Chapter 345: Nurturing the Bed of the Great Dao
“So, when you are recorded, the same goes for you.”
[Iris] spoke as if counterattacking, “According to your classification system, the World Tree is both the recorder and the top-tier narrator... roughly speaking?”
But in truth, it didn’t quite understand the classification system the other was talking about. Judging by what could be done, however—
The World Tree was probably at this position.
“Generally speaking, we don’t drag narrative layers into discussions about the Dao…” Shion explained.
Actually, it wasn’t that they never did—it was just that she disliked it.
Things like Deadpool breaking the fourth wall in comics to kill the editor—
How was that any different from playing around?
It was pretty much the same as a kid saying, “I reflect your attack, reflect your reflection,” wasn’t it?
Whenever she saw battles involving narrative layers, Shion’s first reaction was that it was trash work.
It was the kind of forced writing when the author has run out of ideas.
That included protagonists killing their authors in stories.
If you had the guts to finish writing and then kill yourself, then Shion would acknowledge that the character had breached the narrative layer.
But just drawing a comic where Deadpool wipes out the editorial department, claiming he’s broken through the narrative layer—
That was just nonsense.
Of course, Shion wasn’t a rigid traditionalist either.
If the narrative layer was used well, it could create good works. For example, horror movies where the female ghost crawls out of the TV—that was quite interesting.
The key was, it could actually scare a real person to death.
If that happened, then saying the ghost had broken through the narrative layer wouldn’t be an exaggeration—after all, it had literally scared someone to death.
Her suggestion for anyone claiming their story’s character had breached the narrative layer was to aim for this standard: either scare someone to death or kill yourself.
[Iris] seemed to pick up on Shion’s disdain and added:
“As you said, it’s not a matter of power but of rank. Whether it’s the narrative layer or not, as long as we’re still within this system framework, we can’t violate the World Tree’s rules.”
“Still needs to be burned.”
“That’s tough.”
The Beast of Eternity shook its head. “I’ve been gnawing at the tree roots for who knows how long—can’t get through.”
Shion was slightly surprised. “Didn’t know you were a vegetarian.”
“Tree-itarian?” the End repeated with a bit of a slur. “I have some meat now and then.”
“Human meat?”
“Anything goes, I’m not picky.”
Shion nodded. “Yeah, I still have to kill you.”
“Because I eat people?”
“Because you’re not a long-term vegetarian.”
They chatted casually, tossing words back and forth.
The aftershocks of their earlier exchange were still ongoing.
One flower, one world; one leaf, one Bodhi.
Shion’s runic snowflakes had even spread out into the outer cosmos.
Her gaze fell upon the World Tree’s roots. Her snowflakes landed on those root masses that had only barely revealed themselves, but they caused no ripples at all.
Each snowflake, capable of birthing a dense, scorching singularity in any universe it touched, melted instantly upon the roots, as if becoming nourishment for the World Tree.
And even here, she could only see this small portion of the World Tree’s extended roots. She couldn’t see the complete World Tree.
After considering whether to switch to vegetarianism, the Beast of Eternity added:
“To see the complete World Tree, you’d at least need to become an Observer—though you already have some of that rank. For now, this is all you can see. If you want to see more…”
Shion lifted her head slightly.
Raising her rank would likely require cumbersome conditions. To make sure she didn’t forget later—
She even secretly prepared a small note below, intending to write down whatever the other said.
Raising power was simple; raising rank—like a Full Bloom—required various rules and luck, demanding full concentration.
The Beast of Eternity paused. “You’d have to destroy more worlds.”
“Sacrificing the masses again.”
Shion casually tore up the note she’d prepared and threw it away.
Boring. A typical beast’s mentality.
It was her fault for having any expectations of this world’s upgrade system.
Sure enough, raising ranks in this world was all straightforward and crude.
A bunch of magical country bumpkins who had no idea about comprehending the Heavenly Dao or the rules of the Great Dao…
Shion had actually fantasized about sitting down for a Dao discussion with a fellow cultivator at the same level, exchanging insights on different doctrines and mental cultivation techniques.
But instead, it came down to direct destruction.
She’d previously imagined a host of legendary ancestors—Hongjun and Bodhi, Lu Ya and Zhen Yuan, Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan, Yang Qi and Ao Tian, Wang Meng and Ming Ren, Lin Meng and Hongmeng, Fang Han and the Immortal King, the Sea God and the True Man, Huang and Ye—hoping the two of them could articulate some supreme Heavenly Dao, Yin-Yang Chaos, or Primordial Creation.
