As for Duobao Daoist?
The mountain-like Ten Thousand Treasure Demon Body had completely vanished.
Ten Thousand Treasures Dispersed!
Flesh and blood obliterated!
Only above the Milky Way, a strange Divine Treasure was suspended.
This object, resembling a giant rock,
riddled with countless holes, though appearing empty, yet still emitted billions of Sky-reaching Treasure Light, almost obscuring the brilliance of the starry sea.
Atop the rock, not Duobao True Monarch was seen, just an infant sitting upright.
This infant, though with a head of explosively curly jet-black hair, had a face carved beautifully, inherently divine and charming, rather endearing indeed.
Though adorable in appearance, the actions were crude.
It was seen shaking itself to standing, clumsily fitting a golden ring onto a wrist, suspending a Immortal Mirror behind its head, and holding the Slaughter Immortal Sword, hands on hips, surveying the surroundings—twelve battered beasts caught its eye, immediately inducing roaring laughter.
"I, Duobao, have won!"
"They say Duobao Daoist excels in Prediction and calculation, but his Divine Power Skill is mediocre."
"Empty words, just so you all know, I, Duobao, have battled many times in my life and have never tasted defeat."
"It is so in this lifetime, and it will be even more so in the next."
"If any Daoist does not believe, await my reincarnation and come find me."
Clearly, this precocious infant was none other than Duobao.
Unexpectedly, who would have thought that after losing the Ten Thousand Treasures and severing all karmic ties, his true appearance, his true spirit, would be like this?
An even more unexpected turn of events occurred the next moment.
The Duobao Infant, holding the Heavenly Punishment Sword, suddenly looked towards Tao Qian in Qiantang Province City across the realm, shouting:
"Good disciple, do not panic, nor cry out."
"Your master did indeed provoke Liu Pei and Li Wanshou, these old fools, into battling me purposely, not out of mindless chatter, but to use them, to end past karma, and to free the Ten Thousand Treasures."
"A good fight, painful indeed for me."
Anyone could hear that Duobao's heartache was not for the besieged and dismembered Demon Body, but for the treasures that had flown away individually.
No one else loved collecting treasures more than he did.
All the treasures amassed in this lifetime scattered, yet Duobao had not gone mad which was astonishing enough.
As many cultivators were marveling at this, Duobao's last few shocking words also rang out:
"Foolish disciple!"
"Our bond as master and disciple in this life ends today; I bet you will complain that I haven't taught you the Divine Power Skills. I'll tell you in advance, I have placed my most proficient Ten Thousand Treasure Secret, Divination Formula, and the best toys, the Crystal Demon Clan, all within the Star Aperture of your Ascending Immortal Island. When you return to Penglai, retrieve them yourself."
"Remember to come and enlighten me in due time, teach well, provide ample benefits, otherwise, it would dishonor the massive sacrifice your master has made."
"No need for farewells, I'm off."
As these words laden with immense information finished, everyone saw on the Ten Thousand Treasure Rock.
The explosive-haired infant, holding the Heavenly Punishment Sword, underwent Corpse Disintegration.
No flesh and blood splattered, but turned into a bundle of Pure Spirit Immortal Light, enveloping the Ten Thousand Treasure Rock, Heavenly Punishment Sword, Returning Immortal Mirror, and Ruyi Ring—these four Original Magical Treasures—and tossed them somewhere inside the realm.
Divine Light concealed, Heavenly Mechanism obscured, no one could know where Duobao had reincarnated to.
This sequence of events was indeed abrupt and astonishing; however expectant one might be, the ending of Duobao True Monarch would be unimaginable.
Especially earlier, when this Daoist manifested a Demon Body, it still bore a Divine Talisman bestowed by [Lingbao Tianzun].
The destined next Sect Master, beloved by the Heavenly Venerate, how could Duobao True Monarch die so swiftly?
Facing twelve alone, after paying the price of "losing the Ten Thousand Treasures," he crippled the Twelve Emperors.
It was thought to be a great victory, yet this Daoist said Corpse Disintegration and did so without any hesitation.
In Qiantang Province City, Tao Qian watched the Divine Light falling towards a direction among the Seventy-two provinces.
He couldn't help but blink his eyes, easing the sourness, and then chuckled, jokingly saying: "One by one, all keen on Corpse Reincarnation, is everyone expecting me to enlighten them?"
Meanwhile, Master Tao looked towards the remnant soul of Yuan Gong.
Master Yuan glanced at him irritably and coldly replied, "Let's not talk about the unlikely possibility of my reincarnation and cultivation, even if I could, I'd be too lazy to reincarnate. Knowing your twisted sense of humor, you'd definitely play tricks when it comes to Duobao's reincarnation body, setting traps that I refuse to fall for."
Hearing this, Tao Qian silently chuckled and did not respond.
