Demon Sword Immortal

But was that really a 'thing'?

If one were to rely solely on Zhu Ling's description and analyze the language to form such a feeling, she would surely believe that Gui Xu is a living being, a life form, the source of all heavens and myriad worlds, and a supreme universal consciousness. The imagined eye is precisely this thing scrutinizing her, scrutinizing herself, a mere outsider.

However, once Bai Xiang truly grasped this insight, she roughly knew that it wasn't consciousness, nor was there anything staring at her.

Strictly speaking, everything the Wise Spirits gained from the end of the Ruins, whether it was some kind of enlightenment about the Dao or some kind of great terror of being stared at and manipulated, was entirely of their own making.

The Ruins themselves have no meaning; it is the gaze of the Wise Spirit that gives them meaning.

If you feel that it is an understanding of the Tao, then it will give you that understanding of the Tao.

You feel like you're being stared at and manipulated, and it truly materializes into eyeballs and monsters. You can't tell whether it's reality or a hallucination until you die in madness from fear.

Bai Xiang looked at Guixu with such insights, and her gaze was naturally extremely terrifying. This caused the Guiyuan Saint, who was blocking the path, to feel the same terror, his thoughts frozen, his body and mind completely immobilized.

Bai Xiang's gaze flickered, but her eyes regained their clarity.

The Saint of Returning Origin was still immersed in that great terror and could not extricate himself. It was as if he was frozen in place by the void. Even when Bai Xiang caught up with Zi Xu Palace, stepped on it, and even walked in front of him, he did not react at all.

"Sister~"

"Is this finally over?"

Suddenly, a wisp of white smoke floated out from Bai Xiang's body. The end of the smoke was invisible and intangible, and it wrapped around her body. Above it, a clear image of Bai Zhuqing was formed, as if a floating spirit was wrapped around her. She looked at this scene with great curiosity.

"Sort of, but not quite."

Bai Xiang shook his head, "Our real enemy has never been Shinto."

Although Shinto was arguably the most troublesome enemy she had ever encountered in her training, to be honest, Hakusou never considered Shinto a major threat.

As the Sage Zhu Ling said before, the reason why the divine way was able to form is the result of the wishes of all living beings.

The root of the divine way lies not in itself but in all living beings, in the foolish thoughts of all living beings. This thought and the soil that can give birth to this thought, this world, are the real enemies that Bai Xiang needs to guard against.

Bai Zhuqing had a vague understanding of this point. To put it bluntly, the fact that she could now 'merge' with Bai Xiang and offer her power for Bai Xiang to use, indirectly contributing to Bai Xiang's three selves becoming one, all stemmed from the fact that she was almost turned into a clone by Bai Xiang back then, and the strong desire to control each other that arose from the bottom of their hearts when the two sisters were of one mind at this moment.

So she tentatively asked Bai Xiang, "Is this person dead? Are we still going to Guixu?"

“He’s no different from being dead.” Bai Xiang squinted. “As for Guixu… do you want me to go?”

"do not wish."

Bai Zhuqing wrapped her arms around Bai Xiang's neck, leaned her face over from the side and back, and gently rubbed her cheek against Bai Xiang's, murmuring, "Some secrets are too mysterious, and knowing them may not be a good thing. I don't know what lies at the end of the Ruins of Return, I just want to stay in this moment... I'm already very satisfied with just this."

Bai Zhuqing harbored fear of Guixu. She didn't know what it was and was afraid that Bai Xiang would immediately attain enlightenment and ascend to another world after glimpsing Taixuan, directly breaking through the void.

It's not some virtual world or fragment of a small world, but another main world, another void, like the kind depicted in novels and movies, and it may never return.

"What if I insist on going?"

Bai Xiang raised his sword with his right hand, then gently stroked his sister's face with his left, tilting his head slightly to look at her: "If I absolutely have to go, will you stay or come with me?"

"Of course I'll go with you!" Bai Zhuqing answered decisively this time, then immediately slumped down: "Oh... after all, how could I bear to be separated from you... if you insist on going, then I can only go with you..."

"In that case, there's nothing to worry about."

Bai Xiang smiled and pinched her cheek again.

With you by my side, I'm sure I won't be lonely on this journey.

"If the end really is a big hole, and breaking through it will lead to another place, then it's just another new journey, a new path."

"We rely on each other, depend on each other, understand each other, and know each other."

"If you really feel lonely, we can have a few more children over there."

