I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 574 The Tale of Reality and Illusion
Black Mountain cannot be flown; this is what Jiang Wenliu realized.

He looked up at the starless sky, where something seemed to be hiding, looking down upon the earth. No matter what he did, he couldn't escape the watchful gaze.

This eeriness made him feel uneasy, and he almost wanted to escape from this dark mountain.

"This is strange. This Black Mountain is indeed not simple," Jiang Wen thought to himself.

Since Liu Jue told him that he couldn't fly here, then he wouldn't fly. Looking at Lü Shiming's disappearing figure, Jiang Wen took a step forward and chased after him.

Each step covers a hundred zhang, and in the blink of an eye, one has traversed more than ten li.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Lü Shiming, Jiang Wen said seriously, "This is not a place to stay for long. I sense that there is something deep in the Black Mountain."

"What is it?" Lu Shiming asked Jiang Wen, holding the Mountain and River Cauldron in his hand.

"I don't know what it is, but I feel like someone is watching us."

"Are they members of the worship of gods?"

“It shouldn’t be them. That feeling is too strange, not like something a human would have. Perhaps it’s a demon, or perhaps some other kind of spirit or monster,” Jiang Wen said.

"...Can you sense the presence of A-Meng and the others?" Lu Shiming asked.

“I can’t sense it,” Jiang Wen shook his head. “The fog here can block my divine sense.”

At this point, Jiang Wen patted his arm.

"But someone can help us. Thank you, Ziyun."

As soon as he finished speaking, green light flashed beneath his feet. Then the surrounding plants stirred, as if something was controlling them to extend in all directions.

But at that very moment, Zi Yun cried out in pain.

"Something has eaten away at my clone, and I can no longer use the vegetation here to explore my surroundings."

"You can't do it either? How can you know what ate your clone?" Jiang Wen was somewhat surprised by Zi Yun's words, as he knew of Zi Yun's abilities.

Even a saint is far less capable than Zi Yun in matters of the spirits of plants and trees.

Zi Yun had been helping him a lot all along, and Jiang Wen thought that Zi Yun could control plants anywhere. He never expected that there was something in the Black Mountain that could restrain Zi Yun.

"I didn't see what it looked like, but I could sense that it was dangerous," Zi Yun said, calming herself down.

“In that case, don’t go out yet. Since that thing was able to devour your clone, it must not be far from us. If I’m not mistaken, that thing is right next to us.” Jiang Wen said calmly, as two magical treasures flew out of his storage bag.

The Tai Xuan Mirror surrounded Jiang Wen, and the Four Symbols Sword Formation swirled in his hands.

Seeing this, Lü Shiming stopped. The two stood side by side on a patch of grass, quietly observing their surroundings. He tossed aside the cauldron he was holding and, making a hand seal, asked, "Brother Jiang, what did you see?"

“There’s something nearby,” Jiang Wen said calmly.

"what?!"

"I don't know, but it's very dangerous."

Jiang Wen stared intently at his surroundings, trying to find some clue within the thick red mist. He glanced around and then released eight yellow talismans from his hand.

Yellow talismans were pasted on the tree trunks in eight directions, and the patterns on the talismans emitted a faint white light.

"Be careful," Jiang Wen cautioned.

"With the protection of the Mountain and River Cauldron, Brother Jiang, you can rest assured," Lü Shiming said with a calm smile.

The two remained silent, waiting for something to happen.

A red mist floated, concealing everything within it. A soft rustling sound arose, making Lü Shiming's heart leap into his throat.

He prided himself on being a seasoned warrior, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a strange place. He had no idea who his opponent was or where he was, so he could only stand there patiently waiting. He swallowed a pill to restore his spiritual energy.

Having already experienced the toxicity of the Black Mountain spiritual energy, Lü Shiming naturally could not allow the spiritual energy to be wasted any longer.

"This place is truly strange; even the spiritual energy here is poisonous. If one inhales too much of this spiritual energy, will one die from the poison? Or perhaps those Dao Palace Realm cultivators who are rumored to have gone mad—did they all go mad because they absorbed this spiritual energy?" Lu Shiming couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"I don't know." Jiang Wen shook his head, not explaining the situation clearly. He had just arrived in Black Mountain and needed to observe further. "Perhaps, Black Mountain holds an even greater secret."

As the two were talking in hushed tones, they heard a low growl coming from within the red mist.

As the thing seeped out from the shadow of the rotting wood, the surrounding mist suddenly condensed into a hard, scab-like shell.

Three heads grew in a triangular shape on the twisted cervical column.

The left side resembles a skinned deer, with scarlet mushrooms parasitizing its empty eye sockets, their caps spraying out spore-like eerie green fireflies.

The right side of the face resembled the swollen skin of a drowned female corpse, with gray-white tree roots like water snakes wrapped around its hair, and mud mixed with decaying leaves constantly gushing from its seven orifices.

The most terrifying part is the head in the center—it's made up of half a human face and half a locust tree bark. The lips on the side of the human face are sewn shut by vines, while seven insect egg-like eyes arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper are open in the cracks of the bark.

The torso flickers between reality and illusion, occasionally revealing translucent internal organs.

The heart is a pulsating rainbow of mist, the lungs are formed by millipedes coiled into a honeycomb shape, and the end of the intestines is connected to aerial roots that move across the ground.

Twelve pairs of arms pierced through the ribs. The first six pairs retained the shape of rotting human hands, with bone fragments embedded in the fingernails; the latter six pairs transformed into pale white bone scythes, the flesh sprouting from the blades frantically devouring the passing red mist.

The lower limbs were completely atomized, leaving asphalt-like viscous trails on the ground as it moved, and mycelium grew wildly in the places it passed, forming pale, arm-like shapes.

The back of the animal has a hump-like growth, and its surface is covered with breathing holes. Whenever a rainbow passes by, the holes emit a strange cry that sounds like a baby's wail or a crow's hoot.

The most bizarre thing is its overall outline—even though it's so close, its edges are always covered by a distorted halo like frosted glass, as if part of this monster is forever embedded in the gap between the real and the unreal.

"What kind of monster is this?" Lu Shiming stared at the strange creature and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. The blood in his body began to churn, almost bursting out of his flesh.

My mind gradually became blurry, and my consciousness drifted away amidst the faint, indistinct calls.

Just as he felt the void invading his body, a shout startled him awake.

"upbraid!"

The sound pierced through the void, pulling Lü Shiming out of the drowning waters of delusion.

Lu Shiming opened his eyes wide, clutched his chest, and coughed violently a few times. Blood gushed from his throat, accompanied by a clump of rotting flesh the size of a thumb, which he vomited onto the ground.

Just then, a ball of fire flew in and burned the rotting flesh to ashes.

"Don't be careless," Jiang Wen coldly warned.

"Thank you, thank you." Lu Shiming calmed the discomfort in his chest and thanked Jiang Wen. Still shaken, he maintained the Mountain and River Cauldron, and thinking about what had just happened, he finally understood why Black Mountain was called a forbidden area.

"If it weren't for Brother Jiang, I probably would have died," Lü Shiming said thankfully.

"This thing is very strange. Don't look into its eyes." Jiang Wen said, and the Four Symbols Killing Array fell from his palm.

Eight yellow talismans formed a formation.

"I am safe within my Four Symbols Limitless Formation. Let's first see what this beast is, that it is so strange." Jiang Wen said, then closed his eyes slightly.

He made a sword-like gesture with his hand and wiped it towards his forehead.

"Sky Eye, open!"

Golden light flashed on his forehead, and his third eye suddenly opened.

(End of this chapter)