Chapter 102: The Central Heaven Astrology

Fires, blood-waterfalls, banner formations, bone pits, resentment-filled demons...

In a hazy blur, Chen Heng seemed to witness how this Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon came into being, crafted step by step by human hands. From the moment of its birth to its escape, pursued by warrior puppets, it had fled in a panic into an ancient ruin, where it happened to encounter the then-young Master of Huaiwu Cave.

Then came their deep-rooted affection, even leading to the conception of a powerful demon offspring. Thereafter, for two hundred years, in order to cultivate the "Silent Heavenly Palace Holy Prayer Great Dharma," she had continuously used the guise of preaching to seek those whose fates could resonate with this Golden Chapter of the Earthly Que...

These alien memories flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern, forcefully intruding into his mind, attempting to erase his true self and transform Chen Heng into another being. The vast, overwhelming thoughts of the Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon were like a tidal wave; under its impact, Chen Heng’s tiny spark of consciousness should have been like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—shattered upon the first touch, utterly unable to resist.

In truth, without other means, that is exactly what would have happened. The scale of the two entities was simply beyond comparison. But because of the protective power of the Golden Light Divine Talisman, Chen Heng was not only unharmed but even had the leisure to observe these layered memories.

And in this observation, he spotted something peculiar. The beautiful woman who had refined the Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon—judging by her features, she was clearly the same woman who had come to the Xuanzhen Sect of Mount Xiaogan in search of the Yin Emperor! Except that her brows and complexion were significantly more youthful and immature, everything else was identical.

"The Ai clan of Shangyu... Was the woman who came to the Xuanzhen Sect seeking the Yin Emperor a clanswoman of the Ai family, named Ai Yuan?" Chen Heng paused, thinking to himself: "The Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon she refined back then not only escaped but also became a dao-companion with the Master of Huaiwu Cave, hiding for two hundred years. In these two hundred years, who knows how many lives she has secretly harmed... And by such a coincidence, I have even had a fleeting encounter with this Ai Yuan. The ways of the world are truly strange..."

The memories of the Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon’s life continued to batter his consciousness, scene after scene flickering like shadows. But now, Chen Heng had no heart to watch further; he simply immersed his mind in the changes occurring within the Golden Light Divine Talisman.

Upon this silent inspection, he could not help but reveal a look of joy. The "Two-Phase Transformation" technique of the Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon was an innate divine ability of such celestial demons. Once successfully cast, it could not only seize the shell and soul of the victim but also inherit the victim’s destiny, fortune, and cultivated divine abilities—a truly bizarre and evil demonic art.

Therefore, while the demon sought to extinguish his soul, a stream of demonic energy was also integrated into his body, intending to alter his physical form into that of a celestial demon. But the moment this demonic energy was brushed by the Golden Light Divine Talisman within his body, it melted like frost under the summer sun, refined into the purest spiritual essence, and was stored within the talisman’s core.

Though Chen Heng dared not act too boldly while the demon was still casting, he quietly extracted a wisp of spiritual energy from the core. Instantly, he felt a sense of comfort and refreshment wash over his nose and mouth. As it merged into his internal organs, his entire body felt lighter, and his every movement was filled with a sense of ethereal joy.

This single wisp of spiritual energy was worth a full twenty talisman coins! Chen Heng smiled inwardly.

Seemingly sensing that its demonic energy had failed to take effect and that the body before it showed no signs of corruption, the Evil Resentment Yin-Victory Demon, though puzzled, hurriedly channeled more demonic energy, wrapping it around Chen Heng’s body.

"The Golden Light Divine Talisman can purge impurities and expel evil. I never expected it to have such a function. What incredible fortune!"

Between this back-and-forth, the spiritual energy stored in the talisman’s core grew increasingly abundant. Even Chen Heng was slightly moved, his heart surging with emotion. He was currently lacking in spiritual energy, and this windfall had come at the perfect time! If he fed it all into his cultivation, breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining would be just around the corner!

Inside the great cocoon, every time the demon injected a strand of energy into Chen Heng’s sinews and bones, the Golden Light Divine Talisman would silently neutralize it in an instant. By now, the demonic energy pouring into Chen Heng was many times greater than before, surging and violent—like comparing a great river to a tiny stream. Without the protection of the Golden Light Divine Talisman, let alone benefiting from it, an ordinary Qi Refiner would likely not have lasted even half a cup of tea before being completely corrupted into a demonic form.

As Chen Heng watched the spiritual energy in the core grow ever more dense, the voice of Ancestor Fushen suddenly rang out, his tone filled with a strange sense of frustration.

"I must say, you brat are truly poor! Treating this tiny bit of spiritual energy like a treasure? If you don't make a name for yourself in the future, don't you dare mention that this ancestor ever followed you—it would be a disgrace to me!"

