"Haha… Elder Xiao, do you know what the true reality of the world is?" With a smile on his face, Shen Xuan tossed some fish food into the pond and turned to Xiao Ding as he asked.
"Huh… true… reality??" Xiao Ding was confused by Shen Xuan's question. "I don't understand what the young master means," Xiao Ding asked back, looking puzzled.
"Really? You don't know? Then tell me, what are you most afraid of?" His usual cold voice softened into calmness with a hint of playfulness as Shen Xuan looked at Xiao Ding.
"This… well, most people are afraid of death!" Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ding replied.
"Yes, what you said is right. Almost every being fears death, even after knowing that if they are born, they must die. Even this heaven will die of old age; who the hell are you in this vast cosmic ocean?" Shen Xuan said with a slight smile on his face as he looked into the dark sky, as if he already knew the ending of everything.
Glancing at Shen Xuan's detached expression, Xiao Ding didn't know what to say.
"Do you have some other questions in your heart? If something is bothering you, you can ask. If I know, I'll help you," Shen Xuan said, noticing the confusion on Xiao Ding's face.
"Then who is truly eternal…?" Xiao Ding asked, pausing midway.
"Obviously, the supreme creator of everything."
"Then don't you think we are just ants in his play, meant to entertain him? Or that he enjoys us killing each other and fighting for everything?" Xiao Ding spoke calmly, but Shen Xuan noticed the terrifying rage contained within his words.
With a slight coldness on his face, Shen Xuan turned back to gaze at the starry night of the cosmos and spoke with clarity. "How can we mortals, or even his children, understand what he wants? We can never judge the supreme creator."
"Then do you think you could ever surpass him?" Xiao Ding asked again.
"Uh… surpass him…?"
Shen Xuan looked at Xiao Ding and, for the first time, felt that he really never truly understood this man.
"I can never." It was a simple yet terrifying answer.
"Even you can't?" Xiao Ding showed a surprised expression on his face.
"What the f*ck…??" At this moment, even Shen Xuan felt numb at Xiao Ding's reaction.
"Well, Elder Xiao, I just want to ask; where does the thought that a supreme creator exists or does not exist come from? If you can answer me, then maybe there is a chance that I could one day be equal to him." Looking directly into Xiao Ding's eyes, Shen Xuan spoke calmly.
Xiao Ding fell silent. The night breeze stirred the surface of the pond, ripples spreading outward as the fish scattered. He stared at the water for a long time before finally speaking, his voice low and restrained.
"Thoughts…" he murmured. "They come from existence itself. From being alive. From having a soul, a mind… Isn't that obvious?"
Shen Xuan shook his head slowly. "No."
He picked up another pinch of fish food but didn't throw it into the pond. It rested between his fingers like dust.
"Thoughts do not arise because you exist," he said calmly. "You exist because thoughts are allowed to arise."
Xiao Ding's brows furrowed, not understanding what he meant. "Allowed?" he muttered, squinting his eyes.
"Yes." Shen Xuan finally released the fish food into the pond. "If there were truly a supreme existence, one beyond heaven, beyond Chaos, beyond Dao; then even the concept of thinking would not belong to us."
He turned his gaze upward toward the vast, indifferent stars. "The reason you can question him… the reason you can doubt him… the reason you can even imagine surpassing him… is because he has never interfered with that freedom."
Xiao Ding's heart trembled.
"If he truly wished to dominate," Shen Xuan continued, "you wouldn't be wondering whether he exists. You would know, just as you know hunger, pain, or fear. Your thoughts themselves would already carry his mark."
Silence fell between them.
"So," Xiao Ding said slowly, "you mean… the fact that we can question him proves that he does not control us?"
Shen Xuan glanced at him. "No. It proves something far more terrifying."
Xiao Ding swallowed. "What?"
"That control is unnecessary."
The words struck like thunder. Shen Xuan's expression remained neutral, almost gentle.
"If every law, every Dao, every cause and effect already functions perfectly without his direct will… then whether he exists or not becomes irrelevant to us. An ant does not need to be watched for the mountain to remain unmoved."
