Chapter 18 True or False

The blank divine tablet projected text, but that text seemed to be shrouded by an extremely powerful force of time, making its shape unusually ethereal, and it was impossible to tell what kind of writing it was.

But "he" already knew what it was.

It had been taken away.

The name, form, spirit, and half of existence.

He now had no name, nor the form and spirit of "Ji Xiang". The appearance displayed outwardly was that of the White-Faced Zhenwu.

The formless thing, lodging its own body in the form of another.

What weighed even heavier on his heart was that he couldn't even see the other party's real name. What the blank divine tablet reflected was only his own name. The other party was himself, and at this moment, even the blank divine tablet acknowledged this.

True?

False?

The Qingyang world, born from countless prayers and twisted in the past, was it true in the past? Was it false in the past? Unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood, it was a world of illusion, yet everything truly existed.

"The Great Dao teaches people to cease divine thoughts. When divine thoughts die, all things are extinguished. In the past, those who attained the One, the heavens attained clarity through the One, the earth attained tranquility through the One, the gods attained spirituality through the One, the valleys attained fullness through the One, all things attained life through the One, and lords and kings attained the One to bring order to the world."

"The One is the Dao."

The black-clothed Ji Xiang existed in the distance, his voice constantly advancing and retreating along with his appearance, sometimes far away and sometimes present nearby. Behind him, surging waves of air transformed into auspicious clouds, rising from the clouds to the heavens, and countless celestial saints emerged.

For the true Ji Xiang, who had lost his name, form, spirit, and half of his existence, this was the first time he had seen such a magnificent scene. In the past, when he fought against enemies, they often saw such a sight.

The Four Saints of the North Pole, the Ten Direction Divine Kings, the Thousand-Light King Tathagata, the Primordial Heavenly Devil, the Ghost-Slaying General, the Four Great Celestial Venerables, and the Six Direction Underworld Lords.

Encompassing Celestial Saints, Buddhas and Celestial Venerables, Underworld Rulers, and Primordial Incarnations. It was like a high wall rising from the ground, and even the most powerful Ghost-Slaying General had become a power wielded by the evil being.

Buzz—

From his side, only the Black Tortoise and the White-Faced Zhenwu arose.

"Xuanwu Yuren is the Second Offering of the Qingyang Sacrifice. He is not affected by me. It should also be because of this that your existence was not immediately taken away by me."

"And your will is still clear, it seems to be due to the influence of the mark between your eyebrows. My little bit of power is not yet able to cover the seal set by the Heavenly Heart Realm."

The black-clothed Ji Xiang pointed to his brow.

The true nameless Ji Xiang also touched his own brow.

The Great Luo Giant Moon Seal, a palace-guarding immortal technique of the Eternal Life Heavenly Palace. It possesses the power of the Great Luo Heavenly Immortal, suppressing and destroying all spirits, protecting oneself from all internal and external disturbances, and forever maintaining clarity.

Furthermore, it can resolve one critical difficulty.

"It's a pity, this mark is unpleasant."

The black-clothed Ji Xiang pursed his lips, slightly displeased.

The Heavenly Heart Realm can distort history, and even replace it. Heavenly secrets are penetrated, reversing cause and effect, and can also fix cause and effect, making them unchangeable. These were all mighty powers once displayed by the Demon Heavenly Master, the Primordial Emperor, Christ, the Great Sun Tathagata, and others.

"Heh!" The black-clothed Ji Xiang let out a mocking laugh: "Now, you don't need to consider the question of truth and falsehood. When falsehood is taken as truth, truth is also falsehood; when truth is also falsehood, falsehood is also truth. I am the One, and also the Dao, similar to the Supreme Profound Thunder Sound you know, or the gigantic form of the Supreme Old Lord you have seen."

"I come from the One, it can be said that I am the Jade Clarity itself, and also a corner of the heavens revealed in the world! You cannot defeat me, and I can easily drill into your gaps and seize your existence, using only a small part of my power."

"Although you listened to the warnings of others, you will still come here. There is no need to have any regrets, because under my will, this is something that is destined to happen in history."

