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Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈
Chapter 50: A Mutually Beneficial Deal
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Casarnox only calmed down after laughing for quite a while longer. With the pressure gone, Han Yujin was finally able to examine his appearance.
He was an extraordinarily handsome man, enough to make Han Yujin think, 'So this is what a dragon looks like.'
A halo flowed from the deep violet horns rising from his head, so dark they were nearly black. Even with vertical pupils holding the colors of the cosmos, he looked less strange than unbelievably cool.
His black and purple hair blended together like a gradient and was tied back in a long tail, yet it gave him no feminine impression. The ornate robe he wore suited him so naturally that the longer Han Yujin looked, the more impressed he became.
While looking him over, Han Yujin had also been organizing his thoughts. When Casarnox seemed completely calm, he boldly asked a question.
“Did you read my memories?”
“I did.”
Speaking in an ordinary human voice, he replied in a slightly drained tone. After all that laughter, the realization seemed to have left him feeling somewhat empty.
“I read everything, down to how old you were and what kind of porn you first watched.”
“Ahem...”
“You don't seem particularly bothered. Is it because you think it'll all disappear once you ‘awaken’?”
After giving a brief, hollow laugh, Casarnox suddenly turned and went farther inside.
“Come in. It's inconvenient to keep talking while standing.”
He sat in a chair-like seat inside and gestured toward the one across from him. Naturally, Han Yujin had no reason to refuse, so he quickly went over and sat down.
“If this entire space is some kind of illusion, isn't the battle outside still dangerously underway?”
“It is no more than an instant. And now that I've realized this truth, what does it matter if I suffer a little loss?”
“What if my memories are severely distorted and full of lies?”
“A being of my level has intuition that grasps the truth without logic or proof. And if you possessed the mental interference ability to do that, then the moment I allowed you into this space, I was already half dead. In that case, allowing myself to be deceived would not be so bad.”
“Ah... I see.”
He seemed to be talking about the backlash unique to mental magic.
Certainly, if Han Yujin could deceive someone completely even within a space they had created, he could likely trigger some kind of backlash and make them injure themselves with their own power.
“If you read all my memories, I doubt you have anything else to ask...”
“That was a lie. There were some memories I couldn't read.”
“What?”
“Still, I read most of the important parts, so you're right that I have nothing to ask.”
Han Yujin could not tell whether Casarnox was simply honest or not.
He kept his expression under control as best he could while thinking that. Then his eyes met Casarnox's, and he immediately cleared the thought from his mind.
“I don't read your memories and thoughts constantly. If I did, you'd feel pressure in some form and naturally notice.”
“...Did it just show on my face this time?”
“If you wish to deceive someone, pay attention not only to your expression but also to your body. Your heartbeat, the movement of your pupils, and so on.”
To control details like that, he would probably need to reach the Core Formation Stage.
“Is there anything else you're curious about? Feel free to ask.”
It seemed this dragon wanted something from him.
Thinking this was a good opportunity, Han Yujin asked, “Since you know about my awakening ability, I'd like your opinion. What do you think it is?”
He had been deeply curious about it for some time, but there was too little relevant information for him to reach any conclusion. He had kept putting the question off.
However, the answer he received was somewhat anticlimactic.
“I don't know either.”
“...Could you at least tell me your general guess?”
“It doesn't seem to have been created by mere coincidence.”
“...Is that all?”
“Ask something else.”
“Didn't you just say all this was a false illusion? Please at least explain that.”
Casarnox let out a deep sigh before answering.
“It was something I said casually. Either way, it's completely unimportant from my perspective.”
“What?”
“Whether this is all an illusion from beginning to end, or one branch of some real possibility, what difference is there? In the end, I am merely a being who can be manipulated at will by someone like you.”
He waved a hand.
“I no longer wish to answer questions about this. Ask something else.”
Han Yujin could somewhat understand how he felt, so he readily changed the subject.
“How did you know I was a cultivator?”
“Your kind has a rather ill-fated connection with our race.”
“An ill-fated connection?”
“Our Dragon God went to seek out that Dao Ancestor of yours, that being no one even knows truly exists, and vanished without a trace. How could it not be ill-fated?”
