Chapter 1609 — A Different Path to Attaining the Dao

. . " The woman frowned, anger rising in her heart, but she had once had dealings with Shen Mu in a past universe and knew his temperament well. If she did not give it, he would likely stir up some new trouble.

"Seventh, you and I are both young masters of Miluo Palace, and you are the youngest. So I shall be generous.

" She pondered for a moment, then said, "In my Chaos Sea there are lotus flowers, and naturally there are also lotus seeds. I will give you a lotus seed.

This lotus seed is no ordinary thing. If you have the ability, you may even grow a twin lotus from it.

What say you? " Shen Mu nodded again and again. The woman swam beneath the sea, and her figure vanished.

After a moment, her figure reappeared, and a lotus seed rose slowly from the Chaos Sea, radiant with light, imbued with a strange dao resonance, extraordinarily divine!

"Having obtained this lotus seed, you must climb the twin lotus and cut the red cord!

" the woman said sternly. Shen Mu said gravely, "Second Sister, set your heart at ease.

Though my reputation is poor, I value good faith above all!

I can write you an IOU! " The Empress and Yuanmu wore strange expressions.

"An IOU and such will not be necessary.

" The woman said indifferently, "If you take my lotus seed and try to flee, I will hack you to pieces.

The other young masters may not be able to kill your present self, but I can sink you into this Chaos Sea and erase every trace of your past and future, so that your entire being never existed! " Shen Mu shuddered several times, hastily took the lotus seed, hesitated, and scratching his head, said, "Then, that lotus leaf. . .

" "Enough! " The woman shouted, and said coldly, "You have already gained an advantage — and you want more?

" Shen Mu said hesitantly, "No one objects to excessive courtesy.

Besides, this lotus leaf, fine as it is, cannot compare to the lotus seed.

Second Sister has even given me the lotus seed — why be stingy with a single lotus leaf? " Beneath the sea, the woman's face darkened, and she stared at him fixedly.

Shen Mu was uneasy, but gritted his teeth and persisted.

After a moment, the woman said indifferently, "The lotus leaf can be given to you, but only after you have cut the red cord.

" Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief. The Empress sisters were filled with envy, and hastily said in unison, "Senior, could you first teach us how to refine that little wretch to death and become the true Guixu Goddess?

" Shen Mu's heart tightened, and the woman said, "You are of my Guixu lineage; I will naturally not treat you poorly.

You think you are two people, but in truth you are one. It is only that your experiences and encounters have differed, leading you to believe you are two.

In fact, you do not need to merge — you need only awaken your own self. " The Empress and Yuanmu were stunned. "You were forcibly merged by someone. The one who merged you was a bungler who never realized your true nature.

" The woman said, "The Guixu Goddess was, from beginning to end, one person, yet he merged you as two.

Write out the character for 'person. ' The top of that character is your root; its two strokes, the left-falling and the right-falling, are your two consciousnesses.

You are in truth the Goddess's consciousness split in two. You need only awaken your root, and the two of you will merge completely and return to the root. " Shen Mu frowned deeply and looked at the Empress and Yuanmu. The Empress and Yuanmu were also frowning, their gazes turning toward him. The woman continued, "By then, the Guixu Goddess's consciousness will grow stronger and stronger, while your consciousnesses grow weaker and weaker, until in the end only the Guixu Goddess remains.

Your consciousnesses will be mere twigs and branches, gradually becoming so insignificant that they cannot interfere with the Guixu Goddess.

I have a method called the Mirror of Guixu.

Refine this mirror together, and you need only each gaze into it to awaken your original body. " Her divine consciousness rippled, transmitting the method of the Mirror of Guixu to the Empress and Yuanmu. The Empress and Yuanmu, two in one body, both received her teaching, yet neither activated the Mirror of Guixu. The two of them rolled their eyes, harboring sinister designs. Shen Mu, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

Though the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace was incomparably powerful, she understood the human heart far too little.

The Empress and Yuanmu were both proud and arrogant, each centered on herself, unable to tolerate the other, eager to devour the other, to refine the other to death, to preserve herself and make herself a lofty, supreme existence.

Yet the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace intended to make them awaken the true self within them, the Guixu Goddess, reducing them to appendages, to twigs and branches, to insignificant beings — an outcome more unbearable than death!

Moreover, the two women were sworn never to coexist.

After awakening the Guixu Goddess, they would be forced to coexist in one body — which they naturally refused! "They look at me — which means they will still come to me, to borrow my dao of Reincarnation to solve their problem.

" Shen Mu smiled faintly. "You have already gained your advantage — why do you not set out? " the woman suddenly said.

Shen Mu exchanged a glance with the Empress and Yuanmu, then leaped up and began climbing along the twin lotus.