Wei Yuan spent a full two hours recounting everything from his experience in the illusory realm that could be spoken aloud, omitting not a single detail.
Zhang Sheng helped him review it all, analyzing bit by bit the perils he had faced and the merits and flaws of his decisions.
The wraith's power had unquestionably reached the Scenery Command level. The world it created had been extraordinarily lifelike, its multitude of people each possessing a soul of their own; in that respect, they were truly no different from Wei Yuan.
Furthermore, when Wei Yuan entered that world, his origin soul and ordinary soul had been torn apart. Without the protection of his origin soul, his soul had lost all its might. That was why, from start to finish, Wei Yuan had been unable to unleash any superhuman martial prowess.
The only thing he could rely on was the extraordinary perception and breadth of insight forged through years of cultivation in his true body. Even though his memories had been locked away by an ingenious method akin to the mystery of the womb, his way of thinking, his knack for discerning the crux of a matter, and his decisiveness and reflexes could never be stripped away.
The first fatal peril in the illusion lay right at the start, when Li Tianci and his lackeys came looking for trouble with Wei Yuan. Back then, Li Tianci had seven or eight followers, while Wei Yuan had only one friend who could barely throw a punch, not to mention a cowardly consciousness lurking within his own body.
Both sides were ordinary mortals—eight or nine on one side, only two on the other. Under normal circumstances, turning the tables would have been completely out of the question.
Had Wei Yuan shown the slightest sign of weakness back then, he likely would have been severely beaten or even killed on the spot, thereby accomplishing the wraith's elimination of him.
The turning point had been Bao Yun's appearance. Given Wei Yuan's temperament, had it been just himself, he would have acted far more cautiously. But when those he held dear were in danger, he would disregard everything to fight to the death.
Thus, when Bao Yun appeared, even though Wei Yuan could not recall who she was, his instincts had instantly flared with killing intent. Braving the interference of the consciousness within him, he had battered Li Tianci into critical condition, both sides ending up bloodied and battered.
With Bao Yun at his side in the fights that followed, the worst of the danger had already passed.
The second danger lay in dealing with the hidden consciousness within his body. Had Wei Yuan been momentarily careless, or softened his heart enough to accept it, he would have merged with it right then and there. He would have carried it out of that doomed world, becoming something akin to two souls sharing one vessel.
Zhang Sheng paused here. Wei Yuan asked, "What danger is there in having two souls in one vessel? Is there no method to separate them?"
Zhang Sheng replied, "A soul isn't pork—can you carve it apart with a cleaver? Dual souls become intertwined, each woven into the other, yet retaining their own wills. Separating them requires an immortal artifact, and even then, making a clean split is no easy feat. As for the danger... well, until you severed that other soul from yourself, you wouldn't dare lay a single finger on me..."
Hearing this, Wei Yuan understood at once. He fumed with rage, "No wonder that repulsive fellow let me take over his body—that was his scheme all along! No wonder the sight of him sickened me! But don't worry, the moment I sensed something was wrong, I purged him. I used rather brutal methods too; unable to bear the agony of the flesh, he fled of his own accord, leaving completely clean! So..."
Wei Yuan took Zhang Sheng's hand and said, "...I'm still pure. Even Sister Xuanlu had a look."
Then Wei Yuan leaned in. Zhang Sheng did not dodge, calmly receiving his kiss. Only after their lips parted did she lightly brush her mouth, lost in thought. "This reaction of yours is rather strange—a bit too eager, and somewhat forced. Invoking Senior Xuanlu's name was meant to prove what you said was true, yet I hadn't even doubted you. What are you in such a rush to prove?"
Wei Yuan stammered, tongue-tied. He wanted to deny it, but knew it was futile.
Zhang Sheng picked up a counting rod in contemplative silence. As she pondered, her fingers unconsciously applied a bit too much force. With a sharp snap, the rod broke into two. Wei Yuan shivered inward, but fortunately his composure was well-trained; on the surface, he betrayed not the slightest reaction.
Zhang Sheng leaned down to pick up the fallen half of the rod, set it on the table, and let out a soft breath. "Just now, I suddenly came to a realization. You and I have long shared a bond forged through life and death—why bother fussing over such things? What you don't wish me to know, I shall simply pretend not to know. In any case, you would never deliberately hurt me."
With that, Zhang Sheng waved her hand to gather all the counting rods. Clenching her fist gently, sword qi flared, reducing them all to flying ash.
Guilt swelled in Wei Yuan's heart, so overwhelming that he nearly blurted out everything from the illusion that should have stayed unsaid. Fortunately, he was no longer the naive youth of his early years. If it shouldn't be said, he wouldn't say it even if beaten to death—no matter how guilty he felt. Otherwise, it wouldn't be baring his heart; it would be plunging a dagger into Zhang Sheng's chest.
