Illusion Spirit
Mu Yu vividly remembered Xiaoshuai journeying with him ever since he was at Dustfallen Sect; however, Xiaoshuai wasn’t present in the memory where Shi Dengtian was Mu Yu’s shifu. If Mu Yu’s memory was the illusionist’s creation, Xiaoshuai shouldn’t be present.
It finally clicked into place. Mu Yu shook Xiaoshuai vigorously. Oh yeah, the little glutton had oil by his mouth as usual. He checked his cosmos sack and confirmed there was food he kept for Xiaoshuai, pills he extorted from Pill Cauldron Sect and Ku Mu’s map.
“What are you doing, Mu Yu? Have you lost your mind.”
“I love you, buddy.” Mu Yu gave Xiaoshuai a kiss, deducing Xiaoshuai’s presence meant he was looking at his real memories. There was also the issue of him remembering his early days vividly to that degree. He got to his feet and mumbled to himself, “Where in the world am I? I’ve never heard of implanting false memories.”
Mu Yu paid no attention to the shocked looks on him and turned to Tian Ran. Shi Dengtian had a gaping wound. Feng Haochen lied quietly on the ground but wasn’t breathing. The undesirable events in the dream left a bitter taste in his mouth. As far as he knew, there was no means of erasing the dream he wished to forget.
Feng Haochen suddenly stood up and gave the duo a smile. “A spirit beast ruining my perfect illusion. What a mistake on my part.”
Xiaoshuai: “You’re not human? Wait, you’re the same as I am? Who are you?”
“Just as you can’t identify me, I can’t identify you. I can’t insert you into dreams I create. The rules of the world classify us as entities beyond the five elements. Some unknown force restricts us, true?”
“What are you? Don’t you go walking around as my shifu,” warned Mu Yu, drawing his sword.“How about this person?” Ku Mu appeared.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to plant fabricated memories in me?” Mu Yu fumed.
“Destroying one’s will doesn’t require cultivation. Memory manipulation is all it takes.”
Feng Haochen changed the scenery in a single wave. Light dimmed. Mu Yu was thrown into a new environment, a scenic view of nature in all its glory, but there was only the two of them. Feng Haochen sat on a chair at a stone table. There was an old eucalyptus tree set next to the table. A pot of tea was placed on the table.
“Sit,” invited Feng Haochen.
“Why won’t you show your real face?”
Feng Haochen caressed his beard with a smile. He enjoyed a nip of tea and answered, “My real face? I don’t have one. All things in the world are my face. I assumed this man’s appearance since he was the most important person to you. I figured it would make it easier to communicate with you.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I want to have a chat with you.”
“Erase the memories you installed in my head, and then we can talk.”
“What memory?”
“The… The…”
Mu Yu suddenly couldn’t recall the memories he was referring to. The memories he wanted were kept intact as he desired.
“Sit.”
Mu Yu couldn’t name any mannerisms the imposter exhibited that weren’t Feng-Haochen-esque. Mu Yu lingered around as he contemplated to himself. The opposition could slaughter him without trying, so resistance wasn’t wise. Furthermore, he wanted to hear what the imposter had to say.
“You have plenty of questions for me, so go ahead,” said the imposter, sliding Mu Yu a cup of tea.
Mu Yu left the cup alone and questioned, “Who… exactly are you?”
The imposter went over the question in his head and expounded, “In your human terminology, I am what you call an illusion spirit for I can manifest everything, see through everything and manipulate anyone’s memory. I can manipulate the mind so well that you cannot distinguish between reality and dreams. I can enter memories to create new memories. Is that comprehensible?”
The term “illusion spirit” didn’t register with Mu Yu. That being the case, the illusion spirit simplified, “Put simply, I can create memories in addition to distorting reality and dreams. I find it amusing to reverse people’s original memories as I did with you.”
“Why did you target me?”
The illusion spirit shook his head. “You were the one who approached me. Did you forget?”
Mu Yu didn’t recall anything of the sort. The illusion spirit, noticing Mu Yu’s bewilderment, sincerely added, “I don’t like having humans annoying me. That’s why I wanted to punish you. You’re not a normal human. Consider it a guess, I suppose.”
“A test? A test for what, my power control, judiciousness or will?”
“Hahaha, not all dreams come out of thin air. Dreams are a reflection of what you think about. The dreams I create are based off your reality. The reversed reality is just the power of dreams. Once fooled, you will be your own undoing. I can read a person and, from there, extrapolate to predict his future. In saying that, destiny is not something anyone can know with certainty. It sounds as though you don’t like the dream I provided you.”
“Yeah, my taste isn’t as twisted as yours!”
“As I said, it pertains to your future. Why not try my tea? It won’t taste as good once it’s cold.”
The tea’s aroma calmed nerves for sure. Mu Yu had a nip. Notwithstanding Mu Yu’s ignorance in the field of tea, the aroma in tandem with the bitter taste was a treat.
“I know what you’re here for. You want the dark herb to help the man sitting in front of you. He deserves the help, and he will change your life down the road. Well, what do I know? You can have it. I’m off…” The mist turned denser, hiding Feng Haochen. The scenery swept away in the mist. Echoing, the illusion spirit added, “Who says dreams aren’t real? People overemphasise reality. Why can’t dreams replace reality? Who’s to say dreams aren’t reality? Control your power. Don’t let it control you. The future I saw may change for all I know…”
Before Mu Yu’s eyes was the entrance to the valley. Though the sky was still dark, the east was bright. Mu Yu mulled over the last words the illusion spirit imparted to him. In his hand was a black and white herb. One leaf was white and the other back. Life and death struck a balance on the herb. In his hand was dark herb.
Mu Yu was unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching him from the sky as he departed. Next to the illusion spirit was a male in blue. Said man warned, “Don’t ever assume Sword Shadow’s appearance again.”
The illusion spirit transformed into a white cloud and teased, “Illusionary Clear Rain, you don’t like seeing Sword Shadow Dust Gale?”
“Haha, this is all I can do to help him. If I intervene any further, I may end up making things worse for him.”
Illusionary Clear Rain noticed purple lightning bolts flashing in the sky. The illusion spirit inquired, “How is Mu Yu going to leave Second Heaven?”
“He’s someone Sword Shadow Dust Gale chose. If I could figure it out, we wouldn’t be here. I was always against Sword Shadow’s decision. Now that I think about it, though, I reckon his decision is so much better than ours. Let’s go. We can’t help him any further. “
“If only the world of cultivation was as simple as they imagined.”
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