Chapter 85: Illusion!
Jiang Yun's actions drew the attention of Zi Yan and the other two. Instantly, they all looked toward where Jiang Yun was gazing, but saw nothing but stone walls—more stone walls.
Bewildered, Zi Yan asked Jiang Yun quizzically, "Xiao Yun, what are you talking about? We've already taken all the treasures here!"
"That's what I thought at first too, but now, that may not be the case!" Jiang Yun answered in a cryptic tone.
Under the questioning gazes of the others, Jiang Yun raised his hand and retrieved three yellowed, worn pieces of parchment from his ring. They were precisely the fragments of the map to the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.
There were four map fragments in total for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, and Jiang Yun had already collected three. Faintly, the complete image of a lotus flower could already be seen.
Of course, at this moment, within Jiang Yun's perception, the map fragments were emitting a strange fluctuation. Along with a certain spatial node within the cave, they were resonating with a peculiar vibration.
Inside the demonic flame map fragments slept a remnant soul of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint. A figure of his caliber had long since reached the Emperor Realm of soul when he was alive, tainted with an undying aura.
Even with only a sliver of a remnant soul, given the right conditions, he could even defy the heavens and return.
None of these ancient monsters were simple. Relying on just a single sliver of his remnant soul, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint, within the demonic flame space and through Xiao Yan's body, had been able to control the Heaven-Refining Ancient Array with the strength of a two-star Dou Sheng and toy with the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, which possessed the power of a seven-star Dou Sheng.
At this moment, in Jiang Yun's perception, there was a strange force in the surroundings drawing the remnant soul within the map fragments to it.
Following this perception, he arrived at a spatial node. Jiang Yun reached out both hands and suddenly tore at the space.
Instantly, a peculiar fluctuation emanated from within the space!
In the eyes of everyone, the surrounding space shattered abruptly. In the next moment, the space around them extended, as if a space that had existed all along had suddenly merged with the original surrounding space.
The stone chamber was still the same stone chamber, but now it seemed magnified several times. Yet none of the group felt anything strange, as if it had always been this way.
"Nightmare Heavenly Mist?" Sensing the anomaly, Jiang Yun murmured softly. None of these Half-Emperors on the continent are simple at all.
What appeared before their eyes was an ancient altar.
The altar was extremely grand, completely constructed of green megaliths. But with the passage of countless years, it was inevitably stained by the marks of time.
Jiang Yun's gaze fell upon the top of the altar. At the very center of the altar, a stone tablet engraved with a lotus flower stood in solitary silence. An ancient aura wafted from it, as if it had existed for all eternity.
"Xiao Yun, what is this?" Zi Yan leaned in, gazing at the distant altar.
"This is likely the legacy of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint. For unknown reasons, it ended up here. Otherwise, the legacy of a Half-Emperor would probably stir the entire continent into action, except for those few emperor clans!"
Jiang Yun explained in an ethereal, yet extremely calm, tone. He didn't care at all about the massive shockwaves his words would cause if they were spread.
The legacy of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint! Ten thousand years ago, he was hailed as the one closest to the Dou Di!
And it might even involve the existence of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. One had to know, over all these years, who among the emperor clans didn't want to obtain this number three existence on the Heavenly Flame List?
Even Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi would be tempted. At their level of strength, ordinary methods could no longer enhance their power. Only such priceless treasures of heaven and earth as the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, the Nihility Devouring Flame, or the Nine Mysterious Golden Thunder could boost their strength.
Such an enormous temptation—whose heart wouldn't be moved? I'm afraid even the emperor clans couldn't sit still, right?
"The Lotus Guy?" Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Zi Yan blurted out in surprise. Clearly, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint had left a deep impression on her back then.
"..."
After a short silence, pitch-black flames suddenly rose in Jiang Yun's eyes. The flames flickered slowly, scanning every person present and finding nothing amiss. Coupled with Qing Ming's confirmation in his heart that none of them had been affected by the Nightmare Heavenly Mist, Jiang Yun finally let go of his worry.
"Zi Yan, you protect Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian. I'll go see if I can obtain his legacy!"
If it were the legacy of the Yellow Spring Demonic Saint, Jiang Yun wouldn't be interested. But the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint's legacy still held some appeal for Jiang Yun. The other party's Heaven-Refining Ancient Array wasn't necessarily the absolute peak of array arts on the Dou Qi Continent, but it was at the top-tier level.
It would be very helpful for Jiang Yun's array derivation!
Jiang Yun turned his head and instructed Zi Yan. Seeing this, Zi Yan nodded solemnly, her expression becoming quite serious. She solemnly warned him, "Xiao Yun, you be careful too. This Lotus Guy doesn't look like a good person at first glance."