The nameless Ji Xiang heard the key information.

A small part of the power, a manifestation exuded by the main body, must seize his existence in order to move freely in the world.

So, the other party's main body is really in the deepest part of the Source Stream World, a place similar to a dream.

Falsehood within falsehood, in ancient times there was a saying to describe it, that is Wangliang asks Jing, that is, the shadow asks the shadow of its own reflection.

Wangliang is the shadow, the shadow of a person, and Jing is the shadow of Wangliang, the subtle shadow of the shadow.

"Illusions are composed of people's wishes, and within the world of illusions, there are also people, gods, demons, immortals, and ghosts in illusions. They also have their own illusions, and this is Wangliang asks Jing."

Ji Xiang once again had some understanding in the face of the enemy. Even in the face of such a crisis, that feeling came suddenly, a moment of inspiration.

Having lost the form of self, and instead merged with the true god Xuanwu Yuren, has he now achieved the "union of man and god" that was rumored in the Han Dynasty?

He could feel it, that feeling had appeared again.

It was the resonance of heaven and man.

At this time, the "black-clothed Ji Xiang" was not idle. He summoned the celestial saints, and outside his body, the sixth Underworld Ruler, the form and spirit of the Northern Black Emperor Zhi Guangji, rose from behind him.

With the appearance of this ancient Confucian emperor, countless sacrificial sounds were heard in the void, as if many noble people were constantly praying from within the years, praying for the country to have favorable weather, abundant harvests, and even eternal existence.

"Um... eh?"

The "black-clothed Ji Xiang" seemed to be about to do something, but at this time, he discovered something was wrong. He touched his head, and even reached into his brain, then revealed a strange expression.

"There should be a strange divine tablet in your body, how could... it still be on you?"

"Why don't I have this?"

He looked at the "Ji Xiang" whose expression had changed, but asked back without any emotional fluctuation: "It seems that the memories have not been completely synchronized either. What do you think my main body is, the essence of incense? The Heavenly Demon King? Or something else?"

"People exist in the world, and all have their own forms, but form is not the point."

The black-clothed Ji Xiang narrowed his eyes. He stopped talking and quietly looked at the original nameless Ji Xiang.

"Form is gradually formed at the beginning of birth, it is the unique appearance of every existing thing. There are no two naturally formed identical things in the world, and if they appear, they are artificially carved."

"With form, being given a name is a matter of course, but formless things also have names. The Dao is a formless thing, supreme, great, and most unspeakable, but it also has a name."

"What is the Immortal Dao? It is where spirituality leads."

The nameless Ji Xiang said this.

The black-clothed Ji Xiang frowned: "So names possess powerful power, they are the designation of something's existence in the world, and you, who have lost your designation and form and spirit, are a formless thing, not even as good as a wandering ghost."

"So I am the embodiment of the Dao, I am the heavens, I am the One, I am the supreme, and you are formless, the formless form that makes up the heavens, you are me."

"So... no matter what you are. What your main body is, is not important. The world does not know your main body, what the world knows is only Ji Xiang, and even what heaven and earth, gods, all things and living beings witness is not that hidden main body of yours."

After the black-clothed Ji Xiang finished speaking, a smile appeared on his face, because at this moment he was occupying the upper hand in the useless debate before him.

"Words, actions, gestures, demeanor. I am me, you are not you. No matter how you prove it, it is all useless effort. Accept reality, return to the source of the Dao. Or do you still think what is happening before you is some kind of illusion? Vainly attempting to break this non-existent magic with words?"

However, in the eyes and will of the nameless Ji Xiang at this moment, he did not hear what the black-clothed Ji Xiang was saying.

Scenes were repeating and evolving.

Christ, the Great Sun Tathagata, the Demon Heavenly Master, the Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable.

In that last battle, you occupied me, I occupied you, I gave birth to you, you destroyed me, splitting between truth and falsehood, and unifying between truth and falsehood, constantly tearing back and forth.

The Great Sun Tathagata occupies all living beings, and all living beings are him.

