Chapter 3068: The Change of Mind (2)
Yin retracted his hand as if he had done nothing more than brush away a cobweb. He glanced at Nian Shi and made a graceful, inviting gesture towards the now-undefended Yun Lintian. "After you, Timekeeper. Go ahead. Seize your destiny."
Nian Shi stood frozen for a heartbeat. His silver eyes darted from Yin’s mocking face to Yun Lintian’s serene form, then back again. Every instinct, every eon of experience dealing with Yin’s treachery, screamed that this was a trap.
Why would Yin, after arguing for his own supremacy, simply hand over the key to ultimate power? It made no tactical sense.
But the temptation was too great. The prize he had schemed for, fought for, across countless timelines, was sitting right there, utterly vulnerable. Yin’s reasoning, however twisted, held a perverse logic. Their goals were aligned in this one specific outcome.
Perhaps... perhaps this was a rare moment of pragmatic truce.
Suspicion warred with overwhelming desire. In the end, desire won.
Without a word, Nian Shi moved. He didn’t teleport; he simply stepped forward, crossing the space between them in an instant, arriving directly in front of Yun Lintian. He stared down at the meditating man, a complex mix of triumph, greed, and lingering wariness in his ancient eyes.
He reached out a hand, fingers poised to grab Yun Lintian’s head.
***
Deep within the depths of his consciousness, Yun Lintian floated in a sea of profound understanding. The lessons of the Creator and Yin played out in an endless loop, each cycle granting him a deeper insight into the nature of existence and nothingness.
He was on the cusp of a grand unification, feeling the separate strands of Creation and Destruction within his Profound Veil beginning to weave together into a new, singular, supreme law.
Buzz—
Suddenly, a violent shock jolted him from his deep contemplation.
The serene, infinite space of his mind was violated. A crushing, alien pressure descended, cold and arrogant, seeking to dominate and overwrite his very soul.
Yun Lintian’s eyes snapped open within his mental realm. The vision of the primordials vanished. Before him, the space twisted and solidified into a familiar, hated form.
Nian Shi.
But this was not the Nian Shi of the external battle. This was a manifestation of his soul, his consciousness, injected directly into the core of Yun Lintian’s being. He looked just as he did outside—silver eyes burning with cold fire, a cruel smirk twisting his lips.
"Well, well," Nian Shi’s voice echoed, dripping with mockery and triumph. "Still seeking enlightenment in here while the real world burns? How typical of you."
Yun Lintian’s soul form flickered with alarm. "Nian Shi?"
He couldn’t understand on how Nian Shi managed to appear here.
Nian Shi laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "How? You have loyal dogs, but it seems they have a taste for betrayal. Long Chen and Qian Jinglei... they were never your people. They have always been pawns of Yin. While you hid away in here, they betrayed everyone. They opened the Gate of Beyond Heaven from the inside and let us in."
The words hit Yun Lintian like a physical blow. Long Chen? Qian Jinglei? Betrayal? His soul shook, the careful balance of his enlightenment teetering precariously. They opened the gate?
"Your women," Nian Shi continued, his voice a venomous whisper that wormed into Yun Lintian’s core. "Your followers. All of them... dead. They fought so bravely, so pointlessly. They died screaming your name, wondering why their beloved sect master, their husband, did not come to save them."
He painted the images with cruel glee. "The Dragon Queen of Light? Erased from existence. Her daughters? Forced to burn their very souls to ash just to buy you a few more useless moments. The Moon God? She shattered the moon itself trying to stop me, and still fell. Their sacrifices bought you nothing. Because you. Were. Not. There."
Each word was a hammer strike on Yun Lintian’s heart. Linlin... Qingqing... Qingxuan... Niu... Chuntao... Mumu... all dead? Everyone... gone?
The sheer, overwhelming horror of it threatened to drown him. His soul flickered wildly, his concentration shattered, the nascent unification within him unraveling into chaos. The grief and guilt were a bottomless abyss opening beneath his feet.
He couldn’t protect anyone again...
Nian Shi watched his anguish with immense satisfaction. "You want to know how I can be here? This is how. Your soul is shaken, your will is broken. Your mental defenses are in tatters. Your grief is the open door I simply walked through."
He took a step closer, his form swelling with menacing power within Yun Lintian’s mind. "It is over, Yun Lintian. Your journey ends not in triumph, but in absolute failure. You couldn’t protect a single one of them. Now, this body, this potential... it is mine. Your consciousness will be the final thing I erase before I claim my rightful place as the new Creator!"
Nian Shi’s soul manifestation lunged forward, not with a weapon, but with open hands, aiming to seize the core of Yun Lintian’s flickering soul and tear it apart.
Yun Lintian quickly put his grief aside and went for the battle.
ROAR!
A deafening spiritual roar erupted from within Yun Lintian, not from him, but from the depths of his soul sea. Eight brilliant lights shot forth, intercepting Nian Shi’s lunge with overwhelming, primordial force.
They materialized around Yun Lintian, forming an impregnable circle of protection. Their auras, diverse and mighty, merged into a singular, terrifying pressure that shook the very fabric of his mental realm.
To his left, the majestic Primordial Azure Dragon God coiled, its scales shimmering with azure light, its eyes containing the fury of thunderstorms. Beside it, the fierce White Tiger God snarled, its body a sculpture of killing intent and sharp metal.
To his right, the glorious Vermilion Bird God spread its wings of eternal flame, while the Divine Phoenix cried out, its feathers radiating the pure essence of rebirth and nirvana. The Golden Crow God hovered above, a miniature sun casting holy light that burned against Nian Shi’s invasive presence.
At the forefront, the immense Black Turtle God stood as an unshakable shield, its shell etched with ancient runes of defense. The noble Golden Qilin God pawed the mental ground, its horn glowing with righteous judgment. The elegant Ice Phoenix God completed the circle, its aura bringing a glacial calm that stabilized Yun Lintian’s flickering soul.
The Eight Divine Beast Souls, his loyal companions and guardians, had answered his subconscious call of utter distress.
They had not spoken, but their presence was a clear message: You are not alone...