Kynan
patreon
Chapter 444: A Fellow Traveler's Mark
🕑 Added 2025-07-16 20:03:02 +0000 UTC"Master," Azure's voice carried a note of grim confirmation, "I've been analyzing the energy patterns since we arrived, and I have to agree with your conclusion. The similarities between Xuan Yi and blue sun energy aren't superficial, they're fundamental. At the deepest level, Xuan Yi really is a derivative of blue sun energy."
I stayed silent for a long moment, letting this revelation settle into my understanding of the situation.
In a xianxia world where the impossible became routine, I'd always known it was likely that I wasn't the only world walker. Whether that was because someone else had cultivated the World Tree Sutra, or they had developed a completely different method to traverse realities, I'd always accepted there was a possibility that during my cultivation journey I would encounter another.
But what I hadn't expected was to come across one, or at least the influence of one, without having even left my sect.
The Realm of the Chosen belonged to the Azure Peak Sect, whether because it had originally belonged to a former Civilization Realm member or through some kind of acquisition. Which meant either the world walker was an Azure Peak member, past or present, or was someone closely associated with the sect.
I frowned, considering the implications.
From what I'd observed, I felt it was unlikely that the creator of this Realm of the Chosen was actually a world walker themselves. This inner world didn't have the telltale signs I would expect, no variety of energy systems from different worlds, no obvious influence of multiple civilizations' cultures blended together.
It was more probable that the creator of this realm had been associated with a world walker, and had possibly been given blue sun energy to experiment with. From those experimentations, Xuan Yi had been born.
I already knew that Life Realm and Civilization Realm experts would go through extraordinary lengths to experiment with foreign energy types. It was one of the reasons I'd hidden the two suns energies for so long.
While all inner worlds started with qi as their foundation, once a cultivator entered the Civilization Realm, the cultivation methods used by their inhabitants became a huge factor in progressing their own advancement. Having a more unique energy type could contribute significantly to that progression, especially if it complemented the cultivator's primary cultivation method.
So, the scenario I was imagining went something like this: a cultivator had developed an inner world based on the Dao of Belief, probably someone with genuine conviction and noble intentions. Then they encountered a world walker who had visited the Two Suns world and somehow obtained blue sun energy samples.
Seeing that blue sun energy specialized in creation and consciousness manipulation, the cultivator had probably thought it was perfectly suited for their people, much better than pure qi for a realm focused on belief and conviction.
Unfortunately, as I'd learned through painful experience, blue sun energy was fundamentally corrupted. It only made sense that anything derived from it would also carry that corruption, like a spiritual virus that transformed whatever it touched.
This would explain why the realm had shifted from being based on the pure Dao of Belief into what I was witnessing now, a reality following the Dao of Delusion, where every single thing was convinced of its own importance to an absurd degree.
The corruption had likely driven the original cultivator insane as well, which would explain why this inner world had eventually been absorbed by the sect and was now being used for tournaments rather than being actively maintained by its creator.
"Master," Azure said quietly, "this is exactly why you've been so cautious about sharing the two suns energies with Wei Lin and the others, isn't it?"
"Yes," I replied internally. "Until I have a permanent method to purify them, something more reliable than the Genesis Seed's protection that I can extend to others, I won't put anyone else at risk."
But what concerned me most was a more fundamental question: had the world walker knowingly or unknowingly spread this poisonous energy? The answer to that would tell me what kind of person I might eventually encounter.
If they'd known blue sun energy was corrupted and had shared it anyway, that painted a picture of someone either malicious or recklessly irresponsible. If they'd been ignorant of the corruption, it suggested someone who might be a potential ally, someone I could warn about the dangers they'd unknowingly spread.
It would also give me some idea of when the world walker had visited the Two Suns world, and whether they might still be making trips there.
I'd traveled to the Two Suns world multiple times, yet I'd never come across anything that suggested others from the Cultivation World had also visited.
No traces of qi-based cultivation, no rumors among the locals of strange foreigners with impossible abilities, no signs of advanced techniques being introduced from outside their reality.
This suggested several possibilities. Either the world walker had kept an extremely low profile during their visits, not leaving any lasting imprint on that world. Or they'd visited years, possibly centuries or millennia, ago, and their actions had been lost to time.
There was also the possibility that the time loop the Two Suns world was locked in had erased their mark once each cycle concluded, though that seemed less likely.
Kal would remember previous loops, and given his personality, he would definitely have been interested in a world walker and how that could help the Two Suns World’s situation. But from my experience with him, Kal hadn't shown any signs of knowing such a thing was even possible.
I shook my head, there just wasn’t enough concrete information.
Without knowing the time differences between the Realm of the Chosen and the Cultivation World, it would be difficult to determine when the creator of this world had first introduced Xuan Yi to their inhabitants. Which meant it would be nearly impossible to figure out when the world walker had originally shown them blue sun energy.
And when you factored in the Two Suns world being locked in a time loop for who knows how long, the timeline became completely impossible to untangle.
For all I knew, this world walker could have done all of this thousands of years ago and was long dead by now. Or I could just be wrong about the entire thing.
Regardless, when I return to the sect, it’d be best to keep an eye out for any information about world walkers. If anyone would have answers about such things, it would be Sect Master Yuan. While he wasn't obligated to tell me anything, Yuan had seemed like a reasonable person during our brief encounter, and I might be able to learn something from him.
But what I needed to do right now was prepare for my battle with Yuan Zhen. After that concluded, I could spend time learning more about this world and its creator before leaving the realm.
Just as I was about to start working on a proper battle strategy, I felt a familiar stirring in the back of my mind.
Du Yanze was coming back online.
This was always the trickiest part of using someone as a vessel.
Unlike my experiences in the Realm of Living Lyrics, where I'd worked as a true partner with Mo Yuhang from the beginning, Du Yanze had been knocked out immediately upon entry, and now that some time had passed, his natural consciousness was reasserting itself.
I felt the moment his awareness fully returned, like a second stream of thought suddenly joining the river of my own consciousness.
“Where... where am I?”
“You're in your body,” I replied carefully. “But you're sharing it with me. I'm the divine being who chose you as a vessel, remember?”
"A divine being?"
There was wonder in his voice, but also something else. A wariness that surprised me.
"I remember... I called out to you. I was desperate. Everything was falling apart, and I thought..." He trailed off, and I could sense him examining our shared consciousness more carefully. "This is real, isn't it? You're actually here, in my body."
I'd expected the hot-headed protagonist type - someone who would immediately start talking about how he was chosen by destiny, how this proved his grandfather right about his special nature. But this Du Yanze seemed almost... normal? There was intelligence behind his voice, a thoughtfulness that didn't match the delusional young master I'd been prepared for.
“Are you alright?” I asked, genuinely curious about his mental state.
“I think so? Everything feels different, though. Clearer. Like I was looking at the world through dirty glass and someone finally cleaned it.”
Interesting.
Du Yanze had been on the verge of becoming a Disbeliever when I'd chosen him, his faith in his own destiny completely shattered. But this wasn't the bitter emptiness I'd expect from someone who'd lost all hope, or the manic energy I’d expect from someone clinging onto the last scraps of hope.
Instead, he seemed oddly at peace.
Then it hit me.
When I'd channeled qi earlier, it had evolved not just the ambient Xuan Yi, but also the energy flowing through Du Yanze's spiritual channels. The same purification effect that had freed the trees from blue sun programming had worked on my vessel's own cultivation base. But since the corrupted Xuan Yi didn’t affect my mental state, I didn’t even realise, I had just assumed the experiment had failed.
“Du Yanze,” I said slowly, “how do you feel about your destiny? About being chosen?”
“Honestly? I'm not sure I care anymore.” His voice carried a rueful chuckle. “For years, I built my entire identity around being special, being destined for greatness. But looking back on it now, that obsession made me miserable. I was so focused on proving I was the hero of my own story that I forgot to actually live.”
Fascinating. The qi had indeed purified his Xuan Yi, but instead of making him doubt everything like a Disbeliever, it had given him perspective. He could still believe in things; he just wasn't compelled to believe in grandiose delusions about himself.
“Wait,” Du Yanze's voice suddenly sharpened with alarm. “What is that enormous tree doing? And why is there a boulder looking at me?”
I glanced up at the ancient oak, whose massive form was indeed rather intimidating when you weren't expecting it. The Stone Emperor had positioned itself so it could observe everything, and its craggy surface did have an unmistakably watchful quality.
“Those are my friends,” I explained internally. “The tree is called... well, he never mentioned a name. And the boulder calls himself the Stone Emperor. They're both cultivators, actually.”
