Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 527 My Lord
Chapter 535

In the center of this enormous void, something is suspended.

A heart.

A black heart, so huge it's unimaginable, and petrified!

It floated there silently, its surface covered with spiderweb-like cracks. Every barely perceptible pulsation caused the entire underground space to tremble. The endless abyssal demonic energy seeped continuously from the cracks in this heart.

This is the essence of "Primordial Evil"!

It is not a living being, but the "remains" left behind after a living being dies!
Xu Ran's pupils suddenly contracted.

What kind of terrifying existence is it that a single heart, dead for countless epochs, can create the Demon-Suppressing Abyss, a place even the Heavenly Kingdom fears?
He saw that countless chains pierced through his heart.

Some of them were golden chains of order, the very seal of Heaven. But most were ancient bronze chains, rusted and seemingly on the verge of breaking. Inscribed on these chains were the same ancient divine runes he had seen on the rock face.

It is precisely these seemingly broken ancient bronze chains that are the core force truly suppressing this heart. The seal of Heaven is more like a patch on top of this.

Directly beneath that enormous heart, Xu Ran witnessed another scene that deeply shocked him.

There, a skeleton sat cross-legged.

A skeleton with a pale gold color throughout.

He remained in a meditative posture, one palm pressed lightly below as if suppressing something. His other hand pointed towards the black heart, seemingly performing some kind of purification ritual.

Even though only bones remain, one can still feel an unparalleled majesty emanating from those skeletons, a majesty that stands tall and unyielding in the face of a hundred battles.

This aura originates from the same source as the divine inscriptions on those ancient bronze chains!
"It's... the remains of the Sealer?" Xu Ran's heart was filled with shock.

This unknown ancient powerhouse, after setting up the seal, used his own body as the core of the formation and passed away here, using his last bit of divinity to wear down the power of this demonic heart day and night.

How tragic, how resolute!
Xu Ran bowed respectfully to the golden skeleton. Whoever this powerful figure was, he deserved this respect.

He slowly approached, wanting to see more clearly.

Just then, the Primordial Dao Bone Scripture within his body trembled slightly, creating a faint resonance with the golden skeleton!

"Hmm?" Xu Ran's heart skipped a beat.

He carefully navigated around the chaotic energy turbulence and arrived in front of the golden skeleton.

He discovered that the area where this powerful figure passed away was the most devoid of demonic energy. His remaining divinity formed a small "safe zone."

Beneath the skeleton's outstretched hand was not solid ground, but a miniature array composed of countless ancient divine runes that was slowly rotating.

In the center of the formation, a palm-sized... fragment of bronze lay quietly.

The fragment was from some unknown artifact, with extremely irregular edges, covered with marks of knife and axe cuts, and traces of dark golden divine blood that had not yet completely dried.

An aura of desolation, vastness, and antiquity emanated from the fragment.

Xu Ran only glanced at it, but he felt as if his soul was being sucked into it, and he saw a series of shattered images.

He saw an endless sea of ​​stars, a majestic divine city traversing the universe, and countless warriors clad in divine armor and wielding celestial halberds, forming boundless battle formations as they charged into a darkness that enveloped the entire galaxy…

He saw stars fall like rain, saw the world crumble in mourning, and saw figures of indescribable power roar and fall amidst blood and fire.

"...The Battle of Burying Heaven...The Divine Court...collapsed..."

A fragmented will, filled with endless sorrow and resentment, entered Xu Ran's mind from the fragments.

boom!
Xu Ran was struck dumb, and took a step back. Two lines of bloody tears streamed down his face, and his face turned as pale as paper.

The mere presence of a trace of information from this fragment was enough to severely impact his soul.

"The War to Bury Heaven... The Primordial Divine Court..." he murmured to himself, chewing on these words, his heart churning with turbulent waves.

He finally understood that this world, this Demon-Suppressing Abyss, was not a naturally forbidden place at all. This place was once an incredibly tragic ancient battlefield known as the "Battle of Burying the Heavens"!

And this golden skeleton, and the one who laid down these bronze chains, is none other than the supreme power called "Primordial Divine Court," which has long been annihilated in the long river of history!

Heaven is merely a latecomer. Perhaps they discovered this battlefield ruin, this sealed demonic heart, and thus established the so-called "Judgment Sequence" here, using it as their "mine" and "prison."

