Chapter 234: Severing True and False, Illusory and Real, to Forge the Mind

Almost there?

How could something like this possibly happen quickly?

Xu Xing's reply left the two of them baffled.

But they dared not ask again.

"Enough of that. Eat something to fill your stomach—don't be so frugal." Xu Xing pointed to the food and fresh water piled inside.

The Nourishing Body Scripture demands great nourishment, but these two kids had clearly endured too much hardship—days of poverty and hunger—so they were overly cautious, except for that one time when they ate too much out of sheer starvation.

During his absence, even when hungry, they ate only a little, stopping as soon as the hunger eased.

"Once you've eaten your fill, I'll take you to the nearest human settlement."

The nearest human settlement…

Xi Yun's expression changed, as if he'd just remembered something.

"L-Lord, is the settlement you mean… 'Mingguang'?"

"Yes."

Mingguang was the largest settlement nearby, governed by the highest-ranked cultivator in the region.

Fear flickered in Xi Yun's eyes; beside him, Xi Li nervously gripped the corner of her dress.

"But my lord, the leader of that settlement is a…"

"I know."

Xu Xing waved his hand, signaling him to say no more.

"I'll handle this matter."

With that, he walked out of the cave, giving them no chance to ask further.

As Xi Yun watched Xu Xing leave, an oddly comforting feeling welled up inside him.

They had only recently witnessed the leader of Mingguang's cruel methods…

"Brother." Xi Li's voice pulled him back to reality.

A piece of cold roasted meat was handed to him.

Xi Yun reached out to take it, unable to help asking:

"Xi Li, aren't you afraid?"

After all, the leader of Mingguang was also a powerful Transmitter.

"With the elder here, I believe the elder is far stronger than that person!" Xi Li declared firmly.

Having lived in constant hardship since childhood, she had never had the chance to become a Transmitter, but she had seen the earth-shattering, terrifying power wielded by Transmitters.

Yet… never before had any cultivator given her this sense of safety and reliability.

Though his displayed power was far weaker than those formidable Transmitters she'd seen before, she simply felt this way…

This elder they met was stronger than any cultivator they had ever encountered!

"…"

In truth, Xi Yun felt the same, but reason told him it was impossible.

How could the Transmitter who saved them be stronger than every single Transmitter they'd ever seen before?

…

…

Outside the cave, Xu Xing seemed to be gazing into the distance.

In truth, his gaze was fixed upon a space that did not exist in reality.

Within it stretched boundless darkness, dim and heavy, with not a single speck of light.

Dozens of plump, naked figures lay still, eyes closed, each covered with a sheet of white cloth.

They were the humans Xu Xing had rescued from the city and kept in captivity.

He had repaired the missing and damaged portions of their souls, but years of captivity had left their minds childlike—even less than that—after recovery.

Thus, Xu Xing had taken a fragment of the True-False, Illusory-Real Dao of this world and cast their confused consciousnesses into it, giving them a new life, beginning again from infancy, to rebuild complete minds.

This method was nothing like the fabricated soul illusions created by those few little devils of the Xuan Realm.

A complete mind constructed from the True-False, Illusory-Real Dao would not impair their future potential.

Perhaps, due to this unique experience, they would gain an advantage over other humans in later cultivation. "Still, Huo must take over," Xu Xing sighed.

With Huo's ability, he and his fellow Daoists need only set the right conditions to restore the souls of every captive human in this world in an instant.

Even the subsequent mind-building process would be far easier than what he's doing now.

"For now, this is all I can do."

In the boundless space, countless plump figures fell every moment, collapsing into unconsciousness as their consciousnesses entered the Illusory Realm.

They were humans captured and held in breeding farms across the Beast God Realm.

The earliest batch, their bloated bodies, had begun slowly shrinking, and through their experiences in the Illusory Realm, their forms were beginning to change.

Muscular, slender, tall, petite, graceful…

All manner of physiques, without exception.

True-False, Illusory-Real: the false can become real, the illusory can become true.

All experiences within the Illusory Realm—except death—would also influence their physical forms in return.

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Xu Xing withdrew his gaze and looked up at the sky of the Beast God Realm, murmuring softly:

"The Great Dao endures boundlessly; with my Dao as anchor, I weave the Great Dao's net, mastering its beginning and end…"

After a long while, he lowered his eyes.

The state where the Beast God Realm's Hun Tian Yi intertwines with the Beast God indeed gave him much inspiration, but further consideration is still needed.

Under high-level radiation, although the cultivation system names of the Beast God Realm are identical to those of the Tai Xuan Realm, the subtle details of the cultivation process differ.

He turned back into the cave and found Xi Yun and Xi Li, the brother and sister, already prepared.

"Let's go."

As his words faded, the three figures vanished into the cave.

…………

Since humanity's defeat by the Beast God clan one hundred thousand years ago, their situation has grown increasingly dire.

In the early stages, they still had some capacity to resist.

But as the Beast God clan's "Beast God" attained the Dao and entered the supreme realm, all human cultivators above the Return to Void stage died suddenly.

And the human cultivators of the Soul Transformation and Return to Void stages were slaughtered to the last by the Beast God himself.

Since then, humanity's capacity to resist has grown ever weaker.

To this day, only a few scattered settlements and the legendary, ever-shifting Sacred Site of the Legacy-Bearers remain.

Mingguang is one of the few medium-sized human settlements.

It is guarded by one Golden Core Realm cultivator and two Foundation Establishment cultivators, housing several thousand people.

Yet the leader of Mingguang is extremely cruel in his methods.

Rumors say he has even colluded with high-ranking figures of the Beast God clan...

But these rumors vanished quickly under his brutal suppression.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The crisp clanging echoed outside the settlement; one by one, figures like walking corpses emerged from the crumbling hovels and gathered before a raised platform.

On the platform stood several figures with Qi Condensation stage third or fourth level cultivation, dressed in bright, splendid attire.

One young man, holding an iron pot and iron spoon, stood at the front and smiled as he scanned the crowd below.

"Same as always—you all know the rules: the precious monthly opportunity to 'offer yourselves'."

As he spoke, several strong men with Qi Condensation first or second level cultivation brought out a long table laden with fine wine and delicacies, their enticing aromas stirring hunger.

Swallowing sounds rose continuously; their numb eyes revealed faint longing.

"Those willing to 'offer yourselves' may eat and drink as much as they like."

The young man stepped forward and used chopsticks to pick up a slice of roasted meat, crispy outside and tender within.

The meat still steamed, its juices dripping steadily—it was clearly just taken from the fire.

"Tsk tsk!"

After a soft tsk, he shoved the meat into his mouth, chewed fiercely twice, and swallowed.

Below, the gaunt, hunched figures stared with wide eyes; the sounds of swallowing grew louder.

Watching the expressions of the crowd below, the young man's eyes flickered with mockery.

Hmph!

If not for that damned Sacred Site of the Legacy-Bearers, we wouldn't need to go through all this trouble! (End of Chapter)