There is an old saying that describes the beauty of a woman as she turned around and smiled. However, this woman in white didnât smile, so this scene had a different flavor to it.
This gaze was very unfamiliar.
The woman in whiteâs gaze swept by Wang Lin and didnât have any hint of familiarity, as if she was looking at a stranger.
She withdrew her gaze before turning around and flying off into the distance.
Wang Lin stared at her, stunned, until he could no longer see her.
A glance back to recall the yearning of the pastâ¦
Wang Lin closed his eyes. After a long time, he let out a sigh.
âIn my entire life, all the people I met had a hint of familiarity⦠Zhou Rui was like this, Xu Fei was like this, Liu Mei was like thisâ¦
âIn the 19 years since I left Zhao, all the cultivators I have seen in my dream gave me the same feelingâ¦
âOnly she alone, only she aloneâ¦â
Wang Linâs face became even older. He leaned against a dead tree and opened his eyes. His eyes revealed confusion, but even more apparent was a complicated sense of enlightenment.
Wang Lin felt bitter as he walked forward in a daze.
He didnât know how far he had walked. He couldnât see the sunrise or sunset. He didnât leave any prints in the country of Hou Fen, but he walked further and further away.
Day after day, month after monthâ¦
The complicated expression in his eyes became even stronger, but he still used the confusion to cover up the truth he had already realized. It wasnât that he didnât want to believe, but he felt like there was still a chance, a lie that he didnât even believe himself.
Then, on a certain day or a certain year, a mountain appeared before him!
This was a dead volcano. Perhaps at a certain point in the past, it roared and spewed out endless rivers of lava.
However, now it was dead.
The ground was filled with potholes and black rocks scattered everywhere. An aura of death shrouded this area, and there was no a trace of anyone within hundreds of kilometers.
Wang Lin stopped under this dead volcano. He stared at the mountain in a daze, and after a long time, the confusion in his eyes collapsed. His entire body trembled and he subconsciously retreated a few steps.
âThis is itâ¦â Wang Lin was familiar with this mountain. This was the same mountain that was erupting in the illusion he saw over the sea!
The two cracks that were like two entangled dragons were like marks that would exist forever, even in death. It was this that told Wang Lin the identity of this mountain!
Looking at the mountain, Wang Lin could no longer deceive himself and cover up what he had long figured out. The image from the sea overlapped with what he was looking at now.
The illusion above the sea and the truth before him formed an invisible force that rushed into his body. His mind rumbled and the power of this force swept away more than 50 years of lying to himself. For the first time, he was going face himself and the world!
âI should have understood back then⦠But I didnât want to believe. Wang Lin, like you, I also deceived myself, but you forgot that I know deception as well⦠You lied to yourself, but can you really get away with lying to yourselfâ¦â Wang Lin pointed at the dead volcano and laughed. His laughter was filled with sadness.
âShe was the only one⦠She didnât have feelings of familiarity to me, that glance was strange⦠Wang Lin, ah, Wang Lin, if the me today is from the previous life and the me in the next life will be with Li Muwan, then did you want me to come back to cut my karma with Li Muwanâ¦
âIf the me today is a reincarnation, then the me at the end of the cycle is supposed to erase Li Muwanâs existence. To let her go so we will become true strangers to each otherâ¦
âIf the me today is a dream and the me in my dream as a cultivator is the real life, then does the sleeping me want Li Muwan to forget me in the dream due to his sorrowâ¦
âIs all of this for the future, the next reincarnation cycle, or the awakened world, where she will no longer have to endure the pain of waiting, no longer have to survive as a broken nascent soul, and no longer live the life of a living dead person for more than 2,000 years.
âTo let her be happy before meeting me so she could quietly live out her life? She may have another dao partner, but there wonât be a cultivator named Wang Lin that made her waitâ¦
âIs this itâ¦â Wang Lin laughed. As he laughed, tears flowed down.
The more he understood, the more he learned about everything in the world. Seeing through life and death and true and false would normally make one confused, but at this moment, he only felt a heart-wrenching pain.
