Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 94 Fengdu Illusionary World Array

As the goddess stepped into the painting, the scene before her eyes suddenly distorted.

As the ink spread, the once solid rock wall transformed into flowing ink, and a soft rustling sound filled the air, as if countless brushes were gently rubbing against the rice paper.

She opened her eyes and saw a dense forest made of ink lines.

The withered branches twisted and stretched like iron hooks, each leaf tinged with an eerie bluish-gray, and translucent wandering spirits drifted through the forest, their forms indistinct, with only two scarlet dots in their eyes standing out.

Muffled groans and sounds of fighting came from afar, clearly indicating that Yuan Qingshuang and the others were locked in combat with something.

"Don't worry."

Wei Yang tugged at the chains and said lazily, "The first realm, the Forest of Withered Souls, was drawn using the first level of the Spirit Painting, 'Form Imprisonment.' These ghosts are merely in form. If they are killed by something like this, it only proves that they don't deserve to live!"

She walked into the forest with a cold smile, while the withered spirits around her cowered and dared not approach.

The goddess thought to herself with a sense of wonder; these ghostly creatures seemed to be truly alive.

Before long, the two crossed the Forest of Withered Souls.

Wei Yang suddenly stopped. It turned out that he had reached the end of the forest and there were three paths in front of him, each with a stone tablet in front of it.

Three paths, three stone tablets, each inscribed with a line of text:

—Left side: Going through fire and water, dying without hesitation.

—Middle: When you see something, think of its meaning; when you see danger, accept your fate.

—Right side: Do not enter a country in danger, do not reside in a country in chaos.

Wei Yang sneered: "Gu Yunsheng loves playing these tricks on others, calling it a test of character! Wasn't it these three lines of text last time... If you were given the choice, which one would you pick?"

The goddess's gaze swept over the three stone tablets, and she said softly, "The one on the left is 'the benevolent person,' the one in the middle is 'the mediocre person,' and the one on the right is 'the ordinary person.' If it were me, I would choose the mediocre person."

"Oh?"

Wei Yang seemed somewhat surprised, turned to look at her, and sneered, "This path leads to the 'Dan Ding Scroll,' where healers save lives. I thought you would risk everything and choose the left path... What? Did your master teach you to cherish your life?"

The Empress didn't care about her sarcasm, nor did she care about anyone other than Lu Chenyuan, including this so-called 'sister' with wicked intentions. She said, "My brother taught me to endure when I should endure, to kill when I should kill, and also to be benevolent when I should be benevolent, and to sacrifice when I should sacrifice. Help when you can, and don't help when you can't. Of course, I have to protect myself, and I also have to stay with my brother."

"..."

Wei Yang's fingers trembled, and a sudden surge of killing intent rose within him: "Now I want to kill him even more!"

The goddess glanced at her: "You're jealous. It seems my answer was right."

Wei Yang said coldly, "Shut up!"

The Goddess said, "The Creator is not only testing those who come to retrieve the 'Dan Ding Scroll,' but also telling you that he wants you to cherish your life. Even if you cultivate the 'Dan Ding Scroll,' you don't necessarily have to be a compassionate healer and save lives in times of danger. If this painting contains such an option, then the correct answer is what he wants to teach you..."

"I told you to shut up!!"

With a roar, Wei Yang unleashed a torrent of black poisonous gas that swept across the area, instantly withering the flowers and plants in the painting and turning them back into paper.

"..."

Not enough words to speculate.

The goddess simply shut her mouth and said no more.

Wei Yang suddenly turned his head, staring intently at her, and said, word by word, "Not every choice is so obvious, nor is every option good or evil! These damn sentences come from various classics, and even within the Confucian school, there are different definitions of a gentleman! How do you know which one is correct? He's just playing with people!"

"you're right."

The goddess recalled a self-contradictory statement by Mencius: "It seems that is indeed the case."

"..."

Wei Yang paused for a moment, then rubbed his forehead and said weakly, "Forget it, why bother talking to you about this! This broken formation has no reason to exist. Once I get what I need, I'll smash it to pieces! Stick close to me!"

