The Unending Beginning Heavenly Venerate, an avatar of Ji Xiang, sat in the Xuanxiang for an immeasurable time. With every movement and thought, eons seemed to pass, or perhaps, nothing had begun at all. The state of unending beginning was elevated to an inconceivable height.
A colossal voice descended, stirring countless motes of dust within the Xuanxiang. These dust particles enveloped the Undying Immortal Shadow, trapping him and preventing his escape.
“Emptiness Forms!”
As the Undying Immortal Shadow had stated, the Xuanxiang, in the distant past, before the beginning, was something obscure, void, yet actually existing. Its genesis was unknown; it existed before the formation of all phenomena.
However, the Xuanxiang was also an image, a phenomenon manifested in the world but unseen by it. It predated the Primordial Image, and images represent the scenery of certain "principles."
To illuminate the Xuanxiang was to reveal the true body of the Dao. The body of the Dao constantly resided within the Xuanxiang, unseen by sentient beings, yet eternally present, like a secondary manifestation of the Xuanxiang. This was the vision of eternal immortality.
Those who master self-preservation shed the realm of death, blunt their sharpness, resolve their entanglements, harmonize their brilliance with the dust, and become one with the Dao!
The Xuanxiang was the external manifestation of the true Dao. If one grasped the truth contained within it, they would obtain the power of the eternally existing true Dao, thus preceding all phenomena and the Image Emperor.
Ji Xiang opened his palm. Countless dust particles dispersed and stripped away the "image forms" that the Undying Immortal Shadow had assimilated, gradually transforming them into expanses of emptiness. This returned the space to its original state of causal connection, where everything reverted to its primal simplicity.
The Undying Immortal Shadow struggled and contorted within the Xuanxiang. He gazed blankly at the deep, distant world. The silhouette of the Unending Beginning Heavenly Venerate became incredibly clear. This state, being one with the Dao, caused a long-forgotten memory to resurface in the Undying Immortal Shadow’s mind, intertwining with the present reality.
This was precisely the realm he had been pursuing.
“I will not be easily erased. Even with unending eons, you cannot annihilate me.”
“Even if I am no longer as powerful as I once was, you are still far inferior to the one who annihilated me.”
The Undying Immortal Shadow knew that this battle would not be easily won.
Originally, this should have been a simple matter.
But problems always arose in the end.
“Perhaps, problems don’t always arise in the end. Perhaps I have always been waiting for such an existence. We are complementary, and we are mutually destructive.”
When things reach their peak, they decline. When all things flourish, decay inevitably follows. The appearance of the most flourishing person meant that this person would be incredibly difficult to defeat. It was also at this moment that he would fully awaken, as other Lords of Great Images were insufficient to rouse him, and the power they provided was not enough to completely defeat any Lord of Great Images.
Only an existence that surpassed the Lords of Great Images, yet did not ascend into the formless, could grant him the power to defeat them. But this became a paradox: if the other party had already surpassed the Lords of Great Images, it meant they far exceeded his current self.
He could only place his hope in the laws and the Dao left behind from the past. How much of the past laws and Dao had his current strand of consciousness regenerated from its thoughts?
“I am the pinnacle of this world. You cannot defeat me.”
The Undying Immortal Shadow exhaled. He unleashed all his thoughts, giving birth to myriad thoughts from a single thought. In an instant, he manifested myriad phenomena and then re-melted them into the Undying Immortal Flower. He was self-sufficient, continuously elevating his own level. Within the Xuanxiang, he became boundless. Even though the Xuanxiang was an unending, deep, and profound void, he shone like a brilliant, blazing fire, illuminating countless edges of darkness.
“Borrowing Law to Manifest Image!”
“Eternal Before!”
The Undying Immortal Shadow closed his eyes, reflecting the realm where he existed. The traces left by those he had previously fought against were recreated through the evolution of phenomena. Ji Xiang then saw the appearance of a white-haired child’s phantom, transforming into a colossal mountain that propped up the entire Xuanxiang, attempting to split it open!
“Similar to the Xuanxiang, existing before the Primordial.”
Ji Xiang sensed the immense power of the phantom created by the Undying Immortal Shadow, a power that could shake the Xuanxiang. It existed eternally before everything.
But this was merely a phantom.
The Unending Beginning Heavenly Venerate rotated his hands, drawing upon the power of the Xuanxiang once more. Ji Xiang then employed the Tai Shang technique.
Tai Shang Invincible!
