The Truth Behind It All

Time shifts to the other side.

The moment Su Qing'an sensed that soul aura, Manas, as always, shared in the other's emotions at that moment.

When the heart is dead, it's like falling into an abyss.

In a daze, the boy seemed to see himself after he had awakened shortly after obtaining the Stigmata. Knowing what extreme things his self might do under such circumstances, he understood the seriousness of the situation. Without even a lingering greeting to Chi Yuan, the Stigmata revived, the Thousand Stars unfolded, and his body vanished as he sped towards the Cloud Dragon Waterfall.

Despite being unaware of the truth, the immortal followed in the other's footsteps with perfect understanding, arriving one after the other at the steaming lakeside. However, she had no room to take any further action, because the [Stigmata] had completely taken control of the Heaven and Earth Qi, making it almost impossible for other wills to interfere.

Almost instantly, the entire Cloud Dragon Waterfall fell into a subtle stillness.

The waterfall, cascading down with immense water that splashes out countless silver flowers, now hangs stiffly above our view, like a curtain that has been drawn back.

Su Qing'an stood silently by the lake, snapped his fingers, and the hot spring defied the laws of gravity, twisting into a massive water dragon that flowed upstream in an extremely ethereal manner. The entire water vein and source were forcefully intercepted and drained into the air in the blink of an eye, where translucent fish could be seen swimming peacefully, as if it were a miracle.

Meanwhile, Li Shishi was far away in the lower cave, opened her eyes in confusion upon hearing the commotion. She discovered that the countless ice blocks and rock layers that should have been falling were floating in the air like feathers, drifting away. Looking up, she could see a clear blue sky, its brilliant light shining down and falling into her pupils.

Not only was she still alive, but her surroundings also changed in an instant.

The dome here has been lifted, yet not a single drop of lake water can be seen. Even the ceaseless roar of Cloud Dragon Waterfall is as silent as a cicada shedding its skin in winter. It's simply... as if it were the work of immortals.

Before Li Shishi could continue pondering, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts and reached her ears:

"Senior Sister Shishi, Rongyue is not dead yet."

The woman felt the half-stiff, half-cold body of the person in her arms. Her first reaction was disbelief, but then she suddenly realized that Su Qing'an had returned.

Five years later, the boy who had gone to some unknown place with the Immortal Chi Yuan, just when she thought her life was hopeless and her sword heart was on the verge of breaking, unveiled the entire huge waterfall and lake, bringing with it the bright sky and sunshine, announcing the end of their journey and their long-awaited reunion.

But her current appearance was too disheveled, and she was momentarily stunned with her eyes downcast. The pent-up emotions in her heart diluted the joy of the reunion to the point that it barely stirred her heart. The melody of the ice breaking in Sea of consciousness mind tended to be soothing, but it still could not stop the downward trend.

Su Qing'an was able to sense the other party's current state through her Manas consciousness. She immediately manipulated the Heaven and Earth Qi to move the ground beneath her, raising her into the air and safely skimming from the deep riverbed to the lakeside.

Fu Hua frowned, a ripple stirring in her Mind Lake.

Firstly, even at such a close distance, she still couldn't retrieve the Udu-dust.

Secondly, she could clearly see what kind of terrible situation Li Shishi was in.

Kenshin is on the verge of shattering, which is an extremely serious situation.

The Immortal Chi Yuan himself had experienced such suffering once, which caused him to lose almost all of his thousands of years of accumulation in a single day, and the backlash was so severe that even his immortal body found it difficult to bear.

And Su Qing'an also seems to be...

Just as she was wondering why she thought that way, related memories flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern. The image of the other person's dark, dull eyes flashed in her mind, bringing a suffocating pain and sorrow.

The girl's breathing became erratic for a moment. She remembered that the other person had also encountered a similar situation, but Li Shishi and Su Qing'an's wills were completely different and not on the same level. The latter's Soul Essence was also far superior to that of ordinary people, so she was able to combine the two and achieve the result of forcibly binding the sword heart to remain.

