There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 244 Buddha Awakens
Chen Qing was shocked, but he quickly noticed that although the person in front of him had a similar temperament to Xu Qingfeng, the overall feeling he gave off was completely different!
Immediately, he thought of what Jiang Shangkun had mentioned: that the evil corpse incarnation of the Taiyuan Immortal Emperor might exist at the bottom of this hell!
"So it seems that this statement is true!"

Compared to Chen Qing, the others looked surprised!
After all, the moment the man in blue appeared, he simply raised his hand and pressed down, freezing the dream that was on the verge of shattering. Even the terrifying thoughts that were restless and about to awaken deep within the city were forcibly suppressed.

The man in blue robes then turned his gaze to Daoist Taijing and asked, "So many years have passed, yet you still look the same. Is cultivation and seeking the Dao merely for winning and losing?"

Originally, Daoist Taijing was merely in this dream, bound by the rules, and defeated in his battle with Chen Qing. However, he acted against common sense, triggering his own karma and igniting his foundation, seemingly intending to perish together with Chen Qing. The causal thread that sustained his existence was severed by Chen Qing's sword, leaving him like a tree without roots. Even with his extraordinary cultivation, he could not reverse the decline.

Furthermore, his forceful consumption of his offspring's essence and blood, reversing his true nature, had already sown the seeds of disaster. Chen Qing's sword strike was merely the trigger; at this moment, the collapse of his body was irreversible.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Taijing was slightly taken aback, then suddenly smiled, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully to the man in blue, saying, "Master, now that I have embarked on this path, I am determined to follow it. How can I change my mind because of your words? Even your words cannot shake my resolve to seek the Dao!"

After the ceremony, he turned to Chen Qing, his face showing no resentment, but rather a meaningful tone: "Li Qing, your actions in the city have disrupted the situation of this Dream City and shattered the existing order. But afterward, it will be your turn to face the real chaos. Cause and effect are intertwined, and I don't know if you can survive this ordeal!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure began to dissipate like smoke and clouds.

"Being consumed by the flames is not the end; we will meet again in the clouds in the future."

The chanting faded away, and the figure transformed into streaks of light, dissipating into the void of the dream.

But it left behind a sliver of blue light before flying away!

But the man in blue simply raised his hand and squeezed, and the blue light fell into his palm on its own.

"This...this was the incarnation of an Immortal Emperor, just like that, gone?" Ao Yu stared in disbelief, muttering to himself.

Lu Zhao, standing to the side, did not respond immediately. He frowned and stared intently at the man in blue. It wasn't until Ao Yu couldn't help but tug at his sleeve and press him for an answer that he took a deep breath and said in an unprecedentedly solemn voice, "The incarnation of the Immortal Emperor is indeed of great origin, but this one in front of us is probably... even more extraordinary."

Ao Yu was startled and stared intently at the man in blue. He felt as if the man's figure was shrouded in a hazy starlight. The closer he looked, the more profound and mysterious it seemed. When he focused his gaze on it, he felt as if his soul was being sucked in. After a few breaths, his vision blurred, and he quickly looked away, feeling horrified.

"Who is this?"

At this moment, the man in blue took a step forward, ignoring the spatial barrier, and arrived in front of Chen Qing in the blink of an eye.

His gaze lingered on Chen Qing for a moment before he finally shook his head and sighed, "You and Chen Xu do share some similarities in spirit and are of the same origin, but your souls are completely different. You are not his reincarnation."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing felt a slight tremor in his heart.

Logically, he ascended to two lifetimes with the help of the Dao Yan Lu, seemingly a past life and a future life, but in reality, they were two different people, even with different lifespans and souls, only their dominant will was the same.

However, this person could tell at a glance?

It should be noted that even the Daoist Taijing initially considered himself to be the reincarnation of the "Hidden Star True Lord"!

Just as he was about to ask, he saw the man in blue open his palm, and the blue light left by the Taoist Taijing floated quietly.

"What just dissipated was one of the three incarnations of Tai Jing, carrying his 'obsession'," the man in blue said calmly. "As long as Tai Jing's true Dao realm doesn't decline, he can create another incarnation with some time and resources. However..."

At this point, his gaze fell on Chen Qing again: "His infatuated body perished because of you. The cause and effect are now settled. When Tai Jingxin's new incarnation is born one day, no matter how his temperament changes, he will inevitably have to fight with you again. There is no way to avoid it."

Chen Qing's eyes narrowed, and he understood the other party's intention in giving him advice. He took a deep breath and was about to cup his hands in thanks.

Then the man in blue changed his tone: "However, your actions have disturbed the seal, and the demonic Buddha is about to awaken. The thousands of years of planning may be destroyed in an instant. You must atone for your sins for the consequences of this."

Chen Qing frowned, about to speak up to explain, since it was Taijing Daoist who started this whole thing.

But the man in blue said no more, raised his hand, and gently tapped the void!
This point seems to pinpoint the very core of the entire dream world!
"Buzz—" The entire dream suddenly trembled, and then expanded wildly at an unimaginable speed!

It was no longer a gentle evolution, but a violent, all-consuming dream storm. The void collapsed, revealing huge cracks. Grayish-white mist, carrying distorted light and shadow and broken fragments of laws, surged and swept in all directions like a bursting dam!

Everything in sight is being pulled, swallowed, and assimilated by this storm.

"not good!"

