The Prodigies War

True Self!

The ‘Lin Xun’ opposite him let out a faint laugh. “You’re mistaken. You and I are one and the same. There is no difference between our cultivation, our temperament, and even our state of mind. But arguing is meaningless...in the end, only one of us can live.”

As his words fell, he casually lifted a hand and flicked a finger.

Boom!

Endless sword intent surged forth, condensing into a single strand of sword qi. Within it flowed the profundities of Nirvana.

Lin Xun’s heart trembled. The power, the aura, and the overwhelming momentum carried within that sword qi were all unbearably familiar to him. It was born of the same source as his own cultivation.

In other words, aside from him, no one in this world should have been capable of unleashing such a strike. Despite that, it had been wielded by the ‘Lin Xun’ standing before him. How could he not be shaken?

“Go!” A quiet command rang out. The voice, the gaze, and even that composed indifference felt like facing his own reflection.

Before Lin Xun could even think, the sword qi was already upon him. However, the moment he tried to resist, his expression shifted. His cultivation slipped out from his control, leaving him powerless. He was forced to watch as the sword qi descended.

Pu!

The strike landed. Blood sprayed. His body trembled violently as the sword qi tore through him, nearly cleaving him in two. His injuries were grievous! What shocked him even more was that a strike that should have been his own had wounded him instead.

“There is no need to struggle,” the other Lin Xun said calmly. “Once I kill you, I become you. Our cultivation, our state of mind, temperament, cultivation, wisdom, and dao are all the same. Your death fulfils me...as it fulfils yourself.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand once more. Another sword descended. Bang!

Lin Xun was unable to withstand it yet again. His dao body was utterly ruined like porcelain riddled with cracks and on the verge of shattering completely. Anyone else, faced with such a bizarre and terrifying scene, would have long since broken down.

Lin Xun did not. Instead, he forced himself to remain calm, replaying everything he had experienced.

“If I strike again, your body will be destroyed beyond repair,” the other Lin Xun said, frowning slightly. “Are you still unwilling to give up?”

At that moment, Lin Xun slowly straightened his blood-soaked body. His expression was unexpectedly calm. “I understand now.”

He looked up, a cold smile touching his lips. “You don’t truly exist. What I’m facing is merely a tribulation of the mind.”

He paused. “Or rather, you are nothing more than a mental tribulation born from my own state of mind.”

Across from him, the other Lin Xun froze for a moment. Then, he suddenly laughed. “It is not yet certain who this mental tribulation belongs to.”

With a flick of his finger, another sword shot forth.

This time, Lin Xun closed his eyes. All distracting thoughts vanished, and his consciousness withdrew completely, returning to the depths of his own state of mind. The heart-mind, no more than an inch of space, was the seat of the spirit.

The state of mind was often the most mysterious and the most difficult to fathom.

Of course, to Lin Xun, such power was no stranger. Back in the Mortal Transformation Zone, through his clash with the dao manifestation left by his master, the Lord of Fangchun Mountain, he had tempered his mind to the level of ‘Mind Roaming Ten Thousand Fathoms, Mind Spanning Ten Thousand Ages.’

It could be said that, in terms of tempering the mind, among all his peers beneath the heavens, few could stand shoulder to shoulder with him. However, Lin Xun had not expected that upon this Dao Slaying Path, the Sever Dao Tribulation would take the form of a mind tribulation, striking him without the slightest warning!

Now, having fully grasped the situation, he naturally had a way to deal with it. The state of mind could also be regarded as a secret realm of the heart-mind.

Even cultivators themselves found it difficult to perceive the true state of their own mind. All they knew and felt, their joys and sorrows, their myriad attachments, ultimately originated from within their state of mind.

At this moment, when Lin Xun’s consciousness fully returned to his state of his mind, he saw the mind tribulation. This tribulation was formless by nature, but within his state of mind it had taken the shape of Lin Xun himself, resembling an inner thief or a heart demon, yet not quite the same as either.

Both inner thieves and heart demons were manifestations of obsession. However, this mind tribulation was born of the Sever Dao Tribulation itself!

“Found you...”

A surge of killing intent rose within Lin Xun’s mind. In an instant, the scene within his consciousness shifted, condensing into a single sword that slashed toward the mind tribulation. The mind became a blade, severing the mind tribulation!

Silently, the ‘Lin Xun’ formed from the mind tribulation shattered and vanished beneath the strike. However, in the next moment, it reformed, bursting into laughter. “I am born of your state of mind. Destroying me is no different from destroying yourself.”

Slash!

Within his state of mind, another sword condensed and slashed down without hesitation. The mind tribulation shattered once more, unable to resist in the slightest, crushed into nothingness. This was Lin Xun’s domain. Now that he had perceived the existence of the mind tribulation, he had no interest in wasting words. He simply took action.

Soon, the mind tribulation re-formed. Of course, the moment it took shape, it was annihilated by a single strike. In this way, the mind tribulation continually re-formed, only to be cut down again and again. It was an endless cycle of birth and destruction. It gave the impression of something immortal, indestructible, and impossible to erase.

However, Lin Xun could sense its aura was gradually weakening. The change was subtle, almost imperceptible without careful attention. Following that, from beginning to end, he never once stopped. His mind sword fell again and again.

At that moment, understanding dawned. The ‘Lin Xun’ he had faced earlier never truly existed. It was only because his state of mind had fallen under tribulation that his perception had been distorted, turning illusion into something that felt real.

The reason that punch ended up injuring himself was because his perception had faltered, causing the strike to turn back and land on himself. Likewise, the two sword strikes unleashed by the ‘Lin Xun’ illusion had also come from him. He had been slashing at himself with his own sword qi, so of course he could not evade them.

In the end, it was all the doing of this mind tribulation. What Lin Xun had not expected was that, even with his level of mastery over the state of mind, he had still fallen into its trap without realizing it. Only then did he truly understand just how terrifying the Sever Dao Tribulation was.

No wonder even Immeasurable Dao Lords and Sovereigns faced slim chances of survival on the Dao Slaying Path.

In truth, Lin Xun was unaware that the dangers he faced on the Dao Slaying Path far exceeded those encountered by others before him. The reason was simple: the stronger a cultivator’s cultivation, the more terrifying the tribulations they would invite.

Just like the mind tribulation he was facing now. It was precisely because his state of mind had reached the level of Mind Roaming Ten Thousand Fathoms, Mind Spanning Ten Thousand Ages that the mind tribulation had become so bizarre and terrifying!

Time passed. Lin Xun’s mind sword fell countless times. Only after who knew how many strikes did the mind tribulation gradually grow faint and blurred, its presence weakening. At last, with one final strike, the mind tribulation was completely erased and did not return.

Only then did Lin Xun let out a long breath. At that instant, he clearly felt that the moment he severed this mind tribulation, it was as though an invisible shackle within his state of mind had been cut away. A sense of indescribable ease and freedom washed over him.

Then, a flood of incredible insights arose within his mind. The Sever Dao Tribulation that targeted the past had severed the karmic ties of the past, whereas the Sever Dao Tribulation that targeted the present had severed the cause and effect of the present.

From this moment onward, every action he took and every word he spoke would no longer be traced, calculated or foreseen by others, nor would they be perceived by the myriad daos of the heavens! At the same time, surges of primal chaos origin power welled up from the Dao Slaying Path beneath his feet, engulfing Lin Xun’s shattered body.

Visible to the naked eye, his grievous wounds mended at an astonishing rate. Within just a few breaths, they were nearly healed. At the same time, he could clearly feel the great dao he cultivated undergoing a further transformation, drawing ever closer to a state of primal chaos!

“By severing the karmic ties of the past and the bonds of the present, I have endured countless deadly tribulations. But in return, I have gained two epochs, allowing my great dao to steadily draw closer to the realm of primal chaos...”

As Lin Xun sensed the changes within himself, a phrase surfaced in his mind: ‘At the dawn of chaos, Xuan and Huang first came into being.’

Within the Xuanhuang Zone, his great dao had already transformed into the Xuanhuang Dao. Now, it was evolving even further toward the Primal Chaos Dao. From surface to core, he was beginning to touch the very essence of the great dao!

After a long period of time passed, the transformation within Lin Xun finally came to an end. The aura surrounding him had become ethereal and elusive. As he stood there casually, he seemed to exist beyond time and space itself, transcending karma!

“I wonder what kind of deadly dangers lie within the tribulation of the future...”

With that thought, Lin Xun stepped forward.nThe Dao Slaying Path, woven from primal chaos origin energy, stretched through the endless void, extending deep into the unknown as though it had no end.

As he walked, Lin Xun remained constantly vigilant. To his surprise, no danger arose along the way. Aside from drifting strands of ethereal mist, the path was eerily calm, and the mist itself posed no threat.

After traveling for an unknown length of time, a faint frown formed on Lin Xun’s face. The Dao Slaying Path was meant to sever the daos of the past, present, and future. He had already overcome the tribulations of the past and present, but the tribulation of the future had still not appeared.

That was unusual. Could it be that those drifting mists were the Sever Dao Tribulation that targeted the future? Lin Xun came to a halt, his gaze settling once more on the swirling mist in the distant void.

When he faced the previous two Sever Dao Tribulations, the Dao Slaying Path had been surrounded by absolute nothingness. There was no trace of mist at all. In other words, this mist appeared later. Although the mist was everywhere along the path, it showed no hostility and posed no danger. That was precisely why Lin Xun had paid it no mind.

Now, with the tribulation of the future still nowhere to be seen, Lin Xun realized there must be something unusual about this mist! With that thought, he paused briefly. Then, his spirit sense surged forth, sweeping toward the distant mist.

Swoosh!

The previously still mist suddenly recoiled, retreating into the distance as though startled, almost as if feared being touched by Lin Xun’s spirit sense.

“There’s definitely something strange here!”

A chill ran through Lin Xun’s heart. However, the next moment, a question surfaced in his mind: if this mist is the tribulation of the future, why does it seem so wary of me approaching?