Chapter 984
Invincible Below the Nascent Soul Stage!
"Greetings, Senior Li." Song Qingxing always maintained the respect due to an elder when dealing with Li Yuxia.
Nearly sixty years had passed since they parted. Li Yuxia had made further progress, breaking through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. Upon seeing Song Qingxing return safely, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
"No need for formalities, no need for formalities."
You have already broken through to the Golden Core stage, so it's no longer appropriate for you to call me senior. Let's address each other as fellow Daoists.
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you. To be able to fight your way through so many trial participants and become one of only two survivors, it's no wonder that Brother Zhengchun's sect sent you to bring him back. I wonder where Brother Zhengchun's remains are?"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Yuxia asked the question that concerned him most.
“Someone has collected Senior Bai’s remains, and the body was not damaged. I have brought him back.”
As he spoke, Song Qingxing "invited" Bai Zhengchun's body out.
Seeing his former comrade-in-arms turned into a cold corpse, Li Yuxia's heart was filled with turmoil. He counted the deep and shallow wounds on the other's body, and his eyes couldn't help but redden. He wondered how many of these wounds were endured to protect him.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist." Li Yuxia bowed solemnly, but Song Qingxing declined, saying in a deep voice, "This is my elder, and it is only right that I retrieve his remains. Senior, there is no need for such formality."
“If it weren’t for you, fellow Daoist, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. You deserve this gift.”
Furthermore, I have another request: I wish to escort Brother Zhengchun's remains back to his hometown so I can personally erect a monument for him and offer incense. I just don't know if that would be convenient.
Li Yuxia also knew some of the details of Luoxia City, hence his question. After all, he was a Golden Core cultivator with extraordinary destructive power, and if he went there rashly, he might be treated as an enemy.
There were three survivors from their year's Trial Road, and the other two have yet to reveal their identities. Under these circumstances, everything that happened on the Trial Road remains a mystery, and what he says is only one side of the story. The Falling Cloud City may not believe it.
In this situation, it would be best to consult with the authorities in Luoxia City first.
Song Qingxing understood what he meant and thought for a moment before saying, "I can ask for your permission, senior, but I can't guarantee the outcome."
"Hey, okay, it's alright if you don't pass." Li Yuxia rubbed his hands together, and the dignified Golden Core cultivator seemed a little flustered at this moment.
The reason he stayed here to post the bounty after the trial ended was that he felt ashamed to face Bai Zhengchun's fellow disciples, so he wanted to personally send his body back.
The most important thing is for fallen leaves to return to their roots and for the remains to be returned to their hometown. These things can be done by Song Qingxing, so whether he goes or not seems less important.
The Wuliang Sword Sect and the Great Qi cultivation world are almost half the distance of the cultivation world. Even with the fastest teleportation altar, a round trip would take at least a year.
During this time, Song Qingxing was naturally not idle either. If the Array Dao Academy is the holy land in the hearts of array masters all over the world, then the Boundless Sword Sect is half a holy land in the hearts of sword cultivators all over the world. Countless powerful swordsmen who became famous throughout the world have emerged from here.
His library contains half of the world's classic swordplay texts. Having come all this way, he naturally wouldn't let this rare opportunity slip by. His Xuan-level guest elder privileges were enough for him to access all the classics below the fifth rank.
A year passed in the blink of an eye, and the message from Luoxia City arrived as scheduled.
"How is it?" Li Yuxia asked expectantly.
"The city lord has agreed. Senior, you may return to your hometown with me."
"Really? Let's not delay, let's set off now."
It wasn't that Li Yuxia was impatient, but Bai Zhengchun's remains had been out there for far too long—two cycles of sixty years, a full 120 years—and he couldn't wait any longer.
"it is good."
……
The future scenes that appeared out of nowhere repeatedly assaulted Song Changsheng's consciousness.
He saw the sky crack and stars fall.
He saw all races slaughtering each other, and the four seas turning red.
He saw that on the land illuminated by the calamity star, everyone was struggling.
He saw that the powerful beings who had begun their plans ten thousand years ago were resurrected one after another, and he questioned the heavens.
