Chapter 109 [Spirit Pearl] Suspecting that Master is the Manipulator Behind the Scenes
By the time Ling Hong competed, it was already early March. Ye Musi and the ten participating disciples went to participate in the competition.
There are three rounds of competition in Linghong Martial Arts Competition. The first round is in the Illusion Forest. Participating disciples need to pass through the forest before they can participate in the second round.
As the name suggests, everything in the Illusion Forest is an illusion, but what this forest presents is the thing that people fear the most. The illusion does not hurt people, but it can eliminate the first group of people.
Most people can successfully pass through this forest because they know in their hearts that all this is fake, but some people are so afraid that they mistake the illusion for reality and are thus eliminated.
Eliminated disciples cannot participate in the next round and can only wait until the end of three rounds and return to the sect with their fellow disciples.
Ye Musi sat on a high seat, looking at the scene in front of him, with an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness in his heart. His eyes wandered among the crowd, and then fixed on the person he wanted to see, but found that the person had also been looking at him. In an instant, the uneasiness disappeared without a trace.
The person who presided over the Linghong competition this year was Chen Hua, the owner of Yunlie Manor.
Same as in the previous life.
"This is the 908th Linghong Martial Arts Competition. The first round, the Illusion Forest, will not only test your strength, but also sharpen your mind." Chen Hua said, "If you fail to pass, you will be eliminated in the first round."
After Shen Hua finished speaking, the atmosphere in the competition arena became even more tense. The participating disciples exchanged glances with each other. Some of them had participated in many competitions, while others were participating for the first time. Some were determined, some were nervous, and some were unable to hide their fear.
With Shen Hua's order, the first round officially began. The disciples stepped into the illusion forest one after another, and their figures were soon swallowed up by the mist in the forest.
Ye Musi's gaze followed Lu Lishen closely. He remembered that in his previous life, after Lu Li went deep into the formation, he could no longer pay attention to Lu Lishen, and Lu Lishen disappeared. When it was over, Lu Lishen walked out of the illusion forest exhausted. It seemed that something was wrong.
He didn't know how Lu Lishen got here. He wanted to comfort Lu Lishen, but he didn't know what happened, so he didn't say anything. He just took Lu Lishen to get drunk. In the end, he was scolded by Zhu Jianye. How could a master take his disciple to drink and have fun?
Ye Musi didn't know that they were going to a brothel. He only heard from the locals that only that place sold alcohol, so he took Lu Lishen there.
Thinking of his previous life, he couldn't help but worry about Lu Lishen. What exactly made his disciple afraid? What was there that he, as their master, couldn't solve?
Lu Lishen had never mentioned it in this life, and he hadn't asked. Since the Chinese New Year, he had been in seclusion for some time, and had only come out some time before coming to Linghong. Before he had the chance to ask, Lu Lishen and other disciples had already arrived in Linghong.
He looked at the person in the water mirror with concern, slowly getting lost in the haze.
He felt strange. If he wanted to check what others did in the Fantasy Forest, he could check it, but Lu Lishen's was the only exception. It was as if there was a magic barrier covering Lu Lishen.
Ye Musi looked at the water mirror and saw the movements of others, not his Ali. His thoughts drifted far away.
Suddenly, the water mirror hanging in the air suddenly cracked, and then fell into pieces and turned into smoke and dust.
Seeing this, Ye Musi suddenly stood up and looked at Chen Hua.
He thought, even if Shen Hua and Hua Jin were in collusion, such a thing had never happened in the previous life. What went wrong?
A lot has changed in this life. Originally, nothing happened in Shenghe Mountain before Linghong's competition, which would have been a good sign. Linghong's competition would be the only unchanging variable in this life.
"Master Chen, what is going on?" Jiang Yao looked at him worriedly and spoke first.
"This..." Chen Hua looked bewildered, as if he knew nothing. He cast a spell to condense a water mirror, but the water mirror could no longer show the scene of the surrounding forest. Instead, it was blank, with nothing in it.
