Chapter 389

Su Lin: "Look at my peak state."

Emperor Yufeng: "Are you some Uchiha Madara from where?"

Miss Kelaien restrained the faintly visible semi-transparent dark cloak on his skin, learning from fate's feedback that a danger was approaching.

The pianist over there was playing a melodious tune on the keyboard; when Su Lin passed by carrying Emperor Yufeng, Song Shuhang, trailing behind, kindly reminded, "Chief Miss Kelaien, your cola's spilled."

Miss Kelaien nodded blankly; the supernatural perception from the mythic being and his vision as the Fool allowed him to see a hallucination—the fate threads of Song Shuhang were a tangled mess, and in the Spirit Realm, a black star appeared.

It resembled a corpse speaking.

Something's off. Something's very off.

Miss Kelaien followed his intuition's guidance, flicking a coin between his fingers; gray-white mist spread before him, and a faintly visible light gate stained with bluish-black hues emerged.

Leave from here, or you'll be corrupted by him.

'Do you think I'll believe you?'

Within him reside multiple traits of mine and God; I sensed a thread of information.

'Do you have proof?'

You should've seen his posture.

'Can you awaken within Su Lin?'

Considered it. Unless I'm insane.

'Irrelevant. I believe him.'

Feeling the consciousness within him fall silent again, as if suppressed as usual into slumber, Miss Kelaien picked up his standard hat, bowed with gentlemanly grace, and stepped into history: "I have something to attend to."

"Is that so?" Su Lin nodded: "Go ahead."

'Why should I believe Yuanshi Tianzun's deceit?' Miss Kelaien suddenly felt an inexplicable pang of guilt at Su Lin's casual demeanor.

"It's fine. We can go later too." Miss Kelaien suddenly remembered something and asked:

"You don't have that power anymore—the one that made everything you did produce the opposite result, right?"

"Expired long ago. No subscription renewal function." Su Lin said.

Hearing this, Miss Kelaien exhaled in relief; that reversal effect had indeed unnerved him. Though he didn't know what Su Lin intended, since that power was gone, there was nothing to fear.

The only issue: why was his Spirit Worm growing increasingly agitated? Had he forgotten something?

At that moment, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan and Li Huowang also removed their headphones without expression, hands leaving the keyboard; through the gap between them, Su Lin and the others saw the chat log on the screen.

Hebei Thirty Years (Udyr): You can't out-shout my brother. Last question: Can you play normally?

Bring Master Sister (Yasuo) tagged "I, Li Huowang, am not crazy (Blind Monk)"

Bring Master Sister (Yasuo) indicated "Hebei Thirty Years (Udyr)" had vanished

Bring Master Sister (Yasuo): I've blocked both of you. Hehehe. Got mesmerized, huh? Really think you're the protagonist? A rejected waste, a lunatic—so what if I gave them to you? All you can do is rage helplessly.

Behind it were countless vile remarks; the game ended in this atmosphere.

"He's activated the mental victory method." Li Huowang asked: "Should we check his water meter?"

After a moment of silence, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan shook his head: "Wait till tonight."

Li Huowang's ability is handy for opening boxes; looks like someone's getting truthed tonight.

"So what do you want us to watch?" Miss Kelaien asked: "Let me be clear—we won't learn your Dao."

After walking only a few steps, they reached Water Mirror Peak; Miss Kelaien glanced at the ethernet cable on the ground, wondering whether he should upgrade his broadband later.

"As I just said—I want you to observe how I look after using different powers." Su Lin told Miss Kelaien: "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to learn my Dao."

The sense of danger kept intensifying, but the Seer couldn't fully trust such premonitions—long-term reliance on this ability would bring catastrophic consequences at critical moments.

Miss Kelaien suppressed his thoughts and nodded slightly; Su Lin closed his eyes, sat cross-legged in midair, fingers forming the mudra of holding a flower.

"By the way, Senior Su Lin has used many different powers before." Song Shuhang thought and said: "Is this one Buddhist power?"

As soon as he spoke, a brilliant golden radiance spilled from Su Lin's skin; unlike sunlight, this glow was dense yet not blinding, instead radiating an unusual warmth that calmed the mind from within.

Pure glazed light rippled, forming a blooming white lotus that enveloped Su Lin; as the Sanskrit chants echoed in their ears, the lotus slowly unfurled.

Li Huowang widened his eyes slightly—he suddenly saw himself within the lotus, but in an instant, he saw instead every person he'd ever met: enemies, parents from another world.

