Chapter 40 Between Strength and Weakness, a Azure Dragon Lies in the Sea, Gazing Upon the Human World
40
“I hate you too,” she said.
Ever since acquiring the evil title of "Centipede Giant Insect," Miao Jue's villainous smile has become increasingly skillful.
Chen Jinshi's arm around her stiffened. He looked up at her expression, a glimmer of light appearing amidst her despair and sorrow. "Are you imitating me?"
"Do you like this?"
"Yes or no?"
It looks like a chattering bird.
“…That’s not the point,” Miao Jue said, her face tense, pointing into the distance. “The important thing is that Dongfang Yaotian is about to start exerting his power.”
The illusory street scene is a manifestation of the will of the powerful beings within, but everything the chosen ones encounter is part of their tribulation. After entering the fog, the closer the two get to the Langhuan Immortal Court, the more they will be affected.
Seemingly influenced by others' marriages, Dongfang Yaotian fell into a kind of hallucination. The tribulations of fate and love resonated strongly within him, causing him to mistakenly believe that the bride sitting in the bridal sedan chair was Gong Yuqiu.
Dongfang Yaotian, his eyes bloodshot, stood in the middle of the road, knife in hand. The surrounding vendors scattered in fear, a scene so realistic it made him even more captivated. He stumbled into the procession, about to pull back the bride's sedan chair curtain—
"Qiu'er, is it you? Why did you betray me!"
The sedan bearers immediately reached out to stop them, reacting as if they were real people, pushing and shoving, "Hey, hey, who are you? What are you doing?!"
Chen Jinshi stood with his arms crossed, watching with a sense of superiority that seemed to emanate from somewhere, and a knowing, ambiguous smile crept onto his lips.
In their youth, they were witnessed by Cang San.
Thunder and Wood Azure Dragon, their fate is equal to that of Heaven.
Cang San, that old relic, is the most impartial; things he has witnessed will not be changed.
Dongfang Yaotian, blocked by the sedan bearers, finally erupted in fury: "I am her Daoist partner! Remember my name! Dong—Fang—"
The moment this surname was uttered, the entire city streets and alleys began to tremble, as if some forbidden word had been touched. The sedan chair bearers rushed forward with alarm, calling out to those around them:
"Stop him! This man is insane!"
System notification: "A heart-wrenching moment has occurred. The male lead gets lost in the fog and mistakenly believes that the female lead is marrying someone else. He is enraged and attacks, but this triggers a backlash from the entire virtual world. After being seriously injured, he is finally rescued by the female lead who arrives in time. However, the two are caught in a heart-wrenching misunderstanding due to the mix of truth and falsehood!"
"etc?"
Miao Jue suddenly realized what was happening and grabbed Chen Jinshi's sleeve. "No, you did this on purpose??"
After realizing that he was the strongest one to interfere with the illusory changes after entering the fog, he mobilized his consciousness to generate a scenario most suitable for the male and female protagonists' tragic love, and let them act it out themselves. This is exactly what the big villain is best at.
The handsome young man in white remained silent.
He stroked her fingertips inscrutably, then placed them in his palm. "No, I'm just really curious."
The key: "I don't believe it."
Dust settled, and she clutched her chest in sorrow.
The light from the Netherbone Blade illuminated the surroundings.
The "diners" in the nearby tavern immediately screamed and scattered for their lives, and the street suddenly became chaotic.
Fuji rushed forward first and caught Dongfang Yaotian's sword, but the Qilin Fire was unusually restrained, not showing any of its power.
Seeing this, Miao Jue quickly ran forward a few steps, "Second brother, be careful not to let him attack the illusion, we still need him to find the Fog Eye—"
In the original storyline, Dongfang Yaotian attacked the illusionary realm in a frenzy and was then attacked by the fog.
The purpose of Langhuan Immortal Court in maintaining this "high wall" is to prevent inferior people from outside from defiling the immortal realm. Once an intruder enters the fog and begins to attack, every blade of grass, every tree, and every dummy that appears here will launch a counterattack to eliminate the outsider.
"What's the panic?" Chen Jinshi grabbed her and pulled her back to his side, lowering his eyes. "See that knife in Dongfang Yaotian's hand? It can't be touched, don't worry."
Miao Jue also knew that the Nether Bone that was originally offered up in the Heavenly Evolution Secret Treasury was originally Chi Hu Feng Si, but he secretly replaced it with his own bones.
Therefore, the important tool in the protagonist's hands, which was destined to help him overcome his tribulations, was always under the control of the villain.
