Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

Shen Mo sat alone for a long time before taking out the dark blue jade slip from his bosom, holding it in his palm, and feeling its cool texture.

"Master," he murmured to himself, as if speaking to a heroic spirit that had transcended eternity, "I am aware of the contingency plan you left behind, the pull of reincarnation. 'Wait for my return'... How heavy is this wish, how profound is this scheme. Yet, time waits for no one."

"The Heavenly Origin Assembly is the highest stage in the Eastern Wilderness, and it is also the key to determining whether our Qingyun lineage can truly establish itself in this era of great strife. This assembly is related to 'celestial anomalies,' and it may also be vaguely related to the 'timing' and 'heavenly demons' you mentioned. Please forgive me, but I am not able to personally seek out the traces of your reincarnation for the time being."

He pressed the jade slip close to his brow, using his divine sense and the Daoist aura of his Nascent Soul to gently touch the faded yet still present hidden mark, conveying his thoughts: "Rest assured, Ancestor. Your unfulfilled will to protect the lifeline of this world is etched in my heart and I have never dared to forget it."

"This Tianyuan Assembly is the first step in fulfilling this ambition! I will lead the Qingyun Sect to fight with all our might in this gathering place of heroes in the Eastern Wilderness, to secure a foothold and accumulate the strength to protect us. Once this matter is resolved, no matter where you are in the world, no matter how deep the cycle of reincarnation, I will seek you out and welcome you...back!"

The jade slip was slightly warm, and the mark seemed to ripple slightly before returning to silence, with no further reaction.

Shen Mo carefully put away the jade slip and kept it close to his body. This secret would temporarily become a weight in the deepest part of his heart, a driving force, and also a heavy expectation that he would savor alone between the noise and preparations for battle.

He stood up, walked to the palace gate, and looked out at the plaza. There, the sun shone brightly, the snow was just beginning to melt, and one could vaguely see the disciples diligently cultivating and moving about, a scene full of vitality and hope.

Three years later, the Tianyuan Conference.

Liuyun Palace, quiet room.

Three days have passed since the departure of the special envoy from the Sky Patrol Pavilion, who announced that the Heavenly Origin Conference had only three years left.

For the past three days, Qingyun Sect has been operating at high speed like a tightly wound precision machine, in a tense yet orderly atmosphere. Han Lin and the elders of each hall have been working almost non-stop, drafting selection rules, allocating resources, and assigning tasks.

Discussions about the "Tianyuan Conference" among the disciples have spread like wildfire. Although it has not been officially announced, the oppressive feeling of an impending storm and the subtle excitement have permeated every corner of Qingyun Mountain.

Shen Mo, however, did not appear in front of everyone for the past three days, and did not even summon the elders above the Golden Core stage on the third day as promised to announce the conference matters.

He entrusted all preparatory matters to Han Lin, while he once again secluded himself in the deepest quiet room of Liuyun Palace, only claiming to the outside world that he needed to conduct the final and crucial closed-door simulation for the Tianyuan Conference.

Although Han Lin was surprised, considering that the conference was imminent and the sect leader might have some insights that needed urgent consideration, he did not dare to disturb him. He simply reported the progress of all preparations regularly through the communication jade talisman.

Within the quiet room, there were no fluctuations of spiritual light from secluded cultivation, nor the flickering of runes indicating the deduction of formations. There was only an almost frozen silence.

Shen Mo sat alone on the futon, with nothing else in front of him except the deep blue Qingyunzi jade slip, which floated quietly about a foot above his palm, radiating a warm and restrained starlight.

His gaze, however, did not fall on the jade slip. Instead, he stared somewhat unfocused at the empty wall in front of him. Deep in his pupils, it seemed as if a storm was brewing and struggling, before finally settling into a bottomless abyss.

For the past three days, he did nothing. He didn't cultivate, didn't deduce, and didn't even think about the various countermeasures for the Tianyuan Conference.

His entire mind was occupied and repeatedly scrutinized by the scene he had seen three days earlier in the deepest part of the jade slip—the final moment when Qingyunzi tore apart the remnant soul and sent it into reincarnation—and the blurry yet fleeting profile of Qingyunzi in that scene.

Initially, overwhelmed by the tragic scene and the shock of the information, he didn't pay attention to the details. But when the Star Glory Envoy arrived, the pressing pressure of the Tianyuan Conference pressed down like an iceberg. He forcibly suppressed his shock and focused on the tasks at hand.

However, when the special envoy left and the noise subsided, he was alone in a room, trying to calm his mind and make long-term plans for the conference. Every detail of that scene, like a maggot clinging to his bone, played uncontrollably in his mind again and again.

The image of Qingyunzi struggling to sit cross-legged, the hideous wound on his chest, his trembling hand raised, the silent roar and determination as he tore apart the remnant soul, and... the fleeting, blurry profile of his face before he turned into specks of light and vanished.

At first, it was just a vague sense of familiarity. It felt like I had seen it somewhere before, yet there was a thick fog between us.

He tried to recall any portraits he had seen before his transmigration, the figure of the Taoist priest in blue robes holding a ruler on the murals of Qingyun Palace, and even the image of the "Qingyun Patriarch" that he had sketched in his mind when he "made up" the myth.

None of them match up. The mural's imagery is too stylized, and the "fabricated" imagery is a product of his own imagination.

None of them match up. The mural's imagery is too stylized, and the "fabricated" imagery is a product of his own imagination.

But that sense of familiarity grew stronger and more concrete, like a ghost gradually emerging in the darkness, making him restless.

Until last night, he got up unintentionally and walked to the wall on one side of the quiet room, which was polished with "water mirror black copper" and was so shiny that it could reflect light. He wanted to use cold water to wash his face and calm himself down.

His face was reflected in the clear spiritual water. His youthful handsomeness was enhanced by the formation of his nascent soul and the solidity of his Dao foundation. His brows held a composure honed by years of hardship and bloodshed, while his eyes held a profound depth born of the secrets and responsibilities he carried. This was the face he had known for over twenty years, the face of "Shen Mo."

However, in the instant he gazed at his reflection in the water—

Deep in his mind, in that scene of reincarnation, the profile of Qingyunzi's face before he looked back and disappeared, and the lines of his face reflected in the water, overlapped together without warning and perfectly!

"boom--!!!"

Like a thunderbolt from the heavens, it struck Shen Mo's sea of ​​consciousness without warning! It shattered his soul, made his vision go black, and caused a ringing in his ears! He took a step back and crashed into the jade table behind him. The jade bottle on the table fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered, splashing spiritual water everywhere.

He stared intently at the shattered reflection in the water, which swayed with his movements, then suddenly looked up at the jade slip suspended in mid-air, still radiating a warm starlight.

The overlapping images in my mind did not disappear; instead, they became clearer and more... chilling under the intense impact!

The arch of the eyebrows, the lines of the bridge of the nose, the contour of the jaw... Even though there are differences due to the blurry image and different angles, the indescribable "charm" and "structure" in the bones are surprisingly similar, at least five or six points!

Especially those eyes. Although Qingyunzi's eyes in the picture were filled with exhaustion and determination, while his reflection in the water had calm and deep eyes, the shape of those eyes, and a certain quality deep within those gazes... were so alike! So alike! It was definitely not just a coincidence!

Shen Mo was struck dumb, frozen on the spot. His blood seemed to freeze at that moment, and then rushed back to his head!

A mixture of utter absurdity, horror, fear, and a faint realization—a realization he himself was unwilling to admit—writhed around his heart like a cold, venomous snake, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

"who I am?"

A simple, yet terrifying question, like a torture from the depths of hell, exploded in the depths of his soul!