The Spirit Plane Lord

After slowly looking around and taking in the wondrous surroundings, Yaan cautiously took his seat opposite from the overwhelmingly powerful woman.

Whilst he had countless doubts about this situation, in the end, he realised that he was entirely at this woman's mercy. Whether she truly felt amicably towards him, or if this was all some sort of scheme…it didn't matter. Even if her expression was a facade, he couldn't see through it at all. If she truly had malicious intentions, he had no way of doing anything about it right now.

When she saw Yaan sit down calmly, she smiled, before showing an apologetic expression.

"Firstly, let me apologise for before…I didn't recognise you and I was concerned by the unknown karma between us. I ended up reading through the entirety of your memories, both within and outside of the illusion. This was quite invasive of me, but what is done is done and it cannot be taken back now."

No matter what he expected, Yaan was still caught off guard to receive an apology out of nowhere.

No, actually, he was more stunned by the fact that she had apparently read his memories without him even noticing…or perhaps her recognising this world as an illusion was more shocking…? Wait…

"This…am I not still within the illusion trial?" Yaan asked slowly and uncertainly. He previously believed that he had some degree of understanding over this illusory world, but now…what exactly was going on?

"Hmm…this is a bit of a complex matter, due to the True-False Illusion Formation being one of the most shocking formations in this universe." She smiled wryly, before shaking her head and sighing. "The creator of this formation likely didn't anticipate that the trial challenger would have encountered someone like myself during their lifetime, so this originally should not have been an issue."

She said this, but after speaking her thoughts aloud, she seemed to think of something and showed a look of uncertainty. The look only flashed past her face briefly, then she shook her head with a light sigh.

Seeing that Yaan was still confused, she laughed and smiled at him.

"It's best that you don't overthink it. Let's just say that you are both within an illusion, and not."

After a moment of silence, Yaan asked:

"My life, the memories that I possess, are they all real…or has everything I have ever known been an illusion?"

"Your memories are real."

"But I don't remember encountering you like this…did this happen in my past?"

"No, it's happening right now."

"…Did I somehow travel back through time?"

"Well, not exactly."

"…"

Seeing Yaan's bitter expression, the woman laughed charmingly again. She leaned forwards and rested her pristine cheek on one hand, staring into Yaan's eyes with a smile that still exuded a happy radiance.

Yaan was dazed for a moment, distracted from his confusion by the absolute beauty of the woman before him.

He had never been one to be distracted by beauties, but this woman was simply like a piece of art. Every inch of her was perfection itself, from her painting-esque tied black hair, to her white robe that modestly covered her immaculate body. Her skin even seemed to have a faint golden radiance, this was not her aura though, but simply her appearance. Her eyes also shone with a gentle golden gleam, giving her a mesmerising appeal that could draw in even the most stone faced of people.

"Who are you?" Yaan finally asked the question that was on his mind. His previous questions regarding the illusion were quite curious, but compared to this woman's identity, he felt like that everything else actually wasn't so important.

Who was this person…and why did she look at him with such unhidden, pure happiness…?

"Me?" The woman blinked. For a moment, she pondered his question, as if she wasn't sure how she should answer this.

"People call me many different things, but these days, I am most well known for being the Lord of the Spirit Plane, hence my most commonly used title, the Spirit Plane Lord."

"Lord of the Spirit Plane…?" Yaan muttered back dazedly.

"There are four planes in this universe. Two of these are physical; the Qi Plane and the Blood Plane. Then there is the Sage Plane, a world consisting entirely of knowledge and thought. Finally there is the Spirit Plane, a world inhabited entirely by spirits and soul based lifeforms. Oh, the world that you know of is the Qi Plane, by the way."

Yaan's eyes lit up as the cogs in his brain began turning.

"Qi, Blood, Spirit, Sage…energy, body, soul, mind…"

The planes that made up this world corresponded perfectly to the four paths of cultivation…

"That's right." The Spirit Plane Lord laughed softly.

"Then, are we in the Spirit Plane right now?" Yaan asked after a moment of thought.

"We are currently in a temporary space lying on the border between the Qi Plane and Spirit Plane. This is also where you entered previously, when you bound the 3rd Celestial Demon General."

Yaan opened his mouth to ask another question leading on from this, but she spoke before he had the chance, seemingly knowing what he wanted to ask.

"Right now, the illusion of your past self is involved in its battle against the treasure spirit. It is experiencing exactly what you experienced in the past, being assisted by one of my avatars. As for the matter of my arrival before, when my avatar arrived, I erased that memory from both your illusory self's mind, and from the treasure spirit's mind. My avatar does not yet know of our meeting, nor of the karmic connection between us. After all, that formation will collapse if my actions cause the events of the past to alter from their original course."

When she saw Yaan's blank expression, she laughed once again.

"I know that it's a bit confusing, but such is the nature of a divine illusion world. Anyhow, all you really need to know is that everything will be fine. I will return you to your illusory body after we have chatted for some time. The illusion will continue as you remember after you return to the Qi Plane."

In the end, Yaan rubbed his head and sighed. The woman silently waited for him to regather his thoughts. She was clearly in no rush to explain anything or to direct the conversation in any specific direction.

Of course, there was one question on Yaan's mind…really, this was what he had meant when he asked her for her identity.

"Why are you helping me? Have we met before, outside of my binding of the treasure spirit last time…?"

Yaan couldn't help but think that maybe, they had met before now. After all, when this lady rushed out from that golden gate, she did not yet know Yaan, yet he knew her - they had met each other in different orders. Maybe since a few minutes ago, she had met him for a third time, whilst Yaan was yet to experience this third meeting…?

It made his head hurt thinking about it.

After a moment of silence, the Spirit Plane Lord asked:

"Yaan, have you heard the term 'karma' before?"

"No…" He slowly shook his head. "You mentioned this earlier, but it's my first time hearing this word. Does this have something to do with the green thread between us? I have seen this sort of connection before, but I have no idea what it is…"

"Your deduction is correct, these connections are known as 'karmic links'. Usually, it would be impossible for anyone below divinity to see these connections, but there are exceptions to this…unfortunately, I cannot explain more about these exceptions, and why it is that you are able to see karmic links. I will say this however - karmic links are the connections of fate between all things in this world. Whenever one person encounters another, they become linked together by karma. When these karmic links are strong enough, they become visible, like a thread of string, or sometimes even a chain."

Yaan narrowed his eyes.

"You're saying that we have met in the past, but I don't remember it? Even before I bound the 3rd Celestial Demon General?"

"That is the case, yes."

"When did we meet? Why do I not remember it? Why is the connection between us strong enough that it can form a visible connection? Why-"

"Yaan…"

He was silenced by this one word, but also by the Spirit Plane Lord's bitter expression.

"I'm truly sorry, but it is not my place to explain this to you. I wish I could discuss this with you further, but it is not my place to interfere with your fate…"

"My…fate…you…you know something about my fate?" Yaan felt his mouth dry up and his heart started racing chaotically. He stared at the woman intensely, almost forgetting about their difference in status right now.

"Mm, I do…I'll just tell you this…if you wish to learn the truth, complete the inheritance."

"The inheritance?" Yaan was startled for a moment, but suddenly, he remembered the green chain that he saw between himself and the stone entrance to the inheritance.

"Wait, I have a karmic link to the inheritance? How could I…ah, and to Rui too…is it because I met her early on in life, or…?"

Yaan trailed off as he remembered Rui's strange reaction atop Heavenly Path Mountain when she saw those karmic links between the two of them and their younger selves. He had the distinct yet unexplainable feeling that perhaps, the karma between him and Rui was actually similar to the unknown connection between himself and the Spirit Plane Lord.

The Spirit Plane Lord looked like she was struggling to make a decision, as if she wasn't sure what to tell him, and what to leave unsaid. In the end she sighed, and just replied with:

"I'm sorry Yaan, I know this is confusing for you."

Yaan didn't respond and remained silent for a long while. When he finally managed to calm down his racing thoughts, he looked up with a now serene look, surprising the woman slightly.

She didn't bother to hide her surprise, nor did she hide any of her emotions in front of Yaan. It was almost as if she was letting her guard down around him, but Yaan wouldn't believe this so easily.

He could not trust others so easily, especially not when they were so much stronger than him,

"If you won't explain everything about my fate, or the karma between us…could you at least tell me why you seem so happy to see me? What exactly is, or was, our relationship?"

"I'd like it…if you thought of me as a friend…" She said quietly, with a trace of longing in her voice.

"A friend?" Yaan was startled once again. As he looked up at this 'Lord of the Spirit Plane', this person who was clearly so much more powerful than him that they weren't even comparable to one another, he realised that from start to end, she had been speaking to him as if he was her equal.

This was different compared to the last time they met. Back then, she smiled at him with curiosity and friendliness, like that of an elder towards a promising junior. But now, it was as if she had met an old friend.

As Yaan pondered these things whilst feeling an unknown surge of emotions, he suddenly recalled something that Rui had mentioned earlier. She spoke about the nature of this illusory trial, about Yaan's own incomprehensibly profound ability to comprehend dao, an ability that was unbefitting of his young age…

He remembered how Rui had mentioned reincarnation.

"This illusory world that replays the past…when should the illusion begin, in terms of the participant's past?"

The Spirit Plane Lord looked at him deeply, before showing a slightly sad smile.

"The True-False Illusion Formation creates an illusory world that starts at the beginning of the challenger's life, at the moment in the past when their body gained a complete dao soul."

As if expecting this answer, Yaan took a deep breath before asking another question.

"That should be earlier than six years old, right?"

"Typically, yes. The mortal body should gain a dao soul at the moment of birth."

"Then if you were to enter the illusion at six years old…if you realised that you had no memories from before that point…"

Yaan became silent, as did the woman, who gazed at him with a look of pity and sadness. Hidden in her eyes was a hint of frustration and doubt.

She was withholding information from him, they both knew this. But…the Spirit Plane Lord did not know whether keeping her silence was truly the right decision.