Chapter 78: Fellow villager, please don't expose yourselves!
What? !
Fang Li's face turned pale instantly.
Her biggest secret—her soul from another world, and the system bound to her—is about to be revealed? In this place where she finally found a sense of belonging?
On the high platform, Ye Wuyang spoke indifferently, his voice not loud, yet it drowned out all the noise: "You recognize the things in the sea, why?"
"It wasn't me! I didn't collude with evil spirits!" Fang Li retorted instinctively, but her voice trembled slightly.
She could feel countless gazes piercing her—doubt, disgust, fear, schadenfreude…
"Still trying to deny it!" Qin Meng roared, "If it weren't for the Immortal Venerable's insight, we would still be kept in the dark! What kind of evil means is this so-called 'System'? What are you plotting by infiltrating the Heavenly Evolution Sect!"
“Tongzi is not an evil spirit!” Fang Li blurted out.
The audience erupted in uproar.
"She admitted it!"
"There really is something fishy going on!"
"That thing is called 'Tongzi'? It sounds creepy!"
Su Wanqing's gentle voice rang out, carrying just the right amount of pity: "Junior Sister Fang, if you have any difficulties, speak up, and the sect might be lenient..."
"Difficulties?" Fang Li looked at the doubts written on the faces, some familiar and some unfamiliar, and her heart sank.
What are her hidden troubles? To say she's not from this world? To say she's bound to a quest system originally meant to conquer them? Who would believe that? And what would happen if they did? Would she be burned at the stake as a possessed demon?
Master Qingxuan said with a heavy heart, "Li'er, you...you have disappointed your master too much!"
Even Shen Yunzhou closed his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, "How much of what you said and did was true, and how much was instigated by... the Master?"
Xie Chen waved his jade fan, his smile cold and indifferent: "Interesting. So you're just a puppet controlled by some strange creature? I thought you were an interesting variable."
Ji Qianqiu growled, "Get it out! I'll help you destroy it! You'll still be you!"
Destroyed the system?
Fang Li suddenly took a step back.
No... Although it was a bit noisy and a bit of a liar, it was her only "fellow countryman" in this world, a partner who knew all her secrets and joked around with her.
Without it... she would be utterly alone.
Panic surged up like a tidal wave, almost overwhelming her.
Being rejected, judged, losing everything, and becoming alone again—this was the image she feared most deep within her heart. [“Host! That wasn’t me! Stay calm! Dao Heart! Chaotic Dao Foundation!”] The system cried out frantically. [“This is an illusion! It’s a test of your Dao Heart! Don’t let it lead you astray! Have you forgotten what you’re supposed to do? Survive! Cultivate immortality! Make a fortune! Live a carefree life! Who cares what they think!”]
Survive! Cultivate immortality! Make a fortune! Live a carefree and unrestrained life!
Tongzi's panicked shouts were like a lightning bolt cleaving through the fog.
Yes, she was reborn and finally broke free from the constraints of missions, wasn't that all for this? Are other people's opinions and the sect's views more important than the path she has chosen for herself?
So what if she comes from another world? So what if she has a system? Although the system is silly, it has never harmed her; on the contrary, it has helped her a lot.
The Chaos Spiritual Root is hers, the power is hers, and the choices are hers!
Why should they be put on trial?
An indescribable anger welled up from the bottom of my heart, dispelling the panic.
She took a deep breath, straightened her back, and glanced at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces on the platform and the dark mass of people below.
Her voice became clearer, carrying a kind of resigned optimism: "Yes, there is something in my mind called Tongzi. It talks a lot, is annoying, and always messes things up. I'm not exactly a native either. But so what?"
She pointed to her heart: "I, Fang Li, have done what I believe in and have been true to myself. I have never harmed anyone! I came to the Tianyan Sect just to cultivate immortality properly, so what? Is that a problem? Who am I bothering?"
"Whether you believe it or not," she scoffed, with a hint of sarcasm, "is none of my business!"
