Chapter 2557 - 2585: Qi Realm Village
If you ignore the strange-looking livestock and the twisted crops growing in the fields, what presents itself before everyone’s eyes is a completely serene and peaceful countryside night view.
However, the white mist above is blooming with sunlight-like brilliance, illuminating the earth, and in terms of light, it’s obviously more like daytime.
"It really is an astounding place."
Sitting atop the Rainbow Bubbles, Veronia said languidly. Unlike Feng Yuan, it cannot be immune to the mental pollution of this place. Ever since it fell into this space, various eerie voices kept ringing in its ears, not only making it irritable but also continuously brewing negative emotions in its heart.
Fortunately, Veronia’s own strength allows it to combat this pollution, but because this pollution occupies most of its energy, the power Veronia can wield is inevitably affected.
"Why don’t you head over to Tamur?"
Glancing at the listless Veronia, Feng Yuan suggested. Floating beside Feng Yuan, the Ancient Black Book had golden characters continuously emerging to form a Rune Chain Ring that revolved around Feng Yuan, creating a spherical space. Xiao Ji curiously glanced at Veronia, not quite understanding why it was like this.
The Fluffy Fire Wolfhound wanted to dash over to Tamur’s side, but unfortunately, Feng Yuan hadn’t asked for it. Although it believed Feng Yuan could protect it from being affected, the Fire Wolf Dog currently had no interest in fighting.
"No need, this influence is not lethal."
With a light chuckle, Veronia declined Feng Yuan’s suggestion. Though squeezing into Tamur’s Mythical Era Projection could shield it from these disturbances, correspondingly, it wouldn’t be able to act either.
Even though they haven’t encountered an enemy yet, they are very aware that the "people" here are probably all enemies.
Moreover, considering the nature of this place, the strength of those enemies is likely not low, and coupled with that troublesome immortality, it won’t be easy to deal with. At the very least, relying solely on Feng Yuan and Eclipse might prove a bit hectic.
"Suit yourself, but be careful, this place isn’t exactly normal."
He glanced up at the white sky above. If they hadn’t fallen from there earlier, Feng Yuan and the others might not have guessed that what seemed like the dawn-like daylight was actually a thick layer of fog serving as the light source.
While Feng Yuan was pondering, the door of the house closest to their landing point quietly opened. A woman, appearing a year or two older than Feng Yuan and his companions, peeked out to observe something. War Qichen keenly sensed the sweeping gaze aligning with their own.
The woman didn’t retreat back indoors. Instead, she casually strolled out, undeterred by War Qichen’s action, and drew everyone’s gaze to her peculiar outfit, making Feng Yuan slightly frown.
In conventional perception, the person before them appeared no different from an ordinary human. But in a place like this, can there really be ordinary people? Not to mention, Feng Yuan sensed some unusual things.
"Who are you?"
The woman walked over casually, stopping not far from the group with a curious look on her face, even Dou Yanlan almost fell for the innocent act. However, War Qichen slightly furrowed his brow; the woman before him didn’t give him a good feeling, and he wasn’t alone in this; Qi Chen also had a feeling of reluctance to engage.
Feng Yuan glanced at Qi Chen and company. He wasn’t surprised by War Qichen’s demeanor. Given his experience, it would be odd if he got deceived. As for Qi Chen... can that guy see through disguises? No, it must be combat intuition; truly a talent tailored for battle.
Considering Dou Yanlan’s unfortunate susceptibility, Feng Yuan understood. Given her background, the woman’s performance was quite convincing.
It’s just that, aside from Dou Yanlan, few fell for it. Feng Yuan didn’t need to be mentioned, and Veronia, having participated in numerous wars, would subconsciously feel something was off even if it couldn’t immediately identify the disguise.
Tamur relied on its mysterious abilities to see through the facade, whereas Xiao Ji and the Fluffy Fire Wolfhound were simply indifferent. Even if they didn’t see through it, they felt nothing for the woman.
Faced with the woman’s enthusiastic invitation to visit her home, Veronia glanced at Feng Yuan. Receiving a subtle signal from him, Veronia decided to go along with it to see what she intended.
