Chapter 1 Time Rewinds

"Cough... ah!"

The black-clad Ji Xiang knelt on the ground, a look of pain on his face. A dark cyan aura dissipated from his body, signifying the destruction of his Dao nature. The Twelve Aspects Taiji Diagram around him was also collapsing. Facing the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart, a being who had gathered the strength of generations of Confucian scholars, reversed history, and even transformed a large portion of historical records into his own reflection, even he, an incarnation of one of the Dao, found it difficult to contend.

He spat out a mouthful of essence, torn from him by the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart. As he expelled it, it was naturally collected by his opponent, to be used as vital material for the resurrection of Huangtian (Yellow Heaven) and the Five Emperors.

"If my true form could break free, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state, even if I couldn't defeat him."

The black-clad Ji Xiang was extremely frustrated. He was only one step away from freeing his true form, but the densely packed ranks of corpse-dissolving immortals were all controlled by this master of Confucianism before him... or rather, this fellow's appearance was itself one of the obstacles preventing his escape.

It was as if the Dao had set up a tribulation, a test, a massive sacred mountain that was difficult to surmount.

The black-clad Ji Xiang wouldn't attribute this to the weakness of the "Ji Xiang" existence. In fact, this vessel and its existence were both perfect. Not only was its cultivation powerful, possessing strength to fight a Heavenly Heart even before attaining it, but its body also possessed multiple forms of Heavenly True Divinity, with the innate roots of Heaven and Earth. Its potential was immeasurable; one could say that there was no more excellent Jade Purity vessel than this.

But the undying Heavenly Heart before him was the most powerful existence that the black-clad Ji Xiang had ever seen since his birth.

His opponent was not a cultivator.

His opponent was a divine kingdom.

He was an entire world, even the embodiment of Confucianism itself, a condensation of countless Heavenly Hearts.

Even the various Celestial Worthies venerated by the masses in legends might not be as powerful as the undying Heavenly Heart before him. Confucianism had been the head of the Three Teachings since ancient times, surpassing Daoism and Buddhism for thousands of years, and there was a reason for this.

"True form? Don't be ridiculous. Even if your true form breaks free, you won't be a match for me. I am a teaching unto myself, while you are merely one of the Dao in legends. If you could defeat the Zhao Ming world with just the true form of one of the Dao, then countless people would have succeeded throughout history!"

"Shuowen."

"Guangyin Xuguo."

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart spoke indifferently, countless spirit hands waving behind him, striking down in the void. No matter how hard the black-clad Ji Xiang tried to dodge, the strikes landed on his shoulders and body in the next moment.

Accompanied by the black-clad Ji Xiang's screams, time transformed from an invisible, illusory concept into a tangible substance. The massive torrent of light represented the changes and transformations of the world's years, while "Guangyin Xuguo" (time wasted in vain) represented a life of mediocrity within that long expanse of time.

The black-clad Ji Xiang's vessel began to disintegrate, his Immortal Dao aura was damaged, and his cultivation was drawn away by the torrent of light. Having seized the existence of "Ji Xiang," he had also taken on the nature of Ji Xiang's original status as a god of incense offerings. As his body, which had surpassed even flying immortality, deteriorated, what remained was an even more powerful soul of incense.

But even incense had its limits.

If no one offered sacrifices, the incense would eventually run out, and the god's own existence would fade. The black-clad Ji Xiang was unable to resist. The Qingyang (Green Goat) sacrifices and legends that had been passed down for thousands of years were brushed aside by the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart, plunging into the torrent of time, drifting further and further away.

The legends faded, the myths were lost. It would have been impossible for a Heavenly Heart to accomplish such a world-shattering feat, but his opponent was the undying Heavenly Heart of Confucianism, a divine kingdom, the most powerful existence within the entire sect. The spirit hands behind him manifested bamboo slips and writing knives.

The black-clad Ji Xiang's eyes widened.

"Those are... historical records."

"The chapters of the Green History."

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart responded to the black-clad Ji Xiang's question, because in his eyes, the black-clad Ji Xiang, also known as Qingyang, would soon cease to exist. There was no hope of turning the tide.

"Yi History—the Lost Records of the Ming. A new Green History is born."

"This is the highest realm of my Confucianism. When the Green History is inscribed, everything written upon it becomes immutable. Unless my Confucianism is completely destroyed, erased from countless histories, the Green History will endure forever, and the history it records will also exist forever."

"As the saying goes, 'The Green History is like a blade, unchangeable.' Of course, if you want to delete something, then you use the Spring and Autumn Annals style, subtle words with profound meanings."

"You may be one of the Dao, with a powerful source, but in the Green History, I will not record your roots. Your name and appellation will also be defined by me. Qingyang will once again exist as a sacrificial offering in legends, and Ji Xiang will also be sealed in the historical records as the North Star True Man. As for you..."

