novelraw Chapter 883 - 747: Heaven and Earth as the Crucible
Chapter 883 - 747: Heaven and Earth as the Crucible
Upon hearing the voice, Situ Zhen's body suddenly trembled, swiftly spun around, tossed the black cloth bag aside, flashed onto the steps, picked up the discarded plaque, and flipped it to the dazzling bronze mirror side, revealing what appeared to be a layer of dust.
In reality, it wasn't dust, but a hazy shadow.
It wasn't Situ Zhen's reflection in the mirror, but rather a shadow that already existed within the mirror—a vague, grayish-black human shape, with only an outline, lacking any distinct features, resembling a disheveled shadow.
Upon seeing this, Situ Zhen hurriedly uncovered her hood, removed her veil, revealing her face, and respectfully chanted a spell to lift the bronze mirror. She knelt down, bowing her head in reverence, speaking with both joy and reverence, "Servant pays respects to the Master."
The shadow within the mirror slightly swayed, seemingly observing Situ Zhen closely for a while, before a muffled voice emanated from within the bronze mirror, "Who art thou, and how dost thou know the art of summoning me?"
Situ Zhen quickly raised her head, "Master, servant is Su."
"Su?" The shadow in the mirror seemed slightly surprised, "Gone without return from the Divine Fire Domain, changed appearance, where is thy true form?"
Situ Zhen sighed, "Within the Divine Fire Domain, a great catastrophe occurs every two hundred years. I resisted bitterly, yet at the last moment, I failed and couldn't overcome the catastrophe. Fortunately, Master imparted the 'Mirror Thought' great art, using the Water Flames of thirty-six Divine Fires as a mirror, sealing a trace of my true self within, allowing me to come forth to meet Master today. Master, servant is guilty for arriving late."
The so-called 'Mirror Thought' is a great art within Demon Skill. When others look into the mirror, they only see their reflection, but this great art allows them to see the consciousness reflected, sealing it within, much like copying it into the mirror—thus called Mirror Thought.
This was the reason Su chose Zhener years ago, as Zhener's true form could serve as a mirror for this purpose.
The shadow in the mirror spoke in a muffled tone, "It is Su, no wonder thou knowest there's me within the mirror. Knowing it's 'Mirror Thought,' thou should know the distinction of master and servant, knowing they cannot coexist. If the servant awakens and refuses to become a vassal, chaos is inevitable; how dareth thou act so recklessly?"
Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen's head bowed to the ground, not rising, with a cry, "Master, the world has changed greatly; Master's true self perished countless years ago, and servant only returned from the Divine Fire Domain twenty years ago, learning that shortly after servant left, Master too suffered calamity, resulting in a millennium of absence. Knowing that servant could resurrect, surely Master has left safeguards as well. Thus, servant came to politely invite Master to emerge and restore order to the world!"
The shadow within the mirror visibly shook, seemingly incredulous, "My true self achieved Great Success in Demon Skill, unrivaled, ready to cleanse the universe, how could I suffer calamity?"
Situ Zhen raised her head, "Servant too was shocked; upon return, servant investigated past events. However, a millennium has passed, and truth mixes with falsehood as people desire; the true circumstances have been buried, and historical inquiry yields only bits and pieces. It is rumored there was a traitor within Demon Path, a betrayal and counterattack, this explanation holds the most credibility."
The shadow in the mirror angrily exclaimed, "Such boldness! Who was the traitor?"
Situ Zhen replied, "The traitor's identity is obscure; it's unheard of. Upon careful inquiry, it appears the so-called Righteous Path glorified itself, proclaiming it was they who collectively defeated Master, omitting the traitor's deeds to bolster Righteous Path momentum. The traitor's ultimate fate is unclear; pieces from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans suggest, perhaps due to fear of the traitor's strength, Righteous Path conspired to murder him. If none deliberately erased records, it's unlikely such a significant event would leave no name."
The shadow in the mirror seemed unsettled, pacing within the bronze mirror, before suddenly stabilizing, speaking firmly, "True self is gone; I shall emerge!"
Situ Zhen bowed once more, then turned to grab the black cloth bag that flew over. She quickly untied the bag, revealing Pang Tiansheng enclosed within, then tapped his forehead with a point of red light.
The red light began to flicker and shimmer, and the unconscious Pang Tiansheng suddenly shivered and struggled, his face twisted with pain and despair, seemingly trapped in a nightmare, yet restrained by Situ Zhen, unable to escape, eventually slumped lifelessly, with his face retaining a sense of despair.
Completely wiping out his consciousness, Situ Zhen finally let go, bowing to the floating bronze mirror again, "Humbly invite Master to descend!"
The light within the bronze mirror shimmered like virtual waves, suddenly transforming into a black light wrapped in a black mist, entering Pang Tiansheng's forehead directly, disappearing without a trace.
The blurry shadow within the bronze mirror completely vanished, now reflecting Situ Zhen's clear appearance.
A moment later, Pang Tiansheng suddenly opened his eyes, stood up straight, and Situ Zhen quickly adjusted her kneeling posture, facing him, as the floating bronze mirror gently landed on the ground.
At this moment, Pang Tiansheng's demeanor showed no hint of fear or timidity, his gaze surveying the surroundings with such composure that it seemed somewhat cold, and his slightly plump body exuded a different aura.
He had just opened his arms, taking a deep breath, then couldn't help but clutch his chest, coughing. After stopping, he cast a spell to examine his body, and frowned, "This mortal form is so weak, a short-lived ghost forcibly cultivated."
"…" Situ Zhen was stunned; she truly didn't know what had happened to Pang Tiansheng. Previously, she wouldn't bother with a mere Pang Tiansheng, although she had heard of his coughs, she didn't expect it to be so degrading.
