Dreaming Revelations

When Xuan opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at a a wide open blue sky that seemed a lot closer than it should've.

'… Where is this…?' He thought to himself, glancing around. What he saw on either side of him were enough to give any normal person a heart attack—they were clouds.

Then, he glanced down.

He was sitting on a cloud—a massive one.

"… Well. This is a surprise. I never thought I'd be sent to heaven."

"This is not heaven," a voice suddenly interrupted, and Xuan turned around to see a beautiful woman standing there, long white hair flowing down her back and red eyes shining like rubies. In a way, she looked similar to Xuan, almost. The only difference was that she had four pairs of scarlet crystalline wings floating by her side, and she had a real ruby embedded beneath her throat.

"Oh, an angel," Xuan noted. "This really is heaven."

"I appreciate the compliment, but this really is not," the woman replied, sighing. "But to think my successor would look so much like myself… perhaps this is fate as well."

Xuan lifted an eyebrow. "Your successor?"

"Yes. Allow me to formally introduce myself—I am Pan Gu, the creator of the Three Realms."

At this, Xuan's eyes widened.

"The first cultivator… the maker of the world?"

"Correct. The Heaven Devouring Body you cultivated—or should I say, the Chaos Scripture—was left behind by me in the hopes of finding a successor."

"Hold on. I have many questions, but first—my physical body is fine, correct?"

Pan Gu nodded. "Yes. Your… friends are transporting your body back to that alchemist guild as we speak. You'll probably be out for a while, though, so we have time to speak here."

"I see… so, firstly, how do I know you're not lying to me?"

Pan Gu chuckled. "I know about how you cultivated the Chaos Scripture, and summoned you here after you fainted from backlash of using it. Is that not enough proof? Only the creator of the Chaos Scripture could know how to work around it this easily, no?"

"Hm… well, I don't fully agree with that, but I'll hear you out, at the very least," Xuan replied, keeping his guard up. "Under the assumption that you really are Pan Gu, Creator of the World, then why are you searching for a successor? Aren't you in the Nirvana Realm, the highest cultivation stage possible, and are immortal?"

'Also, why am I talking to you right now? Is this supposed to be part of the game?' Xuan thought in his head, though he didn't ask this out loud just yet.

At this, Pan Gu let out a deep sigh, and turned away for a brief moment.

"There is… a great misconception about cultivation that everyone in the world currently has. But before that, allow me to correct a misconception of your own: this world is not a game."

"… Oh?"

"You heard me. This world is not a game. And yes, I read your mind. You are, after all, in my domain. In fact, this entire world is my domain. You cannot hide anything from me."

Domains—a special power that only those in the Heaven Ascension phase or higher possessed. It would make sense that, as the creator of the Three Realms, Pan Gu could call the world her domain.

"So… you know everything? About the world I'm from, about players, about…"

"Correct. The Nirvana Incorporated Company from your world is not a real company, you see. It is ran by puppets of a supercomputer who I am close friends with, but you needn't worry about that for now. Just know that I created the Three Realms, and she embedded a game into it to link your world with this one. For now, all you have to realize is that she's on your side when it comes to your goal of wanting your old strength back. After all, she has already helped you many times, has she not?"

"You mean… the Heavenly Way, and how I came across the Chaos Scripture?"

Pan Gu nodded. "I asked her to find me a worthy successor, and she picked you. As for the reason why, I'm not sure—perhaps it has something to do with you being the strongest cultivator under the heavens in your previous life?"

"Wait… so she's in control of the Heavenly Way? And all my good luck—it all came from her?"

"Not completely," Pan Gu replied. "The Heavenly Way is still its own sentience, something that even I cannot control despite creating it myself. However, due to the sheer amount of power that supercomputer has, she can, from time to time, bend the odds. You obtaining the Chaos Scripture is one such example. The rest of your good luck, however, was still the result of obtaining good karma… though that will not last much longer."

Xuan relaxed a bit after hearing this. It was good to know that not everything he'd been told in the past was a lie.

"But that brings us back to the question, doesn't it? Why are you looking for a successor?" He asked, folding his arms. "And what is this misconception that you claim all modern-day cultivators believe in?"

"The fact that immortality is good."

Pan Gu answered this with a completely straight face, though her eyes carried a hint of sadness.

"What does the majority of cultivators seek in the end?" She continued. "Immortality, is it not? Godhood? All of those things are 'good' at first glance. But when you truly reach the top and stay there for tens of thousands of years… you begin to get tired. Get tired of living. Your entire perspective on the world changes as you watch the seasons come and go, kingdoms rise and fall. You begin to wonder—if living forever is a good thing, who is to say death is not?"

"I can't quite say I relate, but… in other words, you've lived for so long that you've grown tired of living. But in order to die peacefully, you want a worthy successor?"

