In the eyes of HooH the Equilibrium, the last being with a tendency to converge all Paths upon themselves was Noa—but at least Noa was an actual Aeon.
Even then, their birth was collectively delayed by the other Aeons until the very brink of the world's end.
This time, things were even more absurd.
Bai Ming was capable of plundering Paths without even being an Aeon. In this current world, she was concentrating all that grand power into her own person.
Given her track record, who could guarantee she wouldn't eventually hold every single Path in her grasp?
When that day came, would the other Aeons simply accept a mere human sharing their authority? It was more likely they would join forces to hunt her down.
HooH could not accept such an extreme future. Whether it was Bai Ming unifying all Paths or the Aeons hunting her to her demise, neither extreme was the outcome HooH desired.
The Equilibrium wished neither for the fall of the Aeons nor for a variable-filled individual like Bai Ming to perish prematurely.
And so, HooH chose to act now. At the very least, while Bai Ming was still open to reason, these extreme futures had to be smothered in their cradle.
HooH intended to establish a contract with her—one that would also serve as a personal guarantee for her existence.
As for Bai Ming, she felt no malice or hostility radiating from Equilibrium.
She figured that made sense; HooH was the kind of Aeon who followed the path of "becoming one with the Dao." Such an entity likely lacked distinct personal likes or dislikes.
Beyond that, Bai Ming found the battle itself incredibly awkward. It wasn't a "fight" in the traditional sense she understood.
Fine-tuned techniques became secondary in this place beyond the material realm. Instead, the clash of Paths, personal convictions, and sheer will took center stage.
The invisible Paths seemed to crystallize, surging and entangling under their respective control. This abstract style of combat was a first for Bai Ming, and it felt stifling.
She simply wasn't used to fighting like this.
Equilibrium's will came in waves, like a rising tide directed at Bai Ming's mind.
It sought to invade her consciousness, planting its own objectives to sway her decisions.
Meanwhile, a pitch-black silhouette raised a hammer high, charging toward her. Compared to the abstract nature of HooH, the actions of this shadow were far easier to grasp.
Bai Ming raised her hand, manifesting a massive hammer of her own, and swung it down hard against her reflection. The heavy hammers collided, their forces surging against one another before annihilating in a perfect balance. They displayed absolute opposing attributes.
It was the antithesis of Elation, yet it wasn't Nihility.
It stood against Permanence, yet it wasn't Nihility either.
It was a Path, yet it didn't feel like one; it existed solely to serve as the perfect counter to Bai Ming's power. It was a manifestation of pure binary opposition.
Their clash was raw and primal, spanning everything from combat techniques to pure Imaginary Energy surges and the collision of Paths.
Any move, any action, would trigger a total annihilation of opposing forces.
Within this blend of the abstract and the concrete, as the mental and spiritual struggle grew more intense, Equilibrium finally seemed to convey its intent.
Once that was done, the mental assault on Bai Ming's consciousness began to recede, leaving only the unspent, clashing shadows behind.
HooH's meaning was clear. In its state of existence, these shadows were its primary tool; the outcome of this duel would dictate what came next.
If Bai Ming lost, the initiative would fall to Equilibrium. By its own rules, HooH would ensure her ability to seize Paths could no longer expand unchecked.
But if Bai Ming won, the initiative would stay with her. Things would proceed according to her will.
Simply put, it was a formal challenge.
Having grasped Equilibrium's intent and its underlying concerns, Bai Ming accepted the invitation to battle. In truth, as HooH suggested, this fight was unavoidable.
Even if Equilibrium hadn't acted today, other Aeons would surely have come to test her eventually.
Bai Ming hadn't looked too deeply into the issues Equilibrium was worried about, but thinking it over, HooH had a point.
Even if she didn't intend to invade the Paths currently held by the Aeons, the fact remained that the "Permanence Equation" rewarded by her system included elements of Propagation and Abundance.
Even if she didn't want it to, her actions effectively looked like she was coveting the Abundance.
The system's rewards were powerful—perhaps a bit too powerful—to the point where her behavior was starting to cross a line.
Bai Ming understood Equilibrium's logic. She agreed with the idea of HooH providing a guarantee to the other Aeons in its own name. However, business was business.
She was willing to accept the suggestion, but that didn't mean she was going to hand over the narrative control to this "one with the Dao" entity whose personal emotions had likely been ground away to nothing.
Even if the final result was accepting the proposal, Bai Ming intended to seize the upper hand.
