Chapter 1394: Chasing Light in Water Are All Illusions, But Seeking True Meaning Requires a Scepter

“Bei Huai?”

“What Bei Huai?”

“What is Yu Zhiwen talking about? Who is she speaking to?”

The resounding shout echoed in all directions, stirring up waves of astonishment.

The trial takers and trial officials got up from the ground and looked around warily, but they couldn’t find anyone.

“Wait…”

Yet, those with keen insight were the majority.

The individuals who entered the Si Xiang Secret Realm as trial takers or guardians were no ordinary people.

That single phrase acted like a key breaking a seal, swiftly unlocking everyone’s buried memories and connecting all the pieces.

“The Ten Venerable Seats, Bei Huai—‘No Tears, and Even Heaven Weeps’?”

“That’s it! I was wondering why there were tear stains on my face, and on everyone else’s, but now when I try to recall, it’s like I’m drunk—I can’t remember why I was crying just now.”

“Is it the power of Shang Xin Taixu… no, Shang Xin Bansheng? Or could it be… impossible, something beyond Bansheng?”

“How strange—if Bei Huai Bansheng is here, why aren’t we all crying now? I heard that wherever he is, the heavens themselves weep!”

“What exactly is Yu Zhiwen looking at?”

Following the direction of Yu Zhiwen’s leap into the sky, everyone lifted their gazes, but all they saw was emptiness.

Only a small group of people realized something, having cultivated similar abilities themselves, and now a power of the Shen Hun path surged within them or in their eyes.

“Hiss!”

In an instant, their faces changed dramatically:

“What a terrifying Shen Hun body!”

That Shen Hun body, invisible to the naked eye yet vast as the heavens, loomed majestically above everyone’s heads, like a humanoid soul mountain, crushing the breath out of those who beheld it!

Bei Huai’s “Shang Xin” power was no longer directly affecting the trial takers because he was deliberately restraining it, preventing the negative impact from overwhelming them to the point of collapse and death.

Yet, he never expected that someone—even from the Sheng Shen Hall—would openly reveal his identity in front of everyone!

“Wuuu…”

In an instant, sobs began to rise around them.

Soon, those sobs turned into cries of agony, and for a few Shen Hun path refiners, their tears turned bloody, leaving them in unbearable torment.

To not see is to remain ignorant, to not know is to avoid fear, to not be affected.

But to see is to be wounded, for the lesser to challenge the greater is an affront to the Sheng Dao.

This was Bei Huai’s “protection” for mortals, already weakened to minimize the backlash of the Sheng Dao against those who faced a saint.

Earlier, because the viewers were too weak, their Shen Hun hadn’t shattered on the spot—that was due to this protection.

But without that initial shout, these people wouldn’t have had to endure this harm.

“Sinister intentions?”

Bei Huai’s Shen Hun body remained undisturbed, his gaze following the sound to the woman who had spoken, instantly flashing through his mind with all the information about her identity.

He recognized this young girl named Yu Zhiwen.

The beloved disciple of Dao Xuanji, the great-granddaughter of Yu Kunpeng, a Tianji sorceress, possessor of the Zhuji Star Pupils, soft-natured but brilliantly clever.

And she was not an enemy.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

Bei Huai’s eyes turned icy, his Shen Hun transmission sounding like a mountain crashing down, booming into Yu Zhiwen’s mind and briefly stunning her, making her delicate form sway in the air and nearly fall.

The Zhuji Star Pupils lit up with patterns in an instant, allowing Yu Zhiwen to regain her senses.

She turned her gaze and saw over a dozen people on the ground because of her earlier shout, now prostrate, bleeding from their seven orifices, their faces purple and ashen, their conditions wretched.

Because of me… Yu Zhiwen’s face twisted in bitterness, filled with self-reproach, and for a moment, she felt like retreating.

But she knew this wasn’t entirely her fault.

The appearance of a Sheng Di here was already a “mistake,” especially since Bei Huai had previously leaked his power.

He must want to do something, like with that cat targeting Xu Xiaoshou…

And even if he didn’t deliberately influence the ordinary people around, they would still be affected.

This was the butterfly effect!

