GBP Chapter 380 Illusion
Chapter 380 Illusion
At this moment, Wu Qinghuan turned her gaze to the star mark and longsword in her hand, and then observed them intently. After a while, she slowly spoke, her voice soft yet tinged with uncertainty: "If you can calm down and carefully perceive them, you will find that the star mark and longsword do not seem to be a perfect whole, but rather more like..." She paused slightly, as if searching her mind for the most appropriate word to describe this peculiar relationship.
Just then, Xu Nian, who had been listening quietly, suddenly brightened up and asked, "Isn't it more like it's been forcibly imprinted on?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Qinghuan was taken aback at first, then a look of sudden realization dawned on her face, and she quickly replied, "Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean!" As soon as she finished speaking, the couple exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with joy. They both knew that they had finally found the key to the problem—it was precisely because this mysterious star mark was imprinted on the longsword in a unique way that it endowed the old demon with unparalleled combat power, enabling him to repeatedly stage desperate counterattacks and turn the tide of battle at life-or-death moments, ultimately successfully slaying the Sword Sect's many experts.
In an instant, the previously dimly lit passageway was magically revealed before them. The candles on the walls suddenly burst into flames, their light illuminating the entire passageway as bright as day. This wondrous sight resembled a grand celebration, seemingly congratulating the two on successfully solving the puzzle.
However, the two mysterious halos that had been floating in front of them vanished without a trace, leaving only silence. Xu Nian looked around curiously, trying to find some new clues or discoveries, but there was nothing around except the ancient stone walls and the flickering candlelight.
His gaze involuntarily fell again on the tabby cat perched on Wu Qinghuan's shoulder. The little creature remained curled up quietly, fast asleep, without even a sound. Xu Nian frowned, thinking to himself, "Logically, at this crucial moment, shouldn't this guy be playing a key role in leading us forward? How can it be sleeping so peacefully?"
Wu Qinghuan also looked puzzled and sighed softly, "Hmm...it is indeed a bit strange. Since this guy is here, he must have some connection with this secret realm. Why don't we wake him up and see? Maybe he can point us in the right direction after he wakes up." As he spoke, he reached out to gently pat the tabby cat's body.
Xu Nian had only intended to explore it on a whim. However, just as he was about to take action, an astonishing scene unfolded—a completely new view appeared within the brightly lit passage!
Inside the passage, countless dazzling stars shimmered, radiating an intensely brilliant light, like the most radiant jewels in the night sky. Wu Qinghuan's eyes widened in astonishment as she murmured to herself, "This...this seems to be nine stars!" Indeed, after a careful count, there were exactly nine stars.
What's astonishing is that the number of these nine stars is exactly the same as the number of star marks on that mysterious longsword! Could it be that these nine glittering stars before them are actually the nine star marks on that longsword? This thought had just flashed through their minds when, before they could even think about it further, an even more shocking scene followed.
As if drawn by some mysterious force, the nine stars rapidly converged towards each other. In the blink of an eye, they coalesced into a ball of light, its shape quite similar to the two balls of light seen earlier, but even brighter! It floated there quietly, emitting a soft and warm light, illuminating the entire passage as brightly as day.
Xu Nian and Wu Qinghuan exchanged a glance.
The former took a deep breath and slowly extended his hand.
Just like in the beginning.
Begin to perceive.
hum!
This time is different from the previous two.
This is not a scene from the Sword Sect.
Even... he himself didn't appear at all, nor did anyone else appear.
Unfamiliar faces flashed by.
Images of various unique objects appeared in my mind.
"Bamboo dragonfly... hydrangea... mask... flute... white flower... dagger... lantern... scroll... candy..."
Xu Nian frowned.
I felt a flood of images flashing through my mind.
A wide variety of emotions.
It appeared in my mind.
For cultivators who have reached profound levels of cultivation, ordinary emotions are like a gentle breeze across a calm lake, barely causing ripples in their Dao essence. However, at this moment, the intense emotions contained within that mysterious ball of light surged like a raging storm, assaulting the cultivator's mental defenses and disrupting his usual tranquility.
Under the influence of this powerful emotion, Xu Nian's appearance underwent an unexpected change. For a long time, in order to "maintain consistency" with his wife, he had deliberately shrunk his body to a miniature form. But at this moment, that long-suppressed power seemed to be released, instantly breaking through the heavy constraints of spiritual energy. His figure began to rapidly expand, growing larger and larger.
However, when Xu Nian returned to his original normal appearance, this miraculous change did not stop there. On the contrary, his body seemed to be drawn by some unknown force, and began to shrink further. Moreover, the speed of the shrinkage increased, and his size continued to decrease. Finally, an astonishing scene appeared—Xu Nian's height was exactly the same as Wu Qinghuan's! Only then did this breathtaking change slowly come to a stop.
At the same time, Xu Nian's previously chaotic spiritual energy gradually stabilized, returning to a relatively balanced state. After this ordeal, the couple's conditions were quite similar: although their physical states had experienced such huge fluctuations, their cultivation levels remained unaffected, maintaining their original levels.
"this…"
Wu Qinghuan was dumbfounded.
It's bad enough that I've shrunk, but now even my senior brother has shrunk.
And what exactly did he just see?
Why do I keep saying one noun after another?
Wu Qinghuan glanced at Xu Nian, whose condition had stabilized.
He glanced again at the illusory ball of light in front of him.
She didn't hesitate, she just reached out her hand.
I also want to see what Xu Nian just saw.
It is clear that this third orb of light is different from the first two.
It's related to those nine stars.
