Chapter 105 Just a Pawn 24
When Xuanwei first arrived in this illusion, he did not have the Emperor's memories, but he knew what the Chun Jun Sect leader was planning to do: to use his disciple with the innate sword body as material to forge a divine sword.
The Chun Jun Sect leader had an impression of Xue Zhao, but when it came to "disciple," a different figure vaguely appeared before Xuan Wei's eyes. At the same time, a very clear thought arose in his mind: he couldn't do this; if he did, he would definitely regret it.
However, forging the divine sword had become an obsession for the Chun Jun Sect leader. If he continued to follow the path of his current memories, he would inevitably have to go through this step. Xuan Wei decided to try a different method. Since the divine sword possessed a spirit, he separated the superfluous consciousness from his sea of consciousness and infused it into the sword. Xuan Wei had a vague impression that this consciousness was quite extraordinary, and placing it in this sword was actually somewhat of a waste for it.
The next thing that happened was that "Xue Zhao" came up the mountain, the two fought, and "Xue Zhao" fell into the sword-forging furnace.
Then Xuanwei used his immortal power to reverse time.
At this point, the Emperor's memories naturally broke through the seal of the illusion, and he also lost the traces of Xun Que's soul. How could he still have the mind to pay attention to the original plans of the Chun Jun Sect leader?
Looking at Ren Yi's current actions, Xuan Wei suddenly realized that perhaps... A Que's initial motivation was this sword.
—For the immortal soul within the sword.
Xuanwei had caused such a commotion that the illusion had long reached its limit. He had just caught Ren Yi as he fell, and before he could say anything, the surrounding scenery collapsed inch by inch. The souls of the three people in the illusion were even directly spat out by Youyuan.
Having reached the level of power at Youyuan, it had a vague awareness of time reversal. Originally, there were too many remnant soul illusions in the belly of the Netherworld Dragon, and Youyuan didn't have the energy to pay attention to each one of them. After swallowing three divine souls, it went to sleep, but unexpectedly, it caused such a big commotion.
Youyuan had just been startled awake by the sensation of time distortion. It didn't actually know exactly what had happened, but having lived for such an ancient time, it had seen far too many things to be sure, and even if it was just a guess, it could get pretty close to the truth.
Youyuan sighed inwardly.
"Di Li".
The enormous dragon's eyes fixed on Xuanwei, who was the first to regain consciousness, and it called out the same name again.
Xuanwei was still somewhat dazed when he was transported from the illusion to reality.
He realized his arms were empty and instinctively looked for Ren Yi, not having a chance to immediately refute You Yuan's address.
Youyuan continued, "I should have told you that you and he were both born to face the calamities of Heaven. You have been going against Heaven's will, and you will surely be punished by Heaven."
The roar emanating from the black dragon's massive form shook the heavens and earth, as if it were a warning from the heavens.
Xuanwei was taken aback.
"Born to face the calamities of Heaven"? Isn't that Yuan Que's destiny?
As he pondered this, his body moved on its own, staggering over to embrace the puppet that contained the soul of Xun Que.
But he suddenly sensed something was wrong: No, something's not right! A-Que's spiritual aura is off!!
Xuanwei finally realized the anomaly he had overlooked due to his worry about Xun Que's soul injury. Xun Que's soul aura had changed; compared to Yuan Que, Xun Que now seemed more like the one repairing the Heavenly Dao. (System: =v= Chest out.jpg)
When did the changes occur?
Xuanwei thought this way, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact time when Xun Que woke up from the puppet's body. He was overwhelmed with joy, followed by anxiety and worry, and then Xun Que's soul injury became apparent... He didn't have time to carefully examine the subtle changes in Xun Que's soul from beginning to end.
If what Senior Youyuan said is true, then Xunque is the one who repaired the Heavenly Dao, and what he is looking at now is the original form of his soul.
Before that, who exactly was concealing Xun Que's divine soul aura?
And who can do that?
The answer was so obvious that even if Xuanwei himself didn't want to think about it, the name immediately came to mind.
—Emperor Li Zun.
The moment doubt arose, a flood of memories came rushing back.
Xuanwei couldn't help but think of his encounter with Yuan Que years ago, a coincidence so perfect it felt as if someone had divined fate and deliberately placed him before him. (Ren Yi: No! That was the destiny of the main characters!!)
Later, Yuan Que descended to the mortal realm, but the ten-thousand-year deadline for repairing the Heavenly Dao was approaching, so he had to go and search for him in person. That's when he unexpectedly encountered Xun Que, whose fate was extremely similar to Yuan Que's.
Could such a coincidence really exist? Two completely unrelated people, yet their destinies are so similar, and even their appearances are alike, as if they were twins.
(Ren Yi: That's how melodramatic the plot will be.)
He didn't suspect anything at the time?! Such a coincidence that defies all common sense, yet he didn't suspect anything!
What has confused his senses? And who in this world could do that?
(Ren Yi: This is a problem with global consciousness, not something my alternate account should be blamed for!!)
Someone altered fate, deliberately sending Yuan Que before him and weakening Xun Que's existence, attempting to obscure the secrets of heaven... to protect the latter.
As if to confirm Xuanwei's guess, Youyuan continued: "Back then, you sacrificed most of your divine soul, wanting to bear the consequences of repairing the Heavenly Dao and exchange it for a sliver of his life."
Xuanwei's hand suddenly tightened at his side, and his mind went blank for a moment.
“I also promised you that I would save him if his soul was damaged in the future, but... Di Li, fate cannot be defied. You can’t let him go without paying any price.”
Xuanwei's breathing became rapid.
No, that person, Emperor Li... truly saved Xuanque.