Just as Xu Ran was feeling agitated, the enormous black heart seemed to sense his arrival.

Boom!
A deep, powerful heartbeat suddenly rang out.

A cold, evil will, filled with a desire to devour and destroy, instantly locked onto Xu Ran.

"New...food..."

"You have... the scent of 'beginning'... and also the aura of 'end'..."

"It was delicious……"

"I offer... your Dao... your body... to become... the nourishment for my awakening..."

That grand will resounded directly in Xu Ran's soul, carrying an unquestionable tone of command, as if it were the destiny that governs all things.

Xu Ran suddenly looked up, a flash of chaotic light in his eyes, instantly severing the invading will.

He stared coldly at the heart beating faster and faster, feeling no fear, but rather a strong fighting spirit and...greed rising within him.

"Nutrition? That's right."

Xu Ran's lips curled into a cold smile.

"You are indeed nourishment, but you are my nourishment."

He could feel that the primordial power contained in this heart was billions of times purer and more powerful than the wisp of demonic energy he had refined before!
If he could completely refine this heart, what terrifying state would his Chaotic Furnace Body and his "Primordial Dao Bone Scripture" reach?

Perhaps, it will allow him to break through the shackles of the Divine Fire Realm in one fell swoop and glimpse the scenery above!

Of course, he was also well aware that with his current strength, forcibly refining this heart would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock, and there would only be one outcome: being burst and assimilated.

"No rush. One day, I will come back and throw you, this rotten-hearted thing, into my furnace and refine you into an unprecedented elixir!"

Xu Ran made a harsh statement and no longer hesitated.

He reached out and carefully placed the bronze fragment, which carried the secrets of the "Ancient Divine Court," into his divine furnace, wrapping it layer by layer with chaotic energy to isolate its aura. Then, he bowed deeply once more before the golden skeleton.

“Senior, I accept your path and your unwillingness to accept defeat. If I can reach the pinnacle one day, I will surely uncover the truth of the ‘Battle of Burying the Heavens’ and let the name of the ‘Divine Court’ shine brightly throughout the heavens once more!”

This is both a promise and another milestone he has set for himself.

Having done all this, he turned and left without looking back.

His words seemed to enrage the black heart, causing it to beat even more violently. Terrifying black lightning bolts appeared on the surface of the heart, attempting to break through the seal.

But those ancient bronze chains, sensing the danger, suddenly unleashed their final brilliance, with countless ancient divine runes lighting up and forcefully suppressing it.

Xu Ran's figure quickly disappeared into the rising darkness.

He knew that he had only scratched the surface of the secrets of the Demon-Suppressing Abyss.

The information in those bronze fragments, the so-called "Battle of Burying the Heavens" and "Ancient Divine Court," opened a door for him to a grander and more brutal world of ancient history.

Compared to this ancient secret, even the "Records of the Heavenly Way" of the Kingdom of Heaven seem less important.

When Xu Ran returned to the ground, three days had passed.

Zhenshan and Zidian, who had been guarding the edge of the rift valley, were overjoyed to see him return safely.

"My lord!"

Xu Ran nodded to them, indicating that he was alright. His aura was even more restrained and profound than before, like a peerless divine weapon hidden in its sheath, not revealing its sharpness, yet even more dangerous.

"Pass on my orders." Xu Ran's voice was steady and powerful.

"From this day forward, the Guixu Domain shall enter a state of high alert. All the dead, regardless of their inherent qualities or origins, shall cultivate beneath the Preaching Stele. Within ten years, I will see a formidable and battle-hardened 'Guixu Dao Army'!"

"Within a hundred years, I will personally train ten 'Bone Kings'!"

"Within a thousand years, I want a Divine Fire Realm expert to be born under my command!"

His series of orders instilled a sense of urgency in Zhenshan and Zi-Dian. They sensed an unprecedented sense of urgency in his words.

"My lord, is it Yuanxia...?" Zhenshan couldn't help but ask.

Xu Ran shook his head, his gaze fixed on the deep sky, as if piercing through the barriers of time and space.

"What lies beneath the abyss cannot emerge for the time being."

"Our real enemy, our real battlefield, is not here."

He opened his palm, and a faint, almost imperceptible aura of desolation emanating from the bronze fragment vanished in a flash.

"This world is a cage, but also a... springboard."

"I need to accumulate enough power in the shortest amount of time, and then... unleash it!"

In his eyes, what was reflected was no longer just the shadow of the heavenly kingdom, but the vast and darker boundless sea of ​​stars that buried the "Primordial Divine Court".

In his eyes, what was reflected was no longer just the shadow of the heavenly kingdom, but the vast and darker boundless sea of ​​stars that buried the "Primordial Divine Court".

This was a brand new beginning, but also an incredibly heavy shackle. Xu Ran knew that from the moment he accepted that bronze fragment and made that promise, his path had become intertwined with that buried ancient history and that tragic civilization called "Divine Court".

Heaven seeks him, the abyss seeks him, and now, the souls of history have also turned their gaze upon him.

The road ahead is both a bottomless abyss and a path to heaven.

"Issue my decree." Xu Ran withdrew his gaze, his voice returning to its usual calm, but beneath that calm lay a volcanic power about to erupt. "The Guixu Domain shall be sealed for a hundred years!"

"Within a hundred years, all disputes shall cease except for the Daoist Ladder and the Martial Arts Arena. Anyone who disobeys this order, regardless of status, shall be dealt with by the Left Envoy Zhenshan according to the law, and his soul fire shall be used to refine his Dao, as a warning to others!"

"Right Envoy Zidian is responsible for coordinating resources and establishing a merit system. Anyone who climbs the ladder of enlightenment, breaks through in cultivation, or improves in combat skills can exchange merits for cultivation resources. Resources are reserved only for those who strive to be the first!"

One decree after another was promulgated from his mouth, clear and ruthless, yet full of a sense of order.

Zhenshan and Zidian accepted the order with unwavering resolve, sensing the unquestionable determination in their lord. This was not a temporary measure, but a century-long preparation for war, a matter of survival!

As Xu Ran's will spread throughout the entire Guixu Domain, an invisible tension enveloped this newly born land. The Preaching Stele, suspended in the center, became the sole faith and goal of all living beings. The nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps of the Dao-seeking Ladder seemed like a stairway to heaven, attracting every soul unwilling to succumb.

Soon, the first climber appeared.

He was an old, hunched-over man, his soul flame so weak it seemed it might extinguish at any moment. He had been a scavenger at the very bottom of the Dragon Elephant Domain, eking out a living in endless despair for thousands of years. When Xu Ran bestowed upon him the Great Dao, for the first time, a flame called "hope" ignited in his turbid consciousness.

He climbed the first step with great difficulty, one step at a time.

hum!
A powerful surge of Daoist energy instantly rushed into his body, cleansing his already battered and ravaged form, riddled with holes by deathly energy. A sharp pain shot through him, nearly causing his soul to dissipate, but he gritted his teeth, his eyes gleaming with an unprecedented light.

"Yes...it can do it!"

He saw a possibility that could change his destiny!
Inspired by him, more and more deceased disciples mustered their courage and embarked on the Daoist ladder. Some were swept away by the Daoist energy after only a few steps and tumbled down, while others were able to persevere for much longer.

The entire Guixu Domain has formed a unique landscape.

Tens of thousands of lives, like a group of devout pilgrims, climbed the ladder to heaven one after another. They were no longer lost, no longer in despair; in the soul of each of them burned a flame called "ambition".

Xu Ran's figure disappeared atop the towering cliff he named "Guixu Palace".

He needed to go into seclusion to process the enormous impact of his trip to the Demon-Suppressing Abyss, and even more so, to pry open a sliver of a path to the Primordial Era from that bronze fragment.

……

Time flows by silently.

For mortals, a hundred years is a long time, but for cultivators, especially in the Guixu Domain where there is no sun or moon, time seems to have lost its meaning.

The only thing that records the passage of time is that staircase leading to the Dao.

Thirty years later.

The Guixu Domain has undergone a complete transformation.

The 100,000 former victims, after being baptized by the "Primordial Return to the Void Scripture" and tempered by the Ladder of Inquiry, have long been transformed. The mixed energies of death, demonic energy, and resentment within their bodies have all been refined into pure "Return to the Void Source Power," their soul fire has become solid and bright, and their bodies have transformed from decaying bones into "bone soldiers" bodies that shimmer with metallic luster.

(End of this chapter)