the "Way of Heaven" itself should not have a will; it is merely a rule that operates invisibly, ruthlessly, and namelessly.

It is clear that even she herself acknowledges this point.

This contradicts what Xiao Zhenwu is saying at this moment.

Xiao Zhenwu shook his head:
"What I am referring to is the 'Way of Heaven,' not the Great Way that governs this world."

Gu Fangchen was taken aback and realized that his pronunciation had a completely different emphasis, which made the meaning of the whole sentence completely different.

He realized what was happening, and his pupils contracted:
"You are referring to the 'Heaven'...the Way."

Xiao Zhenwu nodded, stood up, looked at the sky outside the main hall, and said in a deep voice:

"This is the third path that emerged at the beginning of the world, the foundation upon which the world came into being."

At that moment, Gu Fangchen had a sudden realization.

His mindset hadn't completely shifted yet. The rules of this world were different from the world he lived in in his "previous life" in one particular way.

That is the sky of this world.

He knew long ago that the structure of this world was completely different from what he had imagined.

The sky in this area revolves around the earth, and the earth is a plane with two sides.

The river of time flows eternally, while the constellations in the sky revolve ceaselessly.

Some people have disguised it as the sky, turning it into a curtain that covers the entire world, flowing ceaselessly day and night.

But before that, the sky remained the same, unchanged.

Therefore, this is also a real "Tao," that is, the "Tao" that has shaped the world into what it is today.

This is the way of "Heaven"!

Gu Fangchen's eyes flashed, and she said with certainty:
"So... the one who severed the history of the 'Furnace' and transformed it into the starry sky was her."

The "Dao" in Xiao Zhenwu's hands is "Hengchang," which indeed does not possess such ability.

Therefore, Ning Caiyong was his ally and the one with whom he discussed the Dao. Furthermore, during that discussion, the two formulated all the plans for the future. That is why she said that it was the [Hengchang Dao Master] who chose Gu Fangchen.

The chosen one should be the one to break the deadlock.

However, Ning Caiyong's state did not seem to be that of an ordinary "enlightened one". Not to mention in the present world, she had not appeared much even in the "Great Furnace Era".

Otherwise, Li Kan, the "God of War," wouldn't have said he hadn't seen her before...

This is likely related to her "amnesia".

Xiao Zhenwu nodded in agreement and continued:
“I know you must have a lot of questions, but we can talk for a long time before the Dao Fire burns out.”

"So, let me start from the beginning."

He walked down the steps to Gu Fangchen's side, glanced at the white plastic stool under him, and laughed:
"There's still a long time to go, won't you give me a place to sit?"

Gu Fangchen twitched her lips and snapped her fingers again.

In front of me appeared a white plastic stool, a folding table, a plate of barbecue, and a standing freezer.

The once magnificent imperial palace has been transformed into a barbecue stall in an instant.

These incongruous things even had an off-style art, but Xiao Zhenwu glanced at them and then naturally sat down.

Gu Fangchen opened a bottle of iced cola, took a sip, and then Xiao Zhenwu began to speak.

"This world is very small, so small that it's like a furnace with its lid covered, so people call it a 'furnace'."

"People don't believe it's only as big as what they can touch, so they try to explore outwards, hoping to find an exit."

"But the area was completely sealed off, which made them even more resentful."

"However, one day, a hole was finally drilled in this seal, and a seed was thrown in from the outside."

"But in reality, this is just bait. The invisible fishing line is tied to it and tightening it little by little."

"The fish, unaware that they had fallen into a trap, eagerly bit the hook. As they tore at it, the opening grew wider and wider, and more and more seeds were thrown in."

"The world is beginning to fall apart."

Gu Fangchen understood that this was the scene of countless gazes falling from the sky that he had witnessed. He went straight to the core question and said:
Who is the person fishing?

Xiao Zhenwu shook his head and said:
"I do not know."

"You don't even know?"

Xiao Zhenwu let out a long breath. Although his face was expressionless, he looked somewhat forlorn.
"Yeah, do you find it ridiculous? I don't even know what I'm fighting against."

"I have never seen the true face of those countless 'Tao's, and what is now eroding the whole world may just be their gaze."

“But I know one thing clearly—they all want to possess this world.”

“And the ‘Heaven’ way is a barrier that can keep them out, and it is also the last line of defense.”

"Therefore, the first thing that was put into it was the 'seed of the Dao' of the 'Heaven'."

"Their thinking seemed quite simple: it was too difficult to break down this barrier from the outside, so they decided to break it down from the inside."

“As long as people are tempted to gradually extract these things from the disguised ‘Tao,’ then this world will collapse on its own.”

Gu Fangchen's expression shifted:
"So, Ning Caiyong is the first 'enlightened one'?"

Xiao Zhenwu nodded:
"She was the holder of the 'Heavenly' Dao, and also the first person to realize something was wrong and stop cultivating."

“However, the ‘Heaven’s’ way is too special—” Xiao Zhenwu pointed upwards with his finger:

“It is everywhere, just as I said, it is the foundation of the world. Ning Caiyong, as the carrier of the ‘Tao’, is in constant contact with the ‘Tao’. Even if he consciously stops, it will be of no use.”

“The holder of the ‘Sword’ path can break a sword, the holder of the ‘Dream’ path can stay awake, and the holder of the ‘Life’ path can choose to die.”

"What can the holder of the 'Heavenly' Way do? There is no escaping this all-encompassing sky."

"Moreover, her talent is too high."

"Merely touching upon the 'Heavenly' Dao makes it impossible to stop the growth of cultivation. Once she reaches that indescribable realm, this world will be doomed."

