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

Chapter 246 Loan Dreams Must Be Repaid
Hearing these words, Chen Qing felt a chill rise from the bottom of his heart.

A single Dao Fruit could make a terrifying being nearly immortal, so much so that even a figure like the Taiyuan Immortal Emperor could only choose to seal it and delay it!

"So, the key to this tribulation lies in that Dao Fruit?" he asked in a deep voice.

“Indeed.” The man in blue nodded and said bluntly, “If the Demon Buddha awakens, his Dao Fruit will also become active. If we can take advantage of the initial stage of his revival, when his spirituality and Dao Fruit have not yet perfectly merged, and shake the foundation of his Dao Fruit with absolute power, we may be able to trigger a conflict in his internal laws, causing him to collapse on his own. At that time, the backlash from the dream may be able to completely pull him into eternal slumber.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing found it absurd and said, "Even an existence like the Taiyuan Immortal Emperor could only settle for second best, sealing him away and slowly erasing him with dreams. Do you think someone of my cultivation level could shake the foundation of his Dao Fruit while he was awakening?"

“What I’m talking about is the most ideal situation, which also demonstrates the use of this Dao Fruit. If it cannot be directly shaken, then we need to find another way.” As he spoke, the man in blue fell on Chen Qing and said meaningfully, “You are burdened with the legacy of Taiyuan, have a deep connection with the seal of this place, and possess extraordinary abilities. This calamity is caused by you. You already have a karmic connection with that Demon Buddha. This is the first opportunity to unlock the Dao Fruit.”

Chen Qing remained silent.

He vaguely understood the other party's intention: the Demon Buddha had awakened because of him and even showed signs of breaking free. To restore everything, if he didn't work on the Demon Buddha, he could only work on himself.

This matter indeed arose from his conflict with the incarnation of Taijing, and he was entangled in karma, unable to avoid it.

He has essentially become a key, and even more likely a sacrifice, which carries extremely high risks!
However, if the Demon Buddha is allowed to break the seal, the consequences will be unimaginable. Not only himself, but also all those involved, including Daoist Qingyuan, Lu Zhao, Ao Yu, and others, the Hidden Star lineage will undoubtedly be drawn into it.

"According to his character design, Li Qing shouldn't be someone who seeks profit and avoids harm!"

Ultimately, the meaning of the dream body lies not in self-preservation, but in the experience and insights gained.

After thinking for a while, Chen Qing took a deep breath and asked, "What should we do?"

“You have two choices.” The man in blue was not surprised by his response and went straight to the point: “First, you can sleep here. This is a dream. Calamity arises from the heart. If you enter the dream, the karmic entanglement will cause that demon Buddha to also be trapped in the dream, unable to escape. The calamity will resolve itself. Once everything about him returns to the dream and vanishes like a bubble, this calamity will naturally be resolved.”

He paused, then continued, “However, I will not hide it from you. You are involved with the Demon Buddha, and the Demon Buddha is already connected with many living beings here. When you fall asleep, the Demon Buddha will also fall asleep, but all the living beings here today will also fall asleep.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing frowned and asked, "How long will this last? How long will it take for that demonic Buddha to vanish like a dream?"

The man in blue said, "It might be a year, or it might be ten thousand years, but according to my prediction, the Demon Buddha can only last for a maximum of two thousand years. However, even if the Demon Buddha completely dissolves into the dream, you must not leave, because you are connected to the Demon Buddha's aura, connected by cause and effect, and that Dao Fruit position is also faintly connected to you. If you leave, the Demon Buddha may be reborn in your heart immediately!"

Chen Qing was taken aback upon hearing this.

The man in blue continued, "But when that time comes, those who have fallen into this place will be freed."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing couldn't help but say, "Two thousand years later, when they finally break free, their physical bodies in the outside world will probably have already decayed."

The man in blue said, "Dreams are not the norm. Jade Capital is now somewhere between reality and illusion, where time cannot easily taint it. Even with the presence of ghostly auras, the physical body will at most decay a bit, but it will not be completely annihilated. There is still a possibility of resurrection."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing suddenly thought of Li Benji. The other party's situation seemed somewhat similar to what he was saying, but he didn't have time to investigate further. He simply asked, "So, with this first option, I'll still be trapped here in the end. The Demon Buddha is gone, but I'll have to sleep?"

