Nuwa stood motionless, her red dress swaying gently in the morning breeze. She blinked, her face showing a rare expression of surprise. The two beauty marks became especially prominent as her eyebrows lifted.

  "Bck 'One'..." The two beauty marks beneath Nuwa's eyes appeared more distinct as she furrowed her brow slightly, her amber eyes reflecting the morning light and distant dust clouds.

  Her thoughts drifted back to years spent with Torht long ago. Torht's "void" trigram, that strange, deep power, like a flowing abyss. Now, LaUhta's "One" dispyed this same rare bckness—highly unusual indeed. Perhaps Torht had sent her to guide LaUhta precisely because he had recognized the strangeness of this bck "One."

  Nuwa waved her hand, dispersing the drifting dust. "Interesting," she said, her eyes gleaming with curiosity as she circled LaUhta. "You seem unable to release the 'One' as others do, yet can infuse it into objects through touch." After a moment's thought, she smiled. "This is a unique path, perhaps requiring a different approach, developing an application unlike any other."

  LaUhta looked down at his hands, seemingly not yet recovered from his shock. The power had been tremendous, yet instantly beyond control. He remembered the sensation of the bck stone in his hand, that wondrous connection as though joined to his flesh and blood, and the unspeakable fear that followed.

  "I—" LaUhta's voice trembled slightly. "That stone became bck as ink."

  Nuwa nodded, understanding gleaming in her amber eyes. "You infused the 'One' into the stone, just as I shaped the 'One' into soil. The difference is that your 'One' seems to concentrate enormous energy." She picked up another small stone and offered it to LaUhta. "Would you try again?"

  LaUhta hesitated briefly before reaching out to take the stone. He carefully extended his consciousness into it, attempting as before. Yet fear shadowed his every move; whenever he felt the "One" beginning to flow toward the stone, that bottomless dark memory would surface, interrupting his attempt.

  "I cannot do it," LaUhta shook his head. "Whenever the 'One' begins to flow, fear accompanies it."

  Nuwa tilted her head, the two beauty marks at the corners of her eyes appearing especially vivid with her changing expression. She showed no disappointment; rather, she revealed an even deeper curiosity.

  "Perhaps you must travel the path of the Inner Realm before you can fully master the 'One,'" Nuwa's voice flowed clear as a stream, carrying a subtle suggestion. "The Inner Realm is where a Tao perceives their true self, glimpsing the depths of their spirit. Usually it requires long practice to enter this state."

  "Inner Realm?" LaUhta's eyes flickered with confusion and curiosity.

  Nuwa nodded slightly without further expnation, only saying softly: "Fear, too, belongs to perception. Do not flee from it, but face it directly."

  LaUhta drew a deep breath, looking hesitantly at the stone in Nuwa's hand. Fear still circled in his heart like a bird unwilling to depart. Yet the trust in Nuwa's amber eyes gave him courage. Slowly he extended his hand, accepting the ordinary river stone.

  "Face fear directly," he repeated Nuwa's words to himself, fingers gripping the stone tightly, feeling its rough surface.

  Nuwa stood nearby, the two beauty marks beneath her eyes shifting slightly with her focused expression. She could sense the flow of the "One" within LaUhta changing, becoming more ordered, more concentrated.

  LaUhta closed his eyes, focusing intently on extending his consciousness toward the stone in his hand. This time, he did not resist the fear that arose, but faced it directly, accepted it, allowing that feeling to penetrate his spirit.

  The "One" began flowing from his body into the stone. Initially, only faint bck lines crept across its surface, then gradually spread until the entire stone turned pure bck. This was no ordinary bck, but a darkness so deep it seemed to devour all light.

  The moment the stone became completely bck, LaUhta felt a powerful pulling force emanating from it. His consciousness was suddenly yanked, as though caught in an invisible vortex. The surrounding scenery began to distort and fade; the sounds of the stream, wind, and birdsong gradually receded, repced by an unprecedented silence. He tried to cry out, but his voice was swallowed in this strange transformation. After the st glimmer of reality's light vanished, he found himself in an endless expanse of darkness.