Leading Feng Yuan’s group into her home, the woman served them tea, offering to slowly introduce the village to them. Feng Yuan didn’t warn Qi Chen and company to be cautious; instead, he sat down unceremoniously, took a teacup, glanced at the murky tea within, and drained it with a slight shake of his head.
"It’s not so much about added ingredients, but rather, the inherent nature of this stuff. It’s truly... malicious."
He casually placed the teacup on the table and gazed at the woman, speaking flatly. Under her startled gaze, a shadowy silhouette draped in a black robe rose behind Feng Yuan, gently twisting the Lantern placed on the table. Feng Yuan stared at her and said,
"Now that the tea is drunk, could you tell us if, right now, for you, is it day or night?"
"Oh, by the way, day is defined as the time for productive activities while night is for rest. I believe that there should be variations between day and night here as well, right?"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, day or night, right now..."
The woman attempted to feign ignorance and muddle through, yet the shadowy silhouette behind Feng Yuan raised the Sickle in its hand towards her. Feng Yuan let out a soft snort and flicked the Lantern lightly, causing the flame within to leap, startling the woman.
For some reason, at that moment when the flame jumped, she felt a sudden illusion of her heart being fiercely grasped.
"What? Unwilling to speak? Or do you think that just because you don’t tell us, we won’t find out?"
With another flick of his finger, as the flame danced, the woman felt a suffocating sensation, but it came and went quickly. Staring firmly at Feng Yuan, she said with a puzzled expression,
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Sigh, a normal person would have long lost their composure in a situation like this. You’re putting on quite a poor act."
Casually picking up the Lantern, Feng Yuan looked as if he was about to leave. However, at that moment, the woman’s expression changed dramatically.
"You’ve seen through my disguise all along? Ha, in that case, why did you drink the tea? Are you counting on them to save you?"
"Of course not, but actually, it’s somewhat similar."
Turning his head with a smile, Feng Yuan faced her. Before him, space cracked, and in the next instant, space shattered like a broken mirror, and the massive head of Eclipse emerged through the spatial fissure into the small space.
"What?!"
Seeing the manifestation of Eclipse, the confident smile vanished from the woman’s face. She hadn’t expected them to break through the trap she had set, but even then...
"I don’t believe you can remain unaffected after drinking Heart Erosion Vine!"
With a loud cry, the woman suddenly drew a curved blade, looking ready to fight. Feng Yuan shook his head, the shadowy silhouette behind him gripping a Sickle in its right hand, while its left hand rose slowly. A swirl of black mist gathered in its palm, and with a flick of his hand, the black mist fell to the ground, turning into a projection of Feng Yuan.
"Indeed, this thing is inevitable, but this stuff has no effect on me."
Feng Yuan spoke without lifting his head, hands clasped behind his back, as his right index finger made a slight hook. A golden spear appeared out of thin air, instantly piercing the Pseudo-Feng Yuan. The Backlash came, yet it couldn’t affect Feng Yuan and dissipated helplessly.
With a cold snort, Feng Yuan turned back to look at the woman and said,
"It seems you’re still a bit unwilling. In that case..."
A black spear suddenly appeared, piercing through the woman, although what happened next surprised Feng Yuan. He had assumed she possessed immortality since the chaotic entities of the Qi Realm always seemed to possess such traits.
However, after suffering a severe blow, the woman dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and quickly dissipated.
Surrounding visual scenes flickered like glitching screens, making Feng Yuan dizzy. After a while, the visual field recovered to normal, and seeing Qi Chen and their combat-ready stances, Feng Yuan furrowed his brows and asked,
"Are you all alright?"
"Yeah, no problem, but it’s strange; the one that attacked me just now didn’t have immortality."
Veronia remarked while looking towards Qi Chen and the others. Dou Yanlan exchanged a glance with Qi Chen and said,
"We encountered the same. I thought..."
"I didn’t deploy any anti-immortality moves."
Tamur commented nonchalantly, glancing at the now significantly larger room, and Feng Yuan chuckled slightly and said,
"Let’s head out first. Here, it’s hard to discern if there have been changes to the village."