Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 711 Urgent Meeting
When the darkness in front of him dissipated again, Pei Ye returned to that strange dream.

With a divine human face, nine tails as wispy as clouds, and a lithe and majestic tiger form, Lu Wu took two steps and climbed to its main position.

Pei Ye remained standing outside the table.

Lu Wu remained silent, pondering for a moment after entering. Then, it raised its paw and placed the sword it was holding on the table, pulled out a section of the blade, and tapped it lightly twice.

“That’s true. I don’t remember Xizhou.” After making this gesture, it raised its head. “It started when the rain began, which is five hours ago.”

"What do you think happened?"

"It's probably about something within the Spirit Realm... I have some ideas for now, but let's wait for everyone to arrive first." Lu Wu raised his hand, and then a small pocket seemed to open in the air beside him. Lu Wu raised his sharp claws and rummaged through it, picking out several files.

About ten breaths later, the first shadow appeared on the golden pole. It was a red-feathered creature with white eyes, named Sheng Yu. It stood on the pole, raised its wings, and seemed to ponder for a moment before turning its head to look at Pei Ye beside it. After a moment, it nodded to him.

Pei Ye was slightly taken aback, then raised his hand to return the greeting.

Then came [Yingzhao]. This divine steed with two wings took two steps and stood in front of the table. Pei Ye was very friendly to it and clasped his hands in a salute.

Yingzhao looked at him and took the initiative to speak: "Things have been dangerous lately, are you alright?"

The voice was still calm and gentle, but Pei Ye was taken aback—he hadn't expected this senior to know his whereabouts, and he made a guess in his mind.

"Thank you for your concern, senior. I only suffered minor injuries."

Then [Cunning] appeared. This kind-looking beast, "shaped like a dog with leopard spots and horns like an ox," shook its head and laughed, "Why did you suddenly summon me? I was already asleep."

"Isn't it the perfect time to go to sleep? Let me lend you a dream." Lu Wu pushed a case file onto the table with his fingertips, and then it transformed into four files. "The power of [Bai Shui] is in danger. Let's sort out what we discussed before."

Pei Ye was slightly taken aback. He remembered that there was also one of the Three Bluebirds, the Great Li, but when he looked at the small divine tree, it was empty and there was no feather shadow.

He asked slyly, "What's the matter?"

"In this dynasty, the Sage has an eldest daughter, whose title is [Jinyang]. Today at 9 AM, a torrential rain fell in the capital, and all traces of her have been erased from the world." Lu Wu pointed to the table. "Regarding the entire Mirage Realm, the Immortal Platform has compiled the following information, which is current as of 1:30 AM."

Several strange beasts raised their claws or wings and summoned the dossier to their front.

"Please let the guest speak first," Lu Wu gestured, raising his paw.

Pei Ye recalled that when he addressed Li Jiantai as "Master Li Jiantai" last time, the cunning creature raised its claws to tell him not to "disturb the Queen Mother's dream." Now it seemed that it wasn't that he couldn't mention real-world terms, but at least he couldn't reveal the beast's identity.

While pondering, he clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Today, on the Wei River, I, along with Li He, Zhu Gaoyang, Nie Shangheng, and others, confronted the Water Lord and Zhao Lingjun, the Lord of the Mirage City. The seniors fought and won. But after the battle, Zhao Lingjun was devoured by the Water Lord and vanished along with him. Then, a heavy rain suddenly fell, and everyone present forgot about the two Water Lords from before."

"Upon further investigation, I discovered that the secret reports and files that originally contained records of the Water Lord had all been erased. During further questioning, I also found that everyone present had forgotten about Li Xizhou. So I rushed back to the capital and inquired around."

"It was finally confirmed that it wasn't just people in the Wei River area who were affected, but the entire capital city had lost track of her."

The table was quiet for a moment, with only the sound of pages turning.

"Have you all been affected?" Lu Wu asked.

Sheng Yu nodded first, Ying Zhao didn't move, and Jiao slowly shook his head.

“I don’t have any yet,” he said slyly.

"You are not in Shenjing."

“Yes, I’m currently outside Shanhaiguan.” Jiao looked down and flipped through the pages. “Also, Zhao Lingjun wasn’t devoured by the Water Lord; that was a way for him to leave using the Mirage Realm. After betraying Taoism, he entered the Joyful Death Tower and was taught the Preservation of Intent Sutra, which gave him the ability to gather and disperse as one.”

No one answered at the table. Accepting the message, Pei Ye was taken aback, only then recalling his act of throwing his arms and legs to the scaled demon as bait.

“But you may not be unaffected forever.” Shengyu finished scanning the case file the fastest. Its voice was as melodious as a deer’s bleating, but its tone was very steady. “I didn’t forget her when the rain first started. I think it’s a process, and the traces are gradually washed away. The more distant the person, the deeper the memory, the longer the memory of her will remain.”

"You mean, given enough time, the memories of the entire world will be altered?" Jiao tapped the table lightly. "Will this influence extend into the dream of the Queen Mother of the West?"

“Perhaps,” Lu Wu said after a moment. “It’s only been five hours, and Sheng Yu has already been affected. If it’s ten days or ten months, even if he enters a dream, he may not be able to remember it.”

Sheng Yu nodded, without denying it.

He said slyly, "Then we need to confirm what kind of method this is—I originally thought that the people within the area affected by that rain were all affected by some kind of powerful mental technique."

“I don’t think so,” Yingzhao said at this moment. “It has nothing to do with mental techniques; it’s the authority of [White Water].

"Ok?"

Yingzhao tore a page from the dossier and threw it on the table: "In the eight rivers and villages, many gang members disappeared after encountering the Water Lord. The Immortal Terrace reported that these people reappeared on the river after the heavy rain."

Lu Wu nodded: "That's right."

He asked cunningly, "Why is that?"

Yingzhao remained silent for a moment, but Pei Ye, still in a daze, suddenly said, "Because the Water Lord has 'disappeared'."

“That’s right.” Yingzhao nodded. “Because the Water Lords have disappeared, their influence on the world has also disappeared; just as, after Jinyang disappeared, the world gradually forgot about her… This is not a mental technique, but the world’s adherence to the authority of the immortals.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Wu nodded in agreement: "That's the same conclusion I've drawn. At least I'm very susceptible to the influence of human mind-body techniques."

Sheng Yu nodded: "Then, how did the power of [Bai Shui] lead to all of this?"

“White water is like an illusion, and mysterious fire holds the spirit,” Lu Wu said. “This is the [True Shen].

“I think Xianrentai can advance a verification process,” Yingzhao said.

"Please say."

"Are all that has disappeared merely mirages? Have all the mirages vanished?" Yingzhao asked slowly.

Pei Ye was suddenly startled. He wanted to blurt out, "Have you all forgotten Luo Weiyou too?" But then he remembered that no one had ever recognized that innocent and straightforward figure.

But then he understood what Yingzhao meant—this wasn't an influence of the mirage on reality, nor was it based on any purpose. It was simply a contraction of the mirage itself.

“White water is like an illusion,” Yingzhao said. “For thousands of years, it has presented illusions to the world as if they were real, and these ‘realities’ have left countless imprints on the human world.”

“But all the old shadows that linger in the human world originally harbored the seeds of disillusionment.” It continued, “They are sometimes real, but when they vanish like bubbles, they also disappear from the world’s memory, because they never existed in the first place. This is what is meant by ‘illusion’.”

The table was quiet.

Lu Wu pondered for a moment: "I understand what you mean. Before this, the only people we had contact with and understood were the two Water Lords. We believed they were the masters of the myriad scales of the Mirage Realm, the rulers of the boundary markers, and the gateways connecting the Mirage Realm and the human world. All of this began when the Water Lords disappeared, which meant that the Spirit Realm had closed itself off and separated itself from the human world."

Yingzhao nodded.

"Then, the only thing that can cause the entire Spirit Realm to sink to the other side of the world is..."

“Mirage Dragon.” “That’s right, Mirage Dragon. Or rather, the awakened ‘White Water’.” Lu Wu closed the file. “This is the ceremony of the Water Lord’s ascension to the throne. The entire Mirage Realm, scattered into countless strands of White Water Immortal Power, is reconnecting towards the center. It disappeared from the world, probably to confirm its own boundaries.”

"It's also to avoid being disturbed," Yingzhao said. "Baishui is different from the unclaimed immortal authority. It is combined with the mirage dragon and exists in the mirage realm. It has a complete inheritance system that has survived for four thousand years."

"Then why did Li Xizhou also disappear?"

She is not a being from the mirage.

Lu Wu pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "I think it's either because of the mirage blood in her body, or because of some things that cannot be discovered within the mirage realm."

“You haven’t forgotten Yong Ji.”

"Yes," Sheng Yu confirmed.

"Now that things are clear, let's all offer some suggestions," he said with a sly smile. "I wasn't involved much in this, is there anything I can help with?"

“The problem now is that the Spirit Realm is sealed off,” Lu Wu said. “We used to rely on some mermaid pearl powder, but now…”

"Are you done using it?"

"There are still quite a few left, but now that the Water Lord has passed away, I think these things should lose their effectiveness... or they may have already disappeared."

Pei Ye looked up at him in a daze: "Then, we can't enter the Mirage Realm?"

