Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

In Xue Wang's divine tomb, his question of true self had always traced back to the aftermath of the mountain village tragedy, to the sorrowful cries he and Yuan Kui shared amidst the ruins, but never further.

At the time, he hadn't found it strange, and later, he simply assumed it was because, as a young child, he was pure and untainted, thus requiring no further questioning.

Now, thinking about it, it was as if he was influenced by something, subconsciously avoiding the past.

Could it be that within his divine soul, there existed an evil entity, deeply hidden within, perhaps even integrated with his soul, inseparable?

Some things he couldn't remember weren't forgotten, but rather deeply buried under the influence of this evil entity.

Then, was he still himself? Where was his true self?

Suddenly, he wondered if Yuan Kui had discovered this. He was a disciple of True Man Qi; hadn't True Man Qi told him anything?

As he pondered, the scene in his mind shifted again. It was still him and Yuan Kui playing in the stream. With a violent tremor, they both turned to look up, seeing two wisps of gray gas drifting down from the sky, suddenly falling into their bodies. Instantly, they were like puppets under an evil spell, frozen in place, as lifeless as枯木. Then, they both fell to the ground, splashing into the shallow water, and were awakened by the cold, sweet stream water.

They scrambled to their feet, exchanging glances, each seeing fear in the other's eyes.

However, this fear was not the fear of a four-year-old child. It was as if, in an instant, they had traversed decades, even centuries, becoming experienced old men.

But a moment later, their eyes returned to their clear, childlike innocence.

After that, it was still Qi Tianxiang's appearance and the scenes of the village.

Was it really so? Zhang Yuanjing was unwilling to believe it.

He would rather be a clueless, somewhat dull mountain village child than a vessel for some evil entity trying to escape death!

He, a dignified Core Formation cultivator, possessing a Congenital Spiritual Treasure that even Nascent Soul cultivators craved, how could he become an appendage of some demonic being?

The more he disbelieved, the more frequently the memory scenes flashed, and each time they became clearer. Any doubts he had from the previous iteration were invariably clarified this time, leaving him with no room for doubt.

His self-doubt intensified, and his divine soul threatened to collapse.

At this moment, a powerful and pure force of divine soul surged forth, protecting his soul.

He suddenly remembered that he was in that alien space, resisting the bewitchment of the withered heart. What appeared in his mind was not real; the so-called evil intrusion was most likely just an illusion created by the withered heart.

If that weren't the case, how could those scenes repair themselves according to his questions, constantly improving according to what he wanted to see!

With this thought, he immediately broke free from the memory and opened his eyes.

Before him, Ape Thirteen and the Azure-Eyed Suanni Beast were looking at him with concern.

"Yuanjing, what's wrong with you? Why have you been asleep for seven days, and your divine soul is getting weaker and weaker? I didn't find those bewitchments that powerful! It's obviously a scam!" Ape Thirteen transmitted.

The Azure-Eyed Suanni Beast squeaked twice, seemingly equally puzzled.

Zhang Yuanjing shook his head and said, "It's nothing!"

After a moment, he couldn't help but ask Ape Thirteen, "Brother Ape, do you feel anything wrong with my divine soul? Um, I mean, is my divine soul somewhat mixed, not pure enough? Hmm, is there some other being's soul mixed in?"

Ape Thirteen was stunned, then shook his head like a rattle drum: "Impossible! Yuanjing, don't think wildly. It's all illusions created by that thing. I have a battle partner contract with you. If you had two souls, how could you make this contract with me? Our Golden Ape clan's contracts are inherited from our bloodline and cannot be deceived. They must be made with a true body. If your divine soul were abnormal, the contract would never take effect!"

Zhang Yuanjing breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Brother Ape, I didn't expect your clan's contract to have this effect. It's truly magical!"

Ape Thirteen raised his head proudly and said, "Of course, our Golden Ape clan has a great background. Everything we inherit is very powerful."

Zhang Yuanjing thought of the Yin-Yang Creation Furnace in the mountain cave, knowing that what it said was true.

Such treasures were definitely not from this realm; who knew where they had come from. This Golden Ape clan was probably brought here by the furnace as well.

However, he still had lingering worries in his heart that he couldn't shake off. Those memory fragments, said to be illusions created by the withered heart, might not be entirely correct.

