Chapter 1648: Sad World Pierces to the Bone, Blessing and Misfortune Intertwined, Please Bring the Sword

Su Yin’s nightmare flashed by.

Yet, the lingering traces were exceptionally distinct:

Not only were there scenes from the great battle in the 33rd Heaven, but also memories of first seeing the Dragon Halberd Giant, the Eye of the Heavenly Ancestor, and the Three Heavenly Reverends…

After the Gate of Emptiness opened wide, all shocks and fears, both minor and severe, were completely magnified.

In this fictional world, what Xu Xiaoshou finally saw was Kong Yuhen in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Pavilion.

A very intense fear!

Kong Yuhen, as seen from Su Yin's perspective, was completely unlike the frail "Jade-Faced Scholar" he usually saw.

Instead, he stood upon the long river of time, accompanied by the Great Dao, with no deviation possible. He was well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, understood destiny, and his face was obscured. His aura was comparable to "Su Yin on the divine throne."

"Is this Kong Yuhen?"

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly shocked; he would have believed it if someone said this was the Time Ancestor.

His One Sword Second World nearly slipped from his grasp upon seeing this image.

Not only was Su Yin's fear severed.

All the bits and pieces from before, including his self-imposed fears like using Kong Yuhen as a crutch or fooling him with jest, were also severed.

Fortunately, being separated by space and time, the "retold" images, while still impactful, had a controllable influence.

I'm even cutting Su Yin.

Why would I be afraid of a fake, grandiose, and empty Kong Yuhen conjured by Su Yin himself?

"The cosmos I define, time and space I alter."

"Dreams fall and flowers bloom, a grand era unfolds."

The Sword-Gazing Tome rustled open. When the Book of Answers settled on the first page of the second realm of Illusory Sword Art, everything was clear in his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou loved this kind of ready-made "gain."

He merely needed to act as a sword for execution, and he wouldn't make any mistakes.

As for the rest, whether it was the sword-drawing procedure, the way of wielding the sword, or even the "sword incantation," Ba Zun'an had included a complimentary piece.

I love you.

Ba, I'm just that direct.

Your Sword-Gazing Tome is supremely useful!

When he loudly recited this Illusory Sword Art incantation named "World of Grief and Fear," Xu Xiaoshou felt more than just a dashing aura accompanying him.

He discovered that good incantations and good swords are inherently complementary, helping the wielder better achieve a state of unity between heaven and man.

Just then!

The cosmic forces settled, and the entire world stirred.

The order of time and space changed, and the Second World materialized.

When graceful red plum blossoms, like a veil, cast a sense of disillusionment over the Eighteenth Heaven, the spiritual world built upon Su Yin's "grief and fear" beautifully unfolded layer by layer, like lotus petals.

"Boom!"

No startling sound could be heard in the real world.

Yet in the Second World, a clap of thunder struck from a clear sky.

It was still structured within the environment of the Divine Ruins. From Su Yin's perspective, the Four Divine Abodes, the Eye of the Heavenly Ancestor, the Dragon Halberd Giant, the Three Heavenly Reverends… and even Kong Yuhen standing upon the long river of time, all appeared!

All the factors that had ever caused him even a shred of fear simultaneously appeared in the Second World.

"How can this be?!"

Su Yin's face showed panic as he gazed around.

Amidst his fluctuating thoughts, his mind, immersed in the Second World, completely lost control over the magical arts he was maintaining in the real world.

"Rumble rumble rumble…"

One by one, his protective divine artifacts fell uncontrollably to the ground.

The magical arts cast upon him vanished along with them.

The losses in the real world fed back an inexplicable chill to Su Yin in the Second World. His demonic energy intensified, and his expression was full of unease.

"Something's not right?"

But in Xu Xiaoshou's view, Su Yin's unease wasn't the kind described in the Book of Answers' functional description of the Second World, the "unease" that should appear in someone facing fear.

He should have been uneasy about the unknown, about confusion, about helplessness, about having no means to break free.

"Now, why does it seem a bit like he's seen through my Illusory Sword Art, uneasy about still being struck by a sword… that kind of unease?"