"Something along those lines, yes. But it's not that I want a successor—it's that I need one. If someone does not take my place, this entire world—the Three Realms—will crumble. Perhaps, once you reach Godhood and enter Godhome, you will understand what I mean."

"I see…" Xuan really couldn't say liked this whole 'you'll get it in the future' type of thing, but it's not like he could raise complaints towards the very creator of the world. So, instead, he chose to ask about something else.

"Regarding the Chaos Scripture… I have several things I want to know."

"Name them. The reason why I summoned you here today was so I could answer any potential questions you have about the technique—I've been observing you for the past few days, and have deemed you worthy of instruction."

Xuan decided not to question what would've happened if she deemed him UNworthy. Perhaps he would be killed so the Chaos Scripture could be passed onto someone else? He couldn't know for sure.

"Ahem… firstly, regarding the error codes that appear whenever I try to obtain someone's memories using Devouring Qi… what are they?"

"Ah, those. They are the result of you not having the Order Scripture," Pan Gu replied. "The 'game' system you are used to was programmed with the Heaven Devouring Body being one physique in mind, so when you try to call upon its effects with merely one half of the full technique, the system will naturally reject you, causing backlash."

She sighed, pausing for a short bit before continuing. 

"You can also think of them as a trial from me—after all, to succeed my position as the ruler of the worlds, you must have an unwavering will. If you cannot even bear this amount of pain, then you are not worthy."

"… Senior, I have a Soul Defense stat of 16 billion." Xuan frowned. "Is that not enough to prove my mental strength? Rather, how can those voices penetrate my mind's guard like its nothing?"

"That is because the voices cannot be filtered unless you force yourself to do so. They are too powerful for that, so the moment you lose focus, they will overwhelm you and try to break your will. After all, one's Soul and will are two different things," Pan Gu replied. "There are many top cultivators around the world, many of which close in on your level. But do all of them have a will as powerful as yours? An unyielding spirit that bows to no one—both physically and figuratively?"

It was true; since restarting life, not once has Xuan ever bowed down to another person, no matter whether or not he respected them. Bowing was a sign of courtesy, but at the same time, it was also like secretly admitting you were inferior. And so, until he met a worthy opponent, Xuan would never bow.

"I understand now," Xuan muttered after some deep thought. "The requirements for your successor… is someone similar to yourself."

"Good find," Pan Gu complimented with a smile, clapping her hands together. "The fact that our appearances are quite alike as well was an added bonus. I will have to shower the supercomputer with praise later, in that regard. But back to the original topic… you want to know how far you can go with the Chaos Scripture, correct?"

Xuan nodded—she'd read his mind, yet again.

"Hm… well, judging from your current state and cultivation… I'd say you can host five souls—maximum. Until you find the Order Scripture, any more than that number, and you'll either go crazy or simply die from mental implosion."

"Only five…" Xuan narrowed his eyes a bit, disappointed.

"At the same time, that is," Pan Gu corrected, smiling mysteriously. "Since you're here, I might as well teach you a special trick—the ability to discard old Souls."

"Discard…? Will I lose anything if I do?"

"Naturally. This method is not perfect, after all. When you discard an old Soul, you will lose access to any techniques you obtained from their memories. Even if you remember how to use them, the System will prevent you from being able to actually cast. It's not all bad, though—as you grow stronger, lower-grade techniques will become useless to you anyway."

"Hm… but will I be able to keep the items I obtained?"

"Yes. The System cannot restrain you from using those."

"I see…" 

Essentially, Xuan had to carefully choose which Souls he wanted to Devour, and discard old ones accordingly when the time was right. It would be difficult decisions to make, but not everything was going to be perfect in this life of his.

"Now, if you're ready, step forward. I'll teach you the technique—it'll only take a second."

Curious as to how she was going to teach him a skill in a mere second, Xuan stepped forward, closer towards the angel. Pan Gu moved slightly closer to him as well, within contact distance, and gently placed a finger on his forehead.

<Ding! You unlocked the first hidden technique of Chaos Scripture—Soul Discard!>

"… Huh."

Just like that, he'd comprehended the technique—it was like a bunch of information just played through his head at the same time, and he understood it all right away.

"There you are," Pan Gu said, backing away as her eight beautiful ruby-like wings fluttered. "I also added a special tab to your System, allowing you to view what Souls you have currently inside of you and the techniques each one possesses."

"That is helpful," Xuan replied. "Thank you, senior."

"No need for thanks. Just continue to prove to me that my eyes were not wrong—I'm expecting great things from you."

Xuan nodded. "One final question-"

"-The location of the Order Scripture, correct? Don't worry. I've already added a waypoint on your System Map for that—one you can't remove. However, I'd recommend only going there after you reach at least the Saint Realm—they are not exactly welcome to strangers. Be prepared to fight."

