Chapter 64: Swamp Dweller - Taiyin-Modo Criativo do MC: Máquina Perpétua de Todos os Mundos em Atacado(De vez em quando, relaxo um pouco no trabalho.)

(The essence of man is the sum of all social relations.)

Listening to the blocky figure's words, Taiyin's expression turned gloomy as he clenched his fists.

Even though supreme laws permeated the air, and his palms contained enough immense strength to shatter a starry sky, it had absolutely no effect on the undying and indestructible body held within his grasp.

Instead, the bones in his own hands sounded as if they had collided with celestial gold, emitting a strange chime.

The reason for his loss of composure was the sudden realization that he now seemed truly different.

Beneath his grim countenance, he turned his gaze inward to examine himself.

Everything felt as though dust had been swept away.

Following the near-death state after his physical body and primordial spirit had disintegrated, and their subsequent reconstruction and recovery, the five great secret realms within him appeared remarkably transparent, and his vital blood was as pure as moonlight.

The reconstructed primordial spirit resembled a pristine, brilliant moon rising high above the Sendai secret realm.

The entire Sendai secret realm was like a bright mirror wiped clean of causal shackles, reflecting the laws of the heavens and every single thought operating within his primordial spirit.

He clearly perceived how, just moments ago, when he devoured the flesh, blood, and primordial spirits of five supreme beings, the bloodthirsty murderous intent and appetite, the fleeting satisfaction followed by subsequent emptiness, and the sudden rage and confusion caused by near-death...

Every single emotion and thought was vividly reflected in his primordial spirit, rolling about like pearls.

He was aware of these emotions, yet completely unruled by them.

Recalling the past, upon the mirror-like Sendai, those surges of anger, greed, bloodlust, and various negative emotions from bygone years emerged.

Along with the rare positive emotions such as happiness and joy.

A sense of dissonance welled up from within his heart.

"This shouldn't be..."

These negative emotions should not have been so fierce and overwhelming, nor should these positive emotions have been so scarce.

It was as if some mysterious entity had planted seeds of greed, slaughter, and fury deep within the core of his primordial spirit.

Like vines with a demonic vitality, they were deeply rooted in every corner of the primordial spirit, stimulating all negative emotions while suppressing every positive one.

Yet at this moment, those unreasonable negative emotions had their roots severed, slowly fading away bit by bit.

It was as if his former self was truly nothing more than a puppet—a plaything manipulated by some force, driven to slaughter and destroy.

Taking a deep, rhythmic breath, Taiyin's eyes gradually regained their clarity and calm.

"It saved me?"

"And why would it save me?"

With his anger gradually subsiding and only a hint of puzzlement remaining, Taiyin asked with a cold expression, "So?"

"If, as you claim, I am not the Taiyin you knew, but rather what you call a dark evolver, why did you trick me into drinking that milk to free me from the black aura's influence?"

"And what is it that you intend to do?"

Words tinged with a hint of sorrow rang out: "I am truly sorry. I had only known him as a friend for a few days, and the sudden realization that he might be dead made me feel very distressed."

"I wanted to find a way to kill you to avenge him."

"Yet I was also deeply perplexed. If you truly are a brand-new dark primordial spirit nurtured within his body after the erosion of that black aura which traces along time, can you really be considered the one who killed him?"

"Or should a new Taiyin like you also be regarded as an innocent? Merely a puppet forged by the black aura, a victim whose very emotions were involuntary?"

"Is Taiyin truly 'Taiyin'?"

"Should I still view you as Taiyin?"

Realizing that it no longer possessed any mental processing time, it no longer needed to put on the facade of thinking.

No matter how long it would normally take, as long as the human 'Fang Zheng' could slowly puzzle out a question, it could now provide an answer instantly.

It recounted the answer to Taiyin.

Combined with Taiyin's explanation to Fang Zheng back at the Jiang family's secret realm:

Time was like a vast river with branches, allowing one to glimpse a corner of the future through divination.

And the bizarre black aura, which should have existed only in the future current, was capable of invading those who peered into it.

Coupled with the manifestations of 'Taiyin' and the descriptions provided by Taiyin himself regarding the characteristics of dark evolvers, one could deduce—

The erosion of the black aura must possess a certain progressive process, and the stronger the target, the slower the speed.