A Sheng Di’s power was too overwhelming.

The moment Bei Huai left the Sheng Di Secret Realm, that invisible guiding force didn’t just impact the Si Xiang Secret Realm—it rippled across the entire Sheng Shen Continent outside.

“If my shout injured over a dozen people…”

“If I don’t speak up and Bei Huai stays here, Xu Xiaoshou won’t just give up… Then everyone in the Zhu Que Mai could perish because of it.”

Yu Zhiwen suppressed her urge to back down, meeting the gaze head-on, her face showing fear, but her eyes unyieldingly firm.

When she leaped earlier, she had prepared many words in her mind—perhaps greetings or inquiries…

But when Bei Huai’s gaze fell upon her, Yu Zhiwen found she couldn’t beat around the bush; thousands of words boiled down to the most direct statement:

“Senior Bei Huai, a Sheng Di cannot act in the Sheng Shen Continent—this is the rule!”

The murmurs around them stopped abruptly.

Everyone thought they must have misheard—what had Yu Zhiwen just said?

“Sheng Di?”

“Bei Huai is a Sheng Di?”

In that instant, fear filled everyone’s eyes.

If they were ordinary refiners, they might need to recall what a Sheng Di level meant—wasn’t Bansheng the peak on the continent?

But those present were the top talents of the five domains, each with their own heritage and vision, and they all knew about the Sheng Di realm to some extent.

“Run!”

They fled in panic, as if encountering a plague god.

Regardless of why Sheng Di Bei Huai had appeared or even if he had, their families and clan elders had always warned:

“Run as far as you can!”

Bei Huai didn’t stop the trial takers and officials from fleeing—they weren’t his targets.

He only watched with interest as the Shen Hun of that stubborn young girl boiled like a volcano on the verge of eruption—her turbulent thoughts were even more intense than Xu Xiaoshou’s had been earlier.

In the Sheng Shen Hall, no one below Bansheng would dare to speak out against a Sheng Di like this.

Even if someone did, standing for justice, there was no need for such emotional turmoil or inner struggle.

“It seems you know what you’re doing.”

“But why are you struggling?”

“Struggling for justice is clearly misguided… You’re struggling for people.”

Bei Huai’s Shen Hun transmission was eerily calm, layer upon layer, probing deeper.

He saw straight through her heart, skipping all processes and pinpointing the greedy god, the little white cat:

“You recognize it?”

“You have ties to Xu Yue Gray Palace?”

“You, Dao Xuanji, Yu Kunpeng… one of you crossed the forbidden line?”

Yu Zhiwen was stunned.

She wasn’t skilled in the Shen Hun path—or rather, she hadn’t cultivated it much—so she couldn’t control her own Shen Hun fluctuations.

To Bei Huai, reading her was like using a precise scanner, easily uncovering the thoughts of this young girl:

“No, you don’t recognize it.”

“Then you’re speaking for Xu Xiaoshou, cloaking darkness in the name of justice.”

Bei Huai’s voice rolled like thunder, echoing everywhere:

“You’re buying time for Xu Xiaoshou?”

Near the Zhu Que Golden Tower, the trial takers and officials who hadn’t fled far heard this voice boom deep in their Shen Hun.

Even in this life-or-death moment, most couldn’t suppress their shock and stopped, turning back in surprise:

“Xu Xiaoshou and Yu Zhiwen?”

“Xu Xiaoshou and Sheng Di Bei Huai?”

Some were astonished by the ambiguous connection revealed in the Sheng Di’s Shen Hun words.

Others were shocked that Sheng Di Bei Huai had appeared here because of Xu Xiaoshou.

How is he everywhere!

Mu Lin stood frozen in place, listening.

He wasn’t versed in the Shen Hun path, but after taking the Tong Hun Sheng Dan, his Sheng Nian could touch the soul, so he naturally saw the existence of Bei Huai’s Shen Hun body.

A Sheng Di’s assertions were rarely wrong.

At that moment, he looked around—distant refiners fleeing for their lives, and nearby, Yu Zhiwen standing her ground.

What other “special” reason could drive a young girl to boldly speak out in the name of justice and try to halt a Sheng Di’s actions?