She quickly replied, "Master, the situation is currently complex; I will report later. For now, only through this person's mortal form can we conveniently leave; borrowing it temporarily is not a hindrance, we can replace it after exiting."
Pang Tiansheng responded calmly, "No matter. This body cannot perform the great art, extinguish your thought, lending me yours."
"Yes," Situ Zhen accepted the order, even though she didn't know what the other intended to do, she sat cross-legged without hesitation, closing her eyes.
Soon, her head slumped as if falling asleep.
Pang Tiansheng was already seated cross-legged; after closing his eyes, the black light again emerged from his forehead, entering Situ Zhen's forehead.
His head slumped down, while Situ Zhen opened her eyes and raised her head, the aura in her gaze dramatically changed, silently casting a spell, she suddenly flashed into the sky.
Hovering in the air, she formed a finger technique, shooting out a black virtual light, which swiftly ascended into the sky, immediately revealing a stream of black complex patterns flashing in the high sky.
Urgently, she conjured virtual light with her hands and flung it towards various directions.
After each virtual light disappeared, a complex pattern of flowing light in the distance was triggered, resembling glass carvings.
A total of 108 black virtual lights stretched out in all directions before he stopped. The Flower Picking Finger remained before him, with slight wisps of light dissipating into the surrounding void from his fingertips. Some light drifted outward, while other light gathered at his pinching fingertips from the void, dazzling as it gathered and dispersed, black light flickering.
As the flowing light swirled around his fingertips, it seemed to establish some connection with the surrounding heaven and earth, causing countless Immortal Mountains around to start rotating.
In fact, it wasn't the Immortal Mountains that were rotating, but the space around was rotating, and the whole world seemed to be rotating with her standing in the midst of it.
Soon, the sky suddenly darkened, turning to night.
After waiting for a while, it suddenly switched to daylight again.
Meanwhile, the gentle white light at the entrance of the Demon Altar outside disappeared. The six prisms buzzed as they stood upright, merging unhurriedly into a pillar, and the nine-layered altar started rotating layer by layer.
The people from the Three Sects searching among the Immortal Mountains stopped, looking around in bewilderment, not knowing what had happened.
On an Immortal Mountain, Tianyi Sect Master questioned in confusion, "What's going on?"
Someone speculated, "It seems to be alternately rotating with the night below."
In their confused gazes, the speed at which day and night alternated became faster and faster, light and shadow flickering. In the unseen, a force became connected with them.
The myriad of flying birds and beasts on the large and small Immortal Mountains were all startled. Those that could fly were darting around in the sky, obviously shocked by this scene, leaving everyone to conclude that this situation was not common; otherwise, they wouldn't have failed to react at first.
What was more terrifying was that various Spirit Grass on the mountain began emitting faintly colored mist, their spiritual aura visibly dimming.
The Spirit Birds and Immortal Beasts also began to emit faint blood mist, rising as if evaporated out of their bodies, causing them to let out various cries and flee in panic.
Not only the flying birds and beasts and the spirit ginseng and immortal grass among the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but the masters of the Three Sects also found their blood energy evaporating, visibly leaving their bodies, and even their cultivation gradually being evaporated away.
"Why is it like this?"
Someone from the Lianshan Lineage exclaimed in surprise.
No one could answer him, and everyone cast spells to resist, but the effect was limited. Though they could suppress the evaporation speed, they could not stop it.
This kind of consumption, who could bear it?
An inexplicable terror swept over like a tide, completely overwhelming everyone's desires. Seeing no sign of stopping, Lianshan Sect Master couldn't hold on any longer and suddenly shouted, "Retreat!"
Not only them, but all Three Sects also urgently retreated amid the rapidly flickering vision of day and night, suspecting that something was triggered by opening the Demon Altar.
Fortunately, those Immortal Mountains remained steadily in place, still serving as coordinates for their retreat.
During the withdrawal, they continuously witnessed weakened Spirit Birds losing motivation from evaporation, falling into the endless abyss below, and saw Spirit Beasts unable to withstand it, leaping off cliffs.
Even as they fell, the blood energy on them continued to evaporate.
The Gui Cang Lineage was the first to return to the mountaintop exit, but the top was left with only an empty altar. The gentle white light previously held had disappeared.
"What's happening, where's the exit?" the Gui Cang Sect Master, clad in a white robe, exclaimed.
No one could answer this, so they all panicked, starting to search up and down the mountain.
Not far away, a massive Spirit Bird flew over. Its feathers were bright orange, the kind that shone like the twilight glow of the horizon sunset.
It plunged back into the nest Shi Chun and the others had visited, seeing the once vibrant emerald egg now shrouded in dim black light from evaporation, uttering a bell-like, clear yet mournful cry. It nestled the egg into its abdomen to shield it, but couldn't stop the continued evaporation of blood energy, only letting out waves of wails that echoed through the mountain forests.
The men from Lianshan and Tianyi also returned one after another, realizing the exit was gone, unable to hide their panic.
Yet, even if they could fly to the heavens or escape into the earth, at this moment, there was nowhere to go, unable to find a solution no matter how high they flew or how deep they dove. In the end, they were left with no choice but to sit on the altar at the exit, casting spells to resist, hoping to reduce the evaporation of blood energy and cultivation as much as possible, facing no other alternatives.
The bitter suffering in everyone's hearts was indescribable, like crossing an ocean of bitterness on their own.
Some in the Tianyi Lineage were extremely regretful; the Sect Master had advised remaining outside, yet their expectations for themselves were too high, unwilling to stay outside and guard.
Above Duanwu Hall, the airborne Situ Zhen used heaven and earth as his furnace. Majestic rainbow qi descended from the heavens, gathered into thirty-six dazzling rays of light before her.