She tugged at the chain and strode quickly toward the path in the middle.

The two traveled quickly and then passed through five more forks in the road.

Each fork in the road offers different options; choosing the right one allows you to continue deeper into the maze, while choosing the wrong one will leave you wandering aimlessly within its walls.

Moreover, the deeper you go, the stronger and more bloodthirsty the ghosts become. You must make a choice in the shortest amount of time, otherwise you will disturb the ghosts and a battle will break out.

The goddess looked at the sentences above and began to feel confused.

Some options are "To see what is right and not do it is cowardice," others are "A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall," and still others are "A doctor cutting off his own flesh is something even a sage would not do," accompanied by "According to one's ability and virtue, one should not force oneself to do what one is not capable of"...

"A person without integrity is worthless," and "The human heart is more treacherous than mountains and rivers"...

"Though there be thousands of people against me, I will go." "If the Way is not followed, I will take a raft and float on the sea."

Sometimes the Sheep chooses to "retreat," sometimes to "advance," sometimes "a wise man will not help," and sometimes "knowing it is impossible but doing it anyway."

The more the goddess looked, the more confused she became, and she couldn't quite figure out what Gu Yunsheng was doing.

If he wants his successors to be compassionate and know when to advance and retreat, then why are some correct answers radical?

Before the five forks in the road, a door appeared in front of us.

"This is the entrance to the Second Realm."

Wei Yang's tone became more serious: "The first realm was just a small-scale affair. Even if we tried them one by one, we could still find the answers. But starting from the second realm, the illusions are further strengthened, and the test of one's state of mind is much more severe. The scroll breaks free from 'physical imprisonment' and reaches a higher level of 'divine binding,' beginning to be influenced by the meaning of the painting. The illusion array varies from person to person. I was trapped in the second realm's [Heart Cleansing Pool] for decades. Now my five senses are sealed, so follow me."

The goddess did not argue. With a thought, she closed her eyes and mouth, retaining only her sense of touch, and followed Wei Yang like a walking corpse.

The advantage of mechanical puppets lies in this: humans cannot shut down their senses, and as long as they are awake, they will be disturbed by what they see and hear. Mechanical puppets are different; they can turn off a certain function of themselves at will.

I don't know how long it took.

The goddess felt as if she had waded through a long river, and Wei Yang patted her on the head.

The goddess reopened her five senses, and a floating pavilion appeared before her eyes.

Bronze bells hung at the four corners of the attic, but the clappers were shaped like calligraphy brushes.

The couplet on either side of the pavilion entrance reads: "The brushstrokes flow like dragons and snakes, revealing righteousness; the ink splashes like clouds and smoke, showcasing spirit."

Above it is a plaque with the three large characters "Dianjing Pavilion".

Upon arriving here, Wei Yang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if he had arrived in a familiar place.

The goddess glanced back and saw a blood-red lake. The surface of the lake was as calm as a mirror, and dozens of inkstones seemed to be submerged at the bottom of the lake. Each inkstone was engraved with different inscriptions. A faint blood mist shrouded the lake, and ghostly figures struggled and roared in the mist, which was terrifying and sinister!
Wei Yang embraced the goddess and leaped onto the pavilion. The wooden door creaked open, and the scent of agarwood mixed with cinnabar wafted out.

This is a huge alchemy room, with dozens of rows of ebony bookshelves arranged like an army formation around it, piled high with all kinds of books, some woven with gold thread, and some bound with jade scrolls.

At the east end stands a three-foot-tall bronze alchemy furnace, its body shimmering with a dark red glow through the coiled dragon patterns, as if the fire in the furnace had not yet gone out.

The star chart hanging on the west wall glowed with a faint blue light in the dim light, and the stars inlaid with cinnabar and malachite seemed to shift on their own with the light from the sky outside the window.

The most peculiar item is the jade slip hanging in the center of the room. It rotates slowly on its own without any wind, and the three characters "Dan Ding Juan" on its surface flow like mercury. Sometimes the scripture appears, and sometimes the incantations are hidden, depending on the changing light.

The Elixir Cauldron!
The goddess's eyes lit up.

Wei Yang glanced at her and said sarcastically, "Even in this state, you're still thinking about bringing the Pill Cauldron Scroll to your master. You really are loyal!"

The goddess didn't take it to heart: "My brother is good to me, so of course I should be good to him."

Wei Yang said coldly, "That's Gu Yunsheng's brilliance. He deceives you into believing that being a spirit means you're a living being, no different from a human, while simultaneously making you willingly serve him like a slave! It's utterly disgusting!"

"..."

The goddess didn't want to discuss this topic with her; it was pointless.

She could sense whether her brother was being insincere or genuine.

The goddess looked around: "Where are you taking me? Aren't we there yet?"

Wei Yang waved his hand, and the window directly opposite them opened wide, revealing a second door floating outside.

"Having reached this point, we have already obtained the 'Dan Ding Scroll'. However, the 'Dan Ding Scroll' alone is not enough. Even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice. To make it exert its maximum effect, we need a magical artifact to assist us—the [Tai Xu Ning Hua Lamp]."

Wei Yang led the Goddess to the window: "This cup can refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into 'Jade Dew,' which can both accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs and refine elixirs. Without this magical artifact, the 'Dan Ding Scroll' can only be considered a very advanced method of refining medicine. Only when used with the Condensing Essence Cup can its full power be unleashed—planting herbs is like watering a garden, with spiritual plants ripening overnight; refining medicine is like brewing tea, with third-grade elixirs taking only a few days, but..."

The goddess looked towards the gate of the boundary.

Behind the door lay a massive cavern, in the center of which grew a grove of strangely shaped locust trees. Mist billowed within the grove, shadowy figures lurked in the depths, and a chilling wind rustled through the air.

Several fox spirits with snow-white skin and beautiful faces dragged three rotting fox tails behind them. With each step they took, white bones were revealed beneath their skirts. Two water ghosts, their bodies swollen and festering, lay on the edge of the swamp, their ten fingers digging into the ground, leaving trails of foul-smelling water. Wherever they passed, the grass withered and turned black. Three zombies with tattered talismans pasted on their foreheads hopped and skipped, each step leaving a pool of black blood that was quickly swallowed by the soil.

Deeper inside, a Yaksha demon squatted in front of a dilapidated medicine shed, holding a rusty balance scale, weighing several beating hearts. The scale tilted, and drops of blood dripped down, etching small pits into the ground. A Yaksha hung upside down from a branch, its face blue and its fangs bared, gnawing at a human arm. Bone fragments fell in a flurry, but before they touched the ground, they were swept away by the mist.

A locust tree stands before the door, where a hundred ghosts roam at night!
The goddess was secretly alarmed. Then, she felt a blur before her eyes. As the mist swirled, the entire locust forest seemed to writhe as if it were alive. The tree roots twisted like giant pythons, the branches twisted like ghostly hands reaching out, and the drifting ghosts in the mist sometimes transformed into the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation, and sometimes into the Twenty-Eight Mansions constellation. Their positions were disordered, and it was difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

"This is the [Fengdu Illusionary World Array] created by Gu Yunsheng, based on the art of divination and incorporating the spirits of the painting world!"

Wei Yang clenched his fist and said coldly, "The [Condensing Splendor Lamp] is deep in the locust forest. Those who enter this formation will lose all five senses. One wrong step and they will be devoured by a hundred ghosts... These ghosts are nothing to me, but the formation itself is difficult to break and it is very easy to get lost. I want you to take it out now. If you can do it, then your master won't have to take any risks. I'm sure you'll be happy to do so."

This formation...

The goddess Gui Cang's precious eyes gleamed as she gazed into the depths of the locust forest, discerning some clues, and couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

"What's wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Yang immediately asked, "Can you break it?"

call……

The goddess breathed a sigh of relief, lifted the shackles, and tilted her head slightly: "I can't just break them like this, can I?"

She seemed too relaxed, which aroused Wei Yang's suspicion. She had only brought people to test the waters, but she hadn't expected the Goddess to make progress so quickly, which surprised her. She had thought that even if she could break through, it would take more time to figure it out...

The Empress Dowager knew things were going badly; she had narrowly escaped death, but her emotions were showing a bit too much...

Her heart pounded, filled with regret and nervous anticipation as she awaited what would happen next.

Fortunately, Wei Yang hesitated for only a moment before taking out the key, unlocking her shackles, and warning, "This is the Third Realm. Don't try anything funny. We are sisters after all, and we share the same fate. I don't want to hurt you, and you shouldn't take advantage of my favor and force me to take action!"

The shackles slammed heavily onto the ground with a crisp sound.

The goddess breathed a sigh of relief, flexed her wrists, and said, "I have a question."

Wei Yang asked, "What's the problem?"

The goddess looked around the alchemy room: "I thought your talismans and pills were all refined in this painting, but it seems there are no extra medicinal materials here... Were those things given to you by the creator? Or... by someone else? You said you were trapped in the formation for fifty years. Did you get out on your own, or did someone else take you out?"

Wei Yang glanced at her: "Why are you asking these questions? If you can break the formation, then break it!"

Seeing that she could not get any answers, the goddess stopped talking and leaped into the boundary gate, standing outside the locust grove.

The great formation was immediately alarmed and began to rapidly change its formation. The hundreds of ghosts within the formation were restless, drawn by the scent of humans!
The goddess, experiencing it firsthand, felt no fear whatsoever; instead, she smiled and said, "Just as I thought..."

Wei Yang sensed something was wrong: "What did you say?"

The Divine Queen chuckled softly, "This is the Third Realm, but it's not just the Third Realm. It should be described as the intermediate zone where the 'painting' and the 'painting paper' are intertwined. On one side is the painting, and on the other is the painting paper. The two are blended together, which is why this grand formation, where reality and illusion are indistinguishable, exists, and why this artistic conception has endured for decades..."

painting……

Drawing paper...

The Sheep, quick-witted, roughly understood what she meant.

The entire "Hundred Ghosts of the Azure Sky" is a painting, and the canvas is naturally that giant rock wall, which is the Suspended Peak, and even the entire Songshan Mountain.

Nourished by the natural energy of Mount Song, the artistic charm of this painting has never diminished in the past sixty years...

But so what?
Even if there's a problem with the 'painting paper,' the formation still needs to be broken if you want to get the [Condensed Splendor Lamp].

Unless she doesn't break the formation...

Drawing paper...the interplay of reality and illusion...

not good!

A sudden inspiration struck Wei Yang, his eyes lit up, and he leaped into the Third Realm!

The goddess had already activated the mechanism, opening and closing her arm to reveal a hidden jade pendant underneath. The jade pendant was jet black, carved in the shape of a fish, with a sharp tail like a knife, and a crimson agate inlaid in the fish's eye, which was now emitting a faint blood-red light.

—The Yin Jade of the [Shadow-Shifting Jade]!

My brother once said, "Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly."

The goddess looked at Wei Yang with pity and said softly, "Your eyes are blinded by hatred. In fact, you have been free for fifty years..."

"Leave me alone!"

Enraged, Wei Yang unleashed his full inner energy, his five fingers forming claws as he clawed at the Goddess!
Ignoring the sharp claws that were closing in, the Goddess looked at the jade pendant in her hand. She saw the runes on it light up, and a warmth filled her heart: "My brother was indeed waiting for me outside..."

As soon as she finished speaking, a crimson light shone, and the Goddess vanished, leaving only a wisp of green smoke in her wake.

——【The Shape-Shifting Jade】There are two jades, Yin and Yang. The holder of the jade can feel the attraction between Yin and Yang within a thousand steps. When the Yang jade moves, the Yin jade will respond; when the Yin jade moves, the Yang jade will follow. When the two jades resonate, the holder's body can move in mid-air. Even if there are copper walls and iron walls or a thousand troops surrounding him, it is difficult to stop his sudden change of form.

