A Soul Physique, Sovereigns

Mirage was a treasure that lived for countless years and was extremely book-smart. Knowing knowledge from countless different universes to every peak cultivator in each one, Mirage's inner wisdom could be called boundless.

However, when it came to social skills, Mirage was less skilled than some children. After all, he was the core treasure of a Sovereign that had existed ever since the birth of the multiverse. As a result, he didn't need to speak much, and when he did, it was only to his owner.

Mirage never needed to learn how to read body language or how people conversed. He only needed to be able to speak with his owner and relay information.

So when Xue Bai's face was pale and he couldn't stop stuttering, Mirage didn't think anything was wrong and instead asked a question of his own.

"Xue Bai, what happened? Isn't this just a memory? Why do you look like that?" Mirage asked, confused.

"That's.. That's me!" Xue Bai stuttered out.

"Of course, it's supposed to be you, idiot. If not you, then who could be the main character in your dearest moment?" Mirage snorted, not understanding what Xue Bai meant.

However, by now, Xue Bai's mind was too distressed to continue answering nonsensical questions from Mirage. Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down, Xue Bai tried to think about the situation logically.

'The scroll said I'm a pawn in a grand plot, so if we follow that route, then maybe this truly is me. I was born on Earth, awakened a good physique, and a powerhouse got greedy and captured me. But then, why the hell was I reincarnated? Especially with memories of the future.' Xue Bai's mind raced, and he tried to think of a plausible scenario. But even after 100 plausible scenarios, he still couldn't think of one that truly fit.

Yet his thoughts were suddenly disturbed as Mirae eventually spoke up, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Oh.." Mirage sounded disappointed once he recognized the physique: "Tragic, tsk, tsk. I thought it was going to be something special, but it's the cursed Thousand Samsara Sovereign Physique."

But once the words left his mouth, he managed to connect some dots, and his face looked as bright as a lightbulb.

"That's why you know what a hospital is! This is a previous life of yours!" Mirage spoke, enlightened.

At first, he had been worried that he was actually wrong and that his spell had failed. But now that he realized that it was just a forgotten memory of Xue Bai, he felt relieved and confident once more.

'It seems that all those years that I was asleep hadn't rusted my skills.' Mirage joyfully thought.

Sadly, the joy he was feeling was only on his side, as once Mirage said the name of the physique, the various ideas and theories in Xue Bai's head started to link together, and he finally realized something.

'That dream I had earlier must've been one of my past lives! And my life on Earth in the hospital should be my first life!' Xue Bai thought.

While it was faint and nowhere near the same amount as on the Baishen Plane, Xue Bai could detect a small amount of Spiritual Qi in the air inside of this alternate reality that Mirage brought him to.

'Spiritual Qi rejuvenated on Earth, and my old crippled self awakened a physique.'

Xue Bai finally understood a key part of his mysterious past!

He confirmed that the memories he was given were indeed flawed and incomplete! In fact, they weren't even his own memories!

Some powerhouse, most likely the person who made his soul traverse across dimensions and reincarnate in the Baishen Plane, must've implanted these false memories into his soul!

"Xue Bai? Xue Bai? Xue Bai!!" Mirage shouted at Xue Bai.

"Huh?" Xue Bai was brought back to reality.

But once he looked around himself, he saw that the hospital room around him was starting to collapse. Like a sand castle that was hit by a bucket of water, the room crumbled into nothingness.

Now back in his motel room with a large pile of sand to his right, Xue Bai found himself staring at another, much angrier version of himself.

His clone was, of course, just Mirage, but his facial expressions weren't fake.

Mirage was truly annoyed. He had been calling out Xue Bai's name for almost 2 minutes, yet the boy was stuck in a trance the entire time, ignoring both him and the spell he had so kindly conjured.

'I wanted to show off, but I just made this kid turn dumb!' Mirage was indignant.

Thankfully, before he resorted to violence, Xue Bai awakened.

"What the hell happened to you back there? You turned pale, and you looked lost." Mirage asked once Xue Bai returned to the land of the living.

But Xue Bai just shook his head in response.

"Nothing. Just.. Forget about what happened and the dream you saw. While it was something extremely important to me, I don't think I should've seen what just happened there. My gut is telling me I shouldn't speak about it either." Xue Bai said.

Xue Bai knew from the scroll that he was already the centerpiece of a huge conspiracy. And the dream he just saw from Mirage all but confirmed it.

Mirage's intentions with the dream were pure and done in an act to prove his superiority and power, but at the same time, he also brought Xue Bai information that he shouldn't have known.

An innocent farmer was guilty of carrying a diamond.

And while that saying was usually for valuable treasures, in a cultivation world, information was the most important treasure of all.

A few weeks ago, Xue Bai was a peaceful man with only cultivation in his mind, but now that he knew something far beyond his pay grade, he was as irredeemable as a death row inmate.

He didn't know if the powerhouse who had brought him here saw what happened in Mirage's dream world, but Mirage did say he was a treasure beyond ranks. So maybe he wasn't bragging?

Xue Bai didn't want to, but now it seemed like he had to bet his life on the words of an artifact spirit he met only half a day ago—moreover, one with a habit of bragging.

'Life is going to be rough.'

Not knowing what was happening in Xue Bai's head, Mirage was silent. Even though he didn't know as much as Xue Bai did, he could connect some dots with his wisdom.

He had most likely shown Xue Bai something that even he didn't know. And now that he did, his situation was compromised.

Feeling guilty about his stupid actions, Mirage apologized.historical

"I'm sorry for my actions, Xue Bai. I was too hot-headed earlier." Mirage sincerely said.

"It's fine. While I know I shouldn't have seen that, it was still extremely helpful. It brought me some much-needed light into my past. And it also gave me some inspiration on how to act in the future." Xue Bai waved off the man's apology.

As disastrous as Mirage's actions were, they were helpful. So while it did put Xue Bai on thin ice, it also gave him a chance to break free from some constraints that had been binding him since his transmigration, binds he hadn't been able to see.

Recklessness was sometimes a good trait to have in a cultivation world.

Silence ensued for a few seconds in the motel room, with Mirage still having a rock of guilt weighing down his consciousness and Xue Bai pondering over his situation. But this didn't last long, as Xue Bai suddenly remembered something Mirage had offhandedly said in the dream world.

"Hey, Mirage, you said that I have a soul physique, right? Something called the Thousand Samsara Sovereign Physique?" Xue Bai didn't forget the odd term that his new companion used.

It was a long and powerful-sounding physique. Xue Bai couldn't forget its name even if he wanted to!

Mirage nodded.

"Can you tell me what it does? Or rather, why did you call it cursed?" Xue Bai asked. Though he wasn't paying much attention during the dream world, Xue Bai still clearly heard the name of his physique and the way Mirage mentioned it.

His tone was full of pity and regret once he mentioned its name.

Xue Bai wanted to know why he sounded like that.

"It's because the owners of these are cursed. Cursed to never reach their full potential." Mirage answered.

"In what way? The name sounds so powerful. How could they not reach their full potential?" Xue Bai asked.

"It's in the name Xue Bai. The name of the physique is the Thousand Samsara Sovereign Physique. Its owner must undergo a thousand reincarnations to reach the physique's full potential. Once they do, they are destined to become a —." Mirage answered. But, much like what happened earlier, his words were cut off.

'This sh*t again!' Xue Bai was annoyed, but he could put the dots together at this point.

This realm that Mirage was forbidden to speak of was named the Sovereign realm. However, the Nine Heavens Universe forbids anyone to speak of its name.

An off feature, yes, but Xue Bai could somewhat understand it.

Mirage said that he was beyond ranks earlier. Xue Bai was dismissive of it earlier, but now it made sense.

The strongest person in the Nine Heavens Universe was the Void Fox Emperor, who was at the peak of the God Great Realm.

But Mirage and his creator were above the God Great Realm. So it would make sense if the Nine Heavens Universe couldn't handle the karma.

Finished with his explanation, Mirage stayed silent for a moment and waited for Xue Bai to finish his thoughts.

This didn't take long, and Xue Bai finished thinking soon and returned with a final request of his own.

"Mirage, though I haven't sensed my soul yet, I felt you link with something inside of him. Was that my soul?"

Mirage had nothing to hide and nodded at this.

Somehow, someone found him during his slumber and forcibly bound him and Xue Bai together. And while Mirage was strong, breaking free of the binding would either kill Xue Bai or make him stupid.

However, Mirage didn't want such a thing to happen.

He had nothing to do anyway for the next few million years. After all, he was so idle that he slept for so long that the multiverse had shifted.

Staying together with Xue Bai would bring him some much-needed entertainment.

"Then, can you do me a favor? And look at my soul. I want to know how many Samsaras I went through."

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Every little thing helps - /slarbi123.

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