Chapter 686 I Am You

"So what happens when Xiao Han finds out the truth?"

Standing in the darkness where a hundred thousand mountains once stood, Ye Hongjian frowned as she looked at the phoenix flapping its wings behind her.

The white-clothed old man on Phoenix was sleeping with his eyes closed, while Ye Chengtai and his wife were tied together. The rope was so tight that it almost covered the couple's entire body. Not to mention escaping, it was extremely difficult for them to move half of their bodies at this moment.

Hearing this, the old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ye Hongjian. "If a sheep in captivity knows that its value is only being slaughtered, the better he eats, the stronger the person who slaughters him will be, what will happen to the sheep?"

Ye Hongjian frowned even deeper. She did not like the metaphor of the old man, but she still replied patiently, "Will she escape?"

"Then if the sheep pen is full of tall fences, it won't be able to escape?" The old man asked again.

Ye Hongjian thought for a moment and her eyes narrowed. At that time, her tone turned cold. "Then kill the shepherd!"

'"But shepherds are only people who manage sheep farms. If they kill shepherds, the real owner of the farms will send out new shepherds. Moreover, even if they kill shepherds, there will still be high fences on both sides of the farms. The sheep will still be trapped inside." The old man said calmly.

Ye Hongjian's heart was a little depressed. She said, "Then does Mr. Ye think this is a dead end?"

Wei Changming raised his eyes to look at Ye Hongjian, his tone was still calm, a bit terrifyingly calm. "That's right," he said. "This is a dead end."

"Since it's a dead end, then why does Sir still have to do so many things?" Ye Hongjian obviously did not believe what Master Wei said. She asked with a deep brow.

"I used to be a sheep in this sheep pen. I couldn't see the outside world. Everything I did was imagined by myself. But just like sheep in the sheep pen never knew how powerful humans were. Even though I had used all my imagination to overestimate the people in the outside world, it proved that I was still a little naive."

"But now that I've seen the outside world, I know how small and powerless we are. Only then do I know …" Wei Changming seemed to have aged a lot. He paused for a moment before saying, "It's only then that I know that our struggle seems ridiculous and insignificant to the people outside."

Ye Hongjian leapt up and landed on the Divine Phoenix Bird. Although this Divine Phoenix Bird seemed to be no different from before, if one looked carefully, they would be surprised to find that the flames around the Divine Phoenix Bird in front of them were faintly flickering with golden light. The most peculiar thing was that the Divine Phoenix Bird's eyes flickered like living creatures. This was inconceivable to a True Spirit. After all, from ancient times until now, a True Spirit was only a concrete killing move condensed by a cultivator. Naturally, it could not possess its own intelligence.

Once a True Spirit transformed into a living creature, it would be tantamount to a cultivator creating a living creature.

And this…

It was already a matter that could only be dealt with in the domain of the Divine Man.

However, Ye Hongjian did not care about such a change. At that time, she looked directly into Wei Changming's eyes and asked in a calm voice, "Since Teacher understands that we have no chance of winning, why did you still come back?"

Hearing this, Master Wei smiled and said, "We can't do it alone, but you are different from him."

"You're not sheep…"

"At least not once."

…

After boarding Kunlun, the tribulation clouds in the horizon were shouted back by Xuan'er, and things became much simpler.

Xu Han had secretly thought about it. His physical body and Internal Strength had already reached the Immortal Realm. Adding on the fortuitous encounters he had encountered along the way, although it was only an Earth Immortal, his actual strength should be sufficient to contend against the Three Tribulations or even the Four Tribulations Immortals. Of course, there were very few Immortals in this world. Xu Han's conjecture could not be corroborated before he faced an Immortal of such strength.

As for those Kunlun Tribulations that claimed to possess the strength of the Immortal Realm, they were empty and lacked the trump cards and moves that a true immortal should possess. Therefore, their strength was actually slightly stronger than the half-step Immortal Realm, and they were still much weaker than the Saint Marquis created by the Dark Asura Palace. Even so, if he allowed the tribulation lightning to continue to summon him, once the number of tribulations in Kunlun exceeded a hundred, Xu Han would have no choice but to flee.

