I Am Loaded with Passive Skills

Chapter 3849: Chapter 1853: Truth_2

"After nine lives, the name has been lost, fundamentally stripped of abilities like ’discovery’ and ’determination’, so there is no hope of achieving the path. We can focus on this aspect."

Nuozu thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, signaling Time Ancestor to continue.

Only then did the latter turn his attention back, his gaze falling on the black wheel in his hand, the Space-Time Gate, with a slight hesitation:

"What I am thinking is to cast these two into the All Heavens Plane, seeking those who can discover and those with determination, or even both qualities, and allow them to reincarnate into the lost entity of the name."

"Your black wheel, borrowing the Power of Name, will aid its early growth, while my Reincarnation Gate will protect its ’discovery’ and ’determination’ qualities, solidifying its foundational roots..."

Before Time Ancestor could finish speaking, opposite him, Nuozu seemed to change dramatically, displaying fierce purple light from beneath the Nuomian on his face, roaring furiously:

"Kong Yuhen! Is this ’borrowing power’?"

Time Ancestor was momentarily silent, utterly speechless.

Nuozu was completely enraged, his killing intent surging wildly, almost ready to strike:

"You are borrowing people!"

"You are borrowing lives!"

"Such a person, after several reincarnations, is destined to fulfill their fate."

"You are exploiting someone destined to fulfill their fate, sacrificing their soul for the name, stripping their foundational roots to strengthen us — is this your ultimate plan, Kong Yuhen?"

Nuozu almost couldn’t suppress the Nuomian on his face.

He suppressed his trembling voice and body, struggling to calm himself: "You better have a ’but’..."

"But!" Time Ancestor blurted out, anxiously gesturing with his hands:

"I know what you’re thinking of me right now, but my plan aims to borrow others’ destiny to recreate the glory of Name Ancestor, to counter the great calamity."

"You also mentioned, after nine lives, name or not. He can have his will, he can choose to become Name Ancestor, or not become Name Ancestor."

"He wasn’t meant to be the name anyway, I simply gave him a push, perhaps he innately leans towards the name, willingly achieving it!"

The mad Nu stared at Time Ancestor, shaking his head uncontrollably.

This madman, at this moment, surprisingly seemed more humane than the calm but ruthless Time Ancestor.

"So, you lost yourself to this extent, even your nature has changed..." Nuozu gazed at the starry sky corrupted by the great calamity, as if seeing corrupted human hearts.

"I am clear-headed!" Time Ancestor insisted.

"Growing by borrowing the Power of Name will surely be influenced by it. Suppose by then, the will of the name revives within his body..."

"Name cannot possess, you know his nature!" Time Ancestor interrupted.

Yet Nuozu regarded him, contemplated for a long while, then pressed down his killing intent, sighing deeply:

"But I’m not sure anymore if you would secretly influence him..."

The scene returned to silence.

Both fell into silence.

The intangible force pushed Xu Xiaoshou, as if to leave this scene.

Xu Xiaoshou no longer resisted.

Because having listened to this point, he too fell silent, understanding everything clearly:

The former Xu Xiaoshou was the reincarnated body of Name Ancestor, and his growth and experiences aligned with the signs of "decline" after nine lives.

After his reincarnation, his destiny-defying success, smooth progress, and all his gains indeed matched the qualities of "discovery" and "determination" that were protected.

"So, the cultivation qualities nurtured by my hardships in past lives were to become the sacrificial offering to awaken Name Ancestor in the next reincarnation..."

What could Xu Xiaoshou do but offer a wry smile.

His connection with Name Ancestor was not him being for Name Ancestor, nor Name Ancestor being for him, but rather forcibly linked by the manipulations of Nuozu and Time Ancestor.

At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou felt a slight sense of relief.

He was relieved that he was still himself, and he no longer had to ponder over the questions of "am I or am I not".

Yet beyond relief, he felt fear.

For in the scene, up until the end, the mad Nu did not strike down Time Ancestor; instead, he restrained his killing intent.

"Mad Nu..."

Without a doubt, Nuozu was an upright guy.

Having watched two scenes, Xu Xiaoshou admired this madman the most.

Yet he ultimately restrained his killing intent!

He chose to turn a blind eye!

Xu Xiaoshou no longer knew if this was consent or a different plan, but he knew that listening any further served no purpose.

Clearly, the two ancestors harbored distrust, and whatever they said next was less credible.

"Under the great calamity, Time Ancestor’s Kong Yuhen has dissolved into thousands, even his nature seemed lost."

