Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 688 Fireworks Time
“Go. Don’t look back if things don’t work out. If you fail, just shout the name of that illusion.” Stratus said to Hong Yijia without hesitation.

Hong Yijia nodded emphatically, took a step and ran away, disappearing from their sight as the surrounding maze suddenly changed.

Immediately afterwards, another set of footsteps appeared in the corridor.

The white-haired man gradually came into view at the end of the straight and wide avenue before Pharos and Stratus.

Eliadodic slowly stopped, maintaining a distance of several hundred meters: "Teacher, I have been unable to find you for many days since I woke up. It is truly my dereliction of duty."

“Your dereliction of duty goes far beyond this!” Stratus retorted mercilessly.

Pharos was slightly taken aback. He could roughly guess Stratus's identity, but the deeper relationship between Stratus and Eliadodic was a secret that was now almost unknown to anyone.

Most people know that the Undying Lighthouse was one of the first lighthouse keepers born when the original lighthouse was lit.

However, there has never been any information indicating that Eliadodic was actually a disciple of Stratus!

“I do not think I have failed in my duty regarding Dadu. Your words when you threw yourself into the lighthouse have been echoing in my ears for so many years—'For Dadu.'”

“And do you remember the second half of the sentence?” Staratus asked. “‘For man.’”

“The definition of a person is far too complex in the multiverse. But as long as there is a capital city, there will always be people in this world. As I understand it, I still don’t think I have failed in my duty,” Eliadodike said calmly.

Stratus shook his head slightly: "There is a capital only because there are people."

“It seems there’s a disagreement between disciple and master. I understand. Over the long years, I’ve trained many lamplighter disciples who I hope will be my reliable assistants, and I also understand the difficulties of teaching disciples. Fortunately, I have nurtured Ptolemy,” Eliadosca said with a sigh.

As he spoke, he looked at Pharos and said, "I remember that the instructions to all the lamplighters have already been issued. Pharos, your recent dereliction of duty has already disappointed me."

In response, Pharos replied neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Just as you disagreed with your master but remained steadfast in your own path, my standing here now is my response to you."

“Very good. Even if we disagree, I have always held people like you, the descendants, and ancestors like our teachers in the highest esteem.”

Eliado Dict was not annoyed; even when the lamplighters argued, they remained quite polite.

But when Eliadodic raised his lantern, the verbal sparring ended there.

Pharos also carefully raised his lantern, and white light began to flicker on Stratus's body.

"【Flowing Light】." Eliadodike's body was instantly enveloped in a white that seemed almost tangible, and it rushed straight toward the two in front of it.

Pharos quickly unfolded his mental image, and a large amount of white solid ice appeared.

Bang! Crash!

But with just one contact, the ice crystals that had only just appeared shattered, the sound deafening. Pharos crashed through the corridor wall and was smashed into a three-dimensional pinball in the ever-changing, winding corridor.

The two beams of light collided rapidly several times in the corridor, and Stratus quickly fell into a disadvantageous position and could no longer hold on.

“Teacher, without a body, without a lantern, and only pure white factor energy remaining, you cannot even fully develop your mental imagery. And my many years of accumulation have already surpassed your prime, and you are now extremely weak,” Eliadodike said.

Stratus did not reply, but suddenly turned to find Pharos, who was panting heavily, in the corridor.

Pharos was not surprised by this outcome. If he could easily defeat the Undying Lighthouse, then the accumulated experience of the longest-living lighthouse bearer would be a joke.

He was almost instantly killed in one exchange. If Stratus hadn't borne the brunt of the pressure, he would have been dead by now if he had taken the hit head-on.

He stood up, covered in sweat, and was still able to move.

When he looked up and saw Stratus flying toward him, he raised his lantern without hesitation.

Stratus darted directly into his lantern and took over his body.

The pure white energy within Pharos was instantly infused with immense power, causing phantom wings to appear on his back and the lantern in his hand to emit a blinding light.

Eliadodike arrived leisurely.

“Now we have a body and a lamp,” Stratus said, using Pharos’s body to lift the lamp.

Without a word, the lamplighter who ushered in a new era and the lamplighter who influenced the entire new era, master and disciple, clashed.

……

Following the light of Pharos, Hong Yijia quickly navigated through the complex and ever-changing corridors and finally found a room for collecting items.

As she stepped inside, the light dissipated, and Hong Yijia immediately began searching for the location of the first lantern.

The collection room displays countless artifacts. Even a fleeting glance reveals the profound history and significance preserved within.

This place is like a little-known museum of Dadu's history. In Dadu's history, which is not easy for people to remember, there are people who have preserved all these ancient objects and even come in to maintain them from time to time.

Was it made by that eternal lighthouse?

As soon as Hong Yijia had this idea, she found a lantern displayed separately in a small room.

The lantern was broken, leaving only a twisted, empty shell, lying quietly in the central display case.

Swallowing hard, Hong Yijia cautiously approached.

She approached the display case and was immediately taken aback—had she just seen the lantern light up?
Suddenly, countless white lights flashed in front of Hong Yijia, the twisting light spots outlining the shape of characters.

[Child of confusion... Show your resolve...]

