Chapter 166: Seeing Through

Xi Lian's gaze fell on the canvas, and immediately, her breath caught.

It was not a depiction of her expected appearance, nor any concrete form at all.

On the canvas was an abyssal blackness.

The black was not dead silence, but contained countless layers, as if it were the vacuum backdrop of the entire universe.

In the center of that blackness spiraled a luminous band, its ends joined, looping infinitely.

Upon this eternally looping halo were dotted a few tiny yet striking pink specks, like fragile flowers struggling to bloom within.

The whole painting felt extremely abstract, yet held a terrifying reality.

It did not portray Xi Lian's appearance, but seemed to point directly at a more essential aspect of her: that tiny, precious pink, trapped in an eternally looping structure, all suspended in a cold, silent cosmic void.

Xi Lian stared blankly at the painting, a chill creeping up her spine.

She could not grasp every detail, but the stark contrast of grandeur and minuteness, cycle and solitude, brilliance and transience acted like a key, unintentionally unlocking some sealed emotions deep in her Memory.

It was a vague fear of endless time, a bewilderment of her own existence, and, as a 'Recorder' who had witnessed countless tragedies, an eternal sorrow buried deep for the inevitable loss of fragile beautiful things.

She fell silent, unable to speak for a long while.

The painting was like a mirror, reflecting an inner landscape she herself had never examined clearly.

Ge Lei Xiu did not seem to expect her appraisal, merely standing quietly aside, using those eyes that could see color and essence, observing the subtle emotional shifts on Xi Lian's face.

After a while, Xi Lian finally recovered from that inexplicable tremor, shifted her gaze, and her voice was a bit hoarse: "Th-thank you... the painting is good. I don't quite understand, but... it feels... special."

Ge Lei Xiu nodded again, as if it were natural.

She finally recalled Xi Lian's initial question, raised her hand, and pointed to a small door on the other side of the room: "Exit there, turn left, keep going, and you'll see a brighter area. There... someone is there."

"... Thank you."

She nodded at Ge Lei Xiu again, then fled as if, sprinting toward the direction she indicated, as if to leave that painting that pierced her essence, along with the startled tremor of being seen through, behind her.

Soon after Xi Lian left, the studio door was gently pushed open again.

Kesi Mo slipped in silently.

He had heard that Mei Bi Wu Si Bo Shi seemed to be actively searching for something, and worried that Ge Lei Xiu, alone in the studio, might be drawn into unnecessary trouble, so he came to check.

His gaze first fell on Ge Lei Xiu, confirming she was unharmed, then turned to the newly finished work.

His amber eyes lingered on the abstract darkness and silver ring.

Kesi Mo's heart was not without stir.

(What... did I see? The color is heavy. That ring... feels a bit unsettling. That pink spot in the middle, what is it?)

But his habitual silence kept those thoughts circulating only within.

"Ge Lei Xiu."

He spoke, his voice low, "Are you okay?"

Ge Lei Xiu turned her head, looked at Kesi Mo, and slowly shook her head.

Her gaze fell back on the canvas, as if forming words to describe that particular "model".

"One,"

She paused, her small brows slightly furrowed, as if struggling with the perceived complexity, "... many?"

Kesi Mo: "?"

(Many? What many? Many people? Or another meaning?)

Confusion showed in his eyes.

Ge Lei Xiu also seemed unsatisfied with the summary, she tried to recall, seeking a more precise phrasing, but finally added a more intuitive trait: "pink peach."

Pink?

Kesi Mo's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the corridor moments earlier.

The petite girl who bore a striking resemblance to Ailixiya yet called herself "Xi Lian."

His gaze hardened, and almost reflexively he uttered two words: "Xi Lian?"

Ge Lei Xiu nodded, confirming his guess.

Kesi Mo was startled.

(She indeed contacted Ge Lei Xiu!)

He immediately looked at Ge Lei Xiu again, his tone tinged with tension: "Is anything wrong?"

He feared the unknown-origin "Xi Lian" might have an unforeseen effect on Ge Lei Xiu.

Ge Lei Xiu shook her head again, indicating she was fine.

Her reaction was as Calm as always, as if she had just finished an ordinary sketch, even though the painting's content was anything but ordinary.

Kesi Mo felt somewhat relieved, but his doubts remained.

He looked at the small door Xi Lian had exited through and asked, "Direction?"

Ge Lei Xiu pointed, clearly restating the instructions she had given Xi Lian: "That way. Through the corridor, left at the second intersection."

Kesi Mo nodded, turned and left, gently closing the door.

He did not notice that, in the breeze from his closing door, the sheet on the easel fluttered lightly, flipped to its back side, and silently slipped into the pile of drafts on the floor.

The back of the sheet was not blank.

A three-dimensional purple-pink block composed of countless tiny cubes, its edges slightly irregular.

At its center, a bright warm light shone through.

Most striking, around the core, the tiny cubes forming the block were not static; they seemed to change slowly, as if alive.

Perspective shift.

In the room, Li Su Shang had already changed into that moon‑white indigo outfit.

She was bowing her head, carefully adjusting the cuffs and collar, her movements bearing a hint of ancient propriety; as her fingertips brushed the smooth unfamiliar fabric, admiration for the "celestial cloth" still lingered in her eyes.

Her long hair was loosely tied with a plain white hairband found in the wardrobe, a few strands falling beside her cheeks, giving her still‑youthful face an extra touch of the heroic spirit and liveliness of a wandering‑world maiden.

Just then, the door was gently pushed open, and Hua walked in.

She had already changed back into her usual, more mobile clothing, yet her expression was far more complicated than when facing training.

Seeing that Li Su Shang had finished preparing, she gave a slight nod, sat on a simply styled chair in the room, and gestured for the other to sit as well.

Li Su Shang, however, did not sit.

She stepped back one pace, clasped her fists, performed a respectful bow toward Hua, and said in a crisp, decisive voice:

"Supreme Freedom Gate senior disciple Li Su Shang, pays respects to the founding master!"

Hua: "……"

Even with the temperament distilled from her tens‑of‑thousands‑year Memory, she felt a wave of helplessness rise in her heart at this moment.

She raised her hand, made a "no need for formalities" gesture, and in an even tone that carried an unmistakable clarification said: "Li Su Shang, first, I am not your founding master."

Li Su Shang straightened up, a clear confusion evident on her face, her clear brown‑amber eyes blinking as she said, "But your appearance is identical to the portrait of the founding patriarch treasured by my master, and your bearing is even more alike…"

"The appearance is the same, but 'I' am not the one in your Cognition."

Hua interrupted her, trying to explain in a way the other might understand, "You may regard me as… a fragment of 'Memory' she left here, a 'shadow', or rather, an independent 'Separate Spirit'."

"Separate Spirit?!"

Li Su Shang's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had heard something extraordinary; the previous confusion vanished, replaced by deep awe and… sudden enlightenment.

"So that's it! Founding master, your cultivation has reached the realm of countless incarnations and Separate Spirit transformation! I, the junior, understand! You are a Separate Spirit cut from your true self, stationed in this immortal secret realm!"