He shook his head urgently to clear his mind, yet memories of past right and wrong flooded back, and he gained insight into human attachments: desire, anger, greed, pride, doubt.

"Of course." Song Shuhang secretly envied Su Lin—every skill he mastered, unlike himself, who was the exact opposite.

He liked Daoist techniques but kept getting entangled with Buddhist ones; he wanted to be a dashing sword cultivator, yet had talent only in blade arts, with minor achievements in knife techniques.

The sky had darkened without notice; as the lotus fully bloomed, the east turned pale, the horizon between sea and sky ablaze like fire, and a majestic Buddha walked barefoot through the air, his back glowing with a merit-light that seemed to illuminate all worlds.

"Form, sentient beings, lifespan—all forms. Realize non-form, non-self, sever the root of form."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan stood frozen: "Master, I've awakened."

Light purified defilement; Dharmakaya pure and clear. The Heavenly Buddha's Formless Dharmakaya, which Su Lin had idly flipped through during his eternal time of boredom, now wielded formidable combat power.

"How's that?" Su Lin appeared beside them, asking: "Any strange observations?"

Strange observations? Everyone shook their heads.

The only odd thing was there were two Su Lins—but that wasn't strange at all; his clone technique ranked among the best in the group, only the Fool, Miss Kelaien, could rival him.

"No strangeness—actually, I gained some insight." Li Huowang felt unexpectedly at ease gazing at Su Lin's Heavenly Buddha Dharmakaya; not just Su Lin's, but whenever he watched any cultivator or monk perform magic, he felt calm, unlike in his own world.

"Is that so?" Su Lin's brow relaxed slightly, then said: "What about this?"

A semi-transparent dark cloak appeared on him, his entire form engulfed in shadowy light.

Instantly, a powerful spiritual assault struck them; whispers echoed in their ears.

Because Su Lin had pre-emptively placed protective measures on them, and the Heavenly Buddha's Formless Dharmakaya radiated immense merit-light beside them, their states remained normal.

Blessed, Profound, Yellow Heaven Tianzun. Blessed, Profound, Yellow Heaven Tianjun.

You are One, and also Ten Thousand.

Feeling the familiar whispers, only Miss Kelaien asked the question he'd long wanted to ask: "What's going on here?"

After all, Su Lin hadn't been hiding anything, but he hadn't directly interacted with him nor had he ever intended to probe into Su Lin's background.

"After I fused with the Tianzun and the God last time, my Jin Dan became like this," the cloaked figure said, waving an arm. "What you see now is my Jin Dan."

You call that a Jin Dan? Even an angel would go mad!

What kind of immortal path are you cultivating? A Strange Dao immortal?!

Song Shuhang blinked, slow to regain clarity compared to others due to his lowest cultivation level, but his mouth had already begun instinctively complaining:

"What kind of Jin Dan gives birth to a Jin Dan like that?"

'Do you even have the right to say that?' Su Lin's eyelid twitched, but he appeared from the side, his Eternal Furnace Core pouring vast amounts of Eternal Primordial Source into the Jin Dan.

Separated from his body, flying from his mouth, the white-gold Jin Dan, wrapped in pure light, transformed into a ten-winged humanoid form—divine, ethereal, and supremely exalted.

It began with six wings; after the Jin Dan's birth, it became eight wings, seemingly influenced by the Chaos Sea, then evolved into ten wings after inscribing the Creation Laws and becoming a God in another universe.

Currently, it appears to be steadily moving toward twelve wings.

Su Lin introduced: "This is my Jin Dan."

"Silence. Still silence."

To be honest, today's events have somewhat shattered my understanding.

Emperor Yufeng rubbed his eyes, dug in his ear, and wondered if he'd misheard.

"These two are both strong fighters, but their flaw is they drain mana terribly, and if you're not careful, they'll start fighting each other," Su Lin's physical body stepped out through a dimensional rift, asking the group:

"Do you feel anything strange? Or—when you look at me and these things, what image do you see in your eyes?"

"This is crucial to me. Please tell me honestly."

Why would your Jin Dan fight your Jin Dan?

"I feel nothing strange," Ke Ke Ke Laien scanned the group and said to Su Lin:

"I'm astonished by the depth you possess, but whether through spiritual perception or physical senses, you still appear to us as yourself."

"Kinda cool," Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan rubbed his head, staring at the Jin Dan. "Except for this guy, I feel uneasy."

"It feels a bit like when I entered Bai Yu Jing before, but also very different," Li Huowang pointed at the Jin Dan.

"Nothing else—Brother Su Lin still looks exactly the same to me."

Su Lin's physical body, Jin Dan, Jin Dan, and Buddhist Dharma Body—all except the Jin Dan—possess a fundamentally positive nature.

"I knew it," Su Lin's final trace of worry finally dissolved; he looked utterly relieved:

"Those bastards were lying to me. How could a protagonist as handsome as me ever suffer a crisis of image mismanagement?"

"Alright, thanks for your trouble. I'll treat you all to hotpot later."

It seemed the matter had concluded—but suddenly, a transparent Spirit Worm appeared on Ke Ke Ke Laien's face. He glanced at his own face, pressed the worm back in, and a fog of impending crisis settled over his heart.

"Come back," Su Lin waved to his several avatars, differentiated through Eternal Primordial Source; all three merged back into his physical body.

Hum—!!!!!!

In an instant, everyone saw the Buddha's lips curl into a strange smile; his solemn eyes seemed filled with the Dao and principles of the entire universe, yet the next moment they connected with primordial Chaos.

A刹那 is eternity.

Each person wandered in a void, ruling all while simultaneously creating countless worlds.

They felt it—the knowledge bestowed like a blessing, knowledge that became their true selves, for

That was the true self.

When Li Huowang came to his senses, he found himself lying in a special hospital ward of the prison. Sun Xiaoqin was wiping his face with a washcloth, and two guards stood by the wall, recording with special anti-self-harm swallowing pens.

"Mom?"

Li Huowang felt he'd forgotten something very important.

"Awake?" Sun Xiaoqin forced a tired smile. "Hungry? I made dumplings for you."

From a plastic bag on the bedside table, she pulled out an old iron box with obvious dents, opened the lid, and steam rose with the scent of pork and scallion.

"Don't rush, Mom will feed you," Sun Xiaoqin picked up chopsticks, pinched a dumpling, and brought it to Li Huowang's lips.

Li Huowang opened his mouth, tasted the familiar flavor, and instantly forgot whatever he'd been worrying about—couldn't remember? Fine.

"Delicious," Li Huowang swallowed it in a few bites. "Mom, do you have vinegar?"

"Don't choke," Sun Xiaoqin set down the iron box and pulled a paper cup from a wrinkled plastic bag; inside the cup was a tiny plastic bag.

She placed the cup beside the bed, dipped the dumpling in vinegar, and brought it to Li Huowang's lips.

"Your dad's been busy lately—he wanted to come see you too," Sun Xiaoqin watched Li Huowang wolf down the dumplings, her crow's feet relaxing slightly as she urged:

"Slow down, if you want more, I'll make more later."

Li Huowang's limbs felt stiff and aching from restraints, but after eating his mother's dumplings, perhaps due to psychological effect, his whole body felt noticeably better.

Munch, munch.

"Mom, how's Yang Na's condition?" Li Huowang asked, swallowing his food.

Sun Xiaoqin hesitated. "I'll try to find out tomorrow."

Li Huowang shook his head, realizing he'd spoken carelessly—Yang Na was surely under her family's watch; they avoided them as much as possible. How could Sun Xiaoqin possibly help?

"It's fine, Mom. I'm getting better. After a while—" Li Huowang suddenly remembered he'd cultivated the Primordial Qi of Heaven and could now gradually switch freely between the two worlds—he'd been confident, but now something felt wrong.

Why…

Why had his vision narrowed to only this world?

Sun Xiaoqin brought another dumpling to his lips, but noticed her son staring blankly. "Huowang, aren't you eating?"

"N-no, I'm not hungry anymore," Li Huowang suppressed his shock and dread, as if he'd lost something vital.

Bound in two layers of restraint garments, he stared blankly at the energy-saving light on the ceiling. It should've been good news—his illness was gone, he no longer had to fight and kill in that terrifying world.

Why?

Miaomiao, Suisui… where are you?

Li Huowang opened his mouth, wanting to shout those people's names, but no sound came out—his throat felt blocked.

Sun Xiaoqin sighed at Li Huowang's condition, walking toward the iron door; soon, voices of an argument with the prison guard echoed outside.

Li Huowang turned his head, staring at the night-vision camera flickering in the corner, suddenly feeling irritated.

'Look at you m!'

Break.

The surveillance camera was suddenly crushed by an inexplicable force into a pile of shards.

(End of Chapter)