Jiang Yun nodded silently, his gaze fixed solemnly on the stone tablet. On it, he sensed an extremely bizarre fluctuation. The moment his soul perception drew near, it was as if it had entered a quagmire, yielding no feedback at all.
"Brother Jiang Yun, be careful! Qing Lin believes you will definitely succeed!"
"You can do it..."
Voices from Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian came from the sides. Jiang Yun nodded lightly, and with a motion of his body, appeared on a stone pedestal directly in front of the tablet, slowly sitting down cross-legged. Suddenly, a strange fluctuation emanated from the stone tablet. In the next instant, Jiang Yun's entire person fell into a deep slumber.
In a flash, darkness descended. Jiang Yun's soul perception was sealed within his body. This sudden confinement startled Jiang Yun slightly, but he wasn't too panicked. After a brief moment of deliberation, he gradually began to relax.
Soon after Jiang Yun's body relaxed, that darkness quietly dissipated. Strands of light once again pierced the darkness, shining upon Jiang Yun. Accompanying it was the rumbling roar of thunder.
"Rumble!"
In the sky, carrying an ancient aura, lightning roared furiously like enraged dragons. The tremendous sound shook this entire stretch of heaven and earth, causing it to tremble violently.
What met his eyes was an endless silver sea. Within it, lightning surged, and enormous bolts of thunder, like furious dragons, swam and roamed.
This was a sea composed purely of thunder and lightning!
"Is this the space inside the stone tablet? Or... the Nightmare Heavenly Mist?"
Jiang Yun's body hovered in midair, like a Dou Zong, as he surveyed the space before him. A flicker of caution passed through his eyes. The Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint's signature Dou Technique was truly etched too deeply into people's minds.
Staying vigilant, Jiang Yun stepped across the void, slowly proceeding toward the depths of the space. As his footsteps moved, the surrounding thunder swarmed toward him. Instantly, a sharp pain surged from the soles of his feet.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun circulated his soul power, and a purple barrier appeared. Any lightning bolt that entered within a thirty-meter radius of him was devoured by the black flames hidden within.
Boom!
Above the thunder sea, a blinding bolt of lightning tore across the sky like a furious dragon, then fiercely struck the sea's surface, splashing up sky-reaching monstrous waves.
Jiang Yun walked unhurriedly, his expression unchanged. He did not know how long he had been walking, but the thunder sea seemed truly infinite, with no end in sight.
Gazing into the distance at the thunder sea, still dazzlingly silver, Jiang Yun's brow furrowed slightly.
"The Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint is indeed formidable. Even though I long knew of your methods, I didn't expect to still be forcibly dragged into your illusion in the end. However..."
"However, you've also underestimated my methods!"
"Xie Ling Purple Light!"
With a low shout from Jiang Yun, a sky-penetrating purple light erupted violently. Instantly, the entire sky seemed to be torn apart. Jiang Yun only felt his vision go black, and that familiar sensation hit him once more.
Snow drifted in the sky, and a cold wind howled. This was a world of pure white, an endless snow-covered plain with no boundary in sight.
A black-robed figure slowly walked through the surrounding snowfield. Suddenly, a fiery red volcano appeared ahead, adding a splash of vivid crimson to this white world. The figure abruptly halted.
"A volcano? What trick is it playing now?"
Jiang Yun murmured softly, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth. He was absolutely certain he still hadn't broken free from the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint's nightmare talent. However, he was no longer worried, because according to his judgment, once he was behind this layer of illusion, his destination lay ahead.
The prerequisite was that he shattered this layer of illusion!
The volcano wasn't tall, not even five hundred meters. Yet on its slopes grew clusters of fiery red lotuses. Petals and leaves alike were crimson. Each one was the size of a washbasin. Seen from afar, the mountain full of swaying lotuses looked like a dreamscape.
Jiang Yun's eyesight was excellent. Atop the mountain summit, there was an even larger fire lotus. Its diameter was a full meter, blooming with twelve petals, standing alone at the peak. It exuded a refreshingly sweet, heart-penetrating fragrance. The vital energy within it was so abundant, it seemed as if it could make the entire world come alive.
"Dreamlike Fire God Lotus!" Jiang Yun spoke the fire lotus's name in surprise. This was a medicinal ingredient that only existed in ancient texts and had long since become extinct. Similar to the Soul Infant Fruit, it possessed the effect of replenishing soul origin and enhancing the soul.
