Hmm… this place we're in… oh! Wait, Mingyin, let me take some grain."
The crane dug into the cup of root tea, eating the small grains, then raised its beak.
"You know, the place we are in is a blind realm. It was originally created by the Mortal Ruler."
Mingyin was quite surprised.
"Oh, really? I didn't know that. Makes sense, though… the Mortal Ruler has two Soul Core formation paths: one is the Void, and the other is Transformation."
The crane nodded.
"Yeah. Hmp!"
It devoured all the grain as it continued speaking.
"You're secretly asking why I am here. I will tell you."
Mingyin waved his hand.
"I already know how animals are born in the Spirit Realm."
"Oh, how are they formed?" Magman asked, standing up and stretching his arms.
Mingyin continued.
"Animals can usually be mortal or immortal. Like this one here—but it's quite different from a mystical beast. Some are secretly stolen from the Mortal World into a realm, and the animal thinks this secret realm is its real home."
Magman looked confused.
"So this crane was stolen at birth… but this disk took care of it, right?"
Mingyin nodded as he looked up at the crane.
"I already know what kind of being this is."
The crane nodded.
"You're quite smart, human. But you're raising your cortisol levels too high."
Magman nodded.
"Yes, the crane is right. You even spat out blood."
Mingyin gave Magman another slap.
Magman fell down, crying and holding his left cheek.
Mingyin looked away.
"So, are there any other levels above this Void Realm?"
The crane nodded, then picked up the tree-root cup and placed it near the fossilized root. The root absorbed it.
"Yes, there's one higher level above the Void Realm. That is the Court Dragon Realm. It's the main realm I usually visit every Friday for about eight hours to see my master."
Mingyin nodded.
"Oh… weren't there six different levels?"
The crane shook its head.
"The mountain is covered by six realms, but those realms are made of soul energy."
Mingyin froze, eyes wide.
"Exactly how? This… is… weird. Why is my memory slowly dissolving?"
His heart raced. This is bad.
The crane answered.
"The realm we are currently in doesn't have soul energy, only Void Energy, which holds this realm from all sides. The six other realms are weaker but have more energy, covering the mountain with deep soul energy of different elements. It's a bit hard to understand, but—"
The crane hesitated, then continued.
"I mean, the Void Realm has a loop where soul energy reflects back, replenishing itself. The six realms hold more energy but dissolve over time. The mountain can be used as a weapon; I think you might be aware of that."
Mingyin nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, I've heard that secret realms can hide in the form of a mountain, an island, or even a continent. They can take any form."
The crane nodded.
"You're quite smart, Mingyin. You know a lot… too much, actually. It's scary dealing with you."
Mingyin nodded as he stood up.
The crane stood as well.
"Where are you going, human?"
Mingyin, constantly looking ahead, answered calmly.
"Originally, I was in a group of immortals. Now I am the only one inside the mountain. Next time we meet… it will be life or death."
The crane thought to itself.
It's weird… I am a Land Spirit. I should have killed him, but I didn't. Maybe I think he's a good friend, even though we met twelve minutes ago.
Mingyin nodded.
"Yeah…"
But Mingyin was deeply troubled.
I need to know how Magman was killed! But if I attack the crane now, it will realize I've regressed, and it will just kill me. The crane doesn't want me to know why it killed us both…
And people in loops don't remember dying. If I know the Land Spirit would kill me, I might lose my advantage.
But if I pretend not to know… it will be happy.
Why didn't it kill me when I pushed Magman away?
Maybe it thought I was smart enough to know it wasn't my fault…
But then it could have killed me again, and I wouldn't know why Magman was defeated.
It let me survive because I am useful… because I can regress, and it's confused why Magman didn't regress.
Unlike me, when it finishes with someone, it wants to lock their mind so they can't use regression again.
If this thought were heard, the whole world would be shocked at how smart Mingyin is.
But to Mingyin, it was easy.
The reason Mingyin had reached such a state was his rigorous martial arts training, even neglecting his own feelings and well-being.
Through countless hardships, deaths, life-long lessons, and friendships, his mind had ascended far beyond the mortal rank—even though his body remained mortal.
He was Mingyin: the one with the most experience.
Yet he stood as a mortal among immortals.