Xuan'er helped Xu Han a lot, and Xu Han's climb to the Kunlun Mountain became smoother. Apart from the violent pressure overflowing from the top of the Kunlun Mountain, nothing could stop Xu Han. And such an obstacle wouldn't allow Xu Han to climb to the top of the mountain a day or two later than he had planned.

Three days later, a hand reached out to the cliff at the top of Kunlun Mountain. Then, Xu Han jumped up and landed firmly on the top of Kunlun Mountain with Ah Huang Aowu and Xuan'er on his shoulder.

At this point, the pressure that had been troubling Xu Han became even more obvious. Even with Xu Han's cultivation, he gradually felt that his aura was not smooth. However, Xu Han, who had finally arrived here, did not care about the pressure. Instead, he gazed at the legendary immortal residence with a calm gaze.

Kunlun was the residence of immortals. This was not Xin Mi. Even the children of ordinary families had more or less heard of such rumors or stories related to it.

Xu Han was somewhat hopeful about this place, but when he saw the situation before him clearly, this expectation disappeared in a blink of an eye.

The summit of the Kunlun Mountain was extremely vast, different from the flat top of the Great Abyss Mountain, which was more than a hundred feet square. Even though it had already reached the highest point, the mountain depression that spread out still couldn't see the boundaries. There were no teleportation palaces, and naturally, there were no white-robed immortals. There was only boundless white snow and the huge stone pillars not far away.

That was the Heavenly Pillar.

Xu Han had heard of this thing more than once. It was rumored that the Heavenly Pillar connected the heavens and earth, as well as the Immortal Dimension and the mortal world. All the immortals in the world looked forward to the day when they would be able to reach the Heaven Realm through the Heavenly Pillars and become True Immortals. They would be able to live freely in the heavens and earth, and the immortals in the heavens would also be able to descend upon the mortal world by relying on this item.

But now, the Heavenly Pillar had been broken, and the connection between the Heavenly Realm and the human world had become weak. Xu Han thought to himself, perhaps the reason why those True Immortals who had always wanted to kill him were unable to attack him was because the Heavenly Pillar had collapsed, and they could only descend onto the human world as projections. But now, Xu Han had grown to a point where he could not be killed by a mere projection.

Thinking of this, Xu Han walked to the pillar. He looked at the huge stone pillar that was nearly ten feet long with a deep brow, and his gaze swept across the strange patterns on the stone pillar that had already dimmed down.

For some reason, Xu Han felt that the patterns on the pillars gave him the illusion of deja vu.

He frowned. He did not remember where he had seen these strange patterns, He suppressed some inexplicable emotions that suddenly surged in his heart at that moment. His gaze swept across the surroundings once again. The vast expanse of white remained unchanged all year round. Even though Xu Han had gathered his internal energy to strengthen his vision, even though his gaze had covered a distance of a thousand feet, apart from the white snow, Xu Han could not find anything else on the summit of the Kunlun Mountain.

The monitors had said that as long as he arrived at the Kunlun Mountain, he would know the answer. However, who on the deserted snow mountain could really answer Xu Han's question?

Could it be that the surveillance would lie to him?

This thought inevitably appeared in Xu Han's mind at that time, but it was quickly denied by Xu Han. He did not think that doing so would be of any benefit to the monitors. Thinking of this, Xu Han's gaze once again fell on the strange patterns on the broken pillar.

His heart trembled as images flashed in his mind.

He saw a hand stretch out and caress the lines. Streaks of golden light lit up from the lines. Then, the eyes of the people in that hand condensed and gently cut the skin on the index finger of his left hand with sword intent. Blood oozed out from his fingers, and a drop of blood gently fell towards the golden pattern on the pillar.

Xu Han tried his best to see the figure in the illusion clearly.

It seemed to be a man, to be exact, a youth, but the outline on his face was somewhat blurry, yet it gave Xu Han an inexplicably familiar feeling.

