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Chapter 412: Illusions Stir Chaos of the Mind but Fade at the Tranquility of the Heart.

Half a day had passed but there was still no sign of Ning Fan getting past the first stage.

In the lower level of the Black Lightning Realm, Hong Yi’s eyes remained gloomy. She took out a piece blood-red bronze mirror and touched its surface with one of her fingers. Within the mirror, it vaguely showed the scene happening in the cloud realm in the upper level.

In the lightning palace, Ning Fan had already stood for half a day with his eyes closed, pausing before the first stage.

Outside the formation, there was an elderly man in grey robes who was making mocking remarks and laughing at Ning Fan. He was the one who controlled the illusions in the formation to deceive Ning Fan.

The cold light in Hong Yi’s eyes slowly became more intense. If she was not wrong, that grey-robed elderly man who was hiding outside the formation was the realm spirit of the White Lightning Realm.

“How dare a mere realm spirit touch my people? He’s blatantly seeking his own death!”

Anyhow, Ning Fan was considered to be her subordinate. The fact that he was being trapped by a mere realm spirit really enraged her.

Unfortunately, she was just in the form of her primordial spirit and she did not dare to go up the cloud realm recklessly to help Ning Fan.

Just as her anger rose within her, Ning Fan’s eyebrows moved. After standing there without moving for half a day, he finally opened his eyes.

“Truth and illusion.”

Two demon stars slowly surfaced in his left eye while two devil stars appeared in his right eye.

On his glabella, two divine stars gave off traces of lightning.

He seemed to have gain a new insight but he looked even more bewildered.

He looked at the two figures of Zhihe in front of him. Both of them had the exactly same appearances and smiling faces. It was difficult to identify which of them was the true Zhihe.

He could not find any exit for the first stage after spending half a day standing there. The elderly man did not lie to him. In order to pass the first stage, he must kill either one of the two figures in front of him.

One of the two figures was the genuine shadow of Zhihe while the other one was an illusion.

If he kills Zhihe’s true shadow, it would harm the luck of Zhihe’s true body.

If he kills the illusion, he could get through this stage. However, Ning Fan felt somewhat reluctant.

He could massacre millions of living creatures without mercy but there were also some people whom he was reluctant to kill.

In the past when he faced Zhihe’s illusion that was manifested by his Heart’s Devil, he was reluctant to kill it. Today, he felt the same.

One of the two woman figures donned simple and plain cloths while the other wore a coat made of the fur of a white fox. After Ning Fan opened his eyes, both of them gracefully walked towards Ning Fan. Their delicate and pretty faces were still filled with a hint of puerility like usual.

That immature and innocent expression on her face that showed unsophisticated she was had softened Ning Fan’s stony heart.

The two of them gave him a radiant smile, as if it was their greatest bliss in the world to be able to see him safe and sound.

One of them mustered her courage and held Ning Fan’s hands even though her face was filled with embarrassment. Her delicate hands were still soft and cold like before.

The other Zhihe looked at Ning Fan shyly but her eyes were filled with delight. At the same time, her face showed a hint of petulance, as if she was angry at him for not returning after so many years.

“Big Brother Fan, just kill me. Then, you can pass the first stage.” The two figures spoke calmly, as if they were not affected by each other’s presence.

Their words had made Ning Fan even more hesitant.

He had tainted himself by carrying innumerable crimes and sins. He could massacre countless beneath the heavens. He could carry the infamy which would make him an evil person in public for thousands of years. However, he could not harden his heart and kill Zhihe, even though the so-called Zhihe was just an illusion.

His heart was filled with even more struggles. The lightning palace before his eyes gradually became blurry. Vaguely, layers upon layers of illusions appeared in front of him.

The first layer of illusion was the All Pleasure Sect.

The second layer of illusion was the Seven Apricot.

The third layer of illusion was the Ning City.

Each scene of the illusions enfolded Ning Fan. The illusions which he fell into became deeper and deeper, making it more difficult for him to extricate himself.

