Chapter 341: A City Overgrown with Vines
Passing through a barrier that rippled like water, Feng Xuan entered the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm.
He had been here many times before, so he knew the way to the Heaven and Earth Stone’s resting place.
The scenery within the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm was constantly shifting. One moment, he was in a fragrant, bird-filled spring; the next step plunged him into the biting winds of winter.
Feng Xuan wasn’t very lucky today. He kept stepping into snowy winters, and a layer of snow soon covered him.
He pressed on against the cold wind, and after some time, he finally reached the Heaven and Earth Stone’s location.
According to the Divine Hall Spirit, the Heaven and Earth Stone was out on an ’incognito inspection,’ so the spot where it usually rested was empty.
Moss grew on the spot where the Heaven and Earth Stone rested. That area was not to be disturbed, but everywhere else had to be swept clean.
Flanking the Heaven and Earth Stone’s spot were two wooden cabins. The one on the left had been Yu An’s residence, and the one on the right belonged to Ao Wu.
After finishing his cleaning, Feng Xuan removed the withered flowers from Yu An’s cabin and replaced them with a freshly picked bouquet.
The vibrant little flowers added a splash of color to the wooden cabin.
Afterward, Feng Xuan cultivated there, not leaving until dusk.
The aura of the Heaven and Earth Stone lingered here, making it easier to cultivate spiritual power than anywhere else.
In less than half a month, he would reach the spiritual power Level of his past life. He had a feeling that when he did, he would finally be able to uncover the secret the Divine Hall Spirit was hiding.
’But none of that really matters. The most important thing is that I’ll be able to leave the temple and find Yu An.’
Feng Xuan let out a soft sigh. ’We’ve been apart for nearly two months now,’ he thought, ’and every single day feels like a year!’
When he exited, the Divine Hall Spirit once again performed a series of complex hand gestures—the supposed ritual for revoking his access to the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm.
As Feng Xuan gazed toward the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm, a sudden thought struck him.
’This should all be the Divine Hall Spirit’s job. Besides, the Spirit said that serving the Heaven and Earth Stone is a great honor.’
’If it’s such an honor, why doesn’t it do the work itself instead of making me do it?’
’The Divine Hall Spirit can supposedly enter and exit the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm at will, so why go through all the trouble of granting me access to go in?’
The Divine Hall Spirit revoked his ’access’ and departed. Feng Xuan stared at the barrier before him and, on a strange impulse, reached out a hand.
Normally, no one should be able to breach the barrier outside of its designated opening time. Yet, Feng Xuan’s hand passed through it with ease.
Feng Xuan’s breath hitched. A bold idea began to form.
...
He knew it. There was something wrong with the Divine Hall Spirit!
Mo Yan had reverted to his beast form and was darting through a dense jungle, relentlessly pursued by countless human face flowers.
Like Feng Xuan, he had grown suspicious of the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm. But when he’d tried to enter it in the middle of the night, he found it unexpectedly guarded by human face flowers.
This, in turn, alerted the Divine Hall Spirit, who summoned even more human face flowers, dead set on capturing Mo Yan and silencing him for good.
Mo Yan’s initial plan was to duck into the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm to hide. After all, it wasn’t the realm’s designated opening time, so the human face flowers shouldn’t have been able to enter.
But the moment he passed through, he found that the human face flowers had followed him in. The Divine Hall Spirit, however, had not.
Mo Yan had no time to wonder why the human face flowers could enter; he just bolted deeper into the Illusion Realm.
The deeper he went, the more dangerous it became. By using the terrain to his advantage, he managed to defeat over a dozen human face flowers.
But there were still too many. After a moment’s hesitation, Mo Yan began triggering the illusions within the realm.
Within the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm, every blade of grass, every tree, and even every stone could be a self-contained illusion. He randomly picked up a stone and activated it with his spiritual power.
Instantly, the scenery around him transformed.
The north wind howled and heavy snow began to fall, blanketing Mo Yan until he looked like a "white snake."
Being plants, the human face flowers couldn’t withstand the severe cold and soon began to tremble violently.
A few were even buried by the snow. They struggled for a moment before going still.
Unfortunately, the human face flowers tore the illusion apart, and it quickly vanished. Mo Yan kept running.
He triggered several more illusions after that, but without exception, each one only stalled the human face flowers for a short while.
This continued until a flash of brilliant red appeared up ahead. Mo Yan pushed forward and saw an orchard.
He froze, staring in astonishment at the orchard, its trees laden with red fruit.
They were Nirvana Fruits—the same kind that grew in Yu An’s Space.
’An entire orchard, deep inside the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm!’
The fruits hung thick on the branches. Compared to the tree in Yu An’s Space, these fruits were slightly smaller and their color a bit duller.
Mo Yan didn’t know if these fruits shared the miraculous properties of the ones from the space. Still, to prevent the human face flowers from destroying the orchard, he gritted his teeth and led his pursuers away.
He soon lost his bearings and could only dart back and forth through the forest, leading the human face flowers in circles.
Meanwhile, back at the Ink Serpent Temple, the Divine Hall Spirit was pacing anxiously.
Without Mo Yan, the Ink Serpent Temple was slowly crumbling. Several of its buildings had already collapsed.
The main hall was holding up relatively well, with only a few fine cracks appearing in the corners.
"Useless things!"
The Divine Hall Spirit raged impotently. It was, after all, just a fake created by Tian Fu, incapable of entering the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm.
The human face flowers, on the other hand, had been nurtured on human flesh and blood. As living-dead creatures, they could ignore the barrier.
Now, all it could do was hope the human face flowers would bring Mo Yan back.
On the other side, Mo Yan was also growing tired. After leading the human face flowers in circles for several laps, coupled with the encroaching darkness, he was no longer sure of his location.
He could only grit his teeth and keep running. As he did, he suddenly passed through another barrier-like layer.
’Inside the barrier... is a city?’
The human face flowers followed him through but stopped dead in their tracks, refusing to advance any further.
Mo Yan looked at the city. Other than being covered in thick vines, it didn’t seem particularly special.
The human face flowers, however, reacted as if they had seen something terrifying. They trembled from top to bottom, and the ones in the back even turned to flee.
But their escape was not as smooth as their entry. They slammed into the barrier and were knocked to the ground.
Mo Yan was both surprised and panicked. ’Is this a place you can only enter, but never leave?’
He walked over to test it. His hand passed through the barrier easily. Clearly, it only worked on the human face flowers.
’If the human face flowers are trapped here, doesn’t that mean I’m safe?’
At this thought, Mo Yan bowed toward the city, then turned and walked out of the barrier.
The human face flowers shrieked and gave chase but were once again blocked.
After Mo Yan left, the city gate creaked open. A slender, emerald-green vine emerged from within, looking utterly harmless.
The human face flowers, however, were terrified. Some collapsed to the ground, while others fell to their knees and began kowtowing frantically.
But it was no use.
The vine unhesitatingly speared them, stringing them together. A few moments later, the human face flowers went still.
A gust of wind blew, and they crumbled into dust that scattered on the breeze.
The vine let out a satisfied burp and retreated contentedly back into the city.
Just before the gate closed, the vine emerged once more. It ’looked’ left and right before picking up a feather from the ground.
It was a small, pale yellow feather, threaded onto a thin string.
The vine nuzzled the feather, then hooked the string and started to carry it back into the city.
"Wait—"
Mo Yan ran back in, panting. "That’s mine!"