Mu Lin silently watched the scene, his expression turning strange, as if the extinguished An Shen Fire was about to flare up in his eyes again.

I’m just here to watch the show…

He was acutely aware of his position.

In the internal conflict of the Sheng Shen Hall, someone from Sheng Gong like him should just observe, and Xu Xiaoshou hadn’t returned yet.

Wait!

Mu Lin paused.

How had Xu Xiaoshou ended up in a situation where a young girl had to stand up for him? Where had he gone and why hadn’t he come back?

“No…”

“I didn’t…”

On the other side, her secret thoughts exposed, Yu Zhiwen stammered in panic, waving her hands frantically.

But her Shen Hun fluctuations, boiling with panic and futile denial, had already told Bei Huai everything.

“Return to the Sheng Shen Hall for punishment.”

Bei Huai’s Shen Hun body waved dismissively, issuing the verdict and completely ignoring Yu Zhiwen.

To him, if not for the figures behind her—Dao Xuanji and Yu Kunpeng—he wouldn’t have wasted a word and could have crushed her instantly.

This was his first and final chance.

“Buzz!”

The void trembled with an unnamed wave.

Shifting his gaze, Bei Huai extended a massive Shen Hun hand without hesitation, reaching for the unguarded greedy god.

“Meow!”

The greedy god cried out in alarm, instinctively turning to flee, but it couldn’t find its master’s location.

Everything around was unfamiliar; this was no longer Apricot Realm, and there was no sense of safety.

“This is wrong…” Yu Zhiwen watched the scene, without a moment’s hesitation, choosing to charge straight in.

She wasn’t as eloquent as Bei Huai.

She wasn’t as silver-tongued as Xu Xiaoshou, skilled at defending herself.

But she wouldn’t be foolish enough to let a single word allow Bei Huai to morally bind her and lose her true self!

Yes, part of her standing up was for Xu Xiaoshou.

But more than that, it was for herself!

Even if another Sheng Di appeared now, targeting not Xu Xiaoshou or the ghost beast…

Since she had decided to speak for what was “right” and oppose what was “wrong”…

Since she had chosen to believe that not all ghost beasts were evil and not all of the Sheng Shen Hall was just…

How could she back down now?

“Shua shua…”

She formed seals with her hands and struck them on the star disk.

Yu Zhiwen knew she couldn’t withstand a Sheng Di’s power, yet with her meager strength, she unleashed her own form of protection.

“Tianji Curtain!”

Starlight scattered across the void.

The grand Shen Hun hand descended from above.

But the Tianji Dao principles formed a fragile curtain like paper, shielding the greedy god’s position.

“Yu Zhiwen, come back—this is an order!”

In the Tian Zu combat channel, Dao Qiong Cang’s voice transmitted, full of severity.

With a hiss, the Shen Hun hand hadn’t even touched the Tianji Curtain.

The Dao principles shattered, and the curtain dispersed on its own.

Yu Zhiwen gritted her teeth and dashed forward, positioning herself in front of the greedy god, arms spread wide, shouting with utter resolve:

“So with power, you can just ignore the rules, is that it?”

Her words carried immense force!

The distant trial takers watching froze in place, their expressions complex, deeply moved.

Even if few could see the Shen Hun hand before her, they saw a young girl standing against “terror” for what might be fearless or noble persistence.

Bei Huai’s eyes turned ice-cold, focused solely on the greedy god, utterly disregarding Yu Zhiwen, unmoved by the words of an ant.

“Come back!”

In the Tian Zu combat channel, Dao Qiong Cang’s voice now held urgency.

This was Yu Zhiwen’s first direct defiance of the Dao Hall Master’s command.

In that moment, she felt as if her outstretched hands grasped a freedom she had never touched before—a wind of liberation!

Her Star Pupils shone brilliantly as she shouted again:

“So rules are chains for the weak and desires for the strong! Made by the high for the low, to let some roam free without consequence, is that it?”

The trial takers heard this and felt a chill run down their spines.

They still couldn’t see what Yu Zhiwen was facing.

All they could see was her trembling and distorting body under immense pressure, yet she persisted!

No one mocked her.

