“A large-scale illusion… Senior Cheng Lixue, what exactly is going on here…?”
Clearly, Kiana had received shocking information in a very short time, and her brain hadn’t quite caught up yet.
“Yeah. Ever since we entered Mount Taixu, I’ve felt this inexplicable sense of disharmony lingering everywhere. It wasn’t until I saw Senior Sister that my suspicions were finally confirmed. From the moment we set foot on Mount Taixu, we’ve been trapped in an illusion. Everything we’ve seen here is fake.”
“Senior Sister… Do you mean that this woman before us, Lin Chaoyu, is actually one of the disciples the class monitor took in five hundred years ago? Not everyone can live over five hundred years by swapping bodies like Otto. The fact that we’re seeing someone from five hundred years ago here only proves that everything we’re witnessing is an illusion.”
Lin Chaoyu listened to Cheng Lixue’s analysis, clearly taken aback—not because Cheng Lixue had uncovered the truth, but because of the attitude Cheng Lixue was showing her.
“So… what happened five hundred years ago… you already know?”
“Not the full picture, because I can’t be sure that the person who gave me this information was telling me the truth. But… I do know the general outline.”
“Then how can you still—”
A smile of relief spread across Cheng Lixue’s face.
“First, Master definitely wouldn’t want me getting tangled up in the grudges of five hundred years ago. If I got involved in the conflicts between Master and my fellow senior brothers and sisters, I’d only be adding to her worries.”
“Second, my reason tells me that I shouldn’t act impulsively without Master’s orders, especially when I don’t fully understand the causes and consequences of what happened and can’t reconstruct the entire event. I have no right to forgive anyone on Master’s behalf, nor do I have the right to take revenge for her. Master never issued an order to expel the seven senior brothers and sisters from the Taixu Sword Sect. So no matter what happened between all of you and Master, you are still my seniors.”
“Third, this is an illusion. Since you, Senior Sister, appear to have independent thoughts—meaning you’re not just a tool created by the illusion’s maker to guide us toward someone’s goal—I suspect that the Senior Sister I’m seeing now is a lingering obsession left behind in Mount Taixu or in Master’s memories, processed and reshaped by someone. At least in the narrow sense, you’re not truly human.”
“Whether or not Senior Sister made mistakes five hundred years ago, she’s already dead. It’s not that death wipes away sins, but rather that getting angry at a shadow left in a memory is, logically and emotionally, completely pointless.”
Lin Chaoyu lowered her head and fell silent. After a long moment, she lifted her gaze to Cheng Lixue again. There was appreciation in her eyes, surprise, and a trace of… envy.
“Chi Ying… really did take on a fine disciple. Since you already know all this, the guided path ahead is somewhat unnecessary. On this Mount Taixu, there are many feathers like the one in your hand. Their contents all relate to Chi Ying, but I don’t know exactly what they hold. The seals on the feathers can be broken by anyone with a Sword Heart.”
“So here, I am of no further use… Those who have passed should return to where they belong. Little junior sister, I leave the rest to you.”
With that, Lin Chaoyu turned and walked away, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight. Kiana stood rooted to the spot, utterly lost.
“Senior Cheng Lixue, so… can you tell me what really happened between the class monitor and her seven disciples five hundred years ago?”
Cheng Lixue looked at the two of them, brimming with curiosity, and let out a soft sigh.
“You’re not disciples of the Taixu Sect, so this doesn’t directly concern you. But since you’re both here for Master’s sake, you can’t really be considered outsiders anymore… In 1476, at the peak of Mount Taixu, the Seven Swords of Taixu joined forces to kill their master. Master’s brain was struck head-on by Fifth Senior Sister Cheng Lingshuang’s Taixu Sword God, and after losing a vast amount of her memories, she was reborn twenty years later.”
“As for the reason… even the Overseer doesn’t know. He only told me that it might be related to the ‘Divine Key.'”
After a moment of silence, Cheng Lixue undid the seal on the feather and handed it to Kiana.
“There’s no point in us agonizing over the murky grievances of five hundred years ago here. If we want to find clues and break free from this illusion, we should focus on what we can do right now.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Kiana pressed the feather to her brow once more. This time, the information contained within offered no resistance and poured entirely into her mind…
At the peak of Mount Taixu, the Herrscher of Sentience observed the conversation between Lin Chaoyu and Cheng Lixue from a unique perspective, her expression one of utter dissatisfaction.
Clearly, one important conclusion could be drawn from Cheng Lixue’s words: she did not consider herself to be the real Fu Hua.
Deeply shaken, the Herrscher of Sentience had nowhere to vent her frustration. Just then, the surroundings of the mountaintop were suddenly engulfed in an eerie black fog.
“Dare to play tricks right in front of me? Show yourself!”
She lashed out into the mist with her whip. The fog did disperse, but she felt something was off—the power of Fenghuang Down seemed to have been neutralized.
Just as she was about to investigate further, all the black mist gathered together and eventually coalesced into a humanoid form.
“You are… Enoxia?!”
The Herrscher of Sentience rifled through her memories and realized that this Herrscher of Corruption before her had, on more than one occasion, left Otto both furious and utterly helpless. Instantly, her fondness for Enoxia skyrocketed.
“Enoxia, your ability lets you read my memories directly. So tell me—am I the real Fu Hua or not?”
Looking at the Herrscher of Sentience, whose face was full of anticipation, Enoxia smiled gently and uttered two words:
“Thus.”