Oh well, she could save face and say this place had simplified the Great Dao to its essence.
“Forget it. I’ll try my ancestors’ methods instead.”
Shion shook her head, only for [Iris] to ask curiously, “You have other ways to raise your rank?”
“Ancestral methods. Not sure if they’ll work, but I’ve got to try.”
The Dragon Lord blinked, tilted its head, and flashed a innocent smile. “I’d just need to borrow your strength at that point.”
“My honor.”
Shion felt a warm satisfaction in her heart. What a natural-born beast—a true gem for her Azure Cloud Sacred Sect.
She couldn’t let its “honor” go to waste. She’d have to set up a foundation burial, carve out a cave heaven, build a rocket for ascension, make a ladder to the Other Shore—squeeze every last drop of its potential.
Then, using the techniques of form and aspect, she’d seize its energy and life force. She didn’t know if the Beast of Eternity had a gender, but even if it was male, as long as it had enough power, she could use its life-bearing techniques to turn it into a seedbed for nurturing a Great Dao Fruit, stacking her rank sky-high… She had more safety measures than she could count. A natural-born abomination like this couldn’t be wasted.
While scheming about the future, Shion still wore a warm smile, as if chatting with an old friend. She asked:
“So, that’s how you’ve been eating your way through?”
“I was born an Observer.”
“Oh, a born Dao God. So how did you know it would work?”
“Someone actually used this method to raise their rank to Observer,” the Beast of Eternity said, perhaps more talkative now that it had rarely encountered someone who could match it. “So it should be fine.”
Shion glanced upward again. Jiang Si, Keke, and Black Keke were still discussing something.
“The person you mentioned must be Black Keke.”
[Iris] showed surprise for the first time. “She told you?”
“Just a small trick of the Grand Fate Art. The only people you remember are Iris and Black Keke.” Shion wasn’t showing off her super intelligence—just demonstrating a spark created by forming hand seals. “As a Magical Girl, Iris would never do something like that. So it could only be Black Keke.”
With just that small display, the Beast of Eternity grew somewhat admiring.
“I didn’t expect you to be so perceptive beyond your power.”
“Not perceptive.” Shion tapped her temple as she corrected. “It’s called a brain, understand?”
“Oh, I didn’t realize your brain was so perceptive.”
It clearly had no brain at all.
This was what happened when you relied entirely on super strength.
A lesson to be learned.
“If Black Keke became an Observer, wouldn’t that mean everything she sees in the future and the past becomes fixed?”
“Yes, but there’s also the question of mana quantity. If her mana isn’t enough, she’ll still get crushed by something stronger. For example, the perfect future she sees could still be destroyed by me.”
“I see. All abilities and rules can’t escape the issue of power level.”
Shion understood immediately. Debates about absolute defense, space slash, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—those had been beaten to death long ago.
If the power level wasn’t high enough, they were all laughable gimmicks.
Overwhelming force breaking all laws was a universal rule, ancient and modern, East and West.
“What about the Magic Kingdom? What rank are they?”
“Magic Kingdom? Never heard of it.”
Shion turned to look at [Iris]. “Never heard of it?”
“No.”
Shion fell into brief contemplation.
Was it only appearing in this reincarnation? The Magic Kingdom?
Or could even the Beast of Eternity not see it…?
She didn’t ask further. Although they could chat amicably, it was only basic conversation.
After all, they were only sitting down to talk patiently because they couldn’t go all out right now.
Once the restrictions locking the future were lifted, neither the Beast of Eternity nor Shion would have any interest in continuing this chat.
“But regarding the two Kekes.”
Though Shion planned to leave, the Beast of Eternity initiated another topic. “Have you decided which one to recognize as your little sister?”
“Why do you ask?”
“They are the same person, now split into two. That means both their Personal Reality and the miracles they can achieve are divided. If there are two Kekes, the world can’t reincarnate.”
Shion had naturally known this for a long time.
Keke and Black Keke were essentially the same person, sharing the same Personal Reality and even their power.
But all the authority ultimately still belonged to Keke.
If Keke didn’t want it, Black Keke couldn’t use Keke’s power and would only be able to act as an ordinary person.
Shion wondered how Black Keke had climbed to the position of President of the Witch Association before. As a Reincarnator, she certainly had more information and the ability to control Disaster Beasts and create Witches, but without sufficient personal strength, it would have been hard to get by.
The Beast of Eternity’s tone was indifferent. “Most importantly, as an Observer, Black Keke would only interfere with each other, causing all possibilities to vanish.”
