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

Chapter 74, why is it this again?
When Chen Qing opened his eyes, what he saw was unfamiliar... huh?

This ceiling looks familiar.

He looked around, and a strong sense of déjà vu immediately overwhelmed him: a small, cramped, damp stone cell, completely sealed off, with no windows except for an iron door...

"This time there's a window!"

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat when he noticed the tiny window in the wall, through which moonlight streamed in.

"This dreamlike texture, this light, this water... how come it's here again!"

Feeling the rich spiritual energy surrounding him, Chen Qing was momentarily dazed.

"Second playthrough?"

But the next moment, a sharp pain welled up from the bottom of my heart, and fragments of memory arrived as expected.

Taijing Immortal Emperor... Li Qing... Born into a poor family... Exceptionally talented... Traveling... Ambushed on the way... Xuanyu...

"I……"

He suddenly stood up, the shackles on his hands and feet rattling loudly.

However, Chen Qing had already pieced together the general outline of this dream transformation into a deity.

It's still the Celestial Dynasty!

But the Celestial Emperor is no longer Taiyuan!
This person, named Li Qing, was born into a poor family but possessed extraordinary talent. In his early years, he was spotted by an elder of the Taiyi True Palace, who promised to introduce him to the immortal sect when he turned twenty. Now, at nineteen, he wished to travel the world and broaden his horizons before entering the sect, so he set out to study. Unexpectedly, upon reaching the territory of Dingbian City, he was ambushed and killed by unknown assailants! When he awoke, he found himself imprisoned, his hands and feet bound by heavy spirit-suppressing shackles.

"The Prison..."

Chen Qing looked around, filled with doubts.

In his previous life as "Chen Xu", he was the guest of Xuan Yu. He knew that this place was the place where the Immortal Dynasty suppressed serious criminals. However, in this body, "Li Qing", he had not yet truly stepped onto the path of cultivation. He only relied on his talent to naturally attract spiritual energy and barely stepped into the first realm. This time, he was cautious in his study tour and focused on the Great Dao. How could he be captured?

Why would Xuanyu abduct and arrest people without any reason?
“Even if the Dao Yan Lu is to verify the saying ‘originating from the perilous edge of an abyss,’ it still requires the logic of cause and effect!” Chen Qing frowned. “This calamity must have a reason!”

Judging from the previous round, even a fictional patriarch created out of thin air will have causal implications once embedded in history. After all, the "Taixu Daoyanlu" is meant to tell a story and requires logic, but it is not the real world and does not require logic.

Bang!

The iron gate was wide open.

Two cold-blooded jailers stepped in and, without a word, dragged him away.

"Go!" one of them shoved roughly.

"Is this the kid from the rumors? He doesn't look like much!" Another person glanced at him sideways, his tone contemptuous.

"If one's aptitude were not exceptional, how could one catch the eye of the ancestor? Enough talk, send it over quickly!" the man urged.

Ancestor?
Chen Qing felt a chill run down his spine. Suppressing his discomfort, he asked, "Gentlemen, I am new to Dingbian City. Why have you detained me here?"

"Crime?" The jailer holding his left arm sneered. "You're not guilty. If you have any crime, it's that you're too talented, and you just happen to have the surname Li! The old ancestor is currently... well, things are a bit bad. If he doesn't arrest you, who will he arrest?"

Chen Qing became increasingly confused, but knowing that words were useless, he simply stopped asking and secretly observed the route to see if he could remember it, which might come in handy later.

The passage wound downwards, chilling and icy cold.

The stone cells on both sides were eerie, and the imprisoned figures could be vaguely seen. Some sat like statues, while others looked like madmen. Some even went berserk at the sound of footsteps, banging their heads against the walls with a dull thud!
"Behave yourself!" the jailer shouted sternly, his whip flashing and sparks flying as it struck the iron bars. "Once you're in the Dark Prison, I don't care what kind of dragon or tiger you are outside, you'll have to behave yourself! If you cause any more trouble, I'll throw you into the 'Heart-Burning Furnace' and burn you as firewood!"

After saying that, they continued on their way.

"Where are you going?"

Chen Qing became increasingly puzzled, and the further he went, the more bizarre and terrifying the scene became!

There were furnaces with raging flames, and several emaciated cultivators locked beside them, numbly adding charcoal and fanning the flames; there were alchemy furnaces that emitted rosy light, and the imprisoned "alchemy slaves" sat there speechless, their faces pale; further in, there were even elegant rooms, where several cultivators played the zither, played chess, and wielded calligraphy stiffly like puppets, creating an eerie atmosphere.

The group continued to venture deeper into the area.

Finally, we reached the very bottom.

The scene before them was a stark contrast to the hellish landscape they had traveled through—

This is actually a quiet room in an ordinary residential house!

It is simple, clean, and even has a touch of elegance.

Moreover, Chen Qing felt that the face looked somewhat familiar, though he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

However, appearing in the deepest part of this celestial prison, the very "ordinary" is the greatest strangeness! Inside the room, a person stands with his hands behind his back.

His tall, slender figure was wrapped in a wide black robe, his posture upright like a pine tree, his head full of silver hair as white as snow, but when he turned his head, what was revealed was a pale face devoid of any color, and his slender eyes flashed with lightning speed as they opened and closed.

That look... cold and greedy, it felt somewhat familiar to Chen Qing, but he had never seen that face before!
"Your Majesty, the person has been brought here." The jailer bowed, his tone reverent.

The silver-haired man, referred to as "Ancestor," nodded slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Go down."

The jailer left, and the stone gate closed.

Only two people remained inside.

The old ancestor slowly stepped forward, pacing around Chen Qing, who was nailed to the wall, examining him carefully from head to toe, as if he were inspecting a rare treasure.

"Excellent! Excellent potential! Excellent potential!" He suddenly laughed. "Heaven has not forsaken me! Heaven has not forsaken me!"

A cauldron?!
Chen Qing finally understood what was going on!
"I wanted to wait a few more years," the old ancestor suddenly coughed violently, his body swaying, a sickly flush appearing on his face as he gasped, "but alas, my physical constitution is too poor, I've aged more than a decade prematurely! Fortunately..." His burning gaze fell on Chen Qing again, "The Li family branch has actually produced such a fine talent as you! Especially those eyes..."

He leaned closer, staring into Chen Qing's eyes, a look of near infatuation on his face: "So alike! So alike! It reminds me of an old friend! A truly remarkable person!"

The ancestor's voice suddenly rose: "If it weren't for him, this Immortal Dynasty would have long since turned into a land of calamity! Those high and mighty figures would have been reduced to nothing but dust! Hahaha!"

Amidst his maniacal laughter, his voice suddenly lowered, filled with deep-seated hatred and resentment: "What a pity! I was deceived and failed to befriend him! What a pity..."

The laughter gradually subsided, turning into a dreamlike murmur: "How long has it been since then? Five thousand years? Or seven thousand years? Those great figures... the Myriad Manifestations True Lord, the War Venerable, the Qingqiu Saintess, the Frost Fairy, the Eastern Sea Marquis, the Ice Soul Mystic Maiden! They've all turned to dust! Vanished into nothingness!"

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning with a fanatical obsession: "But I'm still here! I will live on! Catch up with them! Surpass them! This is my path! My path to immortality! I will never regret it!"

The moment the words fell!
"Om-"

The entire quiet room, including the floor, walls, and ceiling, was illuminated by intricate and eerie dark red patterns!

As the light swirled, it instantly transformed into a massive array!
Chen Qing was located at the very core of the formation!

A terrifying force of confinement descended, completely freezing his body, soul, and even his mind!

"The time has come!"

"puff!"

The ancestor's head exploded with a bang!

There was no flying blood and flesh, only a golden elixir covered with cracks, mottled and decayed, suspended in mid-air, exuding a terrifying aura of decay yet power!
Deep within the Golden Core, a phantom, incomplete, and nearly disintegrated soul shadow was staring intently at Chen Qing!

"Li Benji?!"

Chen Qing's pupils contracted sharply! Even if the soul image was distorted and blurred, he would not mistake it!

It was none other than Li Benji, the former warden of Warden C of Xuanyu!
"How...how do you know my real name?" The soul within the golden core trembled violently, emitting a startled and doubtful cry. "However...it doesn't matter anymore!"

That thought instantly turned into madness.

"A divinely bestowed body! This is my chance to reclaim the path to immortality! Open for me!"

"Om-"

The decaying golden core burst forth with dazzling light, carrying immense force, like a falling blood-red star, and slammed into Chen Qing's head!

boom!
A torrent of thoughts, carrying thousands of years of accumulated malice, resentment, greed, and a mad obsession with immortality, burst forth like a dam breaking through the blood sea of ​​the Netherworld, instantly shattering the barrier of consciousness!

"Seize the body!"

The corrupting thoughts transformed into billions of poisonous insects, frantically gnawing at and polluting Chen Qing's will, attempting to completely obliterate him and usurp his place!
But Chen Qing immediately focused his mind to resist the attack!

"Insects! Give up the fight! It is your good fortune to help me ascend to immortality!" Li Benji roared in his mind, and a ferocious ghost claw tore at Chen Qing's core consciousness!

Chen Qing absolutely refused!

"Even the Nine Qi Tribulation couldn't suppress me! The Heavenly Empress couldn't make me accept my fate! You want to usurp my position!"

"Buzz!"

A pure, warm radiance, containing boundless vitality and profound mysteries of the Great Dao, suddenly shone from the deepest part of Chen Qing's sea of ​​consciousness!

　The second update will still be around 9 PM...

　　Dear readers, I implore you to check back and read the story every day, even if you don't actually read it. Thank you so much...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)