Yefutidaolu

Chapter 443 Your Origins
Gao Jian had no time to care about the turmoil in the hearts of the spectators at the Imperial Academy below.

He couldn't be bothered to think about these trivial matters.

His entire focus was on Yuan Lu in front of him, analyzing every move and stance, trying to find a flaw in his true identity beneath that seemingly perfect facade.

The light of the mind's lamp, with its profound insight, dissects every detail of the operation of the primordial law.

no doubt……

No matter which angle you look at it from, the source of this power, the way this supernatural ability operates, and the Daoist charm contained in every gesture... are exactly the same as the old ancestor Yuan Lu of the Netherworld in my memory!
His understanding of the laws of the universe and the realms of the living and the dead was truly profound.

In the past, in order to utilize Yuan Lu and explore the path of the Earth Immortal, he had expended tremendous effort to "help" Yuan Lu break through. The two had discussed the fundamental laws of the Netherworld for a long time, and he had even studied the secret scriptures in its library more deeply than many of the core disciples of the Netherworld. It can be said that Yuan Lu's ultimate path to becoming an Earth Immortal, its core direction—"merging with heaven and earth, achieving selflessness"—was essentially a trap "tailor-made" for him by Gao Jian!

Therefore, observing Yuan Lu's actions at this moment, Gao Jian was able to clearly discern...

The "Soul-Swaying" supernatural power, which draws upon the energy of the underworld and shakes the soul, is a closely guarded secret of the "Soul-Capturing Chapter" in the Netherworld.

Even seemingly insignificant changes in gait and the flow of breath are exactly the same as the real Yuanlu in Gaojian's memory!

Even if the opponent occasionally uses one or two moves that are not orthodox Qimen techniques from the Netherworld, the way they use them and the degree to which they are integrated into their own system are in line with the level that an old-fashioned earth immortal who has lived for hundreds of years and has learned from many sources should have.

As for the application of power at the Earth Immortal level, the profound mystery of influencing heaven and earth and transforming into rules is entirely following the path of "integrating into heaven and earth" that Gao Jian had pointed out to him in the past, without any impurities from any other system.

Judging from my current perspective and my understanding of him and the Netherworld...

Gao Jian's heart sank slowly.

This person, in terms of the nature of his power, his fighting style, his techniques, and even his subtle habits, is exactly the same Yuan Lu who personally led himself into the trap!
This conclusion contradicts an undeniable fact!

But... that Yuanlu shouldn't still have self-awareness!
Gao Jian understood better than anyone else that "the perfect man has no self" and merges with heaven and earth, which is the foundation of his Daoist immortality and also the prison he set for himself.

Yuan Lu's "self" should have been assimilated and obliterated by the vast "will of heaven and earth" the moment he became an Earth Immortal, turning into a "tool" to maintain the operation of a certain natural law, a puppet without thought!
How could a puppet that should have lost its self possibly fight, talk, or even use complex supernatural powers that require a high degree of subjective consciousness with such clear logic?
So, eliminating all the impossibilities...

The question that Takashi had tentatively asked earlier, which had provoked the other party's thunderous rebuke, resurfaced in his mind.

The remaining answers, no matter how unbelievable, can only be...

Is what's right in front of us 'the sky'?
Is it that 'Heaven,' which controls this divine dynasty's territory, maintains the desolate world, and gathers all spiritual energy... that is borrowing, or rather, "playing" Yuan Lu's identity?
This idea struck Gao Jian as absurd.

But... is that really possible?
Even as rational analysis gradually led the answer in this direction, a sense of unbelievable absurdity still lingered deep within Gao Jian's heart.

The doubts in Takami's heart lingered like a dark cloud. Even though all the signs pointed to that unbelievable conclusion, he still found it hard to accept.

No, that's not right... The Yuanlu before me could never be the real 'Heaven'.

What should the sky look like?

Heaven and earth themselves were a state of primordial chaos, transforming without intention, their energy naturally balanced, with yin and yang, odd and even, merely natural phenomena. As the saying goes, 'Heaven and earth have no intention, all things follow the same path!'
It should be a chaotic spiritual entity, capable of responding to all kinds of sensations, but this is only a reaction, not an action generated by subjective initiative. It should itself be 'chaotic and nameless'.

It is an existence that is 'unlearned and unthinking,' 'one with all things,' and 'transcending the physical form and forgetting self and things.'

