"So tired. My heart's exhausted. Is cultivation really just about killing? That doesn't feel right. In my heart, cultivation should be about attaining the Dao, achieving immortality, and living freely."
As golden passages vanished into the sky, Shi Yi's upright figure collapsed, sprawling atop a massive corpse.
Though his body bore no wounds, it was drenched in the blood of countless beings. His once-black hair was now dyed a vivid crimson by the gore.
These past two weeks, he'd gone mad with slaughter.
He'd turned the Void God Realm's Second Domain into a hellscape—mountains of corpses, seas of blood, severed limbs scattered everywhere.
And there he stood, alone amidst the carnage, like a sovereign. His presence was commanding, exuding an air of dominance.
Truth be told, Shi Yi couldn't fathom why the Void God Realm made everything so gruesomely realistic. It didn't even reset the corpses after death, making it feel as if he'd truly unleashed a massacre.
If he weren't absolutely certain—having killed that Kui Niu multiple times, only for it to return with familiar swagger to die again—he might've lost track of what was virtual and what was real after such relentless slaughter.
As Shi Yi questioned the path of cultivation, the Void God Realm quaked. The nine-colored stone tablet, unique to him, crashed down nearby, inscribed with exactly five Heavenly Passage Realm records.
[Shi Yi, in the Second Domain, broke the extreme limit of strength, successfully setting a record. Reward: ten pieces of Primal Treasure Bone.]
[Shi Yi, in the Second Domain, broke the extreme limit of speed, successfully setting a record. Reward: ten pieces of Primal Treasure Bone.]
[Shi Yi, in the Second Domain, slew over one thousand archaic remnants, successfully setting a record. Reward: twenty pieces of Primal Treasure Bone.]
[Shi Yi, in the Second Domain, slew over one hundred pureblood beasts, successfully setting a record. Reward: thirty pieces of Primal Treasure Bone.]
[Shi Yi, in the Second Domain, slew one million Heavenly Passage Realm beings, successfully setting a record. Reward: fifty pieces of Primal Treasure Bone.]
"Heh."
Shi Yi let out a cold laugh. Connecting his spiritual energy to the Void God Realm, he waited about ten seconds. A new golden passage descended, and without hesitation, he grabbed the one hundred twenty pieces of Primal Treasure Bone and left.
___
At the same moment, in the real world, Shi Yi's eyes slowly opened, his consciousness returning to his body.
"Mother, rest well. I have an important question for her."
Shi Yi gently lifted Yuyue Xian, who had been leaning against him, and placed her sleeping form on a soft bed. Without looking back, he plunged into the world of his tenth Heavenly Passage.
In the real world, Yuyue Xian had stayed by Shi Yi's side for the past two weeks, never leaving. When she noticed he was undergoing the Spirit Transformation, she used her own power to aid him.
As his mother, she had that ability. Her strength wasn't great, but it was gentle, like a pair of tender hands invisibly guiding and protecting Shi Yi through his transformation.
In truth, even without her help, Shi Yi's transformation would've been flawless, having already completed the spiritual process in that mysterious Void God Realm locale.
But as a mother, she couldn't rest easy. She'd even prepared to sacrifice herself to ensure Shi Yi's success if anything went awry.
In his past life, Shi Yi had never known a mother's love. Forced to work grueling jobs by twelve or thirteen, he'd tasted the full spectrum of life's joys and sorrows, fending for himself.
But in this life, everything he'd lost was returned twofold. Yuyue Xian's boundless maternal love was such that she'd unhesitatingly give her life for him.
This time, to support his transformation, she'd nearly depleted her strength, falling into a deep slumber.
Sleeping beside Shi Yi brought her unparalleled peace.
Even her dreams were sweet.
It was clear that Shi Yi's place in Yuyue Xian's heart surpassed even her own life.
He was fortunate—at least in this life. Not every parent in this world sees their child as more precious than life itself.
No need to argue.
That's reality.
Otherwise, the phrase "exchanging children to eat" wouldn't exist.
If you live in a world of light, you might think the whole world shines.
If you have loving parents, you might assume all parents are the same.
But that's a narrow view, blind to the suffering beyond one's own world.
Some might even utter absurdities like, "If people can't afford food and starve, why not eat meat?"
And another thing: though Shi Yi was a transmigrator, a reborn soul, he hadn't seized a body mid-life.
He'd endured six years in the womb's mystery before recalling his past life.
Yuyue Xian's love wasn't misplaced. Shi Yi was her flesh and blood, born from her womb.
In a sense, Shi Yi was simply Shi Yi—not an outsider. After dying in his past life, he'd reincarnated into a parallel universe, a parallel world, as his own counterpart.
Perhaps "parallel universe" or "parallel world" couldn't fully describe his situation, but one thing was certain: Shi Yi held a legitimate place in this world.
He was himself, not an interloper.
___
Tenth Heavenly Passage
Lush mountains, clear waters, verdant trees.
The tenth Heavenly Passage had been transformed by Liu Shen into a complete small world, though its outer regions still swirled with earth, water, fire, wind, and yin-yang chaos.
"Teacher, I have a question. I hope you'll answer."
Shi Yi grasped Liu Shen's hand. Such audacity didn't provoke her ire; she was merely curious about what he wanted to ask.
Was he dissatisfied with the one hundred twenty pieces of Primal Treasure Bone?
"Let's sit and talk."
Liu Shen took his hand in return, leading him to a cool stone bench.
She had been alone for countless eons, solitary in her pursuit of the Dao. Shi Yi's arrival was an anomaly, adding a spark of life to her existence.
She still remembered his relentless, almost foolish persistence in bonding with her—clumsy yet endearing. It annoyed her, yet she couldn't bring herself to dislike the cheeky kid.
It sounded contradictory.
But it wasn't.
Shi Yi's shameless persistence—his unyielding resolve—worked because of unique conditions. Anyone else would've failed.
First, he was a Double-Pupiled One.
Second, he was a Double-Pupiled One.
Third, he was a Double-Pupiled One.
Exactly.
If Shi Yi lacked the Double Pupil, the potential to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her, Liu Shen wouldn't have spared a glance at some persistent brat.
People are biased.
Liu Shen was no exception.
With looks and talent, it's unyielding resolve.
Without them, it's just shameless clinging.
Fortunately, Shi Yi, reborn, had both looks and talent. His persistent efforts, though occasionally irksome, never crossed into repulsion.
"Teacher, I have one question. In your eyes, is the only path to the peak through endless fighting and killing? Is quiet cultivation a crooked path?"
Shi Yi asked without hesitation. He was tired of Liu Shen arranging battles for him.
He didn't enjoy fighting, despite his talent for it. Deep down, he preferred the Daoist ideal of serene inaction, living without unnecessary conflict.
Don't misunderstand.
Serene inaction isn't weakness.
It's avoiding pointless troubles. He wasn't afraid of conflict but didn't want to invite it, disrupting his life needlessly.
_
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