Inside the Scripture Hall.
By now, the blessings of heaven and earth had thinned completely, and most of the obsessive mories had already surged into them.
At the center of those mories, the branches and leaves of the Green Sovereign Divine Tree grew ever more lush.
In the parts of the trunk once hidden from view, eight small buds quietly erged, concealed deep within the tree. They pulsed with life, drawing on the imprints surrounding the group, continuously absorbing the deepest power of their obsessions.
"From this day on, your na shall be Lu Qing," Lu Chen said, raising his right hand to press a finger between the brows of his first avatar. His gaze swept across the fading blessings and obsessive mories surrounding them.
At that mont, his eyes grew hazy as a surge of ancient-feeling energy descended from the sky, shrouding him completely. His right hand glowed with fiery-red spirit qi, carrying a profound, ancient power.
Lu Chen's voice carried a weathered, dignified tone as he spoke, uttering mysterious phrases never before heard, "You shall inherit my deepest conviction, along with my mories of Greenheaven Village and the endless longing I hold for the villagers and for Little Pup. With these, you must cultivate diligently. One day, you must find Grandpa and avenge the villagers."
To Jun Laoye and the others, however, it seed as though Lu Chen was only standing there, with spirit qi radiating from his hands.
On the main beam of the Scripture Hall's roof, the green-robed Daoist sat side by side with the black-robed general.
"That's the boss's aura. Their tilines have rged," the Daoist said, his gaze fixed on the ancient energy enveloping Lu Chen. "Third, do you still think the boss doesn't care about us?"
The black-robed general snorted dismissively. "Hmph. Isn't he only making things easier for himself? If he truly cared, he'd let us fight alongside him."
Yet the corner of his lips betrayed the faintest smile.
"Since you have also awakened, don't you want to do sothing? Perhaps grant him more strength?" the general said, lowering his eyes toward the second avatar below. "Or maybe change the ending you once had?"
"No need. Everything has its destined course. Reversing the flow of ti cannot change the past. That road was one I had to walk," the Daoist said, frowning slightly as he looked at the avatar identical to himself. "Well, I'll at least give him a set of green robes later. The clothes he's wearing now are simply too ugly."
"Ugly?" The general arched a brow, glancing at the three avatars clad in black Daoist robes. His lips curled upward. "I find those black robes quite fitting, actually."
"Your taste is vile," the Daoist sneered. "What's so good about wearing black all the ti? Just because you are the Evil Self doesn't an you have to dress in black. Change your style for once."
"Black clothing is best. No matter how much blood stains it, the color never changes," the general replied, turning his head toward the cliffside. "Second, have you checked carefully? What's causing the mists to rise down there?"
"Beneath it lies an ancient battlefield. It seems to have sothing to do with you."
"With ? I've never set foot on this continent," the general said, frowning in confusion. "Why would you say it's related to ?"
"Look at that black mist. Doesn't it resemble the one that's on you?" the Daoist said, his voice tinged with mockery. "Don't rember? Have you forgotten how you once used the Green Sovereign Divine Tree to mimic a whale spout?"
"@!#@￥!?" The general cursed and stiffened in embarrassnt. "That was just an experint! How was I supposed to know it would cause such mutations? And what does that have to do with these mists?"
"To think you'd still have the face to ask that! That thing has the Green Sovereign Divine Tree's ability to devour spirit qi. Once it is attached to soone, it would seize control of their mind. In my travels through the long river of ti, I've seen countless worlds destroyed by such things."
"!@￥!￥"
The general rolled his eyes at the Daoist's lecture. "Do you think I, like you, can wield the power of ti? I've only ever smashed through ti and space with brute force. How could I just stroll across tilines at will? Honestly..."
"Wait..." The Daoist's gaze shifted back toward the fading, ancient energy. His voice softened. "The boss's naming ritual is ending. We'll speak later."
***
On the first floor of the Scripture Hall, a faint shadow had appeared on the first avatar's forehead.
Lu Chen continued murmuring the ancient phrases. "My first avatar, are you still willing to bear this na?"
Without hesitation, the avatar opened his eyes and answered firmly, "Yes, Original! I will uphold your deepest conviction. I will find Grandpa and avenge the villagers."
"Good, good," Lu Chen laughed heartily as the ancient energy around him dissipated into the air. "Go forth. I've already carved the path ahead. All that remains is for you to catch up."
As his dignified voice faded, the shadow between the avatar's brows solidified into a mark, etched permanently into his forehead.
The jagged mark on the avatar's forehead pulsed with a faint golden light, enveloping him. The remaining blessings of heaven and earth, along with the obsessive mories, flowed into him, forming his Heavenly Pool and ridians.
Blessings and obsessions intertwined and condensed, continuing to temper and strengthen the avatar's Heavenly Pool and ridians. A crisp sound rang out from within him, and without relying on Lu Chen's spirit qi, he advanced to the Qi Regulation Realm.
Lu Chen's eyes cleared once more. Placing his hand against the avatar's brow, he asked softly, "Have you decided? Do you want to accept the na Lu Qing?"
"Original, the naming ritual is already complete," the avatar said, pointing to the mark between his brows. "I can already feel the baptism of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth."
"Complete? Didn't we just arrive on the second floor?" Lu Chen asked, staring at the mark with confusion. "How did this happen? I don't rember anything."
"It truly is over," the avatar replied through voice transmission. "It seems they were here just now. That aura felt familiar. They were much like our own."
"Uh... fine then," Lu Chen muttered, hesitating. "But why do they always appear at monts like this? What exactly is their purpose?"
"Lu-gege, is the ritual over?" Nantian Wan'er stepped forward. "But you didn't even move just now. How could it have ended already?"
Nantian Yijian bounded over, excitent written across his face. "Yeah, that's right! Boss, you were just standing there the whole ti. I thought sothing had happened. Why does it seem like the ritual didn't affect you at all?"
"A small accident occurred midway through, but it is indeed complete," Lu Chen said, glancing around. "The blessings of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and the obsessive mories have already dissipated. We should head up now."
Just as he lifted his foot to step into the teleportation formation, he caught sight of the second avatar.
"You've also gained independent consciousness, haven't you? Have you thought of a na?" Lu Chen asked softly, stepping back. "If you have, let's na you now as well."
The second avatar responded, "Original, I already have a na. It is—"
His words were abruptly cut off when the green-robed Daoist atop the beam released a surge of spirit qi, stopping him before he could finish.
The black-robed general looked at the Daoist and asked coldly, "Didn't you say you wouldn't interfere? Why stop him from speaking?"
"I've altered many things in the past, but none ever changed the final outco. Thinking it over... You were right. Deep down, I still wish to alter our fate.
"It's too soon to grant him a na. That incident will happen soon. The best path for this avatar is to face the tribulation when the ti is right."
The Daoist removed his green robe and quietly slipped it into the second avatar's arms, suppressing his thoughts with spirit qi. Controlling the second avatar, he approached Lu Chen and slowly said, "Original, I don't want a na yet. I need to understand the obsession I carry first. Once I do, you can give a na."
"You don't want a na? How strange," Jun Laoye said blankly. "One avatar wants a na imdiately, while the other refuses. How strange... indeed."
"Original, there's one more thing," the Daoist said, glancing at Jun Laoye. He pulled the green robe from his arms. "I don't like this black robe. I want to change into this green one."
"Change if you want... wait, what?" Lu Chen agreed offhandedly, then froze as the words sank in. His face paled. "Why do you have a green robe? I don't even own one."
When he looked again, the second avatar had already donned the green Daoist robe. Seeing him in it, Lu Chen staggered back several steps, dazed. Aside from his cultivation aura, the avatar now looked exactly like the green-robed Daoist from his mories.
"How do you have that robe? How could you... Who are you, really?" Lu Chen's voice cracked as he pointed at the second avatar. To him, the green-robed Daoist had beco his lingering nightmare deep down.
Wind Dragon narrowed his eyes at the second avatar, rising and falling as he slowly spread out his divine sense, trying to discern the reason behind the robe's appearance.
"I've always had this robe. I am you, and you are ," the green-robed Daoist said through the second avatar, revealing a twisted smile on his lips. "Have you forgotten, Original?"
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