Chaos Dao Sheng Jue

Chapter 1540 Reboot and Destruction

“The powerful beings of ancient times devised a plan,” the old Taoist priest said slowly. “Instead of constantly fighting against the embodiment of evil, we should proactively trigger a controlled ‘reboot’—reset the world to zero and then rebuild it from the ruins. This way, we can not only completely eliminate the embodiment of evil, but also create a more perfect and flawless new world.”

He looked at Lu Chen with a complicated expression: "I was the executor of that plan, or rather... the lingering obsession after the plan failed."

"fail?"

"Yes, it failed." The old Taoist priest said with a bitter smile, "Because we underestimated the stubbornness of the Evil Avatar and overestimated our control. When the restart was halfway through, the Evil Avatar's counterattack was a hundred times more fierce than expected. In the end, the plan collapsed, almost all the powerful participants were wiped out, and the Divine Realm was shattered into its current state. As for me... only a wisp of obsession remains, surviving in this Nirvana Forbidden Land. As for my true body, it doesn't know that I am still alive."

"Wait...you mean you're an incarnation of the old Taoist priest, one of the manifestations of the Heavenly Dao?" Lu Chen asked in surprise.

The old Taoist priest did not answer, but simply nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"So you're telling me all this just to imply that what I need to do isn't repair, but rather..." Lu Chen's voice was hoarse, "...reboot it again?"

“Yes.” The old Taoist priest nodded. “But this time, we are better prepared. You are the most successful of all the chosen ones, and restarting the Divine Domain is very likely for you.”

"What about the beings in the Divine Realm now?" Lu Chen asked. "Aren't all those cultivators and civilizations going to be destroyed...?"

The old Taoist priest fell silent.

The answer is self-evident.

A reboot means everything will be reset to zero. All living beings, all civilization, all traces of the present will be annihilated in this reset. Then, in the new world, entirely new and perfect beings will be born.

"This is the price," the old Taoist priest finally said. "For eternal rebirth, temporary existence must be sacrificed. Lu Chen, are you willing to become the savior of this world?"

Lu Chen stood there, silent for a long time.

Savior? Or...destroyer?

He gazed at the divine realm in the old Taoist's palm, about to be completely devoured by the embodiment of evil, and recalled all the people he had met along the way: his wife and children, everything in the Golden Pearl World, and his comrades-in-arms Yang Yunfei, Zhong Tao, Gu Feng, and others.

They all live in this "temporary" world.

They all believe that the future will be better.

"I refuse."

Lu Chen raised his head, his eyes filled with an unprecedented determination.

The old Taoist priest was stunned: "What did you say?"

“I said I refuse.” Lu Chen said, enunciating each word clearly. “My path is to protect, to repair, to make the existing world better, not to destroy everything and start over for some vague ‘perfection’.”

"But is it the embodiment of evil?"

“I will find a way to fight against the embodiment of evil,” Lu Chen interrupted. “And I finally understand what’s going on. The so-called embodiment of evil is nothing more than the self you cut off in order to break through to a higher realm.”

But you're wrong. You think that by eliminating your negative aspects, you can achieve a more perfect, flawless version of yourself.

But you have overlooked the true path. The true path is not about annihilation, nor is it about restarting; it is about coexistence, transformation, and guidance.

At this moment, Lu Chen recalled what he had seen in the illusion before: the final choice of that god and demon—preferring to destroy the fragments of the Heart of the World rather than let it fall into the hands of the embodiment of evil.

That was not despair, but another form of resistance: preferring to die with hope rather than let hope become a tool of destruction.

After a moment of slight surprise, the old Taoist priest suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with nostalgia:

“You remind me of an old friend of mine. He said something similar, and then he died, leaving no trace of his spirit.”

"So what?" Lu Chen smiled. "At least he stuck to his principles."

Eyes facing each other.

The old Taoist's figure began to disintegrate, turning into countless points of light. But this time, the points of light did not dissipate; instead, they converged into a soft white light, hovering in front of Lu Chen.

"Perhaps... I was really wrong." The old Taoist's last voice came. "Go, walk your own path. This wisp of 'Heavenly Dao Origin' is the last thing I can give you. Perhaps... it will be of some help when you fight against another version of me in the future."

As soon as he finished speaking, a white light entered Lu Chen's brow.

There was no infusion of power, no elevation of realm, only a pure understanding of "how the world works".

That was the old Taoist priest's observation and understanding of the laws of all the heavens and myriad realms over countless years, as the embodiment of the obsession with the Heavenly Dao.

Lu Chen closed his eyes, processing this flood of information.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back to his senses, still on the edge of the altar, as if everything that had just happened was a dream.

At this moment, Lu Chen saw Fang Xinyi staring at him nervously.

"Are you... alright?" she asked. "Your breathing was very erratic just now, sometimes frighteningly strong, and sometimes so weak it was like you were about to disappear..."

"It's nothing." Lu Chen shook his head, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes. "On the contrary... I've come to understand a lot of things."

He looked at the groove in the center of the altar, and then at the huge skeletons around him.

Now he finally understood: these skeletons, these ancient gods and demons, were not losers. They were warriors who chose a different path—preferring to die in battle rather than accept the so-called "perfect reboot."

Now, it's his turn to make a choice.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and strode towards the center of the altar without hesitation.

"Let's go see what those predecessors left behind."

As Fang Xinyi watched Lu Chen's retreating figure, she suddenly felt that there was something about this familiar companion that she couldn't understand.

It was as if some heavy shackles had been removed, or as if something even more important had been taken on.

She shook her head and quickly followed.

Deep within the altar, the awakened being seemed to sense Lu Chen's approach.

The entire altar began to resonate with a low, deep sound.

The altar steps were wide and steep, each step about half a person's height, as if built for giants.

Lu Chen and Fang Xinyi climbed the steps, their footsteps echoing in the empty space, only to be silently absorbed by the enormous skeletons.

The higher you go, the more pronounced that deep resonance becomes. It's not a sound, but a vibration at the level of laws, as if the entire altar is "breathing" at a certain frequency.

“These skeletons…” Fang Xinyi said softly, “They all faced the center of the altar before they died, as if they were guarding it, or as if they were worshipping it. But why do I feel not only tragedy, but also a sense of relief?”

Lu Chen stopped and placed his hand on the lower leg of a skeleton—even though it was just a shinbone, it was taller than him.

The skeleton felt cold to the touch, with fine cracks on its surface, yet it remained as hard as divine iron. More importantly, he sensed a lingering will within it.

It is not an obsession, nor a resentment, but a kind of "enlightenment" that is almost peaceful.

“They knew they would die, but they still chose this path.” Lu Chen withdrew his hand. “Not for victory, but for that slim possibility.”

"Possibility?" Fang Xinyi looked at Lu Chen with a puzzled expression...