147: The Heart of Nirvana, the Choice of Inheritance

Inside the temple, it was far more vast than it appeared from the outside.

Stepping through the gate was like entering another world.

Overhead was a gray sky, devoid of sun, moon, or stars, containing only the endless circulating Power of Annihilation.

Underfoot were black stone slabs, paving a straight path that led into the depths of the temple.

On both sides of the path stood gray stone statues.

The statues were of various forms: human, beast, Dragon, and even strange forms that were completely incomprehensible.

Each statue radiated a powerful aura, as if it might come to life at any moment.

“These statues,” Nangong Yu identified carefully, “seem to be experts from various races, all petrified by the Power of Annihilation.”

“They must be those who failed to breach the temple,” Xia Qingyue said softly. “The Legacy of the Great Emperor of Annihilation is not so easily obtained.”

The group cautiously moved along the path; the forest of statues stood silent, with only their footsteps echoing in the empty temple.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a huge circular altar appeared ahead.

The altar was a hundred zhang in diameter, with nine levels of steps rising layer by layer.

At the top of the altar floated a fist-sized gray heart.

The heart beat slowly and powerfully; with every beat, it caused the Power of Annihilation throughout the temple to rhythmically pulse.

Looking at it was like seeing the end of all things, the end of time, and the destiny where everything returns to nothingness.

“heart of nirvana,” Lin Fan murmured.

This was the core of the Legacy left behind by the Great Emperor of Annihilation, containing the ultimate mysteries of the Dao of Nirvana.

Below the altar stood a stone tablet.

Ancient characters were carved on it, not the common language of the Human Realm, but a more primitive type of rune.

“Is this Primordial Divine Script?” Xia Qingyue identified it after a moment, surprised. “The language said to be used in the Divine Realm, long lost in the Human Realm.”

“I recognize it,” Lin Fan suddenly spoke.

The group looked at him.

Lin Fan walked to the stone tablet, his eyes sweeping over the runes, and the corresponding meanings naturally surfaced in his mind.

This was one of the abilities brought by the Awakening of his Eternal Indestructible Body—an instinctive cognition of ancient knowledge.

“It says,” Lin Fan read slowly, “‘Later arrival, to reach here means you have passed the trials I set. However, the Dao of Nirvana cannot be Cultivated without great perseverance, great wisdom, and great Opportunity. To obtain my Legacy, you must pass three questions.’”

“Three questions?” Nangong Yu was puzzled.

Lin Fan continued to read: “‘First question: What is Nirvana?’”

As soon as he finished speaking, the heart of nirvana on the altar suddenly shone brightly, and a gray beam of light enveloped the entire altar.

Within the beam, countless scenes appeared.

Stars falling, the Universe collapsing, all things withering, living beings being annihilated—all prosperity eventually became empty, and all existence eventually returned to nothing.

This was the scene of Nirvana, the image of the end.

“This,” Liu Qingqing's face turned pale, “is too cruel.”

“It is not cruel, it is the truth,” an old and calm voice sounded directly in everyone's minds.

Above the altar, beside the heart of nirvana, a gray phantom condensed.

It was an old man in gray robes, with an ordinary face, but eyes as deep as the Universe, as if he had seen through the vicissitudes of the ages.

He stood there quietly, as if he were the very concept of “The End.”

“Great Emperor of Annihilation,” Lin Fan was solemn.

“Just a remnant thought I left behind,” the gray-robed old man said calmly. “Answer me, later arrival, in your view, what is Nirvana?”

The group was silent.

This question seemed simple, but it pointed directly to the essence of the Dao.

Nangong Yu hesitated for a moment and said: “Nirvana is destruction, it is the end, it is the destination of all existence.”

The gray-robed old man shook his head: “Wrong. Destruction is the means, the end is the process, and the destination is the result. What I asked for is the essence.”

Liu Qingqing said timidly: “Is it death?”

“Death is only the Nirvana of living beings, not the Nirvana of all things.” The gray-robed old man still shook his head.

Xia Qingyue pondered: “It is ‘Nothingness,’ the inevitable destination of all things from existence to non-existence.”

“Close, but not complete.” The gray-robed old man turned his gaze to Lin Fan, “And you?”