Xiao Ding felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Then… what is your ambition?" he asked quietly. "If not revenge… if not surpassing him… then what?"
Shen Xuan finally looked back at the pond. "To walk to the end," he said. "Not to challenge anyone. Not to overthrow anything."
Xiao Ding's throat felt dry. He looked at Shen Xuan; his perspective of him was no longer that of an elder looking at a junior, but of a man staring at something he could not quite grasp.
"Then tell me this, young master," he asked slowly, a trace of heaviness in his voice. "If everything can exist without his will… if control is unnecessary… then why? Why is there so much bloodshed? Why are worlds destroyed, clans exterminated, and lives treated like dust? Why does suffering exist at all? If he truly exists, if he is truly supreme, then why can't he control everything? Why not stop it?"
The night grew quiet. Even the insects seemed to fall silent after hearing his voice.
Shen Xuan shook his head and said lightly, "Though I don't know, I am sure that in the future there will definitely be someone who can answer. Until then, live, or reincarnate, until that time, until someone can truly answer it."
Taking a yawn, he placed his hand in front of his mouth and stretched his body. "Uh… Elder Xiao, this is enough for today. You go. I have to sleep too."
Seeing that Shen Xuan wanted to sleep, though at his realm sleeping didn't truly matter, it was still human nature. Xiao Ding got up and was just about to leave the courtyard when he turned back and said,
"Young master, I have one request. Please smile more. It makes you much more attractive and charming. Otherwise, with a cold face like a thousand-year ice cube, it will be very difficult to find a woman for yourself."
Without waiting another moment, he slipped away, leaving Shen Xuan in a daze.
Deep in vast cosmic chaos.
Inside a high-plane universe.
A beautiful girl, with a moonlight veil on her face, sat upon a throne while formations and runes of unknown grade floated within the void. The surroundings were very peaceful and calm.
"Holy Master… someone from the headquarters has come here and is looking for you." Suddenly, a maid holding a black-gold token in her hand stepped forward. The token flew automatically and suspended itself in front of her.
The veiled woman frowned upon seeing the black-gold token. "Go and call them; the ones who want to meet me." Throwing the token back to the maid, she spoke.
Soon after some time, a girl in a long pink dress appeared, with a face as beautiful as the moon; one that could charm even the sky. With a light smile on her face, she gracefully walked toward the veiled woman who was sitting on the throne.
Before the young girl in the pink dress could even speak, the veiled woman spoke first. "Well, can the young miss tell me your name and why you came here to the middle plane?" She tapped the armrest of her throne rhythmically.
"Senior, this girl's name is Lin Xinxin. Senior, Gu Yue Xuan should know that the Lin Clan has its own test for each family member before the age of fifty. So I came here so that you will become my protector while I am in this lower world for the family test." Taking out a paper, which seemed to be formed from thousand-year-old wood, Lin Xinxin handed it to Gu Yue Xuan.
Gu Yue Xuan glanced at the paper, which seemed to be sealed by a family seal formation and could only be opened by the seal key present within their family. Unfolding it, she read the contents inside.
"Miss Gu Yue Xuan, Lin Xinxin, one of the heirs of the Lin Clan, is undergoing a clan test. It has been determined that she will be sent to the Azure Star Galaxy under your jurisdiction. Let it be managed by the deputy members; you have only one order: to protect her from harm. There is no obligation to assist her further, as long as she is not in danger. , Lin Wei."
Seeing the last word written, Lin Wei, Gu Yue Xuan stared deeply at the letter in her jade hands. Then her gaze fell upon Lin Xinxin, a look of interest appearing on her face. Rising from the throne, Gu Yue Xuan walked up to Lin Xinxin and spoke lightly.
"Miss Lin, since the order comes from above, this saint will help protect you. However, I will not take any orders from you."
After saying this, she turned her head toward the maid who was kneeling at the side. "You, take Miss Lin and arrange for her to stay in the best courtyard."
Then Gu Yue Xuan looked back at Lin Xinxin. "Miss Lin, you will have to wait for a few days. This seat has some matters to deal with regarding formations. It seems some intruders are attacking the formation arranged in a certain lower world. If this is within this seat's control, we may head toward that world for now."