The way Ba Jiu spoke, as if delivering his dying words, sent Ming Yue and the others into a state of shock.
However, they were currently channeling power and could not interrupt, so they could only cry out.
"Sister, Jie Fu, Bao Bao, Brother Ren!
There's no time for explanations. To make a long story short, I am the spirit of the Pangu Banner.
Sister, let's begin. We can definitely kill Qing Lan."
Ba Jiu looked at Qing Lan in the sky, who was already approaching the Pangu True Body.
With a resolute glance at everyone, he suddenly soared into the sky.
He was engulfed in raging flames, fire erupting all around him.
"Ba Jiu! No!"
"Brother Ba Jiu!"
Ming Yue and Bao Bao cried out in unison, for Ba Jiu, enveloped in flames, began to burn.
In an instant, his physical body was consumed by the fire he himself had conjured.
A translucent silhouette flew towards the Pangu Banner.
It then vanished into the crimson banner. The Pangu Banner, which had been emitting a crimson glow, suddenly trembled.
It shot out five-colored rays of light. These rays were not as domineering as the crimson light from before.
They conveyed a sense of vastness and warmth, like water.
It was gentle, yet it permeated everywhere.
Extremely soft, yet it could pierce stone.
Subtle and silent, yet surging and mighty.
Its Dao body was immense, boundless and profound, encompassing all, spreading outwards, omnipresent.
Ming Yue knew that the silhouette of light was Ba Jiu's soul.
Recalling Ba Jiu's words, Ming Yue suddenly understood.
Ba Jiu had always been unable to recall his origins. It turned out he was the spirit of the Pangu Banner.
His self-immolation was to transform into a soul and merge with the Pangu Banner.
To restore it to its peak state, so that Qing Lan could be killed.
But Ba Jiu was the spirit of the artifact. To merge with the Pangu Banner, he had to do so in his soul form.
This meant that to kill Qing Lan,
Ba Jiu had to die, his soul becoming one with the Pangu Banner.
After the fusion, Ba Jiu would vanish from this world.
From then on, there would only be the Pangu Banner, and no more Ba Jiu.
The chaotic energy in the sky had already enveloped the Pangu True Body.
The Pangu True Body seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, its movements becoming sluggish.
Its power was rapidly draining, on the verge of dissipating.
At this moment, the Pangu Banner, having fused with Ba Jiu, pulsed with five-colored light.
It pushed outwards forcefully, and the gray chaotic energy was instantly repelled a hundred zhang away.
"Brother Ba Jiu, you don't want me anymore?
Bao Bao doesn't want you to die! Without you, Bao Bao can't take care of herself.
Without you, when Bao Bao gets into trouble, there's no one to help me fix it.
Brother Ba Jiu, come back..."
Bao Bao also understood. Her Brother Ba Jiu would never return.
She would never see him again, and she cried like a weeping willow.
Ji Shiyou and Ren Jian were also filled with grief and sorrow.
"Pull yourselves together. We cannot let Ba Jiu die in vain.
Qing Lan, even for Ba Jiu's sake, I will tear you to shreds.
I will make you vanish into ashes, never to be reborn!"
There was no sorrow on Ming Yue's face. She kept her pain deep within her heart.
Ba Jiu was like her own younger brother; she was more heartbroken than anyone.
But now, she stubbornly lifted her head, her expression solemn.
She knew that grief was meaningless, utterly useless.
Ba Jiu was dead. She had to avenge him.
Only by killing Qing Lan would Ba Jiu's death not be in vain.
Hearing her words, everyone put away their sorrow.
They channeled their cultivation to Ming Yue, who stood at the forefront.
Flames burned in Ming Yue's eyes. She gathered the strength of everyone in the Heavenly Profound Realm.
Without reservation, she channeled it into the Pangu True Body.
"Ah... Hah!"
With a surge of immense power, the Pangu True Body, which had been weakened, began to swell. Its muscles bulged.
With a world-shattering shout, he swung the Pangu Banner in his hand once more towards the chaotic energy.
With the artifact spirit, the Pangu Banner instantly became thousands of miles long.
Five-colored light emanated from it, enveloping the three thousand great worlds.
The gray silhouette formed by the chaotic energy was instantly frozen.
Qing Lan, hidden within, felt a deep sense of fear.
He became timid and wanted to escape, but he was already pinned by the Pangu Banner.
Under the five-colored light, he could not move an inch.
"Break!"
The Pangu True Body raised the Pangu Banner high, letting out a heaven-shattering roar.
As the Pangu Banner descended, the gray silhouette of chaotic energy.
Melted like ice and snow, vanishing instantly.
Only a disheveled Qing Lan appeared, staggering.
His once neat green robe was now tattered, his hair disheveled.
Blood stained his chest, clearly indicating severe injuries.
Ming Yue saw that the chaotic energy had been broken, but Qing Lan had not been killed.
She once again gathered everyone's strength and summoned the Heavenly Dao Disk.
Drawing upon the power of the worlds within the three thousand great worlds.
A beam of light descended from the Moon Palace, and the Moon God also came to assist.
The Pangu Banner in the hands of the Pangu True Body glowed with five-colored light once more.
"Annihilate!"
Ming Yue shouted, and the Pangu Banner was raised.
The Pangu True Body brought down the Pangu Banner, and Qing Lan turned into smoke.
Everyone on the ground collectively exhaled a sigh of relief and collapsed.
Their cultivation was completely depleted.
If Qing Lan had not died, they would have had no strength left to launch another attack.
As Qing Lan was annihilated, the Pangu True Body also disappeared.
The Pangu Banner shrunk to three feet in size and returned to Ming Yue's embrace.
"Clang!"
The sound of the Eight-Level Bell echoed in the air. However, this time, the chime was distant.
Unlike the urgent alarm from before, it signaled the end of the alert.
Purple auspicious clouds enveloped the sky, and Hong Jun, leading the Sages, appeared.
"Ming Yue, you have slain Qing Lan.
You have preserved the three thousand great worlds and saved countless lives.
Your merit is as vast as the heavens. We are eternally grateful!"
Hong Jun bowed to Ming Yue, followed by the Sages.
If Ming Yue had not killed Qing Lan, the only outcome for them would have been to be devoured and perish.
"Ming Yue dares not claim such merit. However, I have a question for the Dao Ancestor."
Ming Yue returned the bow, but her gaze was sharp as she stared at Hong Jun.
Her tone was not friendly, as if questioning him.
"You wish to ask why I, with my cultivation, could be controlled by Qing Lan?"
Hong Jun's gaze was like lightning. He waved his whisk.
The people of the Heavenly Profound Realm immediately felt their energy replenished.
The cultivation they had lost was fully restored, and they all rose from the ground.
He smiled at Ming Yue, unperturbed by her disrespectful demeanor.
"Yes. With your cultivation.
Even with the fusion of chaotic energy, you could not have been controlled by him.
Furthermore, you are the representative of the Heavenly Dao.
It can be said that in the entire three thousand great worlds.
There is nothing that can be hidden from you.
You should have known about Qing Lan long ago, right?
Why did you stand by and let him develop?
To the point where the past and future worlds were destroyed, and living beings suffered?"
Ming Yue had always believed in Hong Jun.
She believed he would protect the three thousand great worlds until the past and future worlds were destroyed.
Qing Lan had pressed hard on the Heavenly Profound Realm, yet Hong Jun had not appeared.
Ba Jiu had immolated himself, sacrificing himself to become the artifact spirit.
This caused Ming Yue to harbor resentment towards Hong Jun, hence her impolite words.
"You are correct. I knew of Qing Lan's identity long ago.
Escaping his control would have been effortless.
However, I did not intervene because of the Heavenly Dao.
There are two reasons. Firstly, as I told you in Zixiao Palace.
Destruction is a beginning; nothing is built without breaking.
The Heavenly Dao has operated for ten thousand years and is due for an update.
I used him as a tool to destroy the worlds that needed to be destroyed.
Annihilation is for rebirth; disappearance signifies a new start.
Ming Yue, you must remember.
The past and future are not that important.
What is important is the present. The present is the foundation of the Heavenly Dao.
As long as the present world exists, the past and future will not disappear.
Therefore, I did not intervene when Qing Lan destroyed the past and future, because the present still existed.
Secondly, we were all chaotic beings, nurtured by chaotic energy.
Qing Lan was like a parent. We tore apart chaos and recreated heaven and earth.
We wronged Qing Lan. The cycle of the Heavenly Dao.
This is our tribulation, and also the tribulation of the Heavenly Dao.
Therefore, I could not stop Qing Lan; I could only face the tribulation.
Now that the tribulation has passed, we have achieved complete merit.
We must withdraw from the three thousand great worlds and seek new Dao in unknown realms.
From now on, these three thousand great worlds.
This Heavenly Dao, will be entrusted to you to protect.
And you, are the representative of the Heavenly Dao!"
As Hong Jun finished speaking, he did not care if Ming Yue understood.
He waved his whisk, and the Heavenly Dao Disk appeared.
It transformed into specks of light and merged into Ming Yue's body.
He and the Sages behind him vanished into thin air.
Ming Yue stood frozen, for as the light of the Heavenly Dao Disk entered her,
She already felt that she was the Heavenly Dao.
The three thousand great worlds were all within her grasp.
And Hong Jun's aura was no longer detectable; he had truly departed.
"Ming Yue! Ming Yue! What's wrong?"
Ji Shiyou saw Hong Jun and the others disappear, and the purple auspicious clouds dispersed.
Ming Yue stood there, unmoving, and asked with concern.
"Past, present, future?"
Ming Yue ignored Ji Shiyou and murmured to herself.
Then, she raised the Pangu Banner in her hand and drew a stroke across the void.
A light screen representing the three thousand great worlds appeared. The past and future regions on it were blank.
With a flick of the Pangu Banner, the light points in the past world region all lit up.
The Pangu Banner flickered again, and all the worlds in the future region were restored.
"Great! They're all back, they're all back!"
Ren Jian shouted. The worlds destroyed by Qing Lan had all been restored.
The three thousand great worlds had finally returned to normal.
"But, Brother Ba Jiu, he can't come back!"
Bao Bao thought of Ba Jiu, looked at the Pangu Banner in the sky, and tears streamed down her face.
"Who said that?
Dao Ancestor Hong Jun just said that the past and future are not important.
The present is the foundation. Without the present, there is no past or future.
Ba Jiu is dead, it's a thing of the past.
It doesn't mean he won't appear in the present or future.
Ba Jiu has lost his body, but his soul remains.
As long as I am here, I will give Ba Jiu a powerful body. What do you say about the Pangu Banner?"
Ming Yue, having comprehended the Heavenly Dao, pointed towards the sky.
The Pangu Banner spun rapidly. After a few breaths,
It vanished, transforming into the figure of a young man.
"Sister, Brother-in-law, Bao Bao!"
"Brother Ba Jiu! Sister is the best!"
Ba Jiu shouted at everyone. Bao Bao, while shouting Ba Jiu's name, spun around holding Ming Yue's hand. She was so happy.
"Ugh!"
Ming Yue felt dizzy from spinning and suddenly gagged.
"Ming Yue, what's wrong? Are you injured internally?"
Everyone gathered around, and Ji Shiyou asked anxiously.
"It's nothing. It's just that you're going to be a father!"
Ming Yue wiped the corner of her mouth and said calmly.
"Be a father? You, you, you, you mean?
You're pregnant? We're having a child?"
Ji Shiyou didn't react at first. His expression froze, then he began to exclaim.
Everyone in the Heavenly Profound Realm began to cheer.
This was the first new life in the Heavenly Profound Realm, the beginning of hope!
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