Its operation is 'continuously generating', yet 'it needs no control, no continuity', it is simply 'completely flowing smoothly'!
It's more like a supreme, cold, and absolute law of nature, a grand and chaotic collection of laws, rather than an "individual" with a clear self-awareness and the ability to think and engage in targeted dialogue!
If 'Heaven' truly possesses a clear self-awareness like Yuan Lu, capable of precise calculation, planning, and even engaging in dialogue and strategic maneuvering... then what's the point of fighting? What a load of crap! Who could truly contend against an 'existence' that possesses consciousness and is itself the rule of the entire world?
This contradiction made it difficult for Gao Jian to readily accept the most obvious answer. His mind raced, frantically searching for other possibilities in the gaps between dodging and parrying.

Is it some higher-level existence perfectly simulating everything about the Primal Law? Or has the Primal Law itself undergone some unknown mutation, giving birth to a new consciousness? Or perhaps... my initial "refinement" was not completely successful, leaving some kind of backdoor?
Just as his mind was racing, Yuan Lu's offensive did not stop for a moment. Instead, due to Gao Jian's distracted analysis, it became even more fierce and deadly!

Yuan Lu seemed to have noticed Gao Jian's momentary hesitation. His eyes were cold, and he formed a complex and ancient hand seal in front of his chest.

Instantly, his aura changed again, combining the chilling true essence of the Netherworld with a certain murderous aura between heaven and earth.

Supernatural Power: Profound Darkness!
The god of the North is called Xuanming, who rides on the Kan trigram and governs winter. Ren and Gui belong to water, and water is at its peak in winter. Xuanming descends to the Yin, hibernating insects hide, and grass and trees wither. Frost falls in winter and in midsummer. Yin descends and Yang rises, the Qi condenses and the phenomena close, the cold is fierce and severe, towering solid ice, and falling white snow. Trees wither and die in response to the frost, and grass is broken by the wind.

But the temperature around us dropped rapidly—

Gao Jian felt as if the space around him had been plunged into an abyss of absolute zero. It wasn't just a simple cold, but a terrifying state of mind that made energy and even thought stagnate! The surging blood and qi in his body seemed to be freezing, and the circulation of his divine will was like sinking into a viscous swamp, becoming extremely sluggish.

At the same time, Yuan Lu's figure flickered, and nine shadowy figures, indistinguishable from the real ones, materialized in the air! Each shadowy figure exuded an aura no weaker than the original body, and rushed towards Gao Jian from all directions!

Fists, palms, fingers, claws—all sorts of deadly moves from the netherworld poured down like a torrential downpour, each strike containing the lingering "soul-shaking" resonance that shook the soul and the "mysterious" intent that froze everything!
Netherworld magic, Nine Netherworld Illusionary Body!

At this moment, Gao Jian seemed to be facing an attack from nine Earth Immortals at the same time!
All escape routes—up, down, left, and right—were blocked by that condensed, almost tangible killing intent. The Xuanming Freezing Power stiffened his movements, and the attacks from the nine illusory bodies sealed off all space for evasion.

The light of the Heart Lamp flickered violently under the multiple suppressions, and the scene it illuminated became blurry and chaotic. Cold sweat beaded on Gao Jian's forehead. He forcefully circulated his qi and blood to fight against the all-pervasive freezing intent, and his rusty blade danced in front of him, creating an impenetrable curtain of blades!
"Clang clang... Boom!"

Blades clashed wildly with fists, palms, and claws, unleashing a continuous chorus of metallic clangs and muffled thuds of energy impact.

Gao Jian pushed his agility to its limit, maneuvering and turning within a small space. Every swing of the rusty knife precisely targeted the opponent's weakest point, or used its strange sharpness to deflect fatal attacks.

His tiger's mouth was lacerated, blood stained the knife handle, and blood foam kept oozing from the corner of his mouth, indicating that his internal organs were seriously injured.

If it weren't for the rusty blade's indestructibility, which allowed it to withstand so many heavy blows, and the remaining insight of the Heart Lamp, he would have been torn to shreds long ago by this storm of attacks.

However, the calmness in his eyes never faded; he was observing, feeling, and searching for that discordant note.

Perfect... Absolutely perfect! This Nine Netherworld Illusion, this Profound Nether Freeze, the way this power operates—it's practically like... a standard answer directly copied from the secret scriptures of the Netherworld! Even the subtle quirks and unique changes that Yuan Lu should have, formed over time and through experience, are perfectly replicated!
So where exactly is the flaw?
A fierce glint flashed in Gao Jian's eyes. He no longer attempted to defend against the nine illusory figures. He endured the attacks from the two illusory figures on his sides, a sharp pain shooting through his shoulder blades. But using this force, he spun like a top, his rusty blade carrying an unwavering determination. Ignoring the interference of the other seven illusory figures, he thrust it straight at the shadowy figure that he considered to have the most "stable" aura!