“Anchoring only one Keke as soon as possible is the only way to change the future.”
...
At the End Land, on the outskirts of a sea of Keke bodies.
Keke was clinging tightly to her big brother, standing atop a high pile of bodies, both she and Black Keke staring nervously at the sky.
Snowflakes filled the air, freezing the surrounding void and chaos. Every galaxy that touched the snow silently perished and vanished.
In truth, not long ago, Black Keke had just finished saying they needed to seal Shion.
Then, pupils of the Beast of Eternity appeared from all directions.
Followed by the sky-filling snow, annihilating the pupils. Even now, two silent, terrifying forces were still tearing at each other nearby.
It was as if the End Land had become a separate new world. They watched the cosmos outside be destroyed and reborn, witnessing forces that brought death upon contact colliding and rippling around them.
It was as silent as a graveyard—oh, no, it was a graveyard.
Before, when Keke looked at the starry sky, she would feel her own insignificance.
But after becoming a Magical Girl, growing stronger and seeing more, she gradually felt that the distant stars weren’t all that vast.
Especially after arriving at Chongxu. Its overall scale was even more massive, with celestial factories everywhere. Even in a place like this—
Keke still had the confidence and foundation to feel she could control everything.
So, the sky of the new world was more like a canvas she’d admired as a child—one she could freely paint and alter as a Magical Girl.
Sometimes, when she looked up, the sky actually felt narrow and low.
She didn’t need to reach out to touch it. Power affects one’s mindset—Teacher Shion had taught her that long ago.
The stronger you become, the more abnormal your perception of your surroundings grows. The misalignment between self-awareness and the environment, without good psychological guidance, could easily lead you astray.
Like her feeling about the sky, or her growing disinterest in communicating with classmates and teachers at school.
This sense of overwhelming superiority from power had made Keke almost forget what weakness felt like.
Until now.
When the power of the snowflakes and the pupils interwove—that great force traversing time and space, that crushing pressure, that deathly silence capable of destroying everything—
Keke found her smallness again.
She was back in her childhood, staring at the pitch-black night sky, with only starlight twinkling.
Deep fear, longing, and a reinforced awareness of her own insignificance.
Even with the power of a Full Bloom from the Dream Core, it brought no confidence at all.
It wasn’t until everything disappeared that Keke’s throat moved as she loosened her grip on her brother, whom she’d been holding protectively.
Earlier, during that world-destroying scene, she’d been terrified it would hurt her brother, clutching him tightly without letting go. From the outside, though, it probably looked like she was scared and clinging to him for protection…
“See?”
Black Keke finally crawled out from under the pressure.
Because she hadn’t hugged Jiang Si, she’d burrowed straight into the pile of bodies.
Instinctively hiding in the corpses to play dead.
Since these were all Keke’s bodies, she could disguise herself and be hard to spot.
Now that she’d crawled out, her face was pale. “I told you. Shion and the Beast of Eternity are the same—both reasons for inevitable future destruction. We have to seal her…”
Keke bit her lip. “Teacher Shion isn’t that kind of person.”
“Then let me ask you—do you know why Shion agreed to let me replace you?”
Keke was stunned by the question. “Why?”
“Because I knew a way to make her stronger. She was willing to let me replace you just for a way to surpass Full Bloom. As long as she can get stronger, she’ll do anything.”
“That’s nonsense—”
Black Keke turned to Jiang Si. “What do you think, big brother?”
Keke immediately stepped in front of her brother. “This has nothing to do with my brother!”
“I agree.”
But she was betrayed. Jiang Si actually nodded in agreement with Black Keke. “Shion really is like that.”
“Heartless and cold. Only the Great Dao matters.”
Keke was momentarily confused. If it had been anyone else, she could easily argue.
But if it was her brother…
“Without evidence, you can’t just treat Teacher Shion as an enemy, can you?”
She barely managed to argue back.
Black Keke suddenly clapped her hands.
“Of course there’s evidence. Do you know that besides being a Reincarnator, I have another identity?”
“Because I died countless times before the Beast of Eternity, I was assimilated with it—gaining the identity of an Observer.”
Black Keke waved her hand. Above the End Land, images gradually formed.
Though blurry, they could faintly be seen.
“One of an Observer’s abilities is to see a little of the future. The Beast of Eternity can’t see it, to avoid fixing the future. But since I’m just an ordinary person—not a Magical Girl, not a Disaster Beast, without any power—I can see a future that can still be changed… Can you understand that? Need a translation?”
