Chapter 2 (Part 1) of Volume 3: It's hard to say goodbye

  I slept soundly for two whole days, and when I woke up, the old lady was standing beside me, shaking her head: "You kid can really sleep."

  I stretched languidly and felt invigorated all over: "Grandma, as agreed upon, can you teach me about fate now?"

  The old woman was silent for a moment, then said: "Follow me."

  I unfolded my Feather Dao technique, excitedly following her as we flew swiftly. After refining the Feather Ding Yunying, when I inhaled, my body was light as a goose feather, and using the Feather Dao technique became even more effortless. Passing through the Blood Transformation Vortex, we arrived beside the Dragon Whale's heart.

  "Boom---boom---", the sound of the heartbeat was deafening. The old woman sat down cross-legged, calmly saying: "Any powerful fierce beast, the heart is the most vulnerable place, humans and demons are no exception. Just a light strike can shatter it to pieces. However, the heart is also the strongest place, the physical body can be conquered by external forces and heavenly tribulations, but the heart---can never yield. Therefore, when discussing fate, one must first discuss the heart. Only my true heart can break through the heavenly decree!"

  I chuckled and said: "Grandma, shouldn't I kowtow and pay respects to you as my master first?"

  The old woman hummed: "What's the point of these trivial and worldly rituals?" She smiled slightly, then said: "It's been three years now, young one. In just a short three years you've learned all the secret techniques. I'm very satisfied."

  "What? Three years!" I exclaimed in shock: "Damn it, have I been stuck in the dragon's belly for three years?"

  The old woman nodded: "My curse occurs twice a day, from the first time I saw you until now, it has occurred 2,594 times. You can calculate it yourself, it's been more than three years."

  I let out a bitter cry: "It's been so long after all." These past few years, I've been fully immersed in my cultivation, and the days have passed by in a blur. I thought it hadn't even been a year yet. Oh no, those three beauties won't think that I'm already dead, will they?

  The old woman said, "You've mastered several hundred secret manuals in such a short period of time. Aren't you satisfied yet? Although each one is only half-learned, it's still frighteningly fast. Hehe, even I didn't expect that you young whippersnapper would have so much talent."

  "It's not that I'm learning well, it's just that my mother-in-law is teaching well." I said with a glib tongue, probably because in my previous life I was a dragonfly, so I learn especially quickly.

  "Look at me, young one." The old woman barked suddenly, staring at me with eyes that shone with a dazzling, otherworldly light. In an instant, the world spun around me and I felt as if my very soul had left my body, drawn into her gaze.

  My mind went blank with a loud crash, and everything around me disappeared. The white expanse in my field of vision was all that remained, except for the old woman sitting across from me.

  "What's going on?" I looked around in surprise: "What kind of place is this?"

  "This is my divine consciousness!" The old woman said lightly: "It's also the realm of my heart. In the future, if you practice the 'Purple Mansion Secret Path Technique' to the point of transformation, you will also possess a divine consciousness."

  I suddenly said, "That secret book did mention it at the end, that one's divine sense can lead the other person's consciousness into their own spiritual realm, a kind of great spiritual law. However, for fighting, it doesn't seem to be of much use, as no magic can be cast in the divine sense. Just like now, although my consciousness is in your divine sense, our physical bodies are still outside, you can't hurt me."

  "Is that so?" The old woman's expression remained calm, but behind her a cluster of flames suddenly shot up, dancing wildly as if about to pounce on me.

  "Haha, don't scare me, I'm no longer the low-level demon from the past. I'm very clear about it, the flames are just an illusion created by your divine consciousness."

  The old woman smiled coldly and the flames suddenly surged violently.

  As if fireworks were blooming, flames gushed down from the sky, gathering into a magnificent fire waterfall. In an instant, countless fierce flame waterfalls thundered down on all sides, and then rose again, sweeping across the vast sea of fire.

  The old woman's people were gone, I was trapped in the midst of a raging fire, like an isolated island, suffocating under the pressure. The flames rolled in, like countless roaring demons, baring their teeth and pouncing on me. Although I knew these were just illusions, my heart still trembled with fear, and sweat poured down like rain.

  "Understood?" The flames and waves retreated like a tide, and the old woman reappeared in front of me, proudly saying: "The ultimate showdown between top masters can crush an opponent's confidence with just their aura. You've already lost your momentum before even fighting, what's the point of continuing?"

  I blinked: "Grandma is right, but we learn secret books, not for fighting."

  "Damn it!" The old lady shouted angrily: "It was you who said fight first!"

  I stared in amazement: "Grandma, I didn't know you'd also learned my favorite insult."

  The old woman was both angry and amused: "I've heard you talk for more than three years, my ears have grown calluses. No more nonsense, now I'm officially teaching you the art of fate. Listen up, what I'm about to tell you can be learned in just one day."

  "I exclaimed in surprise: 'Only one day?'"

  The old woman nodded and said slowly: "But to truly understand, you must use your entire life's energy to ponder. Before that, let me play a game with you."

  Play a game? I was stunned, and under my feet, a magnificent road suddenly appeared, stretching far into the distance.

  "Go ahead, kid, keep walking forward."

  I stood up in confusion and followed the old woman's instructions, walking for a while until the road suddenly forked ahead. The left path was lush and green with flowers everywhere, while the right side was a desolate desert.

  I involuntarily stopped in my tracks. The old woman said faintly, "You choose for yourself, go left or go right?"

  "Mother-in-law, these are all illusions, what difference does it make which path we choose?"

  "You just take all of this as reality!"

  I thought for a moment, and then resolutely walked towards the desert. Although the road on the left was picturesque, it might be hiding dangers and killing intent, while the desert looked treacherous but might actually be safer.

  The endless dunes rose and fell, stretching out to the horizon. The old woman followed closely behind me, the scorching sun beating down on us, the hot wind whipping sand grains against my face, erasing our footprints as quickly as we made them, making me feel like it was all just an illusion. I steeled myself, determined to cultivate my spiritual awareness - this thing was too amazing.

  Suddenly a small wooden hut appeared in front, standing alone in the desert. As I walked over, the door of the hut was half closed, creaking and swaying in the wind.

  The old lady asked me: "Go inside, or don't go in? You can choose."

  "What's inside the house?"

  The old woman said faintly: "Who knows? Maybe it's a rare treasure, maybe it's a demon that kills people."

  I couldn't help but feel curious, and I pushed open the door. Inside, there was a woman with a big belly, clearly pregnant. She was tied to a chair with iron chains, and her mouth was stuffed with rags. When she saw me, her eyes flowed with pleading.

  I'm going to faint, I turned my head and looked at the old woman: "Granny, are you performing a play from the Pear Garden? How did you use your divine consciousness to conjure up a pregnant woman? Although it's an illusion, it's quite realistic. What's next, am I supposed to perform the heroic rescue of a beauty?"

  The old woman chuckled and suddenly produced a shiny steel knife in her hand, handing it to me: "You have two choices, kill her or cut off her chain. This woman's life or death now depends on you."

  I took the steel knife, wondering what kind of trick the old woman was playing. I certainly wouldn't kill a pregnant woman, without hesitation, my hand rose and fell, "whoosh", the iron chain broke into pieces, the pregnant woman pulled out the rag from her mouth, knelt down gratefully: "Thank you, sir."

  I learned the common dialogue on the opera stage, shaking my head and saying: "When I see injustice, I draw my sword to help, no need for courtesy, young lady."

  The pregnant woman said: "Sir, please fulfill me again."

  "What does it mean?"

  The pregnant woman slowly crawled up, approached me, and revealed a strange expression on her face: "I'm hungry, just let me eat you." Her face suddenly became ferocious and terrifying, like a fierce ghost, with sharp teeth protruding from her lips, which fiercely pierced my throat.

  The pregnant woman was just an illusion, of course it couldn't hurt me. Still, I jumped in fright and shouted: "So you're a vicious scoundrel!" With one swing of my steel knife, I split the pregnant woman in two. By this time, I had fully immersed myself in the game's atmosphere.

  Blood gushed out, and from the split-open belly of the pregnant woman, a blood-soaked infant slowly crawled out, lifted its head, and let out a piercing wail.

  "The old woman said coldly: 'The last choice, kill this infant, or don't.'"

  I hesitated, cut the grass and eliminate the roots, of course, I had to kill him to eliminate future troubles; but he was just an infant, and I couldn't bear to put him to death.

  "Ga ga", the baby suddenly lay on the pregnant woman's corpse, devouring flesh and blood with its mouth wide open. It ate away at her arms and legs, then gnawed at the pregnant woman's internal organs. The baby grew at a shocking speed, rapidly growing bigger and stronger, transforming into an adult in the blink of an eye, with long hair scattered across its face.

  "Hurry up and choose!" The old woman's voice suddenly rang out. I couldn't bear the terrifying scene in front of me, and with one slash of my knife, I struck towards the infant. Blood splattered onto my face, the infant let out a miserable wail as it lifted its head, a deep gash appearing on its forehead, before falling backwards. In that instant, my entire body turned ice-cold.

  I saw the face of an infant growing up - it was my own face!

  "Clang", the knife in my hand fell to the ground, and the pregnant woman, the wooden house, and the desert all disappeared. All around was a vast expanse of whiteness, leaving only me and the old lady sitting cross-legged facing each other.