Chapter 1139: I Am the Aurora

## Chapter 1144: I Am Aurora

Xu Qing smiled.

Despite his many questions and numerous doubts.

For example, why did Master Bai appear in Wanggu? What was the mystery surrounding his death? And how did he become the "medicine jar" within the Aurora Immortal Lord's consciousness?

Furthermore, why did the Master Bai conjured by the Aurora Immortal Lord, in the world formed by the Immortal Lord's consciousness before death, possess memories of Wanggu and an independent will?

None of these questions had answers.

Nor did they matter anymore.

What mattered was that the aged figure in Xu Qing's life, as he had once said, "as long as I don't die, we will eventually meet," had now appeared.

Now, in this world, they had reunited.

So, Xu Qing was very happy.

It had been a long time since he had felt this happy, and this joyful emotion, without him realizing it, seemed to have amplified greatly.

Instinctively, he stretched his body, naturally chuckled, and 'looked' around.

He then discovered that the concepts of left and right were permitted here.

This allowed Xu Qing, in his current low-level state, to perceive his surroundings.

However, what he perceived and 'saw' was distorted and chaotic.

Because in this world, even with the concepts of left and right, everything remained flat.

Looking at flatness with flatness, one could only see vastness.

The concept of height had not yet arrived.

But the feeling of happiness grew uncontrollably stronger, filling all his perceptions and threatening to become the only sensation.

"This state feels wrong..."

As this joyful emotion permeated his entire being, Xu Qing sensed something was amiss. He tried to suppress it, but in this world, such an action seemed to be forbidden.

Therefore, he could only immerse himself in happiness while trying to restrain it. Ultimately, Xu Qing chose to activate his Spacetime Decree.

He wanted to truly see what this world looked like.

Only then could he fully understand it and find a way to leave.

The next moment, the Eighth Pole bloomed.

It was as if a mist had been cleared, granting Xu Qing a higher perspective and elevating his consciousness.

The world truly appeared within Xu Qing's mind.

It became incredibly clear.

It was a white world.

Existing within a mirror.

All the black dots that entered from outside the mirror rapidly grew within this mirror world.

They were no longer mere dots, no longer forming a line, but returned to being individuals, and they gained bodies, limbs, and heads, becoming...

...shadows.

They weren't only black.

As far as his gaze reached, this world, though still white, was filled with vibrant colors.

Shadows of various colors formed this dazzling world.

In this world, all the shadows exuded joy; they seemed to have no troubles, no worries, and were all carefree.

Some were singing, some were frolicking, some were sleeping, some were running.

However, there were no orange shadows.

But it seemed no shadows cared about this; they were all absorbed in their own happiness.

Besides this, the world had no mountains, no rivers, no myriad things...

Only countless multicolored shadows spread in all directions.

Gazing at everything, Xu Qing fell into thought. He checked his own color and saw that he was blue.

"The first layer of this world was a line formed by countless black dots, with no concept of left, right, up, or down."

"This second layer of the world has left and right, as if some restraints have been lifted, but there is still no absolute concept of up and down."

"Because this is a world inside a mirror, and the mirror itself is flat."

"It's like a painting."

"I am in the painting."

"Therefore, from my perspective within the painting, all directions appear vast and boundless, but to an entity outside the painting, this is a world."

"The reason only joy is permitted as an emotion is because the style of this painting is themed around happiness, so the beings within it cannot be unhappy."

"So... what is the way to leave here?"

Xu Qing pondered.

After a long time, he made a judgment.

He then, to a certain extent, dispersed his Spacetime Decree, lowered his consciousness, and once again became a blue shadow, immersing himself in happiness within this simple world.

He waited for orange to appear.

Time flowed, and he didn't know how long had passed. As joy grew denser here and the number of shadows in the entire world seemed to reach a critical point, Xu Qing finally saw orange appear.

"The Great Demon King is here."

At that instant, a piercing voice roared throughout the entire world, deafening, overwhelming, spreading through all areas, and reaching the perception of every shadow.

In an instant, it was as if the theme of the painting had been corrupted, changing from joy to fear.

Orange descended.

It continuously spread, continuously approaching.

The emotions in Xu Qing's heart also reversed, giving rise to endless fear, and without hesitation, he reactivated his Spacetime Decree, granting himself the ability to 'see'.

He saw... a gigantic figure appear in this white world filled with colorful shadows. This figure wore an orange robe, a ferocious mask on its face, and radiated endless evil.

One hand held a bucket, the other a brush.

The bucket was orange and contained orange paint, but the brush was colorless.

It swiftly arrived, lunging towards other shadows.

Its speed was so great that the shadows of this world could not dodge or resist. The moment it caught up, a sweep of the Great Demon King's brush would strip vast swathes of shadows of their color.

Leaving those shadows colorless and blank.

Then they merged with the world, becoming countless dots and dissipating.