There was a moment of stunned silence before Du Yanze spoke again.
"You have Witnesses of Fate who are trees and rocks…”
“Something like that, though it's more complicated. Is that unusual?" I asked, genuinely curious about local customs.
"Most cultivators have human followers," Du Yanze replied, still sounding stunned. "Maybe spirit beasts if they're particularly accomplished. But I've never heard of someone whose Witnesses of Fate included geological formations and ancient trees."
As he said this, an interesting thought occurred to me.
I looked around the small forest clearing, noting the various plants and rocks scattered throughout.
The ancient oak had been freed from my compulsion and chosen to respect me anyway.
Little Bloom had been given awareness and decided I was "nice" entirely on her own.
The Stone Emperor remained terrified, but that was due to my accidental intimidation rather than programmed subservience.
What if I could awaken more of them? Not as servants or worshippers, but as truly independent beings who happened to think I was worth supporting? In a realm where belief literally shaped reality, having genuine believers, rather than manufactured ones, could be incredibly powerful.
And unlike the corrupted blue sun approach, adding qi to the equation when granting consciousness would likely preserve free will. The awakened beings would retain their ability to think critically and make their own choices.
The idea was intriguing, but I'd need to be careful. Even positive consciousness creation was a serious responsibility. Every being I awakened would be a real person with real needs and desires, not just a tool for my advancement.
Still, the potential was fascinating.
In a world where everyone believed they were the protagonist, maybe the real power came from being the one who helped others write their own stories.
A/N
As you can see, Ke Yin will not enslave the locals, he would rather have genuine Witnesses of Fate.
Comments
Endgame
What happened to all the world spirits? Don't they stay alive after the cultivator dies?
DangerX
To be honest, the name realm of the chosen does paint some pretty obvious pictures, especially when we just encountered that guy who was using the dao of belief a couple stages ago. If youd read/experienced that not long ago, then saw a name that sounded delusional and self important, thinking it might be about the dao of belief is a likely conclusion. A pyramid scheme tho, that sounds possible but, its a more a modern idea, just like how corporations and modern business are much different and would probably be a foreign concept to anyone hundreds of years ago. It all is reasonable enough to keep up my willing suspension of disbelief in this story
Snoogle Bean
I gotta say that a lot of the decision making process for KY seems unrealistic. Maybe the world walker was dead by now? And how he immediately figured out what the realm of the chosen was just from the name. Also, if you're thinking of doing more world building, I think the likely outcome over time for this world would be a pyramid scheme. Ie. The highest level cultivators aquire witnesses of Fate, grant them power, and then they in turn collect their own witnesses, feeding power back to the highest level. It seems silly that a witness of Fate seems to lose all independent will.
John Cena
Ahhh interesting. So it was supposed to be the dao of belief originally like ya hinted with the title. Interesting. And qi certainly has an interesting cleansing effect. I wonder if he can use it to cleanse some of the corruption from people in the 2 suns world, at least tempoarily. Furthermore, i wonder if the civilization cultivator was part of that clan that practiced a similar form of cultivation. His madness likely corrupted his clans teachings i imagine, hence they are the delusional, one-stellar-core, remnants you see today. The civilization realm cultivator probably went too far in the past and forced the sect to cull him and parts of his now delusional clan. Hell, maybe the corrupt energy allowed him to ascend to the civilization realm in the first place. But it was a poisoned chalice. I think, this is all guesswork based upon the hints laid out. I look forward to see what happened! Peace.
Aidan Coleman
Could he use the stabilized xuan yi to make the plants in his inner world sapient?
Andrew P
I think he already has plans for that merger which requires him to get better with each
GreatCabbage
Late thought. Could better understanding Xuan Yi’s interactions with the red sun energies and its purification process help Ke Yin and Azure merge the blue and red suns? Whatever happened to the dual sun manual Azure memorized?
GreatCabbage
What if Ke Yin encounters the world stabilizing tree and purifies it as well?
Andrew P
It'll be interesting if he figures out how to blend the two energy systems to create something greater than either without the downsides when it comes time for him to develop his own cultivation system.
