Chapter 99: 116. Illusion Master Qian Renxue
"All these years you've hated me, carefully preparing your revenge," Qian Xunji said. "But what you never realized is that your revenge… is exactly what I need most."
"So what will you do?"
"Come now. The divine throne that mortals can only dream of has opened before you." Seated upon the stone throne in the secret chamber, Qian Xunji spread his arms, eyes blazing with fanaticism. "Kill me. Stain yourself with your master's blood, devour my soul, inherit everything of mine—and usher in the era of Spirit Hall's twin gods."
Bibi Dong smiled bitterly. "A god… is it really that important to you? You arranged my entire life, but how do you know that's what I wanted?"
"No one can reject the temptation of godhood. A god, even an evil one, means eternal life, overwhelming power, and control over fate itself. I will never become a god. All I can do is help you ascend," Qian Xunji said. "I don't believe you can resist that temptation either."
"In the end, all of this is just for your little 'god-making plan,' isn't it?"
"You're not wrong," he admitted. "But my plan is for your ascension. Yu Xiaogang's 'plan' is nothing but exploitation. I can already see it—in your future, after you break into the Titled realm, he'll waste decades of your cultivation time trying to help him break through his pathetic bottleneck at level 29."
"You—" Bibi Dong suddenly looked at him with something like pity. "You're pitiful."
Qian Xunji froze. Since revealing the truth, he had been trying to guide her into killing him. He never expected that, after learning everything, she would respond like this.
Bibi Dong lifted her head, gazing toward the ceiling of the secret chamber. "The Divine Realm cast down a god seat… and you went mad for it. You gave everything—your life included—to reach for it. But what you consider a priceless divine throne is, in the eyes of those high above, nothing more than bait."
"You think this is the beginning of Spirit Hall's glorious twin-god era, but you fail to see the trap behind the lure—the pit that will doom Spirit Hall to eternal ruin."
Qian Xunji stared at her, puzzled, pondering her words.
At last he asked, "Who are you?"
Bibi Dong smiled faintly. "You finally noticed."
"The one in the thick of things never sees clearly. If it were Dong'er alone, she'd never have realized any of this. Only someone standing outside the game could see," Qian Xunji said, eyes narrowing.
In his sight, the eight spider spears behind Bibi Dong shimmered and changed, transforming into eight radiant angelic wings. One pair was as pure and holy as his own Six-Winged Angel, but the other three pairs carried a tainted, fallen aura.
Her figure blurred, features shifting—until a face emerged that was at once familiar and strange.
"You—" Qian Xunji stammered, pointing at the pale-haired woman before him. "You look just like… my daughter. And that angel martial soul… how…?"
Qian Renxue spoke calmly. "If she had heard what you just revealed, yes, she would break. But I'm not her. I am your daughter."
"Nonsense. My Xue'er isn't anywhere near your age."
"Then, Father, what if I told you that the memory of her giving birth to Qian Renxue was also an illusion?" Qian Renxue said. "The truth is—there is no 'Xue'er' in reality, not the one you remember."
"You're saying… illusion…"
"Father, I returned to this era long ago. I watched you take her in as your disciple. From that very moment, I saw you use the ability of the Angel God's head soul bone on her spiritual sea," Qian Renxue said. "So from that moment, I began my own game. I used the Angel God's head soul bone's illusion power on you as well. I wanted to see what medicine you were hiding in your gourd."
"Your plan continued, all the way until Yu Xiaogang appeared. I intervened then, breaking the illusion you cast on her. But in Yu Xiaogang's mind and in your illusion, he still pursued his own vile, selfish schemes, and you still carried out your god-making plan."
"In the illusion, your plan progressed up to the moment when she tried to elope with Yu Xiaogang. You chose to break them apart and lock her in this very chamber. That was when I took your form and used her feelings for Yu Xiaogang to test him—forcing him to choose between the Golden Dragon Fruit and her. As expected, he chose the option most beneficial to himself. He abandoned my mother."
At that, Qian Renxue smiled faintly.
"You're saying… all of this was illusion—even Xue'er's birth?" Qian Xunji said, stunned. "Then you cannot possibly be my daughter. I only ever had Bibi Dong. She was six when I took her in. You…"
"My name is Qian Renxue. I am your daughter—but not from this timeline."
"This timeline?"
"I came from the future, back to the past—to your era—to stop your madness," Qian Renxue said.
"Qian… Qian Renxue, if you truly are my daughter, then you unfilial child—you ruined everything! Do you know what Spirit Hall will lose? The twin gods, gone!" Qian Xunji cried bitterly, pointing at her in rage.
"Spirit Hall's twin gods?" Qian Renxue laughed. "Even if everything went perfectly, what would it change? In my timeline, you carried out every step of your plan. Spirit Hall did indeed produce two gods. And in the end? Spirit Hall was still destroyed."
She sighed. "Your grand plan was nothing more than one move in someone else's game. In the end, Mother and I were just stepping stones for another's ascension."
"Someone else?" Qian Xunji whispered.
Qian Renxue then recounted the strange history of her past life.
At first, Qian Xunji didn't believe it. But the longer he listened, the more furious he became.
"You're telling me," he said through clenched teeth, "that Tang Hao's beastman, that child, destroyed Spirit Hall and ended the twin gods?"
"Exactly," Qian Renxue replied. "As far as I know, the Asura God and the Rakshasa God are a pair—a team. They roam various planes: Rakshasa spreads evil, Asura judges it, feeding upon the faith and will of the masses. Asura instructed Rakshasa to seek a successor on our Douluo Continent, then place her into Spirit Hall as the Rakshasa inheritor. The Rakshasa successor would inevitably fall to evil, dragging the angel—symbol of light and judgment—into corruption, unleashing a disaster across the continent. At that moment, the Asura successor, draped in radiant righteousness, would descend to 'save' the world."
She gave a hollow, bitter smile.
"So from the very beginning, your plan was only a piece of someone else's. The one they truly wished to raise into godhood wasn't me or her—it was Tang San. Now that you know the truth, Father… what do you think?"
(END CHAPTER)
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