Ye Musi immediately lost patience and stood up on his sword, "Everyone, I'm going to go see what's going on."
Then Ye Musi entered the illusion forest.
The remaining sect leaders present could no longer contain themselves, but they did not rush into the illusion forest like Ye Musi.
"Valley Master Ye is violating the rules by doing this, this..." one of them said.
"Those in the forest are all elites from various sects. I guess they don't want to die in there." Jiang Yao said.
"Everything seen in this illusion forest is an illusion. How could it hurt anyone?"
The implication is that no matter what the situation in the forest is, they will not take the risk to save people.
Jiang Yao remained silent. The person she had spoken to had a point. The illusions were all false and wouldn't hurt anyone. But Ye Musi was so anxious. Did he know something? Was he trying to cover it up?
Jiang Yao's gaze swept across the faces of the other clan leaders. She could sense their hesitation and uneasiness. Ye Musi's sudden action undoubtedly put immense pressure on them, but it also made them suspicious. The rules of the Illusion Forest were well known; illusions wouldn't hurt anyone. How could Ye Musi not know that?
Suddenly, a man appeared in the water mirror, trapped in the shape of a cross by the black cold iron chains. This man was known to everyone in the three realms. He had turned all the major sects upside down and was later sealed away. Who else could it be but Hua Jin?
"Dear uncles and aunts, how are you?" Hua Jin's face appeared in the water mirror. Because he had not seen the light for many years, his skin was three times whiter than that of a dead person. Coupled with that faint smile, he looked particularly creepy.
Hua Jin's appearance caused the faces of the clan leaders present to change drastically.
"Hua Jin!!" Jiang Yao immediately drew her sword and pointed it at Shui Jing upon seeing this.
Everyone was panicked.
"Why are you panicking?" Hua Jin's voice came from the water mirror with a hint of mockery and disdain. His eyes seemed to be examining the fear of every sect leader through the water mirror.
"Hua Jin, you devil, how dare you be so presumptuous here!" Jiang Yao shouted angrily, the tip of the sword trembling slightly, showing her deep hatred for Hua Jin.
Hua Jin didn't care. "It's a rare opportunity to meet you all. What you said was too harsh. Well, the devil is the devil."
Although Hua Jin was still in Shenghe Mountain at the moment and the real master had not arrived, everyone present was unwilling to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, why don't I see my master and fellow apprentice?"
When Hua Jin was sealed in Shenghe Mountain by Mu Chi, he was completely cut off from the outside world, so he didn't know that Mu Chi had died.
They were bound by a marriage contract, and he thought that since he was fine now, Mu Chi must be fine too. If he was fine, why hadn't he come to Shenghe Mountain to see him, even just for a glance or to talk to him?
The moment he was sealed, his heart ached. He didn't understand why Mu Chi helped outsiders to deal with him. He hated him. He asked Mu Chi why, but Mu Chi didn't say anything until the seal was completed.
No one told him that his master was dead, and not even his body was left. It turned into smoke and dust, floating in every corner of Shenghe Mountain.
No one answered him, and he got angry and said, "Speak up!"
He roared.
But no matter what he did, the leaders of various sects did not mention a word.
Mu Chi sacrificed himself for the greater good. After all, it was Hua Jin who killed Mu Chi. They felt that Hua Jin was not worthy of knowing where Mu Chi was.
Hua Jin's roar echoed in the water mirror, his eyes revealing a hint of madness and unwillingness. The clan leaders present looked at each other in confusion, and no one was willing to respond to his question.
After a long time, Hua Jin calmed down his anger.
"Well, well, if they don't want to see me, I won't see them either. But I have prepared a gift for you." Hua Jin sneered, "Just consider it a celebration of our long-awaited reunion. By the way, I'm not afraid to tell you that I'm about to break the seal. You better stop me. I love challenging things the most, hahahaha——"
Hua Jin was indeed about to break the seal. The reason why he told all the sects was because he wanted to use this to lure out Mu Chi. He wanted to talk to Mu Chi.
