Cycles in the Heart, Winding Turns upon the Land

The man in black robes was slightly surprised to feel the gaze directed at him.

"In this cyclical world, how did you manage to regain your senses? Could it be that some deity has intervened?"

Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Yan's body trembled violently, crackling as he raised his hand and dragged the solidified column of energy toward the man in black robes!

The long river, already stained with color, was churned up by the column of air, creating waves. Each wave contained a fragment of the past, appearing slightly gray and turbid, a result of being stained by the dim sunlight.

However, the dark gray color was immediately blown away upon contact with the whirlwind, revealing a glimmer of light. Unable to withstand the whirlwind, it was directly dispersed!

"It seems you were prepared all along. You must have witnessed my battle with that deity, which allowed you to seize this opportunity and launch a sudden attack before the sunlight could regain its footing!"

Faced with this, the man in black robes swayed and moved away in the blink of an eye, retreating ten feet. At the same time, he transmitted his thoughts. "I underestimated you. Even this couldn't trap your consciousness, which shows that it's difficult to capture you with just projections and chess pieces. But I don't understand why you endured it in the previous 107 cycles?"

Before this, the reason why Ran Lian, Fu Yong, and even Ding Chunzi's words were so strange was that after they were shrouded in thick smoke and bathed in dim sunlight, their thoughts flowed, and what they saw and heard was no longer the Grasslands scene, but the scene from two months ago.

Thus, from the uprising two months ago to Qiu Yan's absorption of the cultivators, everyone experienced this repeatedly, more than a hundred times, but each time the memory was reset, leaving at most a little residue.

Only Qiu Yan regained consciousness immediately through the coordinated movement of his Three Bodies. Although the process was tedious and boring, he participated tirelessly, maintaining order. Even the slightest unexpected action could alter the entire situation and affect the Spacetime Power that operated the memory Samsara. This power was one of Qiu Yan's targets. In order not to cause too much impact, he always cooperated with the events and used the opportunity of more than a hundred Samsara to comprehend and capture this power.

Of course, Qiu Yan didn't intend to explain these things, nor was there any need to say more.

"You don't need to worry about these things." Leaving these words behind, Qiu Yan, in the blink of an eye, unleashed a vortex that engulfed the black-robed man, as violently as a raging flood breaching a dam, completely swallowing his figure.

But the black-robed figure did not disappear from the raging torrent; instead, he moved nimbly. Eventually, he transformed into a wisp of gray light, weaving through the chaos.

Upon seeing this, Qiu Yan raised his hand and made a grasping motion, then twisted his wrist. A strange aura burst forth from the vortex, reversing time and space and disrupting history, actually sucking that ray of dark sunlight directly into it!

However, the sunlight that fell into it still shimmered with a slight change, then with a whoosh, it slipped into the depths of the whirlwind, trying to merge with it!

"As expected of Outsiders, their methods are extraordinary. Even this couldn't annihilate them. One slip, and they might have infiltrated my Fortune. But they don't know I have Three Bodies. This move seems brilliant, but it also gives me an opportunity. Perhaps I can..."

As his thoughts raced, Qiu Yan didn't stop. He raised his hand and summoned the river water that had been dispersed by the vortex. The water gathered and merged into the pillar of energy, transforming into a world with distinct layers and lifelike depictions of rivers and mountains. As a result, the ray of sunlight that had entered the world immediately seemed out of place and revealed its presence. But then, the sunlight turned and transformed into a person, merging into that world.

The next moment, the world was in turmoil, the great dynasty collapsed, the country was divided, and heroes were separated. One man rose from the north, conquered all the way, unified the entire north, and then gathered an army of 800,000 to Jiangnan and unify the country!

As this man marched into battle, half the world was shrouded in darkness.

"Hmm? I originally intended to suppress this ray of sunshine with the power of the nation, but unexpectedly, I was used by the other party instead. If I let him have his way, I can use this as a springboard to once again taint the Fortune. When he comes back with great power, it won't be so easy to suppress him!"

Thinking this way, Qiu Yan was not afraid. With a change of mind, he had an idea. He then separated a wisp of his consciousness and entered the vortex, traversing layer by layer, and entered that world. He became a person, first farming and studying in the mountains, spreading his virtuous name. Later, he was sincerely invited out and went on a solo mission to many warlords. With his silver tongue, he persuaded the allied forces to work together to fight the enemy.

Finally, with the help of all parties, the man's attempt to go south was thwarted.

Subsequently, Qiu Yan's wisp of consciousness helped one side occupy the southwest, and seized an opportunity to use Hunan and Hubei as a Xiang-E to annex the Jiangnan, thus creating a long-term tug-of-war with the people of the north.

During this stalemate, the ray of sunlight's momentum was blocked, and the person it transformed into lost the Fortune. Within a few years, he closed his eyes and passed away.

"You've won this round, but it's not over yet." A thought flowed into Qiu Yan's ears, and then a wisp of consciousness slowly faded away...

A few breaths later, the vortex dissipated, and the figure in black robes was no longer there, leaving only a wisp of black smoke that was gathering and dispersing uncertainly. Qiu Yan raised his hand and caught it.

