Without reason, without cause, I don’t know where it came from or where it started.

She recalled many past events, many old acquaintances, like a fleeting glance at a parade of flowers: Lu Ying holding a firefly in hand, the deep night conversation with the elder master before the Imperial Sword, Wu Buxu dropping a sword like a mad demon, withered like dry grass, and Chen Yi’s extremely indifferent face when he broke his sword... When a person remembers too much, it often dazzles, unable to distinguish what is truly important.

Zhou Yitang stood alone, in a trance seeking to find herself again, raised her hand and invited:

"Come."

In the white expanse beneath her feet, a Cangwu Peak from memory rose up, with sword trees like mountains of blades, layers of fir, and vines growing rampant.

In the small building, Chen Yi looked at the suddenly appearing Zhou Yitang, his heart unsettled and disturbed, he said: "Is this... the Vacuum Home, the true Vacuum Home?"

The Vacuum Home described by the White Lotus Sect was a state pure, absolute, and eternal, free from all troubles, filth, suffering, and bondage, lacking the worldly troubles of oppression, injustice, and the cycle of life and death.

The He Shen Kingdom where the Holy Emperor resided matched this description well, though it wasn’t the true Vacuum Home, but Chen Yi, influenced by this, thought the true Vacuum Home was not much different from it, not expecting it to be like this.

Like the World of Ignorance, like the Feather Abyss mentioned by the Old Saintess.

Perhaps, the true Vacuum Home is just a certain place in the World of Ignorance.

Tongxuan nodded and said: "This is the Vacuum Home, outsiders don’t know the truth, thinking it’s a so-called paradise, but the word ’vacuum’ has already revealed the truth."

Chen Yi recovered his senses and asked: "Why... why can we see her?"

"It’s not that we can see her; it’s that she’s manifesting her Heart Lake outward to preserve her true heart and not lose herself," Tongxuan continued: "Once a person strays into this place, everything seen and experienced is illusory, making it very easy to lose oneself."

Between the words, Zhou Yitang, with a calm face, raised her hand and invited again,

"Come."

Not only Cangwu Peak, but the entire Yin Sword Mountain rose up, thirty-six peaks stood on the ground, the contours of the pitch-black mountains exuding a bone-chilling coldness.

At this moment, she seemed to speak with divine authority, her words becoming reality.

Raising her hand for the third invitation,

"Come."

Immediately, Chen Yi saw countless obsessions crawling up from all directions, not to indiscriminately swarm and kill Chen Yi, but each acting on their own, fetching water, splitting firewood, meditating and cultivating, practicing sword forms, or sitting and discussing Dao... They seemed to have been suddenly given some command and began doing their own things.

Among them, one obsession knelt on the ground, head lowered, eyes vacant, as if a broken sword lay before her... Chen Yi’s eyes trembled slightly; this was one of the scenes he remembered most deeply.

After the third invitation, the one-armed woman’s movement ceased, she slowly descended to a high place on Cangwu Peak, as if overlooking her life, overlooking the entire Cangwu Peak.

Chen Yi looked up at her silently, the surroundings quiet, desolate yet serene, in his eyes, her face ever like the accumulated snow on distant mountains, sometimes revealed, sometimes hidden within the encircling clouds.

At this moment,

The smoke dissipates, clouds perish, mountains eternally silent,

Under the piercing fir, two lifetimes of silent obsessions are deeply buried.

Mountains, vines, the woman, seemed to live alone in this world.

In the days after his death, she lived like this alone, indifferently watching the dense vines crawling over the entire Cangwu Peak, sometimes amazed at her own resilience to solitude.

Chen Yi took a deep breath, asked Tongxuan: "The method I proposed, can it work, can it help her return to First Grade, to return from the Vacuum Home?"

Tongxuan bowed his head, eyes lowered, after a fine calculation, said: "Even if she returns to First Grade, it’s only a thirty percent chance, I suspect Mother of Non-Birth has already noticed her."

"Very well, then guide the obsession into my Heart Lake."

However, after Chen Yi spoke, Tongxuan shook his head.

Frowning in confusion, he saw Tongxuan pointing at Zhou Yitang,

"Now it’s her commanding the obsession, not I, this little Heart Demon."

Chen Yi realized suddenly, then fell silent for a moment, he picked up a black stone, placing it heavily on the board.

Then he leapt from the small building, landed on the ground, and walked slowly towards Zhou Yitang at the highest point.

She stood independently at the height, like a person on a mountain, within sight but unreachable.

The consistently indifferent one-armed woman suddenly raised her eyes, inviting again:

"Come."

