646: Chapter 646 Bones are the Pillars of Heaven

Between Luo Xiaojiu's palm and the Golden Giant's palm, there was only the distance of a finger, yet it felt as if an entire Universe lay between them.

In this Universe, there was the birth and death of stars, the flow of time, and the joys and sorrows of countless lives.

She could feel the weight of that Universe—not a physical heaviness, but a pressure upon her Soul, as if billions of years of time were condensed within that single finger, waiting for someone destined to touch, break, and bear it.

The moment she finally made up her mind and pressed her palm against it—

Time seemed to stop.

The entire starry sky, the entire ruin, the entire world, all fell into absolute silence at this moment.

Even the golden fragments that were constantly collapsing froze in mid-air, as if strangled by an invisible hand, choking the throat of fate.

Then—

An indescribable power, like a breached flood, surged madly along her arm and into her body.

It was not an impact, nor a crushing force.

It was Fusion.

It was an Awakening.

It was a resonance.

Luo Xiaojiu felt her body explode in that instant.

It was not a bursting of flesh and blood, but every cell, every inch of her bones, and every Meridian simultaneously blooming with golden light.

This light pierced through her skin, through her flesh, and even through her Soul, turning her into a burning little sun.

Her Desolate Ancient Sacred Body seemed to have been ignited—this thing that had been sleeping deep within her Bloodline since she embarked on the path of cultivation finally awakened at this moment.

It was not a gentle Awakening.

It was a violent Awakening.

It was a volcano suppressed for countless years finally erupting, a Dragon trapped in the abyss finally opening its eyes, and the thunder that had been silent for eons finally splitting the firmament.

Her blood was boiling, every drop like a burning star; her bones were trembling, every bone like a Heavenly Pillar roaring; her Meridians were expanding, every Meridian like a river of stars flowing.

Pain?

No, this was not pain.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before—it was like being embraced by the entire world, yet also like being torn apart by the entire Universe.

Her consciousness was expanding, diffusing, and extending toward the infinitely distant starry sky.

She felt that she was no longer a person, but a mountain, a river, a sea, a star, a world.

"Concentrate your mind."

The Golden Giant's voice rang out in her mind, no longer a roar from the outside world, but branded directly into the depths of her Divine Soul.

His voice carried an unquestionable majesty, yet hid a trace of imperceptible tenderness—just like an old father teaching his most beloved daughter, hiding deep love within his sternness.

"The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body is not a talent, not a Bloodline, and not a Physique."

"It is the Dao."

"It is a supreme method of proving the Dao through the Physical Body."

"Among billions of living beings, those who can achieve the Awakening of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body are one in ten thousand."

"But from ancient times until now, those who can truly walk this path can be counted on one's fingers."

"Because most Desolate Ancient Sacred Bodies only passively endure this power, rather than actively mastering it."

The Golden Giant's voice was like a great bell, every word striking against Luo Xiaojiu's Divine Soul, causing her Soul to tremble.

These words seemed to come alive, turning into golden runes that drilled into her mind, carved into her bone marrow, and merged into her Bloodline.

"You must remember—"

"The essence of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body is not strength, not defense, and not the so-called invincibility of the Physical Body."

"It is 'Bearing'."

"Bearing the might of heaven and earth, bearing the thoughts of all living beings, and bearing the weight of the ten thousand Daos."

"The Physical Body is the Dao field, flesh and blood are the Law, and bones are the Heavenly Pillars."

"This is the true mystery of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body."

Deep in Luo Xiaojiu's consciousness, scenes flashed by like a revolving lantern.

She saw the Golden Giant in his youth—

That was a high-spirited youth, standing upon a ruin, howling at the sky.

His clothes were tattered, his body bathed in blood, but his eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky—bright, firm, and unyielding.

Behind him were endless mountains of corpses and seas of blood; his clansmen, his friends and family, his fellow disciples.

They had all fallen, only he still stood.

In his howl, there was anger, sorrow, unwillingness, and even more so, a determination to defy the heavens and change fate.

She saw the scene of his first Awakening of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body—

The heavens and earth changed color, the ten thousand Daos roared, and in that instant, his Physical Body bore the weight of the entire world.

His skin cracked, his bones shattered, his blood splattered, but he did not fall.

