Cultivating Immortality :I Obtained The Villain's Ascension Code Chapter 51: Beneath the Heavens, a Puppet Still

"Codex...when you first awakened... you told I would be placed beyond the reach of the Grand Dao. Isn’t that right?"

[Correct.]

The response rang out clearly in his mind, emotionless like always.

He stared ahead, but his eyes saw nothing. His thoughts had already turned inward.

"Then explain sothing to , why am I still being pulled into other people’s sches? "

[This sche did not originate after the Codex’s activation.

It was laid long before that.

A contingency—an embedded trap ant to trigger if you survived death.]

[And you did.]

[Therefore, you were already caught in it before I ca into being.]

Xiao Ning didn’t speak for a while and his gaze didn’t waver, but in his heart, sothing beca clear.

"...So that’s how it is."

It wasn’t that the Codex had betrayed him. It simply hadn’t been there soon enough.

The trap had been waiting since before he ever took his second breath. It wasn’t a matter of choice anymore. From the mont he lived again, he’d already been walking soone else’s path.

He let out a quiet breath and asked again.

"Then why didn’t you warn ? Before I cultivated the Asura Scripture, before I refined the Bone Scripture... why didn’t you say anything?"

[The Codex is not omniscient. I do not see the future.

I analyze information as it becos available.

Until recently, the complete pattern was unclear.]

He nodded faintly, there was no anger in his expression—only understanding.

"...I suppose I already knew that."

The Codex had always answered his questions with cold precision. It had never once claid to be able to predict what was to co.

Still, a flicker of doubt stirred in his chest.

"Codex... what is your purpose? Why do you oppose the Grand Dao?"

This ti, there was no imdiate reply.

Seconds passed. Then longer.

But Xiao Ning didn’t press it. He simply waited.

When the silence stretched too long, he asked sothing else.

"Then who created you? And how did he die?"

The silence deepened... then at last, the voice returned.

[...Dead. Killed by the Grand Dao.]

Xiao Ning’s eyes dimd.

So that was it.

Even the one who had forged the Codex—who had dared to defy the heavens—had fallen, crushed beneath the sa force that ruled all of existence.

He didn’t know why, but hearing it confird left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"...So even your creator couldn’t escape."

Xiao Ning’s expression didn’t change. But inside, his thoughts churned.

"Even your creator was helpless before the sches of the Grand Dao. What can a re artifact like you possibly do?"

He closed his eyes.

That so-called second chance... had it ever really been a choice?

The Codex—an ancient tool forged to fight back against the heavens—was simply using him to continue its war.

No different from how the Ninth Asura Paragon had used him.

He smiled bitterly.

"So that’s all this is," he muttered. "I was never outside their reach. Just dragged into soone else’s revenge."

And then another thought rose in his mind.

What if I had refused the Codex’s offer?

Back then, when he stood between death and reincarnation... he’d been given a choice. The Codex had offered to preserve him, to let him live again.

But what if he had declined?

What if he had truly passed on, been reborn in the natural cycle, and awakened his mories slowly over ti?

Would it have made any difference?

Would he have walked a different path?

But as he thought about it, the answer beca clear.

"...Even if I had declined your offer, I still would’ve cultivated the sa techniques."

Wouldn’t he still have cultivated the Ninefold Paragon’s Asura Scripture?

Still have refined his body with the Annihilation Bone Scripture?

Still walked the very sa path?

Still would’ve prepared his soul and body... for soone else’s resurrection.

Whether guided by fate or false freedom, he had never truly stepped off the board.

The sche had been too thorough. The pieces had been scattered, but they were always ant to find him.

Whether chosen or ’randomly’ encountered, the outco would have been the sa.

He would’ve taken the sa path.

The difference was only how much of the truth he knew... and when.

[SPIRITUAL PALACE PURGE PROTOCOL IS SUGGESTED]

Seeing the alert appear once more, Xiao Ning remained silent for a while.

After so thought, he asked calmly, "What are the consequences of this purge?"

[Severe and irreparable damage to the divine sense.]

His expression didn’t change, but his heart sank slightly.

"Can you fix it?" he asked.

[With my current capabilities, that is not possible.]

Xiao Ning fell into deep thought.

Damage to the divine sense was no small matter. Once hard, it could not be healed by ordinary ans. He did know of a few obscure thods that might restore it, but they were far beyond his reach at the mont.

Even so, the idea of leaving that sliver of foreign will inside him was worse.

After a mont of silence, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Codex, analyze my Yin Yang Mirror Scripture."

[Analyzing...]

[The Yin Yang Mirror Scripture is a rare and profound dual-cultivation technique. It reflects all spiritual forces through reversed polarity, restoring them to their primal origin within the balance of Yin and Yang. Through it, the user can reverse, deflect, or unravel spiritual energies—revealing the hidden truths buried within their dual nature.]

[However, its requirents are extrely demanding.]

[To cultivate it properly, one must possess a Yin-Yang Innate Physique and a Yin-Yang Spiritual Root. Alternatively, a dual-elent constitution—such as Light and Darkness, or Fire and Water—may suffice.]

[Based on current assessnts, the host’s body and Quantum Nascent Soul can barely et the threshold.]

[Nonetheless, continued cultivation is not recomnded.]

Xiao Ning raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why not?"

A brief pause followed, then:

[The Yin Yang Mirror Dao is a severed branch of the Great Yin Yang Dao.]

[Unlike other branches, this one was forcibly sealed during a past Heavenly Cycle. It is now a dead end.]

[No matter how far the host advances, it will be impossible to reach the Immortal Crossing Stage through this path.]

[Without crossing that threshold, the host remains bound within the Grand Dao’s frawork—no different from any other pawn.]

Xiao Ning wasn’t surprised by this. In truth, he had suspected sothing for a long ti.

Back then, when he lost to the young cultivator ng Qingxuan—who had managed to take half a step into the Immortal Crossing Realm while he couldn’t—he had already begun to question the foundation of his path.

At the ti, he had simply thought the technique flawed.

Now, it was clear.

It hadn’t been a flaw. It had been a sche.

A sche of the Grand Dao itself.

The Codex’s next ssage appeared soon after.

[Suggestion: Purge the current cultivation techniques—both body and soul. Purge the Spiritual Palace entirely.]

[Then, select a new path.]

Xiao Ning read the suggestion without much reaction. "Can I still use the Paradox ridians, like before?"

[No. Although the structure of the Paradox ridians will remain dormant within your soul, the purge will remove all cultivation imprints from the quantum level upward.

It will be a complete reset.]

"I see..." he murmured. "So I’ll have to start over. Truly as a mortal."

[Yes. This ti, the host will return to the state of a true mortal—no Nascent Soul, no spiritual roots, no refined body.]

Xiao Ning gave a short laugh."...So that’s what it ans to be free."

Then, as if sothing occurred to him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Codex. With your current capabilities—and using my past comprehension as a foundation—can you reconstruct the core of the Yin Yang Mirror Scripture? Keep the essence, but cut away what’s been locked off by the Dao?"

The Codex didn’t respond imdiately.

A full minute passed in silence.

Finally, a reply ca.

[It is possible. The core structure of the Yin Yang Mirror Scripture can be redesigned to preserve its essence while severing the connection to the Great Dao.]

[However, this will require extensive ti and resources.]

[Estimated ti: 100 years.]

[Lifespan cost: 550 years.]

Xiao Ning’s gaze flickered slightly.

"Five hundred and fifty years..." he murmured. "That’s not cheap."