A strong wind swept in, and Chen Qing felt dizzy as the world spun around him, the surrounding scenery twisting and stretching wildly!
He instinctively tried to activate the "Mountain Pot" in his hand to protect everyone and escape from this world, but then his wrist suddenly tightened, and he was firmly held by an irresistible force!

Looking up, the man in blue had somehow gotten close to me, his eyes deep and unfathomable, as if they could see right through me: "You are a descendant of an old friend, so I must remind you that escaping with the gourd would be easy, but this calamity originated from your conflict with the avatar of Taijing. His 'obsessive' avatar has already perished in the face of this calamity, turning to ashes. This overwhelming karma must be borne by someone. Do you understand?"

Chen Qingxin was shocked. In an instant, his mind cleared, and many clues came together, making him feel horrified!

It turns out that the Taoist Taijing was not simply resolute, but was using this as a way to escape and save himself! By sacrificing one of his avatars, he took on and triggered most of the sins of "disturbing the seal and causing the revival of the demon Buddha," while his true self could sever most of the direct cause and effect!
Even more, he could create another avatar in the future and completely cleanse himself of his sins!

As for the remaining karmic tribulations, they naturally fell upon his own head!

"What a cunning scheme!" A chill ran through Chen Qing's heart. This kind of person was ruthless to others, and ruthless to himself as well!
"Rumble--"

As he was pondering, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled violently. Through layers of rock and soil, a colossal and indescribably majestic figure could be seen slowly rising!
Its outline was blurry, exuding an aura of antiquity, chaos, and decay, and its aura was strikingly similar to that of the strange Buddha that Chen Qing had glimpsed before, sitting in the center of the nebula!

Immediately afterwards, Chen Qing felt a pair of eyes, whose location he didn't know, suddenly open!

In his heart, the once blurred image of Buddha solidified once more!

"There are three layers of hell: the first is the realm of ghosts, the second is the dream realm, and these three layers... are the core of the seal! That demonic Buddha is truly about to break free!" Chen Qing's thoughts raced as he suppressed the Buddha within his heart, realizing that this was indeed a moment of crisis!
"If the Demon Buddha were to emerge, the consequences would be endless!" The man in blue robes' voice remained calm and even, yet he spoke of past events, "Back when Taiyuan was in power, the Immortal Dynasty was at its peak. He upheld the legacy of the Hidden Star, opening up channels for communication and uniting the four seas into one place. At that time, Buddhism and Taoism spread eastward, bewitching people and causing the masses to become lazy and reluctant to reproduce. The rules of the temple gates became a net that would kill off the lineage, causing the Immortal Dynasty's offspring to dwindle day by day! With fewer people, many things became vulnerable. The Western Desert Sand Tribe, the Southern Flame Strange People, and the Northern Border Hundred Barbarians took the opportunity to infiltrate, attempting to turn the tables and shake the foundations of the nation!"

After a pause, his tone finally softened: "For this, Taiyuan did not hesitate to temporarily disregard the Hidden Star's legacy, and used swift and decisive measures to eradicate the chief villains and their accomplices, numbering in the hundreds of millions, thus eliminating the scourge! Afterwards, in order to establish five thousand years of peace, he personally went to the Western Wilderness, and taking advantage of his defeat in a game of chess, he used the chessboard to transform into a mountain, smashing down one side to suppress all the Buddhas, and also sealed the vengeful Demon Buddha who came seeking revenge here! Thus, thousands of years of peace were established."

“Exterminate hundreds of millions…” Even with his resolute will, Chen Qing’s eyelids twitched violently upon hearing such a number of killings.

"Surprised?" The man in blue shook his head slightly. "The rise and fall of a clan depends on the flow of fortune. What clan can prosper forever? If we don't nip potential threats in the bud when we're at our peak, are we going to leave them for future generations to lament when we're in decline? The name of slaughter is certainly not good, but what does Taiyuan care about a little empty fame? It's just that he didn't expect that the fierce and terrifying power he gained through slaughter would become a virtuous name in the mouths of his descendants!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's heart surged with emotion. Suddenly noticing a detail, he pressed on, "In your conversation, you repeatedly referred to Taiyuan. Could it be that you are not...?"

"I am the evil corpse, wielding the power of killing and severing cause and effect. Taiyuan is me, but I am not Taiyuan." The man in blue interrupted him directly, without beating around the bush. "I'm telling you all this so you'll know that when the Demon Buddha breaks free of his seal, his power can shake mountains and rivers, but his thoughts can corrupt the minds of all living beings! You've already experienced this in this Dream City when you played against Taijing's avatar. The beings here are all puppets, easily distorted. But the billions of living souls outside, once tainted by his demonic thoughts, will lose their humanity, and order will collapse, a situation too difficult to reverse!"

"boom!!!"

Before the words were even finished, another unexpected event occurred!
The enormous figure deep within the earth suddenly extended a colossal hand that blotted out the sky, piercing through the boundary between reality and illusion, and penetrating the layers of barriers at the bottom of the Hell, reaching out to grab the Jade Capital City in the outside world!
Where the giant hand passed, the Dao cried out in anguish, and space shattered inch by inch like glass!

The man in blue raised his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them: "The demonic claws have already reached the Jade Capital. The seed of inner demons has been planted. This entire region will be included in this calamity and cleansed, or it will become a scourge!"

Having said that, he flicked his sleeve!
"boom!"

The raging dream hurricane broke through the boundaries of the bottom of hell and enveloped the entire Jade Capital in the blink of an eye!

Upon seeing this, Chen Qing's eyelids twitched again.

"This Jade Capital has truly suffered many disasters."

(End of this chapter)