“I see. So you deliberately lowered your own power level to avoid fixing the future you see, which is why you’ve been keeping yourself as an ordinary person, right?”
Black Keke immediately applauded. “As expected of big brother—understands so quickly.”
Keke wrinkled her nose. She really didn’t like that the other girl was calling him “big brother,” but she had no reason to stop it, and her brother didn’t seem to mind at all.
So she could only sulkily look up.
When she did, she froze.
In the future Black Keke was showing, Shion stood above the new world.
All other worlds had turned into a void and a sea of fire!
Shion reached out, popping worlds one by one like bubble wrap.
Even Chongxu vanished in her massive hand.
Then, the Shion in the image turned to look in their direction, and the entire scene trembled and disappeared.
Black Keke fell to one knee, her eyes bloodshot, with traces of blood trickling from the corners.
“Did you see that?” Black Keke paid no attention to her damaged eyes. “In the future, Shion will do exactly this.”
Keke was silent for a moment, then said, “It could be fake. There might be other reasons. Teacher Shion is…”
Black Keke wiped the blood from her eyes and coldly interrupted, “You don’t really think you’re special to Shion, do you? Idiot. It feels weird to call myself that, but whatever—I am you. I know what you’re thinking. You think Shion is different, that you understand her, and she’d never do something like that. Right?”
Keke froze, but still said, “No, I just think I know her better…”
“Listen. You don’t understand anything. You blindly trust others, make decisions on your own, but you can’t bear the consequences. You mess everything up, cause everyone to perish in despair, and then play the savior, giving it your all to save everyone—you don’t actually think you’re noble, do you?”
As she spoke, Black Keke walked up to Keke, tapping her shoulder with each point.
“No, listen, Keke. That’s just self-satisfaction through sacrifice. You haven’t changed anything. You can’t save anyone. And from the very beginning, the disaster is your fault. You know that? You had the power to nip everything in the bud, but you didn’t. That’s your fault. That means you killed everyone. Get it?”
By the end, her tone was almost hysterical.
It left Keke speechless.
After a long silence, Keke finally spoke. “Is that from your experience?”
“Hah. Your tongue is better than any version of me I’ve seen.” Black Keke smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re different. I’ve reincarnated countless times. Every Keke tells me the same thing—‘I’m different.’ But in the end, they’re all the same.”
“If you believe nothing will ever change, that everyone is always the same, then how can you ever change the future?” Keke stared straight at her. “Can the same person really produce a different result?”
“Well said. But meaningless.” Black Keke said coldly. “You and I are the same. Just answer one thing: are you going to help me seal Shion, or not?”
“I need to find out the truth first, then decide.”
Black Keke scratched her head, genuinely finding this strange.
Because whether they agreed or refused in the past, the other self had never been this decisive.
Full of confidence and conviction.
But she also knew why this Keke was different from the others in previous reincarnations.
Her gaze fell on Jiang Si beside her.
Having a family versus not having one—they were two completely different things.
“So what about you, big brother?” Black Keke asked. “Do you think we should seal Shion? You can see I’m not lying, right?”
Jiang Si slowly nodded.
Keke didn’t take it to heart. “Big brother and Teacher Shion are lovers…”
“I think sealing Shion is better.”
Snowflakes fell slowly in the End Land. In the silence, when one landed on Keke, she shivered from the cold.
Then she realized—Teacher Shion’s snowflakes turned into ordinary snow when they fell on her.
No killing power at all.
She looked up at her brother, and at Black Keke, who was beaming.
Teacher Shion and her brother were lovers.
They’d broken up later, causing quite a stir, but that was to win over the Prince and solve the Mirror Kingdom’s troubles.
Though they hadn’t gotten back together, Teacher Shion and her brother’s relationship shouldn’t be bad.
Because the Azure Cloud disciples still respected her brother and got along well with him.
It was only a matter of time before they got back together—or even got married…
That’s what Keke had always thought.
And since Teacher Shion had agreed to let Black Keke replace her, Keke even thought she should make things a little difficult for Teacher Shion.
Act like a bad mother-in-law, make it hard for her to marry into the family, maybe even drive a wedge between her brother and Teacher Shion, to get some petty revenge.
But from start to finish, Keke had never imagined—
Her brother would suddenly agree to seal Teacher Shion.
After standing frozen for a long time, Keke asked dazedly, “Are… are you serious, big brother?”
“If there’s danger, then seal it.” Jiang Si’s answer carried no extra emotion. “It’s better than leaving a threat unresolved.”
