Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today

The Elusive Ghost closed his eyes. His form shifted, and Hui stood before them. Hui as he had arrived in the Immortal Realm, all those loops ago, his robes still slightly ragged, holes burned here and there and the sleeves singed, built of mortal fabric. He smiled gently and laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I suppose this is a bit of a surprise to both of you. Apologies, Seniors.”

The white-robed Hui, the Hui sacrificed on the altar, stared. He squinted. “You… how? You aren’t a clone, are you?”

“No… not quite.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Er, to be the most exact… it’s best to consider me as the true form of yourself.”

“What? Then all this time, I chased a shadow?” the Golden Immortal demanded.

“Yes… and no. Maybe it’s easier if I simply show you?” the Hui in ragged blue asked, tilting his head and putting a finger to his chin.

“Show us?” the white-robed Hui asked.

The other Hui smiled back at him. He closed his eyes.

Instantly, the three of them vanished from the primordial Immortal Realm. Instead, they floated above Hui not long after he’d ascended, sitting against the edge of the mortal village.

The white-robed Hui looked around, startled. Not a single scrap of the ancient Immortal Realm or primordial energy remained, not the shadow of the portal or the dust from the cornerstones. This… this isn’t an illusion. We really arrived here, at this moment, at this loop.

How? Even the Golden Immortal couldn’t manipulate time this smoothly.

“That day, do you remember? We attempted to comprehend time,” the blue Hui prompted gently.

“Yes… I remember,” the white Hui returned.

The blue Hui glanced at him. “We succeeded. Or rather… I succeeded.”

Underneath them, the single Hui suddenly became two. Superimposed, existing in nearly the same space—but not quite. As they watched, one of the Huis frowned and sighed, giving up, while the other stared around, startled. He looked at his hands, at the world around him, as it rapidly faded to black. Stumbling backward, he reached for something, anything, only for the world to completely vanish. The floor gave out from under his feet, and he tumbled into nothing.

“I fell for a long time. For a time, I was lost,” the blue Hui narrated quietly, no emotion in his voice. They followed the second Hui for a few moments. The Hui falling bulged, his skin going unnaturally pale, his body distorting, everything turning to nothing but a white mass. They to clipped away, this time to a forest.

The white-robed Hui looked around. This… I sense primordial energy and the ancient aura of the early Immortal Realm. Wherever we are, we aren’t long after the Immortal Realm was formed.

The blue-robed Hui sighed suddenly. “Ah, I understand, though. I violated both Master’s laws and the Golden Immortal’s rules. Of course the world would reject me. It took some time to claw my way back in, but I eventually made it. Not to the same time, or even the same loop, but to the ancient era.”

Beside the white-robed Hui, the Golden Immortal stiffened. “No. It can’t be.”

The blue-robed Hui nodded. “Yes. The ancient era. The first timeline.”

In the background, a child in ragged gold marched through the forest, panting. He wiped blood off his cheek. “Who cares? Who cares? If you won’t allow me, then I’ll just allow myself! This is my realm now. I’ll reshape it as I please! All you fuddy-duddies can stay dead!”

The other copy of the blue-robed Hui pressed his back to a tree, watching from a distance.

The child sobbed, then turned, suddenly, coming upon a large blue egg. He crouched down and pressed his hand against it, and gold swirled into the egg. “You’re my Azure Dragon now. And once I find the other three, I’ll reshape this realm to my pleasing!”

The other blue-robed Hui’s eyes widened. Without a word, he flicked his hand, and thousands of tiny birds flew forth from his dantian, soaring through the land.

“Ah, this, too, took some time,” the blue-robed Hui beside them commented. The scene blurred, and they gazed at the other blue-robed Hui again, crouching next to a large red egg. He glanced left and right, then passed his hand over the egg. A small white blob appeared, devouring the red egg.

The Golden Immortal stared at the blue-robed Hui. “You? You’re the one that hid it away from me?”

“The Vermillion Bird’s egg in the garbage realm!” the white-robed Hui gasped, at nearly the same moment.

Blue-robed Hui nodded, smiling. “Indeed. I’m glad you used it well. The garbage realm, too.”

“Eh?” the white-robed Hui tilted his head.

Blue-robed Hui held up his hand, and it changed to soft white, formless, drooping almost like it was made of foam. He shook his head, and it snapped back to an ordinary human realm. “When the world rejected me, it almost destroyed me. I created the garbage realm out of desperation, as a last-ditch effort to survive. Ah, I didn’t expect you to merge with it, but it will make our reunion easier.”

“Then, when I decayed and became Elusive-Ghost-like entities—”

“You merely entered the same state I did when the world rejected me. The only difference is that I had already created the garbage realm, so you didn’t have to create it yourself.”

“How did you create it?” the white-robed Hui asked excitedly. I’ve only destroyed realms, excepting the Underworld.

Blue-robed Hui smiled. “You’ve experienced the primordial energy, right?”

Ah! That makes sense. Bending it to be like his stateless self after he was rejected by the world… yes, yes. I’d do the same! I… I did do that. Yes. Of course. It’s a little confusing to be two people.

“What is the point of this?” the Golden Immortal snapped. He crossed his arms. “Quickly. Before I execute you both, turn back time, and start over.”

Giving white-robed Hui a knowing glance, blue-robed Hui shook his head. “No rush, no rush, Senior. Please. Another few minutes, and we can all continue with our battle for the fate of the world.”

The Golden Immortal harrumphed, but stood down.

“Then, where was I?”

“The Vermillion Bird’s egg.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right. Then, let’s continue…”

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