1: Black Lotus?

I, Li Muchen, have lived two lives. That's one hell of a way to start a conversation, isn't it?

My first life was in an ordinary world, where I lived a simple life till my uneventful college days. Then on one rainy day, I died in a traffic accident and found myself reborn in the world of Cultivation. At first, this wasn't believable, but nothing could be done.

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

These words helped me come to terms with my second life. Although it took me some time, I decided to understand my circumstances and continue forward in this cutthroat world.

But, now the third chance came after my death.

"It can't be..." My hands shook as a chill washed over me.

The calendar slipped out of my grasp and crashed on the floor with a thud. My head throbbed as flashes of memories passed my eyes.

Sent back 200 years in the past, the ground beneath my feet slipped. Taking a seat on the wooden floor, I tried to understand the situation.

This is impossible…

Messing with the flow of time wasn't possible. I have neither seen nor heard anything about it till now. But, this happened right after my disciple fed me that pill in the last moments.

What was it? He never told me about having something like that.

One minute, I had a course set to meet King Yama after killing the Disaster God of the South, and the next instant I found myself in the past before the war.

As far as I knew, there wasn't anything on my person that could do that. Nor did a golden finger or system activate upon my death. It didn't show up even when I tried it. The only anomaly at that moment was the pill that kid fed me.

I have tried everything in my knowledge to check if this was an illusion, a dream, or some elaborate formation to trick me. Yet, nothing came of it.

Not like anyone would gain anything from doing all that. Many questions whirled in my head, I felt dizzy thinking further.

But, if I really did come to the past then…

I walked into my courtyard in a daze. The familiar scent of flowers danced in the air with colorful butterflies fluttering about the five lush trees. The warm sun rose in the distance and shined over the Azure Sky Sect. I closed my eyes for a second to feel the cold air kiss my skin.

The sect still stood as tall along with its seven peaks that pierced the clouds. Almost as if nothing had challenged its mightiness till now. This shouldn't be possible because an attack on the sect destroyed half of it, including this very residence of mine.

This was impossible, yes. Ridiculous even, but…

It isn't like I hadn't experienced the impossible before. A reincarnator like myself shouldn't talk about what's impossible or not.

"As expected, it looks best when all of the peaks are standing together." I chuckled.

It seemed like my mantra would come in handy once again. But, there wasn't time to contemplate my current situation.

The problem arose when I passed by the ice mirror in my room.

Retracing my steps I came in front of the wide mirror. The crystal clear reflection made my eyes widened. My clothes looked spotless albeit the loose belt, my long black hair was as lush as ever, and even my skin looked fair and healthy without a single blemish. Everything was as it should've been. The usual handsome man stared right back at me ...aside from a Black Lotus imprint in the middle of my forehead.

"What the fuck is this?!" For the first time in years, curses like never before came out.

Leaning close to the mirror I examined the imprint, rubbed it, scratched it, and tried to erase it. But, no matter what I tried, it stayed there. It made me wonder if this was some joke? But, this was too harmless for that.

Focusing on it, to my surprise it took me to the Mind Realm Gate. It shouldn't be possible for me right now.

It appeared on the body without the person's knowledge, can't be wiped off, and leads to the Mind realm gate. It took only a few breaths to understand what happened.

A Divine Grade Spiritual Root? Having seen such a case from close. This was true with 99% certainty. But, how it appeared on me remained unanswered.

Earth Grade Spiritual Root was all I had before this. Now, after waking up in the past, a Divine Grade Spiritual Root appeared? If my Golden finger arrived, it was 589 years late. Not that I ever expected one. As I wasn't the protagonist of this world.

Regardless, investigating this right now became necessary.

"This might be the biggest clue I have about the regression." Sitting on the floor I closed my eyes and focused on the imprint on my forehead.

Spiritual roots resided in the soul of the cultivator, an integral part that made one a cultivator. Something like that wouldn't be open to cultivators until they reached halfway through their journeys.