The Xuanxiang and Tai Shang Invincible pressed down simultaneously. The phantom was instantly suppressed and vanished, ultimately unable to surpass the Xuanxiang and reach true origin.
“Borrowing law, this is someone else’s law, not yours.”
Ji Xiang’s voice fell. The Undying Immortal Shadow retorted, “All phenomena are originally mine. I am merely recreating past scenes, and they naturally become my power, my ‘Manifestation Image’ technique!”
“Absolute Scenery!”
Ji Xiang acted, unleashing the supreme divine ability obtained from the Nine Nether Heavenly Venerate. He cast all the phantom images further created by the Undying Immortal Shadow into the abyss. Without images, all things could not manifest externally, becoming secrets that could not be spoken or described.
After removing those phantom images, the Undying Immortal Shadow shook his head. One of the distorted Lords of Great Images on his body rose. That was the residual image left by the Nine Nether Sin-Purging Heavenly Venerate. The Undying Immortal Shadow mobilized this residual image, gradually stripping away the image of the divine ability Ji Xiang had manifested.
“Supreme divine abilities must manifest externally, and naturally, they require a process of image manifestation. The Nine Nether Heavenly Venerate was also a cultivator of the Jade Purity. Although he ascended and departed, his residual image remains with me. By mobilizing his immense power, I strip away the process of your image manifestation and divine ability evolution, rendering you unable to use such divine abilities.”
“Your laws are diminishing with every exchange, even within the Xuanxiang!”
The Undying Immortal Shadow intended to grind Ji Xiang to death. Even if Ji Xiang possessed various astonishing magical techniques, he would eventually be depleted. By now, cutting off Ji Xiang’s “Absolute Scenery” divine ability, he could no longer affect his images.
“You claim to be before the Image Emperor, meaning you existed before the formation of all laws. But if you wish to contend with me, you must manifest your laws after the Image Emperor! And this is my domain. You can never defeat me here.”
Ji Xiang also shook his head:
“You wish to wear me down, even if it takes unending eons. Because you have also obtained my residual images and briefly merged with me, you naturally possess unending power. You are not afraid of the passage of long years.”
“But you say I cannot defeat you. I disagree. In fact, you have already lost.”
The Undying Immortal Shadow was confused, but Ji Xiang did not explain further. Because next, the powers of all the Lords of Great Images were twisted a second time, and the sealed laws reappeared, manifesting externally.
The Absolute Scenery divine ability, whose manifested ‘image’ had been stripped away, reappeared.
The Undying Immortal Shadow was greatly shocked, and Ji Xiang spoke:
“I do not know what the pinnacle of this world is, but at this moment, I am one with the Dao. All phenomena are born from the Xuanxiang. You still fail to understand what the Xuanxiang is.”
“Why can you manifest images? Why can you cast spells? Why can you revive from the realm of death with a single thought? All of these are under the illumination of the Xuanxiang. Because the Xuanxiang exists, all of this exists. Therefore, everything you are, and all myriad phenomena, are under the Xuanxiang. Do you still wish to contend with the Xuanxiang?”
“You say that after the Image Emperor, you control everything, and you are the Image Emperor. You are wrong. After the Image Emperor, it is still the world encompassed by the Xuanxiang!”
“Don’t you feel it yet?”
As Ji Xiang spoke, a sense of emptiness and powerlessness from the ancient past gradually swept over him. The light and fire on the Undying Immortal Shadow flickered. All the external ‘images’ began to disappear, turning into dust. The Undying Immortal Shadow suddenly realized what Ji Xiang’s first technique was truly for. He resisted desperately, knowing what was about to happen, yet still utilizing the unending power borrowed from Ji Xiang.
Everything began to return to its primal state, for everything bore the shadow of the Xuanxiang.
It was like how he had enlightened the Lords of Great Images and possessed their residual images. Even though he was a visitor from that realm, he had borrowed these residual images, the mists of time from countless past eras, and even the flames of aspiration from sentient beings.
Therefore, he too was encompassed by the Xuanxiang.
“A circle! A large circle has encompassed my small circle.”
The Undying Immortal Shadow seemed to recall some terrifying past events, and despair began to grow in his heart.
“I enlightened countless Lords of Great Images, and a flower of unity was born from the remains of my old body. I thought I had severed everything, but I actually knew… my strand of consciousness still existed, and I could never sever the root.”
“Delusion… everyone has fantasies, and seekers of the Dao are more prone to falling into delusion. Perhaps I have never been freed from delusion…”
“I do not wish… to return to essence… nor do I wish to perish… No one has ever acknowledged my path… In the end, I still cannot venture further…”
The Undying Immortal Shadow gradually shrank. He looked at Ji Xiang within the Xuanxiang.
