Chapter 91: Illusory Wanzhang Mountain
Wanzhang Mountain.
A towering peak that seemed to pierce the heavens, appearing both illusory and real, like a mirage, with a somewhat ethereal and elusive quality.
Yuankong stared gloomily at the illusory mountain before him.
As things got on track, Chu Xingchen delegated authority to the village chief, since this matter was only a side quest for Chu Xingchen.
With specific rules already established, Chu Xingchen didn't need to participate too much.
After all, his true purpose was the treasure hidden within Wanzhang Mountain.
Li Yingling reached out to touch the illusion, but found she could only grasp at empty air, then looked at Yuankong and asked sincerely:
"Are you really a fake Buddha Son? You can't do this, and you can't do that."
Hearing this, Yuankong's face drooped, and he wondered if his senior had deceived him, as he wasn't actually a Buddha Son.
Wanzhang Mountain wasn't actually that far away, but the problem was that it wasn't a physical entity.
Instead, it was a myriad fathoms illusion. Chu Xingchen tried to fly into the mountain, but could only touch empty shadows.
The Buddha Son, whom they thought could solve the problem, found that touching the mountain was like grasping at a dream bubble.
Having long accepted that Yuankong was useless, Li Yingling turned to her master and said:
"Master, I think the village chief is hiding something. How could he know nothing? The Buddha Heart is with him."
Chu Xingchen made no comment on this, but gently patted Yuankong's shoulder:
"Yuankong, don't you have any unused methods? How can a person be completely useless?"
"I... I..."
Yuankong opened his mouth to retort but couldn't find the words.
His expression became even more dejected.
At this point, Yuankong was starting to think he might truly be useless.
He really had no methods left to use.
Chu Xingchen couldn't help but chuckle lightly, comforting him:
"It's fine. At least you're diligent when eating, which is very good."
This wasn't said without reason, as Yuankong hadn't established his foundation yet and couldn't abstain from food.
If not for the large empty space in Chu Xingchen's spatial ring, and his belief that empty space should be filled with something useful.
He had stored a lot of food and snacks that Chen Baiqing liked to eat.
After all, Chen Baiqing's talent was still unclear, and his only orange attribute didn't seem to provide any cultivation bonus.
His cultivation progress would definitely be much slower than Li Yingling and Li Xingtian.
He would likely remain in the Qi Refining stage longer, so Chu Xingchen had stored plenty of food just in case.
Yuankong had probably never eaten such delicious things, like candied fruit and sugar paintings.
Every time it was time to eat, Yuankong was the fastest runner and ate the most.
After eating, he would even stuff two more pieces into his robes.
So he couldn't argue against this point.
Hearing this, Yuankong silently looked up.
Thank you for not comforting me at all.
Before setting out, Chu Xingchen had already asked the village chief all the questions he wanted to.
Using the village chief's great curiosity about Chu Xingchen's management methods.
After whetting his appetite, Chu Xingchen would answer questions to make the village chief reveal more information.
The effect was remarkable.
The village chief would often scratch his head, eagerly asking Chu Xingchen for clarification, and indeed revealed many previously undisclosed details.
But regarding Wanzhang Mountain, the village chief only knew that a treasure existed in the mountain, and only a Buddha Son could obtain it.
In Chu Xingchen's spiritual sense, the mountain seemed like a void, but not entirely, as occasionally there were faint perceptions.
Both illusory and real, with intention...
This was quite interesting. If the village chief wasn't lying, how exactly could a Buddha Son climb this empty Wanzhang Mountain?
Chu Xingchen once again reached out and gently brushed past the Illusory Wanzhang Mountain, as if sweeping through empty space.
Looking again at the dejected Yuankong, Chu Xingchen asked again:
"That Buddhist scripture that recorded this place, have you missed anything from it?"
Yuankong racked his brain once more, but in the end could only shake his head, indicating there was truly nothing else.
Li Yingling looked leisurely at Wanzhang Mountain, then glanced at Yuankong.
A sudden inspiration struck her, and she spoke up: "Master, I have a suggestion."
"Wait..." Yuankong's eyes widened as he quickly raised his hand to interrupt.
After just a few days together, Yuankong was completely convinced of Li Yingling. This woman was ruthless and vicious, which had truly frightened Yuankong.
Based on Li Yingling's expression just now, Yuankong was certain her idea couldn't be a good one.
But the useless Yuankong undoubtedly had no decision-making power.
Chu Xingchen looked at Li Yingling, waiting for her to continue.
"Wanzhang Mountain is formless, but we are tangible. Perhaps this is the fundamental reason. If we make Yuankong formless, then wouldn't he be able to climb Wanzhang Mountain?"
Hearing this, a chill ran down Yuankong's spine. To go from tangible to formless, wasn't that soul separation?
For a little Qi Refining practitioner like himself, the only way to achieve soul separation was to die.
Yuankong quickly looked at Chu Xingchen with pitiful eyes, hoping to awaken his conscience.
But Chu Xingchen ignored this, staring at Yuankong and thinking slowly.
As if assessing the feasibility of the plan.
It had to be said, Li Yingling's words gave Chu Xingchen some inspiration.
The village chief had admitted from the start that this world was idealistic.
Therefore, Wanzhang Mountain in this realm was the same.
Chu Xingchen reached out and patted Yuankong's small head.
Usually, Yuankong hated it when people touched his head, not even allowing his senior to do so, but at this moment, being so useless, he really couldn't muster any temper.
Yuankong let the large hand rub his head as Chu Xingchen's voice sounded in his ear.
"Yuankong, are you sleepy?"
"I just woke up, I'm not sleepy..."
"That's fine, I'll help you."
Yuankong raised his small head in surprise, looking at Chu Xingchen, wanting to know what was happening.
But a burst of spiritual power instantly came from the large hand on his head.
Yuankong promptly fainted.
In his daze, he only heard Chu Xingchen's voice, seeming both there and not there.
"Wanzhang Mountain is fake, and dreams are fake. In the dream, find the real Wanzhang Mountain."
"This is called two negatives making a positive!"
In that instant, only one thought remained in Yuankong's mind—what does two negatives making a positive mean?
In the midst of his deep drowsiness, a faint spiritual power startled him awake.
Yuankong suddenly opened his eyes.
What met his gaze was still the towering, cloud-piercing Wanzhang Mountain. He quickly scrambled to his feet, wanting to ask Chu Xingchen what he meant, but suddenly discovered he was all alone.
The faintly visible Peach Blossom Village from before he fell asleep had also long since disappeared.
Yuankong took two deep breaths and instantly understood. He reached out to touch Wanzhang Mountain, expecting the solid sensation of touching the peak...
His small hand grasped at empty air once again.
Yuankong's vision immediately went black. This didn't work either; he still couldn't touch it!
But things had definitely progressed.
Yuankong quickly calmed down, sat cross-legged on the ground, and gazed leisurely at the majestic mountain.
After a long while, he lightly tapped his small head.
He was attached to appearances.
Hey readers! If you're eager to dive into advanced chapters, consider joining our Patreon. By joining, you'll get access to 20 chapters ahead and enjoy 14 new chapters per week. Plus, we have 3 more exciting fics with the same chapter release rate, giving you a total of 42 chapters per week! Join now and keep the adventure going!
Patreon: https://patreon.com/Alex_Cruise