"So, she made a decision."

Xiao Zhenwu said in a deep voice:

"Disperse your cultivation, seal your consciousness, and cast yourself into the cycle of reincarnation."

"However, even so, the 'Heavenly Dao' within her continues to grow, and after each reincarnation, the speed at which the 'Heavenly Dao' grows becomes faster and faster, and her consciousness returns faster and faster as well."

"Furthermore, over such a long period of time, the 'Heaven' Way has almost become one with her. It can be said that she has become the will of the 'Heaven' Way."

"The last time was already the limit."

"You should already know that when she awakened, it was during the internal strife of the Sword Pavilion. Even though she tried her best to suppress it, her consciousness still returned when she reached marriageable age. If she were to reincarnate again, she probably wouldn't be herself."

"However, this time, I finally found that opportunity."

Xiao Zhenwu looked at Gu Fangchen:
"To bring you into being."

"As long as you succeed, this world can continue to exist. Therefore, she resealed her self-awareness until she had to return to the 'furnace' to save you, using this stagnant history to continue suppressing herself."

"You can't find her because she is now the sky, and she is watching you every moment."

He suddenly laughed and said leisurely:
"In fact, if there really is such a thing as the 'Will of Heaven' in this world, it should actually be you."

"The third path that emerged at the beginning of the world is the 'Heaven' path."

"And the first and second paths that were born at the same time were 'truth' and 'falsehood,' and now they are in your hands."

Gu Fangchen took a deep breath and saw his own eyes reflected in the cola can. He then turned to look at Xiao Zhenwu and asked his question:
"But the 'Tao' should not be controlled by others..."

Xiao Zhenwu:

"I know what you're wondering. Do you remember what I said you were?"

Gu Fangchen thought for a moment:

"I am a descendant you created using the law of cause and effect."

Xiao Zhenwu laughed and said:

“My ‘Tao’ is ‘constancy’, balance, equivalence, and immutability. I should have no descendants.”

"A person who does not exist in the world at all, your existence is an immeasurable void."

“Using boundless empty spaces to store the ‘Tao’ is, from the perspective of cause and effect, simply moving them to a different place.”

"Those outside eyes cannot see you, and therefore cannot corrupt you."

"The 'Tao' within you is the most authentic and original 'Tao,' and you are the safest vessel for it."

Gu Fangchen finally understood how Xiao Zhenwu had created himself.

But there's another problem.

"And then what? Now that I exist and have attained the 'Tao,' what should I do to bring this world to its end, burning out completely?"

Gu Fangchen stared intently at Xiao Zhenwu.

Xiao Zhenwu did not answer immediately, but sighed with a touch of nostalgia:
“When I first discovered that ‘attaining the Tao’ was just a scam, I was very naive and thought that I could save the world from its suffering by using the ‘Tao’ that I had already mastered.”

Gu Fangchen believed that he did indeed have such thoughts.

In the memories Ning Caiyong entrusted to him, the [Ancient Human Emperor] made this grand vow, and then separated the Yin and Yang realms, thus initiating the cycle of reincarnation.

Before that, the people who lived in the "Great Furnace Era" simply died, their souls no longer existing, possibly swallowed up by the gazes of the outside world.

Xiao Zhenwu allowed people's souls to be preserved, continuing to exist in this world in the form of reincarnation.

He never imagined that everything he held in his hands, the power he thought had changed the world, was actually just a fire that would burn the world down.

Such a thing is indeed hard for people to accept.

"Therefore, I try to pursue 'constancy'."

"I transformed myself into the founding emperor and the last emperor of each dynasty, trying to keep all the historical trajectories under my control."

“I do not expect to eliminate all ‘Tao’, but I hope that the ‘Tao’ that fills this world can maintain a fixed quantity and remain constant at a safe bottleneck, without ever changing again.”

"Actually, I once thought I was about to succeed."

Xiao Zhenwu chuckled:
"The Great Wei should have been the last testing ground for this method."

Gu Fangchen thought to herself, "So that's how it is."

This is why there are fewer and fewer premium-grade products available.

Furthermore, from the information revealed by Xiao Zhenwu at this moment, he also understood that the "True Immortal" realm was probably the "eternity" that cultivators understood, which is to say, transcending time and space.

Xiao Zhenwu and Ning Caiyong both exist simultaneously in this sealed history and in the ever-evolving present world.

Here, they remain almost unchanged, while in the present world, they intervene in everything as time progresses.

They are truly high-dimensional beings.

but……

Gu Fangchen thought strangely that he himself seemed to be a standard high-dimensional being now.

He can exist simultaneously on both the past and future timelines, as well as in both the past life and the present life.

Xiao Zhenwu:

"In my plan, as long as Xie Qian dies and the last rank 1 disappears, my plan will be a success."

"But later I found out that the plan was not going to work."

As he recounted the story, Gu Fangchen realized what was happening, sighed, and lamented:
"It simply won't work."

"Because what you rely on is also a false and parasitic 'Tao'."

“Even if that world no longer has the first rank, the ‘Constant Balance’ principle governs everything, so the number of paths continues to increase, and it is impossible to reach the goal you mentioned.”

Xiao Zhenwu looked at him with a serious expression:
"So I lost this debate."

"We need a completely new world that can shield us from all paths."

He reached out, opened a can of Coke, poured himself a glass, and then shook it.
"I have seen this world."

This is the true "Mirror in the Dust," which will reflect all truth and falsehood, and in turn contain this world, becoming a new and unbreakable barrier.

(End of this chapter)