Soul Clan, Barbarian Clan, Extraterrestrial Demons... alien races rise up, plunging the world into chaos and relentlessly devouring everything he cherishes and knows, while he is powerless to stop it.
"It's all fake, it's all an illusion created by my inner demons!"
Song Changsheng kept reminding and warning himself, afraid that he would fall into it.
At that moment, his heart began to waver, because what was shown in the picture was exactly what he was most worried about.
Catastrophe was the destiny of their generation. When the power of all races reached a certain level, the Heavenly Dao would mercilessly wield its scythe and begin to reap the harvest, and they were living in this era destined to be filled with blood and tears.
At this moment, that slightly shrill voice came out again: "You know better than I do whether it's fake or not. You will wake up soon, and you can verify one by one whether what you see is true or false."
We are one, you are me and I am you, how could I harm you? To harm you is to harm myself.
Think about it carefully. Heaven loves you so much that you were able to live a second life with your memories intact without needing to awaken your spirit.
If you had no family in your past life, Heaven will give you family; if you had no power in your past life, Heaven will give you power; if you died young in your past life, Heaven will grant you immortality.
Some things are enough to have had once; don't get lost in the comforts of life. Your future is vast, and it's time to shed these burdens.
By letting go of these burdens, Heaven will bestow upon you even greater blessings. Even if you aspire to be the emperor of humanity, the ruler of the world is not without its chances. At that time, you will have everything.
Come, join me, let us reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao, and become carefree immortals in the Celestial Realm.
The inner demon subtly tempted him, its words full of seduction, lingering in Song Changsheng's ears like a demonic chant, constantly tearing at his Dao heart.
Just then, Zhuang Yuechan's voice entered his mind. She was reciting a Buddhist scripture. Song Changsheng could already recite the contents of this scripture by heart, but at this moment it was like a clear spring, washing away the "dust" that had covered his Dao heart.
Over the years, Zhuang Yuechan has kept his words in mind and would take time out of her busy schedule every day to recite Buddhist scriptures for him. This is the main reason why he has been able to persevere for so many years despite his inner demons.
"Look at you, now you can only use that bunch of bald monks' stuff to numb yourself. It's useless. What I'm showing you is a preview of the future."
"This is a gift from Heaven to you; in the face of irrefutable facts, all of this is in vain." The inner demon spoke lightly, as if he were absolutely certain.
Song Changsheng regained a brief moment of clarity and chuckled softly, saying, "Since you can let me see the future, can you perhaps see your own end?"
"What do you mean?" The inner demon's tone carried a hint of wariness.
"Of course, it means exactly what it says. Didn't you say you can see the future? Then prove it to me, show me who really holds my fate in their hands."
"What do you want to do?"
"It's very simple. Just see if you're dead or alive in fifteen minutes."
"If you say you're alive, I'll detonate my Niwan Palace right now and take you down with me. If you're dead, then it means I won this fight, and those scenes you showed me were all fake." "Hahaha, what a joke! How could you possibly detonate your Niwan Palace? You wouldn't dare, you don't have the guts."
Why don't I have that courage?
As you said, if I don't abandon my people, I will die in the catastrophe. Since the final outcome is already predetermined, why shouldn't I dare to do it? It's just a matter of dying sooner or later.
It's quite interesting, really. You keep talking about destiny, so let me ask you this: if I were to die now before the catastrophe arrives, wouldn't that be considered changing the future?
If the future is unchangeable, it means that even if I detonate the Niwan Palace, I won't die, but that's impossible.
If the future can be changed, then there's no such thing as destiny. What you showed me is less than toilet paper.
I believe in fate, but nothing in this world is immutable. At least at this moment, your life and my own life are in my own hands, not in the so-called laws of heaven or fate.
Instead of asking me if I dare to die, you should first ask yourself if you want to die.
Now start the timer. You can see the future, so please tell me, in fifteen minutes, will we be alive or dead?
Don't doubt my resolve. Just as you said, I've already died once. Some things are enough to have experienced.
I used to have nothing, so naturally I wasn't afraid of losing it!