Mingyin had the potential to become immortal and perhaps survive the World Tribulation.
Yet reality was cruel to him.
Still, Mingyin was absurdly cunning.
Sometimes being ruthless in the right way was necessary. He killed for benefit, though he hated it. He acted kindly to all living beings. He respected the deaths of his enemies, even his own enemies, out of knowledge and pity.
Even if someone insulted him, Mingyin would forgive them—though not without some struggle.
Because Mingyin was human.
And he was the only true person in the cultivation world.
Mingyin sighed as he sat down, looking down with a cold expression.
But that didn't mean he would be kind to his enemies.
Sometimes, those who opposed him had to die.
And, sadly, this was a world where even the strong could be suppressed by the winners.
Nobody could win without intelligence.
Nobody could win without strength.
But even those without both could succeed through alliances.
Every immortal survived by making the best decisions.
This world wasn't only for the strong.
It was only for the winners.
And Mingyin was no different.
He needed to kill a living being.
To him, animals had value. But he ate animals. Killing one wasn't different from eating one.
Mingyin needed to kill this crane.
To survive.
Mingyin stood up and asked in a low tone,
"May I ask where we should go next to escape this Void Realm? I am looking for artifacts."
The crane froze.
"And why should I tell you? I only let you live because you're an important friend to me."
Mingyin froze.
This crane was lying.
Suddenly, he subtly raised one finger.
Magman, who had been lying down doing his own thing, noticed Mingyin's hand rotating.
His eyes widened.
In the past…
"Hey, Magman, could you come over for a second?"
Magman, who was eating a roasted chicken leg, dropped it and sprinted over to Mingyin, who was sitting near a pool.
"Yes, Master?"
Mingyin spoke aloud.
"I want to tell you: if I am in a dangerous situation, watch my finger. If I rotate it once, I want you to attack the enemy."
Magman nodded.
"Yes, Master."
"Oh—a fish!"
Mingyin froze as he tried to grab a fish, but it slipped from his hand.
"Ahh… this fish!"
"Present!"
Magman lunged forward immediately.
Mingyin smiled, hiding it.
"Hey, Magman…" He pretended to trip slightly as Magman lunged forward, not caring whether the crane lived or died.
The crane froze.
"Control your pet!"
Magman summoned an artifact made of crystal. A cloud covered his body, forming a protective armor. He tried to control a small sphere of wind, struggling to hold it.
Mingyin thought to himself:
It seems Magman doesn't know how to fully control his Soul Core formation… which makes sense—he doesn't have my memory.
Unlike the dreadful truth Mingyin carried…
I fear death, yet I live as if it will never come.
The crane froze as it saw the wind sphere fly toward it. It ducked just in time, but the sphere crashed against the disk's surface, sending the crane off balance. It barely managed to stabilize, flipping the disk over with its wing, veins bulging from its flesh as it held on tight.
Mingyin and Magman were thrown off balance.
"Ahahahaha! I will weaken Mingyin's soul and toy with Magman! When he blames Magman again, he won't attack me. Fools!" the crane thought, laughing as it hovered above the disk.
"I only keep you alive because I want to see how you remember being in a loop," it added.
The crane opened its mouth, tongue lashing out like a whip toward Magman.
Magman froze as he tried to block it with the protective cloud, sending out more spheres.
The crane easily dodged all of them, faster than Magman could react.
"Ahahaha!" the crane laughed. It swooped down with such force that Magman struggled to keep up.
But Mingyin remained calm.
"Hey! Stop doing that, Magman!" he shouted.
Magman looked confused.
"Hey… what?" he asked, turning around.
Suddenly, the crane dove downward again.
Splash!
A brutal attack struck, and Magman fell.
Mingyin froze, pretending to be afraid.
"Hey… I'm sorry… I didn't mean—"
Birk, Birk, Birk.
Mingyin was killed brutally by the crane, not even fighting back.
Ahhhh!
Mingyin woke up, finding the same crane calmly eating grain from the tree-root cup.
"You spaced out for one second," the crane remarked.
Mingyin nodded.
Now that I know Magman is weakened… I can finally find a way to defeat the crane.
But a thought struck him.
How did the crane die in the loop?
Mingyin froze.
Even if the crane doesn't die, the same day could repeat twice…