Xu Xian gained enlightenment amidst despair, found closure within sorrow, and finally closed his eyes in the gloom...
In his mind, the fading dream began to flow backward.
Scenes flashed by frame by frame, like a slideshow.
Himself in a cage.
The final cry of "Sword, come!"
Drawing the sword in adversity.
The collapsing Longevity Bridge.
The chaotic Wendao Sword Sect.
His cultivation falling,
The three-thousand-mile thunder screen,
The clearing of the far north,
Twenty years of searching...
The Twilight Emperor,
The phantom beast Nightmare,
The North Sea,
The East Desolation,
The Demon Abyss,
The Central Plains,
The Northern Borders,
Under the Wendao Sword Sect...
Hum... Hum...
Hum... Hum...
The world returned to pitch blackness. Within the ink-wash style of the heart demon illusion, Xu Xian saw a door.
The dawn of hope spilled through the crack of the door, shining through his fingers and into his eyes...
He instinctively approached,
And took a step forward.
The world was dim,
And all was silent.
Within the Flame Lake small world beneath the Wendao Sword Sect, Xu Xian opened his eyes.
Turbid waves,
Magma,
The Sky Gate,
The Five-Direction Platforms,
The five-colored chains,
The five sword spirits,
The five sets of dusty bones,
And...
Himself, unharmed.
It was a dream,
A dream that had pulled him in so deep he mistook it for reality.
Fortunately, it was a dream,
Thankfully, it was a dream,
And it was only a dream.
Observing the past through a great dream, attaining enlightenment in this life through floating clouds.
Now,
The dream had ended,
And the tribulation was passed!
Xu Xian woke outside the dream, but his thoughts were still submerged within it. Each scene was impossible to shake off, impossible to suppress...
It was a dream.
But it could also not be a dream.
...
“Master...”
“Master...”
“Master...”
The familiar call rang out repeatedly, dragging Xu Xian’s thoughts back. He looked up toward the sound and saw the little book spirit hovering in mid-air.
He heard its anxious voice again: “Great, you finally woke up! I thought you were never going to wake again...””
Such a familiar scene, such familiar lines.
The current situation was more than just deja vu; it was a scene that had already played out once before, exactly the same.
It made Xu Xian feel as if the dream had not yet ended.
Was he chasing shadows?
Was it lingering fear?
He whispered softly, “This time, it’s finally not a dream, is it...”
The little book spirit was utterly confused, its face full of bewilderment. “What?”
Xu Xian waved his hand and asked, “How long was I asleep?”
Shuer felt its master was acting very strange. Why ask how long he had been asleep? Shouldn't he call it a meditative state?
It didn't dwell on it and answered truthfully, “Ten years.”
“Ten years?” Xu Xian repeated softly.
Shuer began to ramble, “Yeah, ten years. I really thought you weren't coming back. You have no idea, after you entered meditation, that Twilight Emperor fellow showed up. I couldn't stop him...”
The same explanation from the dream was repeated by the little book spirit.
He couldn't help but remain in a daze.
It wasn't until he confirmed it multiple times that he truly felt at ease, knowing he had finally awakened.
However,
It was precisely because of this that he had fallen so deep into that dream.
That dream was too real.
The Twilight Emperor had used Xu Xian's heart demon to simulate a perfectly realistic version of himself. Even everyone he had met and every event that had occurred were without the slightest flaw.
Just like now, even the words Shuer spoke were nearly identical.
He still felt a lingering sense of shock.
That being...
Was truly terrifying.
If he hadn't lived two lives and possessed a firm dao heart, he really would have fallen for the trap.
Although,
At the final moment, Xu Xian had claimed the spilled Emperor's Blood was the flaw, he had actually seen through it before he even chose to discard the blood.
If one were to ask how he saw through it, Xu Xian couldn't give an answer.
Perhaps it was a moment of sudden enlightenment.
Or a flash of clarity.
He wasn't sure.
Enlightenment was something that could only be felt, not explained with words.
When the time came,
One would understand.
When the opportunity appeared,
Everything would click.
It was different from the path of cultivation, which required taking one step at a time and making gradual progress.
Attaining the dao,
Was inherently a matter of an instant.