The old man sighed heavily before shouting, "Being so stingy is enough to make anyone weep! This 'Primordial Origin of Taishi' is clearly capable of commanding 129,600 types of spiritual attributes—'Dragon-Heaven Omniscience, All Truths Combined'! What a magnificent spectacle! Yet, when you cultivate it, it carries such a pitiful, impoverished air that I can’t even bear to watch!"

"Ancestor, please do not mock me. Although I am a disciple of the Xuanzhen Sect, I am no different from a rogue cultivator; I have received no outside help. With my own strength, how could I possibly gather much spiritual energy to feed it?"

Chen Heng didn't mind, simply smiling faintly: "It seems you are indeed knowledgeable about the 'Primordial Origin of Taishi,' even knowing the phrase 'Dragon-Heaven Omniscience, All Truths Combined.' Your insight is truly vast."

"This cultivation technique is far too famous. After Daoist Master Shenwu Shuhua specially sought it out in the past, its mere appearance shook countless true masters across the Nine Provinces and Four Seas. Even the Daoist Masters of my Taifu Palace once harbored thoughts of borrowing it!"

"It has such an immense origin?" Chen Heng was startled.

His expression shifted, and he smiled: "Ancestor, you once said that after activating this Ten-Thousand-Mile Projection Talisman, you would show mercy and tell me about my origins. May I ask if those words still hold?"

"...You brat remember that? Saying this will offend people; you owe this ancestor a favor! A huge favor!"

"I will keep it in my heart."

Ancestor Fushen hummed twice. At that moment, Chen Heng suddenly felt his body grow light, as if he had broken free from some constraint. After a sensation of falling, he landed in a mass of soft cotton-like substance, buoyed by an inexplicable force.

He was dazed for a moment; before him, the scene had changed into a vast lake of deep green, with misty waters stretching to the horizon. Looking into the distance, he saw only water meeting the sky, with a round moon like an ice disc hanging above, clear and beautiful.

Apart from the lake and the moon, there were no green mountains, buildings, birds, or fish in this realm—it was a scene of absolute solitude. The water below clearly reflected Chen Heng’s image. At this moment, he had lost his physical body and was merely a mass of glowing light, hovering thirty feet above the lake, weightless, as if a breeze could carry him away.

Chen Heng remained calm, observing his current state with interest. As he did, Ancestor Fushen, hands behind his back, walked across the water toward him.

"Ancestor, what a great technique! You are truly a senior of a prestigious sect. What is this Daoist art called?" Chen Heng asked, bowing as best he could in his current form.

"Water-Moon Mirror Sky, a divine ability of the Northern Pole Garden. It was a great technique created by the Old Immortal of the Northern Pole in his youth. Because we hit it off, I learned it too!" Ancestor Fushen stroked his beard, chest puffed out in pride. "This technique can pull a person’s soul directly out of their body and summon them here. Not only is it useful for pure soul-battles, but it can also effectively screen against heavenly divination and calculation! To tell you the truth, many disciples of the Northern Pole Garden never learned it. It was only because I am witty and honest that the Old Immortal respected my character and secretly passed it to me. How about that? Impressive, right?"

"Your power is boundless, Ancestor," Chen Heng praised. He circled the ancestor in his form of light and asked curiously, "But what has happened to you, Ancestor? Why do you look like this?"

Before him, the lower half of Ancestor Fushen’s body had inexplicably vanished, and the remaining half was gradually fading, spreading from his arms toward his chest and abdomen.

"I am currently just a ginseng leaf, merely a Ten-Thousand-Mile Projection Talisman," Ancestor Fushen shook his head. "The talisman has been activated, so this leaf naturally loses its internal support. Before long, it will turn to dust. Are you wondering why I chose this moment, when the talisman is expiring, to tell you your origins?"

"Let me teach you a principle: between life and death, the internal heaven and earth lose their order. The yang is suppressed and cannot emerge, the yin is pressed and cannot steam—this corresponds to the state of the 'Gengxing,' a state of uncertainty, hidden and waning... Choosing this moment means that even a master of heavenly divination would have to expend great effort to calculate me, or even what I said. Often, they won't be able to calculate it at all!"

"...It seems my origins are quite bizarre? Enough to make someone of your stature wary?" Chen Heng paused, then said slowly: "And it involves a master of heavenly divination? You said this Water-Moon Mirror Sky could screen against such arts, yet it’s still not entirely safe, requiring you to choose the moment of life and death as an extra layer of protection? What connection does that master have to my origins, and what are his powers?"

Ancestor Fushen’s lips twitched, as if wanting to say something, but when the words reached his mouth, they turned into a long, pitying sigh.