Miao Jue felt slightly relieved and focused her attention back on what she had seen after tracing back through the fog.
The two stood under the eaves of a tree by the roadside. Chen Jinshi glanced at her several times, muttering to himself with dissatisfaction, "...knowing who's the strongest here, why don't you stick close?"
Dust settled as he pinched her finger bones, for those destined for new love tribulations would find that the sapling would grow.
If he were to break through to a new level of spiritual bone here, he would have to keep a close eye on it, since he was getting closer and closer to the Heavenly Bone.
Miaojue shook off his hand, opened her palm, and showed him the faint bluish-gray light on her fingertip. "This is from the fog."
She always felt that it was like something had been ground into powder.
Chen Jinshi casually lowered his eyes, glanced at her, and suddenly paused.
Then his expression slowly changed.
His breathing suddenly slowed, his eyes shifted rapidly, and he suddenly understood something. He smirked, but the laughter was barely a complete sound.
When he looked up at his surroundings again, his peach blossom eyes were filled with hatred and disgust.
He's angry.
Too much anger has been buried for a century, and now they can even joke about themselves, comparing the thickness of the Immortal Binding Chains, and talking about how they were swallowed by blood.
Approaching Langhuan so easily ignites the anger that has been suppressed in his heart.
Dust settled, and bloodstained fingertips began to tap the compass, sometimes deeply, sometimes shallowly.
Miao Jue unconsciously clenched her fingertips.
Bu Er and Fei Lai Xian Ba together subdued Dongfang Yaotian, who was causing a ruckus at the bridal sedan chair. The sedan chair bearers even bowed in thanks, their faces displaying lifelike expressions and muscles.
Fuji's gentle expression grew even more melancholy as he gently pressed down on the child from the Eastern family, saying, "Wake up."
Dongfang Yaotian suddenly burst into wild laughter: "I knew it! Because I am the strongest person in this fog, you all came for me, didn't you?!"
"I don't care!"
"This is the price that the strong must pay!"
Dongfang Yaotian couldn't distinguish between real and fake people at all. His blood surged, and he swung his sword to start the fight.
However, no matter what he did, he couldn't infuse the knife in his hand with spiritual power, turning it into a lifeless piece of scrap iron.
"Why! Why!" Dongfang Yaotian's eyes were filled with rage, and with his last strike, he turned sharply downwards and slashed at the ground.
Chen Jinshi's expression changed instantly, and he immediately used his blood control to freeze Dongfang Yaotian.
Fuji tried to catch the blade with his palm, but Dongfang Yaotian, exhausted, flung the blade away, and it crashed to the ground with a clang.
"Boom—" The entire illusory street shook.
The sound was not like the shaking of a huge object hitting the ground, but rather like the trembling of someone being stabbed and shuddering in pain.
The bustling city fell silent in an instant.
The vendors fanning themselves by the stalls, the tea in the long-spouted copper kettles in the teahouse, the swaying sedan chairs—all the moving things were frozen in place, as if they had been frozen in time.
Then, all eyes suddenly turned to one point—
A young man in white standing with his arms crossed under the shade of a tree.
The ingenious method was astonishing.
Oh no, they've started their counterattack.
Everything here is a manifestation of the spiritual world of the strongest being in the mist. The underlying logic that backfires on the intruders is to concentrate attacks on the strongest being first.
After eliminating the strongest one, the second strongest one becomes the strongest, and then the attack continues in a concentrated manner—until all intruders are completely wiped out.
In an instant, all the sedan chair bearers banging drums and gongs, the tall groom on horseback, and even the bride sitting in the sedan chair suddenly grabbed whatever was at hand and pounced on Chen Jinshi with flashing swords.
Dust settled, and he lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes meeting Bu Er's light gold pupils.
Evil and good, black and white, two pairs of completely different eyes, yet the same state of mind.
My heart was churning with turmoil, yet I couldn't move.
Because everything here is formed from the fog... From the blue bricks of buildings to a single leaf, everything is a dim speck of dust seen after the secret technique is traced back.
Dust settled, and she moved. She delivered the secret technique to Zhu Jiu's side, dodged the wooden planks that were about to hit him, avoided the boiling water splashed from the copper kettle, and twirled her white dress around once.
"Ling Qi, Xian Ba, Gong Yuqiu is ten miles to the southwest. Go find Wuyan."
The bluish-white light and silver stream vanished instantly.
The secret was hidden behind Zhu Jiu's tall back, as he stared blankly at Chen Jinshi dodging left and right in the crowd.
