Chapter 465: What It Means to Be Me

Suppress yourself?

Once these words were spoken, the Heavenly King of Guangnan and the others were stunned for a moment.

Li Heng's expression was calm as he spoke indifferently.

"Continue."

Seeing that Li Heng's expression remained completely ripple-free, Xuanyang was not surprised, but rather somewhat disappointed. However, he dared not delay time and could only continue to speak and explain.

"You were right just now; there has never been any monster. I am Xuanyang, and the one who escaped the True Realm is also Xuanyang; we are both ourselves."

Xuanyang closed his eyes and said slowly.

"So it was the Xuanyang who escaped the True Realm that suppressed you here?"

The Heavenly King of Guangnan was the first to speak and guess.

Xuanyang gave a disdainful laugh.

"Heh, Guangnan, you are still as brawny and simple-minded as ever. Although we are both Xuanyang and both ourselves, I do not believe he is me, do you understand?"

"So, the reason I am pressed under the High Tower..."

"... is of my own will, the will of the past me!"

"You, do you believe I won't slaughter you!"

The Heavenly King of Guangnan was furious, his aura erupting.

"Heh, do you dare?"

Xuanyang sneered.

"No, you are provoking me to strike, wanting me to kill you."

Suddenly.

The Heavenly King of Guangnan calmed down, frowning as he spoke.

"Heh, meaningless associations."

Xuanyang remained disdainful upon hearing this.

"He is indeed inducing you to act, then dying by your hand. Because you, Daoist friend Guangnan, cannot completely kill him, but this Dharma Sword of mine can sever all his chances of resurrection."

Li Heng smiled and spoke, offering a reminder.

The Heavenly King of Guangnan stared at the Dharma Sword in Li Heng's hand, also able to feel that heart-stopping Terror of walking on the edge of Life and Death, and nodded thoughtfully.

This Dharma Sword was enough to sever immortality!

"Nonsensical words."

Xuanyang remained stubborn, but the few traces of gloom that could not be suppressed on his face revealed the extreme lack of tranquility in his heart.

"If you want to die, I can fulfill your wish."

Li Heng said sincerely upon hearing this.

Xuanyang's expression was ugly as he continued to speak.

"When the Calamity invaded back then, the Heavenly Court shattered, and even the Sacred found it hard to escape the True Realm, let alone Xuanyang himself."

He did not continue to be stubborn and chose to continue telling the truth.

"Now, Xuanyang is already outside the True Realm."

Li Heng raised his eyebrows slightly and said.

"Then you should be able to guess why, what the reason is. That he could leave the True Realm and escape the Disaster was all because of me! I stayed here to suffer the Calamity for him!"

Xuanyang's tone changed from calm to agitated, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Li Heng's tone was unexpectedly very flat.

"So you regret it now, regret staying here?"

Hearing Li Heng's question, Xuanyang fell silent.

"No regrets."

After a long time, he spoke, shaking his head.

"Then why do you harbor hatred toward the Xuanyang outside the True Realm? You said the reason you were suppressed under the High Tower was entirely because of yourself and not the Xuanyang outside the True Realm; why is that?"

"What kind of change actually happened to you?"

Li Heng went straight to the point, not giving him a chance to catch his breath.

"Changes naturally happened to me. As for the hatred? Although I don't regret staying in the True Realm, I do regret that it wasn't the other Xuanyang who stayed here."

Xuanyang said indifferently.

"Don't you think this statement of yours is contradictory?"

Bai Laotou frowned and spoke.

"Actually, it is not necessarily contradictory."

The Heavenly King of Guangnan shook his head and said.

"Indeed, not necessarily contradictory."

"This Xuanyang has already undergone a change."

"He has a sense of identification with the Xuanyang of the past who had not yet split, so he does not regret staying here. However, he does not identify with the Xuanyang who split off and escaped the True Realm, viewing him as an enemy, which is why he regrets that it wasn't the other Xuanyang who stayed here."

Li Heng cleared up some of the threads and explained.

After Xuanyang was silent, he suddenly spoke again.

"What you said is mostly correct, but I must correct one point: the relationship between the two of us is not a simple split; we are both ourselves, both the original body, both the true self—do not be limited by linear thinking."

"Then what kind of change actually happened to you?"

Li Heng was noncommittal toward Xuanyang's words.

"What changes have occurred? I can only say it is Enlightenment. I remained here to suffer the Calamity in his stead, enduring endless pain, and only then did I achieve Enlightenment, realizing this was completely unnecessary."

"Why did I have to remain here in his stead?"

Xuanyang seemed to be asking himself, or perhaps asking Li Heng and the others, as he spoke aloud.

"Then why did you suppress yourself? Do you still wish to avoid talking about it now?" the Heavenly King of Guangnan said, frowning.

"Heh, when others are the knife and chopping board, and I am the fish and meat, how could I dare not speak? In truth, the me from before Enlightenment rejected Enlightenment, and then suppressed myself beneath this High Tower. However, it is clear that this was a mistake; I should not have suppressed myself."

"The me who rejected Enlightenment before was truly too foolish."

Xuanyang shook his head and said.

Hearing this, the crowd fell silent, looking at one another.

Could this really be called Enlightenment, and not Pollution?

"Xuanyang, is there a possibility that you have already been eroded by the Calamity and your mind has been twisted, which is why you treat this matter as Enlightenment?" the Heavenly King of Guangnan pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Guangnan, you are spouting nonsense again."

"Enlightenment is Enlightenment; it is awakening to the self and knowing that I am I. How could it be the Calamity's Pollution or a twisted mind? Are you overthinking it? If it were the Calamity's Pollution, would I not be able to feel it?"

Xuanyang looked at the Heavenly King of Guangnan with disdain.

Listening to Xuanyang's solemn narration, the crowd could not help but shiver. Is he now unable to even realize that he has been eroded? Even when others have specifically reminded him.

"Do you truly believe there is nothing wrong with you? Use your Reason to deduce it; do you think this is possible?"

Li Heng asked aloud.

"Of course there is no problem; I feel excellent."

"Rest assured, I know how to deal with the erosion of the Calamity; I have much more experience than you all. Otherwise, even if I were suppressed by the High Tower and simultaneously protected by it, I would only have devolved into a monster."

Xuanyang said quite naturally.

The crowd was speechless; common sense had been twisted, and there was no reasoning with him.

"What is with those expressions? Could it be that your minds are filled with the thought that I have already been eroded by the Calamity, my mind twisted, and even my common sense altered, while I merely delude myself into thinking I am normal?"

Xuanyang raised his eyebrows and said.

The crowd was speechless once again; that was indeed what they were thinking.

One had to admit, apart from that point just now, every word Xuanyang said was extremely logical and coherent; he did not look like someone whose mind had been twisted at all.

"Sigh, it seems there is truly no reasoning with you."

Seeing this, Xuanyang sighed with sorrow.

The crowd was even more speechless; it was clearly they who could not reason with him.

"How about this, why don't you all experience Enlightenment as well?"

"As long as you achieve Enlightenment, you will be able to understand my feelings."

Suddenly, Xuanyang's eyes lit up as he spoke.

The crowd's expressions were subtle; has he finally shown his true colors?

At this moment, Li Heng smiled and spoke.

"A good method, then how can one achieve Enlightenment?"