He gritted his teeth, held his spine straight, and forcibly withstood that power capable of crushing stars.

His body was reshaping, evolving, and transforming.

Every shattering was a rebirth, every healing was a leap forward.

She saw his footprints across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds—

Traveling alone, passing through countless stars, seeing countless civilizations, fighting countless Prodigies, and discussing the Dao with countless experts.

He tempered his Physical Body in the frozen extreme cold, forged his bones in the lava seas of burning flames, and baptized his Bloodline in the Domain of Destruction filled with thunder.

He had defeated enemies and had been defeated by enemies; he had saved worlds and had witnessed the destruction of worlds.

His body was covered in scars, big and small, each scar a story, a memory, a brush with life and death.

She saw the day he attained Major Achievement—

The Myriad Heavens and Worlds, the ten thousand Daos resonated together; his Physical Body turned into an eternal Dao field, his blood turned into a river of stars, and his bones turned into Heavenly Pillars.

At that moment, the entire Universe was cheering for him, and all Laws were submitting to him.

He stood there, like the center of the Universe, with all things revolving around him.

Then—

She saw the day the Divine Realm was beaten down and sunk.

This was a scene she had never imagined—

The sky collapsed, the earth shattered, and countless golden figures fell from the firmament like a meteor shower, each meteor representing the fall of a deity.

Those deities who were once high above, looking down upon all living beings, were now drifting like fallen leaves, dissipating like dust.

Their blood dyed the sky red, dyed the earth red, dyed everything red.

The Giant's figure wove through it, his fists shattering the Void Realm, his footsteps cracking the earth, and his roar resounding through the Myriad Heavens.

With every punch thrown, an enemy's body exploded; with every step taken, the Void Realm collapsed and shattered.

He was like an undefeated God of War, charging through the battlefield, unstoppable by anyone.

But beside him, one comrade after another fell.

Those brothers who had fought side by side with him for millions of years, those old friends who had drunk and eaten meat with him, laughing and discussing the world, those comrades willing to go through fire and water for him, all fell one after another before him.

Their eyes were still open, the tenacity and unyielding spirit of battle still lingering in their gaze, but their flames of life had already extinguished.

One world after another was destroyed.

Those civilizations he had once protected, those planets he had once stepped upon, those worlds where he had once left footprints, all turned to ash before his eyes.

The wails of countless living beings converged, forming a tragic elegy that echoed in the shattered Void Realm.

Luo Xiaojiu felt that despair.

The despair of watching everything collapse before one's eyes, yet being powerless to turn the tide.

The despair of being powerful enough to suppress the ages, yet still unable to protect the things one wanted to protect.

The despair of giving one's all, burning everything, yet still only being able to watch helplessly as loved ones left one by one.

Her chest felt blocked by something, breathing became difficult, and her heart felt as if it were being gripped by someone, hurting so much that she was almost suffocating.

From the corners of her eyes, she did not know when, tears fell.

It was not her tears.

They were the Golden Giant's.

They were the tears of this Great Accomplishment Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, who had lived for eons, suppressed the Star-Burial Clan for countless years, and stood guard alone at the end of this starry sky...

What kind of tear was that—

It carried too much sorrow, too much pain, too much unwillingness, too many regrets.

Within this tear, there were the faces of his fallen comrades, the ruins of his destroyed homeland, and the burden of the mission he failed to complete.

This tear was as heavy as a star, as scorching as a flame, and as bitter as a sea of misery.

"Do not cry."

The Golden Giant's voice rang out again, much gentler than before.

In the voice, the previous majesty and sharpness were gone, replaced by a calmness and relief after having experienced the vicissitudes of life.

It was like an old man sitting in the sunset, recalling his life, with a faint smile on his lips, yet deep sorrow hidden in his eyes.

"I do not need tears."

"I need you to become stronger."

"Continue to walk the path I have not yet finished for me—"

Before the words faded, Luo Xiaojiu felt the power surging into her body suddenly become more violent, more turbulent.

It was as if that flood had finally broken through the last levee, pouring entirely into her body.

Her consciousness began to blur, her body began to glow, and her Soul began to tremble.

She heard the Golden Giant's last words, as if coming from a very, very far place—

"For me, go see that world without war."

"For me, go protect those who are worth protecting."

"For me, go finish that path I could not finish."