Chapter 854 - 289: Pulled Away? (Second Update)
The sharp energy sliced across his neck.
The leader of the Divine Hall assassins instinctively tried to dodge. Yet, he realized that his body wouldn’t move, and even his thoughts seemed to slow down.
The last scene in his eyes was Mu Qingge’s exquisitely beautiful face showing a mocking smile.
Mockery?
What is she mocking?
Mocking him for being unable to kill her and getting killed instead?
"Ah——!"
"Ah——!"
The last sound he heard was the cries of agony from his subordinates. Without seeing, he knew they had been completely wiped out.
Pfft!
What was sliced open?
Scalding liquid seemed to flow from his neck.
He widened his eyes, suddenly feeling like he could see everything, sensing himself flipping in the air, finally falling towards the ground.
Thud!
A head descended from the sky, landing on the pure white ground.
Mu Qingge slowly descended, thrusting the Linglong Spear in her hand into the ground, its sharp point piercing through the head.
A gasp of cold air was heard all around, emitting a ’hiss——’ sound!
She lowered her gaze, staring at the head with unclosed eyes, a mocking light gleaming in her eyes. People of the Middle Ancient Realm never focused on cultivating Spiritual Sense, no matter how formidable or high their cultivation, how could they defend against the Spiritual Sense attack she learned from the Divine Strategy Middle Volume?
Dead... dead?
People watching from afar slowly straightened their postures, shocked gazes fixed on the battlefield here.
The ones who came to hunt down Mu Qingge were all dead here, the bodies on the ground, patches of crimson, all proving they weren’t seeing things, nor were they mistaken.
Most importantly——
"Mu City Lord actually killed someone at the Golden Realm Fourth Layer? Isn’t she supposed to be at the Golden Realm First Layer?"
"Absolutely a monster! She can actually fight across ranks!"
"The key point is, this combat power is too fierce! She even defeated an enemy at the Golden Realm Fourth Layer and managed to sever the head."
"No, all of you are wrong! The most important thing is, how can a woman fight more impressively than a man!"
This remark made countless men twitch their lips, harshly criticizing themselves in their hearts.
If it were them, they wouldn’t have managed.
"Qingge."
With the battle over, Ji Yaohua and the others walked up to Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge withdrew the Linglong Spear, flicking away the blood on the spear tip. With a flash of light, the Linglong Spear transformed back into a finger cover, worn on her right index finger.
Only then did she lift her head, looking at the four of them, offering them a smile.
"No, no, please don’t smile at me, or I might not be able to control myself!" Ji Yaohua used one hand to block his eyes, raising the other hand to stop Mu Qingge.
The smile at the corner of Mu Qingge’s mouth froze, knowing he used this joke to break the awkwardness. So, she raised an eyebrow and followed his words, "Do you need me to help you dig it out?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Xinghai couldn’t help but lower his head and chuckle. Ying Ze’s tight lips also revealed a subtle arc, even Wei Molili, who was as calm as a stagnant pool, flitted his gaze towards Ji Yaohua.
Ji Yaohua’s spine stiffened, angrily flinging his hand down forcefully, glaring at Mu Qingge, "You, as a woman, do you have to be so ruthless?"
Mu Qingge retorted, "Is this the first day you’ve known me?"
This sentence left Ji Yaohua speechless.
He realized that, even though Mu Qingge was a woman, she was indeed someone no one dared provoke—her mind was cunning to the core!
"Who are these assassins, why are they chasing you here?" Yao Xinghai pointed at the bodies on the ground, asking Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge lifted her gaze to him, not answering his question but instead said, "When you leave here, return to the Alchemy Institute and tell your master about today’s events."
A sparkle flashed in Yao Xinghai’s eyes, he nodded almost imperceptibly, not pursuing the question further.
Suddenly, the pure white space began to tremble.
This sudden change made the smile on Ji Yaohua’s face fade, and he swallowed back the words he wanted to say, observing the surroundings with everyone.
"What’s happening?"
"Why is it suddenly trembling?"
"Is the space going to collapse?"
"How is that possible?"
"Why not possible, the fight just now was so intense!"
Rumble——!
The trembling in the pure white world became more intense. Many people could not steady themselves and stumbled.
Ji Yaohua looked up towards the white sky and asked aloud, "What’s going on? It can’t just collapse, has anyone ever researched data about the Ruishui River, speak up."
The silent Ying Ze spoke up at this point, "This place was originally meant for those seeking the Dao, a place to calm the mind. Only when the mind is calm can one see the hidden things. When the time comes, one will begin to seek the Dao."
Seek the Dao?
Mu Qingge looked at Ying Ze, "Does your record describe how to seek the Dao?"
Ying Ze slowly shook his head.
At this moment, a terrified scream came from afar, drawing the attention of the five people.
They saw many people being pulled away by an unknown force, disappearing from their original spots.
