Chapter 598 - Incarnation
After Wen Zhong"s valiant effort a moment ago, the four of them still had lingering fears. So much so that they felt even Master would not be a match. How could it not be extremely dangerous?
As long as they could accompany Uncle-Master back to the Asura Blood Sea, it would be much safer there than in Xiliang.
However, they all understood that if they did not put themselves in the shoes of another, changing Master to Uncle-Master, he might not follow them. They thought that Uncle-Master was not willing to go with them. Even though this might offend their superiors, for the sake of Uncle-Master"s safety, it was something they were unable to change.
When everything finally comes to an end, they were perfectly willing to bear the brunt of whatever punishment that may come their way.
With regards to their thoughts, no doubt Shen Lian understood all too well. Mana could be the representative of many things, and yet there were times where it represented nothing at all.
Yuan Xuefeng took the lead and drew his sword, "Uncle-Master, your disciple has committed a wrong so great even a thousand deaths would not do justice."
He acquired the Black Turtle Demon Sword Incantation pa.s.sed down by Shen Lian. Recently the heat control was deeper, and the sword would be ferocious once it was unleashed as if time and s.p.a.ce were frozen.
The other three tacitly approved. With the particular characteristics of his sword freezing time and s.p.a.ce, they could then unhurriedly invite Uncle-Master to return to Asura Blood Sea. If Uncle-Master in his current condition could still be able to play them down and put them in their place, it would mean that he was not in critical condition yet, thus they were able to somewhat worry less.
Shen Lian gave a weak smile. With a move of his finger, he could manipulate the angled piercing of Yu Yingfa"s sword, exchanging it with Yuan Xuefeng"s sword body. The technique Yu Yingfa used was also pa.s.sed down by Shen Lian – the Vermillion Bird Clinging Fire Sword Incantation. As Shen Lian drew it in, Yuan Xuefeng"s water and fire intersected. A large shaking power promptly puts an end to the das.h.i.+ng spirit of Liu Weiyi"s White Tiger Seven Killings Sword.
Shen Lian walked leisurely. One step across and he placed his hands on Li Yuanliang"s shoulder. Even before the sword Qi of his Azure Dragon Heaven Ascending Sword could flourish, Li Yuanliang felt the restriction of the whole of his sword Qi.
From beginning until the end, Shen Lian did not need to display any universally shocking mana. Without so much as a breath, he stifled them all.
The four of them bitterly smiled, dumbfounded as to whether the events that just unfolded was a good thing or not.
Shen Lian spoke, "The strength of all four of you are already ahead of ninety percent of the cultivators out there. Combine that strength, and you are on par with the cla.s.s of land immortals such as that of the Seven Disciples of Xuanzhen. If they were to battle with you for a short time, it would difficult to predict who will be the winner. With my current strength, however, it would not be easy for me to quickly and efficiently put them in their place during battle. And yet, when I face the four of you in my present condition, I can do so quite easily. Can anyone tell me why?"
Yu Yingfa was the first to reply, "When Uncle-Master manipulated my Vermilion Bird Clinging Fire Sword, I felt that Uncle-Master"s conduct at the time was similar to when I usually spur my Qi of heaven and earth, with no difficulty. It was as if in Uncle-Master"s eyes, the sword Qi that I refined was no different from the Qi of vitality that incessantly flowed in the heaven and earth."
Shen Lian smiled and nodded, "Yingfa, do you know the precise reason why that is?"
Yu Yingfa had the lowest apt.i.tude among the four, but the most hardworking. The cultivation experience he had today was gained mostly from taking advantage of the Asura body. He could easily describe what he experienced, but he was not able to comprehend the reasons for experiencing it.
He shook his head and a reply came from Liu Weiyi, who was just beside Yu Yingfa, "The reason why we can drive the Qi of heaven and earth was that our power of the spirit was strong. The power enabled us to clearly see the whole sequence of events of the Qi of vitality that was all around us. From this, the divine thoughts spilt out, prompting our Qi of vitality, thereby using this as a pretext for the supernatural Dao techniques. A moment ago, Uncle-Master managed to accomplish this. That accomplishment was the natural result of seeing clearly Apprentice-Brother Yu"s sword force."