He was clearly furious, more furious than ever before, but for the first time he suppressed his anger and did not take any action, not daring to harm the illusion in the slightest.
It seemed that an answer was about to be revealed, but because of the heartache, the second brother and the others kept quiet about it.
The secret lies in gathering the palm of your hand to hold the invisible mist.
As a dozen or so scissors, axes, and brooms simultaneously struck the young man in white, a distant rumble of thunder illuminated a small patch of the sky.
It was completely different from the lightning of the Thunder God of Langhuan, which was weak and powerless.
A mournful dragon's roar echoed from the clouds.
That's a dragon.
The dragon rises from the heavens, summoning wind and rain; its clear roar is like thunder striking the earth, causing the world to surge.
But this dragon's roar was so mournful, like the waving of an old man, a greeting, and a farewell.
Long time no see, but don't worry about me.
Chen Jinshi suddenly closed his eyes.
The mist that flowed back from the palm of the magic technique transformed into a drizzle of light, each speck of dust trembling slightly in response to the dragon's roar before drifting to the ground.
...scale powder.
Dragon scales turned to powder.
Miao Jue suddenly understood why Lang Huan could so easily let them enter the fog and head straight for the Celestial Court, and why the fog clearing at Chen Shi was not hindered at all.
This high wall and sea fog were originally designed to block the Netherworld Clan.
Because this thick fog is Cang San...
Fighting back against anything in the fog only hurts him.
He has turned into countless dust particles, silently enduring a hundred years of oblivion.
A dragon lies in the sea, gazing upon the human world.
…
The giant bell with zero rings tolled three times.
Beyond its mysterious jade dial, which resembles the universe, lush and verdant wildflowers grow in clusters.
What happens on the outer ring road will not disturb this garden of God.
This place is so far, so far away from the fog, it feels like a hundred years have passed.
Beneath the giant bell is a long bench, its hem covered in vibrant white petals, and a man holding a yellowed copy of "The Law of Causality" touches a word on an old page with his fingertips.
--"only"
He stroked the word, his voice low and refined, his tone almost a whisper, "The only one... the children you've been waiting for have arrived."
"You seem to have done a lot, but whose plans can last for a hundred years? Time is the most powerless thing."
His fingertips landed on the delicate and beautiful petals. With a gentle touch, the flower withered from the roots, but in an instant, it was restored to its original state, as if the passage of time was just an illusion.
The fingertip paused for a moment, then snapped off the slender flower stem.
Petals fell softly onto the pages of the book on causality, which the man then slammed shut.
“I often feel sorrow because of your kindness, generosity, and warmth.” He looked up at the sunlight, the word “East” printed on the waistband of his flower-embroidered robe.
But it's the only one.
Only by ceasing to be human can one become a god or an immortal.
…
Miaojue stood there, bewildered, at the end of the long street.
The clock in her mind flickered, and the vast sky above her head suddenly filled her with intense grief and anger.
In a fleeting moment, fragments of memories surfaced in her mind. She remembered Uncle Cang San's silent and peaceful expression, and how, despite being the one with the most serious face, they were never afraid to offend him when they were young.
I remember him building a thatched hut for the girl to live in alone, I remember him bringing the rarest storybooks from the mountain valley, I remember him later tapping the teenage boy's head and telling him he had to think things through before saying those kinds of things—
What did you say?
The ingenious idea was pulled back to the present moment.
Chen Jinshi dodged the dozens of hands rushing towards him, and several bloody marks appeared on his body.
Bu Er, Gui Liu, and Zhu Jiu tried their best to divert the attacks that were concentrated on the white-robed youth. These giant beasts, which possessed divine power, were unable to fight back and appeared extremely disheveled.
The thick fog was invisible and traceless, yet their people were trapped in this air.
The secret was firmly grasped in his palm.
...Use the Netherworld race to trap and kill the Netherworld race.
This is the best and most impenetrable wall surrounding Langhuan Immortal Court.
Dust was torn apart by countless hands, and after a few leaps, it landed on the eaves of a small building and slowly laughed.
He has another idea.
His gaze slowly turned to Dongfang Yaotian, who was staggering in the crowd.
Just then, Xianba and Lingqi returned with Gong Yuqiu. She was also affected by the Heavenly Tribulation of Love, and her eyes were blank. She only came to her senses when she saw Dongfang Yaotian and rushed to him anxiously.
Without even thinking, even if the system didn't say it, Miaojue knew exactly how this angst would develop.
