Chapter 48: The Void and the Real

The moonlight is like water, reflecting the mountains and rivers.

Before Qinghe Pool, Li Xiang quietly looks at the chess piece in his hand.

Although time has left the traces of years upon it.

It is still undeniable, its beauty.

Chaos lingers, the world is hazy.

One piece is one world!

Gently pinching the chess piece in his hand, Li Xiang did not expect that the final reward of the mission would actually be this object.

A vast, yet-to-be-formed great world!

The clear and the turbid have not yet been separated, like a chaotic egg, full of mystery and greatness.

He looks up at the bright moon, watching the vast mountains and rivers before him.

Then he lowers his head to observe the black chess piece in his hand.

Li Xiang finds it hard to imagine that the chess piece before him will one day become a vast world as magnificent as the mountains and rivers before his eyes.

Shaking his head, he sits by the river, trying his best to recall what had just happened.

But after pondering for a long time, it has no effect.

Just like a dream, everything that happened inside the Xianfu has become blurry.

He only remembers Yang Jian, Wu Zetian, Kongming, and Yang Mei.

He remembers eating a Ginseng Fruit.

But the process of playing chess against Hongjun is not remembered clearly at all, as if a layer of fog has covered his eyes.

Recalling the past, he only remembers hearing the sound of rolling thunder and the surging waves of a great river.

But the process of playing chess against Hongjun has been forgotten completely.

"Is it that, like the others who returned, I have forgotten the past?"

Li Xiang remembers that when Yang Jian and the others returned, Yang Mei said they would treat the events of today as a dream and forget them completely.

"But if that is the case, why do I remember other things so clearly?"

Shaking his head, he still cannot remember.

Just as Li Xiang is thinking, the chess piece in his hand suddenly shines brightly.

The world of chaos, like an egg, suddenly changes gently at this moment.

As if sensing something, it turns into a stream of light and falls onto Li Xiang's Spirit Platform.

"This is?!"

Li Xiang closes his eyes and looks inward.

In the world of endless darkness, a light shines, guiding him to "open" his eyes.

He sees that his Spirit Platform is currently emitting a soft, precious light.

This is his mental world.

Using the Spirit Platform as a vessel to carry his Divine Soul.

"This is?!"

He sees that there seems to be a bit too much on his Spirit Platform...

A hazy phantom lands on the Spirit Platform, sitting cross-legged upon it; it is a small, jade-carved doll.

It is currently opening its eyes, looking ahead.

Its tender little hands and feet are gently parted, one finger pointing to the sky, one finger pointing to the earth, indescribably profound and extraordinary.

Li Xiang looks at it, and it looks at Li Xiang; an indescribable perspective makes him feel somewhat surprised.

He blinks, the child blinks as well; he moves his hand, the child moves its hand as well.

This is his Divine Soul!

Sitting cross-legged on the Spirit Platform, nourished by Immortal Light, it has now gradually taken on the appearance of a person.

Watching himself, this unique perspective is quite interesting.

However, this is not what Li Xiang finds most strange.

He sees that around his Divine Soul, a pale golden halo has actually trapped the Divine Soul.

The golden ring is profound, like swirling clouds, like splashed ink, like woven brocade, like the blue sky.

Looking at the golden ring, he seems to be able to see everything he has ever seen upon it.

Although it is a circling golden halo, it is also like a bright mirror, reflecting all the mysteries he has ever seen.

The Divine Soul resides within it, seemingly imprisoned by it; evil cannot enter, and he cannot leave.

This is...

With a flash of realization, Li Xiang suddenly understands.

"The suppression of the Heavenly Dao?"

Looking at the pale golden tether, Li Xiang understands that this object is the protection of the Heavenly Dao, which ensures his Divine Soul can never be possessed or occupied.

As long as the Heavenly Dao does not perish, the Divine Soul will not perish.

Even in reincarnation, it is feared that it would not suffer the slightest harm.

But this is also the shackles of the Heavenly Dao, stealing his light and capping his potential; without undoing this golden ring.

The Mortal Realm, he imagines, is his limit.

"So that's how it is."

"No wonder that evil cultivator that day let out such an exclamation when he wanted to possess me."

"Facing the Heavenly Dao directly, I imagine even a Heavenly Demon would be scared out of its wits."

Upon looking into his Spirit Platform for the first time, Li Xiang had not expected that such things would be circling his Divine Soul.

However, however, however!

This was not even what he found most preposterous.

On top of his own Spirit Platform, there was actually something else!

Outside that golden Heavenly Dao Ring, there were two rays of light, one black and one white, gently rotating in correspondence.

Like yin and yang, endless and ever-flowing.

Looking up, the black one was the Tianyuan Chess Piece that had been in Li Xiang's hand just moments ago.

Now transformed into a stream of light, it circled gently within his mind, looking extremely profound.

Within it, the chaotic Qi that was originally indistinguishable between clear and turbid was now, at this very moment, gradually separating bit by bit.

The clear rising and the turbid sinking, the heavens and earth beginning to open!

Although the movement was extremely slow and it seemed unknown how many years it would take for this world to truly unfold.

Yet, it had already begun.

Only waiting for time to pass, and it would be the birth of another vast, great world.

"Eh?"

"Is it because it sensed something?"

Li Xiang looked toward the white stream of light; if his expectations were correct, this object was the reason for the separation of the clear and the turbid.

What, then, was this white one?

With his mind immersed, he saw a unique perspective unfold before him.

Heaven below, earth above, with the bright moon and stars suspended within.

The ancient in front, the present behind, with time and years all flowing backward.

In just an instant, a chaotic world manifested before him.

However his thoughts changed, this world changed accordingly.

It was as if he himself were the firmament of this world.

As his thoughts changed, the world changed.

【Ding!】

【You have successfully unlocked the Spirit Realm!】

【Spirit Realm: An illusory world opposed to reality, its origin cannot be traced, its past cannot be spoken of; please explore it yourself, Host!】

"Spirit Realm?"

"Is this the product of the system upgrade?"

Looking at the world before him that changed at the whim of his thoughts, Li Xiang muttered a light complaint.

"An illusory world opposed to reality?"

"Why does it feel a bit like playing a VR game in the past?"

The Tianyuan World and the Spirit Realm were rotating around each other at this moment, like a yin-yang fish, constantly circling his Heavenly Dao Ring.

"The Spirit Realm is illusory."

"Tianyuan is real."

"Illusion and reality, interesting."

Who could have imagined that on his small Spirit Platform,

it would carry two worlds, one Heavenly Ring, and one innate divine being.

His Spirit Platform seemed exceptionally lively.

Wait, what was that?

Li Xiang suddenly discovered that, compared to the things above the Spirit Platform,

the Spirit Platform itself seemed a bit strange as well.

Three wondrous patterns divided the entire Spirit Platform, partitioning it into three parts.

And on the sections divided by these patterns,

strange patterns were crisscrossed in Vertical and Horizontal lines.

They constructed three venerated positions, collectively guarding the true form of his Divine Soul.

On these three strange venerated positions,

one could vaguely see three phantom shadows.

Although they could not be seen clearly, an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.

"This is?!"

(End of chapter)