Chapter 255 (1)

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When Qiao Mu unleashed the Eye Sword Technique, Dao Zhen’s true appearance momentarily appeared.

The Heart Demon Mirror at the center of the illusion formation quietly cracked with fine lines.

The illusion had not been completely broken. At this moment, Qiao Mu was still deep in the sky above the solitary city in the desert, but Dao Zhen in front of him finally recovered from the sudden mental shock.

Qiao Mu, who still maintained the appearance of a child, took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and dashed forward with swift steps.

However, as he dashed forward, the surroundings swiftly flew past.

Qiao Mu was clearly running forward, but suddenly found himself in a lonely city below, his view falling from the clouds. Surprisingly, he was getting farther away from Dao Zhen.

"You’re overconfident. I was just caught off guard for a moment, revealing my true self… It doesn’t mean the game is over," Dao Zhen took a deep breath, calming his emotions.

This was not the script he wanted to see.

The Qiao family member was known for valuing honor over life and death, but Dao Zhen wanted more than just making the Qiao family member experience his past memories.

The more the truth is debated, what he wanted to do was to have a philosophical debate with the Qiao family member after the story of the magical realm was told, as a Heavenly Spirit Root cultivator.

This way, his spiritual cultivation would further progress towards perfection without obstacles.

It’s just that for some reason, the Qiao family’s martial arts seemed to have seen through his carefully arranged illusion ahead of time, almost causing him to make a mistake.

If it wasn’t for the Heart Demon Mirror, a unique treasure given to him by Elder Qingyi, which had protective powers, even if he suddenly encountered a mental shock, he would have been able to withstand it.

Dao Zhen, who had been struck by the Eye Sword Technique at close range, might not escape from Qiao Mu’s attack. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Why can you stay awake in the dreamland?" Dao Zhen stepped back, his expression returning to its usual calmness.

The hand supporting his forehead was trembling slightly, apparently Eye Sword Technique had not left him unharmed.

"Because your dreamland is too fake," Qiao Mu casually remarked.

He didn’t intend to talk more with Dao Zhen, just that cultivators had many skills. He had only managed to hit Dao Zhen with "Eye Sword Technique," while his punch missed.

This dreamland had its own mysteries that he had not completely unraveled. In the brief moment of speaking, he was also thinking about a plan.

"You don’t understand the old soldiers led by Li Changge, so you can’t create a realistic dreamland," Qiao Mu said lightly.

Qiao Mu looked around, now he had fallen from the sky into the military camp of the solitary city. He gazed at those training in the camp, the not yet aged illusions of the Great Yan veteran soldiers.

"Indeed, there are heroes in this world who sacrifice themselves for others, and even the selfish cannot deny the existence of such fools in this world."

"You don’t understand, so you can’t imagine how Brother Li Changshi would respond. Even if you invent an answer, it would be insincere, lacking in truth…"

It’s normal not to understand.

Heroes are called heroes by people precisely because they are extremely rare.

"I don’t understand." At this moment, Dao Zhen nodded in agreement, then asked in confusion:

"So, do you understand?"

"If it were a member of your Qiao family, what would you choose?"

Just moments ago, they were fighting as enemies, and Dao Zhen even killed a member of the Qiao family with his own hands.

At this moment, Dao Zhen’s face showed no intention to harm, his eyes were filled with a gentle curiosity, or a sense of wanting to know more.

He really didn’t understand, but he was indeed hoping for Qiao Mu to give him an answer.

This reaction caused a twitch in the corner of Qiao Mu’s eye.

"If a child around ten years old doesn’t understand what the old soldiers did, it’s not surprising."

Actually, Qiao Mu did think carefully about this question.

The first time he spent eighty years in a dream, he felt compelled to search for an answer to support himself, and the first thing he thought of was to copy the answers of old soldiers like Hai Siyuan. ṟ�

The wise ancestors and patriotic soldiers are indeed noble and admirable. True heroes do exist in this world.

Qiao Mu considered copying the answers, but he didn’t succeed.

Because one cannot deceive their own heart.

During the long years, what he needed was an answer from deep within.

This answer doesn’t have to be so noble or lofty.

Fancy words may impress others, but when alone and questioning oneself, there’s no need for such prettiness.

"The old soldiers care for Great Yan, holding noble ideals in their hearts, but I don’t," Qiao Mu took step by step towards Dao Zhen who was far in the distance.

This was the answer he had in his heart over a hundred years ago.

His determination was not as noble as the old soldiers in the past, nor did it need to be forced to be noble.

In fact, this was also the answer from Earth Sword Immortal in the past.

For thirty years, Earth Sword Immortal stayed aloof in the lonely city, watching the old soldiers gradually wither without understanding their actions and feelings.



Only in the final battle when the lonely city was about to be destroyed, and he saw his brother Lu Yanbei about to die, did he see clearly into his own heart.

Qiao Mu’s answer made Dao Zhen visibly bewildered.

It was thought that the Qiao family member, known for valuing righteousness over life and death, would have such an answer. Could this also be a kind of character collapse?

