Chapter 80#
Provocation#
“Heavenly Dao’s will?”
Hearing this title, Lu Yan was slightly stunned, instinctively wanting to test it with his divine sense. The next moment, his breath slightly hitched.
In Lu Yan’s perception, that voice seemed to come from infinitely high above, yet also seemed to exist between heaven and earth, elusive and unpredictable.
With Lu Yan’s cultivation, no demon or spirit could hide from him. To give him this kind of unfathomable feeling, it likely really was only the legendary, formless “Heavenly Dao.”
Heavenly Dao…
Lu Yan’s gaze darkened slightly.
The Golden Crow divine bird was born according to the heavenly time; it was said that Golden Crows with high cultivation could even sense the Heavenly Dao and execute heavenly punishment. Lu Yan had once thought this was just a slightly exaggerated saying.
Most cultivators yearned for the Heavenly Dao, with many spending their entire lives just to feel the Dao’s rhythm. But at this moment, Lu Yan felt no sense of being flattered. He even felt a subtle hostility rising in his heart—
Did the previous illusion have something to do with the so-called “Heavenly Dao’s will”?
Just thinking about Yin Yuheng’s appearance as he died in the illusion caused a dull, unspeakable pain to well up in Lu Yan’s heart.
Lu Yan stood in the void of the pure white space, his expression icy, waiting for the voice to continue.
The voice seemed to ring directly in his consciousness, cold, ethereal, and devoid of emotional fluctuations.
“The illusion was not an illusion; it was fate’s decree,” the voice said. “You believe the illusion was false, but how do you know it wasn’t a kind of reality?”
Reality? How could that be? How could he let A-Heng suffer such pain and humiliation, how could he pierce his chest with a sword, how could he treat A-Heng like that… Lu Yan instinctively wanted to refute it, but in the moment he opened his mouth, he remembered how he felt in the illusion just now.
It truly was too real, as if it had actually happened. Having reached Lu Yan’s level of cultivation, ordinary illusions could no longer deceive him. Could an illusion that made him feel so real and heart-wrenching truly be an ordinary one?
In the dark, Lu Yan sensed that things were not that simple.
The voice seemed to give a mocking laugh.
“All things cycle; birth and death have their time. The Kunlun Mirror was originally a divine artifact that existed since the beginning of the world, a single entity, indestructible. Why do you think it turned into fragments?”
Lu Yan remembered what the Demon Lord had said.
“The Kunlun Mirror is indestructible unless for one reason—someone used the Kunlun Mirror to reverse time. Only a great supernatural power involving the cycle of time would cause the Kunlun Mirror to shatter.”
Reversing time…?
Lu Yan’s brow twitched, suddenly having an ominous premonition.
The voice continued to mock coldly: “What you saw was not an illusion. That was—a reality that once happened, or rather, it was a destined fate.”
Lu Yan’s fingers trembled violently.
He wanted to refute the voice, but at this moment, the empty white space around him suddenly began to oscillate!
A massive power that could stir the winds and clouds came from afar, as if some earth-shattering, world-renowned event had occurred outside.
The ethereal “Heavenly Dao’s will” suddenly became flustered and irritated, losing its previous coldness and mockery.
“The Li Dynasty has a master; the Human Sovereign has emerged!” the voice said urgently. “He actually caused the vibration of heaven and earth…”
The Human Sovereign has emerged?
Lu Yan’s pupils constricted. Is it A-Heng?
Before he left Chaoge, Yuheng was still bedridden recovering from his injuries. What happened? Is A-Heng okay?
The Heavenly Dao’s will was only exasperated for a moment before regaining its composure. It seemed to guess Lu Yan’s thoughts and said coldly: “It’s him.”
“You didn’t expect it, did you? At this very moment, he has already usurped the Human Dao’s orthodoxy and become the new Emperor of the Li Dynasty.”
“You’re not still worried about his body, are you? Heh… why do you think he instructed you to fetch the Kunlun Mirror fragments? Because he wanted to ascend the throne after you left.”
“You are just a useful pawn to him, a grand Demon Emperor being ordered around at his whim,” the voice mocked. “Did you think he truly… has feelings for you?”