Lin Fan looked at the scenes of Nirvana on the altar and remained silent for a long time.

He thought of the Daoist classics he had read on Earth, the life-and-death battles he had experienced after his Transmigration, the essence of pursuing Eternity with his Eternal Indestructible Body, and the scenes of slaughtering a Dragon he had seen in the nirvana sword...

Finally, he spoke slowly: “Nirvana is not destruction, not death, not ‘Nothingness’.”

“It is ‘Return’.”

A strange look flashed in the gray-robed old man's eyes: “Continue.”

“All things are born from Chaos and will eventually return to Chaos.”

Lin Fan's voice was calm but carried an inexplicable persuasiveness. “Stars are born and fall, living beings are born and die, civilizations rise and fall; all of this is completing a cycle. Coming from Chaos, returning to Chaos.”

“Nirvana is the end of this cycle, and it is also the starting point of the next cycle.”

“It is not the end, but a reboot.”

As his voice fell, the scenes of Nirvana on the altar suddenly changed.

The scenes of stars falling turned into new stars gestating in Chaos; the scenes of living beings being annihilated turned into new life being born in the ruins; the scenes of civilizations declining turned into new civilizations being rebuilt on the ruins...

Destruction and rebirth, ending and beginning, intertwined at this moment.

The gray-robed old man showed approval in his eyes: “Not bad. Nirvana is indeed a return, a reboot. When I realized this back then, it was already too late.”

He looked at Lin Fan: “Your Physique is very special; what you pursue is Eternal Indestructibility, which seems to be the opposite of the Dao of Nirvana. But to have this realization shows that you have seen the deeper essence.”

“Eternal Indestructible Body,” the gray-robed old man suddenly laughed, “Interesting. Do you know that the one who created this Physique once debated the Dao with me for three days, and in the end, neither could convince the other. He believed Eternity was the ultimate, while I believed Nirvana was the destination.”

Lin Fan's heart was shaken.

The creator of the Eternal Indestructible Body had actually debated the Dao with the Great Emperor of Annihilation?

What exactly was the background of the Lin family's ancestor?

“First question, you passed,” the gray-robed old man restrained his smile. “Second question: Why do you want to Cultivate the Dao of Nirvana?”

This time, he looked at everyone: “You can all answer.”

Nangong Yu thought for a moment and said: “For power. The Dao of Nirvana is so powerful that if one can master it, one can traverse the Six Realms.”

“Power is just an appearance.” The gray-robed old man shook his head.

Liu Qingqing whispered: “For longevity?”

“The Dao of Nirvana will not give you longevity; on the contrary, it will accelerate your path to the end.” The gray-robed old man said lightly.

Tie Shan scratched his head: “To protect the people I want to protect?”

“Using the power that ends everything to protect? Contradictory.” The gray-robed old man still denied it.

Xia Qingyue was silent for a long time before speaking: “For understanding.”

The gray-robed old man looked at her: “Understand what?”

“Understand the essence of this world, understand the laws by which all things operate.” Xia Qingyue said softly, “Since Nirvana is the inevitable destination, understanding it might allow one to find a way to counter it.”

“Interesting idea.” The gray-robed old man was noncommittal and looked at Lin Fan again.

Lin Fan answered faster this time:

“For transcendence.”

A flash of light appeared in the gray-robed old man's eyes: “Transcendence of what?”

“Transcendence of Nirvana itself.” Lin Fan said slowly, “Since Nirvana is a return, a reboot, and part of a cycle, then jumping out of this cycle—is that true Eternity?”

“Cultivating the Dao of Nirvana is to thoroughly understand it, master it, and finally surpass it.”

The gray-robed old man was silent.

After a long while, he sighed:

“Back then, if someone had said this to me, perhaps my ending would have been different.”

“Second question, you also passed.”

He paused, his voice becoming serious: “Third question, and also the last one: If you obtain my Legacy, how will you use it?”

This question was even heavier.

Lin Fan did not answer immediately.

He looked at the heart of nirvana on the altar, feeling the terrifying power contained within it.

This power could easily destroy a world and make billions of living beings return to nothingness.

If he mastered such power, what would he use it for?

