Suppressing Old Ancestor Tianyan

The Tai Chi Vortex of the Life and Death Spring continues to slowly circulate, like an ancient, unextinguished compass, precisely marking the blurred boundary between life and death in the deep, boundless starry sky. At the edge of the vortex, where green mist and blue flames intertwine, tiny particles of light occasionally burst forth. The moment these particles land, they transform into half-withered, half-flourishing Star Grass. One side of the grass leaves is covered with warm dewdrops of Innate Life Qi, while the other side is covered with cold Ice Crystals of Netherworld Death Fire, trembling slightly in the star wind.

Where the green mist and blue flames intertwined at the edge of the cyclone, tiny particles of light occasionally burst forth. The moment these particles landed, they transformed into half-withered, half-flourishing Star Grass, the blades still bearing the warmth of Innate Life Qi and the chill of the Netherworld Death Fire. As the blades unfurled, a very faint rustling sound could be heard, as if life and death were conversing in hushed tones, or as if they were recounting the ancient cycle of reincarnation.

Ren Xiaoyao stood quietly on the Mysterious Yellow Stone by the spring. The stone's surface gleamed with a pale blue luster from years of immersion in water and life, and a few strands of green moss sprouted from the cracks, with tiny specks of stardust clinging to them. He gazed at the Third-Grade Green Lotus reflected in the spring. The lotus swayed gently with the water, and in the dewdrops hanging from the petals, one could clearly see the complete cycle of vegetation from sprouting to withering—the stubbornness of the tender buds pushing through the frozen soil, revealing the tiny cracks in the soil as the clods were pushed open; the splendor of the branches full of flowers, allowing one to count the veins of each petal; the desolation of the leaves turning yellow, implying the slow depletion of sap in the veins; the silence of the decaying branches, allowing one to smell the faint scent of rotting wood. Every frame was etched into the dewdrops like a brand, flowing with the rolling of the dewdrops.

He gently traced the Third-Grade Green Lotus Mark between his brows with his fingertips, the touch as warm and smooth as jade, carrying the fresh and refreshing feeling of newly sprouting plants. But the instant he touched it, he felt a faint chill emanating from the Netherworld Death Fire. The chill spread from his fingertips, like a thin snake burrowing into his meridians, even causing a thin layer of frost to appear on the Zhou Tian Star Chart in his sea of consciousness. The starlight on the Star Map dimmed, as if its flowing trajectory had been frozen.

Suddenly, the Netherworld Death Fire at the bottom of the pool shot up half a foot high. The Ghostly Blue Flame, like leaping ghost tongues, greedily licked the void, emitting a soft "sizzling" sound, the sound carrying an eerie rhythm of burning Void. The air around the flames was distorted by the scorching heat, and any stardust that came near was instantly reduced to nothingness, leaving only a wisp of blue smoke.

Countless shattered phantoms emerged from the flames: the charred heartwood of the Heavenly Thunder Kunlun Ancient Cypress, shattered by heavenly lightning, still embedded in the cracks with lingering lightning patterns that flickered with a faint purple light; the acrid smell of burning resin seemed to pierce through time and space, choking one's throat; the rotting flesh and blood of the East Sea turtle's severed limbs were being devoured into mud by sea worms, the stench concealing a new, itchy sensation—the throbbing of budding flesh breaking through the decaying flesh, with visible tendrils of flesh slowly wriggling. The image of the Southern Border Poison Gu, their charred shells curled up in the raging fire, green sap seeping from the cracks in their carapaces, igniting faint flames upon landing. The flames licked at the stardust, producing a faint smell of ashes—these scenes that had once made him understand "life" now exuded a chilling sense of "destruction," like icicles chiseling away at his obsession with "life," allowing him to see that beneath the splendor of life lay the underlying tone of destruction, like a magnificent painting whose back was originally just old, coarse cloth.

"If life No Death, it is like grass and trees growing wildly and blocking rivers; if death No Life, it is like a barren wasteland where not a blade of grass grows and it eventually becomes Void." Ren Xiaoyao's fingertips brushed across the surface of the spring, and the airflow brought by his fingertips caused fine ripples to spread across the water. The moment the ripples spread, the green mist of Innate Life Qi and the blue flames of the Netherworld Death Fire suddenly collided, and the void at the point of impact trembled slightly.

This time, instead of the warmth that nourishes the soul, a chilling coldness capable of freezing stardust burst forth, even freezing the surrounding Nebula into Ice Crystals. The Ice Crystals were sharp and angular, refracting a light that was a mixture of blue and black, and under the light, one could see the tiny frozen stars in the Nebula. The crisp sound of the Ice Crystals shattering as they hit the ground was clear and short, echoing the sound of distant star stones colliding, as if heaven and earth were resonating.