He had been imprisoned in Shenghe Mountain and had no idea how long it had been. In that cold space, he could only count his own heartbeats every day, not knowing what year it was.
Hua Jin's laughter echoed in the water mirror. It was a laugh full of extreme madness and teasing, which made everyone present feel a chill.
Hua Jin disappeared after saying this, and the water mirror also dissipated, but the leaders of various sects felt more and more uneasy.
They knew that Hua Jin's threat was not groundless. If he really broke the seal, the three realms would be plunged into a catastrophe again.
But what could they do? They had no control over the sealing barrier of Shenghe Mountain.
They are not the descendants of Yinyou Valley. If they interfere with the seal, it will only destroy the seal, causing more serious consequences.
Speaking of Yinyou Valley, Shenghe Mountain has always been under the jurisdiction of the Yinyou Valley sect's disciples. Now Ye Musi inexplicably entered the Illusion Forest, and Hua Jin appeared right after that. It's hard not to be suspicious.
Could it be that Ye Musi had known about it for a long time and was secretly hiding it? Or maybe the person who helped Hua Jin break the seal was Ye Musi. They couldn't think of anyone else except Ye Musi. What they couldn't understand was that Hua Jin and Ye Musi didn't have a good relationship, so why would Ye Musi help Hua Jin break the seal?
This is all too weird.
Their doubts hung over their hearts like a thick fog, and their eyes all turned towards the direction of the Illusion Forest. That was not only the venue for the first round of the competition, but also the focus of their doubts.
"What should we do now?" asked an indecisive person.
"What else can we do? We should go and bring back all the disciples from various sects." Chen Hua said anxiously, setting an example and heading towards the Illusion Forest.
There is no reason for Shen Hua to do this. Hua Jin would not appear for no reason. There must be some conspiracy behind this competition. To ensure the safety of everyone, I am afraid that this year's Linghong competition cannot be held.
After hearing Shen Hua's words, those who were reluctant to go also went together.
At the same time, as soon as Ye Mushi entered the illusion forest, he lost his way in the thick haze. Strangely, he could not use magic here.
Ye Musi had never participated in the Linghong Martial Arts Competition as a disciple. Moreover, the content of each Linghong Martial Arts Competition was different, so it was normal that he was not clear about it.
He left marks under each tree to make it easier to find the way.
But he kept going around and around in the same place. He went east and then west, then west and then east, over and over again. He was tired and squatted down to rest for a while.
"Ali...where are you..."
"Master!" Lu Lishen patted his shoulder. He raised his head and saw the person he was looking for, and rushed over excitedly.
"Ali, are you okay?"
He had been feeling very uneasy since arriving at Linghong Mountain, but now that he had seen Lu Lishen, he finally felt a little better.
"Disciple is fine. Master, why did you come here? It's so dangerous." Lu Lishen gently stroked Ye Musi's hair, held his face, and rubbed his nose.
"Something happened, and I'm worried about you."
There was a hint of trembling in Ye Musi's voice. He tightly grasped Lu Lishen's thick and strong arms, as if he was afraid of losing him again.
Lu Li deeply felt his master's worry, and a warm feeling surged in his heart. He gently patted Ye Musi's back to comfort him.
"Ali, did you meet anyone else when you came here?"
Lu Lishen shook his head. He was alone from beginning to end.
“No.”
"Well, let's go find other people first and leave here. We won't participate in the Linghong Martial Arts Competition." Ye Musi regretted Lu Lishen's fate very much. He wanted to make sure that if he didn't participate this time, he would have to participate in the Linghong Martial Arts Competition, which would be held every five years. He didn't want to be the champion, he just wanted Lu Lishen to be safe.
Ye Musi let go of Lu Lishen's arm and started holding hands. As soon as he took a step, he felt someone pulling him back. He thought that Lu Lishen was angry with him and that he had gone into seclusion again after coming out of seclusion during the New Year, and he blamed himself for not spending enough time with him.
"Ali, stop making trouble." He was really nervous.
"Disciple will not leave. Disciple wants to stay here. Master, please stay with us."
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