The moment she finished speaking, the dormant Chaos Dao Foundation within her body suddenly roared! An overwhelming power surged from her dantian, flowing through her limbs and bones, cleansing every inch of her meridians, and finally rushing straight into her sea of consciousness!
Buzz—!
A chaotic spiritual light erupted from her body, instantly distorting and tearing apart the entire plaza!
The illusion vanished like shattered glass.
Almost at the same moment Fang Li broke through the illusion, other trial spaces were also witnessing their own battles of self-examination.
Shen Yunzhou stood atop a towering ice cliff, with countless broken swords beneath his feet, each representing a possible wrong path he might take on the path of swordsmanship.
The cold almost froze his soul, but he gripped his natal sword tightly, his sword heart clear, shattering all illusions: "My path is only the sword, and it will advance without hesitation!"
Xie Chen found himself in an endless chessboard, facing countless indistinct "opponents," each move pointing to a future he had meticulously planned but which ultimately failed.
He chuckled lightly, fanning himself, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes: "Empty? Does a failed scheme mean emptiness? Wrong. An interesting process makes it not empty." With a light tap of his jade fan, the chessboard crumbled.
Ji Qianqiu was trapped in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. His violent fighting spirit almost devoured his reason, and countless demonic "selves" roared and tempted him in his ears.
He roared and shattered the demonic shadow with a punch: "Power is power! I'll use it to protect those I want to protect and to walk the path I want to walk! Demon my ass!"
Chu Yunfan stood on a patch of scorched earth, before him lay wounded patients in dire need of treatment and the Nine-Turn Spirit Pill, which was about to be completed but required his heart's blood as a catalyst.
His eyes were clear, and without hesitation he walked toward the wounded and destroyed all the materials for the elixir: "The way of alchemy is to save the world. To put the cart before the horse is not my way."
As the chaotic light gradually subsided, Fang Li found herself standing in an incomparably magnificent hall.
The palace roof is high and far, stretching as far as the eye can see, as if it connects to the starry sky.
Huge, coiled dragon-shaped stone pillars stand all around, the ground is paved with cool, jade-like black stone, and the air is filled with an ancient and desolate atmosphere.
Before she could take a closer look, lights began to appear one after another around her.
Shen Yunzhou appeared first, still carrying the lingering chilling sword intent. When he saw Fang Li, his eyes flickered slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but then he pursed his lips.
Next was Xie Chen, who still had that gentle and refined demeanor, but his face was slightly pale, and the frequency of his jade fan waving was a little slower.
Ji Qianqiu practically stumbled out, his black clothes disheveled, panting heavily as if he'd just finished a thrilling fight. The moment he saw Fang Li, he strode over: "Are you alright?"
As the lights began to flash, Chu Yunfan and several other disciples from other sects appeared one after another.
The group exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting weariness, enlightenment, and a hint of barely concealed wariness and complexity after the ordeal.
The hall was completely silent, with only the soft breathing of the people inside.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the scene in the very center of the hall.
Three things, silently suspended in mid-air, exuding completely different auras!
On the left is a jade slip, pure white with a surface that shimmers with a water-like glow. Countless tiny, illusory runes swirl and dance around the jade slip, as if recording the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.
In the center is a bronze alchemy furnace with three legs and two handles, featuring an ancient and simple design. The furnace body is covered with mysterious cloud patterns and animal-shaped reliefs. The lid is tightly closed, yet faint wisps of rosy light emanate from it, exuding a rich aroma of plant essence, as if it contains the inexhaustible power of creation.
On the right is a... broken jade hairpin.
The jade hairpin was entirely emerald green, crystal clear, and the head of the hairpin was carved with a lifelike blue phoenix spreading its wings as if about to take flight.
However, the hairpin broke in the middle, the cut smooth, as if severed by a sharp blade. Although broken, the aura emanating from this jade hairpin was the most peculiar! It lacked the vastness of a jade slip or the grandeur of a pill furnace, instead exuding an indescribable sorrow, resolve, and a faint sense of protection.
The blue phoenix on the hairpin still had a faint light in its eyes, giving it a spiritual quality.
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