"I will give you a new name. This is called restoring history."

Yi History, in the classification of historical records, refers to the lost and scattered parts of history. But once it is recorded in the historical records, although it is not found in the official history, it can still be known to the world...

...But only known.

The black-clad Ji Xiang realized the problem, and the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart followed suit, patiently explaining to him:

"Your will will not perish. You will become a part of the Green History, and you will also forget everything you are experiencing now, existing only as a powerful being within this history... buried within the historical records."

Rather than stripping away or seizing existence, even the other party's fundamental traces could be erased and redefined from scratch. History was constantly being revised, and the Confucian historical records stood firm amidst the torrent of time like a divine needle settling the sea. The true official history, the unofficial history of the world, the unknown Yi History—all of these were written by Confucianism.

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart radiated incomparable brilliance, illuminating this gloomy world, illuminating the vast Yin City. Yang energy rose to the heavens, and the aura of righteousness spread, almost opening this dream of the dead, rushing towards the Source World, then towards the true human world, shaking the nine heavens and ten earths.

"The writing of the historical records consumes a great deal of my energy."

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart's gaze turned to the other side.

The voice of the Donghua Celestial Maiden also came.

"If you kill him, then I will release all the corpse-dissolving immortals here."

The Donghua Celestial Maiden looked pale. Flying immortals were far inferior to Heavenly Heart cultivators, let alone in front of an undying Heavenly Heart. The Heavenly Heart saw the celestial immortal as an elephant saw an ant.

But the Donghua Celestial Maiden had mastered the secret methods of the Dream Dao, which came from the Han dynasty, a product of the same era as the great Confucians who prayed for the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart.

"I will detonate the Dream of the Dead, causing us all to be trapped here, unable to leave. I don't believe that even if you are the Confucian divine kingdom itself, you can freely come and go in any history or world as you boast."

"Otherwise, there would be no need for you to open the Qing Qiang Sacrifice in the first place. It is because the Qing Qiang Sacrifice locks up the corpse-dissolving immortals here. If the Qing Qiang Sacrifice is not opened, there is no way to enter this place. So, I think that if the Dream of the Dead is detonated, even if you can reflect on the past, you can only reflect on the moment when the Qing Qiang Sacrifice was opened."

"I will enter the dream of the Dream of the Dead, becoming the stuff of Nanke and Huangliang. When the dead awaken and see this scene before them, they will feel that such a world is not beautiful and must still be in a dream. Then, they will open a new death dream, and then the three of us will all vanish into smoke and cease to exist!"

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart looked at her indifferently:

"So what? You and Qingyang both have dream techniques, transforming into dream people. Do you think I don't?"

"I am not only the Zhao Ming world, but I also cultivate the ancient Three Teachings. Did you think that as a disciple of Qing Tong Jun, one of the Four Directions True Men, I could be threatened by your secret Han dynasty dream techniques?"

"You can't awaken them. Is there anything in the world that isn't beautiful now? The Five Emperors have been resurrected, the Yellow Heaven Emperor has been revived, the Confucian Heavenly Court has been reestablished. You are a Han person, yet you are unwilling to see the Yellow Heaven resurrected. Are they also unwilling?"

"You are only right about one thing, and that is that if I target the Dream of the Dead, I can indeed only go back to the moment when the Qing Qiang Sacrifice was opened. But there is no need to specifically target the Dream of the Dead. It is the same if I return to the human world earlier."

The Donghua Celestial Maiden was enveloped by the radiance, and she felt that all the celestial power in her body was being drained away. She leaned against the coffin of a corpse-dissolving immortal, staring intently at the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart.

"In fact, there is no need for you to be my enemy."

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart's tone was still devoid of emotion: "I am only restoring the great unity of Confucianism, using this to ascend to a higher realm. This is also the wish of generations of powerful Confucian scholars. After the world is well governed, the heavens will be well governed. After this shore is well governed, the other shore will be well governed."

"Zhao Ming must be governed, and the desolate darkness must also be governed. This Qingyang seized the existence of the North Star True Man, claiming that it is closely linked to your destiny, but in fact, this is all based on my intention to kill you."

"Now I will not kill you. I will release you. And he seized the existence of your friend. So, should I kill him?"

The Donghua Celestial Maiden was stunned. The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart let out a soft laugh:

"But, not only will I not kill you, I will also save the North Star's life. The things I write in history will become a foregone conclusion. The North Star True Man may be able to return because of this, while Qingyang will be buried in the Green History. For you, are you going to abandon the North Star and help Qingyang?"

The black-clad Ji Xiang's eyes widened.

He wanted to say, why aren't you killing Donghua?