A Dao Ancestor.
A mythical and abstract being said to be the beginning and pinnacle of the path of immortality, though as Casarnox said, no one could even be sure it truly existed.
“And your kind is fairly well known to begin with. Even on your barren homeworld, Earth, had the concept of immortals not spread?”
“Barren...”
“It seems to have changed somewhat now, but whether that will be a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.”
“You mean it could be dangerous?”
“Even your Earth has a saying related to that, does it not? An encounter between different civilizations is bound to bring conflict.”
A short silence followed.
Han Yujin could not ask about every trivial detail, so he needed some time to consider his questions.
Besides, there was something he truly wanted to ask, but it could sound quite provocative. He could not help hesitating.
Just then, as if he had guessed Han Yujin's feelings, Casarnox raised one corner of his mouth and asked first.
“Are you not curious about my abilities? You intend to use my Dragon Heart as the vessel for your Outer Core Method.”
“...If you're willing to tell me, I'd be very grateful.”
“I should tell you. Of course I should.”
Casarnox rose from his seat and stood with lofty bearing as he looked out over the garden beyond the pavilion. He stopped Han Yujin from rising with a gesture.
“First, I will explain the five great laws of this universe, which you do not yet fully understand, and the classifications of magic beneath them. In cultivator terms, they are what you call Great Dao Laws and spells.”
The Fate Law contains magic of the Perception School, Destruction School, Causality School, Void School, and Creation School.
The Dimensional Law contains magic of the Radiance School, Darkness School, Gravity School, Space School, and Time School.
The Elemental Law contains magic of the Fire School, Lightning School, Wind School, Water School, and Earth School.
The Law of Life and Death contains magic of the Body School, Soul School, Death School, Life School, and Transcendence School.
The Mental Law contains magic of the Communication School, Illusion School, Influence School, Manipulation School, and Domination School.
“All magic falls within these classifications. For example, the Flame Projectile Art you learned is a fire spell under the Elemental Law. The Clear Mind Art is an influence spell under the Mental Law, while the Purification Art is a causality spell under the Fate Law.”
“Does causality mean producing an effect without a cause?”
“Precisely. You use your dharma power to replace the cause and immediately create the result of purity.”
“Hmm.”
After thinking for a moment, Han Yujin asked, “Then what about something like the Earth Escape Art?”
“It is a composite spell, blending the earth school of the Elemental Law with the body school of the Law of Life and Death.”
“So they can be combined.”
“Magic that does not combine them is rarer. What do you think the Fire Spirit Bird Art is?”
The atmosphere abruptly became like a lesson from a teacher. Han Yujin was more than willing to play along and immediately answered.
“The fire school of the Elemental Law and the soul school of the Law of Life and Death?”
“Yes. Then what about the Violet-Gold Radiance Art?”
“The radiance school of the Dimensional Law and the earth school of the Elemental Law.”
“Correct. You understand roughly now.”
“However... does the soul school of the Law of Life and Death not include the mind? Is the mind distinct enough to be classified under its own great law?”
Casarnox nodded.
“The soul is closely related to the mind as a spiritual vessel that contains it, but a mind without a soul can exist, and so can a soul without a mind. Your Divine Sense is one fragment of a mind without a soul. Souls without minds are common enough that necromancers use them freely as materials. And when you think about it, is the body not also a physical vessel that contains the mind?”
“Ah...”
“Furthermore, your question can be explained in connection with the birth of this universe. Which of the great laws do you think came first? In other words, before the chaos that conceived this universe, what appeared first in the primordial Void?”
It was truly a profound question.
'If creation was the emergence of chaos from the primordial Void... then the Fate Law? No, can creation occur without the will of some mind? The Void would literally be complete nothingness, so how could creation happen without even a will? Then... the Mental Law? But if the will of a mind exists, does that not mean life? Even if it cannot be explained as ordinary life, it is still certainly an existence. Then would that existence not need a dimension to inhabit? Wait, if there are no elements at all upon the foundation of a dimension, it cannot maintain its form. Does that bring us back to the primordial Void?'
