Kao Dao Ji was running at full speed.
His body was covered in deep wounds, and one of his arms was heavily bleeding; it was almost unusable.
Chasing after him, there were several hungry wolves.
Yet.
Despite the circumstances, there was no fear in his expression, only elation.
In one hand, he was carrying a large shell.
The shell emitted a faint Rank 2 Aura; it was a Gu.
He gritted his teeth, jumping with all his might towards the barrier.
And the wolves too chased after him; they ran at full speed towards the barrier and then-
Their bodies were reduced to minced meat.
"Hahahahahahah!" Kao Dao Ji laughed heartily, witnessing such a scene.
He had already exploited this trick several times, and the scene never grew old.
However, what truly mattered, what made his gaze settle, was the Gu in his hands.
He grabbed the Gu and put it to his mouth, and he began to speak.
"My memories have been compromised. I heavily suspect that things are not like they seem; a Venerable who is neither of the ten is scheming against me..." He spoke calmly inside the shell.
And as he spoke, he went into full detail about his discoveries, his hypothesis, beliefs, and analysis.
He did not skip a single detail; even his memories of his past life or the existence of the novel of Reverend Insanity were freely shared.
By this point, he could not afford to miss a single detail.
After all, without that as evidence, his hypothesis would be completely weightless.
Besides, he previously concealed his memories because he found them crucial, but now that he knew that his mind had been compromised, he needed a second opinion.
And he also wanted to preserve those memories, no matter the cost.
Of course.
The Gu alone could not do it.
It was not a Dream Path Gu that could enter and exit a dream.
But it still held a simple purpose.
By this point, he had more or less figured out why the figure behind the scenes was not worried about Kao Dao Ji learning the truth.
The window of opportunity was far too brief; whilst his mind was far too busy.
The crises in the world outside were too abundant for him to pay attention to the incongruencies, whilst his sanity inside the dream was rapidly dissipating.
Finally.
Even if he somehow figured out the truth, so what?
As long as the memories were erased and he was unable to contact the others before losing his sanity, it would not matter.
Finally, he was not even sure if telling them the truth would even matter.
Regardless, he had to try.
Thus, with his remaining willpower, he made a plan.
He derailed the dream, he found the chance to grasp several Gu Materials, and whilst his mind was still fresh, he managed to refine that Rank 2 Gu successfully.
The Gu had been programmed to activate if one of several conditions was met, such as meeting the others, or if he reached a certain Cultivation Realm.
Or if it detected that the dream was coming to an end.
Once the conditions were met, it would repeat his words.
Enabling him to share the truth, and enabling him to remind himself of everything.
Of course, he would have preferred to have the Gu perpetually active, however.
If a sound is repeated too frequently, it loses its meaning.
It would become nothing but background noise that he would easily ignore.
With his current Cultivation, sustaining the Gu active was impossible too, which was another consideration, and sustaining the Gu several times per week would heavily decrease his speed of Cultivation.
As for why he made arrangements for even if he did not meet the others?
Well. While it was doubtful, he prayed that his own memories would not be erased automatically when he exited the dream, but would instead dissipate over the course of the minutes.
If that was the case, he simply could share the truth before it was too late.
Whether that was wishful thinking or not was another question, but that was his reasoning.
Kao Dao Ji spent several minutes tinkering with the Gu, making full use of his wisdom path knowledge to write very precise instructions onto the Will.
To maintain their functionality no matter what.
Once the preparations were made, he took a final action.
He opened his mouth.
And gulped down the shell.
He smiled lightly; his eyes were turning heavy.
Whilst his consciousness was turning blurry.
"I hope the arrangements I made succeed…" Those were his final thoughts.
Before he closed his eyes, and everything became black.
Then.
As if nothing had passed.
He opened his eyes again.
His expression grew solemn.
The atmosphere in the cave changed as he sighed tiredly.
Staring at the full moon with a profound expression.
"Is this what you wanted, Giant Sun? This continent, its people…They are all poison!
They were not born rotten; it was just you who drove them to this point." He sighed.
"I understand why you would cherish your descendants above the others; I understand that the resources are limited, and I understand that the blizzard is not your fault.
But you were the one who pushed things to the brink, who started this endless cycle of 10 years.
The war begins, the people die, their families are broken, and only the strongest thrive.
Then those winners escape the cold, whilst the losers are forced to starve and freeze under the blizzard.
Those losers are pushed to the brink to survive, and they prepare to the fullest to survive the following war.
A cycle of recovery, war and devastation that drove so many to madness...
And you did that just for your precious monarchy." He snorted coldly.
As he spoke those words, the flame in his heart was lit.
"I will destroy everything. Every hint of your legacy will be destroyed by me.
In 9 years, I will appear again.
During the next Hero Ceremony."
Kao Dao Ji spoke in a deep tone, or at least however much his feminine body allowed him to.
Then, he squinted his eyes.
"Those words are for you too, my precious sister. As well as to you, father.
I hope you have not forgotten me by then."
As this long speech was concluded, his expression hardened to the limit.
By this point, his whole consciousness had already been swallowed by the Dream Realm; he was nothing but a puppet.
