427: Chapter 427 Reflection in the Mirror

The scene on the mirror surface changed abruptly!

The face and figure in the reflection began to twist and change, no longer resembling Ye Tian.

It transformed into a figure completely shrouded in black mist, with only a pair of eyes visible—an assassin from the Shadow Calamity Tower!

"Do you recognize me?" the reflection said in the assassin's raspy, cold voice. "Your every move is under observation. A pawn will always be a pawn."

The scene changed again!

It became Li Xuanxiao with an indifferent expression. "The way of the sword is pure. Your Chaos is cluttered and improper. You have taken the wrong path."

Next was Nangong Zhaotian's venomous face. "You deserve to die! You and everyone around you deserve to die!"

Then came Qin Pojun, Xiahou Ba, Yun Wuji, Shui Qingdie...

Familiar faces flashed in the mirror one by one, each carrying a different emotion: doubt, pity, worry, and even... hidden greed.

"Look," the original reflection of "Ye Tian" reappeared, its voice carrying a seductive quality. "This is the world you live in."

Filled with hidden dangers, layered with schemes, lonely and without support.

Your persistence, your morality, your companions... perhaps in the blink of an eye, they will become the blade that stabs you. Why bother?"

The reflection reached out to him across the mirror surface, as if within reach.

"Stay here. In the Mirror Abyss, there are no threats of life and death, no mutual deception. There is only absolute silence and... your true self.

You can think slowly, realize slowly, until you are willing to accept everything. Accept your fear, your doubt, your anger; accept that you are such a person. And then..."

The reflection's voice became low and full of temptation.

"Then, you will discover how ridiculous the slaughter, the struggles, the promises, and the responsibilities of the outside world are.

Why must power be used to protect?

Isn't it more satisfying to use it for slaughter, for plunder, and to satisfy yourself? Just like that thought that occasionally flashes in the deepest part of your heart..."

"Shut up." Ye Tian interrupted the reflection, his voice not loud but very firm.

The reflection's words came to an abrupt halt.

Ye Tian looked up; his face was still pale, but his eyes were clear, the slight ripples from before having completely settled.

He even gave a slight tug at the corner of his mouth—not a smile, but more like a sense of relief.

"You got some things right," Ye Tian spoke slowly, as if talking to the reflection and himself. "I am afraid of death, so I fight desperately to live.

I have doubts, so I search for answers along the way. I am angry, so I show no mercy to those who deserve my sword."

"But you got two things wrong."

"First, I am not a pawn." He stared into the reflection's eyes. "I walk my own path.

The chaos bead choosing me is my Opportunity and my responsibility.

I have accepted Venerable Jiehuo's Karma, and I will see it through.

Whatever schemes or dangers lie ahead, I will face them as they come.

As for whether I am the player or the pawn in the end... we shall see."

"Second, you are not me. At most, you are those shameful whispers in my heart, the dark thoughts that any person would have. To treat them as my essence? That is truly ridiculous."

"The real me," Ye Tian gripped sword as a gray light began to flow along the blade, "is the person who dares to draw his sword against an old monster of the Core Formation stage even knowing he might die.

The person who can force his way into the Flame Cave for the sake of a promise to his companions.

The person who, even when heavily injured and on the verge of death, would first send his companions to safety.

The person who... no matter how much fear, doubt, or anger he has, will never stop his footsteps, let alone bow his head to a thing reflected in a mirror like you!"

The moment his words fell, sword let out a long cry!

He didn't strike the mirror; instead, Ye Tian reversed the sword tip and lightly tapped his own chest, right where the fire jade essence was constantly emitting heat.

"You say the Mirror Abyss reflects reality?" Ye Tian whispered. "Then let me show you what I have determined to be 'reality'."

He closed his eyes.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the chaos bead radiated a clear light, no longer probing the outside world but sinking into himself.

Not to suppress the fear, doubt, and anger, but to perceive them, to embrace them, to acknowledge their existence, and then... to cover and guide them with something even more powerful.