Trevor Smith
He knows it was blue sun energy because his ai analyzed xuan yi and found out it is a derivative of blue sun. Just like how harmonic ensrgy last chap was a derivative of qi. He has blue/red sun energy in his inner world. His Genesis Seed makes him immune to its corrupting effects, but if he gives it to others they get corrupted. Honestly one of my complaints with the blue/red energies is that he has actual suns in his inner world and he keeps running out??? He has generators!! And batteries! Why is he running out??? KY didnt actually give his master blue sun energy, he just channeled it and his master observed. Why would he burden his bff with the knowledge of highly sought after foreign energies? That he’s a highly sought after world walker? Like what good would it do when theyre both still at the first realm cultivation? His friend group are all qi realm cultivators and his master is a new life cultivator. KY has no power, has no backing and has absolutely nothing to protect him if all his secrets are exposed. KY can’t create derivative energies yet since he’s still a noob. Pseudo Elemental Realm Qi cultivation. Blue and Red all rank 1. All he has going for him is his Synphony Shield and that new movement technique. Which shows he can innovate, hes just not there yet for new energies.
bioenthusiast
The sun energy’s and qi in this story reminds me of other stories that mix western and eastern fantasy. With mana be an external thing and qi being an internal one.
Phoenixdrop
Okay then go time people let’s heal this broken world one tree at a time
SirSquidlington
The direction you’ve taken the plot is so good, please don’t go bald
Carter Swafford
The corruption in the blue suns world came from elsewhere. The corruption of Xuan Yi could have come from tat original place, also. Why would Ke Yin assume it would have anything to do with the two suns at all, and only the blue energy at that? The blue energy just happens to be the mental and creative aspect of a more complete energy source, and disbelievers / disillusioned have their own power of destruction, more in line with the red sun, but all mental. Perhaps Ke Yin should let the sect master know that there is or was something going around invading the realms of civilization realm cultivators, and maybe ask for advice on purifying such energies, in exchange for samples of what Ke Yin does have, and perhaps the coordinates of the Blue Suns world. While Ke Yin might need / want the help of a civilization realm cultivator to save the two suns realm, and said civilization realm cultivator might be interested in doing so, if only for the sake of positive karma, there would be no need to get his help with the realm of rouqi. Edit: If Ke Yin does end up awakening some trees and rocks, I think he should try to do as many as he can, so that his awakened can protect themselves even after he’s gone, and they can form a network of belief in each other with is more resilient to corruption. Perhaps the shrine as a whole could have blue sun, red sun, and qi energy channeled through it, without necessarily awakening it, to genuinely empower it, and it could be a home for those he’s awakened, and others who want to be purified of corruption. Creating a persistent effect like that, maintained by the belief, efforts, rituals, and traditions of the locals, could also increase their belief in him, which could allow him to make the effect more powerful, in a positive feedback loop. Edit2: At this point, I forgot why Ke Yin’s purification of the two suns energies doesn’t last, and I genuinely don’t understand it. When Ke Yin said purification, did he actually mean regulation, isolation, control, and more? Am I misremembering that Ke Yin has/had a small pool of purified blue energy and one for purified red energy, and he only needs to use the unpurified stuff if he goes beyond either of those amounts amounts, at which point the purification goes from purifying the energy to purifying himself? Could Ke Yin not simply give such purified energy to his friend? If so, why not? When Ke Yin sent blue light energy into his master, was it corrupt? Did it corrupt him? Could Ke Yin have done the same thing with red light without harming his master? If not, then why, since altering and evolving life sounds very useful also, especially for altering preexisting creatures without having to recreate their entire design and incorporate something new while they’re at it. Maybe Ke Yin could have a connection between his inner world and that of his best friend, and they could have a symbiotic bond like that of the boy and the stone guardian, but different. Maybe something like the relationship between the cultivation world and the nexus - and Ke Yin should tell him about the nexus, and what would be required to go there before life realm, so that his best friend could know a proven method that works, and only seek out something similar if he can achieve it. Though maybe the market cultivation method allows one to visit the nexus early, for whatever reason, or maybe the world tree and market bonded together could allow Ke Yin and his best friend to go to the nexus together without having to rely on a fragment of a civilization realm cultivator. Why is Ke Yin still being so secretive anyways? He and his best friend could probably work together far better than alone, and it’d be better for their friendship if that information was shared before it could be discovered independently and harm the trust in the relationship. Could Ke Yin create derivative energies of the red / blue suns and qi which can do some of the same things, but don’t run the risk of overpowering the user so long as they have qi in them?
Sailesh Kumar Kumar
TFTC
Rah
YAY