But, It became possible if one had a Spiritual Root of Divine Grade or higher. For anything lower one would need to enter the Nascent Soul Realm, something I hadn't achieved yet. Now that condition wasn't needed.

Deep in focus, I felt an irresistible itch on my forehead, but instead of moving, I zeroed in on that. An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach as my breathing became stable, drawing in the nearby Qi through my mouth. Then the path appeared again, a straight and clear one.

My eyes still closed, the light in the distance was still visible. To access the Spiritual Root one needed to enter their Mind realm. That was but the start. To access the Spiritual Roots one needs to reach the end of the tunnel where the Mind Realm Gate awaited, a test of sorts. The light shone on the other end, but even if it hung before one's eyes, reaching it would take a long time for a first-timer.

Not for me, having climbed higher than the Nascent Soul realm before regression. I knew the ins and outs of this place like the back of my hand. Without wasting any time I moved, rather than moving it was close to flying through space. It took me no time to reach the light, at that moment it covered my vision.

The blindness only lasted for a second as my destination came into sight. Unlike my expectation, the mind realm didn't change much. With mountains as tall as the sky acting as a boundary, a city floated in the middle of a lake as vast as a sea like a leaf on a calm pond.

But, something that shouldn't be here had appeared.

Grrrkkkkk…. The low snarl sent shivers down my entire body. Even in soul form, I felt the goosebumps rising on my physical body. Behind me, this thing tried to eat the mountains. Chomping away at the rocks.

A form as huge as twenty elephants combined, but it had no body. The black obese and deformed head alone floated in front of me. Its tongue with the color of fresh blood swayed around licking the crooked teeth. Mouths in place of eyes, more in place of nose, and ears with tongues hanging out of them. It was a lump of flesh with nothing but mouths that snapped at empty air trying to devour it too. 

Soon it turned towards me.

Disaster God of the West. Taotie, the Insatiable.

…Why is a Disaster God in my mind realm? During this time they hadn't been unsealed by the Demonic Sects to start the war. The current Taotie should be sealed deep within the Grand Illusion Palace of the Western Continent. At least that's how it should've been.

Sensing my unease the tongues of its numerous mouths pointed towards me as the flaky lips formed crooked smiles that made my stomach turn.

The intimidation from its form wasn't a joke, it felt as if a mountain pressed down on my shoulders. But, before it could bite at me I moved away.

His pressure is weaker than the one I fought, so my speed wouldn't drop. It came as a surprise because Taotie that the report talked about was much stronger, strong enough to kill a Human Sovereign.

But, it couldn't suppress me in this form. It had weakened, because if it had been in top form I would've long ceased to exist as he would've eaten me from inside.

This was but a part of the Disaster God from the future. How and why he appeared here would have to wait. It was tiring it's darndest to eat me, and I only escaped by the skin of my teeth.

If it succeeded in doing that inside the Mind Realm then my fate would be sealed. My current state was akin to a major chunk of my soul. It was pure intent and the entire consciousness. If it ate me the strength of my soul would drop and the defenses around the Spiritual Root would lower making it vulnerable. Against someone else, getting off with damage to my soul and Spiritual roots was the worst case, although life-threatening could get treated in time.

But with its special constitution, Taotie refines everything it eats and makes it a part of itself. If it eats me or the spiritual root, only death awaits me. That's why it chased after me like a starved beast.

So, coming up with a way to get around him was the only way. Simply leaving wouldn't cut it, it would go after the spiritual root. There wasn't a chance to defend if it was given time to recover. Something had to be done now. Even if weaker now, this was still a Disaster God. These beings defied reason and testing that wasn't the brightest idea.

It is placing itself between me and the city below. It had an impressive speed that cut off my attempts to bolt for the city. As long as my eyes tried to find a way to the city below, only a giant maw lined with black teeth welcomed me.