He finally understood—birth and death are not two separate Tai Chi poles, but rather the shell and kernel of the same lotus seed. If the shell is not broken, the kernel cannot be born; if the kernel is not rotten, the shell cannot turn into mud. The two are inherently a twin cycle, just like day and night. They are not opposing and separate, but rather an inevitable alternation as the earth rotates. Without one, time would not be complete.

In that instant, the "Life Patterns" on his Dao Embryo suddenly turned dark, and wisps of black energy seeped out from between the spiderweb-like blue patterns, like ink dripping into clear water, slowly spreading out. Where the dark and blue blended, a faint gray tone emerged. When the black energy flowed, it carried the unique icy chill of the Netherworld Death Fire, but it was not as domineering as the Power of Reverse Deduction.

When the black mist collided with the remaining Power of Reverse Deduction, it produced a metallic clang, so clear that stardust fell in a flurry, drawing fine silver lines in the void. After landing, the silver lines turned into tiny specks of Star Sand, accumulating into a thin layer.

The rebellious black energy that had once caused his Dao Embryo to reverse and his flesh and bones to shrink now seemed to have found its home. It no longer raged wildly, but instead flowed along the veins of Life Patterns. The flow gradually slowed down, and finally condensed into a dark lotus seed on the left side of his dantian. The surface of the lotus seed was smooth and had a dark luster, as if it had been condensed from the deepest night sky.

The lotus seed was surrounded by the blue flames of the Netherworld Death Fire, but at its Flame Heart lay a faint, yet resilient, hint of green. It stood in stark contrast to the green lotus seed formed from the essence of life, whose green mist also contained a wisp of eerie blue flame, slender yet bright. The two lotus seeds faced each other across the dantian, as if communicating silently.

The two lotus seeds rotated slowly at the same speed, generating the Daoist rhythm of "Life and Death Interdependence" as they rotated. The Daoist rhythm spread like ripples, even causing the Zhou Tian Star Chart in the sea of consciousness to be reorganized. For the first time, the marks of new sprouts and withered bones appeared simultaneously on the Totems of the Twenty-Eight Mansions. The scales of the Jiao Mu Jiao were half lustrous and half mottled, the lustrous parts shimmering with water, and the mottled parts bearing cracks; the flames of the Wei Huo Hu were half blazing and half dim, the blazing parts like the scorching sun, and the dim parts like a flickering candle; the fangs of the Kui Mu Lang were half sharp and half broken, the sharp parts flashing with cold light, and the broken parts bearing marks.

Deep within the Meteorite Sea, the aura of the Old Ancestor Tianyan suddenly surged, like a volcano dormant for millennia erupting abruptly. Black shockwaves swept through the Meteor Belt, crushing starstones along the way into dust. The dust contained fragments of shattered Star Core, shimmering with a faint light. Wherever the shockwaves passed, even the light was stained dark.

He had broken free from the Star Abyss's restraints at some point, and the Reverse Order Gale Force around him re-condensed into a sphere. However, it was no longer pure, deathly black, but rather had a strange hue of interwoven bluish-black, as if it had been kneaded together with rotten soil and new leaves. When the wind sphere spun, it carried the stench of rotting grass and the bitter scent of tender buds breaking through the soil. The two scents intertwined, producing a nauseatingly strange smell.

On the newly formed skin at the hole in the black robe, Black Blood blood seeped from the Peach Blossom Birthmark. The Black Blood was as thick as ink, and when it dripped into the void, it did not dissipate but instead condensed into thin lines in the air, winding around like a spider spinning silk, eventually weaving a "Reverse Life and Death" seal in his palm. The edges of the seal were blurred, and black energy seemed to be constantly overflowing from it.

The seal text on the seal is twisted like a snake, and the last stroke of the word "" turns into a barb, hooking a wisp of death air. In the death air, a tiny soul can be seen struggling; the two points of the word "annihilation" condense into fangs, biting a trace of life, which is as weak as the wind. The residual candle contains both the weirdness of "life" and the cruelty of "destruction". Looking from a distance, it looks like a ghost face swallowing life. A faint black mist is still seeping from the eye sockets of the ghost face. When the black mist falls to the ground, it corrodes the stardust into small pits.

"Ren Xiaoyao, you have comprehended life, but you cannot escape destruction!" The voice of the Old Ancestor Tianyan was like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, sharp and mournful, causing the star stones in the Meteorite Sea to shatter. Among the shattered stones were fragments of broken souls, with faint soul fire flickering on them, emitting soft moans, as if telling of endless pain.

He suddenly raised his hand, and the hand seal in his palm exploded. Hundreds of millions of streams of cyan-black energy transformed into inverted thorns, which emerged from the stardust. The thorns grew extremely fast, spreading tens of thousands of miles in an instant, like a giant net covering Ren Xiaoyao.

The thorny branches were covered with barbs, their tips gleaming with Blood Light. Each barb grew in reverse, its tip curling towards its root, as if devouring itself. Each crimson Flower Buds contained a wailing soul—the remnant soul of a cultivator devoured by his Power of Reverse Deduction. Some were naive newcomers, their souls flickering with terror, tears streaming down their faces; others were ancient monsters renowned for millennia, their souls dim yet filled with resentment, their eyes blazing with venom. All were now repeating the painful cycle of birth and death within the Flower Buds, their souls flickering, casting a desolate light across the entire Star Sea. Even the distant Ziwei Palace's halo rippled, its light shifting between sympathy and fear.

Ren Xiaoyao rose from the spring, the reconstructed Tianyan Emperor Armor gleaming with azure and black light, the light flowing across the armor plates like tiny rivers. The sound of the armor plates colliding was like the tolling of a bell, deep and solemn; yet also like the cracking of bones, crisp and resolute. The two sounds intertwined, creating a peculiar rhythm, a rhythm of Life-Death Alternation.

The sapling on the shoulder armor has grown into Sky-Piercing Ancient Tree, its trunk as thick as Star Core, its bark crisscrossed with grooves, recording the marks of time, yet oozing viscous resin from the cracks, the resin as clear as amber; the branches burn with Netherworld Death Fire, the flames licking at the withered leaves, the leaves curling and turning to ash, from which sprouts of verdant new shoots emerge, their tips still clinging to Mars, the Mars flickering with a faint light; the lotus seed on the breastplate splits open a crack, revealing a half-green, half-black Lotus Heart inside, the green part flowing with Innate Life Qi, like a gentle stream, the black part condensing Netherworld Death Fire, like specks of cold starlight, twinkling with starlight, the two forces circulating within the Lotus Heart, giving rise to the Daoist rhythm of "Withering and Flourishing in an Instant," the Daoist rhythm flowing, causing even the imperial armor to radiate a faint halo.

He didn't unleash Killing Moves; he merely pointed his fingers, and the Tai Chi Vortex of the Life and Death Spring suddenly rose into the air, transforming into a colossal wheel that blotted out the sky. As the wheel spun, it carried the sounds of wind and thunder. At the rim of the wheel, Innate Life Qi and Netherworld Death Fire alternately annihilated, generating an aura that was both warm and fierce. The warmth could turn stardust into moist soil, while the fierceness could solidify the soil into hard rock. Wherever the wheel's shadow passed, stardust was crushed into dust. The moment the dust fell to the ground, tiny Star Grass sprouted, their leaves bearing the marks of the crushed stardust, as if carrying memories of a past life.

" To Reverse Deduction Life and Death is ultimately to go against the word 'nature'." Ren Xiaoyao's voice came through the vortex, carrying the steadiness of Star Core. Every word was clear and powerful, causing the thorns on Old Ancestor Tianyan's body to tremble slightly, and the Blood Light on the barbs dimmed a bit, as if suppressed by this steady power.

The black and blue hues swirled at his fingertips, accelerating until they merged into a gray light. He actively drew upon the reversible black energy within his body; the power that had once caused him unbearable pain now flowed along the Life Patterns, transforming into a stream of dark light, like a rushing river of ink. Within the river, the blue flames of Netherworld Death Fire flickered and danced erratically, while the green mist of Innate Life Qi swirled and lingered, colliding with the thorns of the Old Ancestor Tianyan. At the point of impact, a blinding light erupted.

A bizarre scene unfolded: the thorns of the Old Ancestor Tianyan, upon touching the inky light, melted away like ice and snow meeting the spring sun, dissolving rapidly into specks of vapor; the backward-growing vines all twisted back to their original direction, their coiling turning from counter-clockwise to Prograde, as if restoring order; the thorns on the vines gradually became rounded, sprouting fine, soft down; the crimson Flower Buds faded, revealing pure white petals, as pure as snow, still adorned with glistening dewdrops, reflecting the peaceful sleeping faces of the souls—some sitting cross-legged in meditation, focused; some working in the fields, content; some drinking under the moon, smiling gently. These were souls twisted by the Power of Reverse Deduction, returning to the natural cycle of reincarnation in the Life and Death Interdependence, regaining peace.

This is the true meaning of the Life and Death Interdependence — Ren Xiaoyao did not directly Power of Reverse Deduction, but instead used "destruction" as a guide to bring the opponent's reversal power back to the right track of the "Life-Death Cycle," just like guiding a river flowing backward back to its original course, so that the water can both wash away the mud and purify the river, and also nourish both banks and nurture life.

Upon seeing Old Ancestor Tianyan's eyes widened in fury, bloodshot veins spreading like a spiderweb across the entire white of his eyes. "Impossible! Reversing the Dao is the ultimate!" he roared, his voice filled with disbelief and madness. The remaining "Extinction" mark between his brows suddenly erupted with blinding black light, colder than the Netherworld Death Fire and fiercer than the Reverse Order Gale Force, freezing the surrounding stardust into Black Ice Crystals. Within the Ice Crystals, one could still see the traces of the stardust struggling before solidification, twisted and painful.

"I have defied the laws of time for ten thousand years, how can you set things right!" He actually burned Primordial Spirit primordial Primordial Spirit, which emitted a shrill scream as it burned, transforming into raging Black Fire. The Reverse Order Gale Force around him instantly turned into Black Hole, Black Hole edges distorting spacetime, even pulling light into spirals, like twisted silver threads. The Tai Chi Vortex of the Life and Death Spring and Death was also pulled and trembled violently, the life and death flames at the edge of the wheel began to become disordered, emitting an unbearable hum, like a string about to break.

Ren Xiaoyao's eyes lit up with both azure and Ink Lotus light simultaneously. The azure light illuminated the edge of the Black Hole, causing ripples in the distorted spacetime, within which fragmented images of stars could be seen. The black light soothed the distorted spacetime, gradually calming the violent suction force. Where the suction force weakened, stardust was no longer being frantically devoured. The two lights intertwined, forming a stable light curtain.

He leaped into the Black Hole. The ancient tree on the imperial armor suddenly withered, its branches and leaves instantly turning to dust. From the dust floated tiny seeds, each with a tough outer shell. New shoots sprouted from the cracks in the decaying wood, growing branches and leaves at a visible speed. The leaves were speckled with dust, scattered like stars. The lotus seeds on the breastplate shattered completely, the broken shells flying like butterflies. The wings of these butterflies were imprinted with patterns of life and death, interwoven into complex designs. From the broken shells flew thousands of blue-black bees and butterflies. The blue wings were imprinted with Life Patterns, as clear as leaf veins, radiating vitality. The black wings were etched with marks of destruction, the marks leaping like flames, carrying a sense of finality. Where the bees and butterflies flew, the suction of the Black Hole weakened by a third, and the swallowed stardust began to slowly fall back, tracing graceful arcs in the air.

He no longer suppressed the annihilating intent within him, allowing the chilling aura, like the Netherworld Death Fire, to sweep across his limbs and bones. Wherever the chill passed, a thin layer of frost appeared on his meridians, yet it did not sting. Intertwined with Innate Life Qi innate life force, it formed the Daoist rhythm of "birth Annihilation Before Rebirth." Within his meridians, each flow of life force was accompanied by the annihilation of the deathly flames, from which new strands of energy would emerge, supple and vibrant. Each burning of the deathly flames spurred the sprouting of life force, which carried a faint, burnt aroma, a scent imbued with the Hope of Life.

"Your demise is for severance; my demise is for rebirth." Ren Xiaoyao's voice echoed in the Black Hole, like a great bell, deep and loud, shaking the Black Hole walls and causing ripples. In the ripples, one could see the phantoms of the Stars' Life and Death, the splendor of Star Birth and the silence of a star's extinction.

He pressed his fingers together on the forehead of the Old Ancestor Tianyan, and the Dao power of cyan and black surged in like a tide. The cyan power nourished the Primordial Spirit that had been eroded by the Power of Reverse Deduction, and the cracks on the Primordial Spirit began to heal, revealing a faint golden light, which was warm and healing; the black power annihilated the Reverse Dao Origin that went against nature, and the original black energy melted away like ice and snow, making a "sizzling" sound, and dissipated into the void. The two powers complemented each other perfectly.

The "Reverse Life and Death" seal of the Old Ancestor Tianyan shattered inch by inch under this power. Each fragment turned into stardust as it fell to the ground, carrying a faint wail—the unwilling roar of the power of reversal. The Peach Blossom Birthmark no longer oozed Black Blood, but rather a crystalline spiritual light. That light was warm and pure, the true essence of "life" that had been concealed for ten thousand years by the Power of Reverse Deduction. Within the spiritual light, one could still see the phantom of him chasing butterflies as a child. The butterfly's wings were covered with a faint pollen as it flew over a blooming peach orchard. The peach blossoms were as pink as the sunset, and the petals of the peach orchard fell into his hair, carrying a sweet fragrance. The scene was beautiful and serene.

