The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 1000 Other Dimensions and Faith
Seeing the "light staircase" reflected in the mirror, Zhao Chen did not hesitate at all and took the princess's hand as he stepped up.

As the two climbed the stairs to the top, even passing through the roof of the castle tower and entering a pitch-black void, the space in front of them suddenly collapsed, forming a deep portal shimmering with starlight.
"As expected... these 'other dimensions' born from the imagination of Xuan Tian's beings are not dependent on the 'Mind Realm,' but are located deep within the 'Dark Domain'!"

"However, this is actually understandable. I remember Consort Ning said before that the 'Dark Domain' is the 'shadow' of Xuantian... This can be understood as the 'Dark Domain' being the deepest 'mirror' of Xuantian, and the 'mirror space' is able to connect with the 'illusion world'."

Upon realizing this, Zhao Chen sighed inwardly, as if some of his suspicions had been confirmed.

Ming Hongyue was quite nervous at this moment. Due to her years of fighting against "pollution", she not only had extremely high inspiration, but was also very sensitive to similar things. She could clearly feel the "terror" hidden in the "darkness" around her.

She clung tightly to Zhao Chen's arm, her voice trembling as she asked, "Should we...should we continue?"

When the princess was in dire straits before, she was not afraid of death. She even wished she could take the King of Qin and those evil spirits of the "Four Fiends Hall" down with her. But since she found a way to survive, her mentality has changed.

Zhao Chen snapped out of his daze upon hearing this. He patted the other person's hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm here, everything will be alright."

Before he arrived, he had used the "Eight Trigrams Bright Mirror" to observe the situation inside this "other dimension" and knew that there was no danger inside, and that there was only "opportunity" waiting for them.

Reassured by him, Ming Hongyue felt at ease again, but then suddenly realized that her overreaction was rather embarrassing, so she took the initiative to push open the door.

Zhao Chen didn't stop her and followed her into the "world" behind the door.

The next moment, their eyes lit up and they found themselves at the foot of a small hill.

The mountain is not high, probably only about 100 meters high. At the top stands a castle tower, and the mountain path is built with checkpoints, walls and corridors according to the terrain, making it like a maze.

This is clearly a typical ancient Yingzhou mountain city, and this "world" is limited to the area of ​​this mountain city.

At this moment, the soldiers in the city were on high alert, seemingly guarding against something.

"Is this the 'other dimension,' the location of that 'Earth Deity's' 'separate residence'? Do we have to break through the barriers to reach the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion in order to obtain the inheritance?" Ming Hongyue was a "magic power" cultivator, and her "spiritual sense" could extend hundreds of steps, so she naturally got a general idea of ​​this not-so-large space.

The method of obtaining treasures by completing challenges is also an old trick in some "ruins". Many senior experts like to play this game in their own caves.

"That's how it seems on the surface, but you won't actually get anything good from 'Tenshukaku'." Zhao Chen shook his head, pointed in the direction of the back mountain, and said with a smile, "Let's go over there, that's where the real secret of this 'other dimension' is hidden."

"You're certainly well-prepared!" Ming Hongyue said with a smile. "I thought we'd have to fight our way up."

As Zhao Chen led her toward the back of the mountain, he simply replied, "There's no point in fighting those soldiers. They're never alive, so they won't die."

"Moreover, once the city is attacked, many 'rules' will be activated, making it difficult to escape."

He seemed distracted, so he spoke somewhat absentmindedly. Ming Hongyue frowned slightly, and said hesitantly, "Your description... is somewhat similar to some situations in the 'mysterious realm'..."

Zhao Chen turned his head and glanced at her, saying meaningfully, "In a sense, this place is a 'ghost realm'!"
"A 'strange realm' that has not yet been born or used by other 'strange' entities."

Upon hearing this, Ming Hongyue's eyes widened, and her voice involuntarily rose a few decibels: "You mean to say that the 'Ghost Realm' is transformed from this kind of 'other-dimensional' fantasy world?!"

“It should just be one of the sources of the ‘Ghost Realm,’ or rather, a ‘raw material.’” Zhao Chen replied and then said no more. Although Ming Hongyue had a strong ability to resist “pollution,” such deep-level “knowledge” was still too early for her.

Ming Hongyue wisely refrained from asking any further questions and silently followed Zhao Chen until they reached a smooth mountain wall, where they finally stopped.

The mountain wall is very steep, as if it were cleaved by an axe, with only the branches of a large tree hanging down from the top of the wall.

"What should we do next?" Ming Hongyue used her "spiritual sense" to check, but found nothing such as a "secret passage" or "restriction".

Zhao Chen calmly asked, "You should know that this 'other dimension' is a fantasy world born from the story of the ancient Yingzhou... Do you know which story it is?"

Ming Hongyue had done her research on this. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The 'Misty Mountain' where Mirror Village is located was called 'Tianyanhu' in ancient times, and 'Tianyanhu' seems to be related to the 'Goddess Amaterasu'... In addition to the previous portraits, it should be a story related to the goddess, right?"

As for the specific story, she couldn't find out because of the long time that had passed. After all, since the Jia Shen Rebellion, the indigenous kingdom on Yingzhou Island had been ravaged by various evil spirits, and its population had dwindled to less than one-tenth. It was only after the Tang Dynasty established the Andong Protectorate that the chaos on the island was quelled, but much of the information had already been lost.

"It is said to be the story of Amaterasu, but in essence it is actually a story of a 'mirror'."

"Legend has it that because Amaterasu's brother got into trouble, she didn't want to face the situation, so she hid in Amaterasu Rock Cave and refused to come out."

“Amaterasu has the duty of bringing light, and without her the world would be plunged into darkness. So someone made a ‘Mirror of True Scripture’ and hung it on the branch of the True Sage Tree outside the Heavenly Rock.”

"Then, people sang and danced, loudly proclaiming that a new god of light had descended in order to deceive Amaterasu."

"As expected, the goddess fell for it. She leaned out to look and saw her own reflection in the 'mirror.' Lost in her own dignity, she was taken advantage of by the others and dragged out of the 'Heavenly Rock House'..."

Ming Hongyue was engrossed in listening, but she didn't expect such a funny ending, so she interjected, "This goddess really has no prestige."

Zhao Chen shook his head again and said, "This story itself actually planted a deep hidden danger for the goddess Amaterasu."

"Hidden danger?" Ming Hongyue was a little confused, not quite following Zhao Chen's train of thought. "What hidden danger?" she asked.

Zhao Chen sighed and said, "This story made her think about the possibility of being replaced by her reflection in the mirror!"

Moreover, this could very well be the source of the "contamination" of "faith"!
(End of this chapter)