Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 726 - 569 The Truth of the Soul Crystal + - 570 Both Man and Horse Shattered

Chapter 726: Chapter 569 The Truth of the Soul Crystal + Chapter 570 Both Man and Horse Shattered

"Soul Essence!"

Following Zhou Ping’an’s gaze, Tang Yu initially didn’t notice but then looked closely and exclaimed in shock.

"This formation is extraordinary; it actually utilizes Soul Essence."

"What is Soul Essence?"

Zhou Ping’an and Bai He looked at each other; they both had never heard of it.

Zhou Ping’an, however, hazily guessed that this was the "Soul Crystal" he had heard of when he was using the Jade Tablet to communicate.

But as for how it came to be and what its uses were, he wasn’t too clear.

"This thing, alas..."

Tang Yu’s face changed expressions, holding a semi-transparent bead and scrutinizing it for a while before he sighed and said, "According to legend, when the world formed, all things had spirits, but later rumors claimed that the strongest spiritual beings were those of the Human Clan.

The key to this rumor lies in the soul."

He paused in his speech and added, "Even if it’s a person who doesn’t know how to cultivate and has an extremely frail body, they can still gradually strengthen their soul amidst a life of suffering and hardship.

However, this soul power is something ordinary people don’t know how to utilize or cultivate... until their physical bodies are destroyed and they die, then it quickly dissipates into the cosmos..."

"Don’t you think, letting the soul power disperse and turn into nothing, is too wasteful?"

The old man’s eyes were very strange.

His question was a direct jab to the heart.

"Isn’t there reincarnation?" Zhou Ping’an thought of some ancient myths and legends from modern society and tentatively asked.

If souls could reincarnate and start a new life, there would be no question of waste.

Not scattering into the cosmos but rather being reused.

"What reincarnation? It’s the biggest deception." Tang Yu had lived long enough, now over a hundred and fifty years old, and naturally knew more, thus he was very certain.

"Initially, the Six Paths Reincarnation Demon Sect used the name of reincarnation to lure various powers to join, to strengthen themselves.

In reality, the reversal of life and death by their Reincarnation Plate was just an illusion...souls put into it were washed white like blank paper, then the soul quality was refined, and it resulted in this thing."

Tang Yu pointed to the crystal clear bead with smoky essence floating inside, took a deep breath and said, "The Three Demon Paths are called so because they treat souls as livestock, breeding and harvesting them. In their dominated territories, there’s no hope for the living beings...

What does Hong Lian’s barrier removal remove? It is the ego and attachments, memories, and desires from the birth to the death of the human clan...

And the Prison Suppressing Demon Subjugation Sect even considers the world a great prison, with all beings inside as prisoners, none hoping to transcend."

"I see."

Zhou Ping’an understood upon hearing this.

This must have been the slogan shouted out by the various Immortal Sects when they raided this world, as well as the truth of how they positioned themselves on the moral high ground to annihilate the Three Demon Paths beyond redemption.

If what they said was true.

The Three Demon Paths treat the world as a cage and the souls of countless beings as crops, continuously harvested to nurture themselves. Then indeed, their defeat is well-deserved.

Zhou Ping’an’s eyes flickered with light as he suddenly remembered something else.

If the Demonic path ultimately desires the harvesting of souls, then what about the Immortal Path?

What purpose did they have in invading this world; surely they didn’t want to be Saviors, did they?

’Incense?’

It could only be incense then.

That is, the Wishful Thought Power he often used to aid in cultivation.

Thinking back on the list of treasures he had to provide while buying information from the Traveling Envoy, Zhou Ping’an kind of understood.

All under heaven is bustling for profit.

All under heaven scurries for gain.

It turns out, in the eyes of those high and mighty beings, the commoners and all sentient beings of the world are nothing but leeks?

A true definition of "Heaven as the board and stars as pieces."

This world is just a chess game, and the fate of all beings lies in the turn of one’s hand.

Zhou Ping’an looked up at the starry sky.

Suddenly, he felt his spirit weigh heavy.

Facing such a vast chess game, how could he himself step off the board?

Or rather, become one of the chess players.

Gods can’t be relied on for worship, demons can’t be trusted for faith; from now on, he’d need to be more cautious.

Zhou Ping’an’s thoughts diverged, and he thought of the modern society on the other side, where life is also short and souls scatter upon death.

Could there also be a mechanism, or a certain force, that carelessly collects soul power, gathering it into Soul Crystals?

His thoughts had strayed too far.

"So, this thing cannot be kept?"

Having comprehended what a Soul Crystal truly was, Zhou Ping’an looked again at the shiny object that made one’s spiritual power surge and yearn to devour it, and he saw boundless bloodiness within it.

"It’s said that we Cultivators learn from the Universe, drawing in Heaven and Earth Energy for growth, an act of selfish taking. However, we do not extinguish the hope of all beings or consume souls to enhance ourselves.

This thing may accelerate the cultivation of the soul, but ultimately it carries cause and effect... Absorbing too much can easily lead to demonic barriers, it’s something we do not take."

Bai He also nodded in agreement: "Even if it scatters between heaven and earth, to dust it shall return, and to earth it shall go, it’s still a form of comfort.

Perhaps, it may transform into another form and persist eternally."

This view of Bai He revealed another kind of compassion for the world.

All things under heaven were created to nurture man, and without one thing does man report back to heaven.

In the end, the physical body returns to the earth, and the soul to the void.

Isn’t that another way of giving back what was received?

"Then let it return to the cosmos."

Zhou Ping’an swept his sleeve, stirring up more than a dozen Soul Crystals, causing a slight vibration that broke the energy lock sealing the soul power, and with a snap, numerous white mists suddenly rose into the air.