Boom!

However, just as he was about to carefully recall where he had seen this youth, a loud boom suddenly rang out in his head. He was a little dazed, and all the fantasies that had suddenly surged out had dissipated at that time.

Xu Han stood there in a trance. Aowu Xuan'er, who was beside him, tilted her head and looked at Xu Han, as if she was curious about Xu Han's sudden appearance.

"Miao?" Xuan'er directly jumped onto Xu Han's shoulder, and this light shout brought Xu Han back to his senses.

He subconsciously reached out his left hand to stroke Xuan'er's head. However, just as he reached out, he was stunned again. He looked at his left hand and thought about the fantasy that had suddenly surged out. He was stunned.

He walked to the side of the pillar and slowly extended his hand towards it. His breathing became a little short at that time, and even his extended hand trembled slightly at that time.

It was only a short distance away, but it took Xu Han more than ten breaths to press his hand onto the pillar.

Boom.

Then, a muffled sound spread out and Xu Han's hand touched the pillar. At that time, the seemingly dim patterns on the pillar were really like the scene in Xu Han's illusion and began to emit bursts of golden light.

Xu Han's body began to tremble, but his hand still moved slowly according to the scene in the dream.

Aowu Xuan'er, who was at the side, naturally did not understand why such a change had occurred, but she could sense Xu Han's surging heart. They quietly stood aside and nervously watched the change.

Very quickly, Xu Han walked around the broken pillar, and his hand brushed past all the lines on the pillar.

The golden light on the pillar was so bright that it was almost dazzling that no one dared to look directly at it.

A thick and unadorned aura came from the pillar. Xu Han's heart beat faster. He stared at the golden pillar for a long time, and then he heard the scene in the illusion. His head slowly lowered and he looked at his left hand.

Everything was so familiar, as if he had really been here before and done this.

This feeling caused Xu Han to be somewhat dazed, and the scene that had just flashed through his mind suddenly appeared again at this moment.

The young man with his head lowered suddenly raised his head. It was as if he sensed Xu Han's prying eyes. His gaze seemed to have traveled through thousands of years of isolation from countless spaces and landed directly on Xu Han's body.

The youth stared at Xu Han. His seemingly calm gaze pierced into Xu Han's chest like a sharp sword. Xu Han was stunned on the spot.

He met him.

He must have seen him somewhere, somewhere, sometime.

So familiar, so familiar…

Xu Han's mind trembled, but the youth who looked at him in the illusion suddenly raised the corner of his mouth.

He was clearly smiling.

However, the expression between his eyebrows was so cold that it was as cold as the snow that flowed through the Kunlun Mountains for tens of thousands of megabytes of time, yet he still did not smile.

That smile coupled with that gaze gave Xu Han an inexplicably ferocious illusion.

However, the youth did not seem to feel Xu Han's thoughts. At that moment, his mouth opened. He whispered to Xu Han, "Here you are again."

Xu Han's mind rumbled again, and the illusion immediately disappeared. However, Xu Han's face turned deathly pale, and his body staggered and fell into the snow.

He stared blankly in front of him and muttered, "It's me. It's me."

"He is me!!!"

…

Ah Huang lowered his head and looked at Xuan'er beside him. Aowu was lying on his body and also looking at Xuan'er beside him.

Xuan'er's amber eyes were filled with worry as she looked straight at Xu Han, who was sitting not far away.

The night was already dark, and the golden light on the Heavenly Pillar Mark had been extinguished again because it had not been able to wait for Xu Han to activate for a long time.

It snowed again on the snow-capped summit of Kunlun Mountain. Xu Han's clothes and hair were covered with snow. He sat there motionlessly like an ice sculpture frozen stiff by the snow.

Ever since he fell to the ground under the illusion in the daytime, he had muttered to himself in a trance for a long time. He remained in his current state until he regained his calm. All day and night, he did not move a single bit, nor did he say a single word.

Xuan'er was naturally worried about Xu Han, but no matter how spoiled it was or how it rubbed against the corner of his clothes, Xu Han did not respond to him.

It brought Ah Huang and Ao Wu to the side and looked at Xu Han quietly without making a sound.

The snow continued to fall, not much but endlessly.

The night passed like this. The sky began to brighten, and the snow that had been falling all night gradually stopped.

When the bright morning sun shone from the eastern horizon, the young man who had been sitting there all day and night, his head and body covered in snow, suddenly stood up.

Xuan'er, who had been watching Xu Han all this while, immediately noticed Xu Han's abnormal state. They immediately stood up, and Xuan'er jumped onto Xu Han's shoulder and tilted her head to look at Xu Han with concern.

Xu Han lowered his head and reached out to shake the snow off his head. Then, he looked at Xuan'er on his shoulder. He smiled at Xuan'er and said apologetically, "I made you all worry."

"Miao." Xuan'er narrowed her eyes and called out to Xu Han.

Xu Han smiled again. He said, "It's alright. You go to the side first. I have to do something."

Although Xuan'er did not quite understand what Xu Han was talking about, she still obediently jumped to the other side.

After sitting quietly for a night, Xu Han stood up again. Like yesterday, he reached out and stroked the patterns on the pillar. The patterns instantly turned golden. Then, Xu Han stood to the side and extended his left hand with a solemn expression. The sharp sword intent on his right hand surged and slowly arrived at the finger of his left hand.

Although his body was still trembling, his gaze was extremely firm.

Seeing that the sharp sword intent was about to cut through the skin on his fingers, his head rumbled again.

The youth who looked exactly like him appeared in his mind again. His face still carried a strange and ferocious smile. He looked at Xu Han and asked, "Do you really want to do this?"

It was hard for Xu Han to distinguish whether this youth who was exactly the same as him was an illusion or a real existence. He was slightly stunned at that time, but soon, a similar smile appeared on his face. He asked, "Didn't you also do it?"

"That's why I warn you not to do this." Surprisingly, the illusion that should have existed in Xu Han's mind actually responded to Xu Han at that time.

"What if I don't do it?" Xu Han asked again.

The smile on the youth's face became even more intense. He stared at Xu Han for a long time before spitting out an ice-cold word from his mouth, "Die."

Xu Han didn't think that he would get such an answer. He couldn't help but be stunned at that time, and then he said, "Since I will die if I don't do this, then why don't I do it?"

The youth narrowed his eyes, his eyes filled with contempt and pity.

"There is never a lack of things in this world that are more terrifying than death, not to mention that you are the source of all the terror in this world."

Xu Han frowned. When he recognized this illusion, Xu Han had already realized the hidden dangers behind doing so. For this reason, he thought for a whole day and night before he stabilized his mind. However, at this moment, this illusion caused him to waver again.

"I've been here before, haven't I?" Xu Han asked again after a long silence.

The youth shook his head. "The answer is in your hands. I can't give it to you."

Xu Han looked at his extended finger. He knew what the youth meant. His brows furrowed even deeper. He asked, "You are the emperor in my body, aren't you?"

The youth was stunned, but he quickly laughed.

Unlike the chilling smile on his face, this time, the youth smiled happily. It was like the spring breeze in March and the summer rain in June.

After a long time, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Xu Han, his eyes filled with ridicule.

"I am you," he said.

Xu Han's heart trembled. For some reason, he was somewhat absent-minded when the youth said those words.

When he regained his senses, the youth's figure dissipated again, and a burst of pain came from his fingers. Xu Han was shocked. He subconsciously lowered his head to look, only to see that at the moment when he was absent-minded, his body was actually pulled by some power that he did not know, cutting off his fingers.

As a result, a bloody scar appeared and a drop of blood flowed out from his fingertips, slowly falling towards the golden pillar.

At that moment, the young man's voice sounded in his ears again.

"Go…"

"Experience the despair I've experienced eighteen times …"

"I'll wait for you in the abyss. We'll be one in the end…"

Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!