Free Web NovelChapter 524: Chapter 517: A Serene Smile
A strange scene unfolded before Zhou Yuanjue.
He seemed to be floating in the air, watching the earth from a godlike, third-person perspective.
He could clearly see two bodies lying on the sand-covered ground. One of them seemed both strange and familiar.
That body was his own.
At that moment, his body had been stripped of its will. All signs of life had ceased, and his blood was slowly growing cold.
Never before had he "seen" himself so clearly.
His appearance, his physique, his skin, his pores, his muscles, his organs, his blood vessels...
Everything was so familiar, yet so utterly foreign.
It was an unprecedented experience.
As the ancient saying goes, you cannot know the true face of the mountain while you stand upon it.
Often, you are the one who understands yourself the least.
This was a perfect example of a single leaf blocking one’s view, or the shadow lurking beneath the lamp.
Only by escaping the body’s shackles and shedding the ego could one truly know oneself.
’Is this what it’s like for the will to be free of the body’s constraints?’
Without the body’s constraints, Zhou Yuanjue felt his mind become clear and pure. There were no desires, no instincts, no influence from the flesh. He could think in the truest way possible.
However, he sensed that this state wasn’t perfect.
Even with a will as powerful as his, he could clearly feel it dissipating after leaving his body.
Compared to the vast Natural Magnetic Field, an individual’s will was minuscule. Without the body to replenish it, it would be worn away sooner or later.
Unless he could find a way to transform his will into a stable, independent structure. But by then, he would have completely transcended the bounds of humanity and biology, becoming an entirely different form of life.
One could imagine that without the body’s constraints, such a life form would possess strange and wondrous abilities and have a greater affinity for the magnetic field environment. But on the flip side, it would be impossible to perfectly reintegrate with a physical body on the material plane. No matter what they achieved, a rift would always exist between them and their physical forms.
Unless they could completely abandon the independent structure of their will and fully merge with a body once more.
Although Doctor Nightmare claimed this was the correct path.
But to him, the path of the Celestial Demon seemed more like an escape.
It was abandoning the flesh, evading the most difficult part of the evolutionary journey by taking a shortcut.
This wasn’t the path Zhou Yuanjue wanted to take. But he believed there was more than one way to transcend the limits.
Now, he could already see the dawn of that path.
A path where body and soul merged perfectly to shatter all limits.
However, even though he could see the way forward and had plenty of experience to draw upon, taking that first step was still fraught with unknowns and would require careful experimentation.
Zhou Yuanjue’s will, observing from its third-person vantage point, did not linger. Even after escaping the "meat grinder" within the Natural Magnetic Field—a mechanism for recycling the will of the living—numerous magnetic undercurrents still swirled around, threatening to harm him.
He manipulated his will, following a subtle, unseen pull. He rapidly approached his own body, which lay on the ground, devoid of all Vitality, and merged back into it.
THUMP!! THUMP!!
The moment the magnetic field of his will reentered his body, the stimulation caused a strange reaction in his dead, silent form.
It felt as if an electric current shot through his entire being. His powerful heart, which had stopped beating, thundered like a war drum once more, pumping nutrients to every part of his body.
It was like a machine that had stopped running, now whirring back to life.
Because the driver of the body—the "soul"—had re-entered the cockpit.
The feeling of being alive surged through him once more. The intense stimulation from the magnetic field of his will reactivated his brain.
Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes snapped open. He slowly got back to his feet.
His body was in excellent condition, but his Spirit felt somewhat drained. It was an indescribable fatigue, as if his very soul had been wounded.
He knew it was because the magnetic field of his will—his "soul"—had been forcibly torn from his body. It had then endured numerous perils, leaving the field damaged. It would take time to fully recover.
’That was dangerous. I was almost swallowed by the Natural Magnetic Field, unable to return to the material world...’
Zhou Yuanjue took a deep breath. He was still in awe of Beichuan Xuanxin’s incredible techniques.
A powerful Swordsmanship capable of severing human senses to create "Time Stasis."
A formidable body and magnetic field that could clash head-on with his Secret Technique Crosses the Sky.
A Secret Skill that involved severing one’s own will, merging it with the body, and slaying the "self" to become myriad incarnations.
And that final technique... a Swordsmanship that used every last ounce of strength, linking one’s personal magnetic field to the Natural Magnetic Field to open the gates of the Netherworld and lead a person down the one-way road of the Three Rivers Return Path...
’This man’s accomplishments and Talent in the Martial Dao were likely on par with Zhang Dongwei in his prime.’
’A pity...’
Zhou Yuanjue’s gaze fell upon the body lying a short distance away.
Beichuan Xuanxin’s body was now completely lifeless, shrouded in a dead silence.
With the departure of his "soul," this once-powerful vessel seemed to have ceased functioning.
His expression was incredibly serene, and the corners of his mouth were turned up in a faint, joyous smile.
’No, it’s not a pity. He sought his ideal and found it. He got what he wanted in the end, didn’t he?’
So Zhou Yuanjue thought, recalling the otherworldly beauty he had witnessed on the Three Rivers Return Path.
CRICK! CRICK!!
However, in the next moment, Beichuan Xuanxin’s body began to tremble slightly.
’This is...’
Zhou Yuanjue’s pupils contracted slightly.
The serene smile on Beichuan Xuanxin’s "corpse" twisted, his expression gradually becoming hideous and terrifying.
Zhou Yuanjue could clearly feel a malevolent aura Awakening within the body, as if trying to become its Sovereign once more.
’The original will has faded. Is the suppressed malice of the Celestial Demon trying to reawaken?’
SWOOSH!!!
Zhou Yuanjue’s arm instantly transformed. A vast, two-toned magnetic field of silver and red erupted, wrapping around his arm to form the shape of a giant bird’s talon. It shot out, pierced into Beichuan Xuanxin’s body, and yanked back hard.
A twisting, struggling black shadow was dragged out by the talon of magnetic energy, writhing ceaselessly in the air.
SCREECH!!
A piercing cry rang out. From within the silver and red light, the massive head of an Immortal bird emerged. Its sharp beak jabbed down, snatching the black shadow in its maw. The beak snapped shut violently.
TZZZ!!
The black shadow was instantly vaporized by the immense magnetic field, dissolving into wisps of black smoke.
This remnant of the Celestial Demon, which Beichuan Xuanxin had kept suppressed, was far weaker than Beichuan Xuanxin’s own will.
With the complete disappearance of the Celestial Demon Illusion, Beichuan Xuanxin’s body grew still once more. The hideous expression on his face gradually softened, eventually returning to a serene smile.
"Farewell. I won’t see you off."
Zhou Yuanjue murmured softly.
