Chapter 1563: The Origin of the Fetal Toxin

"As long as they wake up, it's battle, it's slaughter, it's severe injury... But as long as they can protect the human race and keep its flame alive, they are willing to pay!"

Xing Jiansheng's eyes also reddened slightly: "It is precisely because of the protection of these people that our human race has been able to develop steadily, with everyone in the major cities living in peace, never again reduced to slavery, their fate unknown!"

"According to the information I have, there was an ancient sage at that time, only over five hundred years old, with over a thousand years of life left to live. And most crucially, he had just formed a dao companion with another ancient sage. But... after learning that the continent could no longer produce ancient sages, he resolutely used a secret technique and entered a deep sleep!"

"In the following ten thousand years, he could only meet his wife during each great battle, barely exchanging half a sentence... What is even more heartbreaking is that in a great battle five thousand years ago, his dao companion was besieged by three alien spirit race emperors and fell... To save her, he also burned his own life and departed together with his beloved!"

"If he had chosen otherwise, with over a thousand years of life, he could have roamed the world freely, lived like an immortal, and even trained a large number of disciples... Unfortunately, to allow the human race to endure longer, he gave up everything!"

"There was another ancient sage whose daughter had just been born when he made the decision... His daughter's talent was not high; she did not even reach the saint domain. She was injured in battle and died before reaching a hundred years old. But... during that time, there was no war. This ancient sage remained in deep sleep and never saw his daughter even once before she died!"

"When he woke again and learned that his daughter had been dead for decades, he was silent for half a day, said not a word, and once again charged onto the battlefield... Unfortunately, it was also a journey from which there was no return..."

Xing Jiansheng's veins bulged on his fists; thinking of these ancestors who had given everything for the human race, he trembled uncontrollably.

"Does the secret technique of the ancient sages' deep sleep allow them to remain alive forever or... do they still age?" After a moment of silence, Zhang Xuan asked.

These secret techniques of deep sleep were very similar to the cryogenic freezing of his previous life. Although they allowed one to live longer, they also caused indelible damage to life.

Even if they were revived later, they certainly could not be as before.

"The secret technique of the ancient sages can extend life, but... life is still draining away. That is to say, they still age during sleep! It's just that they age more slowly. In fact, these secret techniques, though complicated to describe, are very simple to explain. It is... the place where they sleep has a different flow of time from here, slower!"

"One year inside, ten years outside!"

"But... even with a ratio of one to ten, life still decays. Ten thousand years passing means living over a thousand years... The young people who slept back then are now in their twilight years, and moreover, facing frequent brutal battles, their bodies invaded by the frenzied killing aura of the alien spirit race... they age even faster!"

Xing Jiansheng continued: "So... the group of ancient sages who survived back then have almost all reached the end of their lifespans... Although the alien spirit race cannot break the seal and launch a large-scale invasion in the short term, once the power of the ancient sages is lost, the human race could be annihilated at any moment!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Ancient sages were actually somewhat like atomic bombs in his previous life. Having them, even if they never emerged, represented depth and strength. Not having them meant waiting to be destroyed at any time.

The alien spirit race had long coveted the human continent for who knows how long, always lurking, probably waiting for such an opportunity.

After all, the alien spirit race was naturally longer-lived than humans. Even if they did not sleep, they could outlive the sleeping human ancient sages.

This was a racial difference that could not be remedied.

"Twenty years ago, Qufu was in turmoil, the Confucian Temple appearing and disappearing, causing unrest among the alien spirit race, ready to attack at any time. Wars broke out everywhere in the underground caverns... And the number of remaining human ancient sages was already small!"

Xing Jiansheng continued: "The last ancient sage of our Zhang family entered the battle!"

"The last one? The Zhang family... had several such sleeping ancient sages?"

Zhang Xuan could not help but ask.

"There were nine in total, but... after years of war, one by one, they all fell or fell into a sleep from which they could never wake. Now only one remains, the twenty-seventh patriarch of our Zhang family, Zhang Hongtian!"

"One?" Zhang Xuan nodded.

With nine ancient sages reduced to one, the Zhang family had indeed made great contributions to the human race.

"Yes, the war twenty years ago was extremely brutal. Ancestor Zhang Hongtian was severely injured and on the verge of death... To keep him alive and fighting for the human race, there was only one way: to infuse him with purer Zhang family bloodline!"

Xing Jiansheng's face tightened as he spoke, his eyes reddening: "At that time... the bloodlines of everyone in the clan were insufficient, not meeting the standard... Only you, still in the womb, passed the test!"

"Me?"

His body shook, and Zhang Xuan finally understood why the other had brought him here.

"At that time, there were two situations. First, not using your bloodline, in which case Ancestor Zhang Hongtian would die directly, and the human race would lose a shield against the alien spirit race! Second, using your bloodline to save him, but... you, not yet born, would face mortal danger and could die at any moment..."

He paused here, and after a long while, Xing Jiansheng sighed: "I chose the second!"

"This..."

Zhang Xuan fell silent.

This was indeed the most difficult dilemma.

Especially for a father like Xing Jiansheng, who had just had a child.

Choosing the first meant the human race might lose an ancient sage and be annihilated at any moment. When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?

If the human race perished, the Zhang family would naturally cease to exist.

But choosing the second meant personally strangling his own unborn child... The sorrow in his heart was imaginable.

However, being able to choose the second, this newly acknowledged father of his, though unreliable in speech, unreliable in naming, and somewhat afraid of his wife... was truly beyond reproach in his actions.

"When a person's bloodline is stripped away, there is only one path: death... But I was unwilling! I sought out Teacher Yang, and with the help of a legendary secret technique, had a poison master plant a special potent toxin in your mother's womb, using the poison to mimic the bloodline, ensuring that even after the bloodline was stripped, there would be a slim chance of survival..."

"After you were born, Teacher Yang personally performed the procedure! In the end, it succeeded. Ancestor Zhang Hongtian was saved and fell back into deep sleep, but... you were also severely injured and on the verge of death. To keep you alive, we had to use a teleportation array to send you to an unknown ancient land, hoping that one day your bloodline would regenerate..."

At this point, Xing Jiansheng looked over, his face full of apology: "Now it seems... it succeeded!"

"Child... it is your father who is incompetent, making you suffer!"