With that Taotie's attention had zeroed in on me, the tastier meal. A smile appeared on my lips. Dealing with this thing in such a disadvantageous situation?

Of course, it was possible.

This is my Mind realm, so what lies within it and how to use it to my advantage, no one knows that better than me.

"Come at me, you Giant ballsack." Beckoning it with my finger a fall of trust ensued. With each passing moment the lake below came closer like an old friend.

If it didn't let me go to the City from the front, then I'd create another way.

His low growls rang in my ear. My eyes went to the serene surface of the Lake. It was like a clear mirror in which Taotie's reflection closed in. But, the water reached me first and pulled me in. Like a fish in water, I swam further below. Soon his large body crashed into the body of water.

The impact traveled below as the calm waters surged and rolled. Destroying the peace of this place. But, the one who created it moved forward towards its prey. That was me.

I won't let you end this. I still have a lot to do. I want to meet my disciple again. I need to stop the oncoming War to save the people I care about… I have to keep the promise to my Master. I… I have so much more left to do! My mind remembered everything that the bleak future held, and allowing that to happen again wasn't an option.

Diving deeper just extended a few seconds before the inevitable. A desperate attempt. The dark shadow loomed over me. Soon the welcoming mouth swallowed me whole. As Taotie's teeth sunk into me and my vision blurred, I was certain of it... certain of my victory.

Gotcha! It was a silent cry of victory.

That I shared with none other than myself.

"I am getting chills." Hovering above the disturbed lake that roiled in anger much like my body, a sigh escaped my lips.

The feeling of my clone being crunched under those jagged teeth burned through me. Like someone passed through smoldering thin iron rods through each of my veins.

But, sacrificing a part of my intent was necessary for this plan to succeed. Knowing that Taotie wouldn't let me through from the front, another way to get here was needed. So, creating a clone to distract it, the real body arrived at the location.

The reason it worked was because of Taotie's disposition.

It ate anything that came before it. It didn't matter if it was a living being or the land itself. It chomped on anything with Qi like a starved wolf. To confuse its senses, I jumped into the lake made of condensed Qi to blend myself in the environment.

Diving head-first into the water I split myself into two parts. The 25 % clone lured Taotie deeper into the water while catching his attention. While I headed for the city at the moment of split taking advantage of the cover provided to me by Taotie's splash.

Without eyes or any other senses aside from taste. Taotie used two things to locate his prey. First, Qi is his target, and the second their emotional state which it could taste. For that, my Clone went through emotional and fear-inducing thoughts, while I stayed calm to reduce my presence further.

Hiding my intent and making a clone in the Mind Realm. Mastering these techniques took years of practice and real battles. But, I can say with certainty that the efforts paid off. They always do. It wasn't every day that someone could enter one's Mind realm and put them in such danger.

No cultivator was foolish enough to let it happen. Even if it did happen the Spiritual Root provided an extra layer of protection that was independent of the person. But, I wasn't given that this time around.

Landing in the grandest estate of the city, what awaited me was a wide garden at the back of this lavish palace. Lines of flowers adorned the ground in full bloom. They filled the place with their sweet scent as dozens of Spirit cherry trees scattered their vibrant crimson petals in a soft breeze.

Among that beautiful view, a single ordinary plum tree stood out like a sore thumb.

Its trunk, sturdy and textured with the scars of the seasons that passed. The branches reached out in graceful arcs adorned with delicate green leaves that fluttered in the breeze. This used to be my Spiritual Root before regression. But, now I feel nothing from it. It was just another tree here, an imitation.

Turning to my right, the connection latched onto something else. Like a thread extended from it and wrapped around my body. It was a delicate yet strong bond that drew my steps to the pond nearby.

In the middle of the crystal clear pond, a solitary lotus floated on the surface. The twelve velvety, deep black petals were wide open as a deep crimson hue rose from the center. It spilled over from the dark leaves onto the pond to create a fog that hung low on the water.

"A Black Lotus, huh." This was my new Spiritual Root.