Chapter 2993: His True Face!

The entire sea of consciousness had returned to tranquility, flowing clouds and mist, a gentle dawn breeze, with no trace left of any malevolent intruder having been here.

Zhao Mantu stared at the tree lamp on the table until its light reignited, then he said:

"Alright, we can talk now."

He Lingchuan then spoke: "Have I passed the trial?"

"For now, you have." The Great Shaman smiled, "Karma already knows it won't find what it seeks here. But I won't rule out that it may continue to spy on you, hoping to catch your flaws and weaknesses. Karma, after all, is a bone-deep maggot—not easily shaken off, as every cultivator knows." It seems karma may yet return to trouble him, so He Lingchuan pressed his temples.

Even the Emperor of the Nine Abysses, suddenly confronted again with his past heinous sins, would feel immense pressure.

"This lamp is yours." The Great Shaman pointed to the tree lamp on the table, "At critical moments, it can shield you from karma, but it can only glow again twice."

"Thank you!" He Lingchuan examined it, "What kind of lamp is this?"

"You may call it the 'Heart Lamp' if you wish."

After the Heart Lamp has been used twice, if karma still comes, He Lingchuan will have to rely on himself alone.

"Please, Great Shaman, clarify this for me." He spoke solemnly, "Why does karma not recognize me?"

"Are you truly He Lingchuan?"

"Of course I am..." he thought, otherwise, who else could be?

The Great Shaman raised a finger to interrupt him: "You'd better think carefully before answering."

He Lingchuan closed his mouth, his gaze toward the Great Shaman shifting from confusion to flickering, slowly growing sharper.

What the Great Shaman pointed to, could it be...?

"You've recalled some old memories, haven't you?"

He Lingchuan's Adam's apple moved slightly, then he suddenly asked:

"Is there a mirror? I can't conjure one here."

Zhao Mantu the Great Shaman immediately produced a half-arm-length bronze mirror, thoughtfully placing it before He Lingchuan.

The mirror surface was clear and bright, reflecting his visage.

The instant he saw the person in the mirror, He Lingchuan's mind buzzed, his whole body went numb, and even the Great Shaman's words turned into demonic whispers: "The moment I saw you here, I understood."

The face in the mirror resembled "He Lingchuan" only to a degree of three-tenths, but a second look made the difference clear. If both faces were placed in the outside world, anyone with eyes would basically conclude they were two different people.

No wonder karma, upon seeing him in the "heart chamber," immediately concluded he was not He Lingchuan.

This is the sea of consciousness; the appearance of the soul cannot be falsified.

He Lingchuan stared fixedly at the mirror, unconsciously clenching his fists.

This face, he was certainly familiar with, but when had he last seen it?

Right, it was before he crossed over into this world!

Having been in this world too long, having been "He Lingchuan" too long, he had deliberately ignored the fact that he originally did not belong to this world! He is an outsider.

At the moment he arrived in this world, the true He Lingchuan—eldest son of He Chunhua, Prefect of Qiansong Commandery in Jinzhou of the Yan State—had already died! Compared to the heavenly demon, he is the true visitor from beyond the heavens.

But he buried this matter deep in his heart, never mentioning it to a second person. Not even his most trusted Sun Fuling knew.

Having endured so many ups and downs in this mortal realm, even he had nearly forgotten his original appearance.

Yet now, a secret buried for over twenty years—almost forgotten even by himself—was suddenly unearthed, laid bare before the Great Shaman without concealment, and He Lingchuan's reaction was a cold sweat on his back, an instinctive urge to draw his blade!

He is already a rare powerhouse of the present age. When a powerhouse's secret is exposed, the first reaction is often to kill to silence.

"Hey, don't radiate such killing intent." The Great Shaman waved his hands frantically, "I know nothing, this has nothing to do with me!"

"How could it have nothing to do with you?" He Lingchuan looked at him, his gaze heavy with suspicion, "Back then, when I—when He Lingchuan fell off the cliff and lost consciousness, it was you who rescued me."

"I merely reached out to save a person, I never interfered with your karma!"

He Lingchuan pressed on: "If not you, then who?"

"Heaven knows." The Great Shaman shook his head, "You'd be better off doubting the Great Great Great Fanghu. The sand leopard that shoved He Lingchuan off the mountain cliff was a descendant of Zhong Shengguang's former demonic pet, and this is also the origin of your karmic chain."

"I don't quite understand." He Lingchuan's mind was rarely this muddled, "I—I am still here, so who was it that karma took away back then in the Panlong World?"

The Great Shaman's tone was matter-of-fact: "He Lingchuan, that is."

"You..." If the Great Shaman speaks another word of that cart-axle nonsense, He Lingchuan cannot guarantee he won't draw his sword and rise.

"This is a fact, an indisputable fact, hence karma withdrew in disappointment." The Great Shaman emphasized again, "It took 'He Lingchuan,' not you."

"Young Master He?" He Lingchuan murmured, "Wasn't he long since dissipated?"

Over twenty years ago, before he crossed the sea to flee to the Yangshan Islands, he had once teamed up with the Great Great Great Fanghu to design the Naluo Tian doppelgänger, and had also openly confronted He Chunhua, after which father and son severed ties.

At that time, he could already feel that the original owner's heart's wish had been fulfilled, completely dissipated.

For the twenty years since, whether in life, battle, or cultivation, this body has been his, and he has never sensed the presence of the original soul. The Great Shaman asked him softly, his tone unclear whether mysterious or gossipy: "You've entered and exited the Panlong World for years, your soul's appearance matches reality exactly—don't you find that strange?"

He Lingchuan's gaze sharpened.

Indeed, when he first entered the Panlong World, he had specially gone to the waterside to look at himself.

That was He Shao's face.

He hadn't thought much of it.

Later, having entered and exited the Panlong World too many times, he had grown accustomed to it, and thus became even less inclined to ponder it.

Until today, when Zhao Mantu brought it up again, he found himself thinking more and more that something was off.

Consistency between body and soul appearance is a basic principle, only possible to change in dreams. Even if He Lingchuan's soul has for years entered and exited the Panlong World wearing He Shao's face, after He Shao's original will dissipated, his soul should have reverted to its true form.

Yet it did not.

This perhaps indicates that He Shao's soul has been continuously used by him, even becoming his mask and disguise in the Panlong World, which even Sun Fuling failed to see through.

He asked the Great Shaman: "What is the reason for this?"

The Great Shaman spread his hands: "Such a secret matter, even karma cannot penetrate it—how would I know?"

Simple as that, don't ask me.

He Lingchuan frowned tightly.

His arrival in this world had always been a mystery. But he knew one thing: when he fell off the cliff, the young master of the He family was already dead. His cultivation was not high, and his soul should have dissipated quickly, yet it remained—this must have something to do with the outsider who took over this body right after.