Chapter 22 The Heavenly Evolution Secret Realm: Knocking on the Heart's Door
"Is it better to be a mortal or a cultivator?"
Her voice echoed through the secret realm, questioning the soul.
The group of people in the illusory mist fell into their own mental sea and spoke back to the voice.
One disciple of the Tianyan Sect answered without hesitation, "Of course it's better to be a cultivator. Having your own abilities is better than anything else!"
"Then do you think your cultivation level is enough to help you escape unscathed when facing all difficulties and dangers?" the voice countered.
"At least at that time, I still had a chance to fight back, instead of being slaughtered by others."
Another disciple of the Tianyan Sect pondered for a long time in his sea of consciousness and said, "Being a person or a cultivator is fine, but if I had to choose, I would still choose to be a cultivator. I want to protect the people I want to protect."
"So, if you and the person you want to protect are both in trouble, would you choose to give up yourself for them?"
He answered firmly, "I will!"
...
Fu Yusheng stood deep within his own sea of consciousness, looking at his sword heart trapped in chains and the Spring Return Sword behind him, which was also entangled in countless chains.
"It is truly pitiful and lamentable that the once glorious Sword Master Rang Chen has fallen to such a state."
Fu Yusheng's eyes held a smile, and his voice was languid and casual.
"Really? But I think I'm fine the way I am now."
"Do you think it's better to be a mortal or a cultivator?"
"If you had asked me ten years earlier, I would have said that there is no difference between cultivators and mortals. When I was born, all seventy-two spiritual apertures were already open. For me, the growth of cultivation is as simple and boring as drinking water and breathing."
"When I was seven years old, I had already obtained the Dust-Gathering Sword. For me, the way of the sword is a rare and interesting thing in the vast world."
"I never thought about cultivating immortality; I only do what I think I should do."
The voice paused for a moment, then said, "And now? Have you ever regretted saving that child in the South China Sea that day?"
He shook his head. "I will never regret what happened in the past."
"Really?" He asked slowly, "You really have no regrets?"
A gentle breeze appeared in the sea of consciousness, and the sound of the bell was clear and melodious.
Fu Yusheng froze instantly, turning around stiffly.
Above the boundless water, the pavilion's curtains and the copper bells on its eaves intertwine, swaying gently in the air.
In the center of the pavilion, the girl looked at him with a smile in her eyes. She spoke, her voice soft and melodious.
"Fu Yusheng".
He seemed trapped by a magic array, unable to move an inch. The red tassel on the side of his mask was still swaying.
His voice resonated deep within his heart.
"Do you dare to take off your mask and tell her your name?"
Fu Yusheng did not answer, but only stared at the girl in the pavilion.
"You wouldn't dare."
He answered for him.
"So how could you possibly have absolutely no regrets?"
...
"Young Master of the Jade Terrace Realm, as a mortal, you are destined to have no hope of cultivating the path to immortality. Do you have any complaints?"
The starlight-filled water rippled in circles as Fu Yunyao moved. She looked at the ice mirrors standing on the water and let out a soft laugh.
She spoke, her gentle voice seemingly filled with boundless compassion.
"Whether one is a mortal or a cultivator makes no difference to me."
The voice bewitched, "Attaining immortality and gaining the power to move mountains and level seas, easily controlling the life and death of others, wielding supreme authority—aren't you tempted? Or perhaps, you could protect this seemingly prosperous, but in reality desolate, mortal and cultivation world?"
She smiled and tilted her head slightly.
"Why should I protect the mortal realm and the cultivation world? Giving up myself for others is, in my opinion, the most foolish decision."
For example, there's Fu Yusheng, who died in the South China Sea, and Liu Yao, who lost her life in Qiushui Town for the sake of Miss Bai.
"I don't need to attain immortality or become a celestial being; I've never cared about such ethereal and illusory things."
"Since I am a mortal, I am content to be a mortal. As for what I can possess and what I will obtain, as long as I am myself, I will get what I want."
As long as I am who I am, nothing else matters.