Otherwise, knowing Equilibrium's habits, who knew what kind of bizarre treaty it would cook up?
And so... Bai Ming started fighting for real.
To deal with her opponent, she even discarded her current "chibi" form, returning to her normal physical proportions.
The great hammer in her hand transformed into a long blade as she charged once more at that ridiculous, small-statured shadow.
She had to admit, the shadow summoned by Equilibrium was absurd.
No matter how much Bai Ming's strength shifted, it could always achieve a state of perfect correspondence. It was a flawless match, which forced Bai Ming to rethink her impression of this ancient Aeon.
Of course, now wasn't the time for admiration. Bai Ming was racking her brain for a way to break the deadlock. But no matter what she tried, it was useless; that shadow was the perfect opposition.
With her current capabilities, there was almost no chance of a breakthrough.
But that was fine. If she couldn't do it now, she'd just have to get stronger.
The pocket world Bai Ming had left with Acheron was filled with a massive amount of Elation's power. Theoretically, that pocket world was her anchor at the edge of Nihility. It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to call it a special kind of "clone."
And so, far away at the edge of Nihility, Acheron—who was sitting on a reef watching the black sea—suddenly felt the pocket world in her possession vibrate. A powerful aura began to spread from it.
Using the "Personality Completion System" to boost her own comprehension, Bai Ming forced herself into a state of deep analysis, decoding the equations of Permanence and Elation simultaneously.
Naturally, the cost of splitting her focus was that she briefly fell into a disadvantage against the shadow. But it wasn't a deal-breaker. She wouldn't be defeated anytime soon.
Meanwhile, on the Xianzhou Fanghu, Xuanquan stood watch over her transforming kin, her expression heavy.
A significant amount of time had passed since Equilibrium appeared and took Bai Ming away, yet there wasn't a peep of news.
She had no idea what was happening. Her transforming clansmen seemed stuck at a certain bottleneck due to some unknown reason, unable to complete their transition.
"What's going on... Is the revival of the Vidyadhara not permitted by Equilibrium?"
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Xuanquan's heart sank.
"And Madam Bai Ming... please, you must return safely."
When it came to matters between Aeons, Xuanquan was no different from an ordinary person. The only thing she could do was pray.
Bai Ming couldn't be sure how long this stalemate had lasted.
Her consciousness was either outside the world or at the edge of Nihility, and while decoding the Path equations, she had to fend off an enemy. She simply didn't have the spare energy to track the flow of time.
All she knew was that this opponent Equilibrium had conjured was incredibly annoying.
Initially, before she started decoding the equations, the shadow was an even match.
After a while, her understanding of Permanence and Elation deepened by several percentage points, and the combined result was a clear boost in her strength.
Yet, even though she gained the upper hand in her initial burst, the shadow's aura immediately rose to match her. It gave her no opening for a breakthrough.
In other words, the phantom summoned by HooH was a "dynamic equilibrium" entity. It would scale upward exactly as Bai Ming's understanding and strength increased.
Bai Ming knew she wouldn't be allowed an easy win, but facing a shadow that balanced itself in real-time left her at a loss for how to finish it.
Of course, if an Aeon were to suddenly join the fray, she could win instantly.
However, the one Aeon who could perceive the disturbance here and had a reason to join in—Aha—was currently floating at the edge of the battlefield being a total nuisance.
The Masked Fool had split itself into countless "spectators," surrounding the battlefield in layers upon layers.
Aha was laughing "Aha! Aha!" while cheering for both sides.
The Elation might as well have written "I'm just here for the drama" in giant letters across THEIR face.
Nearly fuming from Aha's antics, Bai Ming gritted her teeth and decided to gamble!
She felt that no matter how exaggerated Equilibrium's divine power was, it was impossible to simply create a perfect opposition for an entire, complete Path out of thin air.
If HooH were that broken—able to 1:1 mirror a complete Path—wouldn't Equilibrium be able to beat down every other Aeon at once? The gap between Aeons shouldn't be that vast.
So, Bai Ming steeled herself and began a full-scale assault on the final remaining mysteries of the Elation Equation.
Using the divine body Aha had given her, Bai Ming could indeed wield the power of the complete Path of Elation, but she had already tried that.
In the eyes of Equilibrium, that kind of wielded power wasn't "complete"; it had a flaw.
Bai Ming hadn't seen this flaw in herself, but she had sensed it through the shadow during their struggle.
She theorized that only by completely deciphering the Elation Equation and filling in that missing "something" could she truly win this trial.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL