Chapter 567 - Death By A Thousand Cuts
"They are not illusions, we are just in the Six Paths Reincarnation." Zhong Yue stared at the giant, he said, "His six Yuan Shen secret realms were already cultivated into the mini Six Paths Reincarnation. From the moment we stepped into the city, we already walked into it. His Six Paths Reincarnation is the place in which all the dead are sealed, including the Fuxi gods and his own army of gods. All of the gods' souls were ensnared in his Six Paths Reincarnation. These souls would reincarnate one time after another in his Six Paths Reincarnation, their prowess and spiritual energy would be extracted out every time they reincarnate to be absorbed by him."
Mother Da Zhen was a little puzzled, she could understand a little but not all it. Even though she was a mother god, her attainments in the Six Paths Reincarnation were much inferior to Zhong Yue's.
Zhong Yue continued, "All of the scenes and events we experienced felt real because they are really happening. But all of them were just replays of what happened in the past. His miniature Six Paths Reincarnation is able to reincarnate the trapped souls in his Yuan Shen secret realms, that's why he could revive the dead gods and replay the scenes and even conversations of what happened. He is the one that is pulling strings behind the scenes, he bestowed the skeletons with flesh and meat, and placed the trapped souls back into their respective corpses. Then, he controlled them to replay the scenes one time after another."
The Six Paths Reincarnation was one of the strongest forces in the universe, and reviving the dead was just one of its many uses.
However, even when the mini Six Paths Reincarnation had only one use, it was more than enough to confuse them into thinking they had traveled between times.
This was because the illusions were too realistic, even Zhong Yue truly thought that he was sent back in time to witness and even participate in its historical moments.
Not only him, but even Xin Huo was deceived as well. He had been quiet all this while, thinking that he was really time-traveling between the past and present.
But he couldn't been blamed; after all, even the wisest man would have doubts and questions he couldn't answer. Not to mention that when Xin Huo went into a deep slumber, the Six Paths Reincarnation was yet to be created. It was only natural for him to not know anything about it.
But the Six Paths Reincarnation of the giant was still flawed and incomplete; otherwise, Zhong Yue wouldn't be able to see through it either.
Mother Da Zhen was clueless, she mumbled, "Then how did you discover it?"
The young man glanced at her and said, "You."
"Me?" Mother Da Zhen was puzzled.
The giant stopped groaning and also listened carefully. It was also curious about what went wrong that allowed Zhong Yue to see through everything.
Zhong Yue said placidly, "When I was standing in front of the bottomless pit, the light from the Fuxi skeletons was directly on me. That time, you were still far away from me, there was no way for the light beam to reach you. But when the lights faded away, I noticed that you were still with me on the battlefield. That's when I started suspecting; that maybe, the Fuxi skeletons weren't the source of the divine lights? After all, they are already dead, there is no way they can still possess such strong arcane energy to send me back in time. Furthermore, you are not beside me, why are you with me as well?"
Mother Da Zhen was startled, she never thought of it before.
"The divine light was just a cover for me to think that it was the Fuxi skeletons that sent me back in time to witness the historical moments. But in fact, we were sent from one Yuan Shen secret realm to the other. And what sent us away, was the huge eye underground."
Zhong Yue was slowly peeling away the layers that were covering the truth, "But those were just suspicions on my. After all, the scenes were just too real for me to resolutely deny them. So real that only those who cultivated the complete Six Paths Reincarnations can avoid showing themselves in the scenes.
"At first, I was just thinking that the strong figures wiped away their faces. But when thinking back again, the real reason is that he didn't possess the souls of the stronger figures, that's why he couldn't replicate their images in his Yuan Shen secret realm. And in the underground bridge, I was sure that you were not on the bridge, thinking that you might have still been outside of the tunnel. But then again, you are still with me, making my suspicions seem more plausible."
Mother Da Zhen was enlightened, "So we never really traveled through time, nor were the gods under the Bi Xie Celestial Emperor time traveling. They were all just trapped in a never-ending loop around his six secret realms, condemned to remain trapped until their eventual deaths?"
Zhong Yue pointed at the words written on the sharp teeth, he said, "'Danger, don't enter. Run!' These words prove that there were some gods that managed to reach where we are now, right before the second loop is about to start. They must have written down this warning after realizing the truth of the matter. This is the truth of the City of Nature!"
Although one of his eye was blinded, the giant's other eye still revealed praise for Zhong Yue's acuity.
Mother Da Zhen raised her head, she looked at the giant and mumbled, "Why is he doing all this? He could kill us all in just the snap of a finger. Mortals, Qi Practitioners, and even the gods are no different than ants to him. Why take this roundabout method to kill us?"
The question was like a dark curtain that covered Zhong Yue's face, he gave a cold sneer, "A lone cat and a school of mice, a hunter met with a group of prey. Like a child, he enjoys toying his prey, slowly torturing them to death."
Mother Da Zhen shivered.
The giant lowered his hand and said in a shuddering voice, "No, you are wrong. I wasn't toying with you all, I am just… lonely."
It wasn't clear if the giant was crying or laughing as it said, "I am so lonely, way too lonely. I've been trapped here for more than eighty thousand years!"