Moreover, using it as the main ingredient, one could refine a ninth-tier precious pill: the Fire Spirit Pill. As the name implied, this pill could elevate the consumer's affinity for the fire attribute, allowing them to leap forward and possess fire-attribute talent on par with a fire spirit.
"Too bad, it's fake!" Jiang Yun observed for a moment, then shook his head with some regret. He lifted his foot and began walking toward the summit.
As Jiang Yun stepped onto the volcano, a strange fluctuation suddenly swept over his body. In an instant, goosebumps actually appeared on his skin. It was extremely uncomfortable.
Jiang Yun's expression was full of gravity as his soul power ceaselessly scanned the surroundings. This world was a bit too quiet—so quiet it made one's heart crawl, as if stepping into a land of death.
"Buzz—"
Suddenly, before Jiang Yun's cautious eyes, that swaying Dreamlike Fire God Lotus suddenly rippled. The movement was extremely faint, like a pebble thrown into a placid lake, causing the entire world to ripple along with it.
In the next moment, endless crimson light abruptly and bizarrely appeared above the fire lotus. Before Jiang Yun's amazed eyes, the crimson light slowly coalesced into a blurry human silhouette, walking toward him.
It was a young man with a blurry face, dressed entirely in red. He had a tall figure, like a small sun, radiating scorching light, as if to incinerate all the darkness in the world.
This aura was too powerful. The other party seemed like the master of this world, surpassing all the enemies Jiang Yun had encountered so far, making him feel an unprecedented sense of oppression.
"Roar—"
Without waiting for Jiang Yun to act, the young man in red abruptly moved—fast as thunder, agile as a true dragon.
The sky-filling red flames transformed into a fierce red tiger, pouncing toward him with the force of a collapsing mountain.
"White Tiger Seal!!!" The familiar fluctuations stirred a memory in Jiang Yun's heart, and he exclaimed in surprise. But he did not hold back.
Extremely ferocious gale winds tore through the heavens and earth. The surrounding natural energy coalesced into a colossal pitch-black finger, pressing down fiercely toward the white tiger.
"Bang—"
The two collided, and space rippled slightly. There was no energy explosion. Both simply shattered and disintegrated the instant they made contact, mutually annihilating.
"Boom—"
The moment the Soul-Severing Finger shattered, Jiang Yun showed no pause. He slammed out a palm strike. Space suddenly burst apart, and a giant palm wreathed in black flames shot out with lightning speed, carrying an indescribable power of annihilation as it swatted toward the opponent.
Even so, the opponent was no pushover. The young man raised his hand. There, purple radiance pervaded, and a dangerous aura pulsed continuously, as if a heaven-startling sharpness was about to burst forth.
"Boom—"
In the next instant, a purple flowing-light spear materialized and shot toward Jiang Yun, carrying a terrifying sharpness that could pierce through the void.
"Rumble!"
The power of annihilation spread. The entire stretch of heaven and earth was shrouded in purple and black light. The dazzling radiance and terrifying destructive aura blanketed a thousand-mile radius.
"Damn it—"
"It's a mirror image of myself—"
"What a Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint—"
Amid the rumbling, Jiang Yun's cursing voice rang out. He had now confirmed his opponent's origin: it was a mirror image that the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint had replicated through some unknown method, possessing all his own techniques! Jiang Yun even suspected the opponent had the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint's combat experience.
A Half-Emperor substitute driver?
This kind of opponent was the hardest to deal with, because only you yourself knew your own weaknesses best! Let alone this being an enhanced version!
"Since that's the case, then let's have an all-out, exhilarating fight!"
After his initial irritation, Jiang Yun quickly calmed down. This was not necessarily a bad opportunity. Not everyone could have such a chance—to fight against oneself. As long as he defeated the opponent, the gains would be absolutely unprecedented.
Jiang Yun's thoughts raced in his mind, but his offensive did not stop because of it. His palm pressed down, void hand seals descending from the sky. At the same time, he raised his hand, and strange, eerie chains howled toward the opponent.
This was absolutely the most terrifying opponent since his debut!
"Rumble—"
Jiang Yun raised his palm, and the opponent did not pause either. Their hands rapidly formed familiar seals. In the next moment, a gigantic Black Tortoise stepped forth from the void.
"Bang—"
Jiang Yun's attack landed heavily on the opponent, causing ripples to spread layer upon layer. The terrifying energy ripples scattered in all directions, whipping up storms across this region and causing the earth to continuously collapse.
"Damn it, this turtle shell!"
Watching the completely undamaged Black Tortoise, Jiang Yun cursed inwardly. How come I never realized how annoying this divine art was before?
"Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise..."
"Four Symbols Starry Sky Seal!"