Song Changsheng's tone was firmer than ever before, without the slightest hesitation.
"You're a madman, you're a madman, a madman!"
Sensing his determination, the inner demon could no longer maintain its carefully constructed confidence; its voice became sharper, even somewhat hysterical.
"You are me, and I am you. You say I'm crazy, then why don't you dare to be crazy with me?"
Are you scared right now? What are you scared of? Are you scared of dying or of your lies being exposed?
To tell you the truth, your fear is justified. No matter what, you are going to die, and I would gladly die with you.
You want me to embrace the demonic path? Hmph, go dream on in hell!
"Impossible! You don't have the guts! You care about your people, you care about everything you have! You couldn't possibly do something so extreme!" the inner demon roared.
"Yes, you're right. I love my wife, I love my family, and I love everything I have."
Since you know all this, you should know even more that I am willing to give my life for them, and even if I die, I will never abandon them!
Although you keep saying that you are me, you know in your heart that you are not me. You are just my inner obsession and fear, so you ask me to give up.
The tribulation of inner demons is not only my tribulation, but also yours. Under this tribulation, one of us is destined to die.
So shut your high-sounding yet disgusting mouth. You can't bewitch me. Your power is indeed strong, and you can use my fear and anxiety to shake my resolve time and time again.
But you only wavered in the end; my fate is still in my own hands.
I might lose, but you will definitely not be the final winner.
Trying to exploit my luck? Dream on!
I won't give you any chance to take advantage of me!
Song Changsheng had gone all out; he refused to believe in fate today.
Rather than a battle against inner demons, it's more accurate to say that this is a challenge to the will of Heaven.
You say it's fate? Fine, then prove it to me now!
"Madman, madman!" The inner demon had completely panicked and began to emit sharp demonic sounds to affect Song Changsheng's consciousness.
But by this time, Song Changsheng had abandoned all wishful thinking, and verbal persuasion had no effect on him.
"Roar? Roaring counts as time. You still have half a quarter of an hour." Song Changsheng pressed closer.
The so-called inner demon tribulation is actually a psychological game; whoever can withstand the pressure will be the ultimate winner.
This game is inherently unequal; the inner demon doesn't possess any real power, it can only bewitch you by exploiting your own obsessions and wishful thinking.
But when you discard all of these things and simply flip the table, it has no way to deal with you.
It sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult to do, because very few people can completely abandon any侥幸心理 (a mentality of taking chances).
Song Changsheng couldn't do it at first either, so he struggled with his inner demons for decades.
And now, he's about to flip the table.
He had at least possessed it, so he wasn't afraid of death. But the inner demon is different; it craves possession, so it's even more afraid of death.
Any weakness will reveal a flaw.
Any flaws will be exploited.
As time passed, the power of the inner demon began to dissipate. From the moment Song Changsheng chose to overturn the table, it had already lost.
"Song Changsheng, you've won. I can't see a future, and my fate is indeed in your hands."
But don't think that what you see is fake. Remember, it's not me who showed you these things. I don't have that much power. It's Heaven, it's the Way of Heaven!
You won this round, but you defied the will of Heaven, and your fate will only be worse than mine.
Even if you miraculously survive the catastrophe, you will be all alone. Don't forget, you still have one more tribulation to face, a tribulation called immortality!
"boom--"
As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible bolt of lightning struck Song Changsheng's Niwan Palace, and the voice in his heart stopped abruptly. He suddenly felt as if something had disappeared from his body. He knew that it was his obsession.
This obsession was not ended by himself, but by the will of Heaven.
"Even if those things are true, I will not compromise with so-called destiny. Even if I have to face the will of Heaven, I will not be afraid!"
"Boom!"
A thunderclap resounded in Song Changsheng's mind, as if in response, or perhaps as a mockery and disdain.
"Om-"
The infant spirit emitted a hazy glow, dispelling all the darkness in the Niwan Palace.
His consciousness spun around him for a moment, then his soul returned to his sea of consciousness. He opened his eyes, and what came into view was Zhuang Yuechan's flawless profile...
...(End of this chapter)