After being overwhelmed by the illusion, the male protagonist finally realized that everything was an illusion. However, the female protagonist just happened to arrive to save him. The male protagonist immediately mistook the female protagonist for an illusion and slashed the real female protagonist with a knife!
Dongfang Yaotian turned his head and saw Gong Yuqiu flying through the air. Sure enough, he smiled coldly and swung his knife at her without hesitation.
Miaojue quickly shouted to Xiaoqi, "Give him a kick, quick!"
Without hesitation, Ling Qi kicked him away.
Gong Yuqiu thought it was an illusion attacking Dongfang Yaotian, and immediately cried out in distress, "Yaotian, Yaotian, are you alright? I've found the Fog Eye. It's all fake. Once we unravel the Fog Eye, we can enter the real Langhuan!"
Miao Jue continued, "Did you hear that?"
Ling Qi and Xian Ba exchanged a glance, then immediately flew back with Gong Yuqiu on their backs.
Gong Yuqiu struggled to break free from them, but she couldn't escape these two seemingly ordinary people at all. "Let go, let me go, Yaotian!"
The angst is easy to handle.
The system then announced that the test had passed.
The spirit bone slowly grew longer, and with a magical technique, it flipped over and climbed onto the roof.
The difficult problem is dealing with the person in front of you.
Chen Jinshi's fingertips had already subtly lifted, and under the control of Mingxue, Dongfang Yaotian, who was lying on the ground, stood up unsteadily.
With a smile in his peach blossom eyes, Chen Jinshi looked at all the "illusions" and "fake people" around him.
"Still acting, everyone?"
The pupils of all the vendors, sedan chair bearers, brides, and grooms flickered slightly, and there was a moment of hesitation when the chosen one was taken into control.
"The immortals of Langhuan are playing the role of commoners in this fog," Chen Jinshi said casually, tapping his compass with a smirk. "As expected of the upper class of the Celestial Court, you really have a lot of leisure time."
The air fell silent for a moment.
The crowd exchanged a slow, deep glance, and then a powerful male voice emanated from the bride in her bright red wedding dress:
“Ming Shi, you should be able to see that—”
"We are merely borrowing souls here; our bodies are but bodies in the mist."
The scene was quite bizarre; considering that Dongfang Yaotian had just been yelling at the bride, it was almost an inappropriate display of humor.
In other words, it wasn't them who attacked him, but the fog.
They simply follow cause and effect, without interfering with it.
Chen Jinshi nodded sweetly, "Of course, otherwise I would have killed you all long ago."
The immortals exchanged glances, their eyes filled with anger.
Having lived a carefree life in Langhuan for a century, looking down upon the mortal world, he faced for the first time the arrogant and disrespectful malice of Ming Shi.
The Underworld Clan are nothing but beasts.
Among the true immortals hidden beneath the illusory figures are the clan immortals of the three families of Wind, Thunder, and Rain from last time. They died and were shattered to pieces outside, all because of this person in front of them!
No more hesitation, this is the perfect time!
Both the Fire Qilin and the Golden Crow were here, yet they were unable to retaliate against the illusion.
The dense fog illusion will automatically attack the strongest person, killing the Golden Crow first, then the Fire Qilin!
As Chen Jinshi raised his fingertips, a hand suddenly grabbed them in a hurry.
His fingertips paused slightly, and he turned his head to meet the girl's bright eyes.
The expert clearly understood what he was trying to do.
This stalemate is difficult to break because they are unwilling to fight amongst themselves with the fog. There is only one way: to redirect the attack to others. But how can he, as the Golden Crow in his prime, be weaker than others?
Chen Jinshi rubbed his fingertips together, looking somewhat guilty as he avoided eye contact.
But he clearly saw in Miao Jue a destructive method:
Like the Azure Dragon, he also shattered his own bones into countless dust particles and poured them into Dongfang Yaotian, turning him into an invincible powerhouse.
In this way, one is both controlled by his Nether Bone and able to transfer damage.
How could Langhuan possibly harm their precious chosen ones?
Miaojue held him tightly and said quickly, "Would Uncle Cang San want to see you like him?"
The dust settled and silence was lingered for a moment.
What should we do then?
Besides making myself feel the same pain, how else can I resist this guilt?
Miao Jue stared at her own spiritual bones. Just now, she had grown to the ninth level of the Earth Rank.
Back then, Gong Yuqiu's senior brother, Mei Zichen, possessed the Earthly Ninth Wood Spirit Bone. In the sects of the continent, this level was known as "near-heaven bones," enough to be considered a leader of a sect.
