Chapter 543 - 325: The Celestial Mandate Confucian Saint Emerges, Welcome Mr. Qi’s Return, All Demons Must Bow

This was the terror of the Celestial Dao’s backlash. It struck the Flesh Body and Divine Soul directly, and there was no way to defend against it.

No matter how powerful one’s Cultivation, they could not contend with the forces of heaven and earth.

Lu Mingyuan could no longer channel his Life Essence Blood, or the Celestial Dao would kill him first.

But if he stopped now, all his previous efforts would be for naught.

As time passed, the backlash from heaven and earth grew stronger. The Summoning Array became difficult to maintain and was gradually being eroded.

If this continued, the summoning would fail. Even the parts of the soul he had already called back would dissipate once more.

’I can’t give up halfway!’

Gritting his teeth, Lu Mingyuan knew he had no choice but to use the power of the Dragon Fortune, and even his Destiny.

Nourished by Great Yan’s Fortune, his Flesh Body quickly healed.

But it soon shattered again.

Through this endless cycle of destruction and regeneration, Lu Mingyuan’s aura grew increasingly faint.

An ordinary Martial Artist of the Celestial Human Realm would have died long ago.

Even an Immortal couldn’t withstand such a drain.

Lu Mingyuan crushed another Divine Fallen Blood Jade in his palm, nourishing his Flesh Body to continue maintaining the Summoning Array.

He had already consumed a great many Divine Fallen Blood Stones. Even with control over half the national treasury, he could not sustain such an expense.

Perhaps because his soul had scattered across the world and was now being re-condensed, or perhaps because the sacrifice was made of the purest National Fortune, Qi Xingyan’s Divine Soul became tinged with a faint, indescribably strange aura.

It seemed incomparably sacred.

"Divine Soul, return to your vessel! Defy the heavens and Change Destiny!"

Lu Mingyuan let out a low shout as the Seal Technique formed by his hands changed.

’This is the most critical moment. It all comes down to this.’

BOOM.

The soul-summoning passage collapsed, releasing a terrifyingly destructive power.

This power surged directly toward Qi Xingyan at the center, as if to prevent one of the Saints and Sages from violating the Celestial Dao Rules and living again.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Mingyuan used his own towering body to block all of the destructive power, not letting a single shred of it touch the remains.

As a result, his injuries grew even more severe. His Flesh Body, infinitely close to that of a Martial Saint, nearly disintegrated into a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

His Divine Soul and Sea of Consciousness suffered even heavier damage, covered in a dense web of cracks and on the verge of collapse.

Lu Mingyuan coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his aura growing even fainter.

’If this goes on, even if I don’t die, I’ll lose all hope of ever reaching the Upper Three Grades.’

WHOOSH.

A vortex, hovering between reality and illusion, appeared and connected to some unknown space.

Within the vortex, a faint, sacred shadow, bearing a strong resemblance to Qi Xingyan, was struggling desperately to break free, but it was met with immense resistance.

The shadow’s aura was noble and filled with divinity, like that of a Celestial God.

Countless illusory chains crisscrossed within the vortex, wrapping around the faint shadow and binding it tightly like a dragon locked in a dungeon.

The faint shadow was Qi Xingyan’s complete Divine Soul, the very seat of his spiritual consciousness. If it wasn’t summoned back into the Flesh Body, the body would be nothing but an empty shell; he could not be resurrected.

However, the old Flesh Body was no longer sufficient to house the Divine Soul.

There was only one final step: to use the power of the Ascension Platform.

Only by forging a new Flesh Body could the Divine Soul and Flesh Body be made one.

But in his current condition, Lu Mingyuan was too weak to take that final step.

To activate the Ascension Platform.

「Meanwhile, countless miles away in the Celestial Mountain Confucian Temple.」

Zhu An, the current Vice Sect Leader of the Confucian Temple, sat ramrod straight in the grand hall. His gaze fell upon hundreds of memorial tablets, where he saw that a Literary Soul Lamp—one that had long been extinguished—was unexpectedly showing signs of reigniting.

Zhu An’s eyes filled with surprise. ’To think he could actually take it this far?’

’Using the National Fortune as a sacrifice to revive the dead, defying the heavens to Change Destiny... This is truly unheard of.’

Ever since the Sub-Saint stepped down as Sect Leader, the true power of the Confucian Temple had been in his, Zhu An’s, hands.

The current Sect Leader of the Confucian Temple was an elusive figure; no one even knew his name.

People only knew that he was a figure from the same era as the Sub-Saint.

Or perhaps even earlier.

A free spirit, he had disappeared long ago.

Thus, he, Zhu An, was the de facto leader of the Confucian Temple.

Now, seeing the change in the Literary Soul Lamp, even Zhu An couldn’t help but feel a pang of compassion.

’The one being resurrected is, after all, from our Confucian Temple.’

’But the Confucian Dao has always acted in accordance with the Celestial Dao. If I interfere, will I not be going against it?’

"So be it."

Zhu An heaved a deep sigh.

’I owe someone a favor.’

’I have always felt guilty about the death of the Eighth Prince, Lu Yunqing.’

’Let my actions today be considered the settling of a karmic debt.’

After offering a stick of incense to the five Ancient Saints of the Confucian Temple...

...he pointed a finger, transforming his qi into a chess piece.

He placed this piece upon the Chessboard of all living beings.

’As a Chess Player, I should not have interfered.’

’But I cannot escape my share of the blame for the Human Race’s current tribulation. Let me bear the retribution for this act alone.’

「Back in the cavern.」

In his delirious state, Lu Mingyuan discovered something.

An invisible, great hand seemed to emerge from the stagnant void and give a push.

It pushed his overwhelming Destiny into the disc of the Ascension Platform.

FWOOSH!!

In that instant, the disc erupted with an incomparably brilliant Golden Light, creating a vision of the Thirty-Three Celestial Gates that pierced the clouds.

A wave of Immortal Spirit Qi swept across the land, its shockwave spreading for thousands of miles. In that moment, everyone could feel a Divine Power that had long been absent from the world suddenly reappear.

A phantasmal, seven-colored divine cloud appeared in the sky, showering the world in brilliant, divine light. The cloud expanded, growing wider and wider until it blanketed the entire Grotto Heaven, the continent, and the world itself.