Chapter 17
The exact same scene, the exact same plot. Why do we have to do it all over again?!
What kind of infinite loop is this? Or is it a bizarre story? Xie Wen: Oh, I see, so we're not in an illusionary instance, but an infinite loop instance?
After the flower demon's eerie laughter faded, the three of them found themselves in the same desolate wilderness, with few pedestrians and a bleak landscape. However, Xie Wen discovered a blind spot: if this instance was an infinite loop, then all the scenes should be exactly the same as the last one.
But this time, the beggars sharing the steamed buns by the roadside were gone, and the old man who carried the corpse to the Green Lamp Forest never appeared again.
In other words, it is not an infinite loop.
But they did come back here.
Chu Xianyue said that there was something wrong with the illusion last time, and that they suffered real harm. This suggests that the illusion was very likely not an illusion at all, but something that actually happened in reality.
Xie Wen felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of this. She turned around and glared at Chu Xianyue, only to find that he hadn't put a cooling talisman on her. The chill was actually coming from the Green Lamp Forest.
Chu Xianyue, who was glared at for no reason, was speechless.
Chu Xianyue said calmly, "If it wasn't an illusion, then we did indeed kill the flower demon last time. That would perfectly match what it just said."
Xie Wen said, "Yes, what that flower fairy said just now was very meaningful. She said, 'It's the three of you again. You didn't expect that, did you? I didn't die. I'm alive again.' This means that she not only remembers what happened in the illusion last time, but she really did die once."
But how exactly did it come back to life? Who saved it?
Xie Wen came to an even more chilling conclusion: "In other words, there is something else in this illusionary instance besides the flower fairy."
Chu Xianyue hummed in response. His lack of emotion indicated that he had already guessed these things and understood them perfectly well.
Yun Yan gave Xie Wen a complicated look of surprise; he hadn't expected this at all. He and Xie Wen seemed to be on completely different wavelengths. Only after Xie Wen finished speaking did he realize, "Oh, so that's what happened?" He had truly thought it was just another loop in a simple illusionary instance.
While Yun Yan was surprised to hear "So that's how it is," her feelings also became more complicated. On the one hand, she tried her best to save face, thinking to herself, "Oh, isn't that how it is? I thought of that too."
Yun Yan remained silent this time. Adhering to the principle that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make, he kept quiet, trying to cover up his lack of intelligence. He obediently followed Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue back into the secluded forest with its green lamps.
It is known that this secluded forest is very strange. All the surrounding objects, flowers, trees and plants are moving. The only thing that remains unchanged is the flower fairy's true form, which is also the foundation of this secluded forest.
Now that she knows her weaknesses and secrets have been discovered by the enemy, the flower fairy will certainly not hide her true form in the dark forest like she did last time.
"Do you think I'm stupid? You want to use the same methods on me as last time? No way." The flower fairy's voice rang out again in the secluded forest at just the right moment.
Xie Wen chuckled softly, "Then you'd better hide your true form well this time. We'll come find you after we count to three."
Flower Fairy: Judging from this tone, it seems like the prey being toyed with isn't them, but it?
Chu Xianyue glanced at Xie Wen with a surprised look. Xie Wen scratched his head and whispered, "Since we're already here, we should make a big show of it. I think this flower demon is actually quite cute. This is just a temporary measure to deflate its arrogance."
Chu Xianyue: I knew she was just putting on an act; she actually did it convincingly.
Before officially entering the secluded forest, Chu Xianyue raised his hand and cast a spell on the three of them, the Thousand Knots. A red spiritual light appeared leisurely, wrapping around the three of them like a red thread. Finally, Xie Wen looked down and saw a faint red thread on his wrist.
The Thousand Knots spell allows those bound by it to find each other, no matter where they go. Unless the other person dies, the red thread will not break as long as the spell remains.
Chu Xianyue's left hand was connected to Yun Yan by a red thread, while his right hand was connected to Xie Wen. Xie Wen and Yun Yan, in turn, each had their hands connected to two other people.
Xie Wen curiously lifted the red thread connecting her to Chu Xianyue, wanting to see if he would sense anything. She observed Chu Xianyue's expression, but Chu Xianyue didn't even glance at Xie Wen, and said calmly, "Stop playing around. This isn't for you to play with."
Xie Wen chuckled, "Such a good thing, you should have brought it out earlier. That way I wouldn't have disappeared into thin air and been possessed by a flower demon last time."
Chu Xianyue: "I taught you this spell before, but you just forgot it."
Xie Wen scratched her head. "Really?" Actually, it wasn't that she had forgotten, but rather that Chu Xianyue hadn't taught her at all.
Chu Xianyue's eyes narrowed, and his tone turned cold. "You better watch out this time. You'd better not repeat what you said last time!" Such absurd things are enough once or twice. If it happens again, Chu Xianyue will really be spitting blood.
Xie Wen didn't take it to heart. "Don't worry, I won't hold you back this time. But to be honest, last time we were able to get out of the illusion so quickly because I lured out the flower demon, right? So I'm not really holding you back."
Chu Xianyue: "..." He stopped arguing with Xie Wen. He would never tell Xie Wen that the flower fairy was after him.