Illusions that bewitch people's hearts can't be fabricated out of thin air. There must be a thought or at least a hidden thought in the mind of the person being bewitched, so that the evil can take the opportunity to cause trouble, adding fuel to the fire, and leading the person into its trap without them realizing it.

Just now, he had actually entered the trap, unable to escape on his own. Fortunately, he had a special divine soul connection with Ape Thirteen, which allowed him to escape from the illusion with its help.

He pondered for a moment, knowing that problems with the divine soul were difficult to solve suddenly. Since Ape Thirteen used a bloodline-inherited contract to determine that his divine soul was not mixed but pure and singular, this at least meant that even if an evil thing had entered his divine soul, it had been integrated into it, and it was absolutely impossible to jump out and cause harm under normal circumstances. A crisis would only arise when he had the opportunity to break through to Nascent Soul and undergo a true question of self.

Before that, he still had enough time to completely resolve this hidden danger.

With this thought, his heart lightened, and he put the matter aside for the moment. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the Yin-Yang Creation Furnace and, with a flick of his magic, drove the furnace towards the withered heart.

Perhaps sensing the danger, another wisp of consciousness flew out from the withered heart, heading towards his divine soul.

Immediately, he fell into illusion again, and past memories flowed out like water, especially the part where he was possessed by the demon, repeatedly presented.

This time, he didn't indulge for long before breaking through the illusion on his own and escaping from it.

He then continued to control the Creation Furnace, stimulating a strong suction, dragging the withered heart into the furnace.

At this moment, another wisp of consciousness fell, still those memory scenes. Zhang Yuanjing sneered, and almost the instant he fell into the illusion, he came out of it, completely unaffected.

After several times, the illusion created by the consciousness suddenly changed, turning into a woman patting his back, humming a lullaby, and coaxing him to sleep. He was immediately lost, actually falling asleep to the somewhat unpleasant lullaby.

However, before long, the scene changed. He was no longer a four-year-old child, but a beast whose face could not be seen, lying next to its mother beast, sucking hard, its little tail wagging happily.

Then, it was the experience of this demon beast growing up, until, in that small mountain village, it was beheaded by a middle-aged Taoist with a long sword on his back. A wisp of remnant soul, divided into two strands, fell on two human children, deeply hidden in their tender souls.

After that, the two strands of remnant soul each grew up with one person.

The strand hidden in Zhang Yuanjing's soul concentrated on its timid and weak side, so it often influenced his thoughts, causing him to become more and more afraid of challenges after experiencing failures, and eventually living like the "Rat Taoist".

Seeing this, Zhang Yuanjing realized that his cowardly personality was brought by this remnant soul, not something he originally had. The culprit for his past performance was actually here.

However, he quickly realized that something was wrong. If he admitted this, wouldn't it be acknowledging the remnant soul as the leader, and he would do whatever it wanted? Then, was he Zhang Yuanjing, or the remnant soul of that demon beast!

This was obviously a trap set by the withered heart. As long as he accepted that idea, he would recognize the remnant soul as the main body, and he himself would become an appendage.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly understood.

What kind of person was he, Zhang Yuanjing? How could he not know? What was what, there was no need to avoid it, and there was no need to find excuses from the outside. All past experiences, whether good or bad, were the result of his active choices. Even if he was influenced by that remnant soul, it was ultimately his choice. Why should he push the responsibility to it?

No matter what Zhang Yuanjing experienced, no matter how many remnant souls invaded, as long as his true self remained the same, he would always be himself and would not become different.

The Zhang Yuanjing who fell asleep under the woman's gentle pat was him, the Zhang Yuanjing who played in the stream was also him, the Zhang Yuanjing whose soul was invaded by evil was still him, and the thousands of Zhang Yuanjing after that were naturally all him.

He was him, his true self unchanging, no need to dwell on a certain moment of experience. He was able to reach today, knowing that he did not jump here in one step, but rather all the Zhang Yuanjing of the past, merged together, to create the him of today.

He was him, consistent from beginning to end, why doubt himself!

In an instant, all illusions shattered, his eyes regained clarity, the magic in his hand remained unchanged, driving the Yin-Yang Creation Furnace to generate a more powerful spiral force, engulfing the withered heart, and in a flash, it was taken into the furnace.

And that consciousness never appeared again.