What kind of power can she bear when she reaches the Heavenly Spirit Bone? Where are the memories she can hold? What will happen after breaking through to the Profound Bone? Will she be strong enough to fight against these immortals? These mysteries are still unknown.
All she knew was that at the moment the spirit bone was close to the heavens, the tree inside her body began to heat up.
Regret, resentment, heartache... these formed the initial "cause" of this set of remains.
The changes she can bring—such as simply stopping the ruthless villain in front of her from self-harm—are all the result of cause and effect.
Countless "illusions" of various shapes above his head precisely attacked Chen Jinshi.
His strength is undeniable in this illusion. Because of his strength, he was attacked and persecuted. Isn't this just the story of the Underworld Clan over the past century?
A tree takes a hundred years to grow and bloom.
At that very moment, Miaojue suddenly had a clear understanding and realized something.
Before my eyes, it seems as if an endless stream of roots flows, and time rolls by like a long river, with the upstream and downstream already having occurred.
Time is as clear and tangible as a physical entity; whether you look up or down, everything exists simultaneously.
In the past, she could only look back forward, but with bones so close to heaven, what if... she could push backward?
Chen Jinshi hid her behind his back, his voice tense as he reassured her, "...It's nothing, I did it secretly, Cang San won't see it."
The ingenious technique, however, condenses the years' worth of energy at the dantian of the Eastern Bright Heaven, then strikes it sharply backward to the very end.
The chosen one at the end will ultimately become the strongest being.
By then, they may have all turned to dust.
An invisible current rippled through the air, and before any of the illusory figures could react, they all vanished from their spots.
Because the "stronger position" has changed.
The illusions around him also changed; the streets and alleys disappeared, the peddlers and processions vanished, and the thick fog transformed into the dilapidated place the protagonist had originally encountered.
Dongfang Yaotian stared blankly at his hands, feeling the sudden surge of profound cultivation within him. After a moment, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, "I knew it! In this realm, I am invincible! This is everything the strongest must endure!!!"
The azure dragon transformed into lightning, and the tornado became wind, all striking down upon him.
Miao Jue patted the white-clad youth reassuringly, "It's alright, I can call him back. I'll change him back once we get out..."
Can he really become the best in the world? That's not suitable for Brother Yaotian.
But her hand was held firmly in his palm.
Dust settled in his palm, burning hot. He lifted his long eyes, revealing faint dragon patterns reflected in the gray-blue mist.
Azure Dragon... The little girl who used to carve furniture for you has come to save you.
As expected, Dongfang Yaotian did not suffer too much damage, and Langhuan immediately stopped her attack and retreated hesitantly.
Dongfang Yaotian, having survived the beating, became even more arrogant, pointing his knife at the sky: "Continue? Why don't you continue! Hahaha!"
"..." Miao Jue quickly called out to her second brother and the others, then turned to Chen Jinshi and said, "Let's go to Gong Yuqiu's place now. The fog has changed, but the eye position should remain the same."
Chen Jinshi held her hand, his peach blossom eyes sparkling.
There are so many ambiguous things I want to say, but I can't seem to bring myself to say them.
Suddenly, a bell rang out from the dragon's roar.
It's like a whisper responding to a magic trick that propels time forward.
In front of the Zero Ring Giant Bell, only a copy of "The Law of Causality" remained on the bench. The man stood in front of the giant bell and slightly raised his hand.
...
The scene before her eyes changed again.
The desolate land dominated by the male protagonist has vanished, and the surrounding illusions have transformed into... the Tianyan Kingdom? Dongfang Yaotian's bedchamber...?
A marriage tree stands in the courtyard in front of the palace.
Dongfang Yaotian was also stunned. Looking at the familiar scene around him, he couldn't help but slap his thigh and laugh wildly: "I knew it, all of this is aimed at me!"
Miao Jue was stunned for a moment, feeling a gaze fall on her head.
wrong.
When cause and effect are reversed, logic is also reversed.
The illusion of the fog has been reversed, transforming it from the most unfamiliar environment for the strongest person into... the most familiar environment for the weakest person.
The ingenious method left everyone stunned.
Does that mean it's me?
A low laugh finally came from behind.
His chest was very close to her back, and the vibrations sent a tingling, numbing sensation through her body.
Dust settled in his eyes as he looked at the slowly gathering and descending attacks around him, but the malice in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a spring-like warmth.
Then, endless ashes appeared behind the girl, condensing into two wings like black raven feathers, making her as beautiful as an angel.
"Who told you that she was the weakest?"
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