Chapter 521: Truth Like a Tide, Fate Hard to Defy

A storm of shock surged in Lin Xuan's heart, but he forced himself to remain calm. No matter how shocking the truth before him was, he had to focus on the battle at hand.

"What you say may have merit," Lin Xuan said slowly, his voice trembling slightly but his will remaining firm, "but Senior, what right do you have to make such a choice for everyone? Should life and death not be decided by them themselves?"

Helian Chen's smile gradually faded, and a complex look flashed in his eyes: "Right? Kid, once you have truly witnessed the truth of the universe, you will understand how ridiculous the concept of 'right' is."

He slowly raised his left hand, and the Hun Dun Power danced at his fingertips like a living thing: "Do you know what I saw in that Ancient Relic? I saw the truth of Lun Hui!"

As he spoke, the surrounding space began to distort, as if an invisible force were tearing at the fabric of reality. Lin Xuan felt a wave of dizziness, and strange images appeared before his eyes.

It was a massive wheel, spinning endlessly. The wheel was densely covered with countless souls; they struggled in pain and wailed in despair, yet they could never escape this cruel cycle.

"This is what is called Lun Hui," Helian Chen's voice carried deep pain, "countless living beings are trapped in this cage, enduring suffering life after life, yet never seeing the hope of liberation. And what maintains this system is none other than us so-called cultivators!"

Lin Xuan looked at these images, and a chill rose in his heart. Although he instinctively wanted to refute it, the scene before him truly made him waver.

"Taijizi saw this too," Helian Chen continued, "but he chose to deceive himself. He believed that by improving this system, he could reduce the suffering, and that through his own efforts, he could make Lun Hui more 'just.' What a naive thought!"

Helian Chen clenched his fist, and the surrounding illusions shattered instantly: "Rotten wood cannot be carved! This corrupt system is wrong from its very foundation; any patching is merely drinking poison to quench thirst. Only by completely destroying it and then establishing a brand-new order can one truly save all living beings!"

"So you chose the Hun Dun Dao?" Lin Xuan took a deep breath, and the Taiji Three Origin Power within his body began to circulate slowly, "To save through destruction, and to establish order through chaos?"

"Hun Dun is not destruction, but infinite possibility." A fanatical light flickered in Helian Chen's eyes, "In absolute chaos, everything can start anew, and everything can attain rebirth. That is true freedom!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Helian Chen flashed, appearing instantly before Lin Xuan. His speed was unimaginably fast, so fast that space did not even have time to ripple.

Lin Xuan narrowly dodged to the side, and Helian Chen's palm grazed his cheek, leaving a deep crack. Yet, even more terrifying was that this crack was not on Lin Xuan's face, but in space itself!

"So fast!" Lin Xuan was greatly alarmed and hurriedly activated the Taiji Diagram for defense.

However, what shocked him was that Helian Chen's attack actually contained the essence of Taiji. The moment the two Taiji Powers collided, it did not result in the violent explosion he had imagined, but rather produced a strange resonance.

"Do you feel it?" Helian Chen sneered, "We cultivate the same foundation, but have chosen different paths. Your Taiji pursues balance and harmony; my Taiji pursues change and rebirth."

He struck again, this time using the technique of "Taiji Pushing Hands," but what it contained was not the gentle force of pushing and pulling, but a terrifying energy capable of tearing space apart.

Lin Xuan hurriedly responded, using Taiji Pushing Hands to resist. Their palms crossed in the air, and every contact produced violent energy fluctuations. However, Lin Xuan soon discovered the problem—although his Taiji was profound, in terms of pure power, it could not compare to Helian Chen at all.

"Do you understand now?" Helian Chen sent Lin Xuan back several steps with a single palm, his tone carrying a hint of regret, "The path Taijizi chose was wrong from the start. Balance? Harmony? These are all self-consolations of the weak!"

Lin Xuan steadied himself, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Helian Chen's words reminded him of Lingjizi's teachings: the Taiji Dao does not lie in the strength of power, but in the persistence of one's ideals.

"What you say may have merit, Senior," Lin Xuan wiped the blood from his mouth, his gaze becoming even firmer, "but this junior still believes that there is beauty in this world worth protecting."

"Beauty?" Helian Chen scoffed, "How much of the suffering in the Human Realm have you seen? How much of the parting of life and death do you know?"

"It is precisely because I have seen suffering that I must cherish beauty all the more." Lin Xuan slowly raised his Bagua staff, "It is precisely because I know darkness that I must pursue the light. Senior, your eyes have been blinded by the Hun Dun Power; you see only the cruelty of Lun Hui, yet you ignore the hope within it."

Helian Chen's expression turned gloomy: "Hope? That is an illusory bubble!"

"No, hope is real." Lin Xuan thought of everyone he had met on his path of cultivation, remembering their smiles, tears, persistence, and dreams, "Every life struggling to live, every instance of persistence without giving up, every sincere emotion—these are all manifestations of hope."

He began to mobilize the Taiji Three Origin Power within his body; this time, it was no longer simple defense or attack, but the integration of his entire understanding of the Taiji Dao.

"Taiji is not for the sake of being powerful, but for the sake of protection." Lin Xuan's voice grew firmer, "If your Taiji, Senior, represents destruction and rebirth, then my Taiji represents protection and hope!"

Following his words, the Taiji Diagram beneath his feet began to change. Within the light where the three colors had blended, a brand-new color began to emerge—it was a warm gold, like the rising sun, and like a mother's embrace, full of tolerance and compassion.

"This is..." A flash of shock appeared in Helian Chen's eyes, "Even Taijizi never reached this realm..."

"Because Grandmaster was also lost, wavering between two extremes." Lin Xuan said slowly, "But this junior is different; this junior has known what to protect from the very beginning."

The golden light grew increasingly intense, and the entire Taiji Diagram was dyed a warm gold. This light shone upon the Guixu Sect cultivators, actually causing the Hun Dun Power within their bodies to begin to purify, and their expressions to become serene.

The golden Taiji Diagram rotated slowly in the air, releasing a warm and sacred light. Lin Xuan stood in the center of the pattern, his entire being seemingly surrounded by light, appearing solemn and inviolable.