The desire for life, the pursuit of the Dao, the adherence to promises, the responsibility for companions, and the anger toward injustice transformed into the driving force to move forward...

These, too, were reality—the more important parts that constituted the person known as "Ye Tian."

An indescribable aura slowly rose from his body.

It was no longer simple Chaos annihilation, but had gained a sense of steadfastness, a rock-like intent that remained unchanged even after being washed by wind and rain.

That was the power of the "heart," the confirmation of one's own path after experiencing life and death and seeing through delusions.

The Chaos True Essence in his palm emerged once more, still gray, but within it, there was a faint light—like a spark of inextinguishable heart-fire born from Chaos, weak yet persistent.

Just as this aura rose, the continuous illusory sound of rain stopped.

A deathly silence descended once more.

Ye Tian opened his eyes.

In the mirror directly ahead, the smile on that constantly grinning reflection vanished.

Its expression became somewhat dazed and hollow, and then the reflection's face and body began to fluctuate, blur, and dissipate.

"So... that's how it is..." The reflection's final voice drifted over, carrying a hint of realization and regret, before completely vanishing.

*Crack.*

A crisp sound came from the mirror surface directly in front.

A crack as thin as a strand of hair appeared out of nowhere, snaking upward.

Following that, *crack, crack, crack...* the sounds of shattering rang out densely from the mirrors in all directions!

Countless cracks spread, instantly covering all the mirror walls!

Boom!!

The mirror cage shattered.

It instantly turned into gray dust drifting through the air.

Ye Tian stood where he was, and before his eyes, that massive Mirror Abyss space reappeared.

Not far around him, several other mirror cages collapsed almost simultaneously, the dust falling to reveal the figures within.

Qin Pojun was on one knee, leaning on his spear and panting heavily. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he had just experienced a tragic slaughter.

Xiahou Ba lay flat on his back on the ground, his chest heaving violently as he stared upward, muttering curses under his breath.

Yun Wuji, Yu Miaoqing, and Feng Xuan stood back-to-back, their faces pale and their sword-wielding hands trembling slightly, but their gazes were sharper than before.

Pei Tieshan crouched on the ground holding his head, while Dongfang Xinghe sat slumped to the side; both their gazes were somewhat vacant, clearly having suffered significant mental trauma.

Han Xiao was still standing, the Ghost Girl on his back unharmed, but the web between his thumb and forefinger on his sword hand had split, blood dripping down the hilt.

His face was as pale as paper, his lips tightly pursed. After looking at Ye Tian, he gave a nod.

Shui Qingdie was the only one who could still stand somewhat steadily.

Her mirror cage had been closest to Ye Tian's. After it broke, she immediately looked toward him. Seeing that he was unharmed and that his aura was even more settled than before, her heart finally dropped from her throat. Her legs went weak, and she nearly sat down, quickly using her sword to support herself.

Everyone was still alive, but each looked as if they had been fished out of water, cold sweat soaking their clothes, their expressions filled with the daze of having survived a disaster amidst their exhaustion.

Clearly, everyone had experienced their own "Confrontation in the Mirror."

"Is everyone okay?" Ye Tian spoke, breaking the silence.

The group gradually came to their senses and gathered with difficulty, looking at each other and seeing similar things in one another's eyes.

No one spoke; they just nodded silently, checking their injuries and swallowing Medicinal Pills.

Some experiences could not be spoken of, nor did they need to be.

"This damn place..." Xiahou Ba was the first to recover. He stood up leaning on his axe, looking around the still empty, gray-white surroundings with lingering fear. "Does this count as... us passing?"

"I'm afraid it's not over yet." Qin Pojun also stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked into the depths of the space. "Look ahead."

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

In the depths of the previously empty gray-white space, five branching paths had appeared at some point.

Each path was shrouded in a hazy glow, appearing in the five colors of gold, green, blue, red, and yellow, matching the colors of the Five Elements gates they had seen outside the hall.

And above the entrance to each branching path, a blurry phantom of a rune floated.