Casarnox smiled at the confused Han Yujin.
“No one can know what came first. Therefore, no one can say what is more important. That has been the accepted theory from ancient times to the present.”
“...Thank you for the lesson.”
“And the power I was born with, and the power I pursue, is the Mental Law. You must have already realized that from seeing how I mainly handle illusions.”
Han Yujin let out a small sound of realization. He understood why Casarnox had gone out of his way to explain all this.
“If you make my Dragon Heart the vessel for your Outer Core Method, you will likely be able to prevent your memories and thoughts from being read without having to train the Mental Law so diligently.”
“Huh...”
“And that is not all. It is also compatible with the Grand Unity Five Elements Dao Scripture in your plans. Enhancing illusions by adding elements is a combination nearly as well proven as the theory of the great laws themselves.”
Indeed, even the scant knowledge Han Yujin had already possessed contained such information.
“More importantly.”
Casarnox continued as though he was not finished yet.
“In the past, I was a dragon who had clearly reached Magus. Though I have now fallen by roughly half a realm, my potential has not vanished with it. If not for the misfortune that befell me, I might have dared challenge the transcendence of Ipsissimus by now. Do you understand what that means?”
“...Could Magus possibly be comparable to the Integration Stage?”
“Not exactly the same, but similar. Ipsissimus would be comparable to your cultivators' True Immortal Stage.”
Han Yujin could not help being greatly tempted.
If it was true, then despite being Void Refinement Stage-level now, this would be a Dragon Heart whose potential had once reached the Integration Stage.
“My potential is high, but my current realm is low, so your Karma expenditure will be reduced accordingly. I assure you, I am the best option you can realistically choose.”
He could not help agreeing.
Han Yujin nodded repeatedly, then let out a deep breath and asked seriously.
“Then what do you want from me?”
This goodwill could not possibly be free.
Honestly, from an emotional standpoint, it would not have been strange if Casarnox had torn Han Yujin apart the moment he realized this was all nothing but a false illusion.
The loss of all meaning was enough to bring anger along with emptiness.
Even in a state where all meaning had vanished, Casarnox remained this rational. He truly was a great being.
“Swear upon your Dao Heart.”
He spoke in a lowered voice that seemed calm at first glance.
“Not all dragons belong to the same race. I belong to a lineage called faerie dragons, or dream dragons. That is why I was innately born with power belonging to the Mental Law. If you have sufficient leeway in the future, find me and my lineage, then help us to a degree you consider appropriate.”
After remaining silent for quite a long time, Han Yujin asked, “Do you believe you are alive somewhere in reality?”
“I don't know. Even if your awakening ability lets you observe the past or future, it may all be an illusion, or merely one branch of possibility.”
“...Hmm, that's true.”
“That is why I am asking.”
After another brief silence, Casarnox spoke again first.
“I explicitly said, when you have sufficient leeway in the future, and to an appropriate degree. And if you do not shirk the effort yet still fail to find me or my lineage, then naturally you need not help us.”
Interpreted favorably, it was extremely favorable. Yet depending on the circumstances, it could also become a very troublesome shackle.
Still, no matter how Han Yujin thought about it, it was difficult to regard this as a loss.
“What if I make the promise and do not keep it?”
“What a pointless question. You would have sufficient leeway and still deliberately break an oath sworn upon your Dao Heart? Heart demons are what cultivators greatly dread.”
“Do you not hate me?”
“...If you were in my place, could you be fond of someone who came to use your heart as cultivation material?”
It was a pointless question that he simply could not hold back, so Han Yujin could only laugh awkwardly for a moment.
“Still, it will not be turned into some mere elixir, so that is at least somewhat better.”
“Ahem...”
“If I, whose circumstances are no different from an illusion, can use this deal to help the real me and my lineage in reality... depending on how one sees it, is that not almost the profit of creating something from nothing?”
Muttering almost to himself, Casarnox closed his eyes for a moment.
“And this may benefit you as well. If this deal can serve as compensation in place of Karma.”
He opened his eyes again, looked directly at Han Yujin, and asked, “So, will you make this deal?”
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