In response to the answer, Shen Lian asked, "What must be done in order to see clearly?"
Li Yuanliang"s restrictions were loosened. He rushed to answer first, "Uncle-Master"s Primordial Spirit is strong. It is able to clearly understand everything within a short time. Therefore it is only natural to see clearly."
Shen Lian shook his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and smiled, "I will go into solitary retreat. Wait until I advance. I will use the exact same state as I am using now to test you all one more time. When the moment comes, I hope you will not disappoint me."
Li Yuanliang and co could do nothing but look at Shen Lian entering the city. Finally, he vanished into Zimu River.
After a long while, Yuan Xuefeng spoke, "My apprentice-brothers, a while ago, it was not because of Uncle-Master using the mighty strength of his Primordial Spirit that he was able to defeat it. Did you all not realize that it was like we were caught in a game that Uncle-Master created from the moment he first made his move? Everything was played by his rules. We were helplessly toyed around and there was nothing we could do about it."
The hearts of the other three trembled. In the end, they acknowledged Yuan Xuefeng"s view. Even if what he said was so, when Uncle-Master once again advanced, they were still without a way that would enable them to endure the test after Uncle-Master"s advancement. As of now, that became their most pressing dilemma.
The four of them did not notice the tacit admission they simultaneously made – Uncle-Master would not be in any danger anymore.
As Shen Lian sank into the Zimu River, he heard the words of Yuan Xuefeng, and it seems that the latter could still be considered to have perception.
In fact, it was not only rules that Shen Lian could formulate. Inside his body, there was an embryonic form of a non-existent/illusory universe. The plan he wished to commence today was indeed akin to what Daoist Master Taishang said – all the things in the world are produced by being, and coming from non-being.
The so-called being was Taiyi, while the non-being was Taiyi.
Taiyi was indeed the soulful aura which led to the creation of heaven and earth and all living things.
The water from Zimu river, if drank, enabled the embryo to be born of the parent body with no foundation, not that it was a different kind of being from non-being. This was the reason why Shen Lian needed the essence of the Zimu River.
It was precisely because of this point, Shen Lian gradually understood something. From the beginning up until the end, not once did he escape from the plans fate had in store for him. He came to the Netherworld because Chen Jing had drunk the water from Zimu River to give birth to Xiliang, in the end, reliance on the river"s water was still needed in order to achieve Taiyi. Everything was too coincidental.
Even Wen Zhong"s sudden appearance with the use of the Mighty G.o.d of Thunder could not be as simple as just another plan. If there was no Wen Zhong, forgetting the principle would require a longer time and Shen Lian would definitely be unable to be in his current position with so quick a period of time.
Even though Shen Lian had earlier on established Zhou and caused Xia, Shang, and Zhou to coexist at the same time, there was still some uncertainty on whether he could achieve the desired outcome in the end.
He could not help but to miss Ye Liuyun. Among the both of them, there were empathy as fellow sufferers. If they were together, it would be more certain that they could join forces and collapse.
For Shen Lian, the quest for freedom contributed to the heightening of his power and state. Even though he seemed to be free, the truth was that it was all predetermined by fate. He and he alone could profoundly understand this.
Regardless of how much danger and torments he experienced, and how the complicated and touching story unfolded, ultimately he was still unable to break free of that unperceivable shadow.
Shen Lian slowly sank into the depths of the water. There was neither any light nor any sound. Even the flow of water was absent. It conjured up the thought of the self-divine aura that he still entrusted in the Realm of Dreams (databank uses Village of Nothingness).
Only after he thought about the aura did he feel a slight peace of mind. No matter what happens, he had already reached this step. Whatever the dangers were, he faced them all. Surely a chance would still exist for Dongshan to rise up again.
In another sense, from this day onwards any Shen Lian outside the Realm of Dreams (Village of Nothingness) would strictly, be an incarnation. Even if the incarnation was annihilated into scattered ashes and a puff of smoke, another Shen Lian would still appear in the world.
If he cultivated for a thousand years, then that is the amount that would be restored in his cultivation experience.
As this gradually happened, Shen Lian finally understood more on a deeper level why the State of Taiyi was this fearsome. If one"s karma was bounded with a person possessing the Taiyi state, it would result in a lifetime of nightmares.