âWang Lin, are you really going to do this⦠Are you really willing to let her forget herself⦠Do you really want to let the other you cut off this karma that has accompanied you for more than 2,000 years?â Wang Linâs voice was mournful.
âI have been through a lot in my life, and all of it revolved around karma. Karma⦠karma⦠Wang Lin, you canât see through it! Even if you cultivate for the rest of your life, even if your cultivation is shocking, even if you are the ruler of the world, you still donât understand what karma is!
âYou devoured three Dao Fruits and returned to 2,000 years ago with your Dream Dao spell. You used your own thoughts along with the complex dao intent and the power of the Dream Dao spell to create this world from your memory!â Wang Lin staggered and sat down on a rock. His hair was scattered everywhere as if he had gone crazy.
âYou created this world, everything here is something you made up. Do you really think I donât know? I canât see through it!â Wang Linâs laughter became even more mournful.
âYou made everything very real, you created everything too perfectly. You even learned Liu Jinbiaoâs deception dao and fooled yourself into forgetting that all of this was just a dream, that all of this was just the Dream Dao spell⦠But you underestimated me, you underestimated yourself!
âYou are Wang Lin, the Lord of the Sealed Realm. Your cultivation is heaven-defying and you could kill third step cultivators before reaching third step. You survived the life and death calamity and are about to enter the Void realm of third step cultivators!
âBut Iâm also Wang Lin. Although I didnât cultivate, I have comprehended the world and understand its truth. I donât fear god or ghosts. Even if you are before me, so what?
âYou deceived yourself and immersed yourself in the world you created. You think that by doing this with the power of the three Dao Fruits, you can create your own world and reincarnation to create these cycles of karma again and again!
âHow can I not understand such a thing?
âYou wanted to meet a great scholar who would give you enlightenment about the world, so Su Dao appeared⦠You wanted to cut your karma with Liu Mei, so I met her twice and she gifted me the pill!
âBefore your Dream Dao, you heard about Red Butterfly, so you brought the matter about her into your dream. You used your dream to complete a cycle of karma.
âYou were aware of Nian Tian and the Soul Refining Sect, so you thought you should complete that karma as well. Do you think I donât know? At the start, I didnât, and I was confused, but the moment I met the madman and saw the glow coming from his right wrist when the fire extinguished, I knew!
âI deceived myself, I didnât make myself think too much about it. However, more than 50 years have passed, and I have lied to myself for more than 50 years. Today, I donât want to deceive myself anymore!
âYou think this is karma⦠Iâll tell you youâre wrong, youâre completely wrong. I donât care about the others, but you want to cut off the karma with Li Muwan. I refuse to accept this!
âYou think this is for her own good, in order for her to not feel pain and give her a complete life, but all of this is fake! What is true, what is false, you know less than I do! Why donât you understand!? Why havenât you awakened?!
âYou think you can cut it, but can you cut it!? Can you cut it?!?!â Wang Lin let out a roar.
As he roared, the world rumbled and endless thunder echoed and lightning flashed, covering the sky. It was as if the heavens were angry.
The moment the heavens became angry, a giant vortex appeared in the sky. This vortex rotated as if it was going to tear the world apart. An endless void appeared in the vortex.
In that endless void, there was a wisp of red light. Within the red light lied two bodies lying with their eyes closed. One of them struggled to open his eyes as if Wang Linâs roar had bombarded his soul and showed signs of awakening.
âYou canât cut it!â Wang Linâs right hand pointed at the vortex in the sky. His white hair fluttered and a powerful surge of energy shot out toward the sky.
âSince you canât cut it, then donât interfere with me. Your so-called karma is just a joke in my eyes!â Wang Lin waved his sleeves and the thunderous rumbles and the vortex slowly stopped. The vortex became smaller and smaller until it turned into a white dot that was the white bird. It circled the sky for a long time before it flew far away.
Wang Lin had understood everything a long time ago. He was the grand scholar, how could he not understand?
âWhat is karma, what is life and death, what is true and false? I came to be because of these three questions, no one understands this more than me. From now on, whether it is the Dao Fruits, memories, or this false world, donât interfere with me!â