Thirteenth month of death

Chapter 262 Flowing Memories
Rainwater dripped from the green-tiled eaves of the Taoist temple, making a crisp sound as it tapped on the stone steps.

Wu Dao knelt in the center of the main hall, his back, as hard as bluestone, ramrod straight.

Master Yunweizi's whisk felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"You wicked man, do you even know your mistake?"

The old Taoist's voice seemed to come from a very far place.

Li Daosheng... no, at this moment he is Wudao.

He felt a moment of disorientation.

He clearly remembered that he was Li Daosheng, undergoing a test in the Xuantian Sect, so why did he now truly become Wudao kneeling on the ground?
The line between illusion and reality became blurred, and memories washed over his consciousness like a tide.

"This disciple does not know." He heard himself answer, his voice carrying the cold, hard quality unique to Shi Ling.

"You secretly taught the mountain people the art of stone manipulation, almost causing a great disaster." Yun Weizi's whisk became even heavier. "Do you know what kind of conflicts would arise if mortals mastered such techniques?"

A sneer came from a corner of the main hall.

Wu Dao didn't need to turn around to know it was his senior brother, Xuan Yangzi.

The jealousy in his eyes was so real it almost burned two holes in Wudao's back.

"Master, you are wise. I only taught them to build walls with stones to keep warm." Wu Dao heard himself explain, but felt a sense of absurdity—this was clearly not his memory, yet it was terrifyingly real.

He could feel the cool touch of his knees against the bluestone floor and smell the damp scent of sandalwood mixed with rainwater inside the hall.

Yun Weizi sighed, "You are ultimately not of my kind and do not understand the wickedness of human nature."

These words are like a blunt knife, slowly but firmly piercing the heart of the immoral.

Li Daosheng shared this pain and suddenly understood why Wudao always felt a sense of alienation... This being, who had taken the form of a stone, could never truly integrate into the human world.

"Go and repent in the pine tree. Do not descend the mountain again without my permission." Yunweizi's verdict was delivered.

Wu Dao silently kowtowed three times, and as he stood up, he caught a glimpse of the smug smile on Xuan Yangzi's lips.

Li Daosheng sensed the turbulent emotions surging within Wudao's heart—confusion, anger, hurt, and a hint of indescribable loneliness.

On the cliff of the Repentance Pine, there is a stone cave in the cliff face, which is cold and damp.

Wu Dao sat cross-legged in the deepest part, his fingertips unconsciously drawing deep marks on the stone wall.

Li Daosheng's consciousness floated within this body, like an uninterrupted bystander.

"Who am I?" Wu Dao suddenly asked, his voice echoing between the stone walls.

Li Daosheng wanted to answer, but no sound came out.

He felt dizzy, and the scene before his eyes began to distort and deform.

When his vision cleared again, he found himself standing in a sea of ​​fire.

The temple's beams and pillars collapsed in the flames, and a series of shrill screams echoed from afar.

He is now wicked...

He frantically searched through the fire for that white-haired figure.

"Master! Master!"

Thick smoke filled their lungs, and Li Daosheng and Wudao coughed violently at the same time.

They finally found Yunweizi, who was on the verge of death, in the ruins of the main hall.

The old Taoist had a peach wood sword stuck in his chest. The sword belonged to the Taoist temple and was also the sword of his senior brother, Xuan Yangzi.

“Disciple…” Yun Weizi’s hand trembled as he raised it to touch Wudao’s face, “I was wrong… Among all innate beings, you actually understand… what… the Dao is… better than any human being…”

The old man's hand fell limply, and his last breath dissipated in the scorching air.

Wudao remained silent, like a stubborn rock.

Li Daosheng felt a powerful force surging from the depths of the earth, rushing up from Wudao's feet straight to his head.

The surrounding flames were extinguished instantly, the rubble floated in the air, and the entire mountain began to tremble.

"Xuan Yangzi!" Wudao's roar triggered a landslide, and the illusion shifted once again.

Li Daosheng felt a wave of dizziness, and when he regained his balance, he found himself standing in a pool of blood.

Xuan Yangzi's body lay scattered in pieces around him, and Wu Dao's hands were covered in blood and gravel. Li Daosheng suddenly realized that he was experiencing the most important turning point in Wu Dao's life—from a clueless stone into the existence that would later strike fear into the hearts of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

This memory was buried deep within the consciousness of Wudao, but now it is fully revealed to him through the illusion of the Xuan Tian Mirror.

Every memory was so vivid that Li Daosheng almost forgot his original identity.

"Li Daosheng!"

A clear, cold voice pierced through the mists of memory.

In a daze, Li Daosheng saw a glimmer of blue light—it was Su Moshi's bronze mirror!

"Remember who you are!" Su Moshi's voice came from near and far. "These are not your memories!"

Li Daosheng suddenly woke up with a start.

He found himself standing in a void, with fragments of Wudao's memories flashing by like shooting stars all around him.

Su Moshi's bronze mirror hovered not far away, its surface reflecting his bewildered face.

"Fairy Su?" he tried to call out, his voice terribly dry.

The bronze mirror shone brightly, and Su Moshi's figure emerged from it.

She looked exhausted, her Taoist robe stained with blood, but her eyes remained resolute.

“This illusion is devouring our consciousness,” she said quickly. “The Xuan Tian Sect Master didn’t tell us that those who enter the illusion will experience the life of the memory’s original owner. If we become addicted to it, we will be lost forever.”

Li Daosheng looked down at his hand—sometimes it was the pale blue-white stone spirit body, and sometimes it returned to his original form.

"I...I can hardly tell anymore..." A look of pain crossed his face. "Who am I?"

Su Moshi placed his palm on his forehead, and the cool, watery magic power brought him back to his senses.

“Listen to me,” her voice was more urgent than ever before, “Although the Dao created you and gave you a physical body, your soul and your will are unique to you.”

"What makes you who you are is not important; what matters is who you think you are."

Su Moshi's voice trembled along with the bronze mirror.

The surrounding fragments of memory began to twist and deform.

A massive shadow appeared deep within the illusion—it was the complete memory of Wudao, being solidified into reality by the illusion.

Suddenly remembering something, Li Daosheng unleashed four magical treasures from his body: the Blood Jade Bead, the Cold Marrow Needle, the Rose Sword Hairpin, and the Lifeless Seal.

They emitted a faint glow in his palm, as if echoing each other.

Just then, the entire illusionary realm trembled violently.

Wudao's figure materialized in the distance, towering higher than a mountain.

His eyes were like two lifeless blue stones; wherever his gaze fell, fragments of memory solidified into cold stone statues.

As Li Daosheng watched the approaching giant, he suddenly made an unexpected move—he walked forward and faced the embodiment of the Daoless Consciousness.

Su Moshi was about to stop them, but then seemed to remember something and stood still, cautiously controlling the azure light and keeping a close eye on Li Daosheng and Wudao's incarnation.

A colossal stone statue and a flesh-and-blood body, one large, one small; one tall, one short; one demon, one human.

Li Daosheng stood before the giant, looking up to meet its stone eyes.

“I saw your memories,” Li Daosheng said loudly, “from when you were a stone…”

“I see your loneliness, your anger, and your…fear.”

The giant's movements paused for a moment.

“The Xuan Tian Sect Leader wanted to devour me with your memories,” Li Daosheng reached out and touched the giant’s stone body, “but he was wrong. Your memories will not make me disappear; on the contrary, they will make me know more clearly that I am Li Daosheng, not a copy of anyone else.”

Cracks began to appear on the giant's body, and dazzling light shot out from the cracks.

The entire illusion began to collapse, and fragments of memory melted away like snowflakes.

The four magical treasures in Li Daosheng's hands glowed simultaneously, summoning a treasure mirror within the illusion.

It is... the Mysterious Heavenly Mirror.

(End of this chapter)