Chapter 476 The Secret Within the Clam Shell
"A mountain that exists between reality and illusion?" Zhang Yan was full of questions. "When did you become a philosopher?"
In his view, things are either illusory or real; there is no such thing as something that is neither real nor illusory, but both real and illusory.
Meng Qingyin didn't explain much, because she herself didn't know what this "Mirage Mountain" was all about.
"Try it yourself," she said to Zhang Yan. "You'll know once you try it."
Zhang Yan took a few steps forward and listened carefully. He could indeed hear very clear birdsong, and the fragrance of flowers also wafted over.
The feeling was so real that Zhang Yan said with absolute certainty, "I am very sure that this mountain is real."
"Try again to see if you can get into the mountains," Meng Qingyin said, pointing to a winding path at his feet.
Zhang Yan stepped forward, exclaiming, "I'll definitely get in... Ah!"
He stepped into the air and suddenly lost his balance, tilting to the side.
Meng Qingyin steadied him firmly, "How are you? How do you feel now?"
Zhang Yan stared at the rugged path, muttering to himself, "Strange, this path looks so real, yet it doesn't actually exist? What exactly is this existence that seems both real and illusory?"
Meng Qingyin: "The compass indicates that the gear is located in this Mirage Mountain. Moreover, it is highly likely that the gear only exists in Mirage Mountain."
To get the gears, you have to go into the mountains.
But there was no way to get into the mountains. The paths looked rugged and real, but in reality they were illusory and untouchable.
Lu Cheng: "Then how do we get into the mountains?"
No one could answer the question, and the atmosphere became tense.
"Do you know what causes mirages?" Chen Leying suddenly asked.
Fei Qiu quickly answered, "I know that. A mirage is an optical phenomenon caused by the refraction and reflection of light. The ancients believed it was the breath exhaled by a mirage, also known as mirage air. In reality, it is just some ethereal and intangible thing."
Zhang Yan looked at Chen Leying with a puzzled expression: "You suspect that this mountain is actually a mirage? But if it is a mirage, why can we smell the fragrance of flowers and hear birds singing?"
Meng Qingyin lowered her head in thought, "Wan Shen Shan, mirage..." She suddenly looked up at Chen Leying, "I understand, Wan Shen Shan is a mirage, but it does indeed exist!"
Zhang Yan was completely confused: "Huh? What are you talking about? I'm understanding less and less."
"Mirages are essentially the refraction and reflection of light; the images they present are real!"
Meng Qingyin continued to explain, "In other words, the Mirage Mountain we see is not just an illusion; it also truly exists. The reason we can smell the flowers and hear the birdsong is because the real Mirage Mountain is right here within this illusion! There must be a place here that connects the real and the illusory. As long as we find that place, we can enter the Mirage Mountain!"
Zhang Yan was completely confused, but that didn't stop him from admiring Meng Qingyin: "I don't understand it, but it sounds very impressive."
Meng Qingyin: "What we need to do next is split up and search for that special place!"
Everyone was a doer; once they had a clear goal, they immediately split up and took action.
After searching for about half an hour, Fei Qiu made a discovery.
Everyone gathered at Fei Qiu's place.
Fei Qiu pointed to a patch of bushes and said, "These bushes are real; they should be that special connection point."
Zhang Yan reached out and plucked a handful from the bushes. Sure enough, he touched the bushes; the cool leaves felt real and refreshing to the touch.
"Then let's go into the mountains!" Zhang Yan said, carefully stepping into the bushes and clearing a path for the group with his body.
After passing through this thicket of bushes, the view suddenly opened up, transforming from a semi-transparent illusion into something truly real.
The cool air from the mountains and the shady trees instantly dispelled the heat from everyone's bodies.
The towering trees all around, the vines clinging to them, the bushes everywhere, the fallen leaves and branches on the ground, and the streams that meander through the trees and bushes—everything is real.
Taking advantage of the absence of direct sunlight, Night Peach Blossom and the other Night Demons also removed their cloaks—yes, they had followed them into the mountains. However, since they maintained their Night Demon forms, whether they wore cloaks or not was irrelevant.
"It's so cool in the mountains!" Zhang Yan exclaimed sincerely. "I wish I could live here forever."
"There are too many snakes, insects, rats and ants in the mountains. You won't be used to living there. You should hurry up and find the gears." Meng Qingyin looked at the compass, which was covered with densely packed small green dots.
"Everyone, search carefully. The compass shows that the gears are nearby, and there are quite a few of them," Meng Qingyin said loudly. "However, it's still unclear whether the gears are in the supply boxes, so please search carefully."
The group immediately split up and searched carefully.
Suddenly, Night Peach Blossom cried out, "Ah! Something has bitten my foot!"
At the same time, a rushing sound of water could be heard.
When Meng Qingyin turned around, she saw that Ye Taohua's ugly face was full of terror. He was hopping frantically from the stream to the riverbank on one foot, while his other foot was being tightly clamped by a large clam.
Before Meng Qingyin could react, the Night Demons swarmed over to watch the spectacle.
"Hahaha, Night Peach Blossom, you're such a disgrace! You actually got bitten by a little clam and were squealing all over the place."
"See that rock over there? If you kick it hard, the clam shell will break."
"Hahaha, Peach Blossom became a cripple after that night."
"Listen to me, Night Peach Blossom, quickly start a fire and roast the clam shells so we can eat roasted clam meat. Oh dear, I forgot that our clan doesn't like to eat meat..."
"You are so cruel! The little clam was a living being too! Why did you kill it? Couldn't you have asked Night Peach Blossom to saw off its leg?"
"Hahaha, Night Peach Blossom, you'd better pray for yourself."
Everyone: "..." This is truly a case of one place being in trouble while others add to the chaos.
Night Peach Blossom was in so much pain that her eyes were brimming with tears, or perhaps she was angered by her clansmen; in any case, she cried her eyes out.
Meng Qingyin couldn't bear it, so she stepped forward and forcefully pried open the large clam shell, freeing Ye Taohua from inside.
Ye Taohua was so moved that she wanted to repay him with her body on the spot, but Meng Qingyin said that it was wrong to repay kindness with enmity, which stopped Ye Taohua from repaying her kindness.
However, when Meng Qingyin was about to throw away the clam shell, she unexpectedly discovered a metallic object wrapped inside the white clam meat.
On a whim, she reached out and took the thing out; it turned out to be a gear!
Who would have thought that gears were hidden inside a clam shell?
Upon this discovery, the group immediately began searching along the stream, their goal clear: to find clam shells in the water.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com