Chapter 83
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The fact that no cultivator ascended in nine thousand years cannot be blamed on Gong Wei, because the Mirror Immortal was not the sole determinant of ascension.
The Heavenly Dao has its own mysterious rules for the enshrining of gods. Ideally, if a cultivator has fate, luck, realm, merit, and no karmic obstacles, then it’s naturally the best scenario. However, among the immortals, there are hardly any who meet all these conditions—someone like Xu Shuangce, who cultivates the Dao of the heart, finds it challenging to measure merit. Ying Kai, despite his overwhelming karmic obstacles, still ascended. Meanwhile, Xuan Jinghe was born without the fate of ascension.
Therefore, the rules of ascension set by the Heavenly Dao are unpredictable. Only when a cultivator’s fate and luck are strong to an unprecedented degree is it possible for the Heavenly Dao to lock in the qualification for ascension in advance, allowing Gong Wei to sense it and rush to the side of this cultivator to fulfill his duty as the Mirror Immortal.
It’s rare for a cultivator’s fate to be so strong that it meets this standard, but coincidentally, there is one in this generation—Sword Sect Master Yuchi Rui.
With a fate completely aligned with ascension, born into a family of cultivators, possessing the luck for ascension, with a pure soul and no hindrances to the heart, emotion, or killing, and having just entered the early stage of the Immortalization Realm. All the basic conditions for ascension are miraculously met by this person. With just a few more decades or even centuries of cultivation to fulfill both realm and merit, they will ascend to immortality upon death.
Thus, Gong Wei sensed this while he slept for nine thousand years and was awakened.
—-His duty was to follow and protect the new gods until their ascension. He never expected these cultivators to attempt to forcibly open the Gate of Heaven and ascend on their own.
Gong Wei rushed to Dai Mountain Tui’e. The heavy guards were no obstacle to him, and he went directly to see Ying Kai, nine thousand years later.
Ying Kai’s appearance and temperament were not much different from nine thousand years ago. When Gong Wei appeared, he was sitting behind a desk annotating documents. Seeing a crimson-clad young man suddenly appear in mid-air, his first reaction was astonishment: “Who are you?”
Gong Wei raised his eyes, his right pupil as red as blood.
The pen in Ying Kai’s hand fell to the ground with a clatter, his eyes losing their focus, freezing in place.
Gong Wei approached and sat beside him, reaching out to probe his primordial spirit. He immediately felt a slight sinking in his heart—predictably, Ying Kai did not possess the qualifications for ascension at all.
In the nine thousand years, Xu Shuangce’s thousands of deaths had eliminated a considerable portion of his karmic obstacles, but Ying Kai’s karmic obstacles were not completely smoothed out. More importantly, when the Northern Wall God was banished, his evil thoughts were extracted and sealed in the world ending soldier puppet. Once the Northern Wall God returned to divinity, those evil thoughts would be unsealed and returned. At this moment, Ying Kai’s benevolence and forgiveness toward the world were far from strong enough to contend with those evil thoughts.
In other words, once Ying Kai ascended, he would immediately be devoured by those evil thoughts, and the smoke of the second War of Annihilation would be imminent.
Gong Wei was about to further investigate what caused such an urgent desire for ascension among the hundred schools of Xuanmen when suddenly the door was pushed open with a bang, and a stern-faced young man in a brown and gold robe exclaimed sharply, “Who’s here? Stop!”
Gong Wei turned his head and saw Yuchi Rui.
Behind Yuchi Rui walked another familiar figure, handsome but aloof, holding the hilt of the No Way Out sword—it was Xu Shuangce!
Gong Wei had imagined many times what it would be like to meet again, thinking that he would be very excited and happy when that moment truly arrived. But unexpectedly, when the moment finally came, the first thing that surged in his heart was intense grievance and sadness.
Do you know how many years I’ve been waiting?
Why did I still miss out for so long?
Gong Wei looked at Xu Shuangce, his crimson eyes blinked, and tears uncontrollably surged in his eyes. But before he could say anything, a large number of guards from Dai Mountain Tui’e rushed over, drawing their swords as if facing a great enemy: “Who’s the demon?!” “Be careful of his eyes!” “Release the Alliance Leader!”