The Heart Demon Tribulation.
It was over.
Xu Xian remained very calm. Shuer's explanation naturally received no reaction from him.
This left the little book spirit very troubled.
It felt as if its master already knew everything it was saying.
It voiced its confusion.
It asked Xu Xian why he didn't seem surprised at all by the Twilight Emperor's appearance.
Xu Xian didn't explain, only saying ambiguously that he had guessed it.
Shuer didn't press further. It figured that since the Twilight Emperor had made a move, he and its master must have already clashed within the heart demon secret realm.
The result was obvious.
Its master must have won.
Otherwise,
How could the Heart Demon Tribulation have been passed?
But it still couldn't help but ask curiously, “Master, what did you experience in the Heart Demon Tribulation?”
Xu Xian instinctively looked back, remembering the life he had lived in those short decades.
The entire sect destroyed.
Losing everything.
Pain.
A suffocating pain.
Yet he spoke dismissively, “Nothing much. I just had a dream.”
“A dream? What did you dream about?” Shuer was still persistent.
Xu Xian gave a calm smile. “Having witnessed the world's heart-rending fates, I wake and find it was luckily but a dream.”
Shuer froze.
That sounds a bit profound?
Was that a realization from the heart, or was he just trying to act cool?
It leaned toward the latter.
“Fine, as long as you're awake.”
“Mhm,” Xu Xian grunted.
Yes, it was good to be awake.
Now that he was awake, there was still a chance to make amends.
To ensure the tragedy did not repeat itself.
Shuer stopped asking questions and turned its attention to more serious matters.
It said,
Fanzhou's fortune has decreased again.
It said,
The Twilight Emperor really deserves to die.
It said,
The Twilight Emperor and the dark creatures must be in league. We have to find a way to kill him, or Fanzhou will be destroyed by him...
It hesitated as it spoke, its eyes darting around.
Xu Xian's mind was clear as he asked casually, “Do you have an idea?”
Shuer's gaze shifted as it quickly denied, “No.”
Xu Xian saw through its thoughts and pointed it out, “Use the lightning tribulation to strike him to death?”
Shuer's eyes widened, and it sucked in a breath of hot air. “Hiss... Can you read minds too?”
Xu Xian was speechless.
Another damn rotten joke.
He said lazily, “It’s useless.”
“Eh?”
“That trick of yours won't work,” Xu Xian responded with certainty.
Shuer was doubly confused. It hadn't even said it yet, so how did he know it wouldn't work?
It asked, “How do you know it won't work?”
How did he know?
Xu Xian gave a bitter smile.
He didn't explain.
Supporting himself with a hand on his knee, he stood up. “Let's go. It’s time to head back.”
Shuer gave an 'oh' and started muttering under its breath.
After walking a short distance, Xu Xian couldn't help but stop and look back at Li Taibai’s dusty bones, his thoughts unknown.
He withdrew his gaze.
And headed straight back.
...
After leaving the subterranean world, Xu Xian did not show his face. Instead, he confined himself within Yun Zheng's grotto-heaven all day long.
He kept his doors closed to guests.
He did not take a single step outside.
The Heart Demon Tribulation was over, but Xu Xian did not feel happy about it. Instead, his face was clouded with worry every day, for that dream felt as though he had lived an entire lifetime.
He hadn't just predicted Fanzhou's future.
He had personally experienced it.
Even if,
That was a dream fabricated by the Twilight Emperor.
Xu Xian knew very well,
That it wasn't just a dream, but one of the thousands of possible futures for Fanzhou.
If he could not find a way to break the deadlock,
Everything would happen again.
And he would have to endure that same pain once more.
Therefore,
He needed to think, to find a way to change it all.
But what should he do?
He deduced,
He planned,
He calculated...
Once,
Twice,
A hundred times,
A thousand times...
One day,
Ten days,
A hundred days...
Deduction after deduction, failure after failure, just like the repetitions within the dream in the Heart Demon Tribulation.
He could not find the result he sought.
He looked up, his gaze piercing through the rocks above to see the starry sky. His eyes were filled with confusion as he asked the heavens.
“What exactly am I supposed to do?”
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