“Because the Dao Fruit still exists, those involved can resonate with it and bring it back! Unless the Dao Fruit changes hands!” The man in blue said, then changed the subject, “So this leads to the second method.”

Chen Qing naturally took the opportunity to ask.

The man in blue was quite straightforward: "Reincarnation."

"Reincarnation?"

"Not bad." The man in blue flicked his finger, releasing the azure energy in his palm: "This was left behind by Taijing's avatar. Originally, that avatar planned to reincarnate, but I intercepted it. This energy originates from the Three Lives Stone. Taijing himself must have studied this deeply, intending to use this stone to reincarnate and cultivate anew. Therefore, this avatar of his was also refined with a trace of the Three Lives Stone's energy. You have the Qingqiu Fire within you, and with the help of this Three Lives Stone's energy, you can reincarnate with ease! Unravel the mysteries of your birth and retain your innate wisdom!"

Chen Qing frowned even more deeply: "But what's the point of reincarnation?"

"Your physical body and soul remain here, while your true spirit is reincarnated. Your physical body will continue to dream, suppressing the dream of the Demon Buddha, while your true spirit will be reincarnated two thousand years later, in an era when the Demon Buddha himself has vanished into the dream and ceased to exist!"

As the man in blue spoke, his eyes deepened: "At that time, you can seek out the Dao Fruit of the Demon Buddha. By using your special karma with the Demon Buddha, you can refine that Dao Fruit and usurp his position. In this way, he will never be able to revive! You can also take this opportunity to liberate this physical body. When your reincarnation obtains the Dao Fruit, even if it doesn't return to the path of heaven and earth, it can still ascend to the heavens in one step! It will truly have a chance to reach the ultimate Dao of heaven and earth and obtain the opportunity for ascension!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing was taken aback at first. After thinking it over carefully, he suddenly said, "You mean, I will leave my physical body here to continue dreaming, and then after reincarnation, I will have another body. As long as I go to two thousand years later, to the time when that Demon Buddha has turned into a dream and has not yet returned from the Dao Fruit, find his Dao Fruit, and refine it in advance, it will be equivalent to cutting off his path and freeing him from all restraints, allowing this physical body to escape?"

The man in blue nodded. Chen Qing then asked, "Speaking of which, where is this Dao Fruit now? Shouldn't it be merged with that Demon Buddha? Why is it that after my reincarnation, I still have to deliberately search for it?"

The man in blue explained, "Now we are together with him, but we are entrusted to the unseen realm. When his life is gone, he will return to the world and manifest in a certain place according to some kind of fate. As for what kind of fate it is, it is related to the main theme of the Dao Fruit, because it is like a condensed essence of a small world, so it is impossible to predict!"

Chen Qing then asked, "What if, two thousand years from now, someone else besides me refines it first?"

"Because of today's events, you have formed a karmic bond with the Demon Buddha, which is why you were able to obtain this opportunity. If it were someone else, the path to enlightenment would be shrouded in mystery, and they would have nowhere to obtain it. Moreover, such an opportunity involves a great deal of karma. If someone else takes it, it will bring misfortune rather than fortune. Since you have already caused trouble, things won't get any worse!" The man in blue said, then changed his tone, "But if something unexpected happens and someone else gets it, it will naturally sever the Demon Buddha's path. He will lose his foundation today, and you can immediately be unsealed! If that person takes your opportunity, I can then deduce his fate!"

Chen Qing was taken aback and asked, "What does this mean? If someone usurps the Dao Fruit two thousand years later, I, who lived two thousand years ago, don't have to wait two thousand years and can be unsealed immediately? Isn't time messed up?" As he asked, his heart pounded, and he vaguely felt that he had touched a bit of the secret of time.

The man in blue answered every question, saying frankly, "The Dao Fruit spans the past and the future. A Dao Fruit can only belong to one person. If someone gains it in the future, someone will naturally lose it today. Without the Dao Fruit, how can the Demon Buddha restrain you? And why do you think that there is only one order in this river of time? It's just that your realm is not high enough to see it clearly."

That's a lot of information!