"You should know that if you weren't a mortal, you wouldn't have to endure the constraints of the Dust Restriction. You were born with sword bones, and if you were a cultivator, your future would be smooth and all swords would submit to you."
The voice was still bewitching her.
Fu Yunyao was puzzled, "I am a mortal, yet I can also have a smooth future and gain the submission of ten thousand swords."
At the age of fifteen, I was able to comprehend sword intent in a forbidden area filled with restrictions and break free from the constraints of the formation.
Ten years ago, during the cultivation world competition, despite being restricted by the Restriction of Dust, I was still able to win second place while wielding the Flowing Firefly Sword, which was like an ordinary sword.
On the day Fu Yusheng perished in the South China Sea, I received the recognition of the Chen Sword and became the first mortal to be granted the title of Sword Master.
I am a mortal, but I am also who I am, who twice beheaded the Demon Lord and left behind dusty sword energy on the borders of the mortal realm time and time again.
Now, I can stand shoulder to shoulder with several sect leaders of immortal alliances who have cultivated for many years.
"I'm just a mortal, so what?"
"You said it yourself, it's you, and only you, who could achieve such a feat with a mortal body."
Fu Yunyao raised her eyes, and on the ice mirror in front of her were her memories of the Central Continent. Under the abuse of demonic beasts, the Central Continent was abandoned by the cultivation world, and the Mo family defended their homeland in their own way.
She spoke again.
"Wrong. It's not just me. In this vast world, there are millions of me. Perhaps they haven't reached the same heights as me yet, but one day, they will succeed too."
The cultivation world and the mortal realm should not be solely dominated by cultivators.
"So you think it's better to be a mortal than a monk?"
Fu Yunyao slightly curved her eyebrows and said, "I have never been a cultivator, but I know someone who became famous at a young age and has excellent talent and character."
Actually, I don't quite understand why someone would be so crazy about someone they've never even met. But when I think about who that person is, I realize it's not so hard to understand.
If he were to answer, he would probably say that he is quite satisfied with himself as a monk.
The important thing is never whether it's better to be a mortal or a cultivator, but whether you can truly accept your own identity.
The voice laughed, and the ethereal feeling vanished, replaced by a clear and melodious sound.
Fu Yunyao opened her eyes amidst a cloud of mist. At the summit of Tianyan Mountain, a woman dressed in the robes of the Tianyan Sect's leader casually swirled the wine cup in her hand.
"I really do like you."
Fu Yunyao was slightly taken aback, "Sect Master Mu?"
Mu Shu looked at her without responding. "At the summit of this mountain, there is a sword technique passed down from me. It was something I comprehended under the punishment of Heaven. I think that perhaps one day you will be able to use it."
Fu Yunyao murmured repeatedly, "Heavenly punishment?"
The figure belonging to Mu Shu dissipated. This was originally a phantom left behind by Mu Shu before her death. In order to escape the control of the Heavenly Dao, it was hidden deep in the Heavenly Evolution Spirit Vein and eventually transformed into a secret realm.
As she dissipated, countless sword energies materialized, each carrying the immense power of life. There was the vitality of withered trees coming back to life, the resilience of new buds breaking through the soil, and the grandeur of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers reviving in the spring breeze.
"I call this sword move—"
Eighty thousand springs.
Within a speck of dust lie three thousand worlds; in a fleeting moment, eighty thousand springs.
Being at the center of the sword energy, Fu Yunyao was most able to feel the myriad vitality of the sword intent within it.
The sword in his hand was covered in frost, and his fighting spirit was high.
Fu Yunyao closed her eyes slightly, and when she opened them again, her sword intent spread out, turning the clouds and mist all over the mountain into ice particles that floated in mid-air. Ice flowers covered the ground, and even the ancient trees on the mountaintop were covered with a layer of frost.
The two sword intents collided: one was the biting cold of a desperate situation, the other was the vitality nurtured within the Dao.
The sword energy of "Eight Thousand Springs" weakened at first, as if it was completely suppressed by Fu Yunyao's sword energy, but it pounced again in the next instant.
The sword intent of "Eight Thousand Springs" is never a gentle spring breeze, but a resolute and courageous determination to live in the face of death.