It was as if... they had returned to the first layer!

From the perception of this world, this was indeed the Great Demon King.

His arrival took away color, took away life, and returned everything to its origin.

However, not all shadows met this fate.

Occasionally, a few individual shadows, seemingly possessing certain unique qualities, were not stripped of their color by the Great Demon King. Instead, he dipped his brush in the orange paint from the bucket and, with a single stroke...

...painted the chosen shadows orange.

Then, these orange shadows fell into the bucket.

Xu Qing was one of them.

The moment he was painted, his Spacetime Decree was instantly suppressed!

He could not resist or struggle, but it was allowed to exist.

This scene deeply shocked Xu Qing's mind.

Inside the bucket, there was a city.

An orange city.

It also contained shadows, all orange like Xu Qing.

The moment he entered the city, Xu Qing seemed to become a resident there, and along with it came a feeling of drowsiness.

This feeling transcended his Decree, making it difficult for him, even while generally maintaining his Spacetime Decree, to resist the urge to sleep.

Because... within this orange city, all shadows sent there were only allowed to do one thing.

That was to sleep and create dreams.

Different dreams, like individual fairy tales, eventually converged to form a complete fairytale world.

Xu Qing was no exception.

Within this orange city, he had no choice but to close his eyes and immerse himself in dreams.

Dream after dream continuously formed in his mind, only to be greedily absorbed.

It became a cycle, without end.

Nor could he truly awaken.

Only occasionally in his dreams would Xu Qing try to ponder the reasons behind all of this.

Gradually, he imagined himself as the Aurora Immortal Lord, stepping into the Immortal Lord's perspective, trying to understand what the world formed by the dying Immortal Lord's consciousness was trying to convey.

Thus, Xu Qing formed a conjecture.

This orange city was likely an allegory for the Immortal Capital.

So, who did the Great Demon King represent?

The target became clear.

And so, time passed.

He didn't know how much time had passed, nor which year's spring or autumn it was, but in one of Xu Qing's endless dreams, a small white figure appeared.

This small figure's body was outlined with lines; it had a very large head, occupying half of its body, and four characters were written on its forehead.

Apart from that, its entire body appeared incredibly simple. It carried a ball of multicolored dye on its back and stealthily, furtively entered Xu Qing's dream.

It said nothing, only snapped its fingers in front of Xu Qing.

The sound was like a clap of thunder, striking Xu Qing's mind and echoing endlessly.

This caused Xu Qing's consciousness to suddenly ripple, granting him a brief moment of lucidity.

Seeing Xu Qing awaken, the small figure grinned, pointed to the characters on its face, then pointed into the distance, and finally pointed to the multicolored dye, then... it was full of anticipation.

Xu Qing remained silent. Using this brief moment of clarity, he immediately organized his fragmented thoughts from the dream, aligning them with the small figure's expression and actions before him.

An answer dawned on him.

"This big-headed little figure, more likely than not, is truly the final wisp of consciousness transformed from the Aurora Immortal Lord himself before his death."

Xu Qing glanced at the small figure in front of him, at the four characters on its large head.

"I am Aurora."

Xu Qing didn't know what to say; the characters on the little figure's face still felt strange to him.

"Perhaps it appeared because I possess the Spacetime Decree, or perhaps it appears before every outsider who enters this second layer."

"But regardless, the method to leave this second realm, created by the Aurora Immortal Lord, has already been given."

As if discerning Xu Qing's thoughts, the expectant look on the small figure's face intensified.

Xu Qing secretly shook his head.

"If this is indeed the Aurora Immortal Lord, then... his resentment towards the Immortal Venerable has reached its peak, to the extent that the method to leave this world he created must be the same as his choice back then..."

"But as it stands, there truly is no other way."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, no longer hesitating. He raised his right hand and snatched the multicolored dye from the big-headed small figure's back, then smeared it onto himself.

The next instant, he trembled, and the color of his body instantly changed from orange to a myriad of colors.

At the same moment, the entire city rumbled as if an earthquake had struck. A low growl also emanated from the void, shaking the heavens and earth and dimming their colors.

Immediately afterward, endless orange transformed into a colossal hand, descending from the sky directly towards Xu Qing!

"The Great Demon King is here, son, run!"

The small figure was excited, speaking for the first time, its voice sharp.

As it spoke, it raised its hand and drew a circle in front of them, then swiftly dove into it.

Xu Qing didn't hesitate and entered as well.

The circle vanished instantly.

Almost the moment they left, the colossal orange hand arrived abruptly, grabbing at the spot where Xu Qing had been, but finding only emptiness.

A furious roar, earth-shattering.

All the sleeping orange figures in the entire city were startled awake.

The next moment, they all soared skyward, flew out of the orange bucket, appeared outside, and suddenly spread in all directions.

Pursuit!

To completely dye this world orange.