Chapter 364 - 340: Unwilling to Leave the Illusion Realm

Chapter 364: Chapter 340: Unwilling to Leave the Illusion Realm

"The entrance to the Zihua Cave Mansion’s Inner Hall is on that altar. As long as we inlay the remaining six Jade Seals into the altar’s edge, it will activate the Array and transport us inside!"

Seeing that Nie Yun had no intention of making a move against them, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Huangg Ling walked forward and looked at the altar in the center of the hall.

It seemed he had done quite a bit of homework in order to enter the Zihua Cave Mansion; he even knew how to get into the Inner Hall.

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Nie Yun looked over at the altar. Sure enough, he saw several small holes around its perimeter. The patterns on them were identical to those on the Jade Seals.

"To save time, I’ll go first!"

Huangg Ling was the first to walk over. He reached into his robes, took out four Jade Seals, and placed them into four of the small holes.

Nearly all the Sovereigns who possessed Jade Seals were dead, so all the seals had fallen into his hands.

"Right." Qii Tao and Nie Yun also each placed the Jade Seal in their hands into the holes on the altar.

RUMBLE!

The moment the six Jade Seals entered the holes, the entire altar was instantly enveloped in a brilliant light, rumbling and shaking.

"Let’s go!"

Knowing that the Teleportation Array was about to activate, Nie Yun grabbed his brother, Nie Tong, and leaped onto it.

WHOOSH!

Huangg Ling and the others also hurriedly jumped onto the Teleportation Array. The Array slowly began to spin, and with a twist of space, the group vanished completely from where they stood.

Just as the group disappeared, two figures strode out from the end of the passage that Huangg Ling had taken.

The power radiating from these two men connected with heaven and earth, carrying the aura of creation itself. They were both Creation Secret Realm Powerhouses!

"Zi Qiong, they’ve already entered the Inner Hall! We need to hurry and catch up. Otherwise, once the Array disappears, we’ll never be able to follow!"

The old man in the lead turned his head to speak, then leaped onto the altar.

"I don’t need you to remind me. Why don’t you worry about yourself first!"

The second person followed closely behind, jumping onto the altar. His words showed no respect for the first man, and it seemed their relationship was not a good one.

These two were none other than the Zi Qiong Emperor and Huangg Chen, who had been tailing the group. They had a detailed route from Huangg Ling, so they hadn’t encountered any danger along the way.

WHOOSH!

When Nie Yun opened his eyes again, he found that he had indeed been transported into a massive hall.

The Spiritual Qi here was even richer, several times denser than outside. As he looked around carefully, he was suddenly taken aback.

’Spirit Stones? The entire hall is actually made of Spirit Stones?’

’The entire Inner Hall is made of Spirit Stones... no wonder the Spiritual Qi is so rich! What terrifying extravagance! Even in my past life, I probably didn’t have this much wealth!’

’An Ordinary Spirit Stone is only the size of a walnut. This hall is dozens of yards high and hundreds of yards wide... just how many Spirit Stones would that take?’

’I’m afraid not even eight or ten Spirit Stone Mines could produce this much!’

’Terrifying!’

’This Zihua Daoist’s strength in life must have surpassed my own back then. He must have reached the Peak of the Floating Heaven Continent. Otherwise, there’s no way he could have created such a powerful Cave Mansion!’

Nie Yun slowly suppressed the shock in his heart.

’The Teleportation Array outside... if opened with six Jade Seals, it sends you here. If not, it sends you out of the Foggy Swamp. Such a mechanism alone is not something an ordinary person could accomplish.’

"Brother, look! That stone is so strange!"

Suddenly hearing his brother’s voice, Nie Yun looked up. He saw a sky-blue stone floating in the air directly ahead, emitting a pure, bright light.

Huangg Ling and the others had also seen the stone and had already walked up to it.

Nie Yun opened his Celestial Eye and scanned the area, but he didn’t discover anything special. He too walked over.

The stone before them was only the size of a fist, but it shot out ten thousand rays of colorful light, like a miniature Celestial Yang suspended in the air.

As he drew near and the light touched his body, a comfortable sensation washed over him, as if he were soaking in a hot spring. A gentle warmth seemed to radiate from every pore of his body.

"I don’t want it! I don’t..."

Just as Nie Yun was wondering about this, he suddenly saw Huangg Ling let out a pained cry, his face contorted in agony. He reached forward, grasping at the air as if trying to catch hold of something precious he couldn’t bear to lose.

’An Illusion Realm?’

Seeing Huangg Ling’s state, Nie Yun was alarmed. Just as he was about to retreat, his vision blurred, and he felt as if he had been instantly transported to another space.

Nie Yun felt the great hall and the sky-blue stone vanish. He was now standing on a towering mountain peak, gazing at a girl before him, dressed in robes as white as snow.

’It’s my past life!’

’The most painful moment of my past life, a time of life-and-death parting!’

’It’s an Illusion Realm! It has to be!’

’Even though I know I’ve fallen into an Illusion Realm, I can’t bring myself to leave!’

’Because... I can see her again!’

’In my past life, didn’t I risk going to Ten Thousand Realms Mountain because I couldn’t accept that she was gone? Didn’t I hope to break through to the limits of power just to see her one more time? And now, I see her in this Illusion Realm, as beautiful as she was back then.’

In her robes as white as snow, she stood at the edge of the peak, as still and quiet as a painting.

"You’re here. Look at that cloud, drifting freely in the sky. How relaxed and carefree it is!" The girl glanced back, a smile on her face.

"Is that so? It is indeed carefree. It’s enviable." After saying this, Nie Yun’s heart clenched violently.

’In my past life, I hadn’t said that. I had said, "A cloud is controlled by the wind. It goes wherever the wind blows, like a puppet. What’s so carefree about that?"’

Because of those words, the light in the girl’s eyes had dimmed, and the vibrant life force that had been blooming within her slowly withered away.

"Heh. I long for such a relaxed and carefree life! I like the quiet."

The girl’s expression was as serene as a calm sky. Flowers bloomed around her as she quietly watched the clouds, looking like a celestial fairy banished to the mortal realm.

"I will stay with you, for a lifetime and an eternity, and we will watch the clouds together," Nie Yun said softly, slowly walking forward.

In that moment, it seemed as if they were the only two people in the world, surrounded by peace and serenity.

Just then, with a RUMBLE, Nie Yun felt the scene before him shift again. He was now at the edge of a lake, and the girl was lying limply in his arms.

"Nie Yun... after I die, you must place me in a small boat and let me drift on this lake. I want to stay here forever... I never want to leave again..."

Her pale face held a pleading look, and her frail body trembled nonstop. Her breath was faint, almost nonexistent, as if she could pass away at any moment.

"No... You’re not going to die! You absolutely won’t die! I’ll travel the ten heavens and nine earths if I have to, but I’ll find a cure for you! I won’t let you leave me..." Tears streamed down his face and dripped onto the ground as Nie Yun threw his head back and roared.

"Everyone dies eventually. After I’m gone, you have to take good care of yourself..."

The girl’s body twitched, and then her eyes closed for good.

"No... NO!"

Nie Yun let out a heart-wrenching scream, as if he had gone mad. With a jolt to his Spirit, the illusion before him completely shattered. He looked up and found himself still under the sky-blue stone, his face stained with tears.