Yet what 'Taiyin' displayed was already the birth of a dark primordial spirit.

This meant that the black aura did not begin eroding Taiyin after his divination; rather, it was highly probable that it used the invasion of time to travel far into the distant past, eroding his weaker past self.

By doing so, it used him as a beacon to welcome the dark invasion.

Furthermore, considering that Taiyin mentioned how interfering with time would incur a massive backlash of heavenly retribution, one could infer that—

In order to minimize the backlash of the river of time, the black aura invading Taiyin's past along the threads of time would likely maintain a high degree of similarity with Taiyin's life trajectory up until the current temporal node.

Only the closer it got to the present node, the more the signs of erosion would manifest.

Then, between two individuals with identical appearances and nearly identical life trajectories, shouldn't their memories and personalities also possess a high degree of similarity?

If the dark primordial spirit engendered by the black aura shared the exact same experiences as the original body, possessed nearly identical memories and a similar personality, albeit being more volatile, irritable, bloodthirsty, and greedy—

Then, if the negative influences caused by the black aura were stripped away from this dark primordial spirit, making it no longer volatile, irritable, bloodthirsty, and greedy, how much difference would remain between it and the original body?

Should two entities with virtually no differences in appearance, memory, and personality be regarded as separate individuals?

And should Fang Zheng continue to hold friendship toward the dark primordial spirit Taiyin?

"Is that it?" Hearing Fang Zheng's explanation, a sense of absurdity arose in Taiyin's heart, nearly making him laugh out loud.

"If what you say is true, you forged a friendship with that Taiyin over the course of just a few days?"

"Ha!" He covered his face and burst into laughter.

"What a ridiculous and naive fellow!"

"How can you be certain that even if that so-called true Taiyin actually existed, he wasn't just like me, plotting to exploit your abilities and trick you with words?"

"If I truly am a dark primordial spirit engendered by the black aura, even if your so-called milk stripped away the dark influence on my mind, and even if my memories and personality are nearly identical to Taiyin's—"

"In the end, I am still a different existence. How can you still feel pity for someone like me?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Unrestrained laughter echoed through the void, shattering the decayed space and time into countless fissures.

Yet listening to his laughter, the blocky figure remained unmoved, and its calm voice rang out once more: (A human named 'Fang Zheng' would think this way, and that is enough.)

(First of all, you must understand that 'I' have no demands whatsoever of you.)

(It is you now, and the former Taiyin, who have demands of 'I'.)

(Dark evolvers devour one another and are manipulated as puppets by the mastermind behind the scenes. Now that you have been cleansed of that influence, will other dark evolvers still regard you as one of their own?)

(Even if you are regarded as one of their own, dark evolvers do not refrain from devouring each other simply because of kinship. On the contrary, according to Taiyin, in that future branch, devouring one's own kind is the fastest path for dark evolvers to grow stronger.)

(If the future Taiyin foresaw is coming to pass, the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Earths universe is already being enveloped by darkness amidst the Sea of Boundary.)

(Then, when the darkness officially invades shortly to erode the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, can you truly remain aloof and safe?)

"So, you are threatening me?" Taiyin's unrestrained laughter ceased. He fixed a cold gaze on the blocky humanoid figure in his hand, a heavy murderous intent overflowing.

The calm and hollow voice continued: (You may interpret my words as a threat.)

"Hah."

With a light chuckle, his murderous intent vanished completely, and he smiled playfully. "Indeed, if the intelligence is true, and I wish to continue living without being reduced to a mindlessly controlled puppet, I must resist the darkness no matter what."

"However, even if I must resist the darkness, it does not mean I need to be like the Taiyin you described, rushing to protect all living beings in these Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."

Feeling his clear, mirror-like primordial spirit, Taiyin smiled softly: "Indeed, I am different now. My mind is no longer subjected to unknown influences like my memories once were."

"But that also does not mean I have become like the Taiyin in your impression, willing to fight bloody battles for all living beings."

"His Dao is not my Dao!"

"Then, what method do you intend to use to threaten me into fighting a bloody battle to protect the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?"

"Are you going to threaten me by cutting off the infinite resources you provide?"