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Why bother with these tricks? This sword cannot harm this Ancestor. Get out!"

When Su Yin in the Second World calmed down amidst the various nightmare imageries and roared out his name, Xu Xiaoshou's heart sank.

This is bad.

Anyone caught in the Second World shouldn't be able to remember their own name.

"Su Yin, still calm?"

Why?

This isn't scientific!

Oh no, this is too fantastical!

How could Ba Zun'an's sword art be wrong?

Isn't he known as the Eighth Sword Immortal, and reputed as an unparalleled genius comparable to Sword God Gu Louying?

Isn't he most skilled in Illusory Sword Art? How could a single sword strike be ineffective against Su Yin, who is in such a weakened mental state?

This was listed as the "standard answer"—the first golden example in the second realm of Illusory Sword Art, the first art in the Sword-Gazing Tome. Did Su Yin find a flaw in it?

"Don't panic."

"Xu Xiaoshou, don't panic."

"You may not believe in yourself, but you must believe in Old Ba… no, Little Ba."

Xu Xiaoshou forced himself to calm down.

His… oh, Ba Zun'an's sword art, a flaw was indeed found, but he was in the real world, so he was fine.

Between the real world and the Second World, there was still the barrier of the second realm of Illusory Sword Art!

With Su Yin's current state, it would take time to forcefully break through.

"No such genius as I for a hundred generations, no one greater will emerge in ten thousand years. The Eighth Sword Immortal's innate talent, even if it has a flaw, should be intentionally revealed for you, Su Yin, to see."

"Just you wait!"

Ba Zun'an's powerful and flowing calligraphy, with sharp and brilliant characters, appeared, accompanied by the various profound meanings of the Illusory Sword Art:

"Latercomer, do you think 'fear' is the true essence of the Second World?"

"Wrong! Completely wrong!"

These first two blunt sentences left Xu Xiaoshou numb from the scolding, his body stiffer than a corpse dead for three days.

What does that mean?

He felt as if he had pierced the window paper. With a trembling heart, he smoothed the torn paper, yet it felt as if he was caught in the Second World, deceiving himself.

Consequently, he could only read on with some unease, tension, and anxiety:

"Truth is the true essence of the Second World!"

"No one understands themselves better than they do, and no one understands their enemy better than the enemy understands themselves."

"What the Second World needs is not 'shaping,' but 'guidance'—to draw out all their inner desires, regardless of truth or falsehood, good or bad, and let them sink into them."

"When a person is immersed in self-fantasy, they know the truth but wish to wake up yet refuse to; they try to escape but desire the dream and sink deeper into it, cycling through struggle and revolving within the dream, falling deeper and deeper."

"This, then, is the true meaning of 'illusion'!"

Truth…

Guidance…

Yes! Xu Xiaoshou knew all this!

Of course, he knew. After all, he had mastered Sword Arts Proficiency and the Sword Dao Disc; he knew the fundamentals like the back of his hand.

He even felt that the "World of Grief and Fear" sword art he had just seen was wrong.

But Ba Zun'an's Sword-Gazing Tome was the application of sword arts, a high-level programming language.

How could he be wrong?

How could he possibly record incorrect teachings in this book?

Even if he wasn't good at teaching, he wouldn't mislead his students, would he?

Xu Xiaoshou didn't say it aloud, but he had faith in Ba Zun'an. This was truly someone he could trust his back to in a critical moment.

But…

Reading further down…

"Forget the preceding erroneous example!"

"Presumably, at this moment, your understanding of error has become deeply ingrained. Next, let us enter the teaching of 'truth'."

Why was the world grey?

Xu Xiaoshou felt as if someone had pressed the pause button on him, and it felt as long as an entire Spirit Refining Era.

A "Second World" from the Sword-Gazing Tome bluntly paralyzed him on the spot, rendering him unable to think for a full five or six breaths.

Until finally…

His composure crumbled, Xu Xiaoshou's sword-holding hand softened, and he nearly dropped his Four Swords.

Ba Zun'an, are you out of your mind?!

Who sections chapters like this?