“Wai… wait,” Ying Kai finally managed to speak through his dizziness, holding his head, “Don’t… don’t hurt anyone.”
Yuchi Rui exclaimed in surprise, “Are you under an illusion?!”
Instantly, everyone’s expression changed drastically.
A youth with eerie eyes and an unknown origin had barged into the heart of the Immortal Alliance, causing the Alliance Leader to fall under an illusion without a word. Where did this terrifying evil spirit come from?!
Ying Kai shook his head hoarsely, “I don’t know, but he… he shouldn’t be an evil spirit.”
The aftermath of the illusion left Ying Kai’s mind unclear, but instinctively, he felt a strange familiarity with the Mirror Immortal, causing conflicting thoughts and a headache. Finally, he looked to Gong Wei for help, “Who are you exactly?”
“…”
Gong Wei surveyed the vigilant faces around him, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said, “I am the spirit of the Mirror of the Ten Thousand Realms.”
Ying Kai nodded faintly, breathing heavily, “Okay, okay.” Then he staggered and sat down, holding his head and waving his hand, “Take him down to Tui’e first. He shouldn’t have any malicious intent. I need… I need to think it over.”
“No malicious intent?!” Yuchi Rui simply couldn’t believe his ears, glaring at Ying Kai before turning to Gong Wei, the harsh sound of the Rakshasa Tower Sword being unsheathed: “What kind of enchantment did you cast on the Alliance Leader?!”
Ying Kai immediately intervened, “Changsheng!”
Tension filled the air, but Gong Wei, after a moment of consideration, nodded, “Okay.”
Then he turned to Ying Kai, and everyone saw his elegant, clear, and blood-red right eye. Each word resonated with a faint echo due to the infusion of powerful spiritual energy, “The matter of the Heavenly Dao Path must not be meddled with lightly. It needs further discussion.”
Ying Kai’s gaze scattered again, and after a while, he nodded blankly, “Understood.”
At that moment, everyone harbored the same fearful thought: demon!
Gong Wei casually tossed Bai Tai Shou to the Tui’e guards. Everyone remained vigilant as they half-escorted, half-dragged him away.
However, as they passed by, the silent leader of the Cangyang Sect suddenly turned back, abruptly asking, “Why were you crying?”
Gong Wei’s steps halted, slowly turning around.
Xu Shuangce looked down at him, repeating, “Why were you crying just now?”
“…”
Nine thousand years later, Gong Wei had grown up, no longer the little fox sitting on the banks of the Nai River Bridge shedding tears. But when facing Xu Shuangce, there was still a hint of weakness and childishness deep in his heart, involuntarily surfacing.
Gong Wei took a deep breath, suppressing the disappointment and bitterness in his heart, smiling with slightly reddened eyes, “Because when I saw you, I felt very happy.”
Then he turned around and was escorted away by the Tui’e guards.
The news of a youth of unknown origin controlling the Alliance Leader with an illusion quickly spread throughout the hundred schools of Xuanmen.
In the following days, the Three Sects and Four Saints, as well as the heads of the major families, took turns visiting Tui’e. Each person questioned Gong Wei with extreme caution, while Gong Wei probed each person’s primordial spirit. When this round of questioning finally ended, Gong Wei finally pieced together his long-standing doubts—why the hundred schools of Xuanmen were so eager to build the Heavenly Dao Path. It was because they suddenly possessed the ability to build it.
A young god in black robes and blood swords had dreamt to various grandmasters and heads of families, showing them a strange and powerful formation. It could make the steps that pierced the heavens rise from the ground and then open the gates of the Heavenly Realm that had been closed for nine thousand years.
As for the true identity of this god, Gong Wei didn’t need to guess.
Something must have happened to Xuan Jinghe. Gong Wei’s first reaction was to go to Guiyuan to investigate, but the Ghost Crown Prince acted even faster.
That night, Gong Wei was awakened by a stabbing pain, only to find that he had inhaled the Blood Mandala poison from the Yellow Springs, and a youth was about to gouge out his right eye—it was Du Kaixun, the second son of the Changsun Family who had just been locked up in Tui’e.
