Chapter 555 - 329: Bewildered
Soon, nearly an hour had passed.
Unable to sense the Bow Lady’s aura, Yang An began searching the area, but he still couldn’t find any trace of her.
It was as if she had vanished from this world, completely disappeared into thin air.
This was undoubtedly the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect. While searching for the Bow Lady, Yang An had spotted markings on the crumbling eaves and ruined walls, including some characters identifying the sect.
Black, smoke-like flames rained down from the sky. Many Cultivators died the moment they were touched by them, and gruesome scenes were visible everywhere.
The entire world was undergoing a monumental change.
’If the Bow Lady is just a remnant soul, where could she possibly go in such a dangerous place?’ Yang An began to ponder.
’By that logic, if the Five Great Celestial Sects were destroyed, their locations must have been within the Central Continent. Does that mean... this is the Central Continent?’
’According to what Huan said, the outside world has no idea the Five Great Celestial Sects were destroyed. That indirectly suggests that the Central Continent is currently sealed off.’
’Since the entire Central Continent is sealed off, the Bow Lady’s remnant soul must still be inside.’
’But that would be the case in reality. This place is the Bow Lady’s Consciousness Realm; it shifts and changes with her consciousness and memories.’
Suddenly, a thought struck Yang An.
He recalled the Bow Lady’s strange behavior back at the Great Virtue Temple when they entered the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall.
He had asked the Workshop Master about it before, but the Workshop Master hadn’t given him a straight answer.
"Great Virtue Temple..."
’This isn’t reality. I shouldn’t be thinking in terms of real-world logic.’
Yang An decided he needed to go to the Great Virtue Temple—the one within the Bow Lady’s Consciousness Realm, of course.
How would he get there?
Simple. He just had to leave the Central Continent.
Yang An wasted no time. After confirming his direction, he flew swiftly to the west, because the Treasure Temple Domain where the Great Virtue Temple was located was directly west of the Central Continent.
Yang An didn’t know how vast the Central Continent was; he had never been there. This was merely the Central Continent as it existed in the Bow Lady’s memory.
As he flew rapidly away from the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect, Yang An noticed something was amiss.
Everything around him began to slow down.
The flowers, grass, and trees; the sound of the wind and the birds; the streams flowing on the ground; and the speed of the foreign objects falling from the sky.
All of it grew slower and slower. It was as if time itself was being stretched the farther he flew from the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect, decelerating until it reached a standstill.
Sure enough, once Yang An had traveled hundreds of miles, everything he saw had frozen in place.
Everything he could see was like a scroll painting that had been paused, completely frozen in time.
After a moment of thought, Yang An arrived at a possible explanation.
’It was likely that the Bow Lady’s memory only encompassed what the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect looked like, or to be more precise, the period when her original body was still alive.’
’But after her original self died, that perception ceased to exist.’
’Therefore, she wouldn’t know what happened in the areas beyond that range, and naturally, neither would he.’
It was a logical conclusion.
If this were reality, Yang An would have been tempted to visit the Five Great Celestial Sects himself to find out exactly what happened during this era.
This place was a perfect opportunity for exploration, one that could potentially answer all of his questions.
But he couldn’t do that here. He had to save the Bow Lady and couldn’t abandon her for the sake of these other mysteries.
His figure dissolved into a shimmering flash of light. An unknown amount of time passed—though it felt brief from Yang An’s perspective—before he reached the edge of the landmass. What greeted his eyes was a vast, boundless black sea.
Monstrous waves churned upon its surface, as if a single one could swallow the entire world.
A black mist constantly evaporated from the dark water, staining the entire sky a suffocating black.
Silver serpents of lightning writhed through the air as thunder boomed.
It was as if a Demon God commanding countless thunderbolts lay hidden in the endless darkness, daring any to draw near.
The very first glance at this ocean made Yang An feel his Heart begin to pound uncontrollably, and his entire body was seized by a powerful sense of dread and fear.
Strange thoughts even began to surface in his mind.
’This is the Forbidden Sea! I can’t cross it!’
’The Forbidden Sea is terrifying! Anyone who dares to cross it will die in its waters!’
’This is the most terrifying place in the entire world!’
’I should turn back. In a place this horrifying, no one would ever try to cross. It’s better to go back and search the Central Continent more thoroughly... ’
No!
Yang An shook his head sharply.
’This isn’t right.’
’These aren’t thoughts that I would normally have.’
’I know my own character. Even if I felt fear, I wouldn’t have these kinds of thoughts. If I were truly afraid, I would have retreated immediately instead of lingering in such a dangerous place.’
’This is the Bow Lady’s memory. She must have been constantly indoctrinated with the idea that the Forbidden Sea is terrifying and impossible to cross. That’s why this fear is surfacing.’
In other words, the fear Yang An was feeling came from the Bow Lady, not from himself.
This gave Yang An even more reason to be certain that the Bow Lady was likely on the other side of the Forbidden Sea, in the Outer Continent.
The remnant of her soul had already left the Central Continent.
Gazing at the horizon where sea and sky met, like an abyss or a vast Demon Cave, Yang An quickly cast aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind.