Chapter 65: Under the fantasies of humanity, there is no such thing as an upper limit

"Because I know in my consciousness that a pierced heart does not mean death, I feel not even a shred of fear, even when things reach this point."

Purple-black flames repaired Ye Xuan's heart. Ye Xuan did not pay attention to the injuries on his body, but instead analyzed the battle that had just occurred.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, the battle just now could be considered a life-and-death struggle for both, but neither he nor Unohana Retsu had used their full strength.

Unohana Retsu did not use her Bankai, and he did not push his Wangquan Wan Wan Jianyi to the limit; the two of them had fought primarily with swordsmanship.

It was just that, had it not been for the repair of the Three Thousand Burning Flames, he would indeed have died from the wounds he sustained.

But it was precisely because he knew the capabilities of the Three Thousand Burning Flames that he could not generate the fear of walking on the edge of death.

If Unohana Retsu had severed his head, perhaps... no, if Unohana Retsu had attacked toward his head, he would not have given the opponent the possibility of severing it.

In fact, this was not the first time the two had fought like this. After fishing up the space ring, he had frequently fought against a host of experts in the Mount Kunlun range, though Unohana Retsu was the one he manifested the most.

He liked Unohana Retsu's sword, her endless schools of swordsmanship, her unpredictable hidden blades, and her personality of ignoring everything else in battle, completely immersed in the slaughter.

Of course, the most important thing was that she was proficient in Kaido, and could help him heal after he reached his limit.

Ye Xuan's strength was not weaker than Unohana Retsu's. If both sides went all out, with the Wangquan Wan Wan Jianyi and the Three Thousand Burning Flames fully blooming, even if Unohana Retsu used Bankai, Ye Xuan would have the possibility of killing her.

But if one only spoke of the Dao of the sword, Ye Xuan was absolutely no match for Unohana Retsu.

As the first Shinigami to hold the title of "Kenpachi," the most unprecedented villain in the history of the Soul Society, proficient in various schools of swordsmanship, and praised as "Yachiru," Unohana Retsu was a genius in the Dao of the sword herself.

A thousand years of time had allowed her to reach a level of mastery and understanding of the sword that ordinary people could not comprehend.

Even though Ye Xuan, after fusing with the Wangquan Baye template, was already a prodigy in the Dao of the sword—and had even advanced further in the Dao of the sword under the guidance of the Hogyoku through exchanging philosophies with sword experts from various worlds, surpassing Wangquan Baye himself—he still could not compare to Unohana Retsu.

Therefore, in the initial battles, Ye Xuan often lost, and even the first few times, it was a comprehensive crushing.

It was as if all his thoughts had been seen through by the opponent.

Now, although he had won, Ye Xuan could not be sure if Unohana Retsu had wanted to die on purpose.

Ever since Unohana Retsu learned that she was a figurine and that after she died, the next manifestation would retain the memories of this time, Ye Xuan could no longer guess Unohana Retsu's thoughts.

At least in his view, in the battle just now, Unohana Retsu could have completely blocked his sword in another way and then continued the slaughter, but she didn't; instead, she chose a mutually destructive path, letting the sword pierce his heart.

Even though she knew he possessed the Three Thousand Burning Flames to repair himself, she still used this method, as if she had fallen in love with the feeling of dying in battle.

He truly could not understand the thoughts of a woman over a thousand years old.

Ye Xuan placed the Unohana Retsu figurine into his storage ring, and after a moment of hesitation, he took out a new figurine.

Brown short hair, gentle brows and eyes, a faint smile at the corners of his lips; the whole person exuded an elegant and composed temperament.

"You were really right, Aizen."

"Last time, it really wasn't our last meeting."

Ye Xuan stared at the figurine before him. The power of the Rat Shu Shu Fu Zhou seeped into the figurine like flowing water, and the resin texture gradually became soft and vivid in the light.

The first to awaken were those eyes. Upon noticing the strange scene before him, the pupils contracted slightly, then relaxed, carrying a profound and gentle smile.

The brown hair fluttered gently in the cold wind at the peak of Mount Kunlun, looking elegantly at the man before him.

"We meet again, Ye Xuan-kun."

"Last time, you were wary of me and unwilling to accept my suggestions."

"Now, having manifested me again, you should have confirmed that although the Hogyoku is a thing that belongs to me, under the power of the Rat Shu Shu Fu Zhou, you are its true master, right?"

This was not the first time the two had met. Previously, when he reached his physical limit and could not cross into a new realm, he had manifested Aizen once, and Aizen's answer to him was—he needed to experience a death.

Ye Xuan's strength was too powerful compared to this point in time.

Although there was a god above him, in Ye Xuan's heart, he had never regarded that god as a target he needed to chase.

His efforts in cultivation were not to surpass the other, but simply to make himself stronger.

He pursued power, but was not impatient; perhaps his cultivation was disciplined enough, or even overly arduous, in the eyes of ordinary people, but in his heart, there was no overly eager pursuit of power.

Actions can deceive others, or even deceive oneself, but they cannot hide one's "heart."

The Hogyoku can guide the host's potential, break through bottlenecks, and allow him to reach the realm he could have reached in the future ahead of time; but to break through the limit, Ye Xuan first needed to clarify one thing: what his heart truly wanted.

"The power of the Hogyoku is to develop according to what the person hopes for in their heart, but Ye Xuan, what exactly is after your so-called limit?"

This was what Aizen said to Ye Xuan at the time, and Ye Xuan could not give any answer.

Immortal? God? Saint?

He did not have an accurate understanding of what kind of existence he would become in the future; if he had to say, it was just like Aizen, wanting to evolve to a higher dimension.

It was just that Aizen was limited by the world, and his evolution, even excluding potential, still had an end; Ye Xuan was different. Under the fantasies of humanity, the so-called upper limit had long become an "unknown," or rather, evolution had no upper limit to begin with.

The so-called "upper limit" is only limited by potential, system, and world.

Of course, the Hogyoku cannot truly make people evolve infinitely, even if you possess this potential; its own level also determines its own upper limit.

Ye Xuan seemed to have clarified his future, but he was not firm about this future. In his heart, he actually did not care what kind of path he achieved, nor did he care in what way he walked a certain path, as long as it could make him stronger.

Others naturally had no choice, but Ye Xuan, who had the Myriad Realms Fishing System, had too many choices.

He didn't have to do anything, just wait.

Waiting for the arrival of the next fishing, waiting for the appearance of a higher-level fishing item, his strength would naturally soar.

(End of chapter)