The Black Hole began to dissipate, the Space-time Distortion at its edges gradually smoothed out, and the stretched light became straight again. The swallowed starstones reformed, only their surfaces were now smoother, as if they had been polished by time. Traces of the Black Hole's erosion remained on the starstones, like shallow engravings.

The figure of the Old Ancestor Tianyan constantly shifted within the dark blue-green aura. At times, he transformed into a young child, sucking his fingers and grinning foolishly, with nectar still lingering on his lips and clear, innocent eyes. At other times, he reverted to an old man with white hair, his eyes sharp as knives, yet concealing a trace of weariness within their gleam, revealing endless vicissitudes. Finally, he settled into the form of a middle-aged cultivator dressed in plain clothes, with a gentle, scholarly air about him, holding a bamboo pen in his hand, the tip of which carried a faint scent of ink. This was his true form before he entered the Path of Reversal, exuding a refined and peaceful demeanor.

He watched as the Reverse Deduction Runes in his palm gradually dissipated. The power that had accompanied him for millennia receded like a tide, the receding speed increasing, revealing the thin calluses on his palms from years of holding a pen. On the calluses were still faint marks left by the pen tip, recording his past focus. His eyes gradually cleared from confusion.

A hint of relief flashed in his eyes, a relief tinged with liberation; yet also with endless weariness, weariness imbued with the vicissitudes of millennia. "So... going against the tide for millennia was ultimately a mistake..." His voice was weak, yet carried an unprecedented clarity.

Before he finished speaking, his figure transformed into specks of light, each speck shimmering with a soft glow. Half of it merged with the Innate Life Qi life force of the Life and Death Spring, adding a touch of warmth to the green mist, causing the Living Souls within to utter joyful groans, as if welcoming this pure power; the other half scattered into the stardust of the Meteorite Sea, causing the first Star Grass to sprout from the lifeless Star Sand, its leaves carrying a faint, refreshing, and elegant fragrance of ink.

Only the shattered fragment of the "Extinction" seal was caught by Ren Xiaoyao.

The moment the piece was in hand, it transformed into a dark mole beside the blue lotus between the eyebrows, complementing the blue lotus mark and resembling a miniature Tai Chi Symbol. The blue and black colors in the diagram flowed slowly, with life and death fire alternating within it. Each rotation seemed to tell the true meaning of the Cycle of Life and Death, and even the surrounding Star Power rippled with a harmonious rhythm.

Ren Xiaoyao stood in the center of the Meteorite Sea, the azure and black aura around him gradually receding into his body. Only a few wisps of blue flame from the Netherworld Death Fire clung to the tips of his hair, their flames flickering gently, casting a play of light and shadow on his profile. He gazed at the Zhou Tian Star Dou that had returned to their original positions. At the gap in the Seventh Star of the Big Dipper, a new Star Core was slowly condensing, bearing faint Life and Death Patterns and death. These patterns, like the marks of time, spread outwards in concentric circles, each recording the trajectory of a star from Annihilation to rebirth. The halo of the Ziwei Palace shone brightly again, more radiant than before, flowing with soft white light. The illusory images of all the spirits reflected in the mirror possessed both the tenderness of new life and the immaturity of rebirth. --The young beasts, with their bewildered eyes, surveyed the world; the fledglings, flapping their still-developing wings, attempted to take flight, yet possessed the composure of old age--The old man sat in a wicker chair, eyes closed in meditation; the withered trees swayed in the wind without a trace of anxiety; the cycle of illusory images, no longer sluggish, became smooth and natural, like a soothing melody; the folds of the Heavenly River gradually smoothed out, the water clear as a mirror; the stars flowed along their natural trajectories, and occasionally, sparks from collisions fell to the ground, sprouting into tiny Star Flower, their petals half white and half pale purple, their stamens condensing into fine star dew, emitting a faint fragrance that drifted on the wind, adding a touch of life to the entire Meteorite Sea.

He looked down at his palm, and the blue and black energy completely subsided, eventually transforming into a lotus seed that was half blue and half black, quietly floating deep in his dantian. The surface of the lotus seed was smooth as jade, the blue half glowing with a shimmering green light, as if countless tender buds were brewing within it; the black half was wrapped in a faint blue flame, as if thousands of sparks were flickering within it.