"Mad Nu has gone so mad, can he endure?"

"Or put it this way, under normal circumstances, who would forsake a lifelong friend for someone they’ve never met, or even yet to be born?"

The vision blurred, and the scene faded away.

Xu Xiaoshou was pushed out, the intangible force making him dizzy, as if being pushed towards the abyss.

"Buzz..."

A mosquito-like annoying hum buzzed in his ear, making it hard to find himself or grasp his position.

Xu Xiaoshou had another dream; it was still a nightmare.

This time, there were no mosquitoes in the dream. He lay quietly on the rusty tracks, his whole body paralyzed, as if in the final stages in a ward.

"Woo—"

A train spewing black smoke rushed down the tracks, about to crush him.

Xu Xiaoshou struggled to turn his head and looked to his side.

The tracks split into two up ahead. He was on the side track, all alone, while on the right track, there were five others lying paralyzed.

"Hahaha..."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly laughed.

He recognized this dream, it was a difficult dilemma.

There should be a button on the out-of-control iron train to choose whether to deviate from the normal track, to choose whether one dies or five die.

If the answer was the latter, the dream should evolve into a more intense, more terrifying dream within a dream:

That is, one dies, or the entire world dies.

"Bang!"

Pain struck.

Without any consideration, Xu Xiaoshou knew he had been crushed.

Like a cockroach stepped to death by someone, his entire body was crushed by a heavy object, blood and flesh splattering everywhere, dying without an intact corpse.

"Hiss!"

He abruptly sat up in the hospital bed, drawing a sharp breath.

Pinching his left and right arms, realizing his body was still there, knowing it was just a dream, Xu Xiaoshou reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Scaring myself..."

He was back!

The images of the Reincarnation Gate ended, the nightmare concluded, and he returned to the ward.

But knowing the truth wasn’t as satisfying as he had imagined; instead, it was somewhat oppressive.

"Kong Yuhen, really is something else."

"Demented Nu..."

This person was hard to evaluate.

In the white smoke scene, when Name Ancestor faced Nu Second Ancestor, there was a simple evaluation:

"The paths of you two are too absolute, one overly Taoized, the other overly self-centered."

Clearly, Nu Ancestor was the overly self-centered one.

A hybrid that would call himself "we"?

Maybe this way of calling was somewhat disrespectful to Demented Nu, but Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t be bothered to pretend to respect him behind his back.

He just felt Demented Nu was a patchwork entity, with many "existences" within, the core of release being whether the Nuomian was removed or not.

Such a person, yet excessively self-centered.

Clearly, his adherence to the path and recognition of self reached a terrifying extreme.

"Perhaps, stronger than me..."

Xu Xiaoshou stroked his chin, eyes slightly closed, lost in thought.

After all, in the scene, he was recognized by the Time Ancestor for "discovery," "determination," and other qualities. He was now extremely confident.

But confidence only lasted for a moment before reality defeated him.

Now, Name Ancestor was lost, discerning me failed, Time Ancestor dissolved, discerning me failed.

Looking across the five domains of the continent, the Ten Ancestors were the same, regardless of Holy Demon, Medicine Ghost, life and death, all failed in discerning me.

If there was still one ancestor who could discern me successfully...

Xu Xiaoshou thought, it should be the overly self-centered Nu Ancestor left.

But the catastrophe could influence even the Time Ancestor, he dared not make rash conclusions, fearing that Demented Nu, in the end, could still maintain his original heart in this catastrophe, not joining hands with the Time Ancestor — yet he already showed signs of madness!

"That is, if things evolve to the worst-case scenario."

"Even if I seal Godhood and become an ancestor, I must resist the resurrection of Name Ancestor’s will within my body, and still resist the distortion and influence of Nu Ancestor and Time Ancestor’s counter-will towards me?"

While troubled and pondering, the ward scene gradually shattered.

Xu Xiaoshou returned to the chaos after the Super Taoization of the Time Dao Disc, facing three gates, the first two dim, leaving only the third gate.

The third gate glowed with light, still exuding a fatal attraction, making one want to reach out and touch it, to push it open.

For the first time, Xu Xiaoshou hesitated so much about exploring the unknown.

As he expected, behind the third gate should not be "truth," but "influence."

At this moment, he even had a picture in his mind:

After pushing open the third gate, he did not enter another world but saw Time Ancestor and Nu Ancestor again.

Time Ancestor laughed, Nu Ancestor also removed the Nuomian and laughed, the two ancestors reached out together, casting a light of will distortion upon him, shouting:

"Revive, my name!"