If you really can't do it, don't write books; go get a job. Isn't this Sword-Gazing Tome just purely misleading people?!

"Deeply ingrained…"

Yes, this understanding of error was now truly too deep.

This lesson is so profound it can be remembered for more than a lifetime; I'd even give you my life!

"Boom—"

A blast rang in his ears.

The Eighteenth Heaven crumbled, shedding countless glistening spatial fragments.

Without even thinking, let alone looking, Xu Xiaoshou knew that Su Yin in the illusion had used the nightmares as a basis to see through the illusion and step out of the Second World.

"Truth…"

Too many nightmares, conversely, become unreal; this was only natural.

And once a person awakens in an illusion, realizes everything is false, and has no intention of sinking back into it.

Having become an Ancestral God, would Su Yin not have a way to forcefully break the illusion?

Xu Xiaoshou was filled with hatred!

He not only hated that dog Ba Zun'an, but even more, he hated himself—the self who had been brainwashed by Dao Qiongcang.

Elder Sang once said: "On this world, don't trust anyone."

He was right all along!

Even if others are strong, they cannot be trusted; it's too easy to create subjective preconceptions.

At this moment, gazing at the shattered One Sword Second World and Su Yin who had broken free from his restraints, Xu Xiaoshou's palms and soles felt icy cold.

At that time, in the Eight Palaces, that useless Old Ba's Grand Buddha Slash, struck at Gou Wuyue with his Heart Sword Art, had ultimately crossed space and time to strike him as well:

"My sword cuts the gods and Buddhas in your heart. May you handle it well."

"What are you doing?!"

As soon as the Spiritual Telepathy activated, Dao Qiongcang's scolding came through.

He didn't mention the commotion in the starry sky at all, like someone who had placed all his hopes in others, someone who held gods and Buddhas in his heart:

"What about after the Second World? Why aren't you moving?"

"Shouldn't the Sword-Gazing Tome record many of Ba Zun'an's sword arts? Even I know that you can construct a stronger version of yourself in the illusionary world and wield more powerful swords."

"Given Su Yin's current state, you can even forcefully open a false 'Gate of Profundity' and use the third realm's Prajna Anihilation Slash!"

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath:

"Shut up."

Dao Qiongcang quickly shut up.

If Xu Xiaoshou didn't explain, there must be a reason. After all, what Dao Qiongcang could consider, Xu Xiaoshou must have considered as well.

It was just that… Ba Zun'an simply couldn't be summoned…

He threw most of his attention back into the starry sky, elegantly shedding his wise man's facade. Then… he rolled up his sleeves, transformed into a rabid dog, his eyes bulging with fury, chasing after sword thoughts:

"Wen Ting!"

"You're Wen Ting, right?!"

"Stay! Come back to me! Don't! Run—"

"Hee hee hee…"

Su Yin's soul stood with hands on hips and laughed wildly.

Compared to the first sword, Xu Xiaoshou's second sword seemed nothing more than a trapped beast's struggle, failing to achieve even one ten-thousandth of the previous power.

In summary:

Is that all?

Demonic energy surged out of his soul body. The contempt and arrogance in Su Yin's eyes had already poured out, undisguised.

He leaned forward, his lips stretched to his earlobes, mockingly as if playing with ants, and said casually:

"Su Yin is merciful, granting you the convenience of three sword strikes."

"However, if every sword strike is like this, I suppose there's no need for a third…"

Pointing at the Four Swords, he said: "This fierce sword can accompany you to your death, and never return."

As he spoke, Su Yin's three eyes changed. Immediately, evil light dyed the sky and killing intent surged.

His soul body's six arms moved, and the power at his fingertips shifted.

Clearly, he could no longer suppress his impulse, wanting to kill quickly to avenge the shame of his recent dream.

"Wait!"

Xu Xiaoshou quickly spoke out.

Fortune may be hidden in misfortune, and misfortune in fortune.

He had thought that after the second sword, his momentum was completely gone. He never expected that the arrogant Su Yin would utter such words. Didn't this mean giving him another chance?

"Su Yin's words are worth