However, once Li Shishi loses all her cultivation, the Heaven and Earth Qi will backfire on her body, corroding her flesh and meridians, and even her lifespan will be greatly reduced.

Although the [Stigmata] ability is enough to erase the physical damage, the damage to the Sea of consciousness cannot be avoided.

So the answer is obvious: first, you need to stabilize your emotions; second, you can gradually resolve your inner conflicts.

Fu Hua trusted Su Qing'an, so even though Jiang Rongyue's corpse was right in front of her, she believed that the other party was really not dead. Therefore, after a flash of thought, the radiance of Udu-dust and the rendering of Manas arrived together, embracing the woman who was still in a daze.

Li Shishi could only feel a warm and intense hypnotic sensation; extreme emotions and negative thoughts were being annihilated as if being thrown into a shredder.

The boy sensed the cracks on the ice of the other's Sea of consciousness stopping their spread. After hesitating for a moment, he intensified the influence of his Manas consciousness and shared a message with him.

Given how much Li Shishi values Jiang Rongyue, to be honest, if possible, he wouldn't want her to know the true nature of the other party's Stigmata abilities.

Because the things hidden within it have a certain dark side and cruel aspects.

However, without directly explaining the true nature of Jiang Rongyue's abilities, there's no way to quickly explain the fact that the girl in this state is indeed not dead.

If this optimal time for recovery is missed, even if the sword heart remains unbroken, it will be difficult to restore it to its original state.

Kenshin is a spiritual organ that can replace the human soul and sublimate into a fragmented Manas consciousness. It is extremely resilient yet extremely fragile. Not everyone can possess the same resilience as him.

Therefore, taking into consideration the importance of the information, it flooded into Li Shishi's Sea of consciousness. During this process, Su Qing'an also pulled out the feather hidden inside.

The young man glanced at Li Shishi, who was half-conscious and processing the information. After confirming that her sword spirit had fully recovered, he turned his attention to the feather in his hand that remained motionless.

Manas examined it and found no changes from the usual feathers.

It was neither broken nor lost its power, nor did it develop its own spirituality.

Then why can't the connection be established?

If things had gone according to plan, the two of them would have met with Li Shishi long ago, and the current situation would not have occurred.

However, Su Qing'an couldn't afford to waste any more time on it. After taking out an Udu-dust from Jiang Rongyue's Sea of consciousness and drawing similar conclusions, he handed it over to Chi Yuan.

Aside from expending some effort, it was no different from the previous one.

Fu Hua examined it for a while but couldn't find anything unusual.

Could it really be related to something amiss with the Lostbelt themselves?

The White Sparrow, which had appeared out of nowhere, stared at the two feathers on the girl's palm, tilted its head, and seemed to be observing its own kind. It also didn't find anything special about the two Udu-dust clones.

The immortal pondered in his heart. Both feathers were normal. The only strange thing was that, apart from the fact that they couldn't be connected, one of the feathers had used its power.

Not long after returning to Mount Taixu, in order not to interfere with the privacy of the two, she retrieved the shard of consciousness that simulated her own.

While in a relatively static spacetime, it was unexpected that Udu-dust, without any conscious control, could still unleash his power.

She lowered her eyes, gazing at the girl in the red-clad girl's arms, and noticed the empty eye sockets. A hint of melancholy crossed her expression, and she pursed her lips.

"... Let's ask her again after Rongyue is alright."

In any case, the other party is not truly dead yet.

If there were any doubts before, the fact that Udu-dust could be retrieved from the other party's Sea of consciousness proves that Jiang Rongyue's soul still exists.

Judging from the large amount of ice shards dragged up, the other party may have frozen themselves at the bottom of Cloud Dragon Waterfall to enter a self-sealing slumber and avoid being overwhelmed by chaotic information to the point of going mad.

For someone cultivating the Void Sword Qi, Jiang Rongyue's situation was extremely agonizing and like walking on thin ice. A slight misstep could cause all their previous accumulation to vanish, and they would also suffer numerous backlashes.

