Chapter 530: The Original Body Appears, A Dialogue Between Master and Disciple

"And I... I have betrayed that original intention, becoming a true devil..."

Just as Helian Chen was struggling to the extreme within his heart, on the verge of being completely crushed by pain and remorse, the entire Hunyuan Valley suddenly fell into an unprecedented tranquility.

Even the air seemed to have solidified, and all sounds vanished. It was not the silence of death, but a deep and gentle stillness, like the calm before a storm, or the serenity of a mother's embrace.

A gentle white light slowly descended from the horizon; the radiance was not blinding, but instead carried a warmth that put one at ease. Within this white light, a figure appeared, flickering in and out of view, and as the light gradually solidified, that figure became increasingly clear.

Lin Xuan, Xiao Yuan, and Muerxiu all held their breath. They could feel the power contained within this white light; it was an existence fundamentally different from Helian Chen's Chaos Power—pure, benevolent, yet carrying a profound sense of incompleteness.

When the white light fully solidified, the figure of a middle-aged man appeared before everyone. He wore a simple white robe, and his appearance was seven or eight parts similar to Helian Chen's, yet his temperament was entirely different. If Helian Chen was darkness twisted by hatred, then this person was light detached from the world.

But upon closer observation, one could see that this person's eyes held a deep exhaustion, as if bearing a burden of a thousand years. More importantly, there was an indescribable sense of incompleteness about him, like a painting missing some vital color.

"Senior Taijizi!" Lin Xuan was the first to recognize the newcomer, a surge of complex emotions rising in his heart. This was the legendary Taijizi, the founder of the Tianji Sect, and the root cause of today's catastrophe.

Taijizi nodded slowly, his gaze passing over Lin Xuan and the others, landing directly on Helian Chen. There was no anger or hostility in that gaze, only deep guilt and benevolence.

"Chen'er," Taijizi's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, yet the emotion it contained moved everyone present, "Master has come late."

A simple sentence, yet it contained a thousand years of guilt and endless longing.

The moment Helian Chen saw Taijizi, he stood frozen as if struck by lightning. Those beautiful memories that had just surfaced overlapped with the figure before him; the anger, hatred, and pain of a thousand years all transformed into an incomparably complex emotion in this moment.

This was his true self, the master he had once deeply loved and respected, the root of his existence. But at the same time, this was the culprit who had separated him, forcing him to endure all the pain and darkness.

"Master... no, you are not my master!" Helian Chen's voice trembled at first, then gradually grew angry, finally erupting into a roar, "You separated the most painful parts to me, while you kept your so-called nobility! You made me endure a thousand years of loneliness and despair, and you? Where were you?"

This roar shook the entire valley; what it contained was not just anger, but a child's questioning of a father, a shadow's accusation against its original body.

Taijizi offered no rebuttal, instead listening quietly to Helian Chen's roar. There was not a hint of justification in his eyes, only an ever-deepening guilt.

"For a thousand years, I watched the dark side of the Cultivation World, watched innocent lives being devoured by power and greed; my heart was bleeding, roaring, in despair!" Helian Chen's voice turned hoarse, "And you? You cultivated in your ivory tower, maintaining your nobility, enjoying the reverence of the masses!"

"Everything I did was because of your separation back then! You are the one who turned me into such a monster!" Helian Chen pointed at Taijizi, his finger trembling, "What right do you have to stand on the moral high ground and judge me?"

Facing Helian Chen's accusations, Taijizi showed no anger or displeasure; instead, he nodded slowly and admitted frankly, "You are right, Chen'er. The separation back then was indeed my selfishness as your master."

This candid confession left Helian Chen speechless for a moment; he had prepared a thousand years of angry words, never expecting Taijizi to admit his mistake so directly.

"I was afraid to face the dark side of my own heart, afraid to admit that I also had anger and resentment, afraid to let my disciples see the despair and hatred within me." Taijizi's voice carried deep self-reproach, "So I chose to escape, chose to separate these negative emotions and let you bear them."

Lin Xuan and the others observed this dialogue between master and disciple that had spanned a thousand years, deeply shaken by such complex emotions. This was not a simple opposition of good and evil, but the painful struggle of a complete personality after being split.

"But, Chen'er," Taijizi continued, the exhaustion in his eyes becoming more apparent, "the pain of separation was not borne by you alone; I have also been enduring the torment of being incomplete. A personality without a dark side is, in itself, an unreal existence."

He shook his head with a bitter smile: "For these thousand years, I appeared detached from the world, but in reality, I was like a walking corpse. Without anger, there is no true compassion; without despair, there is no true hope. I became a hollow, perfect idol, losing the most basic reality of being human."

These words caused Helian Chen's expression to gradually change. He saw true pain in Taijizi's eyes, saw a torment different from his own but equally profound.

"You... you are also in pain?" Helian Chen's voice was somewhat uncertain.

"Yes, Chen'er." Taijizi nodded, "Every night without a moon, I can feel the emptiness in my heart. I know that a part of myself is suffering somewhere, yet I have been unable to help him, unable to comfort him, and unable to even truly understand him."

Taijizi stepped closer, but still maintained a safe distance: "I did not come to fight you, Chen'er. I came to apologize to you, and to seek... to seek the possibility of becoming whole again."

This statement shocked everyone. Taijizi had not come to destroy Helian Chen, but to seek reconciliation?

"Become whole again?" A complex light flashed in Helian Chen's eyes, "You want to merge again?"

"Not a simple merger," Taijizi shook his head, "but a true reconciliation. I hope to re-embrace the dark side of my heart, no longer escaping, no longer separating. At the same time, I hope you can re-embrace the light within your heart, no longer being only anger and hatred."

Xiao Yuan could not help but speak up: "Senior, you mean..."

"A complete person should have both light and darkness, both compassion and anger, both hope and despair." Taijizi said slowly, "Only after accepting all facets of oneself can one become one's true self."