…
…
…
Some time ago, on the other side of the Dream Realm.
The other Kao Dao Ji was staring at the full moon.
His expression was wavering.
He frowned in a mix of complicated emotions.
"The full moon is so beautiful…
And so is this world.
But…"
He lowered his gaze.
"What will be of me once this dream is gone?" He sighed.
During the time he had regained his conscience, he had begun to ponder about his own existence.
And the more he analysed his position, the more he realised a despairing truth.
"I am going to disappear." Those words were spoken with certainty.
"If I try to take over, I will fail. Due to the arrangements of whoever put that thief in my body.
Even if I somehow succeed. I am not an otherworldly demon, and I am not a human.
Star Constellation will never show me mercy. Whilst I simply cannot oppose Fate.
So what? What else can I do?"
He clenched his fists.
Giant Sun, Spectral Soul, Star Constellation, Fang Yuan.
And who knows who else.
All of them had orchestrated the tragedy that was his life.
His original fate had been trampled over and over again, until nothing remained.
All that was left for him was to disappear into oblivion.
And to observe as somebody else took his place, wearing his face, using his name, using his Gu.
All for the vain hope that one day he would be avenged on their behalf.
How could he accept this?
"Hey you!" A voice behind him shouted.
The other Kao Dao Ji turned his head.
"Huh?" The middle-aged man with several bald spots looked at him in surprise.
"Are you crying…?" His expression became ruthless.
He walked towards him and slapped him right in the face.
Drawing several drops of blood.
He fell to the ground.
Still not satisfied with this, he snorted coldly.
Grabbing the man by his hair.
"Listen to me. You are no longer a tiny flower that needs to be cared for. Now that you have the privileges of being an heir, you should act as one.
Do not show any weakness, do not show any femininity.
You cannot even leave a hint of the truth for others to expose.
I am saying this for your own sake.
Nobody should ever find out the truth.
Are we clear?"
The other Kao Dao Ji merely raised his eyes to stare at him coldly.
"Fuck off." His voice was resonating, powerful.
The body of the man trembled violently as he widened his eyes.
And then, using that chance, he kicked the man in the groin.
But his hand was caught.
The man grinned.
"The young can still learn, splendid, truly splendid!
You will make for a great man-" Suddenly he was punched in the face.
"Not bad. Your timing was good, you positioned your body properly, and put your whole weight behind the hit."
He praised endlessly.
What a brilliant gem; it would surely shine like the sun above if nurtured properly.
Suddenly. He received a message; he raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? Lord. Is there something of me you'd request?"
"The sister…Have you found out where she is hiding? Have you found her body?"
Suddenly the man let out a nervous chuckle.
"No, sir…The situation is very complicated. We could never find her tracks, but it was natural.
The blizzard was very powerful, so nobody was sent to rescue her.
And by the time the snow had receded, months had passed by.
So, it's natural that we could never find her.
But to be honest, my lord.
It's very doubtful that she could persist until now. The red lightning killed the people around her.
Is doubtful to say whether she could survive it.
And even if she had, how could a mere Rank 1 Gu Master persist in the snow on their own?
Furthermore, her words would have very little credibility; nobody would listen to the words of a mad rambling woman-"
"Am I your boss or are you mine? If I tell you to jump, you jump.
At most, the only thing you are allowed to do is ask me 'how high?'
Besides, do you understand why we do things?
We could easily kill them just after the aperture ceremony ends; this would lead to fewer clues.
However. Killing so many of our kin would also be heartless! Diminishing our prestige against the other forces.
But the hidden threats must still be removed, somehow.
We sold her to the Murong Clan precisely to suppress her growth.
Once she was enslaved, her opportunity to overturn her position would basically be null.
But now?
She has been compromised!
We are unable to find her; who knows what her current situation may be.
And once she gains the slightest amount of power is obvious what she is going to do, which is precisely why we must locate and eliminate her."
Then.
There was a small pause.
"Especially because just before she got lost, she and a few unlucky people were struck by red lightning. After examining the corpses, we have found traces of Blood Path in them.
Do you know what this means?
There is a decent chance that the zone where she ended up was a Blood Path inheritance that got triggered after the massive mobilisation of the Murong Clan."
Upon hearing those words, his expression grew solemn.
Blood Path?
Perhaps things were truly more serious than he had estimated.
"Understood, I will go there personally to monitor the area."
However, just as he was about to hang up.
The other Kao Dao Ji suddenly said.
"Can I go with you?"
The man stared at him with a confused expression, but then he frowned.
"Is this because of a sense of sentimentalism? Just forget about them; they are no longer your family.
Besides, do you think they still see you as her beloved sister?
She hates you." He said in a cold tone.
The other Kao Dao Ji nodded.
"I know, and I am not telling you to go there for a family reunion.
On the contrary.
I wish to sever my bonds with him completely."
The expression of the man changed.
"Do you mean?"
"Yes…I will bury him with my bare hands." The other Kao Dao Ji spoke in a very cold tone, of course.
That was a lie.
He just wanted to talk to him, but this was the first opportunity he had found during all this time.
....
....