The teleportation distance of the Shadow Jade is limited, far less than that of the Great Teleportation Talisman. For it to be effective, both Jade shards must be within a thousand steps.

Wei Yang did not possess the Treasure Eye of Returning to the Source. After searching her body, she relied on her peak Fifth Realm cultivation and thought she was foolproof. However, her mechanical body had too many places to hide things. She was too arrogant and never expected that there was such a trick up her sleeve.

Seeing the goddess disappear, he was furious and immediately took out a Great Teleportation Talisman from his pocket.

Her fingers trembled as she looked at the runes personally inscribed by Gu Yunsheng.

So many years.

She tried so many times in the first and second trials, but never succeeded in transferring the item, and had long since given up hope.

In her view, the first and second realms were only on the surface of the painting and already had such power, so the third realm, hidden in the deepest part, was even more impossible to escape. But who could have imagined that the third realm had already "penetrated through the paper" and reached beyond the painting, connecting with reality.

The relationship between the painting and the paper is not difficult to distinguish, but she was prejudiced and thought that Gu Yunsheng was deliberately tormenting the later ones, and it was impossible for him to leave a back door in the most dangerous place!
Who would have expected...

I was overwhelmed with emotions at that moment.

With trembling hands, Wei Yang channeled her true energy, and the Great Teleportation Array instantly formed beneath her feet, carrying her out of the painting world.

When I opened my eyes again, the blazing white light of the sky poured down like a waterfall.

She instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, only to find that the sunlight filtering through her fingers was warm, making her eyes sting.

"So that's how it is..."

……

As soon as the goddess appeared, she was caught off guard and fell into a cold yet warm embrace. She opened her eyes and saw the extremely familiar rat head.

"elder brother!"

The goddess cheered and hugged his neck tightly. The feeling of having something lost and then found was wonderful!
Lu Chenyuan's nerves, which had been tense for a long time, finally relaxed a little, but he dared not slack off in the slightest.

He shielded her in his arms with one hand, and his sword wings suddenly unfolded on his back, drawing a rainbow-like trajectory in the sunlight. With a light touch of his toes, he shot out towards the outer perimeter like an arrow released from a bow!
The goddess pressed her cheek against his chest, and through the cold armor, she could hear the rapid and powerful heartbeat inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark shadow approaching at a terrifying speed in the distance—her fifth sister, Wei Yang, was walking through the air, her body shrouded in a purplish-black poisonous mist, and wherever she passed, the grass and trees withered!
Hiss!

At this moment.

A sword light as bright as the moon descended from the sky, like a cascading Milky Way, forcefully cleaving a vacuum in the poisonous fog!
"It's not over?"

Li Lingyue descended from the sky, her palace dress billowing, her phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent. With a flick of her wide sleeves, the [Taihua Qing Shuang] sword spun around her like a dragon, its tip pointing directly at Wei Yang. She said coldly, "Don't you want to take a look around?"

Before the words were finished, the earth suddenly trembled.

On the distant horizon, five thousand elite Eagle Guard cavalrymen loomed like dark clouds pressing down on the city, their iron armor gleaming.

General Wang Xiaojie, holding a long spear, pointed the spear and his iron cavalry surged forward like a tide to encircle the enemy, the sound of their hooves shaking the ground and causing the stones to tremble.

At the same time, deep Buddhist chants came from the mountain path on the west side.

The abbot of Shaolin Temple led the eighteen Arhats and arrived through the air. Five hundred warrior monks formed a demon-subduing formation, and their staffs slammed into the ground at the same time, producing a deafening roar.

The interplay of Buddhist light and murderous intent completely blocked Wei Yang's escape route.

The sheep's pupils suddenly contracted.

The poisonous mist surrounding her began to churn uneasily in the chilling atmosphere.

Li Lingyue sneered: "Today, I'll show you what a net of heaven and earth really is!"

(End of this chapter)