Outside the formation, the elderly man in grey robes laughed even more maliciously. His cold and evil laughter reverberated within the illusions.

“Weak. You are too weak! You can’t even make up your mind to kill either the true shadow or the fake illusion and you still think that you can pass the first stage?! Your state of mind is so frail and fragile. I really wonder how you managed to come this far!”

“Frail?”

Ning Fan’s eyes turned cold. His heart gradually became still and quiet.

The last scene of illusion paused at the night when he left. Standing under the grapevines, Zhihe murmured her little wish.

“Big Brother Fan, when you return from the Endless Sea, could you bring back a bell orchid?” The Zhihe who was in plain clothes spoke.

“I heard that the orchids in the Endless Sea will emit a sound like wind chimes when wind blows. It is very pleasant to hear... When I hear that sound, I will know that you return...” The other Zhihe who wore fox fur coat said.

Ning Fan closed his eyes. He thought he was able to distinguish which one of them was the true shadow while which one of them was the fake illusion. However, he eventually realized that it was just a wishful thinking.

From the very beginning, his heart had never viewed these two woman figures as illusions, much less harden his heart to kill either one of them.

Which one is real and which one is fake?

So what if I can’t distinguish? So what... if I can’t distinguish?!

Even if he manages to identify the fake Zhihe, would he be willing to kill her?

His mouth formed into a warm smile. He reached out both of his hands and stroked the cheeks of the figures. His touch was still as gentle and affectionate as always.

He would never hurt Zhihe. Never. No matter it was her real self... or her illusion!

He activated the power of his heart formation and gradually understood why this grand formation of True Illusion was able to find his weakest point and manifested the figures of Zhihe to disturb his state of mind.

It turned out that the power of this formation had already intruded his heart and accessed all his weaknesses without exception!

“Discovering one’s weaknesses by peeking into their hearts and create the illusions which could enchant them, huh...”

The cold light in his eyes became even fiercer. He raised one of his fingers and amassed a trace of sword qi on it. Mercilessly, he thrust it into his chest. His white robes were stained with blood immediately as blood flowed out from his wound in a gush!

His heart was crushed by the trace of sword qi. The pain was so intense that it penetrated into his bones!

However, that excruciating pain could not cause Ning Fan to knit his eyebrows. He just shouted with a cold tone.

“Get out from my heart!”

Just as the sword qi pierced through his heart, a trace of formation power was expelled from it.

A muffled groan was heard at the same time. The person who was injured was the elderly man who was plotting against Ning Fan outside the formation!

The elderly man revealed a look of shock. Ever since he was titled by Immortal Emperor Tai Su as the White Lightning Realm Spirit, he had met countless cultivators who had entered the remaining White Lightning Realm.

No one had ever broken through the three stages created by Tai Su’s three questions when he controlled the power of the formation.

It was because Tai Su’s three questions directly aimed at the weak points of a cultivator’s heart!

No one in the world could give up their weak points. For those who retained affection, affection itself would be their weak point. For those who did not harbor a single trace of love, being cold and cruel was their weak point!

With the help of the formation power, the elderly man had managed to discover Ning Fan’s weakest point in his heart and produced the Zhihe’s illusions using the formation power.

This formation of True Illusion was extremely profound and mysterious. It used the power of the Heavenly Dao to condense a real being and its illusion. One could only break through the formation by eliminating the illusion.

One must be able to distinguish between the true shadow and the illusion. If they could not find it out clearly and kill the true shadow by mistake, it would then harm the individual of that true shadow.

The people who came across this formation in the past dealt with it by killing either one of the two figures cold-heartedly, turning away from this formation due to the fear of difficulty or eliminating the right illusion through the accurate identification after pondering for a long time.

No one had chosen to crush their hearts like Ning Fan.in order to break through this formation.

Each layer of the illusions shattered like broken mirror after Ning Fan had destroyed his heart.

A trace of fresh blood flowed out from one corner of Ning Fan’s mouth. When the two figures or Zhihe witnessed that gruesome scene, a pained expression came over their faces.

