Ling gazed at Mu Changqing's resplendent figure, once again falling silent.
Powerless!
For the first time, he felt a sense of powerlessness, a powerlessness in the face of newcomers, of beings from later eras.
After a long while, he sighed softly and slowly spoke.
"That forbidden object actually created a monster like you... No, it all ultimately depends on you yourself. You are inherently a monster incomprehensible across all eras."
A bitter smile touched Ling's lips. He never imagined that he, the mighty creator god, would call another being a monster. How ironic.
Yet, he had to admit that Mu Changqing's impact on him was too profound, too immense to be described in words.
He had originally thought that his imitation of the Ancestral Origin might not match the true Ancestral Origin.
But in terms of quantity, he might be able to bridge this gap infinitely, perhaps even achieve a crushing advantage.
However, reality was cruel. The true Ancestral Origin was too terrifying, too awe-inspiring, beyond the imagination of the Ancestral Gods.
Even billions of imitation gray Ancestral Origins, manifested as flora and plains, were utterly useless.
Mu Changqing watched this scene indifferently, with no great waves stirring within him.
Only by truly inhabiting the Ancestral Origin, by becoming the Ancestral Origin, could one understand its power.
Now, having transformed into the true Ancestral Origin, his wariness and vigilance towards the gray Ancestral Origin reached an unprecedented peak.
The Ancestral Origin was the beginning, creating all things and all laws.
The so-called Ancestral Gods, though not its direct creations, were also derived from it.
It was akin to growing crops, where numerous useless weeds might appear, siphoning nutrients and hindering the growth of the crops.
The Ancestral Gods were far more formidable than weeds; they were imperfect derivatives of the same kind of crop.
If even these derivative crops were so formidable, one could only imagine how powerful and terrifying their source was.
As for the Burial of the Heavens Bead, it was equivalent to a brand new crop seed.
It required careful watering and nurturing to grow into a new crop.
Now, the nascent purple Ancestral Origin, like a newly sprouted crop, was thriving and in desperate need of nutrients.
The best nutrients would naturally be obtained by slaying the weeds and derivative crops that emerged from the gray Ancestral Origins, burying them beneath the soil to serve as sustenance.
Mu Changqing's Ancestral Origin, however, was constructed with the Burial of the Heavens Bead as its foundation, the purple meridians and ley lines of heaven and earth as its model, his own myriad insights as the origin of its laws, his soul as its consciousness, and his body as its very earth.
Therefore, where he was, there was the Ancestral Origin.
Mu Changqing's gaze fell upon the somewhat dejected Ancestral God Ling, his gaze making Ling uncomfortable.
It was like being preyed upon by a hunter, an unnerving sensation.
Both regarded each other as prey and harbored a covetous desire.
The difference was that Mu Changqing craved sustenance, while Ancestral God Ling coveted Mu Changqing's Ancestral Origin.
A moment later, Mu Changqing flicked his sleeve, dispelling the swirling mist around him.
His dense, lustrous black hair flowed with his movement, and his towering physique now made him the controller of all consciousness and beings in existence, radiating an invincible confidence and an aura of overwhelming all realms.
"Ling, as the first Ancestral God to be buried by my hand, I shall grant you the opportunity to unleash your final gambit, to witness the true might of the Ancestral Origin, and to perish in its ultimate brilliance."
Mu Changqing spoke lightly, as always, offering these respected opponents a dignified demise.
Ancestral God Ling scoffed at this, perhaps mocking Mu Changqing's arrogance, or perhaps lamenting his own series of missteps.
After a pause, he gazed regretfully at the spine of the flora and plains in his hand, murmuring.
"It is truly hard to part with. After all these countless eons, since I first gained consciousness, it has been you who accompanied me."
"You are my very lifeblood, my only reliance!"
As he spoke, Ancestral God Ling gently stroked the pure white, jade-like spine of the flora and plains, which ceaselessly reflected the primal glory of creation, his eyes filled with lingering attachment and complex emotions.
His aura intensified, reaching the apex of the Ancestral God realm, relentlessly pushing towards the end of the path, striving to break through the barrier and achieve ultimate transcendence.
Alas, at the end of this path stood the gray Ancestral Origin, a formidable obstacle for all cultivators in existence.
No matter how powerful or terrifying one was, including the seven great Ancestral Gods, they could not overcome this mountain.
"I shall sacrifice all things and all laws, seeking ultimate transformation, a battle to the extreme. If I do not live, then I shall die."
Ancestral God Ling spoke, his voice soft, as if murmuring to himself.
Yet, his voice resonated deeply, causing the ancient years and the entire cosmos to vibrate in unison.
An unfathomable domain rippled outwards, like waves spreading from a pebble dropped into a calm lake.
Initially, it was a ripple, growing larger and more terrifying.
Finally, the heavens and earth churned, and the sound of surging waves, like the grand bells of the universe, echoed through the void.
Mu Changqing watched this scene calmly, his brow slightly raised. Behind him, the Ancestral Origin was continuously refining and growing itself.
The meridians extended into the distant future, where beings of the great eras were conceived, only to be instantly annihilated, serving as nourishment for the Ancestral Origin's growth.
"The Great Sacrifice technique? As expected from the same origin; similar to the methods of the Ancestral God Demons."
Mu Changqing murmured softly, his hands clasped behind his back, his majestic figure standing alone in the world, calmly waiting.
At this moment, sacrificial梵音 (Fanyin - Buddhist chants) began to resonate, and in an instant, from an immeasurable distance, a wisp of ethereal smoke slowly rose, traversing space and time.
Ancestral Ling calmed his aura, once again assuming the appearance of a supreme deity, indifferent to all beings.
His gaze fell calmly upon Mu Changqing, and he tossed the spine of the flora and plains into the sky, drawing down the ethereal smoke, and slowly spoke.
"Mu Changqing, I shall sacrifice all my Dao fruits. One of us will surely perish between us."
Ancestral God Ling understood that without a desperate gamble and a final battle for transformation, he could not defeat Mu Changqing. This was his only chance.
"Is that so? I am also looking forward to it. You are sufficiently mature nourishment, which will yield better results."
Upon hearing this, Ancestral God Ling paid no mind, his expression becoming increasingly sacred and devout, murmuring.
Endless supreme Ancestral runes flowed forth, and the sacrifice commenced.
"With my body, my soul, my laws as the sacrifice, I seek transcendence, an eternal instant, and that is enough."
The murmuring ceased, and from all realms, immeasurable, heaven-shattering power poured down.
Ancestral glory blazed brilliantly and fiercely, like a dark sun, illuminating the vast world.
The ethereal smoke merged into the spine of the flora and plains, penetrating layer by layer, overturning all the lands of the flora and plains, piercing directly through, disintegrating Ancestral God Ling's every Dao and law.
Ancestral God Ling shattered his own eons of planning, transforming it entirely into a minute offering, seeking a sliver of transcendence.
His body gradually blurred, finally becoming like a transparent shadow, on the verge of being erased from this great world.
A fierce wind arose, scattering the smoke from heaven and earth.
The power that made the world tremble, a supreme, ultimate force capable of threatening Ancestral Gods, descended upon the present world.