When Qi Hai Old Ancestor sought the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao, Qin Dingling couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Though the Heavenly Court is rich in heritage, it has never possessed the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao."
"Oh? Why is that?" Qi Hai Old Ancestor immediately asked.
"Because no one can cultivate the Heavenly Dao. If it were possible, why would our Heavenly Court have constructed the Observing Heaven Tower to harness Fate Gu?" Qin Dingling's voice was filled with deep regret.
No Gu Immortal could cultivate the Heavenly Dao — this fundamentally eliminated any possibility of obtaining its true meaning!
Having a Gu Immortal leave behind a true meaning was itself an extraordinarily difficult feat.
To leave behind a true meaning, Wisdom Path and Rule Path practitioners had the greatest advantage. Practitioners of other paths could only hope to leave one if they had reached the level of cross-disciplinary mastery. For example, Elder Ancestor Hairy's Refinement Path true meaning, or Kuang Man's Transformation Path true meaning.
Upon hearing Qin Dingling's answer, Fang Yuan felt no disappointment.
He had already prepared himself mentally. His earlier inquiry had been more of a probe into the Heavenly Court's depths. Perhaps they really did have it?
That the Heavenly Court lacked the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao was not beyond his expectations.
Elder Ancestor Hairy (Fang Yuan) let out a heavy sigh and transmitted his voice to Qin Dingling: "In that case, there truly is no hope. I can only set this aside for now and fight alongside the Heavenly Court's forces to slay these foreign tribes."
Qin Dingling immediately grew anxious.
The Qi Technique Fruit had become the Heavenly Court's Achilles' heel, a fatal weakness. The only reason the current battle remained at a stalemate was largely thanks to Qi Hai Old Ancestor keeping the Qi Technique Fruit suppressed. If Fang Yuan withdrew, the Qi Technique Fruit would revert to its mountainous size, making the Heavenly Court's defense exceedingly difficult and leaving them in an extremely passive position.
Qin Dingling was under tremendous pressure at this moment.
This pressure came not only from the powerful enemies outside, but also from the turmoil within her heart.
After the Battle of Fate, the Immortal Tombs had been devastated and the Heavenly Court's heritage drastically reduced. Qin Dingling had been thrust into leadership during a time of crisis, tasked with managing the Heavenly Court's affairs both great and small.
She had been diligent and devoted, giving everything she had — working herself to the bone for the Heavenly Court, hoping to restore it to its former glory.
Like every other member of the Heavenly Court, Qin Dingling possessed a powerful sense of belonging to the institution.
But now, enemies had attacked with stunning suddenness, and what was worse, they had exploited a fatal weakness like the Qi Technique Fruit. Qin Dingling felt a deep sense of crisis: "Could the Heavenly Court be destroyed in this battle? Will I be remembered as the eternal sinner who failed in its defense and caused its ruin?"
Boom!
The fierce battle raged on before her, the Dragon Palace sweeping across the battlefield.
Qin Dingling held the central command, monitoring the battlefield, coordinating emergency deployments, and communicating with Qi Hai Old Ancestor all at once.
The combined weight of internal troubles and external threats forced her to take a gamble.
"Fellow Immortal Qi Hai, you must not withdraw! Though the Heavenly Court lacks the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao, it possesses abundant achievements of the Heavenly Dao. I shall send them to you now!"
Qin Dingling acted decisively, sending an information path Immortal Gu flying straight to Qi Hai Old Ancestor's side.
"My plan has succeeded!" Fang Yuan received the information path Immortal Gu and silently exhaled in triumph, quickly pouring his spiritual sense into it to examine its contents.
"Magnificent! Magnificent! Magnificent!" After reviewing only a small portion, Fang Yuan's eyes blazed with light as he praised it repeatedly in his mind.
From its rise to its dominance, the Heavenly Court had maintained its position as the foremost power in the world, spanning three million years. Throughout those three million years — from initially complying with the Heavenly Dao's will, to secretly counterbalancing it, to outright falsifying its decrees — the Heavenly Court had been dealing with the Heavenly Dao the entire time.
Its achievements regarding the Heavenly Dao were extraordinarily rich — the most abundant under heaven, truly without rival!
Fate Gu was an Immortal Gu of the Heavenly Dao, unusable by humans. Yet the Heavenly Court had forcefully constructed the Observing Heaven Tower to unleash a portion of Fate Gu's power.
In Fang Yuan's previous life five hundred years ago, why had Demon Venerable You Hun secretly infiltrated the Heavenly Court? A significant part of his motivation had been to seize these very achievements of the Heavenly Dao!
And why had Limitless Demon Venerable wagered against Star Constellation's will back in the day, setting up that chessboard gamble? Wasn't it also to leverage the Heavenly Court's achievements of the Heavenly Dao to further his own Crazed Demon Abyss?
And now, these achievements had fallen into Fang Yuan's hands.
Fang Yuan continued reading, and his heart shook.
Two killing moves came into view.
One was called Heaven-Human Resonance, and the other Heaven's Work by Human Proxy — both created by Star Constellation Immortal Venerable.
Heaven-Human Resonance allowed a Gu Immortal's will to come into contact and merge with the will of the Heavenly Dao. The Heaven's Work by Human Proxy killing move was built upon the foundation of Heaven-Human Resonance, enabling a Gu Immortal to partially replace the Heavenly Dao's will.
It was precisely because of these two killing moves that Star Constellation's will had been able to interfere with and influence the Heavenly Dao — even substitute for it to command Fate Gu — allowing the Heavenly Court to ride smooth seas and dominate for over three million years!
"My breakthrough lies here!" Fang Yuan immediately sensed with sharp clarity that these two killing moves were the key to overcoming his current predicament.
His gamble this time — coming to the Heavenly Court, setting up this scheme to deceive Qin Dingling — had ultimately achieved his goal.
"Fellow Immortal Qi Hai, may I ask whether these achievements can help you complete your killing move?" Qin Dingling inquired amid the battle.
Fang Yuan coughed lightly. "These achievements of the Heavenly Dao have indeed been of great benefit to me. However, modifying a killing move in the midst of battle is extremely risky. I need your side to buy me as much time as possible."
Qin Dingling gritted her teeth. "You must hurry, Old Ancestor. We will do our absolute best. If all else fails, we can only abandon the Heavenly Court and preserve the Gu Immortals."
She had already prepared for the worst.
Fang Yuan continued reading.
Behind the two killing moves, detailed records of Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's philosophy were laid out, illuminating Fang Yuan's understanding like a sudden epiphany.
"My will is the Heavenly Dao's will; the Heavenly Dao's will is my will... So that's how it is. So that's how it is."
Fang Yuan restrained himself for now, quietly contemplating this profound truth while letting his clone Wu Shuai lead the Two Heavens Alliance in battle against the Heavenly Court.