Be it the true Zhihe or the fake Zhihe, both of them felt heartache for Ning Fan. That anguish in their eyes came straight from the bottom of their hearts.

Ning Fan’s eyes looked stunned. Now, he found it even more difficult to discern the authenticity of the two figures of Zhihe.

However, why did he have to distinguish them?

“I can’t distinguish between the true shadow and illusion but there is also no need for me to distinguish them. Be it the real shadow or the fake one, I will never hurt either one of them. I will never hurt her.”

“True Illusion. The word ‘illusion’ means the fabricated and baseless stubbornness and insistence. The word ‘true’ means the state which countless celestial beings diligently and tirelessly seek after. I can’t see through it because my cultivation realm is still low. But do you think you can see through it? You are just an Early Void Refinement Realm creature. Do you think you deserve to see through the truth and illusion?!”

“Even though I can’t distinguish them, I have already figured out a method to make the illusion vanish. In terms of the foundation of illusion techniques, they are only for enchanting one’s hart. The key of crushing the illusion is in crushing one’s own heart.”

“What is truth? What is illusion? Illusion stirs when the mind is chaotic; illusion fades when the mind is tranquil.”

“Be it the true shadow or the illusion, as long as it is your shadow, it is true in my heart. You are the truth of my Dao.”

The power of black star enveloped his body. His heart reformed. This time, his heart became as firm as steel. No matter how vigorous the power of the True Illusion formation was, it could not intrude his heart again!

He shut his eyes. His heart became as quiet as a millpond which did not even have a ripple.

When he reopened his eyes, the illusion formation fragmented like pieces of glass. However, not a single one of the two Zhihe’s figures disappeared.

Are the both of these figures real?

Just as this thought rose in Ning Fan’s mind, the two of them began to fade away simultaneously.

No one could tell whether the both of them were true shadows or illusions.

However, it was this state where one could not tell or explain clearly that reflected the ultimate comprehension about truth and illusions!

All of a sudden, Ning Fan recalled the scenes when he acknowledged Immortal Sovereign Zi Dou as his master.

During his mortal severance, he entered into an illusion and acknowledges Zi Dou as his teacher. It was where he learnt his Wind Mist Finger from.

In that realm of illusion, he met his own mother and also Zhihe. He thought that it was nothing more than just an illusionary dream.

However, Zi Dou told him that an illusion realm might not necessarily be fake.

“From the Endless Sea, you entered the Broken World. Your consciousness entered the Sea of Clouds from the Broken World and your Dao Heart entered the illusions of heart from the Sea of Clouds. Among them, have you really seen through which one is true and which one is fake?”

“The current diligent and industrious you may not necessarily be an illusion. The merciless and ruthless you in the Rain World may not necessarily the true you... Reality and fantasy is just the difference of a single thought!”

*Rumble*

When he recalled the words the Immortal Sovereign Zi Dou had spoken to him, only then did he gain a bit of insight. That final sentence had perhaps explained about all the illusions and realities in the world.

Perhaps Zhihe was just an illusion originally.

However, when Ning Fan was stubborn about her, that illusion then became reality!

When Ning Fan’s heart became tranquil, that illusion might then return to nothingness!

‘Reality and fantasy is just the difference of a single thought. Perhaps there is no distinction between reality and fantasy originally in this world...”

When Ning Fan had just begun to have a Dao comprehension, he literally cut it off himself.

His cultivation realm was too low and he had only started to comprehend the word ‘void’. He did not have the qualifications to inquire the ‘truth’. That word ‘truth’ implied the truth of the Dao. It was the great Dao that only Life Immortal Realm beings had the qualifications to start pursuing!

If the first step of cultivation was said to be pursuing longevity, then the second step of cultivation was about pursuing the truth of Dao!

“Impossible! How could you cause the illusions vanish themselves without you cutting them down?! This is definitely impossible! Since ancient times, even the Life Immortal Realm experts who had come to this place, none of them was able to see through the distinction between the true shadows and illusions. How did you manage to do it?!”

(Incomplete)

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel