My Endless Life.

Chapter 600 The Truth
The formation has a range.

It also has hidden features.

Upon entering the array's range, the first problem encountered is the malfunction of flight instruments, making it impossible for anyone to remain in the sky.

Only when they fall from above and enter the forest where the main sect is located will the true appearance of the main sect be revealed to outsiders.

Just like now.

Once he crossed a certain boundary, the forest in Li Qi's eyes suddenly changed its appearance.

The vast forest has been transformed into a plaza, with various retro Chinese-style buildings standing neatly and orderly on the ground. Among them, Li Qi can also see various giant dolls that are completely inconsistent with the style of Chinese architecture.

And the remains of smaller dolls piled up next to the giant doll.

Eastern and Western aesthetics blend perfectly at this moment, creating a unique and beautiful experience.

Unfortunately, there are still no active members within the main sect.

Not to mention people, there weren't even any moving puppets to be seen; it was as if the entire main sect had died.

Li Qi and his group, with parachutes attached, swayed and landed on the ground.

They stared silently at the empty, deathly still main shrine.

"It seems like none of the main sect members are here."

After a long while, Lucy tried to start a conversation with Richard in a low voice.

"You don't need to tell me."

Li Qi glanced at Lucy, who was spouting nonsense, his tone slightly cold.

Lucy shrank back, not daring to say another word, and followed behind Li Qi, exploring the deserted main temple in front of them.

The people inside the main sect have disappeared. Judging from the situation at the scene, the people from the main sect must have left on their own, since there were no human corpses on the ground.

All that remained were various broken dolls.

Besides, the several towering pillars inside the main sect caught Li Qi's attention.

These giant pillars, reaching heights of over a hundred meters, are scattered in several corners of the main sect, appearing from a distance to encircle the entire sect.

Looking at the giant pillars, Li Qi asked Lucy:

"What are these giant pillars used for?"

"Um...I don't know."

"?"

“I…I haven’t seen these giant pillars. At least when I last came to the main sect, these pillars didn’t exist at all.”

Lucy quickly explained.

Li Qi frowned: "Doesn't exist? I remember you said that when the puppet uprising broke out, you came to the main sect. Was there no sign of these giant pillars being built at that time?"

When the doll unrest first showed signs, Lucy sensed something was wrong and traveled a long way to the main sect to inquire about the situation.

In the end, she learned about the Soul Poison and slunk back to the branch sect to seek a way to protect herself.

That was the last time Lucy returned to the main sect. Shortly after that, the Doll Rebellion broke out completely, plunging the world into chaos, and Lucy never returned to the main sect again.

Lucy returned to the main sect, and the time between that and the complete outbreak of the puppet uprising was not long.

According to her estimate, it should be less than half a year before the world becomes a mess and the main sect can no longer be contacted.

Now Lucy says that when she returned to the main shrine for the last time, she saw no signs of the construction of the giant pillars.

Doesn't that mean that the main sect built these giant pillars that are scattered throughout the entire sect in less than half a year?

Why did they build these giant pillars?
What is the function of these giant pillars?
Moreover, why has the main sect's formation been maintained until now, and where did this formation come from?

After arriving at the main sect, Li Qi's questions only increased.

After examining the giant pillars standing inside the Soul Sect's main hall once more, Li Qi thought for a moment, then walked over to the pillars and tentatively placed his hand on them, attempting to analyze their material composition.

Judging from the placement of the giant pillars, he couldn't discern anything for the time being.

It's called a formation, but there's no discernible pattern. It's said to be an object used to suppress something, but even Li Qi, through his own observation, couldn't figure out what's under these pillars.

Therefore, all Li Qi could do to figure out what these pillars were was to analyze their main components and then try to decompose them.

Perhaps this will help us understand the purpose of these pillars.

Just as Li Qi placed his hand on the pillar, he heard Lucy's slightly frightened voice from the side.

"S-senpai! I feel like something's... not quite right..."

"Ok?"

Li Qi suddenly turned his head to look at Lucy, and saw Lucy stagger two steps toward him and reach out her hand as if asking for help.

But in the end, Lucy's hand never even touched Richard.

She staggered forward two steps, then her eyes completely lost their color, and she collapsed to the ground like a broken doll.

Upon seeing this, Li Qi's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately reached out and pulled Lucy's body over to hold it in his hand.

"The soul... is gone!?"

Li Qi held his breath, looking at the soulless body in his arms, his pupils trembling slightly.

Although the body is still here, the soul called Lucy within it is no longer here.

Just a moment ago, something sucked away Lucy's soul, and Lucy sensed this, which is why she thought of asking Li Qi for help.

Unfortunately, Li Qi failed to notice anything unusual. In fact, if he hadn't touched Lucy's body himself, he wouldn't have known that Lucy's soul had disappeared!
Who exactly stole Lucy's soul?

Oh no! Charlie!
Realizing that Lucy's soul had been sucked away by something, Richie suddenly looked up at Charlie.

He worried that Charlie would end up in the same situation as Lucy.

Fortunately, although Charlie seemed a bit dazed and confused about what had happened, he was alright.

But he was indeed fine; he was still standing there perfectly well.

"What's up with her?"

Charlie was puzzled when he saw Lucy lying on the ground.

He couldn't understand why Lucy, who had been perfectly fine just moments before, was now lying on the ground as if she had broken down.

Li Qi ignored the doll's body, which had lost Lucy's soul, and looked at the giant pillar again, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

Out of caution, Li Qi decided not to continue exploring.

The bizarre disappearance of Lucy's soul is quite chilling.

Li Qi couldn't guarantee that what caused Lucy's soul to disappear would have no effect on him or Charlie.

If it were before encountering that mysterious powerhouse, Li Qi would probably still have had the courage to continue exploring, after all, his soul contained the methods left behind by Zelia. A ninth-tier powerhouse in the interstellar era is one of the most outstanding beings in the entire world sea.

Even if they encounter a powerful opponent of the same level, they will not act rashly against Li Qi after sensing the power left behind by Zelia in Li Qi's soul.

Zelia's contingency plan gave Li Qi the confidence to continue exploring.

However, after encountering the mysterious powerful figure, Li Qi lost most of his courage.

He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't encounter another being as powerful as the mysterious expert, the kind of being that could run into his home without Zelia noticing—something Li Qi was definitely not someone he could come into contact with.

If what caused Lucy's disappearance is also related to an existence above the ninth rank, then even with Zelia's protection, Li Qi might still be in trouble! "Let's go first, we'll talk about it later."

Richard quickly made a decision to take Charlie away from there.

However, a deep, resonant voice echoed in his mind at that moment.

"Young friend, why are you in such a hurry to leave? It's been so many years, and it's rare to meet a fellow cultivator from the Seven Realms... Why don't you come down and chat with me?"

"!!!"

The voice, based on the power of the soul, was transmitted into Li Qi's mind.

But upon hearing this voice, Li Qi, after his initial shock, was relieved.

Since the other party was so friendly and mentioned the Seven Realms, they must be someone from the Seven Realms who sensed that Li Qi's identity was not simple.

Similar to the demonic cultivator Li Qi met in the post-apocalyptic world last time.

Such a person knows when to advance and when to retreat, and should not act rashly against Li Qi.

Besides, now that they've discovered us, running away would only make us look cowardly. It's better to do as he says, go meet him first, and see what the situation is.

"Who are you? And where are you now?"

Using the same method, Li Qi activated his consciousness and transmitted it within the main sect, inquiring about the person's identity and location.

"Follow the signs and come here."

A black butterfly with fluttering wings suddenly appeared in front of Li Qi.

The butterfly circled in front of Li Qi once before heading in a certain direction.

Knowing that the butterfly was related to the person who made the sound, Li Qi pondered for a moment and then instructed Charlie:
"Stay here, I'll be back later."

"...Again, you want me to stay...? Well, I guess I really can't be of any help..."

Charlie looked disappointed when Richard asked him to stay again.

Li Qi smiled awkwardly at him, but ultimately chose to meet the owner of the mysterious voice alone.

Unfortunately, although Charlie's mental strength was not weak, when faced with a mysterious powerhouse who could instantly take Lucy's soul, his mental strength was practically nonexistent.

Now Li Qi regretted bringing Charlie here, but there was nothing he could do. Charlie had already entered the main sect's territory and was probably under the mysterious expert's gaze. It was unlikely that he would leave, and Li Qi didn't know how to leave the main sect.

Therefore, all Charlie can do now is find a safe place to hide and pray that the mysterious powerful man has no interest in Charlie.

After saying goodbye to Charlie, Richie followed the butterfly, which guided him deeper into the main sanctuary.

The butterfly flitted through the main sect's buildings, leading Li Qi into the main hall and then continuing towards the back of the main hall.

After passing through the main hall, Li Qi saw many more giant pillars that were hundreds of meters tall.

The further you go, the denser the giant pillars become.

When they reached the end, countless giant pillars formed a vast space.

At the very back of this space, Li Qi saw a dragon coiled around the giant pillar!

It was an Eastern dragon, a black Eastern dragon.

Its scales were so black they shone, and its five-fingered claws gripped the shaft of the giant pillar. The entire dragon coiled around the pillar, its enormous golden vertical pupils fixed on the tiny creature below.

The black butterfly flew here and stopped. It circled in front of Li Qi, then flew to the black dragon's claw above and became a tiny scale on its claw.

After retrieving the black butterfly, the black dragon spoke:

"It's really strange to meet a fellow cultivator from the Myriad Star Realm here."

Heilong immediately revealed Li Qi's identity and background.

Li Qi's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "What's so strange about it? Isn't exploring small worlds something everyone does?"

The Seven Realms have always been exploring outwards, absorbing the surrounding smaller worlds, turning them into their vassals or parts, and using them to strengthen the Seven Realms themselves.

This is what powerful beings from the Seven Realms do, so it's not surprising at all that they encounter powerful beings from the other Seven Realms in the small world.

That's how it should be.

“That’s true.” The black dragon’s body moved, and its huge head left the white jade pillar and came close to Li Qi.

The dragon head, several stories high, stared at Li Qi. Although its mouth was tightly closed, it could still emit a deep voice.

The black dragon moved closer to Li Qi and said, "But this small world is near our Soul Realm... and I remember that the Myriad Star Realm seems to be the farthest from us."

The black dragon's words carried a hint of danger.

Soul world.

It's the same as the interstellar world that Li Qi had seen in the database before; it's a world where consciousness is the primary force.

However, in the Soul Realm, consciousness is simply referred to as the power of the soul.

That's what the information says.

Wait a minute... I see, no wonder Lucy cultivates 'soul power'...

Thinking about the information he had read, Li Qi suddenly realized why Lucy's cultivation technique was completely different from his own technique, Heavenly Craft Soul Transfer.

Li Qi had previously suspected that Lucy was an outsider because her level of consciousness was something that people in this world could hardly reach.

But after Lucy explained, Li Qi still thought that Hu Bu'er had created a new technique and didn't think too much about it.

In retrospect, the main cultivation method of the Soul Sect was not created by Hu Bu'er at all.

It's this cultivator from the Soul Realm right in front of me!
He was the one who passed on the technique to the Soul Sect! That's why the Soul Sect's technique is completely different from the Heavenly Craft Soul Transfer Technique!
"...It was just a small world I stumbled upon by chance."

Li Qi didn't explain much; he couldn't very well say that he had been to this world before.

But then again, is the martial arts world really that close to the soul realm...? It's really strange that I didn't go to the soul realm back then.

"Is it a coincidence..." the black dragon murmured to himself, his deep voice echoing in the space formed by the giant pillar.

Li Qi immediately changed the subject and asked the black dragon:

"And where are you, sir? Why are you here?"

"Is that even a question?" the black dragon said nonchalantly. "Of course, it's about using the souls of this world as nourishment for advancement."

"...!"

To nourish oneself with the soul of the world...?
Upon hearing Black Dragon's words, Li Qi suddenly realized: "...So, you're the one who created the Soul Poison!"

"You seem to always like to ask obvious questions?"

Black Dragon did not answer, but instead asked a question.

But this question proved that Li Qi's conjecture was correct.

The Soul Poison was created by the other party, and it is even very likely that the source of the Soul Poison is the cultivation technique practiced by the people of the Soul Sect!
The other party distributed the cultivation techniques, established the Soul Sect, and revealed the method of cultivating soul power to the world. It wasn't because he was particularly kind; it was simply to help those people's souls grow stronger!

The Soul Power Cultivation Method is like nourishment.

Those Soul Sect disciples who have achieved success in their cultivation are the fruits.

When the fruit is ripe, the black dragon will harvest it, causing the soul poison to erupt and plunging the world into chaos!

This is the truth behind why the world has become like this!

(End of this chapter)