The next moment, a strange feeling spread from within, trying to invade the body, but was blocked by Qiu Yan's thoughts. A bit of perception penetrated into it, and a sense of familiarity washed over him.

"I feel like I've experienced this sensation somewhere before, but if I've truly encountered Divine Ability akin to reversing time, it's impossible not to remember it..."

As Qiu Yan pondered, the image of an old man with a full braid flashed through his mind. Then, with a flicker of light, the scene of the Land of the Divine Remains swept through his mind. The two memories condensed into a Spiritual Light in his consciousness, and he was about to uncover the reason.

Just then, a wisp of residual will suddenly burst forth from the black smoke—

"Although you have acquired this rebellious thought, don't think you can get away with it easily. Although the Grasslands lack the foundation of the Central Plains, the commotion you've caused will have attracted the attention of certain figures long ago if it weren't for the protection of the Dragon Qi and the presence of the Great Rui deep in the Grasslands to keep them in check. However, I have already understood the essence of your second book, which is something that some people in the Grasslands absolutely cannot tolerate..."

Snap!

Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Yan shattered his words with a thought, and stopped listening.

"Another backup plan? This is truly a constant source of trouble. My recent insights, though acquired in a short time, have required considerable effort. The Sand Battlefield Military World not something that can be easily mobilized. The morale and Karma gathered among the Military School cannot last long. If the second part is completely depleted, it's truly unpredictable when the third part of the classic will be completed. In that case, we must press on with our efforts and create a peaceful future!"

With a sudden thought, Qiu Yan flicked his sleeve, and the frozen scene around him cracked with a shattering sound, as if a mirror was about to break.

The cracks spread, forming fragments that filled the world in the blink of an eye. Then, with a "crash," they scattered completely, the fragments falling like rain. But the world itself remained unchanged, as if it had been covered by a layer of glass, and now that the glass had shattered and fallen, there was not much change.

But just by looking up at the sky, you'll realize...

"Not much time has passed. From the spread of the thick black smoke to now, only a few breaths have elapsed. Sure enough, that person wasn't truly manipulating time and space, but rather creating some kind of illusion to cause everyone's memories to Samsara. However, the person behind it all is currently only interfering with Donghua through chess pieces and projections. If he could truly descend to earth, I wonder if he could truly control it, after all..."

Fragments fell continuously from the sky and the earth, like dense raindrops. Qiu Yan was in the middle of it, looking at the smoke in his hand, which was still shrouded in the column of air, but the column of air was much shorter than before, and many human-shaped light and shadows gathered and dispersed, which were none other than Ding Chunzi and others.

"The Venerable One in Hemp Robe we encountered back then caused the river of time to branch, altering the causes to change the outcome, which is close to interfering with time and space. Furthermore..."

Qiu Yan's consciousness slowly deepened, and the memories of his Three Bodies flowed through him. The feelings of his Heart Demon Body were amplified, and that Heart Demon Body was currently in the Land of the Divine Remains.

"... The Land of the Divine Remains is now filled with a similar aura. I didn't understand it before, but now it seems that the purpose of those later deities is not simple at all. Li Trigram had been enhanced before, so their actions may not be a bad thing for me, but it's hard to say whether it's a good thing or not."

In the blink of an eye, the fragments of heaven and earth had dissipated, and the dim sunlight returned to normal. But in reality, this was merely the removal of a layer of illusory color from the surroundings, causing a certain illusion existing in consciousness to disappear.

Then, Qiu Yan noticed the hidden senses all around him.

"The person behind the scenes was right about one thing: the Grasslands are not as simple as they seem. But rather than being held back, it would be better to take advantage of the opportunity to complete the book before returning to the Central Plains and meet with the heroes of the Grasslands. That would make the trip worthwhile! It would save us from being ambushed again. Besides, there are still some goals we haven't achieved since leaving the capital. We might as well settle them all at once!"

With that thought, Qiu Yan collected the wisp of smoke into the porcelain bottle, tucked it into his sleeve, and then flicked his right hand, causing the brush tip to change and ink to gush out, painting a vast Grasslands on the white paper in front of him.

Meanwhile, far away in the starry sky from the East Flower Continent, there is a vast land with a very strange shape. Looking at it, it is winding and meandering, like a long dragon. The sun and the moon both rise from one side and set along the same trajectory.

The vast land is dotted with mountains and lakes, forests and vegetation, and inhabited by living beings and cities. But at the edge of the continent lies an enormous rock, carved with a human face, exuding an ancient aura, as if it has remained unchanged since time immemorial.

But the next moment, the rocky face trembled, and its tightly closed eyes slowly opened. One eye was filled with a chilling wind, while the other was as bright as fire.

The continent was instantly transformed; the Spiritual Qi became chaotic, violent winds arose, and countless people were killed or injured!

At the same time, a grand vision conveyed surprise and doubt. Deep within the Eye of Ice, a wisp of black energy condensed into a slender shadow, rushing towards the depths! (To be continued...)

P. S.: Thanks to "Adventurer* Tian Yun" and "Yuan Nie" for their monthly votes!