She came here hoping to cultivate with him.
However, it ended up entering Xie Wen's body, which is why things became so absurd and complicated.
He could have crushed the flower demon with a single palm strike, but it clung to Xie Wen and refused to come down, so Chu Xianyue had no choice but to play with it underwater for a long time.
Xie Wen has become arrogant... Chu Xianyue sighed, unsure what to say. He would absolutely not explain this matter.
Xie Wen: "This time, do we just need to kill the flower demon again, like last time?"
Chu Xianyue's gaze swept past the deep and unfathomable forest of green lanterns, and he said in a deep voice, "Perhaps it's not that simple."
The three entered the secluded forest as before, wandering around it, unable to find a way out.
Xie Wen was tired from walking. Continuing would just be a pointless exercise of going in circles. She took a breath and asked, "What do we do now?"
As he spoke, Xie Wen suddenly roared towards the sky, which was shrouded in darkness, "Flower demon, if you have the guts, come out and fight me fair and square! Whatever you want, we'll give it to you."
Yun Yan scoffed, about to mock Xie Wen for being incredibly naive, thinking he could really summon the flower fairy just by calling out a few words like that? How incredibly naive!
To everyone's surprise, the next second, the flower fairy's haunting voice truly echoed from all directions within the Green Lantern Forest, "Alright, little beauty, I've been waiting just the right time. Will you give me whatever I want?"
The flower fairy knew they had arrived the moment they stepped into this illusion again. Moreover, the flower fairy's voice had been heard when they entered the secluded forest. Perhaps the flower fairy had been watching them all along. That's why Xie Wen shouted like that.
It turns out it really was right beside me.
However, unlike last time when she cautiously hid and refused to show herself for a long time, this little flower fairy was quite bold this time, openly following them around.
Could it be that they've taken thorough precautions this time, or do they know something? That's why they're so fearless.
However, it seemed to have its eye on something among the three of them, so it had to take advantage of that. Xie Wen said, "Of course, you can have whatever you want. We're on your turf now, so you can do whatever you want with us."
The flower demon sneered, "Little beauty, you have a sweet tongue. Last time, it was that black-hearted immortal next to you who promised to spare my life, but what happened? As soon as I came out of the little beauty's body, he went back on his word. Black-hearted bastard. I won't let you get away with this. I won't fall for your tricks this time."
Xie Wen glanced at Chu Xianyue, who remained completely unfazed. What a heartless bastard. For the first time, he realized he actually shared the same thoughts as this enchantress. Of course, he was a heartless bastard.
Chu Xianyue said quietly, "You agree with what it said?"
Xie Wen: "How dare I? That's utter nonsense."
Actually, Xie Wen really wanted to tell the flower fairy that since they had agreed to only not let Chu Xianyue go, they couldn't stop not letting her go either.
Chu Xianyue's face darkened; his patience had run out. He no longer wanted to play games with the flower fairy. He had hoped to find some other tricks in this illusion. But after walking in the forest for so long, Chu Xianyue immediately realized that this forest was exactly the same as the one he had last time.
Nothing has changed, meaning the flower fairy's true form is still hiding in the same place as before. This is highly suspicious. And it seems so unconcerned, showing no fear or worry whatsoever.
However, Chu Xianyue could not find anything else suspicious in the forest. He could only suppress the strange feeling in his heart, grit his teeth, find the motionless flower demon's body, and, just like last time, slash at the huge green lantern fruit with his sword.
Just as the sword energy slashed past, everything went blank. A white light burst open before their eyes, followed by a feeling of weightlessness. When they opened their eyes again, they were back beneath the massive array at Little Mirror Lake. Before the white light flashed, they heard the flower fairy's voice, its echo lingering in their ears, "Hahahahahahahahahahaha... You don't actually think I'm that stupid, do you? Naive! You can't kill me. As long as my master is here, you can forget about it."
Chu Xianyue took a deep breath. Although slightly disappointed, it was within his expectations. All the unusual circumstances indicated that this illusion was not simple. If it were really so easy to break the illusion and the formation, then something strange would happen, and that would be truly terrifying.
Chu Xianyue quickly recovered and looked up at the golden array above Little Mirror Lake again, raising his sword.
Xie Wen swayed slightly upon landing, thinking they had successfully broken the illusion, only to be told by Chu Xianyue that they had failed. But thinking about it, it certainly wasn't that simple. Given the circumstances, they had no choice but to take the gamble.
It was just a wrong bet.
Half the sky was covered in golden arrays, rotating in a cycle. Even the white spiritual energy of Little Mirror Lake could be seen being drawn into the arrays, forming a strange operating pattern.
It's just unknown how long Xiaojing Lake can hold on.
This matter must not be known to the rest of the sect. It would cause chaos and disorder.
Chu Xianyue raised his hand and cast a spell above the entire formation, silently concealing the massive formation under the bright sunlight.
To outsiders, the mountains are still mountains, the water is still water, and there are only clear skies and white clouds above Little Mirror Lake; there is no such thing as a golden formation.
Since things have come to this point, this is the only thing we can do before breaking the formation.
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