“Right, right!” Black Keke suddenly grew excited. “See, I told you I was right! Big brother, I love you!”
“Wait, wait!” Keke suddenly became panicked. “But we haven’t confirmed anything yet! This is all just based on her words… Isn’t Teacher Shion your lover, big brother? Your relationship…”
“We broke up a long time ago.”
“But still, everyone at Azure Cloud Sect has always been good to you…”
“That’s my personal network. It has nothing to do with Shion.”
As if! Without Teacher Shion, how would you even communicate with those Magical Girls of Azure Cloud Sect? They’re so proud, they wouldn’t pay attention to some random boy.
Jiang Si looked at Keke. “You’re not scared, are you? Afraid of fighting Shion? That’s why you don’t want to make an enemy of her?”
“No.” Keke shook her head. “I just don’t want to make an enemy of Teacher Shion without sufficient reason. If we’re wrong, whether we succeed or fail, if we’ve wronged her… wouldn’t Teacher Shion be pitiful?”
“Worry about yourself first.”
Jiang Si sighed, holding his forehead. “Shion doesn’t need your pity. Even if we successfully seal her, she won’t blame you. At most, she’ll say she was outmatched.”
Black Keke immediately nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”
“No, that’s not about being blamed or resented.” Keke bit her lip. “This is about right and wrong. Teacher Shion hasn’t done anything wrong. We shouldn’t attack her… Whether we can win or not, we shouldn’t do something wrong. And Teacher Shion taught me, saved my life, big brother…”
Toward the end, her voice even carried a pleading tone.
But Jiang Si seemed not to hear it. He simply walked to stand between Black Keke and Keke, asking again, “I’ll say this one last time, Keke. Listen to me. Go seal Shion. I’ll be with you.”
Keke’s face went pale. “What do you mean, big brother…?”
“I’m just asking you to make a decision.”
Black Keke immediately added, “Is your Teacher Shion more important than your big brother?”
“I—I…” Keke’s body trembled, her voice stammering as she defended herself, “No, big brother. To me, you’re my only family, the most important person. But Teacher Shion isn’t like that…”
Before she could finish her defense, she saw Jiang Si take Black Keke’s hand.
As if he had chosen the other sister.
Keke tried desperately to move forward, to grab her brother.
“Even now, you won’t choose to seal Shion?”
“Because that would be wrong…”
After answering like that, Keke dropped her hand and stood still, momentarily at a loss.
She didn’t want to be abandoned by her brother.
But she also didn’t want to betray Teacher Shion for no reason…
She could follow her brother to make up for mistakes he made. She could even die with him in atonement.
But she couldn’t go with her brother to commit wrongs and hurt others.
This wasn’t about being a Magical Girl—it was the basic bottom line of being a person and being a little sister…
Jiang Si didn’t blame her, didn’t sigh. He just nodded. “Then I’ll go with her. You wait here.”
Keke immediately tried to chase after them, but she saw Black Keke holding Jiang Si’s arm, suddenly whispering, “Big brother, I’m your little sister, right?”
“Yeah.”
The moment Jiang Si confirmed it—
Keke suddenly felt something vanish from within her.
She tripped and fell, almost completely buried by the corpses.
When she barely crawled out of the pile, she suddenly realized something—
All along, Black Keke had been trying to replace her identity. In the new world, in Beihai, a crowd of friends and acquaintances had forgotten her, only knowing Black Keke.
And now, in the very moment Jiang Si had acknowledged Black Keke as his little sister—
Her own identity seemed to have completely disappeared.
She opened her mouth to call out “big brother,” but the words wouldn’t come.
Suddenly, the term “big brother” felt foreign, even hard to utter.
Then, her Magical Outfit began to vanish. The blazing red disappeared, and she could no longer fly. In the corpse-filled canyon, she couldn’t even run.
Her Personal Reality, the vessel of miracles, was constantly being stripped away, diminished. Even her crimson Miracle Seed vanished completely.
She looked up.
The vanished red Miracle Seed had appeared in Black Keke’s hand. Black Keke looked back at her with a meaningful smile, holding her brother’s hand. As if taunting, she kissed the newly acquired red Miracle Seed, her lips moving silently.
“The third day’s identity swap is finally a success.”
Having lost her identity, her family, her name as Magical Girl Ruri, and her power—
Keke stood alone, with nothing, in the End Land filled with corpses.
The stumbling little girl could only keep running through the bodies, chasing after the figures that had long since vanished.
“Give me back my brother!”