Christ said that he was the future form of the Great Sun Tathagata, so all the illusory Buddhist disciples in the Vajra Realm became Christians, and even the Great Sun Tathagata was born and destroyed by him for a moment, becoming a product of his teachings.

The Great Sun Tathagata evolved the future, fixed it, and then infinitely pulled it to the present, completely modifying it.

The Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable, however, used a divine incantation to break this modification, and even easily cut off his Heavenly Heart divine power.

Two voices began to come.

What the nameless Ji Xiang saw was a future form, speaking in the future.

Turning his head to the side, he saw that there was also himself in the past, saying the same words.

"When the human heart is removed, the heavenly heart returns. Within the square inch is the victory of the Senluo Xiaotai, the wonder of the Jade Capital Danque, and the dwelling place of the most ethereal and spiritual gods."

"Confucianism calls it emptiness, Buddhism calls it the spiritual platform, Daoism calls it the ancestral land. Attaining this existing world, comprehending the Taiyi Daluo, understanding the fundamental existence of the heavens and the world, one can grasp the rules within, and the will of the self will become the innate original self."

And his own consciousness also went to that future, and left a reflected body, fixing that future.

The future and the past echoed each other, thus affecting the present. The present is the past of the future, so going to a certain future, an unhappened history, becomes real, and also becomes something that is about to and inevitably will happen.

The reflected body constructed by the Heavenly Heart in the future is also the real self, existing in the future, existing in the present, and even existing in the past in the long river of years carried by this event.

The resonance of heaven and man continued to resound.

So, it had already been reflected at that time?

"What's wrong with you?"

The black-clothed Ji Xiang felt that the "nameless Ji Xiang" before him had changed. He shook his head and decided to end the other party's useless struggle.

"Let's end it here, the futile resistance is really unsightly. In the future, I will become you, my name and your name will resound through the past and the future, and will surely ascend to the position of the Primordial."

"All celestial saints, heed my command."

The black-clothed Ji Xiang chanted a spell, and all the celestial saints behind him responded. The glory of the Celestial Venerables, the majestic aura of the Four Saints, and the clouds of the Underworld, layered upon layer, covered the sky.

The nameless Ji Xiang glanced at the black-clothed Ji Xiang:

"I have no self, all living beings are me."

"I have a self, all living beings have me."

"I am the One, in the beginning."

The celestial saints descended, but the existence of the nameless Ji Xiang began to disappear. Right before the eyes of the black-clothed Ji Xiang, faster than a snap of the fingers, he disappeared without a trace.

A force belonging to the nameless Ji Xiang surged into the body of the black-clothed Ji Xiang. The latter's head tilted slightly upward, and after a brief silence, the black-clothed Ji Xiang began to let out a rampant and unrestrained laugh!

"Finally, finally waited for it!"

"My manifested body! It's complete! From this moment on, I am Ji Xiang, and all of the Jade Clarity is mine!"

"Hahaha! After saying so much nonsense, wasn't I still assimilated and recognized by me in the end? Don't worry, you and I will jointly attain the Great Dao! As a part of me, you will of course exist forever!"

"Now, it's time to ask those Corpse Dissolution Immortals for my things!"

Even the form and spirit of Xuanwu and Zhenwu belonged to him. Only that strange divine tablet on the other party's body did not appear, nor did it come to him.

The black-clothed Ji Xiang rubbed his brow. Now his existence was complete, but his memory still seemed to be somewhat lacking.

But that blank divine tablet, that kind of thing, whether it was the divine tablet or the memory, was perhaps no longer important. Compared to his true form, what treasure could this thing be?

"Which of the celestial saints does not have a name? Without a name, where does the power come from?"

————

The nameless Ji Xiang disappeared, and then reappeared.

Only this time, the world he saw was no longer the world of the past. The heavens and the earth were bright, and five Buddhas appeared in the sky, within the bursts of bright celestial music.

And this, was the future that he had briefly reflected after entering the Heavenly Heart.

The blank divine tablet still existed, and it seemed that a name was about to appear on it. It existed constantly, unaffected by the past or the future, before all things.

"Past and future."

"True? False?"

"I will be here, borrowing the future body, to comprehend the Daluo."