In that moment, all eyes held only respect.

They could flee in fear of a Sheng Di’s name, but they couldn’t condemn the determination of one chasing the light.

A pursuer of light might never catch it.

But if her pursuit earned even a fraction of a response, when the light spread, it could dispel the darkness anywhere in the world.

The Shen Hun hand’s momentum didn’t waver, growing infinitely larger in Yu Zhiwen’s pupils.

She simply closed her eyes, screaming with all her might in a final, anguished cry:

“So ghost beasts are always wrong, and Sheng Di are always right, is that it?”

The void shuddered violently.

The invisible, vast, world-shattering Shen Hun hand, devoid of emotion and without pause, slammed into Yu Zhiwen’s body.

“Bang bang bang…”

In an instant, various jade beads and treasures on her shattered.

She spat out a mouthful of blood, her form blasted away like a kite with cut strings, hurtling through the air.

Only at the end, when the “Shou Sheng Badge” deep in her Shen Hun appeared and crumbled, did Yu Zhiwen barely cling to a thread of life under the Sheng Di’s strike.

“Who dares harm my disciple?”

A faint voice descended from the nine heavens, followed by starlight patterns gathering to form a Bansheng intent avatar.

“Get lost!”

Bei Huai’s Shen Hun body thundered.

The Si Xiang Secret Realm’s Dao principles shattered, and the Tianji patterns collapsed.

The Bansheng intent avatar hadn’t fully formed before being shattered by Sheng Di Bei Huai’s word.

“Wuu—”

From the shattered black hole and chaotic space fragments, a resonant, ethereal Kunpeng cry suddenly emerged.

It was lonely and sorrowful, delivering a pure shock to the soul.

As Yu Zhiwen’s various Shen Hun protective artifacts burst, a massive dark blue fish fin, vast enough to blot out the sky, extended from the black hole.

It was so enormous that even the trial takers could barely see its full shape, let alone the Kunpeng body it was attached to.

Yet, upon appearing, the dark blue fish fin made no extra movements, directly slapping down toward the top of Bei Huai’s Shen Hun body.

“Yu Kunpeng, don’t bring ruin upon yourself!”

Bei Huai looked up, his eyes erupting with ghostly light.

A You Qing Sheng Guang rose above his head, transforming into massive palms that reached up to support it.

In a flash, the Si Xiang Secret Realm wept with rain, and thousands grieved together.

The Kunpeng fin smashed into the Shen Hun palms, instantly shattering them into primal chaotic energy.

But through that contact, the You Qing in Bei Huai’s eyes seemed to lock onto the fin’s master.

“Fix!”

The Kunpeng fin was as if its Shen Hun was severed—consciousness and body separated—it forgot its origin and destination, freezing in the void.

Everything halted!

Nothing could resist!

Dao Xuanji was merely Bansheng…

Yu Kunpeng was merely Bansheng…

Bansheng could be strong, even strong enough to withstand a typical Sheng Di intent avatar and block a strike.

But in the eyes of Bei Huai, the peak of the Bei clan, the Ten Venerable Seats, and the Shen Hun path, it was all as fleeting as smoke, weak and powerless.

Here, even as just an intent avatar, he could suppress everything, beyond question!

As Yu Zhiwen, battered and nearly unconscious, watched the Shen Hun hand break through all restraints and seize the little white cat greedy god, even her Zhuji Star Pupils lost their light.

Bei Huai offered no answer, deeming it unworthy.

Yet, she seemed to have heard the response to all her questions.

Yes, with enough power, you could shatter all rules, ignore all bindings, and act as you pleased!

Tears of blood in her eyes, Yu Zhiwen closed them heavily, despairing at her own weakness, yearning for someone to defy the heavens and change the path.

“Xu Xiaoshou…”

“Can you really do it…”

In the shattered darkness, a brilliant Yi Array Diagram suddenly lit up, with time etched into gears and years transformed into Dao laws within it.

It started insignificant, born in a small space, fragile and trembling.

But when a figure fully solidified in the void, raising a phantom scepter in his hand and gripping it with force to make it real…

The entire Si Xiang Secret Realm stirred, drawing all eyes.

“Time, freeze!”