“I cannot accept this. There is still one more fight.”
“Borrowing Law to Manifest Image!”
“Ancient Heavenly Sect!”
He continued to manifest an image. Unlike the white-haired child before, this figure wore an Yin-Yang robe, and its traces were even fainter, seeming on the verge of dissipation the moment it manifested. Yet, Ji Xiang felt the Xuanxiang tremble slightly, a tremor that was imperceptible and unknowable.
But this meant that the level of this person was extremely high.
This time, the phantom raised its hand.
【One is inseparable from the ancient and present; it cannot be one, nor can it be two.】
“There’s a voice?”
Ji Xiang seemed to hear a voice, but as the figure was about to strike, its phantom collapsed. That was
Because the Undying Immortal Shadow could no longer continue manifesting the image, his power was waning. The light and fire were fading too quickly.
“That’s right. Everything returns to simplicity. In a state of simplicity, there are no such powerful individuals, so he naturally dispersed.”
The Undying Immortal Shadow watched as the phantom he had manifested in his final struggle dissipated.
But at this moment, the Undying Immortal Shadow felt that Ji Xiang was wrong.
Although his power was indeed insufficient to sustain this phantom, the phantom had clearly paused when raising its hand, waiting for the light and fire to fade before dissolving itself.
How could this be?
Could the created phantoms give birth to thoughts?
That phantom was the one who had defeated him, the strongest among the strongest in that realm. Perhaps, at that level, every action left behind a thought. Even though he had recreated a new phantom, a thought instantly arose within this phantom and then instantly extinguished.
“Alas!”
“Is it true that one cannot be one, nor two, in the ancient and present?”
“Tell me, is it truly impossible!”
The Undying Immortal Shadow looked at the dissipating phantom. That voice was not Ji Xiang’s hallucination but had genuinely appeared, existing in a state even more unknowable than the imperceptible. It was like dreaming during enlightenment, hearing a voice from a distant realm within the dream.
He now realized that he was the second one. The first appeared, a single path sealed, and he had cultivated to an unchangeable level. Indeed, only by starting anew was there a path forward.
Originally, it was impossible for two identical paths to exist in the world, as every sentient being was unique.
But once two such individuals appeared, within a single path, there could not be one pinnacle, nor could there be two people simultaneously.
The second person to lose could only forge a new path by severing the old one… This world, this realm, already possessed the true Xuanxiang, and did not need his false Image Emperor.
The Xuanxiang gave birth to the Primordial. Those who attained enlightenment between the Xuanxiang and the Primordial were the true Image Emperors, not him.
The Undying Immortal Shadow actually knew this, but he also knew that once someone truly entered the Xuanxiang, their Dao would be the same as his. He was stronger than him, and he could only become the pinnacle by crushing and assimilating him. But now, he had failed, and there was no second chance.
The Primordial path was truly wondrous and miraculous! Even though the opponent’s overt combat power was not as great as his past true body, he could manipulate a power that predated the origin of the Dao. Even if he were an ant, he could easily overturn him, for that was the essence of the world, the essence of all phenomena.
Void could influence reality, and they were complementary, a concept even older than Yin and Yang.
Just like the Xuanxiang, it was merely a scene, but those who saw it could prove themselves as Lords of Great Images, manifesting all phenomena and all of time. The Xuanxiang had no power, but its existence was ineffable.
It was a pity that he could no longer comprehend this path.
“All sentient beings in the world have no beginning, yet are the beginning everywhere. But there are further words…”
The Undying Immortal Shadow’s voice gradually faded:
“The beginnings everywhere are different.”
“All sentient beings, in their non-existence, delusionally perceive birth and death.”
The Undying Immortal Shadow finally transformed back into a flower of unity. The flower maintained its form for a moment before abruptly disintegrating, reverting into a breath of essence. This breath of essence was extraordinarily divine, as if exhaled by someone immensely powerful. As it returned to its original state, it was about to re-manifest an initial “Lord of Great Images,” but Ji Xiang intervened.
The Xuanxiang also accepted this returned essence. Its power erased the nascent form of the Great Image that was about to be born, but it preserved the origin of the Dao within the essence. Then, it mobilized the power of the Unending Beginning Heavenly Venerate to revert it a second time.
The origin of the Dao was thus liberated. The constraints that the essence had imposed on the origin of the Dao were finally severed.