It swept through, softening the frost on the ancient trees and shattering the ice flowers covering the mountains.
Fu Yunyao tilted her head and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The veil on her head had long been lost in the sword energy. Her hair was disheveled, but her eyes became even brighter.
The sword energy of "Eight Thousand Springs" still lingered above the mountain peak. Fu Yunyao tested the waters again and again, her white robes stained with specks of crimson, but she seemed oblivious, her movements showing no sign of slowing down.
Until she swung her sword again, causing the Dust Sword Edge to produce the same sword energy as "Eight Thousand Springs," and the two "Eight Thousand Springs" sword energies collided, she swung her sword once more.
It was a pure and supreme sword intent, and ice flowers still bloomed wherever it passed. However, this time, the moment this sword energy touched the previous "Eight Thousand Springs" sword energy, it actually began to merge!
The extreme cold that once seemed to devour everything has taken on a new life force; it is no longer a biting chill, but a genuine sprouting amidst the snow and ice.
The moment this sword energy collided with the sword energy of "Eight Thousand Springs," the sword energy of "Eight Thousand Springs" dissipated, becoming a spring breeze that nourishes all things.
She opened her eyes again. This time, she appeared outside the secret realm. The Dust-Slaying Sword in her hand hummed, and frost fell, turning into spiritual energy before hitting the ground.
Several other disciples of the Tianyan Sect also appeared one after another outside the secret realm.
"What happened to us? What just happened?"
"I felt like I returned to my spiritual sea, and then I was kicked out by a strange force. When I opened my eyes, I was outside the secret realm."
"Me too!"
"..."
Fu Yunyao glanced around. Several disciples of the Tianyan Sect had already left the secret realm, but the people who had entered the secret realm with her had not come out.
The disciples of the Tianyan Sect also discovered it, but they were not worried.
"That fellow Daoist seems reliable at first glance, there will be no danger."
Fu Yunyao also felt that he should be fine, but this secret realm existed because of the inheritance of the "Eight Thousand Springs" sword technique. Now that she has obtained the inheritance, the secret realm should disappear. So where did he go?
...
"Admit it, you regret it. From the moment you chose to save your child, you lost the chance to appear before her again. Once she finds out you are still alive, in order to prevent the Dust Sword from recognizing you as its master again, she will definitely kill you with her own hands."
Fu Yusheng gazed at the girl in the pavilion, while the Spring Return Sword, trapped in chains, continuously emitted a series of humming sounds.
The voice continued to tempt him.
"Look, even if you're by her side now, what good will it do? She doesn't even know it's you."
"Fu Yusheng".
The girl in the pavilion spoke again.
Fu Yusheng finally came to his senses. He lowered his eyes and slowly spoke.
"It's okay. As long as I can be by her side, I don't care about anything else."
The voice seemed surprised by the response and paused for a long time.
Fu Yusheng then spoke.
"Are you trying to... induce me to develop inner demons by constantly leading me astray?"
He smiled, his voice frank.
"Then you're going to be disappointed. I know very well what I want. I could never fall into demonic possession."
A thunderstorm enveloped his mental sea of consciousness, and a bolt of lightning flashed by, followed by a thunderous roar that sounded like a furious outburst.
Fu Yusheng stood still, locked in a stalemate with Him.
The thunderclouds then unleashed a final, deafening bolt of lightning beside him before slowly dissipating.
Once his mental sea of consciousness returned to calm, Fu Yusheng could no longer hold back and coughed lightly a few times.
The pavilion still stood before him, including the girl in plain clothes inside, who maintained her expression as she looked at him.
He walked step by step to her, reaching out to touch nothingness, but he didn't care, continuing to gently stroke her hair.
"Understood," he said.
"It's okay, as long as I can be with you, nothing else matters."
A note from the author:
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Within a single speck of dust lie three thousand worlds; in a fleeting moment, eighty thousand springs. —Lü Dongbin, "Seven-Character Poem"
For Liao Liao, as long as she is still herself, nothing else matters.
I hope everyone can stay true to themselves and always love themselves.
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