If the Sea of consciousness is damaged, it becomes even more impossible to maintain one's sense of self amidst the vast and complex amount of information.

Jiang Rongyue was probably well aware of this, which is why she first cut off the eyes that had collected the most information, thus delaying things for a while. Only when she had no choice but to seal herself away did she choose to leave without saying goodbye and freeze herself in place.

Based on the time information, she has been sleeping here for at least two years, yet her Sea of consciousness still exists, and the illusory Udu-dust has also been there for a long time, which is enough to show that this body is not a pure corpse.

It may be related to the special phenomenon that Su Qing'an has been talking about. Her abilities have led to the current situation, which seems irreversible but is actually still hopeful.

Su Qing'an moved the two to a wooden cabin next to Cloud Dragon Waterfall, stopping the binding force of the Heaven and Earth Qi on them, and letting the severed waterfall and the hot spring return to their original positions.

He separated Li Shishi and Jiang Rongyue, placing them aside. He then observed the slowly repairing sword heart again, and used his Manas Consciousness to further entice the other's subconscious into an even deeper state, delaying their awakening.

The reason for doing this was so that when he Awakened he could see Jiang Rongyue who had recovered completely, which would make it easier for his sword heart to recover and be perfected.

At this point, they can finally catch their breath for a bit.

Although the process was somewhat tortuous, in the end, the two were able to reunite with each other shortly after returning to Mount Taixu.

But... we need to clean up the mess they left behind first.

Aside from her sword heart being abnormal, Li Shishi was otherwise unharmed.

Judging from the letters she left behind, she had not yet mastered the Sword Heart Technique about a year ago, but now she has reached the State of Dustless and has even managed to transform the Key of Domination into a state suitable for herself.

Aside from Ji Lin's inheritance of the Stigmata, he couldn't think of any other way to transform the other party to this extent.

From this perspective, Jiang Rongyue's disappearance did not only bring bad things. At least Li Shishi underwent a transformation and unknowingly crossed the most difficult threshold.

However, the fact that Li Shishi almost shattered her sword heart for Jiang Rongyue was an unexpected turn of events that Su Qing'an had not anticipated before going to the [Lostbelt].

But considering their experiences, it doesn't seem so surprising.

Jiang Rongyue is not a normal person. She is just using worldly rules and universal moral concepts to restrain herself, trying to make herself closer to the concept of humanity. She is extremely indifferent to sexual orientation. In fact, it is more accurate to say that she would be lonely for the rest of her life.

Li Shishi was rebellious and yearned for freedom. This kind of personality, coupled with her learning the art of seduction in brothels from a young age, meant that as she grew older, she had to engage in insincere interactions with all sorts of men, often attracting unwanted attention. At a turning point in her life, she herself led the people away from the Capital City. Without having the chance to smooth out these innate rough edges, it is not incomprehensible that things turned out this way.

Su Qing'an wasn't very interested in these gossips; he was just really worried about how to perfectly turn the most difficult situation back to normal.

Jiang Rongyue is indeed not dead, but bringing her back to life would mean accepting the risk of "death".

The immortal gently stroked the girl's pale skin and whispered:

"How can we save her life?"

Su Qing'an countered with a question:

"Hua, do you know why Rongyue chose to seal herself off?"

Fu Hua responded to this:

"To avoid being erased from one's own identity by an overly complex array of 'answers'."

Su Qing'an stroked the White Sparrow curled up in his palm. This mascot, sensing the atmosphere, didn't go out to bully small animals and seemed very well-behaved. He said:

"It's the same now."

"Jiang Rongyue won't die, at least not in a physical form, but if she Awakened up, she might face a true death."

"She used her abilities to the point of berserk behavior, so she probably understood the truth behind it all."

Fu Hua didn't understand the meaning and asked:

"Are you now able to confirm the true nature of her abilities?"