If it weren't for Yuan Que's descent to the lower realm, and if he hadn't unexpectedly encountered Xun Que while searching for Yuan Que, the damage to the Heavenly Dao would have had absolutely no connection to Xun Que.
But then Xuanwei was momentarily lost in thought: Could this also be fate?
No matter how he divined back then, he couldn't find Yuan Que's trace. He initially thought it was because the celestial artifact Yuan Que carried concealed the secrets of heaven. But now, he thinks it might be the influence of the Heavenly Dao, guiding him to encounter Xun Que. After returning to the Nine Heavens, there were all sorts of unexpected twists and turns... Was it truly the Heavenly Dao orchestrating things step by step, ultimately making Xun Que the one who mended the heavens?
And what about himself? What role does he play in all of this?
Emperor Li was willing to sacrifice his own soul to protect Xun Que, but he became the one who dragged Xun Que back into the mire.
This thought made Xuanwei clench his teeth, and his aura fluctuated.
Seeing his dazed appearance, Youyuan assumed it was because his earlier words had provoked him.
The black dragon, who had lived for a very long time, sighed deeply. He knew that some things could only be decided by his own will. In the end, he could only sigh and say, "Think about it carefully and come back when you've thought it through."
After saying that, he sent Xuanwei and Renyi out of the secret realm.
*
When Ren Yi regained consciousness, he had already been brought back to the Ninth Realm by Xuan Wei. When he opened his eyes, he met Xuan Wei's deep gaze.
Ren Yizheng felt that Xuanwei's expression seemed a bit off, when he heard the other party suddenly say, "Xun Que".
Ren Yi: !!!
system:[! ! ! ]
Ren Yi was so startled awake by the shout.
Having witnessed Xuanwei's madness and ferocity in the illusion, Ren Yi knew very well that he could never admit that he was Xun Que—otherwise he would really die, his soul scattered and his spirit annihilated.
The system frantically searched for any problems with the soul disguise, ready to patch it at any moment. Ren Yi, on the other hand, instantly put on his acting skills, pretending to be completely unfamiliar with the name, "Master? Are you calling me?"
As he spoke, he slightly frowned, as if he had a subconscious aversion to the name.
To be honest, if it weren't for Xuanwei's bias towards Yuan Que, Ren Yi felt that his "dislike" reaction could have been even more exaggerated.
Ren Yi was still testing the waters to gauge his reaction, but before he could finish speaking, he watched as the last hint of gentleness on Xuan Wei's face vanished. Xuan Wei hadn't shown any anger, but the sense of danger he exuded suddenly rose several levels.
Ren Yi: ?!
It overturned?!
The system was already bursting into tears, but Ren Yi managed to maintain a semblance of composure, ensuring his expression didn't break down.
Although it seems like things have really gone wrong, he believes it can still be salvaged.
Judging from how decisively Xuanwei erased Xue Zhao's soul time and time again in the illusion, Xuanwei was at most suspicious at this moment. If he were to truly confirm that "he is not Yuan Que", Xuanwei would act swiftly and decisively.
Ren Yi took a deep breath, knowing that he absolutely could not reveal any flaws in the current situation.
Even the system understood the urgency of the situation and forcibly swallowed its sobs so as not to disturb the host's performance.
Xuanwei carefully observed Ren Yi's expression, confirming that he was indeed completely unfamiliar with the name "Xun Que".
...Oh right, A-Que doesn't remember.
Xuanwei always felt that it was better if Aque didn't remember that memory, because Aque's soul had returned, and they still had a long future ahead of them.
But before this moment, Xuanwei had not considered another possibility: what if Aque remembered her past life? Her past life, so obsessed with the immortal soul of Emperor Li.
Xuanwei suddenly remembered that when he took Xunque to the Emperor's Palace in the Eighth Realm that day, the other party had acted as if he was familiar with him.
It turns out it started back then... no, perhaps even earlier, back when A-Que first asked about the previous emperor.
Xuanwei had worried that Aque would hate him after remembering those things from the past, but what if there was no hatred at all, but a complete forgetting? If you don't even care, then of course there's no "hatred".
Or perhaps, he and Aque never even "began".
From the very beginning, A Que was just like Senior You Yuan in making the same mistake—because of the immortal soul on his body, A Que mistook him for Emperor Li Zun Shang.
Some things you won't pay attention to if you've never thought about them, but once you do, they leave their mark everywhere.
Regardless of the unconditional trust they initially shared, the boy unhesitatingly severed all worldly ties to follow him to the Nine Heavens (Ren Yi: That was Xun Que's "love at first sight"!), and remained composed even after arriving in the Nine Heavens, as if he already knew everything about the immortal realm (Ren Yi: The protagonist just dumped him in the immortal realm and left him there, so he had to fend for himself and make his presence known?), and his almost inexplicable admiration and love for him (Ren Yi: I already said it was "love at first sight"!!)...
What's more, when A Que finally jumped off the Execution Platform in utter despair, was it really because he believed Yuan Que's words and thought that everything Yuan Que did was to force him to repair the Heavenly Dao?
Xuanwei couldn't help but recall the scene he witnessed when he recklessly pursued the perpetrator after learning everything.
Although his vision was blurred by the wind blades and clouds below the Execution Platform, he could still see the expression on A Que's face.
That was neither despair nor sorrow.
Rather, it felt like a liberation, a sense of relief at finally finding a home.
The boy's lips curved slightly upwards. Below him lay an endless abyss, and the fierce winds of the Execution Platform tore at his soul. Despite such extreme pain, A-Que was actually smiling.
Is it because you remembered your "past life"?
...Is it because she finally remembered her beloved and was willing to be separated from "him" by the world?
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