Suddenly, Wei Molili felt a suction force from beneath his feet, as if an invisible hand had grabbed his ankle. Just as he was about to alert the others, he realized his body was uncontrollably being pulled away.
Wei Molili was pulled away, causing Mu Qingge, who was standing in front of him, to immediately turn around. When she saw the spot where Wei Molili had stood was now empty, her eyes suddenly narrowed.
"Where’s Wei Molili?" Ji Yaohua asked in surprise.
"He was pulled away." Ying Ze, who witnessed everything, replied. He wanted to help, but before he could act, Wei Molili was already gone.
One could only say, everything happened too quickly!
Yao Xinghai spoke, "We..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, he disappeared from where he stood. It seemed he too was pulled into an unknown space by the same force.
Of the five, two had gone missing, making the remaining three become very cautious.
Suddenly, they noticed that the surroundings seemed to have quieted down.
The three looked across and found that those who had come for the Ruishui River inquiry had all disappeared.
"Where are the people?" Ji Yaohua asked in surprise.
Suddenly, all three felt a pulling force at their ankles.
They instinctively looked at their ankles, only having time to glance at each other before being pulled away by that inexplicable force, disappearing from where they stood.
In the white space, there was no longer a living person to be seen.
All that was left were dozens of corpses lying on the ground. The pure white world had once again calmed down as if nothing had ever happened.
Suddenly, a silver light emerged from the corpses.
When the silver light faded, these corpses disappeared as well. Upon reappearing, they were outside of the Ruishui River, beyond the silver waterfall suspended in the gap, with no beginning or end.
...
"What is this place?" Mu Qingge surveyed the surroundings, her eyes filled with vigilance.
She seemed to be wrapped in a world of colors, surrounded by various colors of light beams descending from above. Like a rainbow, they were neatly arranged, each color carrying a halo.
Mu Qingge stood on a floor as smooth as a mirror, her reflection on the clean surface was crystal clear, as if she were standing on a mirror.
Mu Qingge took a gentle step in place, making a full circle.
Her footsteps sounded unusually distinct here, likely due to the echo.
"How to inquire about the Dao?" Mu Qingge frowned. She looked up to see nothing but a pure white sky. Retracting her gaze, she looked at the seven-colored radiance and asked, "What is Dao?"
This was a question she asked absently in her confusion, yet she unexpectedly received an answer.
"Dao is the heart."
"Heart?" Mu Qingge murmured, surprised by the emergence of the voice.
The voice sounded old, a woman’s voice, and bore some resemblance to her own voice.
Mu Qingge frowned and asked, "You say Dao is the heart, but all things in the world have their Dao, yet not everything has a heart. Do the changing winds and clouds have a heart? Do the seasonal plants have a heart? What heart is there in the rising sun and the setting moon?"
"That is rules, not Dao."
Rules!
An ethereal light flashed across Mu Qingge’s eyes.
"The essence of Dao lies in the heart, the means of Dao is the rules."
The voice continued.
"The essence of Dao lies in the heart, the means of Dao is the rules?" Mu Qingge murmured, unable to fathom the meaning of the words.
Dao, being such an enigmatic concept, how could it be comprehended through mere questions and answers?
Mu Qingge pressed her lips and remained silent.
However, the voice appeared once more: "You are still too weak. Go, go see what Dao is, what the heart is."
"How to see?" Mu Qingge instinctively asked.
The voice answered immediately: "Do you see those seven-colored beams? Each color is a mundane trial. By entering, you can, as an observer, see the essence of the mundane world and comprehend the Dao heart."
Mu Qingge’s eyes lit up, and she thought to herself: ’So these beams indeed possess such abilities!’
"However, let me warn you. If you lose yourself in the mundane world and cannot awaken, you will be trapped here forever." The voice advised.
Mu Qingge’s eyes narrowed with a hint of caution.
She hesitated for a moment, then took a step towards the seven-colored beams.
Surrounded by the beams, she did not fully understand what the speaker meant by each color representing a mundane trial.
Guided by feeling, Mu Qingge moved towards the red beam. This color had always been her favorite, and now, her journey through the mundane world would begin with this color.
She raised her hand, fingers slowly extending into the red beam. Suddenly, she felt the red beam spread from her fingertips, enveloping her entire body and pulling her into a world.
"Where is this place?" Mu Qingge found herself standing in a lush garden filled with flowers, colorful butterflies flitting among the blossoms, and the sounds of birds chirping not far away.
"This is one of the billions of Mortal Realms. You can move around freely here without worrying about being seen by anyone. Of course, you cannot do anything either, remember you are just an observer." That voice appeared again and then vanished.
In the Seven-color Space, Mu Qingge sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as if she were meditating.
The voice reappeared, "The Ruishui River inquiry usually lasts a year. For those with extraordinary talent, it can last two years. How long can you inquire? I am very curious."