Chapter 457: Causality
"Are you the Lotus Cloud Sect?" Chen Xuan asked incredulously.
"I am part of the Lotus Cloud Sect, and the other part is the Sect’s estate, which is right in front of you." The figure replied.
Chen Xuan glanced at the pure white world, "Am I inside the estate?"
"Indeed."
"Okay, assuming this is the real Lotus Cloud Sect, then what’s with the fake Lotus Cloud Sect? How much do you know about the Imperial Advisor Immortal Master and the Wanshan Wilderness affair?"
"There never was a fake Lotus Cloud Sect." She shook her head, said wistfully, "Everything you saw in the Grotto Heaven is part of the Lotus Cloud Sect, or more precisely, part of the Sect estate."
"What do you mean?" Chen Xuan didn’t quite understand.
The figure clapped her hands, and color filled the white space; walls, roofs, and furniture emerged.
He recognized the place.
It was Liu Shuyue’s house in Hot Pepper Village.
Even she turned into Liu Shuyue’s appearance!
"You..." Chen Xuan was taken aback.
She walked to the window, pushed open the wooden lattice window, and the scenery of the village outside appeared complete. "Actually, it’s not that hard to understand. The Lotus Cloud Sect is the Six Kingdoms, it’s the Abyss Sea, it’s the ordinary people, and it’s also the cultivation disciples. This is the ultimate sanctuary that Ji Lian built for the people, and everyone you see is part of the Lotus Cloud Sect."
"Everyone... is part of the Lotus Cloud Sect?" he instinctively repeated, "Even Fu Jiaolu, Xue Xiaojin?"
She nodded.
"Even King of Qi? And the refugees?"
She continued to nod.
Chen Xuan’s face turned unpleasant, "Could it be that the entire Six Kingdoms is an illusion?"
"It’s not an illusion; they exist for real and have thrived for many generations." The figure paused, "Of course, what you see now is indeed an illusion because you’re no longer inside the Lotus Cloud Sect."
How is this possible?
Is the Lotus Cloud Sect a world?
"You can understand, but you haven’t accepted the answer yet." The figure turned around, speaking with Liu Shuyue’s tone, "The sect’s interior is made up of many Grotto Heavens, and the scenery we see isn’t its true appearance..."
This was what Liu Shuyue had personally said when they were heading to Nine Sons Peak!
Alongside her appearance being exactly like Liu Shuyue, Chen Xuan was in a daze for a moment, believing Liu Shuyue stood right before him.
How could she replicate Liu Shuyue’s words without missing a single one?
Can she really spy on all information, or is Liu Shuyue just a puppet she created?
"You... shut up!" He couldn’t help but growl.
The figure even stepped back, seemingly frightened by his shout.
This thought had just emerged, and Chen Xuan couldn’t help but shake his head self-mockingly; she had just carved the land like it was tofu, how could shouting scare her?
"I’m sorry, Master." The figure faded back to a pure white form.
Chen Xuan was stunned, "What did you call me?"
She tilted her head, "I didn’t say anything just now."
He almost laughed from anger, spoke face to face a second ago, and played dumb the next second denying it? He bet he couldn’t have heard wrong; there was no one else there; if she didn’t say it, who did? Seeing she wasn’t bothered by the shout, why the anxious transformation back?
But this anger also dissipated much of the nameless fury in his heart.
Someone like her couldn’t possibly find delight in treating the Imperial Advisor Immortal Master’s matter as a joke.
"Forget it..." Chen Xuan shook his head, "So the Six Kingdoms is actually the Lotus Cloud Sect’s Grotto Heaven? Then why establish a Lotus Cloud Sect on Kunlun Peak?"
"People need something tangible to remember. Moreover, that is the entrance to the Grotto Heaven and cannot seamlessly blend into the environment."
If what she said is true, this is too incredible.
Liu Shuyue thought of returning to the sect, but in reality, it was leaving the sect. The world outside the Lotus Cloud Sect had long been destroyed by the Inner Demons, unsuitable for ordinary life. Rise or fall, the Six Kingdoms belong within the sect’s internal cycle, which is why they never keep historical records... because history has no meaning in the Grotto Heaven world.
Despite how bizarre this answer sounds, it aligns with some discoveries Chen Xuan had made.
For instance, the tens of thousands of meters tall Kunlun Mountain, geography unmatched with Earth, if all Grotto Heaven’s crafted scenes, it makes sense.
"Why did Ji Lian do this?" He asked this critical question, "If just to let people survive, there’s no need for Immortal Masters to descend, or to divide people into multiple kingdoms, is there? Leading everyone in cultivation, more helpers to fight the Inner Demons, isn’t that better?"
The figure looked at Chen Xuan quietly, and after a moment of silence, she spoke, "Herein lies the fundamental contradiction: humans cannot defeat Inner Demons through their own power."
If one can’t, then why not two or three together?
Chen Xuan wanted to say that suddenly, a chill went through him, his hackles rising!
He finally understood the meaning of this sentence!
As long as you walk the path of cultivation, you’ll ultimately fall to the Inner Demons—if not this time, then the next. The higher the cultivation level, the stronger the Immortal Demon backlash, the more people achieving great cultivation, the more Inner Demons there will be!
In the end, this kind of cultivation will only invite complete destruction.
"After Ji Yun turned into an Inner Demon, nobody could rival him. In just one day, he destroyed half of the European Region, with Great Britain sinking into the sea, sword light splitting the Alps, and the Witch Gathering Hall perished. If not for the equally powerful protective formation of the Lotus Cloud Sect, it would’ve long become ruins under Inner Demon ravages."
"No one wanted to sit and wait for death; in battling the Inner Demons, many cultivators’ powers advanced rapidly, resulting in more Inner Demons emerging. These Inner Demons, although not as powerful as Ji Yun, were not something the ordinary disciples could deal with. Fortunately, Inner Demons also slaughter each other, buying the Lotus Cloud Sect some time."
"Realizing this, Ji Lian massacred all sect elders, even the exceptionally talented disciples, she spared none." The figure sighed, "This massacre accumulated too much filth on her; her backlash from the Inner Demon was unavoidable. Thus, the last person Ji Lian wanted to kill was herself. Were she to die, Ji Yun transformed into an Inner Demon would die too, but Inner Demons themselves wouldn’t disappear, floating in the world like Spiritual Qi. To this day, Ji Yun’s Inner Demon still hovers above the sky, indiscriminately hating every living being."
Chen Xuan was left speechless upon hearing this.
Who would have thought the outcome of Ji Yun’s seclusion would be so dire.
Thankfully... these events are yet to happen for the Gemini siblings, meaning he still has a chance to alter the future.
However, another thought soon surfaced.
Can it truly be changed?
Persuade Ji Yun and Ji Lian to abandon cultivation? Start living as normal people henceforth?
Ultimately, wasn’t it himself who helped them onto the cultivation path?
Chen Xuan gazed blankly at the figure, "Is that why you said that?"
—"Don’t feel guilty, the fate of this world is set."
She was just like a prophet, not only anticipating his thoughts but as if she personally witnessed the entire encounter with the Gemini and himself...
Chen Xuan considered a possibility.
"Do you possess Ji Yun’s memories?"
"She created the ultimate refuge and also created me." The figure answered.