Lu Yan’s heart was initially a mix of joy and worry, but hearing the Heavenly Dao’s will, his fingers tightened bit by bit. After a long while, he said hoarsely: “Does the legendary, supreme Heavenly Dao’s will also engage in such tedious tricks?”
“You don’t believe it?”
“Then take a good look back… at your first meeting.” The voice laughed. “Think carefully; the friendship you believe in was just a form of manipulation.”
As the voice fell, another illusion suddenly appeared before Lu Yan’s eyes. However, this time, Lu Yan recognized it as something he had actually experienced in the past.
A familiar young man stood by the window.
Lu Yan saw that familiar figure. He instinctively wanted to call out to the other, but found he could not make a sound.
It seemed that in this illusion, he was once against a bystander.
Lu Yan had no choice but to continue watching the person before him.
The man’s ink-black hair was like a waterfall, draped in fox fur, his eyes smiling. Standing under the bright moonlight, he was so beautiful he seemed out of place in his surroundings.
It was precisely the young man Lu Yan longed for, his A-Heng.
This seemed to be the outskirts of Chaoge, the capital of the Li Dynasty, in a small inn. Outside the window was the night, with ten thousand miles of stars and a long, bright Milky Way.
Lu Yan suddenly realized what time this was.
It was his and Yin Yuheng’s first encounter. Lu Yan remembered that what happened next was…
The young man suddenly showed a trace of a smile, took out a bow and arrow, and drew the string.
Ah, next was the matter of him being shot by an arrow from A-Heng. Lu Yan gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Did the Heavenly Dao’s will want him to see this? But Yuheng had already explained this matter to him long ago. As a member of the demon race suddenly appearing in the Li Dynasty’s territory, it was normal for Yuheng, as the Crown Prince of the Li Dynasty, to instinctively attack him. How could he be angry because of this…
Just as Lu Yan was thinking this, he saw the long arrow leave the string, like a meteor falling like fire, piercing the night and crashing down. The spiritual energy was so turbulent it smashed a large crater into the ground.
And the young man spoke smilingly: “Is he dead yet? I want to see if that heart-protecting mirror can still protect him.”
Lu Yan: “…”
The young man put away the bow, flipped through the window, and walked to where the arrow had struck. Seeing the black-clad young man unconscious on the ground, his smile became even more beautiful: “Tsk, he really isn’t dead.”
Lu Yan: “…”
At this moment, the voice of the Heavenly Dao’s will rang in Lu Yan’s ear again.
“See? He didn’t just attack you instinctively.”
The voice revealed a trace of malice: “He did it on purpose. It was to kill you. Every interaction he had with you afterward was him calculating against you.”
The illusion before him began to change. Lu Yan saw their second encounter, saw Yuheng being injured to save him while he was being pursued in Chaoge, and also saw the playfulness in Yuheng’s eyes when he turned his head.
“See? The accidental encounter and deep affection you believed in were just him turning to revenge, deception, and exploitation after failing to kill you.”
“Are you angry? Do you hate him?”
Lu Yan did not speak. He stood for a long while before finally saying in a low voice: “…Why? You said just now that he wanted to take revenge on me?”
The Heavenly Dao’s will said coldly: “Still don’t believe it? Let me tell you, the snowfield illusion you saw just now, he has also seen it, and seen it countless times.”
“In his dreams, he was killed by you countless times.”
Lu Yan was truly stunned this time.
A-Heng… he also saw that illusion? And was killed by himself countless times in that illusion?
Lu Yan felt like he wanted to tremble. Before his eyes, he seemed to see that snowfield stained red with Yin Yuheng’s blood; he seemed to see the treasure he held closest to his heart suffering all kinds of torture and pain.
So A-Heng had already experienced such pain countless times in his dreams? When A-Heng approached him, was he thinking about all the harm he had brought to the other?
He didn’t know… he had never known.
“Do you think he would have true feelings for someone who repeatedly kills him? He naturally wants to take revenge on you and use you.” The voice of the Heavenly Dao’s will was still ringing.
“This is the truth.”
“Now that he has successfully ascended to the position of Human Sovereign, you no longer have any value to him.”
The voice used an alluring tone to state its ultimate goal: “So, you should strike first… go, before he has a chance to react, take revenge on him, imprison him, torture him.”