Seated at the head of the table was a kind-faced yet dignified old man, presumably the sect leader of the Cloud Soaring Sect. To his left and right sat two others, an old man and a middle-aged man, one an elder and the other a sect steward, the other a middle-aged man, whose identity was unclear. The former was resting with his eyes closed, while the latter was calmly sipping his tea.
Lin Xiuyuan felt a strong pressure emanating from the three of them, and a sense of dread rose uncontrollably from the bottom of his heart.
Undoubtedly, all three are cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage!
Seeing Lin Xiuyuan walk in, Sect Leader Shen looked at him and asked, "You're from the Zhou family's side of the family? You haven't returned to the Zhou family yet, have you?"
"Yes, my name is Lin Xiuyuan. I have some blood relation with the Zhou family, but I am not a member of the Zhou family, only a member of the maternal family."
Lin Xiuyuan replied truthfully with his hands clasped in a gesture of respect.
"Alright, then I will activate the Mind-Testing Array. Stand still and guard your minds!"
Sect Leader Shen said calmly.
It seemed that Lin Xiuyuan was the only one missing. After asking a simple question, he gestured for Lin Xiuyuan to step forward.
Without hesitation, Lin Xiuyuan stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting to the two people beside him, and then saw Sect Leader Shen raise his hand and release a beam of spiritual light.
Instantly, array patterns and spiritual light rose from all directions of the main hall, flickering and emitting various colors of light, illuminating the main hall in a wondrous and mysterious way. Then, mysterious fluctuations appeared and quickly covered the three of them.
...
…………
The previous moment.
Lin Xiuyuan was still seeing strange phenomena appearing in the main hall and feeling a strange fluctuation sweeping over him, before he could figure out what was going on.
However, the next moment.
The space before my eyes shifted and rippled, as if the entire space was being wantonly kneaded and ravaged by an irresistible force, undergoing change.
As the world changed and then suddenly settled, a young and graceful woman appeared in Lin Xiuyuan's eyes, magnified before him, looking at him with a loving smile.
Lin Xiuyuan was startled. The memories deep within him surged up and swept over him like a tide. He couldn't help but raise his hand and find that it had shrunk considerably. Looking down again, he saw that his entire body had shrunk several sizes, making him look like a child.
"This feeling is so real... Is this an illusion?!"
This was the first time Lin Xiuyuan had fallen into an illusion. He thought that with his firm Dao heart and clear mind, he could easily distinguish between illusion and reality.
But at this moment, I can't distinguish the sensations at all; my five senses feel so real.
The memories in my mind were being suppressed, and the events that had happened before, as well as everything that had happened before, became somewhat blurry.
Thus, this memory, this scene, this feeling are magnified to the extreme!
Perhaps it's because this illusion array is too powerful?
Upon realizing this, Lin Xiuyuan calmed his mind and silently recited the mantra.
If Lin Xiuyuan had not already comprehended the Dao Heart and possessed an exceptionally stable soul, he would likely have experienced various illusions at this moment.
Even so, under the immense pressure of the real experience, Lin Xiuyuan could only keep telling himself that he was in an illusion array in order to maintain his composure and prevent himself from succumbing to his emotions and desires.
This scene was from when Lin Cheng was eight years old. He and his wife, Zhou Qin, went out and were subsequently trapped in a demon's lair, disappearing without a trace. This left him an orphan, forcing him to struggle to survive in the city of Beihefang.
"Xiao Yuan, be good. Your mother and father will be going out soon. You must cultivate well at home. We'll bring you something delicious when we come back."
Zhou Qin stroked his head affectionately and said softly.
"Okay, Mother, I will definitely work hard in my cultivation and become stronger as soon as possible so that I can help Father and Mother..."
A tender voice rang out, slowly uttered by Lin Xiuyuan.
His consciousness was clearly in control, but it seemed to be just an illusion. He was powerless to control anything and could only passively make sounds. Everything seemed to proceed according to the scenes in his memory.
This scene felt extremely strange; it was clearly a first-person perspective of his experience, yet it also felt like a third-person perspective of observation...
At this moment.
Lin Cheng, who had just come out of the room, heard his words and a gentle smile appeared on his usually cold and stern face. He walked over, patted his head, and said with a smile, "Good, Xiao Yuan, work hard in your cultivation. We'll be waiting for you to help your parents."
"This storage bag contains several hundred spirit stones; keep it for your emergencies..."
"My parents haven't been gone long, they should be back in a few months. I've already arranged for the restaurant on the street to deliver food to their door every day..."
"There shouldn't be any danger in Beihefang City, but you shouldn't stray too far from here..."
"..."
Zhou Qin reluctantly gave some instructions before slowly walking out the door with Lin Cheng.
At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan stood still, feeling an inexplicable and overwhelming urge to ask them to stay.
It was as if, simply by speaking up, the tragedy could be averted, life could be completely rewritten, and he could grow up with his parents by his side, erasing all those hardships and tribulations...
But Lin Xiuyuan remained calm and suppressed the impulse.
As the door slowly closed, an indescribable sadness welled up from the bottom of his heart, like a tidal wave, assaulting him from all directions, constantly crashing against the barrier in his heart, threatening to completely engulf him.
Lin Xiuyuan remained calm and composed, staring at the tightly closed doorway.
But the space in front of them suddenly changed again in the next moment.
In an instant, it transformed into the underground demon cave of the secret realm. The lifelike Lin Cheng and his wife, just like they had been in the underground demon cave, lay together in front of them, two skeletons.
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