Looking at Wei Yuan, Zhang Sheng suddenly smiled. "You truly have grown up. You know what should be said and what shouldn't."
Wei Yuan hurried to say, "Actually, I was just wondering—you should know about the karmic luck I carry. How could divination ever decipher me clearly?"
"Who was divining you?" Zhang Sheng rolled her eyes at him.
"Ah?" Wei Yuan gaped in surprise, immediately overcome by regret. Had his guilty conscience not betrayed him, she would never have caught him slipping.
Zhang Sheng said, "I was divining Senior Xuanlu. Although she is the artifact spirit of an immortal artifact and difficult to divine, it should never have been entirely impossible. Seeing how guilty you looked, I knew right away that she must have some connection with you.
"Just now, I went through the ancient records again and learned that the Fifth Palace Master bore the Daoist name Qingkong, but before entering the Palace of Grand Beginning, his true name was Bao Kongqing.
"Back then, he was the Bao family's most brilliant genius across hundreds of years, his talent surpassing even that of the Bao family's Immortal Ancestor. Yet upon venturing into the world, he crossed paths with the Fourth Immortal Lord and was instantly awestruck as if seeing a celestial. He returned home, broke off his arranged marriage, and joined the Palace of Grand Beginning.
"However, the Fourth Immortal Lord was dazzlingly brilliant, all but overpowering the era and possessing the majestic bearing of the Founding Ancestor. Countless men throughout the world fell hopelessly in love with her, yet she never favored a single one. The Immortal Lord once proclaimed that Heaven had granted birth to someone like her surely to turn the tide of the mortal realm. Thus, she spent her life striving toward the zenith of the Great Dao. Her gaze was fixed only upon figures like the ancient First Human Sovereign, leaving no room to notice the humble Bao Kongqing.
"Yet the treachery of the human heart was even more perilous than the path to immortality.
"The Fourth Immortal Lord was betrayed by her closest sworn sister, trapped in a desperate realm by an alliance of five alien immortals and three human immortals, and grievously wounded by a sneak attack from that very sister. Possessing an unyielding nature that would rather break than bend, the Immortal Lord slew five immortals on the spot and heavily wounded the remaining three, before her own being dissolved back into the cosmos.
"The Palace of Grand Beginning back then was not as formidable as it is today. With the Immortal Lord's fall, powerful foes converged from every quarter, threatening to sever the sect's lineage. Upon receiving news of her death, Bao Kongqing entered the Daoist path, calling himself Daoist Qingkong. He then waged fifty years of bloody battles against countless mighty enemies, single-handedly holding up the gates of the Palace of Grand Beginning to prevent them from falling, and even stepped across the Immortal Gate amidst the carnage, astonishing the world.
"After taking over as Palace Master, he spent another fifty years nurturing five or six candidates for immortal ascension for the Palace of Grand Beginning before finally stepping beyond the sect gates to seek vengeance against those who had ambushed the Immortal Lord. By then, the two surviving human immortals had become pillar-like titans of their respective domains, surrounded by countless allies and disciples. Thus, from the moment Immortal Lord Qingkong came calling to the moment he finally departed, he slew a total of four True Immortals.
"Afterward, he traveled far across the seas to hunt down the last alien True Immortal. Three years later, he returned with the True Immortal's corpse and buried it before the Fourth Immortal Lord's cenotaph at the main mountain of the Palace of Grand Beginning. One year later, after leaving behind the heritage of the Hall of Jianmu, Immortal Lord Qingkong passed away in seated meditation before the Fourth Immortal Lord's grave."
Listening, Wei Yuan was completely captivated. He had never imagined that the successive generations of Immortal Lords had all been people of such deep passion and conviction, living lives so magnificent and grand.
Zhang Sheng said, "Just now, I suddenly pieced all those fragments together—a flash of inspiration, you might say. It is only natural for Senior Xuanlu to look after Immortal Lord Qingkong's descendants. But she remarked that Bao Yun has the exact same temperament as Xiaobao back then, which must have referred to Immortal Lord Qingkong. With Senior Xuanlu's breadth of experience and insight, she would never speak idle words."
She tapped her fingers lightly against the table. After pondering for a moment, she said, "I am a sword cultivator; whatever you do around me hardly matters. But with Yun'er, you must take greater care.
"Do not assume that just because she is quirky, clever, and seems to understand everything, she can bear anything. The truth is, the more a woman acts that way, the more delicate her heart truly is. If you are careless, you may hurt her without even realizing it. As cultivators of our generation, while we may not always act entirely without regret toward others, at the very least we must never let them down."
"This disciple has taken your words to heart."
Having agreed, Wei Yuan asked cautiously, "What if... one day, I accidentally hurt you? What would happen then?"
Zhang Sheng chuckled softly. "Teaching you a lesson couldn't be simpler. I'll just bar you from my bed."
Chapter 765