"We are also lonely—" many souls surged out, trying to come out from the light wheels behind the giant. They were shouting and crying, "We are also lonely, we are also here for eighty-six thousand years already…"
The souls and the giant were crying together, their voices loud and sharp.
"Is that giant… Patriarch Nature?" Mother Da Zhen asked softly.
"Yes." Zhong Yue answered in a placid voice, "But the real Patriarch Nature is already dead, it is impossible for him to still be alive now. This giant is only Patriarch Nature's spirit, controlling Patriarch Nature's Six Paths Reincarnations while trapped in this city formed by his own mortal body."
Mother Da Zhen was stunned, "Patriarch Nature's spirit is trapped in his own mortal body? Who did this?"
"Might be himself, but more probably his own father." Zhong Yue jeered, "His father didn't want his own name to be polluted, that's why he killed his own son—so that he could bury the events that happened here. Patriarch Nature's spirit was trapped in his own mortal body and anyone who entered the city would die in this endless loop of Patriarch Nature's Six Paths Reincarnations."
"From the moment we stepped into the City of Nature, we had already fallen into a series of traps. The Zhong Yue and Mother Da Zhen we saw walking into the city are just mirror images, and the City of Nature here is actually Patriarch Nature's spirit. If we had rushed into the city to stop 'ourselves' from going into the city, we would have only been rushing into his mouth. By then, we would have become one of the many souls trapped in his Yuan Shen secret realms, mired in this endless loop of Six Paths Reincarnation."
Mother Da Zhen swallowed her saliva in fear and terror, she mumbled, "His father, what kind of evil existence is he…"
Zhong Yue continued, "Only be eliminating everyone that was privy to the secret can one ensure that no one will come to understand the truth. But even the most well-built prison will have a tiny hole on it, a flaw that can will become our salvation."
He stamped on the ground and said, "We are standing in front of Patriarch Nature's spirit, right in front of his mouth. Walk into the city, we will enter his mouth and he will eat us. Step back and return, we will fall into the endless loop of his Six Paths Reincarnations again. Only this place, the place we are standing on right now, is unaffected by his Six Paths Reincarnations. His Six Paths Reincarnations, the six Yuan Shen secret realms... they are like worlds he creates, it is impossible to injure him at all in there. But here, we can hurt him. Thus, I cast the saber here and blinded one of his eyes."
Mother Da Zhen praised in her heart even though when they were enemies.
Patriarch Nature gave a cold snort while smiling, "Then what? One is a god, but just an insect, and still gravely wounded. Another one, not even a god, but a Fuxi rebel. You aren't even a halfblood Fuxi! So I ask you, what does it matter that you've discovered my secrets? Do you think you can still leave alive?"
Mother Da Zhen's face turned pale, Patriarch Nature was right. Any of the gods he can conjure up in his mini Six Paths Reincarnations could easily kill them both, let along Patriarch Nature himself.
He would probably be able to reduce them to ash with just the wave of a hand!
What use was it for Zhong Yue to uncover its mysteries? They still couldn't escape death.
"It's true, I can't kill you." Zhong Yue nodded, he admitted that he was weak and powerless, "A god like you who is tens of times stronger than Bi Xie Celestial Emperor even in his peak state, let alone a mere Qi Practitioner like me."
"Bi Xie Celestial Emperor?" Patriarch Nature jeered as he answered, "I've seen him before. He came once after the deaths of his subordinates, but stood far beyond my reach and left immediately after seeing me. Hehe, the Fuxi gods that died by my hands are even stronger than that little child."
Zhong Yue nodded, "I am not a god, I am tens of times weaker than Bi Xie Celestial Emperor."
"You overestimate yourself!" Patriarch Nature said.
"So, I am not your match." Zhong Yue said in an honest tone, "Not a single creature on the Ancestral Star can match your strength, not even the Deity Overlords. We can't be saved, not at all. But thankfully, I still have a helper, she should be here anytime now."
Just as he said that, a zither melody filled the surroundings. It sounded like the gentle weeping of a goddess beside a clear lake.
It was unclear where the zither sounds came from; it seemed so distance, as if it came from another dimension.
Patriarch Nature's face changed drastically, he suddenly muffled a deep groan and shuddered violently as if he had received a colossal impact!
His skin cracked, and his muscles cut open. The zither sounds sliced across his body like swords and sabers, lacerating him bit by bit!
Patriarch Nature roared, he burst away but couldn't leave the City of Nature formed by his own mortal body. Meanwhile, the zither sounds continued to follow him, no matter where he went!
Moments later, not single spot on his body was unwounded.
Yet the zither sounds never stopped, as if wanting to cut him down until he was reduced to particles!
Zhong Yue stood there quietly and watched. Patriarch Nature's roars softened as they slowly turned into whimpers. Mother Da Zhen was completely terrified as she watched.
For three days straight, Patriarch Nature's Yuan Shen was lacerated, torn, cut, and sliced until he died while Zhong Yue stood there and watched without even blinking his eyes.
After seeing Patriarch Nature's death, Zhong Yue closed his eyes and murmured softly while bloody tears rolled down his cheeks, "My people, my ancestors, can you see it…"