The fact that Bai Xiang could utter such straightforward words in such a natural and gentle tone caused Bai Zhuqing's entire body and mind to tremble, and then she suddenly entered a state of high temperature, with heat rising from the top of her forehead.

no……

This……

Sis, what are you talking about?!

"Not satisfied?" Bai Xiang tilted her head and smiled gently. "Or do you simply want me to take on the burden?"

"I'm going back!"

Bai Zhuqing couldn't take it anymore and retreated back into Bai Xiang's body to lie dormant.

The main reason is that Shiro's charm in this state is simply too amazing!

The supreme power of the realm, the graceful empress, all her unparalleled beauty and infinite charm were contained in that smile just now, like a flower blooming towards her.

Seriously... no one in this world could resist such gentleness and invitation. Bai Zhuqing felt that her older sister was far more powerful than any Devouring God Demon or Extraterrestrial Demon; she could steal a person's heart with just a smile!

At least she needs to calm down first, otherwise she's really afraid she won't be able to hold back and will just rush out and hug Bai Xiang tightly!

Little girl, you think you can mess with me?

After flirting with the girl, Bai felt refreshed and invigorated.

This is not a slackening, but an inevitable consequence of breaking through certain limits in strength and mindset.

Human desires, selfishness, and unbridled indulgence.

Freedom, self, and complete ease.

Because of the matching power and mindset, there is no longer a need to abide by past limitations.

As if thinking, not thinking, not non-thinking.

Her thoughts and sense of self have reached a realm that is difficult for outsiders to comprehend. This mysterious, soul-deep cleansing has endowed her with a new and ever-changing temperament, making her appear sometimes dignified, sometimes pure and holy, sometimes indifferent, sometimes charming... constantly switching and changing between various temperament modes, and finally returning to an elusive and unfathomable illusion.

It's no wonder Bai Zhuqing couldn't resist her; after all, the young girl's mental cultivation was still far from sufficient, and it was only because she could remain calm and retreat that she demonstrated remarkable self-control.

That's the time.

He appeared to be alone again, standing in the main hall of the Zixu Palace.

She could sense the passage of time within this palace, and if she wanted, she could see everything that had happened here in the past.

Those enormous divine generals and officials were not real beings, but rather figments of the imagination of the Sage Guiyuan.

In a sense, the Purple Void Palace, and even the entire Divine Path, are all imagined by the wishes of the people who offered sacrifices. This is very similar to the Non-Thought Heaven and the Non-Thought Palace in relation to Bai Xiang, as both of them rely on her thoughts.

So, is it really possible to do something like this?

Expanding my thoughts, I align them with the Dao of Heaven, with the Void Calamity, with the Return to Nothingness. With my will, I will reshape all things and reconstruct their origins. On one hand, I will correct everything according to my will; on the other hand, as Qing'er said, I will try to break free of the cage and explore the realms beyond this space-time…

In the past, anyone, including Bai Xiang himself, would have thought this was absolutely wishful thinking, a pipe dream.

This is practically a state of "generating all things from thought." The myths of the Three Kingdoms are just bragging, and so are the myths of the Crusader Kings. The world and all things are just a dream created by some being. That's about the same level.

Bai Xiang wasn't sure if she could do it before, but now she doesn't even think about those three words anymore. Instead, she only considers whether she should do it and when to do it.

Standing alone, she vaguely felt that there were figures moving around her.

There is Bai Shengju, Bai Guanshan, Bai Lianzhou, and Bai Leying.

There are also Xiang Xian, Song Ruhua, Guo Rongzhi, Xu Shu, Liu Yong, Lian Feng, and others.

Time drifted down like a light veil from all around, and swirled around her like flowing water and mist. She saw one familiar or unfamiliar figure after another pass by, but in the end, she steadied her sword and plunged its tip into the heart of the sage before her.

A radiant light shone forth, and a gateway opened ahead.

At this moment, all of time transformed into two distinct forms: one fast-forwarding, the other regressing. The surrounding figures and sounds were accelerated in the process, and Bai Xiang felt as if he were walking in a palace of clouds, in the supreme immortal realm desired by all living beings, and could only see figures standing in front of him.

And they were also looking back at her, calling out her special nickname.

"I miss my son."

"Wishful thinking!"

"Sister!"

"Sword head."

"I miss my sister!"

"Supreme Immortal!"

"Master."

"Master."

"elder sister!"

"aunt!"

"Mother~"

"Emperor Xia".

"His Majesty."

"Emperor."

"The Emperor's Thoughts."

This includes not only people she knows, but also people she doesn't know and has never met, but who definitely existed in time.

She saw Emperor Jing.

That was the first emperor in history to create a golden age of demonic prosperity.

I saw the imperial seal.

That Emperor Da Xuan, who was about to make a mistake and fail at the last moment.

I saw Digu.

The Great Ancestor of the Great Yu Dynasty was a man of extraordinary talent, yet he was still bound by fate and passed away before reaching the end of his life.

One after another, figures looked at Bai Xiang, stared at her, watched her figure come into view, and then followed her back as she gradually disappeared into the distance.

With her lips pressed tightly together, the white-haired empress lowered her eyes slightly and took a firm step forward.

She surpassed these figures one by one, from the present to the past, from the past to the future, until there were no more figures in front of her, only her alone with her sword facing the Void, facing the endless abyss ahead.

“I think, therefore I am.”

"I think this is my way."

"Come on, Tai Xuan."

The Empress's golden eyes stared straight into the abyss.

"If you really are just a mirror, then I'm curious, can you reflect my image?"

After saying that, she took the last step forward and disappeared completely into the darkness.

Chapter 156 Reflections (Three-in-One) (7k words complete)

As the light breaks through the darkness, the first thing you see is a mirage of seven colors.

It was similar to the light and shadow that Bai Xiang saw when he intervened in the Seven-Colored River last time, except that this time the scope and scale were obviously much larger and more vast than before, to the point that the splendor of the seven colors had reached the level of 'microscopic detail', gradually revealing the underlying color of the river.

What does that mean?

To simply look at a vast, empty river radiating seven colors would actually be quite nauseating. The colors are so gaudy, resembling the sheen of oil floating on water reflecting sunlight—it's practically mental pollution.

However, once these lights and colors are broken down into smaller fragments, they gradually disappear, just like the sunlight seen in the daytime and everything illuminated by it, with no superfluous colors visible.

Bai Xiang felt exactly the same way. The seven colors only appeared before her eyes for a moment before gradually fading away. The void river gradually lost its brilliance as it flowed away, approaching nothingness and darkness, almost merging into the gloomy void.

This can actually be described as a mysterious and even magnificent scene, because although it almost disappears from view, its trajectory remains unchanged. Its passing will stir up the ethereal light of the void itself, and that light will be stirred into an invisible and broken shape like ripples and dust.

Such changes in light and shadow are extremely slow and complex. But Bai wanted to know that this slowness was actually an illusion, because the Void Tribulation itself was moving too fast, which made everything else appear slow.

She now projected her consciousness onto the river, gaining a subjective perspective identical to that of the river itself. She constantly observed everything around her, discovering that this slowness was actually intensifying.

The changes in the illusory light were slowing down, showing a jerky, erratic pattern reminiscent of those on the screens of old instruments. At first, Bai Xiang tried to use calculations to investigate the cause of the slowdown, but after several unsuccessful attempts, she realized that this slowness might be the nascent form of a virtual year.

The nominal year... I can actually observe the process of the birth and spread of the nominal year from this perspective?

In the past, this would have been absolutely impossible. Whether it was the Kuafu tribe or the two sages who later plotted against Tai Xuan, in their perception, the Void Year, that is, the Great Tide, was only a "moment" or a "fleeting instant" once it was triggered, and it was almost impossible for anyone to observe it from such a perspective.

At least the two saints were able to realize that this had happened in that 'moment,' and thus strive for that fleeting opportunity to understand it.

Like the Kuafu tribe, and many more demon gods and great demons, they had no idea what was happening. In the blink of an eye, they were sent to the future by Xu Nian.

Compared to these people, Bai Xiang's achievements are already quite remarkable. She essentially forced control over the passage of time through her own subjective will, to the point that her concept of existence was infinitely elevated to a similar level, which is why she was able to gain this shared perspective.

This was an extremely rare and interesting experience. Bai Xiang originally thought that he would crash into the Ruins of Return at an extremely fast speed along with the Seven-Colored River, which would then trigger a violent shock similar to a supernova explosion. Various fragments of rules, fragments of origin, laws and truths would be smashed out in the process and scattered everywhere in the void. This was also the tidal scene left in the memories of the two saints. At least in their view, the tide should be like this.