He is gambling!
I'm betting that this illusory body is the real body, or at least the core that sustains the supernatural powers!

"Pfft!"

The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out! The locked shadowy figure trembled violently, its eerie light fluctuating wildly, and the other eight illusory forms also blurred for a moment!
Gao Jian felt a chill run down his spine!
Was the bet right?!

However, just as he thought he had found a weakness, the "Yuanlu" who had been stabbed showed no pain on his face, but instead smiled.

"Got you……"

Yuan Lu's voice was like the friction of solid ice. Ignoring the rusty knife piercing his body, he suddenly clasped his hands together, and a suction force far more terrifying than before suddenly erupted from him!

Supernatural Power: Return to Nothingness!
He wanted to drag his brilliant ideas, along with that rusty knife, into nothingness!
What is Guixu?

Countless miles east of the Bohai Sea lies a vast chasm, a bottomless valley, its depths unfathomable, named Guixu. All the waters of the eight directions and nine fields, the flow of the Milky Way, pour into it, yet its volume neither increases nor decreases!

That is the legendary abyss that swallows all water but never fills up!

All the waters in the southeast rely on this ravine to flow back and prevent them from overflowing and causing disasters.

The supernatural power Yuan Lu is currently using, Guixu, is a supreme method created by the great beings of the Netherworld who observed the endless flow of the Yellow Springs waters, which could only flow into the eternally silent Guixu and could never return.

At this moment, Yuan Lu himself seemed to have transformed into that bottomless abyss!

An irresistible, seemingly originating from the very source of the world, devouring force erupted from him! This force did not act on matter, but directly on Gao Jian's very being! It was about to drag and strip away everything about him—his physical body, blood and qi, divine will, and even that bit of true spirit—and throw it into a "nameless place" that was more desolate than the Yellow Springs and more eternal than the void!
Space was distorting, light was collapsing, and only the "calm" maintained by the rusty blade around Gao Jian remained intact.

However, it was precisely in this most dangerous moment, the moment closest to the core of this supernatural power—

Takashi's constant state of reflecting himself with the sharpness of a rusty knife and having a clear mind allowed him to capture the truth hidden behind the destructive power!

In the reflection, I saw it! Within that desolate ruin... it was...

At the deepest part of that "gravity of return to nothingness," what Gao Jian "saw" was not pure nothingness or destruction, but rather...

Crack!

It is a spatial rift with a nature extremely similar to the stellar rift deep in Hell Canyon that connects to the vast starry sky! Although its scale, shape, and manifestation are completely different, the aura of isolation, nothingness, and connection to the unknown that it exudes is exactly the same!
The "Return to Nothingness" supernatural power is directed at that kind of rift!

So that's how it is! What I observed in the shadows was also that kind of 'crack'!
"drink--!"

Gao Jian let out a deep roar, ignoring the gravity that was almost tearing his soul out of his body, and concentrated all his remaining strength, along with the resolute intent of the rusty knife to sever the connection, into one point!
Instead of attacking Yuan Lu's main body, he used the sharp edge of the rusty knife, like a scalpel, to precisely target the intersection of those energy ripples and spatial folds!
"Buzz—Click!"

A crisp, unusual sound, like glass shattering, was barely audible amidst the roar of power, yet it entered Gao Jian and Yuan Lü's senses with unparalleled clarity!
The once stable and terrifying "Return to Nothingness Gravitational Field" suddenly froze! Like a stuck gear, it groaned under the strain! The entrance to the "channel" connecting to the unknown rift began to twist and fluctuate violently, becoming extremely unstable!

Yuan Lü clearly did not expect that Gao Jian would be able to see through part of the essence of "Gui Xu" in such a short time, and even more accurately find and destroy the almost negligible structural weakness caused by "simulation".

Although this did not completely break the supernatural power, it was enough to cause its operation to stagnate and become disordered!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gao Jian endured the excruciating pain of being torn apart by gravity and the shock to his soul. His body shot backward like a fish swimming against the current, narrowly escaping the core of the "Return to the Void" devouring range!
He landed on a distant cloud, panting heavily, covered in blood and looking utterly disheveled, but his eyes shone with an alarming brightness as he stared intently at Yuan Lu, whose aura was slightly fluctuating due to the interference with his supernatural powers.

"This divine power reveals your origin! You truly are not Yuan Lu; you are something from beyond the rift!"

(End of this chapter)