Is it this lantern that is speaking?
Thinking it over, Hong Yijia slowly raised her hand and gently touched the white characters in front of her.

In an instant, a cacophony of sounds pierced Hong Yijia's brain like a sharp awl, causing her to instinctively scream.

These are memories.

During the white onslaught, all the images, scenes, and memories of the dead flooded in, threatening to destroy her mind. Even though a warm feeling rose in her chest, offering some relief, she was still nearly driven mad, feeling as if countless hands were churning her brain!

It hurts so much...it's so uncomfortable...

Tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes, and stomach acid churned, causing me to vomit as much as I could, even though I hadn't eaten much recently.

If she is to obtain this lantern, then she must assume something within these scenes.

How could a pampered little girl possibly deserve all this?

How can someone with such a lighthearted mindset—merely responding to family members or helping them out—bear all this responsibility?

Bang!
Hong Yijia's arm seemed to have been struck by a shock, instantly turning into basic white particles and dissipating. The pain in her body did not lessen in the slightest; in fact, the torment swirling in her mind only intensified.

"Ugh...!" Hong Yijia cried out in a hoarse voice. Her arm, which had just disappeared, actually reformed. The newly reformed arm was covered with a layer of white light and even carried long white feathers.

Awakening has begun.

Wanting to help your family and reciprocate their love—how can that not be a firm belief?
Hong Yijia swayed unsteadily, reaching out to touch the lantern. But it was still difficult; her body and soul were being tested, brutally torn apart. It was a miracle she hadn't collapsed; she was almost beyond saving.

Suddenly, a hand gently patted her back, steadying her swaying body.

“Zheng Fan…” she called out the name of the hand behind her.

“I’m returning your ‘courage’ to you.” Zheng Fan’s voice rang in my ears. “Childhood courage is fragile yet pure, and it’s also the piece of the puzzle that people are most likely to lose and forget.”

Bang!
Another impact shattered most of Hong Yijia's torso, but with Zheng Fan's encouragement, she quickly regained her footing, and white wings grew from her flesh and blood on the back of her newly formed half-torso.

This lantern was originally a backup plan left behind by someone for this particular time in Dadu.

Now, with the internal impact of the white, Hong Yijia, a rough gem with a high concentration of pure white factors and filled with Stratus, instantly activated the lantern mechanism as soon as she got close.

It shattered Hong Yijia's body bit by bit, stripping her of her mortal form, so that she could possess the power to bear the weight of the capital.

As Hong Yijia continued forward, Zheng Fan slowly loosened his grip on her back.

Silently watching Hong Yijia take her last few steps.

When all the pain subsided and her mind cleared, Hong Yijia looked closely and realized that she had entered the password given to her by Niu Qianliu. The lantern, which had been under strict protection by the Undying Lighthouse, was now freed and lay quietly in front of her.

Hong Yijia was breathing heavily, still not fully recovered from the nightmarish experience she had just gone through.

The baptism is complete, the lights are lit, and there is no turning back...

The words were finally outlined, then vanished.

Hong Yijia reached out her hand toward the lantern.

Suddenly, she remembered something and abruptly turned her head to look behind her.

Zheng Fan was not there.

Whether Zheng Fan's push from behind was real or just a figment of her imagination, she was now completely unsure.

……

On the New Golden Iron Pot, Zheng Zheng, encased in a metal shell, was playing music when he suddenly turned around and met Doris's gaze, who was looking right at him.

After the two nodded in unison, Zheng Fan quietly withdrew from the metal shell, leaving only the shell still playing along with the monastery orchestra.

Doris turned her head and said, "Change the song."

The quest to "End the Monastery" has come to an end, and the appeasement ends here. It's time to guide you to the next phase.

Zheng Fan jumped straight off the Xinjin Iron Pot.

Jian Banxian was observing from the side when he suddenly felt the style of the melody around him change abruptly, with a sudden rapid rhythm and occasional heavy drumbeats.

It seemed to continuously shock the hearts of the audience.

Unlike the previous piece, this one is no longer meant to soothe the white spirit and the prevailing melody. Instead, it's more like... a blatant provocation!
call out!
A small, dark shadow flew toward Jian Banxian from somewhere. It wasn't very fast, but it was quite strange. Jian Banxian only belatedly noticed its approach when it got within about a hundred meters of him.

Such eerie concealment, yet it's only the size of a hand...

Cute black earthworm paint job, toy-like design...

What is concentrated here is the crystallization of violence.

Finger-tip nuclear bomb.

The monastery orchestra's melody hit the accent right at that moment.

Boom!

Above the central district, flames accompanied the formation of a mushroom cloud, and shockwaves swept across the ground, eroding the hundreds of corridors below and the surrounding buildings. Light and heat could even destroy white particles!
"What...what's going on!? Where did this enemy attack come from?" a Seed of Light asked with difficulty. Countless people looked at the explosion in the sky, and all beings were awakened to the fear of pure violence.

"Warning! High-energy reactions detected in the air at all locations in Dadu! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

……

Zheng fell upside down from the air, laughing wildly.

Surrounded by adorable fingertip nuclear bombs, he laughed like a child playing with toys.

(End of this chapter)