Lu Wu looked at the young man and pondered, "That's not necessarily true."

Then it got up: "Thank you all for entering my dream. I have a clear understanding of this matter... Cunning, write a narrative about this memory for me, so that I won't forget it after I leave the dream."

"Alright." Jiao turned the newspaper over, picked up his pen, and tilted his head. "—Do you want Sheng Yu?"

Sheng Yu shook his head: "I don't need it."

"it is good."

Yingzhao then looked at Pei Ye: "If you're worried about her, there's a way you might be able to check on her condition."

Pei Ye was taken aback: "What?"

“You can go to Xiting’s heart and take a look,” Yingzhao said. “If Yongji has already obtained the power over Bai Shuixian, perhaps he will appear there. If you see him, you might have a better understanding of the situation.”

"……Yes."

"Alright, then, farewell for now." Lu Wu raised his finger and tapped the sword twice more.

With a sly smile, he said, "Good luck, everyone. I hope you can bring our 'Great Li' prince back soon."

Lu Wu shook his head, and the remaining two remained silent. The three figures on the table gradually disappeared. Then Lu Wu walked over with his sword, nudged Pei Ye, and the boy's vision went black again, everything rapidly receding into the distance.

Once his thoughts returned to normal, Pei Ye was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was lying on the ground.

He sat up cross-legged, pondering the contents of the dream.

Then he looked up at the old man in front of him: "You...you still remember?"

Li Jian tapped his brow again: "Hmm, something's strange. There's almost no trace of it left in my own memories, but I can read the stories 'Jiao' writes and treat them as true."

"...What do you think we should do next?"

Li Jian glanced at him: "What do you think?"

“If there’s nothing else you need me to do, I’ll go to Xitingxin now.” Pei Ye said without hesitation.

For so many days, this matter had weighed heavily on his mind. The swaying of the boat and the jolting of the horse constantly tugged at the young man's heart. He sent countless messages to "Heartstrings," yet he found no way to ascertain the woman's safety.

“Very well. I’ll do some investigation too.” Li Jian turned around and pulled out a large, slightly yellow umbrella from under the table. “Young Master Pei can enter Xiting from here; it’s safe.”

These words sound like nonsense, contrary to the old man's usual style of speaking plainly, but his tone was very calm.

Pei Ye asked, "What are you going to investigate?"

"The place where the mirage dragon is buried." Li Jian brushed the dust off his umbrella. "There were no traces before, and we didn't know the extent of the mirage realm. Now that it's raining, we can probably see it."

"...How do you check? What's the use of this?"

Li Jian glanced down at him and said, "You've asked a bit too deeply. This isn't a classified question for the Crane Inspector. But I can answer you: the flow of immortal power inevitably leads to the investigation by the Immortal Platform."

"Well."

"I hope this can help Young Master Pei." Li Jian nodded slightly, opened his umbrella before even going downstairs, stepped onto the windowsill, and then fell down.

Pei Ye glanced at the heavy rain outside the window, took a deep breath, sat cross-legged in the room, and then entered the West Courtyard.

The scroll unfolded before his eyes, and Pei Ye passed through the purple bamboo and white mist, arriving directly at the top of the snow-capped mountain.

The wind and snow were as before, but they no longer felt like knives cutting his face. After connecting with heaven and earth, this place was familiar to the young man.

He climbed upwards, his eyes scanning the surroundings like an eagle's, searching for a figure in flowing black robes, or footprints on the steps that didn't belong to him.

But I never saw it.

Whether this fruitless experience made him feel relieved or more uneasy, he crossed his own Canxing Palace and trekked through the wind and snow toward the adjacent Zixing Palace until he reached that high cliff again.

Pei Ye lowered her eyes and looked down, her heart clenching suddenly, her lips pressed into a straight line.

When we last met, the light-colored temple was not yet lit up, and the man in black stood in the courtyard, playing with the clear spring.

Now it is fully lit up, just like when Pei Ye first lit up the [Mysterious Fire Spirit Child Throne] on the prison cart. The wind and snow inside and outside the hall have gone far away, and the temple is as clear as water.

Yong Ji was still standing in the courtyard, but he didn't look like a guest as much as before. A pale, misty mist-like liquid surrounded his wrist.

He looked up at the boy, seemingly surprised: "What a coincidence."

Pei Ye stared coldly at him, her hand gripping the hilt of the sword at her waist.

"I'm still a bit busy right now," Yong Ji said lazily. "If you want to help Li Xizhou get revenge, wait until I come out of the Spirit Realm."

A burst of intense flames erupted from the boy's body, and a tongue of flame tens of meters long shot into the sky, almost illuminating the entire temple below.

Pei Ye stared intently at him with her emerald eyes.

(End of this chapter)