  This was no material world, but a realm composed of pure consciousness. Here, thoughts became reality, emotions took physical form. LaUhta could feel his fear materializing in this space, like bck mist swirling around him.

  In the distance, countless tiny points of light flickered in the darkness, like stars scattered across this universe of consciousness. Each light seemed to contain some memory or emotion, drawing him to explore.

  In the material world, Nuwa saw LaUhta's body suddenly grow rigid, the stone in his hand emitting an unusual bck light. She immediately understood what had happened, her eyes widening slightly.

  "Inner Realm..." Nuwa whispered, surprise fshing in her eyes. "To enter it spontaneously is exceedingly rare."

  LaUhta stood motionless, his body perfectly still, but his consciousness had journeyed to another realm, a wondrous world accessible only to those who had touched the Tao.

  In that boundless space of consciousness, LaUhta wandered without direction. Light points in the darkness surrounded him like fireflies, sometimes near, sometimes far, emitting faint yet steadfast radiance. His thoughts took physical form, leaving blurred traces behind him, marking his path through the void.

  As he ventured deeper, the surrounding darkness gradually condensed, becoming heavier. Those previously scattered emotions of fear began converging, as if shaped by an invisible hand. At first merely a vague bck mist, the haze gradually solidified, taking human form.

  The figure stood half a head taller than LaUhta, completely bck, like a silhouette dipped in ink. It had no facial features, yet gave the impression of watching. It stood silent and motionless, emanating an unspoken pressure.

  "What manner of being are you?" LaUhta demanded, his voice echoing in the empty consciousness-space.

  The bck figure slowly raised its hand, pointing toward LaUhta's chest. "I am your fear, existing in your heart, born of your thoughts." Its voice did not travel through air but resonated directly in LaUhta's mind, deep and hollow.

  LaUhta stepped back, watchfully eyeing this being formed from his consolidated fear. "Why do you appear now?"

  "You wish to control the 'One,' yet the 'One' and I are merged," the shadow glided forward—not walking but floating. "I am the essence of the 'One,' the 'One' is my form. Release me, and only then may you master the 'One.'"

  "Release you?" LaUhta's brow furrowed.

  The shadow extended its hand, pointing to those scattered light points in the distance. "Fear is the source of power—contained, it weakens; released, it strengthens. You trap me within your body, thus the 'One' is also constrained."

  It drew close to LaUhta, its bck face nearly touching his. "Let go, release me, and your 'One' will manifest its full potential."

  LaUhta felt a chill rise from his spine. This fear came not from without but from deep within his heart—his instinctive dread of the "One," a complex emotion woven from reverence and fear of that power.

  The shadow's words coiled around LaUhta's spirit like venomous serpents. "Let go, release me"—these simple words echoed in the consciousness-space, provoking deep resistance within LaUhta's heart. Instinctively, he shook his head and stepped back.

  "No, releasing you would bring consequences beyond imagination," LaUhta's voice trembled in the consciousness-space.

  The featureless face of the shadow seemed to dispy a hint of mockery. "What do you fear in me?"

  LaUhta's thoughts churned, fear surging like a tide. In this space built of pure consciousness, thought was reality. As his fear deepened, the surrounding darkness began twisting and changing shape, like cy kneaded by invisible hands, gradually forming new scenes.

  The darkness dispersed, repced by the familiar sight of the Lagu settlement. Thatched roofs gleamed golden in sunlight, vilgers' busy figures moved between dwellings, children's ughter echoed in the air. This was his remembered home, warm and peaceful.

  Yet this tranquil image was soon shattered. The shadow appeared silently in the vilge center, like a moving cloud of bck mist. The vilgers seemed unable to perceive its presence, remaining absorbed in daily activities.

  The shadow extended its hand, lightly touching a passing vilger. That person instantly colpsed, life seemingly drawn away. No struggle, no painful cry, only life extinguished in an instant.

  LaUhta's heart pounded violently, fear spreading within him like wildfire. He wanted to shout, to warn the vilgers, but his voice remained trapped in his throat, unable to emerge.

  The shadow continued its advance, taking life wherever it went. Elderly, adults, women, children—none were spared. It needed no weapon; a mere touch was enough to cim life. The entire vilge became a pce of deathly silence within minutes, the ughter of before eternally repced by silence.

  LaUhta saw Canglian fallen before the altar, those eyes once full of wisdom now empty and lifeless. He saw vilgers who had once cared for him falling one by one, their lives like candles in the wind, easily extinguished.

  The shadow stood amid the vilge ruins, surrounded by countless lost lives. It slowly turned to face LaUhta, and though featureless, seemed to smile.

  LaUhta fell to his knees, trembling fingers cwing at the ground of the consciousness-space. The scene before him cut like a thousand knives, carving his heart piece by piece. Canglian, the vilgers, everything familiar to him had turned to nothing under this shadow of fear. Tears welled from his eyes, transforming into crystalline points of light in the consciousness-space, floating around him.

  "No... no..." LaUhta's voice broke like torn cloth. His chest heaved violently, his breathing becoming rapid and chaotic. The consciousness-space shuddered with his emotional turbulence, the surrounding scenes twisting and distorting like canvas kneaded by unseen hands.

  The images representing vilgers dispersed one by one, until only Canglian's figure remained. The old man's kind face grew blurred, the light of life in his eyes gradually fading. "Though you are not my son, you are dearer than a son..." Canglian's voice echoed like a distant sound in the consciousness-space. "May you become a Tao and protect us all..."

  With these final words, Canglian's image also dissolved into nothingness.

  LaUhta's emotions finally colpsed. He released a heart-rending wail that resonated throughout the consciousness-space, transforming into countless waves of energy rippling outward. His pain, sorrow, fear—all negative emotions peaked in this moment, like a flood breaching a dam, unstoppable.

  In this abyss of despair, a thought arose in LaUhta's heart like the first ray of dawn: "This is not reality, but a projection of my inner fear. As Canglian said, the 'One' connects with the mind's intent—the more I fear it, the more powerful it becomes."

  The consciousness-space shook violently from his emotional outburst, those floating light points scattering like startled fireflies. The shadow stood motionless, silently watching it all, like a satisfied artist admiring his work.

  Yet LaUhta's emotions did not subside. With the fall of his final tear, a new emotion began rising in his heart. No longer helpless fear or despairing grief, but a burning, scorching anger.

  "You are no external entity, but my own projection," LaUhta slowly rose, his gaze fierce as fire. "I need not fear myself, only accept and master this power."

  That anger bzed like a fme in his chest, quickly spreading throughout his body. The temperature in the consciousness-space seemed to rise with it, those floating light points beginning to rotate faster, forming a vortex surrounding LaUhta and the shadow.

  LaUhta rose to his feet, his rage now materialized like red fmes rising around him. These fmes engulfed his entire being, from hair-tips to fingertips, every inch of skin seeming scorched by molten va, emitting burning heat. His eyes no longer shed weak tears; instead, fmes of anger danced within them, fshing with dangerous, awe-inspiring light. That light was no longer sorrowful darkness but bzing fire-heat, slicing through the gloom of the consciousness-space, tinting everything in crimson.

  "You... you created all this!" LaUhta's voice roared like a wild beast, each word filled with uncontainable rage.

  LaUhta spoke no more, focusing his fury into his fist where red light danced along his knuckles. He suddenly pushed off the ground, his form shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow, with a sound that tore the air, charging directly at the shadow.

  The shadow made no attempt to dodge, raising its arm to meet fist with fist. The two fists collided in the consciousness-space without deafening sound, yet releasing an invisible shockwave. The space rippled like a calm ke surface struck by a massive stone, surrounding light points scattering in all directions.

  Though his first strike did not connect, LaUhta's assault continued relentlessly like a raging storm. He threw punches, kicked, each attack wrapped in all-consuming fire. His fists howled through the air, his legs struck in waves, the consciousness-space becoming a battlefield of raging torrents.

  The shadow's form shifted and wavered, ghost-like, weaving between LaUhta's attacks. Occasionally it raised an arm to block, its pitch-bck limbs colliding with LaUhta's fme-red fists and legs, releasing silent waves of energy. With each contact, LaUhta felt a cold force attempting to invade his consciousness, only to be burned away by the fmes of his anger.

  "Fear is but an illusion of the heart, born with a thought, ending with a thought," LaUhta's consciousness grew clearer in battle. "I need not avoid it, nor submit to it, only face and transcend it."

  The shadow gradually changed its strategy, no longer merely evading. It began to counterattack, its bck fists like hammers from the abyss, carrying an aura of annihiting silence, thundering toward LaUhta.

  LaUhta roared, advancing rather than retreating. He lowered his form, dodging the shadow's heavy fist, closing in with his right fist unching like a cannon shot toward the shadow's chest.

  At his knuckles, red fme consolidated into a sharp cone, carrying the determination to burn everything. When the fme contacted the shadow's body, it made a hissing sound, like a red-hot iron touching ice. The shadow's chest was pierced by the fme, leaving a charred hole like cloth burned by fierce fire.

  The shadow's form suddenly stiffened, its previously fluid movements becoming sluggish. It looked down at the hole in its chest, from which bck mist dispersed, unable to regenerate. This incarnation of fear seemed to feel pain, silently opening its mouth, yet producing no sound.

  LaUhta gave it no chance to recover. Pressing his advantage, his fists fell like torrential rain, each carrying all-consuming anger, each precisely striking the hole in the shadow's chest. The fmes continued to erode and expand, the shadow's form melting swiftly like ice under a scorching sun.

  Bck mist escaped from within the shadow, drifting through the consciousness-space, emitting despairing moans. The shadow's once-solid body became ethereal, its outline blurring, seemingly about to disperse at any moment. It staggered backward, trying to distance itself from LaUhta, yet pursued relentlessly by angry fmes.

  Finally, under LaUhta's st devastating punch, concentrated with all his body's fury, the shadow released a silent wail and completely colpsed. Its bck body shattered into countless fragments, like dust scattered by wild wind, ultimately dissolving into formlessness. In the consciousness-space, only endless void remained, and the red fmes still bzing fiercely around LaUhta.

  With the complete dissipation of fear, LaUhta felt an unprecedented sense of lightness flood his heart like a tide, washing through every corner of his consciousness. The invisible shackles that had long bound his mind were completely broken in this moment; he felt his consciousness freed from bodily constraints, light and free. He felt unified with the boundless void around him, without boundaries or hindrances, his consciousness extending infinitely, vast as the limitless universe, a sense of omnipotent power filling his entire being.

  Nuwa stood by the stream, her slender fingers gently touching the small beauty mark beneath her left eye, her amber eyes gleaming with concentration. She could sense the "One" within LaUhta undergoing violent change, those once chaotic, disordered energy fluctuations gradually becoming steady, like a turbulent stream suddenly transformed into a pcid ke.

  "Interesting," Nuwa murmured to herself, her red dress swaying gently in the breeze.

  The stone in LaUhta's hand emitted an unusual bck light, a radiance unlike common brightness, more like a bck abyss devouring surrounding light. Nuwa could sense the concentration of "One" within the stone had reached a level ordinary people could scarcely imagine, almost exceeding the limit of what the material itself could bear.

  Just as Nuwa considered whether to intervene, a sudden change occurred. The "One" within LaUhta suddenly erupted in a powerful wave, like an earthquake beneath a calm sea surface. Then, just as quickly, the fluctuation returned to stillness, but this stillness differed entirely from before—it was an ordered, controlled calm.

  The bck light on the stone instantly vanished, and LaUhta's eyes snapped open.

  He drew a deep breath, like one who had held his breath underwater too long and finally surfaced. He looked around, his gaze slightly disoriented, as if waking from a long dream.

  "How long has passed?" LaUhta asked hoarsely, his voice tinged with fatigue.

  Nuwa tilted her head slightly, the dual beauty marks at her eye corners appearing more vivid with her expression. "The span of a single breath," she answered softly, a faint smile curving her lips.

  LaUhta looked at her in shock, his face filled with disbelief. In his perception, that confrontation with fear had sted for days. He could clearly recall every detail, every csh, every moment of pain and anger. Yet in the real world, it had all happened in the blink of an eye.

  "Impossible, I felt as though much time had passed..." LaUhta murmured, his gaze falling upon the ordinary stone in his hand, now restored to its normal state.

  Nuwa observed LaUhta's shocked expression, her lips curving slightly upward. She gracefully stepped closer, her red dress swaying gently in the breeze.

  "You entered the Inner Realm," Nuwa's voice was gentle yet certain, the beauty marks beneath her eyes becoming more animated with her expression.

  LaUhta frowned in confusion: "Inner Realm?"

  "The Inner Realm is how a Tao perceives their own nature," Nuwa expined, her fingertip lightly touching her forehead. "A world constructed by your consciousness, not external, but internal ndscape. Through the Inner Realm, a Tao can understand themselves, making the 'One' and body work in harmony."

  LaUhta looked down at the stone in his hand, recalling his recent experience. That boundless dark space, those flickering points of light, that bck figure formed from his consolidated fear—everything seemed so real, yet dreamlike.

  "The Inner Realm differs from person to person, reflecting the Tao's inner heart," Nuwa continued, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "How did you enter it? I had thought you would need much more guidance."

  LaUhta pondered for a moment, recalling the circumstances. "When I tried to infuse the 'One' into the stone, I suddenly felt a powerful pulling force. My consciousness... was drawn in," he said hesitantly, seeming uncertain himself. "It must have been the 'One' that took me there."

  Surprise fshed in Nuwa's eyes as she raised her delicate eyebrows. "Pulled into the Inner Realm by the 'One'?" She nodded thoughtfully. "This is rare indeed. Most Tao require deliberate practice before entering the Inner Realm."

  LaUhta turned the stone over in his hand, feeling its ordinary texture, so different from its pure bck form moments before. "There... I met my own fear," he said softly, his gaze somewhat distant.

  LaUhta took a deep breath and began recounting his experience in the Inner Realm. He described the boundless darkness, those points of light flickering like fireflies, and the bck figure formed from his consolidated fear.

  "That vision showed me... the entire settlement being destroyed," LaUhta's voice carried a slight tremor, but unlike before, this trembling held no fear, only a firmness born from facing possibility. "I understood then that it was not prophecy but my deepest worry. I feared my power might harm those I love, and this concern itself became the shackle binding me."

  He raised his hand, looking at his palm where a faint trace of bck energy flowed at his fingertips, no longer as uncontrolble as before. "When I faced and conquered this fear, I truly understood the way of mastery."

  Nuwa suddenly ughed softly, the beauty marks beneath her eyes appearing more vivid with her expression.

  "You truly are unique," she said, gently shaking her head, a meaningful smile upon her lips. "To think you confronted it directly, face to face."

  LaUhta paused, then somewhat awkwardly scratched his head: "Is... is there something wrong with that?"

  "Not wrong at all," Nuwa's smile deepened. "It is merely that your directness is surprising. Inner fears are illusory; most choose to understand, accept, or transcend them, yet you chose the most primal method—smashing it to pieces."

  Nuwa gracefully twirled once, her red dress tracing an elegant arc through the air. "It suits your nature well," she added with a mischievous smile.

  Recalling his savage attacks in the Inner Realm, LaUhta suddenly found it somewhat amusing as well. Perhaps Nuwa was right; he had indeed chosen the most direct approach.

  "Now that you have conquered your inner fear, try mastering the 'One' again," Nuwa picked up a fresh river stone and offered it to LaUhta, her eyes filled with expectation and encouragement.

  LaUhta took the stone, and this time, he did not hesitate. With his breathing rhythm, bck patterns gradually appeared on the stone's surface, finally transforming it into pure bckness. Unlike before, his heart held no fear, only a calm sense of control.

  He tossed it lightly, and the bck stone shot across the sky like a meteor, bsting a huge crater in the distant mountainside. As the dust settled, LaUhta smiled at Nuwa: "I believe I have found my own path."

  Nuwa nodded with satisfaction, her amber eyes gleaming with contentment. "There are ten thousand paths to the Tao, each different. Though your 'One' cannot be released at a distance, it can be transmitted through contact, with extraordinary power." Her voice was gentle yet firm. "This is not a fw, but your unique quality."