Chapter 2237: Master Kong's Contingency Plan

Zhang Xuan shook his head. “Never heard of it.”

“Never heard of it?” Ziyuan Ancient Sage paused, frowning. “Then... Zhang Shi, having seen the Heavenly Teacher's clone with your own eyes, do you find any difference from the real teacher?”

“This...”

Hearing this question, Zhang Xuan said, “This clone is indistinguishable from Master Kong in every way, no flaw can be found, except for his personality...”

That Master Kong had even deceived him back then.

If not for his attempt to kill him, he would likely never have noticed until the very end.

“From birth, humans carry turbid qi, experiencing birth, aging, sickness, death, and all kinds of suffering. Thus, their thoughts give rise to desires, greed, cunning, and many other emotions, which cannot be escaped...” Ziyuan Ancient Sage said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

As long as one is human, they will experience these things and have desires and the like.

Even the most powerful sages cannot escape this.

Like himself, he yearned for love, hoped to be understood rather than misunderstood; wished to eat delicious food; desired greater strength; wanted more cultivation resources...

These were all desires.

“Slaying the Three Corpses is to cut off these desires and evil thoughts, purifying oneself!” Ziyuan Ancient Sage said.

Zhang Xuan stiffened.

Really?

If so, this technique was too heaven-defying!

“We have also cultivated this technique. On the Master Teacher Continent, I once slew my own evil corpse and left it at the interface connecting to the Heavenly Court to suppress the seal!” Ziyuan Ancient Sage said.

“So... that was your evil corpse...” Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

He had found it strange before—clearly seeing the corpse of this person before him, yet now seeing him alive. It turned out he had used the technique of slaying the Three Corpses.

The corpse severed by this technique was indistinguishable from the original, as if the original had died, and even the strongest could not tell the difference.

It could even... deceive the Heavenly Dao!

“Indeed. On the Master Teacher Continent, the teacher slew his own good corpse and refined it into the Spring and Autumn Canon. The Heavenly Court slew its evil corpse and suppressed it in the Divine Communication Hall, which is the one you encountered in the Heavenly Court. If I guess correctly, this time, he used the hand of Emperor Lingxi to slay the [Self Corpse]!”

Ziyuan Ancient Sage explained.

“Good Corpse, Evil Corpse, Self Corpse?”

“Only by cutting through good and evil, right and wrong, and cutting through oneself can one truly cut through obsessions and transcend oneself!” Ziyuan Ancient Sage said. “The teacher, because he was born with a part of the Heavenly Dao, and each time he used it, gray qi would remain in his body, merging with body and soul, impossible to expel... So he found this technique, slaying the Three Corpses to eliminate all of this and truly achieve great freedom!”

“I see...” Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

No wonder Master Kong showed no fear in this battle and even gave up resistance at the last moment—he had long planned this.

By using Luo Ruoxin's power to slay the Self Corpse, his soul scattered, he abandoned everything from before. The Heavenly Dao's imprint on him would be completely eliminated, achieving true transcendence!

Truly worthy of Master Kong—such great boldness, great perseverance, and great means!

Looking inward, he saw that gray qi had also appeared in his own body, growing more and more, penetrating deep into his bones, impossible to expel.

Even now, having comprehended a technique that surpassed the Heavenly Dao, he was helpless against this thing.

“To succeed in slaying the Three Corpses, one must deceive the Heavenly Dao. So, aside from the teacher and a few of us fellow disciples, almost no one knows about this! The teacher did not pass the technique to others. Moreover, once this method is used, the Heavenly Dao automatically compensates for the flaw, making it impossible to use a second time... So the teacher did not teach it to you!”

Fearing he might overthink, Ziyuan Ancient Sage added.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

As the possessor of the Heavenly Dao, he could understand this.

To break away from the Heavenly Dao, one must first deceive its detection. Only by doing so without alerting it could one escape.

Although he too needed to break away from the Heavenly Dao... this method was clearly no longer usable.

After all, having been used once, the Heavenly Dao was on guard. Using it again would likely lead to annihilation, true soul scattering, and no chance of resurrection.

“The teacher once discussed you with us, saying that for you to truly transcend yourself like him, you need to find a new path. This path... though different from his, both Emperor Lingxi and he have prepared for you...”

Ziyuan Ancient Sage said.

“Prepared?” Zhang Xuan was puzzled. Prepared for me? How come I didn't know?

Ziyuan Ancient Sage said, “What contingency Emperor Lingxi left, the teacher didn't say, and we don't know. But I know some of what the teacher left... The Undying Lord was deliberately left for you by the teacher...”

“This...” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

The little yellow chicken, if it had come to the Master Teacher Continent with the alien race, should have lived in the ancient battlefield of the alien race, not in a mountain range on the Master Teacher Continent.

This was indeed Master Kong's doing...

After obtaining the gourd, he nourished the little yellow chicken with true qi, allowing it to recognize him as master... Then came the cultivation at Moon Clear Pool and the fusion of its undying blood...

With this power in his bloodline, if he truly encountered danger, he might, like the little yellow chicken, become undying and immortal, and after countless years, be reborn through nirvana.

But...

Even if he underwent nirvana, so what?

It was very likely that, like the yellow chicken, the consciousness born would become a different entity.

Not to mention others, even his clone, though splitting the same soul, had become different from his own low-key nature—very showy, wasn't it?

Similar to cloning in a past life, even if the genes were the same and everything else identical, once consciousness emerged, they were still two different people!

The contingency Master Kong left only ensured he would not die, but consciousness could not be guaranteed...

Then... what contingency did Luo Ruoxin leave?

His heart stirred.

The two things the girl had given him surfaced in his mind.

First, the disguise talisman that could disguise everything.

Although this item was important, it had nothing to do with dealing with the Heavenly Dao or breaking away from it.

“Could it be... that pendant?” A second item flashed through his mind.

The pendant contained a drop of blood, holding a power he could not understand.

Whenever his mind fell into chaos, this thing would pull him back, preventing him from drifting...

The first time, when he first entered the Heavenly Court, sensing the differences between the two Heavenly Daos and realizing the Heavenly Dao technique was not entirely correct... he nearly fell into demonic possession. This thing pulled him back.

The second time was just now, when he questioned the technique of Heaven's Affection...

Both times at critical moments, it restored his clarity. Could it be that... this thing, combined with rebirth, could ensure his consciousness did not stray?

But... this thing was given by Luo Ruoxin. If she had known this all along, why was she so worried and sorrowful?

Afraid that the struggle for the Heavenly Dao would end with a victor between them?