In his heart, however, he made up his mind: Herding one sheep or a whole flock remains the same; if there's a chance to make Yuan Gong reincarnate and cultivate again, he must seize it.
...
As all the Evil Dragon's descendants were exterminated, and the Twelve Emperors were utterly crippled and nearing death, Duobao underwent Corpse Reincarnation... Inside and outside the realm, this great catastrophe of the Human Dao seemed to have finally ended.
After the so-called "truth" came to light, even Si Xixin and Zhang Jinluan, who controlled a more powerful Forbidden Law Barrier, dared not encroach on Tao Qian's territory any longer.
Everything seemed to gradually become peaceful.
The Blood Prison dissipated before his eyes, and the Dragon-slaying Platform also returned to the Ancestor God's Forbidden Magic.
Tao Qian looked around him and used the Forbidden Technique to gaze upon the rest of the Seventy-one Provinces, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face.
In his heart, a mix of indescribable fatigue and relief surged up.
The burdensome rock that had weighed on his spirit for so long was, at that moment, completely lifted.
By his side should have been Yunrong and a few others, but they had been sent away earlier. Now standing beside him was Devil Concubine Yuan Mingzhen.
This Heavenly Phoenix Empress also wore a look of astonishment.
She looked up at the successfully reforged Ancestor God Forbidden Technique and murmured to herself, "It actually succeeded? How is this possible? It took the Ancestor Dragon years to achieve this, and even the Three Saint Emperors said it would take a hundred years of Human Dao calamities to rebuild the Forbidden Technique. Yet, Brother Tao used himself as bait, borrowed momentum, and killed Alchemists to recast the Forbidden Technique."
"Is this an anomaly? Or is he truly the Heir of Heavenly Destiny?"
As Yuan Mingzhen spoke, she seemed to see something in her eyes, and her expression changed slightly.
She immediately turned her head and asked Tao Qian urgently, "Brother Tao!"
"The Three Saint Emperors had also told me about this Divine Power of Human Dao Judgment, but they described a different method of application. It should be controlled by a Child of Fortune like you, intended to represent Human Dao in judging these bloated insects, which could also prevent the exposure of these filthy images from polluting the lives of billions of mortals."
"The surface filth can be easily hidden and cleaned, but the exposure of this world's truth may plunge billions into despair, unable to reproduce peacefully and instead drive them to exhaust their capabilities and wreak havoc."
As if to corroborate what Yuan Mingzhen had said.
The next moment, Tao Qian and the Ancestor Spirit, both capable of instantly observing changes in all Seventy-two Provinces, saw chaos appear in many areas.
The Divine Power of the Forbidden Technique could shield pollution, but it could not remove the impact on the Human Clan's spirit from the exposure of the "world truth."
Thus, chaos erupted, which was nothing unusual.
Upon seeing this, Tao Qian was first shocked, then earnestly observed the territories afflicted by the turmoil.
Before long, he revealed even more smiles, and soon replied, "The Ancestor Dragon sweeping through Divine Spirits and Deceitful Objects to establish the Forbidden Law Barrier is an unprecedented feat, allowing countless billions of the Human Clan to reproduce safely."
"However, the 'fool the populace' strategies employed by him and subsequent Emperors can no longer be used."
"Times change, and changes must be implemented."
"Revealing a hint of the world truth, although painful for the Human Clan of this realm, will also allow the rising Human Dao Torrent to no longer remain silent, and surely nurture many more outstanding individuals surpassing the past two thousand years."
"After today, there's no need for anomalies like me, nor any designated Heir of Heavenly Destiny, Child of Fortune, or Descendant of Ancestor Dragon, to save the world."
"The Human Clan can save themselves."
"If you don't believe me, sister, look carefully and see whether more extraordinary individuals are emerging in each province now, including Mortals, Cultivators, and even ghosts and Alien Species."
"Si Xixin, Zhang Jinluan, Yin Yuehua, and Daoist Yu Yanshi all realized that I, Tao Qian, had no ambition to become the Human Emperor, which is why they cooperated with me earlier to slay Alchemists."
"Their idea was naturally to wait for me to leave and then compete for supremacy over Central Plains, moving the battlefield to the Cultivators' level."
"From what I see now, even after decades of conflict, none of these four will likely succeed."
At this point, Tao Qian's expression, in addition to being relieved, also had a slyness akin to a chicken-stealing fox or an oil-stealing mouse, looking quite pleased with himself.
After Yuan Mingzhen verified it, she fell into a moment of doubt.
And the Ancestor Spirit, laughing heartily, came up and grabbed Tao Qian, shouting, "Brilliant plan, brilliant plan, Great Master, truly a kindred spirit of mine."
"Come now, the calamity has ended, it's time for us to drink merrily and converse joyously."
ps: The next chapter will cover the gains and several clarifications, humbly asking for a monthly ticket to encourage the fish.