The change of position happened in an instant. The Donghua Celestial Maiden looked at the black-clad Ji Xiang, and the latter revealed an expression of rage.

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart shook his head: "It is meaningless to fight me at this time, and you cannot change anything. The reason why I release you is that you pose no threat, and that you need to see clearly that there is no need to help me, nor is there any need to help him. In fact, he is the murderer."

The Donghua Celestial Maiden was silent for a long time, and then asked: "But the opening of the Qing Qiang Sacrifice has harmed many lives. I..."

"You have just become a state immortal and want to show off. I can understand that, but it doesn't matter even if you are injured. Zhang Tianshi of the Ming Dynasty once came here and was sent back by me with a single thought. It is not shameful for you immortals to lose to me."

"Those lives that were harmed were not killed by me, but by the traitorous general of the human world. If you take a step back, if you really think that those people died in vain and you can't explain it, how about I reflect on history and resurrect them on the spot?"

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart's words shook Donghua, and the former did not hesitate. A Green History bamboo slip behind him was written, and in an instant, cause and effect were reversed. The dead souls who had fallen into the hands of the Yuan Emperor and the Three Chaos Immortals disappeared in an instant, shocking the Song Court. And in the next moment, all these people returned to the human world, and the history of their deaths never existed.

Apart from the memories of immortal existences, the memories of other people also changed with the change of history.

The Green History says that history has never been damaged.

Then it has never been damaged!

"All beings are alive, what else do you want?"

The Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart looked at the Donghua Celestial Maiden, who was stunned for a long time and released the coffin of a certain corpse-dissolving immortal.

There was really nothing to say.

The countless living beings in the world are actually like this. In front of the Heavenly Heart, they can be killed or saved at will, let alone this undying Heavenly Heart?

He even changed history, so that the matter of death never happened. In this way, everything in the three books of life and death disappeared, the historical records of the human world changed, and even the memories and existence of all beings were wantonly defined. Whether they lived or died was not important to them.

Perhaps the survival of all living beings, and even the existence of all the gods and immortals, was originally defined by some more powerful "Great Heavenly Heart."

"Can you resurrect the North Star?" The Donghua Celestial Maiden spoke, with this one condition left.

She looked at Qingyang, her eyes full of disappointment.

The black-clad Ji Xiang's face was pale, and the concept of yin and yang was being drawn from his body. He felt that his consciousness was blurring.

"Burying Qingyang in history may give him a chance to start over. He is relatively special. The Jade Purity transformation is beyond my ability, but I can try my best."

"However, if he still wants to stop me, I will kill him."

But when the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart's words fell, three vast clear auras appeared behind Qingyang.

The clear aura came from the invisible, until a karmic connection rose to the heavens. It was Qingluo's karma, which Ji Xiang had sealed and hidden. At this time, the black-clad Ji Xiang activated this karma and shouted towards the future!

"I can let you seize my body, as long as you kill this Heavenly Heart at this time and release my true form, I will give you the essence of one of the Dao and the existence of this Ji Xiang!"

The black-clad Ji Xiang made a desperate gamble, and his response shocked him greatly.

From the future, a tall figure shattered the torrent of time. It was Mr. Gu, exasperated, furious, forcibly breaking through his own future to see the past, and even preparing to take action.

The second figure came from the past. Yuan Huang appeared from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, saw the black-clad Ji Xiang and the undying Heavenly Heart from afar, and exclaimed in surprise.

The third figure came from the window of the Heavenly Lord. A fair arm stretched out, transformed into a void form, and responded to the Jade Purity summons. It was Christ crossing the boundary.

The black-clad Ji Xiang did not expect three Jade Purity experts to come at once, but before he could recover, Mr. Gu was the first to roar, shaking the past and the future, as if the ages were about to collapse and be lost because of this!

"One of the Dao is bullshit!"

"You seized the existence of the thirteenth person, but he must not be dead, because he is destined to have a Heavenly Heart future! Tell me, when you last met him, where did his existence go!"

"Otherwise, I will forever suppress you in the future, and every moment you will be subjected to seventy-seven time washes, until your roots and everything are completely wiped out, and the legends disappear!"

Mr. Gu was furious, his voice shaking the ages, and Yuan Huang also issued a warning:

"Tell us what you did with Ji Xiang last. You better have only taken his existence."

And that Christ void form did not speak, but just stared at the black-clad Ji Xiang, and after Mr. Gu and Yuan Huang finished speaking, he said:

"If you are desperate."

"You can come to my kingdom of heaven and be with me."

The black-clad Ji Xiang was pardoned as if he had been granted amnesty, seeing a chance of survival in despair, but the Golden Radiance Heavenly Heart warned the three uninvited guests:

"Even if it is one of the Jade Purity origins."

"It will now be dealt with by my Confucianism."