Looking at Yan Linzen in his arms, his heart grew taut. He recalled Pinaka's eyes when they were on Earth, the longing for a family. Who knew fate would produce this type of family?
"Let's finish this. I can't spend too much time in here." Decisively speaking, he stepped forward and once again utilized the power of time to traverse a vast distance in a short period. When he stopped, he was at a lakeside. The water was calm and pure.
"This entire creation is far beyond my current understanding to grasp fully. I can deduce that this is a world similar to a miniature heaven, but also a sub-realm. Not only that…" Yan Zaizen looked at his hand. This hand was normal, no injuries or signs of overwork, but it was a new hand. His entire body was newly born with no indication of Herculean cultivation.
Also, "This soul isn't my soul." Yan Zaizen deduced this instantly when he originally came to. His soul, his true soul, wasn't here. Instead, he was remotely controlling this body's current surrogate soul with his true soul. It had his exact signature, but it contained no blackhole, bloodline, or dao.
This soul was fresh and new, created through the unique method of this world's reincarnation cycle, but it was also unique in that it had no restrictions. This soul was his, and his other soul was his as well.
"It seems my guess was right. The intent was to recreate the dao...but why? Why does one need two daos of the same? What is the purpose?" Yan Zaizen could only deduce the trial's intent but not its end goal. If he did create another dao, how would his original dao react?
Was the main purpose to fuse?
However, that seemed pointless...there must be another reason.
"I'll just have to find out."
Yan Zaizen closed his eyes. The world vanished, his sense of self vanished, and his connection to the heavens vanished. All that remained was a shell. This shell then started to relive his life, his 'original' life.
His birth, the excitement of his parents and love as he grew up. The talent test, followed by the ambush of his parents which led to their deaths and him becoming an orphan. How, when it happened, he didn't believe they had died.
The times he cleaned up their graves, told them all his glees and woes, and everything else. Then, loving a woman, losing that woman, and being left in despair and nearly abandoned by the clan.
The meteor.
The start of his cultivation path.
Han Genji, Lin Feilin's words when he laid broken and in fear, the battles of Basilisk Forest, the schemes of the Ying Family, Xuanwu City's deadly battle, the endlessness of chaotic space, the country of Grux, the despair in the Deep Mines, the torture and closure of Lady Diyi, the two sects destruction for revenge, the Water Veil Sect's clash, Dead Soul Sea, arriving at Anima Syndicate, the revival of Wu Yuanxu, and the completion of his dao!
The memories flowed like a stream of water in the appropriate order. As they did, his heart enlivened, his mind matured, and his horizons expanded. Then, with his dao, he challenged the heavens for the first time, traveled fearlessly into the Deep Expanse, and fought a Lord of an entire realm!
He recalled everything, including his battle of the dao within the Sirius Titan Realm and Vast Expanse. Even the loss of Pinaka...
Boom!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted, and the world trembled. All lifeforms, regardless of plantlife, wildlife, or humankind all looked up at the sky. The sky had changed colors, no longer being sky-blue but in a hue of amber-gold. For those, regardless of their intelligence level, they all prostrated themselves instinctively as if they were bowing to their god, bowing to their sovereign.
A warmth overwhelmed their hearts as they accepted his dao wholeheartedly. Within this warmth were a relentlessness and imperious nature that affirmed their belief in this sovereign.
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"My Dao is to ascend, to never cease in my pursuit of a grander self and to never yield to my fears or doubt. To always be myself, true to the utmost, regardless of how malevolent or benevolent I become." Yan Zaizen's words echoed outwards from the sky. A surging wave like that from the ocean occurred, flowing across the sky creating a spectacular sight. His words reached the ends of this world.
Opening his eyes, amber-gold lava surged in his pupils. "I've completed your trial." As if his words signified the truth, the world began to violently rumble.
Yan Zaizen didn't look at the body of Yan Linzen, but her entire form suddenly glowed with a soft light and compressed into a small marble form. It entered his body and merged within his soul. As they were originally 'one' it was easy to assimilate her soul into his.
The world around him started to shatter like glass. When he saw this, his brows furrowed. A tinge of pain flowed within the depths of his pupils. "So...once the trial is completed, the world becomes obsolete and collapses. All I've done..."
This indicated either one of two possibilities, all those who took the trial before failed or with each new participant, the world would begin anew. However, seeing how the world had a history of hundreds of thousands of years, perhaps even millions if one considers the often loss of heritage and history after conflict, the latter was unlikely.
"Haha, complete the trial and billions upon billions of lives simply...cease. Truly cruel." Yan Zaizen commented one last time before a beam of light exploded from beneath his feet. It was like a thin, square cage with white light within as it enveloped his body.
He felt his body pull downwards, but he didn't resist. The pulling force dragged him down at a slow speed. He could see the world that cracked like glass start to break apart and turn to dust and then nothing. Real lives, real souls, must be feeling like the apocalypse was occurring before their very eyes. The fear and terror they must be experiencing, but…
They will soon cease to exist, their souls not entering the reincarnation cycle of the outside world.
Simply...disappearing.
Feeling Yan Linzen's presence to reassure himself, his everything was focused on protecting her from any external force. Luckily, nothing attempted to approach as he was protected by the cage of light.
When the world completely collapsed, Yan Zaizen found himself alone in a world of darkness. The sky, sun, moon, stars, earth, and souls all vanished as if they were nothing but a dream. Any other cultivator may accept this as a dream, believing the lives were nothing but a manifestation of their thoughts or illusions, but he knew otherwise. He knew the truth.
That world was real and so was all the life within it.
For this trial maker to attempt to fool the trial taker so they wouldn't feel despondent or depressed could be considered a good intent in a way. At least, they wouldn't seek old lovers or family. As long as it was all 'fake', cultivators could easily accept it and move on.
"As long as Yan Linzen is alive, I, Yan Zaizen, have no regrets." In fact, knowing the world was real further solidified Yan Zaizen's dao intent. An imprint of reality etched itself within his heart.
After some time had passed, a platform materialized beneath his feet, halting his descent. The platform was completely white, flat, circular, and about twenty meters in all directions. He stood at the epicenter. His eyes focused ahead.
A hazy figure that seemed to be made of mist appeared before him. This hazy figure looked to be a woman! This woman had a slim physique, grey hair, but what could be discerned of her face made one see that she was young.
Yan Zaizen could tell that this hazy figure of a woman wasn't a true entity or remnant, but an avatar left behind to relay a message or inheritance.
"To be able to create your dao in two lives. It was deemed impossible by the Elders, but I knew it wasn't so." The hazy figure spoke with fanatical excitement.