158: The cause and effect of the game of chess between the mortals are settled.
Liu Qingtian's gaze was like two invisible ice cones, piercing through Su Wan's fragile and sorrowful facade to reach the depths of her Soul. The Laws of heaven and earth, which had been disturbed by his awakening, were forcibly smoothed over at this moment by a more magnificent and invisible power. The valley returned to a dead silence, but it was the silence before a storm.
"Fellow Daoist," Liu Qingtian spoke, his voice no longer carrying the slightest rasp of the mortal world, leaving only the cold hardness and penetration of colliding black ice, "how much longer do you intend to pretend?"
The moment the words fell, Su Wan, who had been tearful and trembling, stiffened slightly. Immediately, the extreme fear and sadness on her face receded like a tide, replaced by a deep calm that seemed to have experienced eternal ages. A vast, sea-like Aura rose from her seemingly fragile body without concealment. Though it did not reach the terrifying demonic might of Liu Qingtian's Peak of the Profound Void Realm, it had reached the Peak of the Fuhai Realm!
The surrounding space emitted a low hum under the collision of these two invisible Auras, and the light distorted slightly once more.
"Fellow Daoist Liu, why be so aggressive?" "Su Wan's" voice also changed, becoming cold and ethereal, carrying a flavor of being detached from the world. "The path of Mortal Transformation has its own Opportunities. Too much interference might cause variables, which would also not be beneficial for your Breakthrough to the Star Shattering Realm."
A ghostly light flowed within Liu Qingtian's Demonic Pupils, and the corner of his mouth curled into a cold arc. "Interference? If you hadn't secretly stimulated that mortal body's desire for offspring and used your 'Sentient Beings' Power Of Will' Dao Law to influence him subtly, how could this wisp of my consciousness have become so obsessed with this, even to the point of touching the taboo of time and Karma?"
He took a step forward. The Devilish Qi around him did not erupt, but the invisible pressure suddenly doubled, as if the entire world were collapsing inward with him as the center. "You want to use my mortal body to nurture a 'dao seed' containing the Dao Laws of both of us? To peek into my Demonic Path, or are you... plotting against me?"
The last few words carried a chilling killing intent, causing the Fuhai Realm Aura around "Su Wan" to sway slightly.
"Su Wan"—or rather, this mysterious female Cultivator who was also undergoing Mortal Transformation in this world—did not change her expression. She simply flicked her sleeves as if brushing away non-existent dust. "Fellow Daoist, you overstate things. The talk of a 'dao seed' is illusory. My actions were merely following the Opportunity of this Mortal Transformation. Your mortal body's obsession is deep, and he is deeply in love with that woman; desiring offspring is only human nature. My Power Of Will Dao Law only amplified the 'cause' that already existed. How can you call it a plot?"
She looked up, her eyes clear yet seemingly able to reflect the human heart. "On the other hand, for a Fellow Daoist of the Peak of the Profound Void Realm to be so wary of a junior in the Fuhai Realm, it might be a joke if it got out."
"A joke?" Liu Qingtian sneered, the coldness in his Demonic Pupils intensifying. "I do as I please; why should I care about others' opinions? Since you know my Realm, you should understand that crushing your Mortal Transformation body is no different from crushing an ant."
The terrifying killing intent became almost substantial, instantly locking onto "Su Wan." The temperature in the valley plummeted, and black ice crystals formed on the plants. This was a crush of absolute power levels, requiring no Divine Abilities or Spells.
Under this killing intent, "Su Wan's" face turned slightly pale, and the Fuhai Realm Aura around her was suppressed to the point where it could hardly leave her body. But she remained standing, her eyes showing no fear, only a deep calm.
"If Fellow Daoist insists on acting, I will naturally be unable to resist," "Su Wan" said slowly. "However, if you kill this Mortal Transformation body of mine, the Karma between us will be completely established. When my true self returns in the future, I will inevitably have a match with you. Moreover, don't you want to know what the Dao Laws of time and Karma, combined with my Power Of Will, can actually nurture?"
Her words were soft yet firm, pointing out the consequences while throwing out a bait that Liu Qingtian could not entirely ignore. The obsession and Dao Laws forcibly branded into the depths of his demonic Soul were indeed a "variable" he had to face and resolve.
Liu Qingtian fell silent. His cold Demonic Pupils scrutinized her, weighing the pros and cons. Killing her would be satisfying, but it would indeed create a major enemy for no reason, and the possibility of nurturing a "dao seed" also piqued his interest. More importantly, he vaguely felt that behind this woman, there seemed to be more complex Karma involved.
A moment later, the overwhelming killing intent receded like a tide.
"You may continue the Mortal Transformation," Liu Qingtian's voice returned to its previous cold indifference. "But you must not interfere with the thoughts of my mortal body in any form again."
"Naturally," "Su Wan" nodded slightly. "We will each go our own way and not interfere with each other. Until the Mortal Transformation ends, or... this body's natural life span reaches its end."
"Acceptable."
The agreement was instantly reached under the absolute power gap and mutual wariness.
The two said no more and, with great tacit understanding, raised their hands simultaneously and tapped their foreheads lightly.
A faint light flashed.
The bottomless coldness and wisdom in Liu Qingtian's eyes quickly faded, becoming calm and empty like "Mo Chen" again, though beneath that emptiness, there seemed to be a bit of indescribable depth.
The eternal, age-old calm in "Su Wan's" eyes also vanished, restored to the gentleness and light sorrow of a mortal woman, though deep within that sorrow, there also seemed to be a trace of faint bewilderment.
Regarding the conversation just now about Realm, Karma, and life and death, and regarding each other's true identities, all memories were self-sealed and deleted.
The valley remained the same, the wooden house remained the same, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Mo Chen" shook his somewhat groggy head and looked at Su Wan, who was also a bit dazed nearby. He frowned, feeling as if there had been a moment of trance just now.
Su Wan also came to her senses. Looking at "Mo Chen," a blush flashed across her face, and she subconsciously touched her lower abdomen, her eyes showing a complex emotion of hope mixed with unease.
No one knew that in that brief moment just now, the wills of two supreme existences had played a game of chess here, settling a Karma that would last for a hundred thousand years.
No one knew that at the last moment before the memory was deleted, both Liu Qingtian and that mysterious female Cultivator had used their own Dao Laws to leave a joint mark on that invisible agreement—allowing this Mortal Transformation body to conceive life.
However, how could the growth of a life that fused the Xuanxu Demon Venerable's Annihilation Demonic Essence, the paradoxical Dao Laws of time and Karma, and the Sentient Beings' Power Of Will of a Fuhai Realm Cultivator be an easy task?
An invisible Time Shackle, jointly set by them, quietly fell.
Within a hundred thousand years, this child will forever remain in an infant form and shall not grow up.
This was both protection, to prevent that mixed and terrifying power from going out of control too early, and observation, to see where this "variable," co-created by calculation and accident, would eventually lead.
"Mo Chen" walked toward Su Wan, still silent, but he reached out and gently took her slightly cool hand.
Su Wan trembled slightly but did not pull away, simply leaning her head gently on his shoulder.
Sunlight spilled through the sky, which had become normal again, lengthening their shadows and intertwining them.
Beneath the seemingly warm scene, a complex seed of Karma was buried, one that would take a hundred thousand years to unravel. The storm of the future had already quietly laid its groundwork at this moment.