It's related to the nine star marks on that longsword.
Solving this puzzle means changing the future.
It changed the tragic ending of the future.
It changed the future she didn't want to see.
But at that moment, the tabby cat that had been lying on Wu Qinghuan...
Suddenly, I opened my eyes.
The previously clustered ball of light suddenly emitted a dazzling brilliance, like a star about to explode. In an instant, accompanied by a deafening roar, the ball of light abruptly shattered, countless fragments scattering in all directions. Then, these fragments disintegrated and shattered again, ultimately transforming into nine dazzling beams of light.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" As these nine beams of light appeared, the entire secret realm began to tremble violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment. An extremely terrifying energy erupted from the beams of light, sweeping across the entire space like a surging tidal wave.
Although Wu Qinghuan had already sensed that the situation was dire, he was powerless to stop such overwhelming power. In an instant, a series of deafening roars resounded, and the secret realm finally succumbed to the immense pressure, collapsing completely.
Wu Qinghuan felt a sudden dizziness, his head spinning, and his body was involuntarily swept into it. When he finally regained his senses, he found himself back in the real world. The nine beams of light that had been floating in the air were now like wild horses, hurtling off in all directions.
The power contained within these beams was astonishing; they traversed space at unimaginable speed, instantly destroying anything that stood in their way. Moreover, this method of movement was not ordinary escape; it was more like the use of boundary talismans, capable of easily tearing through the void. Clearly, these nine beams were filled with profound and mysterious spatial principles, making them elusive and difficult to control.
"Without interception, it cannot be stopped."
At this moment, Xu Nian shook her head, holding her forehead.
I've finally adjusted my mindset.
"I think I know what's going on."
"Are these the nine Dao essences from the forbidden area we couldn't enter in our past life?"
"Yes, I actually guessed there were fragments of Dao essence, but I didn't expect there to be so many."
"So now what is this...?"
Although Wu Qinghuan didn't finish her sentence, Xu Nian knew she was referring to the present moment...
The Daoist essence is scattered in all directions.
"Just like the form that has appeared, these are nine fragments of unparalleled Dao essence."
It's like nine stars in the sky.
Each star, that is, each fragment of Dao essence, has a 'predetermined' person.
Perhaps they are cultivators, perhaps they are ordinary people.
Wu Qinghuan was taken aback.
Frowning slightly.
"Now, these nine fragments of Dao essence are going to..."
"That's right, it's about finding a master who is compatible with it. The information about these masters... is probably what I've seen. I can actually sense their general location."
Indeed, each of the nine Daoist beings has their own predetermined destiny.
But perhaps Xu Nian is a cultivator with multiple Dao essences.
To some extent, it also resonates with these nine Dao essences.
Now we can sense the general direction.
But the closer you get.
The more clearly the location is sensed, the clearer it will be.
Now everything becomes clear. No wonder the old demon of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect suddenly surged to such a terrifying level, easily killing me, and even my master and the sect leader were not spared. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but gasp, my heart filled with fear and shock.
"Ah!" A gasp escaped my lips. It turned out that this old demon had actually collected nine layers of Dao essence. With such a foundation, how could he not be powerful? Even those peerless experts who had already stepped into the Dao Integration Realm, if they could devote themselves to comprehending these nine grand Daos, would probably be enough to become an existence in this world invincible.
Recalling the first time he was trapped in the illusion, Xu Nian was able to fight with all his might to perish together with the old demon. Thinking about it this way, Xu Nian's strength seemed somewhat beyond reason. After all, both of them were cultivators with multiple Dao essences, but the old demon had condensed nine super Daos, making him a top expert among the elite.
"So what should we do now?" I asked anxiously.
After a moment's thought, the person beside him replied, "Well, judging from the current situation, for a considerable period of time to come, we'll probably have no choice but to focus all our efforts on collecting Dao essence, and our target is that awe-inspiring Ninefold Super Dao. Only in this way can we possibly obtain the power to contend with it and avenge this blood feud." As he finished speaking, a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.
"So... you mean... you absolutely must collect the legendary Ninefold Dao Essence? Only in this way can you change the future that was already 'destined'?" In a small, exquisite building of the Sword Sect Chamber of Commerce in Yangcheng, Third Senior Sister Fu Qiuyu stared at the two people standing in front of her with a look of astonishment, her beautiful eyes wide open in disbelief.
The two men had only been gone for a short time, but the news they brought back was like a bolt from the blue, leaving Fu Qiuyu stunned. At first, when they began to recount their story, Fu Qiuyu even thought it was just a joke. After all, how could something so astonishing happen? But as they explained the situation in more detail, Fu Qiuyu finally realized that it was all real, and a huge problem at that!
According to Xu Nian, the reason the fearsome leader of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect has remained inactive recently is not because he has completely given up on activating the sect's mysterious and terrifying formation, as many speculated, but because he is secretly plotting a conspiracy to collect Dao essence. Even more surprisingly, that extremely special and dangerous secret realm seems to have an intricate connection to this ninefold Dao essence. Perhaps it was the elusive and highly intelligent tabby cat that guided him, causing this secret to gradually surface.
The ninefold Dao essence should have been dormant, but for some unknown reason, it was awakened prematurely. Surprisingly, this mysterious and powerful ninefold Dao essence formed a strange connection with Xu Nian, who possessed multiple Dao essences. Although the Dao essence had already dispersed, Xu Nian was gradually able to sense an extremely faint aura. With this faint sense, he managed to grasp a general direction.
You might not notice it at first.
The rest is very accurate.