Fate, Part One

Ten thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye...

Drought Disaster and Blood Desert.

Inside a floating Daoist temple in a space that is as red as viscous blood.

Liu Xuezhen and her daughter Liu Chengyuan sat facing each other, one with a calm expression and the other with a distorted face.

"Mother... this time, I may really not be able to hold on..." Liu Chengyuan's face was 70% similar to Liu Xuezhen's, but she looked much older and weaker than Liu Xuezhen.

She did survive by becoming Fusionist, but... she also paid the terrible price of being forever stuck in the Third Ring.

In the Blood Desert, where powerful beings abound, a third-ringed being is practically useless. As a result, in just 100,000 years, her cognitive abilities have deteriorated significantly, leaving her somewhat unable to cope. Thus, she came to seek her mother's help.

"Cognitive crystallization... I need more cognitive crystallization... Mother, why don't you go find Father? It's so hard for the two of us to survive. This world shouldn't be like this!" Liu Chengyuan said painfully.

Over the years, due to her low strength, she has done countless menial jobs. Her strength at the third ring level is only considered mid-to-low level in many non-fusion forces, let alone the Source Disaster forces, which are full of powerful individuals.

As a result, she died countless times, and her cognitive impairment worsened. In just 100,000 years, she was already on the verge of collapse and had lost many memories.

,..."Liu Xuezhen wanted to say something, but for a moment she didn't know how to start.

"Mother... you've always focused on selling Clear Jade Mountain's cultivation techniques in exchange for knowledge crystals, but nowadays, fewer and fewer people are willing to trade... I've always thought that if you had persevered and stood firmly on Clear Jade Mountain's side back then... perhaps, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation..."

Liu Chengyuan lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes.

"Are you... blaming me?" Liu Xuezhen trembled slightly.

"How could I dare..." Liu Chengyuan hurriedly said, "It's just... now that your understanding is complete, but I've already reached such a point, and we're both selling the Clear Jade Mountain cultivation method. Anyway, you've already accumulated quite a bit of knowledge crystals, so why don't we..."

"The rest of the transactions will be handled by the daughter?"

At this point, tears welled up in her eyes again.

"You were willing to give up everything for your daughter back then, can't you do it again for her now?"

"I really... I really don't want to disappear completely and become a monster... Daughter... I don't want to never see you again, never recognize you again!"

Liu Xuezhen stared blankly at her daughter, her mind suddenly flashing back to all the things she had experienced over the years.

So... why was I so blinded by greed and left Clear Jade Mountain back then?

More than 100,000 years... This period of time is far longer than anything she has ever experienced before, so there are many things she can no longer remember clearly.

Now, looking at her biological daughter whom she had paid such a high price to save, she suddenly felt a chill to the bone.

What has she gained after all these years of perseverance?

"Get out..." she lowered her head.

"Mother... I beg you, your daughter is truly at her wit's end..." Liu Chengyuan pleaded tearfully.

"Go out!!"

Liu Xuezhen suddenly erupted and roared.

Liu Chengyuan was startled and quickly got up and flew away.

Inside the Daoist temple, she was left alone, sitting upright and motionless.

Time passed, and she sat there motionless, her mind replaying the question: what if she hadn't left...? What would have happened?

Outside, Liu Chengyuan was overjoyed to see that her mother had stopped making any moves and was no longer going out to sell the martial arts manual. She knew that her mother had given up the manual, so she hurriedly went around selling the Clear Jade Mountain martial arts and sword techniques that her mother had taught her.

This allowed them to barely fill in many gaps in their understanding and survive.

Nearly ten thousand years later, the cultivation techniques could no longer be sold. Only then did she remember her mother's situation, so she secretly came to the Daoist temple to check on things.

But they found that Liu Xuezhen had been sitting motionless for a long time, her eyes Void Hole, and her soul had disappeared. Only an empty shell remained.

*

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Clear Jade Mountain.

Inside the courtyard, Lin Hui gazed at Liu Xuezhen was kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, his expression unchanged.

"Teacher... your disciple... wanted to visit you when I was still conscious... but perhaps next time... there will never be a next time..." Liu Xuezhen knelt on the ground, her body trembling.

"If you pursue freedom and your own will, you should go all the way to the end... Why come back?" Xia Si said coldly from the side.

"I... but in the end, I still can't let go..." Liu Xuezhen didn't dare to raise her head. The gap between her and Xia Si was too great, to the point that even looking directly at the other person made her eyes feel stinging.

"Can't let go? I think you're just coming back to play the victim, aren't you?" Xia Si said coldly. "Now that you've become part of the Fusion Faction, you're no longer affiliated with our sect. Coming back will only bring you humiliation. You'd better get lost; just looking at you is annoying."

Liu Xuezhen wanted to say something more, but seeing that Lin Hui remained silent, the last glimmer of hope in her heart completely vanished. In its place was a tremendous sense of despair and hatred.

But she dared not show it, and could only kowtow nine times heavily to Lin Hui before getting up.

"Disciple... in this life and the next, I have no regrets!" she cried.

Swish.

The next instant, she vanished from her spot, forcibly transported away by the teleportation array of Clear Jade Mountain.

"It's disgusting. Who would have thought that someone who was once so cheerful and innocent could be changed into such an ugly person by the passage of time?" Lin Yuexiu couldn't help but exclaim.