To dominate the Six Realms? To take revenge? Or like the Great Emperor of Annihilation, to verify his own Dao through ending?

“My...”

Lin Fan closed his eyes, and many scenes flashed through his mind.

The scene of clansmen kneeling on the Lin family altar; the fear of the Dark Moon Divine Cult assassin before death in the Black Wind Forest; the shock of the Blood Butcher being severely injured by his punch outside Qingshi Town; the sigh of relief from the Dragon soul's remnant in Dragon Burial Valley...

And, the peaceful life on Earth, the days of writing at the computer, the comments from readers...

Finally, all scenes condensed into one sentence: “My Dao is in my heart.”

Lin Fan opened his eyes, his eyes clear:

“I Cultivate Nirvana, not for destruction, but for protection.”

“To protect the people I want to protect, to protect the world I think is worth existing.”

“If someone wants to destroy all this, I will use the Power of Annihilation to end their ambition.”

“If the world is already rotten and unbearable, I will use the Power of Annihilation to wash away the filth and reboot new life.”

“Nirvana for me is not a goal, but a means. It is not a destination, but a tool.”

“I want to use it to open up a new path where Eternity and Nirvana coexist.”

As his voice fell, the entire temple was silent.

The gray-robed old man looked at Lin Fan in a daze. After a long while, he suddenly laughed up at the sky:

“Good! Good! ‘Eternity and Nirvana coexist’!”

“When I debated the Dao with that old guy back then, he insisted on Eternity, I insisted on Nirvana, but we never thought that the two might be able to coexist!”

His laughter gradually stopped, his eyes full of gratification:

“Third question, you passed.”

“Now, choose.”

The gray-robed old man pointed to the heart of nirvana on the altar:

“You can accept my complete Legacy, obtain the heart of nirvana, and inherit my lineage. But from now on, you will bear the name of Nirvana and be feared or even hated by the beings of the Six Realms.”

“You can also take only part of the Legacy, obtain the essence of the Dao of Nirvana, but not be bound by it. However, in this way, you will never be able to truly control the heart of nirvana.”

“The choice is yours.”

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Fan.

This choice would determine his future path.

Lin Fan looked at the beating heart, silent for a moment, and suddenly asked:

“Great Emperor, why did you fail back then?”

The gray-robed old man was stunned, then smiled bitterly:

“Because I was too obsessed with the concept that ‘Nirvana is the destination’.”

“I slaughtered the True Dragon, destroyed ancient kingdoms, killed gods, all to verify my Dao. But in the end, I found...”

“I had verified myself into it.”

“When I tried to completely annihilate myself to seek transcendence, I realized that true transcendence is not returning to nothingness, but finding a balance between existence and nothingness.”

“Unfortunately, I understood it too late.”

Lin Fan nodded: “So, my choice is...”

“Partial Legacy.”

The gray-robed old man did not seem surprised, just looked at him deeply: “Are you sure?”

“Sure,” Lin Fan said firmly. “I want to walk my own path, not repeat yours. I will learn the Dao of Nirvana, but I will not accept it entirely. I will continue to Cultivate the Eternal Indestructible Body, but I will integrate the Nirvana True Intent.”

“In the end, I want to create my own Dao—neither Eternity nor Nirvana, but the ‘Immortal Nirvana Dao’ that fuses the two.”

A final trace of gratification flashed in the gray-robed old man's eyes:

“Very good.”

“Then, accept your reward.”

The heart of nirvana suddenly split, a small part separated, turned into a gray stream of light, and entered Lin Fan's brow.

The vast Nirvana True Intent poured into Lin Fan's Sea of Consciousness, but it did not conflict with his existing Eternal Indestructible Body; instead, it began to fuse slowly.

Lin Fan sat cross-legged and entered a deep state of enlightenment.

The remaining heart of nirvana floated slowly towards the gray-robed old man.

“My mission is also complete.”

The gray-robed old man's phantom began to dissipate.

Before disappearing completely, he looked at Lin Fan one last time:

“Kid, remember your words.”

“Open up a new path.”

The voice dissipated, and the phantom disappeared without a trace.

The heart of nirvana also turned into dots of gray light and merged into the temple.

The entire temple began to shake. The Legacy was over, and the temple was about to close.