Su Qing'an nodded in reply:

"Hua, among the capabilities we already know of, what abilities can indirectly predict future trends?"

The immortal pondered for a moment, his eyes blinking as if he had realized something. His expression darkened slightly, and he sighed:

"The Second Divine Key used in SU's 'Hengsha Project Thousand Worlds One Ride' —can observe countless parallel worlds. He has been trying to find the possibility of defeating the Honkai within them, which, in a sense, is like peering into the future of the Proper World."

Su Qing'an replied:

"Jiang Rongyue can do this without any external objects. It cannot be due to the Stigmata, nor is it a conceptual ability obtained through soul manifestation. If we refer to this existing case and consider the quantum aura of transactions that is constantly entangled around her, we can arrive at the answer."

The young man considered his words carefully before continuing:

"Jiang Rongyue is an extremely special existence. She is born with a connection to all her counterparts in parallel worlds, like a quantum entanglement anchor point belonging exclusively to countless parallel worlds [Jiang Rongyue]."

"Therefore, she would naturally see fragments of the future unconsciously; that's why she could occasionally emit abnormal quantum fluctuations while learning from you, completing her lessons at an incredible pace."

"That's why she can suddenly unleash power levels several times, even dozens of times, greater than before; that's why... she possesses an uncanny, incomprehensible regenerative ability, and even the right to live on in this way."

The so-called "Ascending Tower State" is the extraordinary power that is ultimately unleashed by the superposition of dozens of Jiang Rongyue's Stigmata and everything else. The so-called rebirth afterward is simply and brutally replacing the body of Jiang Rongyue in another world.

Upon hearing this answer that she had somewhat anticipated, Fu Hua felt a tightness in her chest. She pursed her lips and whispered:

"So, she sees no future for you."

Su Qing'an nodded and said:

"After undergoing dimensional ascension, all my Karma in countless parallel worlds were collected, and I returned to my original state, disappearing without a trace."

"I have broken the world record, thus achieving a unique state."

"Under these circumstances, Jiang Rongyue from any parallel world would be unable to glimpse anything about me, so naturally, any subsequent developments related to any variables concerning me would also be unseen."

The young man began to recount his story:

"I initially guessed the true nature of her abilities based on this point, but it was also this point that led me to reject the idea."

"According to this theory, Jiang Rongyue from other worlds shouldn't be able to learn the Void Sword Qi, nor should she be able to provide any related physical sensations or experiences, thus accelerating her progress."

"But later I discovered that the phenomena surrounding Jiang Rongyue were not limited to that. There was also a quantum entanglement calculation within her that was constantly multiplied to countless powers after multiple overlaps. As a result, Rongyue would unconsciously gather the information around her and then put it into a calculation world based on herself, where it would continuously overlap and intertwine."

Fu Hua explained it in her own way:

"Simply put, just as hyperthymesia amplifies the effects of experience many times over in me, for Rongyue, all the information she comes into contact with will inexplicably be rewarded many times over at some point."

"For example, learning sword techniques instantly."

She then blurted out a metaphor that had a very postmodern feel:

"It's a bit like random AFK farming, randomly gaining relevant experience."

Su Qing'an said:

"Yes, Rongyue's ability to foresee the future is a product of combining information from other worlds' 'selves' with this phenomenon. This method indirectly bypasses some of the minor influences I have on this world, repeatedly correcting errors to achieve 100% accuracy."

"The problem now is that we don't know if the Jiang Rongyue in other worlds is also in an anchor point state. If so, can the other Jiang Rongyue also passively regard the Jiang Rongyue in this world as a replaceable object?"

"And if Jiang Rongyue is the only one who knows us, is a special existence, then at the moment of her resurrection, she would also need to replace the body of 'herself' in other worlds."

The Immortal Chi Yuan whispered softly:

"The result is that one of them will inevitably die, and because it is a quantum alternation, everything will be over when she is successfully resurrected."

The boy was silent for a moment, then revealed the most important reality:

"And we have no way to interfere with any of this."