"She thinks we can't see through her hidden intentions, but actually everyone around her understands her intentions. How ridiculous," Xia Si said coldly.

"Thankfully, the teacher didn't react much." Lin Yuexiu walked to Lin Hui's side, gently knelt down, and rested her cheek against him.

Each time Lin Hui went into seclusion to cultivate and comprehend, he showed no reaction to the outside world. In essence, this body was merely something he created to stabilize Clear Jade Mountain.

In reality, his soul had already drifted and dispersed around him, immersed in enlightenment and cultivation, completely unaware of it.

Even knowing it was just an empty shell, Lin Yuexiu was still satisfied.

Xia Si, standing to the side, didn't care at all. She and Lin Yuexiu basically lived in this small courtyard now. Their daily life, cultivation, and everything else took place within Lin Hui's vast divine soul. It could be said that they were competing. Under these circumstances, everything about the two of them was completely open to Lin Hui without reservation.

Ultimately, it depends on which one Lin Hui chooses from among them.

Liu Xuezhen's departure caused no ripples in Clear Jade Mountain. In fact, many people had completely forgotten her existence.

Lin Hui was still immersed in his rapid progress. The ever-present Supreme Omniscience Seal allowed him to rapidly improve his understanding of the Original Object Projection.

The imprint Thought Endures Eternally, grows and changes rapidly. The spread of symbolic concepts, because of the Yang spirit, travels farther and farther.

After such a long period of time, tens of thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye.

He finally began to truly absorb the Original Object Projection in his hands.

At this point, he desperately wanted guidance from others, because there was no way forward. He could only grope his way forward, relying on Chongli's descriptions and the guidance of the techniques.

But no one around him was qualified to guide him anymore.

When integrating the Original Object Projection, which part should be embedded in the best way?

Lin Hui wasn't sure if the answer calculated by the Supreme Omniscience Seal was the optimal solution. Therefore, in order to calibrate this crucial step, Lin Hui planned to seek out Chongli again.

Following the connection to his heart, he found the Celestial Chongli, who was living in seclusion and waiting, deep within the Black Domain void.

In the Black Domain.

An old-fashioned gray inn floats motionless in mid-air, unaffected by anything in the surrounding void.

It's as if this is a standalone image that was cut out of thin air and placed here, making it seem particularly abrupt.

Two strings of black lanterns hung outside the inn's door, and above the door was a plaque that read: Pure Clarity Tower.

Lin Hui's figure flashed to the front of the door, glanced at the plaque with unidentifiable characters, and instantly transmitted his voice into it.

A moment later, feedback was received.

The inn's main gate slowly opened.

He flew gently into the room and immediately saw the Heavenly Chongli sitting among the many tables and chairs in the lobby on the first floor.

He flew closer and sat down in the spot the other person indicated.

The moment they sat down, countless images and sounds flashed by around them. In an instant, they found themselves in a bustling, vibrant street.

Outside, there was a cacophony of hawkers' cries and shouts, while around them, tables of diners were enjoying their meals.

The inn's waiters shuttled back and forth, serving all sorts of food and drinks.

All of this was real. Lin Hui was deeply moved. As expected of the Celestial Venerable, he created such a complex and realistic environment in an instant.

These people are all newly created living beings. They are not fabricated out of thin air, but have concrete life experiences and growth experiences. They are products of an accelerated tense that is completed in an instant from birth to adulthood.

"Actually, I really dislike using my brain," Chongli sighed. "At our level, sometimes even a slight emotional fluctuation can easily lead to this situation. Everything around us arises and ceases with our thoughts."

"It's due to your superior strength, senior; there's nothing we can do about it," Lin Hui said flatteringly.

"I am only weak. A stronger Celestial Venerable, upon opening his eyes, awakens his thoughts, and thus countless worlds and things around him are created and revived. Upon closing his eyes, his thoughts extinguish, and everything perishes. This is not intentional, but simply a fundamental tidal phenomenon naturally caused by an existence that is too powerful." Chongli raised his right hand, and a white wine cup naturally appeared in his hand. Wine automatically floated in the cup, which he drank in one gulp.

"What brings you here? Your level already possesses some of the characteristics of a Celestial Venerable, and I am in poor condition, so I cannot calculate anything."

"Senior, are you aware of the fusion of lifeless imprints?" Lin Hui asked.

"This is the core of entering our level. You haven't even perfected the Flash Fragment yet, what's the rush?" Chongli frowned.

He's keeping a very close eye on Lin Hui now; he still has two more uses for his heart, and if anything happens to Lin Hui during this time...

"I just wanted to ask in advance, after all, it's always good to be prepared," Lin Hui said with a smile.

"What do you want to ask about this?" Chongli asked.

"I'd like to ask, which inanimate objects can be fused and imprinted?" Lin Hui asked.

"Rules of all things are acceptable. But you need to understand that rules themselves are merely appearances. Behind every rule lies an immense, hidden power. Therefore, once you successfully fuse with an inanimate object, you will inevitably become connected to the immense power behind it, thus passively determining your essence," Chongli said Chongli. "Back then, I chose a weak one to fuse with... and now I'm stuck, my strength constantly suppressed by my fellow cultivators..."

Among the Celestial Venerables, he was considered weak. This was also the result of his past actions. Because no one guided him back then, he was the strongest in his own clan, which led him to take a less desirable path.

Once a choice is made, there's no going back, so you can only accept your fate.