Almost at the instant her words fell, after Chen Yi took a step, his figure had already fallen before Zhou Yitang.

The familiar her appeared before his eyes again, Chen Yi, after brewing, softly said: "Trapped in the deadlock?"

The one-armed woman did not deny it, couldn’t deny it, she looked around and said: "Vacuum Home."

After saying this, she lowered her eyes, overlooking the manifested entire Cangwu Peak, seeing the densely packed returning obsessions, lamented: "And so many left."

She still had the mood to say this, Chen Yi couldn’t help but laugh, half-jokingly half-seriously said: "Zhou Yitang, you really deserve it."

The one-armed woman cast a cold glance at him, then glanced at the small building, saying, "You have met her."

"I have," Chen Yi actually disliked how she often used statements instead of questions, which made her seem quite detached. He said, "Because she is the heart demon formed from your deepest obsession, which is why you... avoided her deliberately, not wanting me to destroy her."

"You can’t destroy her."

Chen Yi revealed, "It seems I was right, you simply don’t want me to destroy her."

The one-armed woman was momentarily silent.

Chen Yi wanted to wait for her answer, just one sentence, he could continue the conversation, and then he also had something to ask, something he had wanted to ask for two lifetimes but never knew how to. Asking it was like trying to grasp elusive mist or seize the reflected moon in the water.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yitang did not give him this chance. She said, "I cannot hold on for much longer."

As her words fell, the pitch-black sky seemed to suddenly sink several degrees, eroding this outward manifestation of Heart Lake, in an instant evoking the sensation of vast transformations.

It was as if someone had crushed it from the outside inward.

Mother of Non-Birth.

"Outside, the Blind Arrow has invoked the Summoning God, becoming a Heavenly Person," Zhou Yitang pointed to the ground below, "Here, Mother of Non-Birth acts personally. Though the heavens have gods, I can preserve myself, but you will surely die."

Her tone was still remarkably calm at this moment.

Even when speaking of death.

Chen Yi couldn’t understand how this woman, who had severed the Three Corpses, could be so serene.

And she continued, "I can’t save myself, but I can send you away. If possible, return here to find me someday."

Amidst her words, she raised a hand to beckon again.

"Come."

The Ruoque Sword descended like a ball of light, suspended in the sky,

like a bright moon rising above the treetops,

reflecting her arm like a glistening frost pillar.

Without words, the urgency was evident, Zhou Yitang looked at him, her eyes coldly radiant, piercing like a sword, yet Chen Yi did not turn away but asked,

"If I leave, what about you?"

"The Three Pure Ones above, I can ensure my safety."

"What about leaving... weren’t you going to repair the heavens?"

"When the Heavenly Gate is cracked and the Three Realms are connected, I can return. My cultivation is sufficient to wait until then."

"What about Lu Ying, Yin Tingxue, and the others?"

"It’s up to you, take them away."

"And what about the Dragon and Tiger Mountain outside?"

"You needn’t worry."

"..." Chen Yi curbed his intense emotions, deeply swallowed his breath, calmly said, "I have another idea, lead all your obsessions into my Heart Lake, return to First Grade, split a crack here with one sword, not too big, we can both leave together."

As soon as he spoke, she coldly rejected, "I won’t let you die."

Chen Yi frowned, asked, "And what about you? Are you going to stay trapped here forever until the Heavenly Gate opens?"

"No matter."

She avoided looking at Chen Yi, turned her eyes aside, softly countered,

"What does it matter?"

In the distance, the conversation between the two, Tongxuan did not intrude unwisely. Over the years, she had long reached an understanding with Zhou Yitang, the rightful master, a mutual understanding to not interfere, which was one reason she remained intact till now.

As her heart demon, Tongxuan understood her well. At this moment, returning to the chessboard, she saw that the black stones placed by Chen Yi had long reached a dead end; they appeared formidable but were merely at their last breath. Truly a poor player, she examined the stones, searching for a strategy. Suddenly, she saw an almost imperceptible gap among the white stones where, if she made a leap at this moment, it could still be a risky bid for survival.

Instructing and imparting is a master’s duty, Tongxuan picked up a black stone, gently placing it for this awful player to make a move. If he saw this path upon returning, he would surely understand his master’s earnest intentions.

She placed a leap to seek survival.

As the stone fell, with a "crack" sound, spider-like cracks spread across the chessboard, densely glaring. In Tongxuan’s shocked eyes, the entire chessboard shattered into pieces!

He didn’t play Five-in-a-Row, nor Go,

but directly,

smashed the entire chessboard to pieces.