"As for your question about my choice… haven’t I chosen long ago?"

Dao Zhen’s choice is to follow the path of immortality or the path of commonality.

Qiao Mu also has his own choices to make.

The simplest choice is to endure, to become undefeatable before revealing oneself. The quickest choice is to turn to the dark side, even if one seeks both fame and fortune, there’s the option to maximize benefits through gaining evil powers.

Following the wind is always the easiest way, but he is not willing to take that path.

While speaking, Qiao Mu also closed his eyes.

As he closed his eyes, his vision naturally turned to darkness, no longer seeing the lonely cityscape around him.

The illusion created by Dao Zhen could not be broken simply by closing one’s eyes.

But Qiao Mu was no longer an ordinary person, even with his eyes closed, he had instinctual awareness as a 1st rank spiritual refiner.

With his vision obscured and his other senses in disarray, it was difficult to discern Dao Zhen’s true whereabouts within the illusion.

"In this fantasy realm, are your actions based on your choices?" Dao Zhen looked serious, without a doubt.

He was not interested in life and death battles, but he cared deeply about right and wrong.

This illusion was his way of keeping a safe distance from Qiao Mu, so they could discuss matters safely.

"In this world, cultivating immortality is the way to go."

"Follow the path to immortality, or go against it and remain mortal."

"The Qiao family member truly made a different choice from me," Dao Zhen said calmly.

As a cultivator with the Heavenly Spirit Root, Elder Qingyi had high expectations for him. Therefore, at the beginning of his cultivation journey, he was given a test of letting go of emotions.

The two elders from the Immortal Gate had different views on letting go of emotions. Elder Qingzhuo was more direct, advocating for killing close relatives to end everything.

Elder Qingyi, on the other hand, had a different perspective.

He didn’t ask Dao Zhen to kill his parents himself, but to let go of it.

If one’s heart is free from worldly desires, unaffected by suffering, and no longer attached to blood relations, then why kill family members to prove oneself in the path of enlightenment?

And that was Dao Zhen’s choice.

Although Dao Zhen is nearly sixty years old now, which is considered young for a cultivator, his parents have passed away during the forty years they spent isolated in the deserted city, leaving behind only barren land covered in sand.

"You and I have different paths. The immortal path requires letting go of attachments and earthly desires to transcend above; whereas the so-called Spiritual Refining Method in martial arts seems to sharpen one’s attachments, the stronger the attachment, the deeper the worldly entanglement, making it harder to break free."

Dao Zhen began to explain:

"The trend is towards the Immortal Gate, martial arts is just a small path, going against the Immortal Gate is going against the flow, leading to a dead end, just like the fate of the one hundred thousand old soldiers who died in the deserted city over forty years."

Seen through Dao Zhen’s or others’ eyes, the Qiao family members have indeed chosen a path towards death. How many Qiao family members have died at the hands of cultivators until now?

No matter how many have died, the Qiao family members seem to be stubbornly hitting a wall, just like the old soldiers who died in the deserted city forty years ago.

"In the world, there are five kinds of suffering and five doors to enlightenment. If we don’t let go of our attachments, we will have to pass through the doors of suffering caused by desires, love, and greed."

"Using so many unfamiliar words to convince yourself that cultivating immortality is the right path is really difficult for you," Qiao Mu sarcastically responded to Dao Zhen.

"Too bad I’m just a simple martial artist and don’t understand!" replied Qiao Mu.

He had no intention of arguing with Dao Zhen about the superiority of immortal cultivation or martial arts at this moment. Instead, he gathered his energy and struck the lonely city wall next to him.

His fist disappeared into the wall like a rock sinking into the sea. Moments later, he heard the rustling of leaves as Qiao Mu’s fingers pierced into the trunk of an old tree, creating several holes.

Swift as lightning, he clapped his hands rapidly on the tree trunk.

Despite his strong and unyielding internal strength, it didn’t damage the tree trunk. The powerful internal strength flowed along the trunk like a tide.

Suddenly, a continuous sound of "chi chi" was heard, with every single leaf on the branch now filled with internal strength. They flew out like sharp arrows, sweeping in all directions.

Dao Zhen quickly reacted by leaping sideways to avoid the flying leaves, but his expression was frozen in astonishment.

Some leaves were aimed at Dao Zhen’s location, while others were directed towards different parts of the illusion.

The continuous tinkling sound echoed around the small forest, as thousands of rune-inscribed sub-swords were hit by the leaves, causing them to tilt and sway.



The leaves infused with internal strength were not powerful enough to cut through the sub-swords, but disrupting the formation composed of a thousand swords would suffice.

The Heart Demon Mirror, which was already showing cracks, trembled slightly, and at this moment, the light on its surface finally dimmed.

"Finally…" It was only at this moment that Qiao Mu opened his eyes.

He only noticed a warm yet rough little tongue licking his face, the tongue was small and soft, giving a strange tingling sensation.

Qiao Mu focused and saw the Impermanent Demon Cat was licking his cheek wildly, with a blissful expression on its face.