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing felt his mind wavering, countless thoughts churning and colliding. He tried to understand the Tathagata talisman as it turned, but it immediately made him feel dizzy!

"Is the flow of the river of time not always the same?"

He was secretly alarmed, as this vaguely confirmed the mystery of the Dao Yan Lu, but he dared not think too deeply about it. His realm was not yet reached, and forcing it would only lead to confusion. So he quickly gathered his thoughts and fixed his mind on the Tathagata Talisman.

Of course, Chen Qing wouldn't completely believe what the man in blue said. Even if he really was an incarnation of Xu Qingfeng, it was hard to say how much of the Seventh Prince's original intention remained after ten thousand years, let alone an incarnation that was biased towards a certain aspect.
“This matter is of great importance, Mr. Chen needs to consider it carefully…” After a moment of contemplation, Chen Qing responded in a deep voice.

The man in blue did not press the matter, but said, "Jade Capital is temporarily caught between reality and illusion. It will take several hours for the Demon Buddha to break free from this constraint. Whether to obstruct the calamity now or to plan for a thousand years from now is up to you. If you are unwilling to bear this burden, then from today onwards, the thoughts of Buddha and Demon will permeate the Central Continent. Cause and effect will flow, and countless events in the future will change because of your thoughts. There is a natural path of fate, which cannot be forced. However, you will not be able to escape the cause and effect in the end."

"Change the future?" Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's mind skipped a beat!
He had already personally verified that the actions of the dream body could disturb the long river of history. If that were the case, if this demonic Buddha was not supposed to escape in the first place, but escaped prematurely because of him, allowing his thoughts to poison this world, wouldn't the future Dongling Continent and even the whole world be completely unrecognizable and out of control?
Must this cause and effect be attributed to the physical body itself?

Oh, Master Taijing, what a mess you've made! You wiped your own ass and died, but I'm left to take the blame!

Just as Chen Qing's mind was racing, a white mist suddenly surged before his eyes, appearing out of thin air!

"not good!"

Chen Qing immediately sensed something was wrong, and a strong feeling of being pulled away suddenly came over him!
"Why are we doing this again?"

But then, a sense of mystery washed over him, and he understood the reason behind it!

"Just now, I forcefully swallowed the white mist and used my supernatural ability to merge into the dream, but I actually exhausted the 'seven-day' limit for this dream entry ahead of schedule! Doesn't this mean that each time I enter a dream, I rely on that white mist to sustain me? The white mist is limited to seven days of dreaming, and if it's used up early, I'll have to wake up? I'm basically taking out a loan to dream, and the time limit has expired?!"

Just as he was thinking this, the white mist surged, his vision blurred rapidly, and his soul was about to be forcibly pulled out of this world!

In a moment of crisis, Chen Qing had a flash of inspiration: "The present world is tens of thousands of years away from this one. The Demon Buddha has long since vanished. I wonder if he has returned. If he has not returned, then his present body might be able to find his Dao Fruit! Once found, wouldn't this dream body be freed? But there are no clues. How can we search? We have no clue!"

The sense of detachment intensified, and he devised a plan. He immediately seized every second to ask the man in blue, "Even if one can reincarnate, how can one find that elusive Dao Fruit? Are there any clues?"

"The cause and effect are already tied to you. When the time comes, you will naturally feel it. However..." The man in blue narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Chen Qing. A glint of light shone in his eyes. He then raised his hand and sent out a beam of clear light, which entered the Mountain Pot in Chen Qing's palm.

The pot trembled violently, and light and shadow flowed within it, as if mountains and rivers were changing and dreams were arising and ceasing. Then it shone brightly and transformed into a stream of light, which entered Chen Qing's brow and hung in the Jade Palace Purple Mansion.

"This pot is a treasure left behind by a fairy in a dream; it can help you..."

The following words were fragmented and difficult to hear clearly.

Knowing that he was about to wake up from his dream and that it was irreversible, Chen Qing immediately focused his mind and left a trace of Dao.

"This person is indeed an incarnation of a Celestial Emperor, unfathomable. He helped me refine this pot, leaving some tricks inside that I have no way of detecting, lest my secrets be exposed..."

In the final moments, he released the Mountain Pot from his Purple Mansion, and then the white mist completely engulfed his vision.

(End of this chapter)