"Connection? It’s more than just a connection. That master of divination is named Chen Yushu. That bird-man is your own biological father, and he is not just skilled in divination..."

Ancestor Fushen shook his head silently, thinking to himself. Chen Yushu had once learned the "Mid-Heaven Dou Calculation" of the Dou-Shu Sect, a technique that fit him perfectly, and he had reached the ultimate realm of it. Before he defected, he was already the number-one diviner below the rank of Daoist Master, claiming to foresee eight hundred years into the past and eight hundred years into the future, moving human hearts in accordance with heavenly secrets.

Within the vast Nine Provinces and Four Seas, there was no one who could match him! Today, Chen Yushu’s cultivation must have improved even further, his abilities even more formidable. Even though he was now trapped in the "Water-Life-Prolonging" cave heaven, detested by the Heavenly Official and confined to a small plot of land, Ancestor Fushen still deeply feared his "Mid-Heaven Dou Calculation," terrified that he might learn of these words and take his anger out on him or the entire Taifu Palace. Even the "Water-Moon Mirror Sky" taught by the Old Immortal of the Northern Pole felt insufficient. He had to choose this moment, as his soul faded into dust, to disrupt the order of yin and yang, making it harder to calculate before he dared to speak.

Ancestor Fushen’s actions were nothing if not cautious.

"I didn't want to get involved in this trouble, but let’s consider it... repaying Chen Yan," Ancestor Fushen felt an infinite melancholy. "Damn it! If I had spoken up back then and told Chen Yan her origins, she might not have been captured by Chen Yushu himself and died miserably in the Innate Demon Sect. Kid, what I owed her can only be made up through you!"

Usually, after his ginseng leaf was activated, his soul would return through the void to the Taifu Palace on Mount Yangrang without loss. But since he had decided to use the disruption of the life-and-death transition to mask the heavenly secrets, this soul would truly be lost here, destroyed forever...

Ancestor Fushen had a thousand words in his heart, but in the end, he just looked deeply at Chen Heng and sighed.

"Ancestor?"

"I told you, it’s only at the threshold of life and death that one can borrow the suppression of yang and yin to disturb the heavenly secrets. You aren't dead yet, so don't be in such a hurry, kid."

Chen Heng’s call pulled Ancestor Fushen back to reality. He glanced at the remaining fragment of his body and shook his head. "Seeing as you are pitiful, before we part, ask anything you don't understand. I will answer as I see fit—it’s an act of accumulating virtue!"

"Then..." Chen Heng smiled and thought for a moment. "I once heard that the Golden Chapter of the Earthly Que appears only when the Dao is present and hides when the Dao is absent. But the 'Silent Heavenly Palace Holy Prayer Great Dharma' is clearly within the Golden Chapter, so why is it so widely known?"

"Appearing when the Dao is present and hiding when it is absent—that was the restriction left by the Dao Court. But the Demon God Suiyu has long since erased that restriction, making that page of the Golden Chapter his own. Naturally, it can be spread by word of mouth, and everyone can see it..." Ancestor Fushen replied after a moment.

In truth, after the collapse of the Dao Court, the "Golden Chapter of the Earthly Que," which recorded the lineages of ten thousand heavens and ten thousand Daos and was used to suppress countless immortals, buddhas, and deities, was the first to suffer. Some golden pages were retrieved by their original owners and locked away; some were viewed as a disgrace and destroyed with great power; and others, like the Demon God Suiyu, erased the Dao Court’s restrictions and refined the pages that recorded their own abilities into their own possessions, using them to preach to the world and spread their own laws.

Only techniques like the "Taishou Jade Body," which still followed the decrees of the Dao Court, appearing when the Dao is present and hiding when it is absent, were exceedingly rare... This was also because the Master of Taishou did not care much for the "Taishou Jade Body." In his heart, he even harbored a trace of nostalgia for the Dao Court, leaving the golden page that recorded it to its own devices.

...

After hearing this secret, Chen Heng was slightly stunned before he realized the truth. By now, only the head of Ancestor Fushen remained; the rest of his body had completely vanished.

"I wanted to give you more pointers, but it seems time is not on my side." He paused, looking directly at Chen Heng. "What I am about to say concerns your life and death hereafter! Listen well! You must listen very carefully!"

"I understand," Chen Heng’s voice deepened.

"Your biological father is currently in the Southern Chan Province. His name is—"

BOOM!

A massive, earth-shaking sound erupted from thin air!

Chen Heng heard only the deafening roar of thunder! The next instant, Ancestor Fushen before him was shattered into pieces! Along with the entire Water-Moon Mirror Sky, it was instantly reduced to dust!