Gong Wei immediately pushed away the audacious youth, but in the chaos, he didn’t notice the faint golden blood on the youth’s hand. He sternly demanded, “Who gave you the Blood Mandala Poison? Where is Qu Xie?”
Du Kaixun smiled at him, casually licked the fresh blood from his fingertips, and then with a blink, he promptly used teleportation, escaping from Tui’e without hesitation.
―― At that moment, neither of them had imagined that with such a simple action, Du Kaixun would become the only lucky exception in the cycle of the butterfly dies and the dream is born.
Gong Wei naturally flew after him. The heavy restrictions of Tui’e couldn’t stop him at all. They chased and fled hundreds of miles away. Gong Wei summoned Bai Tai Shou and blocked Du Kaixun with a sword, reaching into his primordial spirit. Suddenly, he discovered something and exclaimed, “Your destiny has been altered by Qu Xie?!”
Du Kaixun was born with a bad temper, but it shouldn’t have been corrupted to this extent. His sinister fate definitely had been tampered with after birth. Shocked, Gong Wei was about to ask further questions when a silent blood sword stabbed him from behind. In an instant, he couldn’t evade and was pierced through the abdomen!
“Don’t you find it curious,” Qu Xie’s calm voice came from behind, “if someone were born with the same talent as Xuan Jinghe but followed a path completely opposite to his, what would be the result in the end?”
Gong Wei swung his sword to push Du Kaixun away and roared angrily, “Qu Xie!!”
With a clang, the Ghost Crown Prince easily blocked Bai Tai Shou’s blade and smiled, “I’ve been watching these two brothers since before they were born. The older brother is very boring, but the younger brother is amazingly talented. What do you think the expression on Xuan Jinghe’s face will be when he sees his outstanding descendants in the future?”
Gong Wei sternly asked, “Where is Xuan Jinghe? How did you escape?”
The Ghost Crown Prince tilted his head and smiled, his curved eyes sending shivers down one’s spine, “Can you guess?”
Before his words could finish, the blood sword attacked again. Gong Wei fiercely counterattacked, the explosive force shaking the entire Tui’e!
Gong Wei was already injured at this point, and Qu Xie, with only a fraction of his body and no divine body, fought for thousands of moves with no clear winner. Such intense commotion couldn’t be hidden, and just as the Immortal Alliance cultivators were about to be alarmed, Du Kaixun took the risk to return and secretly signaled to the Ghost Crown Prince. Suddenly, from behind, he attempted to ambush Gong Wei with a drawn sword.
However, at that moment, the Ghost Crown Prince suddenly sensed something, his expression freezing, “Go!”
Du Kaixun was still young and didn’t react in time. He only saw the Ghost Crown Prince disappear in mid-air with a flash.
The next moment, a mighty and swift sword momentum, as fast as thunder, descended from above.
Du Kaixun didn’t even have time to react before he was blasted out by the newcomer’s sword, spewing out a mouthful of blood, and crashing down a row of trees!
It was the Cangyang Sect Master!
Gong Wei tightly held his abdomen, which was gushing blood, his eyes filled with incredulous light. “Xu Bai?”
Xu Shuangce sheathed his sword and turned around, saying coldly, “What did you call me?”
“…”
Gong Wei froze for a moment, seeming to realize something. The light in his eyes gradually dimmed, and he whispered softly, “…Sect Master Xu.”
Xu Shuangce glanced him up and down.
The tall figure of the Cangyang Sect Master stood out under the moonlight, like an immortal, but for some reason, there was a faint shadow under his eyes, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well lately. He deliberately avoided looking at Gong Wei’s face and stopped abruptly when his gaze swept over the wound on his abdomen.
After a moment, he moved his gaze away from the bloodstain and said, “You shouldn’t have escaped from Tui’e.”
A pang of pain, worse than the wound itself, surged into Gong Wei’s heart. He stood there dazed for a moment, then couldn’t help but choke up, “Don’t you recognize me, Xu Bai? I’m… I’m your little fox.”
Xu Shuangce furrowed his long eyebrows.
――Little fox.
The memory of nine thousand years froze for a moment, as if a glimmer of light flashed through the torrent of time, causing a hint of confusion in his mind.
At that moment, the cultivators of the Immortal Alliance arrived, and the place was brightly lit and bustling with voices. Xu Shuangce forced himself to steady his mind, turned his head away from Gong Wei, and said coldly, “Aren’t you just a mirror?”
If one listened carefully, there seemed to be a hint of resentment in his tone.
Gong Wei widened his eyes in panic.
Then, without another word, Xu Shuangce turned around and left, disappearing into the night.
No one knew what dream Xu Shuangce had after returning.
Since the first encounter with the youth who claimed to be the Mirror Spirit, the same scene had repeatedly appeared in the dreams unknown to the Cangyang Sect Master. In the dream, he stood by a soft bed of clouds, watching the youth lying drunk on the bed. The deep red robe, fair as snow skin, and the faint fragrance of peach blossoms emanating from his flowing hair, made him appear defenseless.
So sweet and enchanting, one could reach out and grab him.
Xu Shuangce’s heart pounded like a drum, uncontrollably leaning down, all his rationality tense to escape, yet he lowered his head and kissed those soft lips. Lips touched, intimately close.
The youth woke up from the kiss, without the slightest displeasure, calling out with a long and melodious voice, “Xu Bai.” Then, he hugged Xu Shuangce’s neck, murmuring in a coquettish voice that couldn’t be clearly heard, effortlessly pulling Xu Shuangce onto the bed, and the two fell into that deep, secret, endless dream together.
“Do you know what mirrors like to do the most? ―― Imitate.” A ghostly voice emerged again from the depths of consciousness, smiling, “No matter how humble and ardent the love you offer, mirrors can reflect it back exactly as it is.”
“That’s the greatest no way out of your life.”
Xu Shuangce suddenly woke up, sitting up abruptly. But the next moment, the scent of snow-covered peach blossoms wafted over from the side. He watched helplessly as the young man appeared again from the void, leaning into his neck and smilingly said, “I like Xu Bai the most.”
“Every time I see Xu Bai, I’m filled with joy, as if it’s the spring breeze and bright moon, the flowers in full bloom. It must be because I like Xu Bai!”
…
“Get away,” the Cangyang Sect Master tightly pinched his temples with one hand, two words bursting out from between his teeth: “Get away!”
With a swift flick of his sleeve, his qi was like a sharp blade, shredding the layers of intertwined dreams into countless pieces, dispersing them all!
―― The cold moonlight shone into the Xuanji Hall from outside the window.
The sleeping chamber was empty, quiet in the deep night, with only the rapid, hoarse breathing of Xu Shuangce echoing.
He sat on the bed, slowly turning his head to look at his side. The lingering tenderness from the dream still lingered in his mind, but the other side of the bed was cold and smooth, empty.
The young man named Gong Wei was far away in Tui’e and had never been to the Cangyang Sect.
Just a mirror―― Xu Shuangce’s eyes were icy, filled with resentment, word by word.
Just a mirror that showed me how I fell into emotional entanglements, how pitiful and laughable I am.
Several days later, due to abusing servants and injuring others, Du Kaixun was sentenced by the Immortal Alliance to exile in the far north with the silent consent of his elder brother.
Unexpectedly, halfway through his exile, Du Kaixun encountered Xu Shuangce, who had chased him thousands of miles.
“Why do you want to kill me, just because I injured that monster named Gong Wei?!” Du Kaixun asked incredulously before his death.
Xu Shuangce didn’t answer, drawing his sword, and the cold light illuminated the entire glacier.
Du Kaixun’s head flew off the cliff, frozen in astonishment and disbelief until his last moment.
The cold wind whistled across the snowy plain. Xu Shuangce sheathed his sword, feeling once again the uncontrollable hatred and desire in his heart――hating himself for sinking into emotional entanglements, unable to free himself, yet longing to sink deeper into even more secretive dreams every night.
He suddenly wanted to go to Tui’e to see Gong Wei.
He wanted to ask that young man in person, does his statement of being his little fox still hold true?
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