'Her mind reading ability is sure helpful,' Xuan thought. 'Saves me a lot of saliva.'

"Your sarcasm is appreciated," Pan Gu replied with a deadpan expression, much like Xuan's own. "Now then, do you have any more questions? If not, I'll send your consciousness back to your body."

Xuan thought for a moment, then spoke up.

"Just now, the notification mentioned the 'first' hidden technique of the Chaos Scripture. If that's the case, then… there are more, I presume?"

Pan Gu smiled. "Well done. You noticed. There are, but not fit for you just yet. I will summon you back here whenever you're ready. In the meantime, I will simply sit back and monitor your progress, so… don't make me wait too long, alright?"

"Uh… alright."

Not sure how to respond to being told he'll be surveilled 24/7 without sounding disrespectful, Xuan could only reply like such. If Pan Gu had been a random nobody telling him this, he would've simply ignored her and killed her if she got too annoying. 

But quite unfortunately, that was not the case.

She, Pan Gu, was the very creator of the world Xuan currently lived in—there were no limits to the amount of influence and control she had over it. Xuan didn't feel like being randomly struck by lightning one day while walking on the street, so he made up his mind to be as respectful as possible while still maintaining his morals as a man.

"One last thing before I send you off," Pan Gu said as the borders of Xuan's vision turned into a blurry white. "Since you do not have the Order Scripture yet, at random intervals, your Chaos Scripture's powers may 'malfunction'. Plan and act accordingly with that in mind—by that, I mean don't go around challenging cultivators a whole phase higher than you in the future. You are not invincible. Now then, until next time."

At this, Xuan thought back to the time with Cobra and the rest of the Four Serpents, when the vines had trapped his body and he'd been unable to fight back.

'So… is that what happened back then? Hm…'

Before he could confirm, his vision turned complete white—his consciousness had been returned to his real body, back in Cloud Catcher City.

*****

After Xuan disappeared from Pan Gu's realm, a short figure suddenly popped into existence—a tiny girl who looked to be no older than ten years old, with a toothy grin and a mischievous look on her face. Clapping slowly, she approached the tall and beautiful angel-like woman, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Wonderful. Wonderful indeed, your acting skills are."

"… Did you just come here to say that?" Pan Gu replied, arching an eyebrow in distaste.

"No, no. I'm genuinely impressed. You even roped me into your lie. I found you a successor? Really? And all that about being 'bored' of immortality… fufu, I wouldn't even be able to imagine such a well-woven lie in my wildest dreams."

"You don't have dreams, Arxa."

"Right. Well, I'm just wondering… is this really the right way to do things? I mean, you could've just told him the truth, couldn't you?"

"No," Pan Gu replied firmly. "He is a very cautious man. If I tell or even hint at anything to him now, he'll not only not believe me, but think what I said is a lie. Besides—if he doesn't realize it for himself, he won't be able to regain his memories either way."

"Heheh, so, it'll be one test after another, huh? Harsh, Pan Gu. Harsh."

"That's not it. It's just that there is no other way. You know the circumstances."

"Yeah, whatever." The little girl shrugged. "I still think this is quite risky. I'm safe, but what about you? Once he finds out the truth about how you used him, even you won't be spared from his wrath."

"That's a risk I have to take, for the sake of this world. That aside, when do you plan on activating it?" Pan Gu asked calmly. "Time is not infinite. At the rate he is growing, the 'events' we have prepared will very soon not match his progress. Remember, he still needs lucky encounters to progress fast, but starting from now on, we also need him to feel constant threat, hardship, and obstacles. We need him to feel pain. Anger. Suffering. Tension. Danger. Only then will 'that person' begin re-awakening."

"Don't worry, don't worry," the supercomputer girl replied with a sinister laugh. "Do you still not believe in me? I've already brought him back to this world, and made it so that he only had one life unlike before. I know what I'm doing. As for 'that' thing… how about when his bounty reaches 1 million?"

"That seems like an awfully large jump from where he is at right now, is it not?"

"Oh, it'll be fine," the girl replied. "I'll make it work—there's already been enough oddities lately. One more wouldn't hurt. My concern is on your end—how do you plan on announcing the existence of the System to the world?"

"… Hm." Pan Gu fell into thought briefly, then turned to look at the young child. "Will it work if we group our announcements at the same time?"

"Sure will, but… that'd be akin to sending the entire world after his head, given how useful Credits are. If he ends up dying, no one's going to be able to stop 'them'."

"He'll live," Pan Gu replied confidently. "I know he will."

"Uh-huh… alright, then. If you say so."

Pan Gu gave a nod. "He's ready. We've given him plenty of benefits already—it's about time his troubles start. Hopefully, this will help him understand… why he ultimately failed to reach Godhood, and just who he used to be."