[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-sky-fell":3,"chapter-after-the-sky-fell-after-the-sky-fell-chapter-74":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After the Sky Fell",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2280930,4462,"Chapter 74: The Fragmented Murals","after-the-sky-fell-chapter-74",74,"\u003Cp>The investigators who went missing in this building hadn’t died—they’d become skeletons like Li Yi, trapped within this illusion. If no way out was found, once all flesh vanished, death would be the only fate awaiting them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, these people had been trapped for a short time, and most were still alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their condition was dire—they were nearly nothing but skeletons, with little flesh remaining. Had their clothing not remained intact, Li Yi wouldn’t have recognized them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Another one arrived? Who is he? One of our investigators, or some unrelated cultivator?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know him, but he’s unusual—his flesh is still abundant. Normally, an ordinary cultivator reaching this point would already be on the verge of collapse, not in such good shape.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe he’s a master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The skeletal figures murmured among themselves, their gazes fixed on Li Yi. They’d been trapped here for some time, unable to find a way out, forced to wait passively while hoping others might succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yi ignored their whispers and continued forward, following the voice in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, one voice spoke up: “Is that Li Yi, from Wang Jian’s squad?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yi halted and turned toward the source of the voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw a tall skeleton seated cross-legged on the ground, motionless. Much of its flesh had rotted away, yet its condition was far better than the others—its face still retained some flesh, allowing his features to be clearly recognized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re… Captain Zhang Lei?” Li Yi asked tentatively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Lei’s eye sockets were hollow, his eyeballs long gone. His voice was steady: “Yes, it’s me. Li Yi. What’s the situation outside?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not good. Liu Yue, Wang Jian, and I all got trapped while investigating. They can’t move—they’re frozen in place. Only I followed the traces here.” Li Yi said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your intuition is sharp—you knew the problem lay on this floor, and you found it quickly.” Zhang Lei affirmed: “But unfortunately, we still haven’t broken this strange illusion. I’m certain the source lies in that thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed to a direction on his left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, the floor had collapsed, scattered with chunks of concrete. Among the rubble stood a wall—this fragment of wall was unusual, carved from ancient white marble, seamless and whole, emitting a faint glow in the dimness. Above it lay greenish-blue glazed tiles, translucent and shimmering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just this small section of wall suggested the grandeur and exquisite beauty of the building it once belonged to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Yi paid no attention to the wall’s luxury or beauty—he stared fixedly at the bas-relief mural upon it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mural depicted a pure white skeleton, seated cross-legged, its bony palms resting before it in an odd hand seal. Beneath the skeleton was carved a lotus pedestal, lending the otherwise sinister figure an air of transcendence and sanctity, like a bodhisattva in a temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bone mural seemed to possess some mysterious power. As Li Yi stared, his vision blurred. The surroundings faded. The white skeleton before him grew clearer, more real—as if revived, it smiled at him with serene calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The skeleton was smiling?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could that be?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could a skull form a smile? It defied logic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Li Yi saw it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, as he sank deeper, the mural changed again—the white skeleton grew more three-dimensional, as if fully detaching from the wall. Gradually, clothing emerged upon it: a sheer, gossamer robe, celestial and seamless, barely there yet utterly complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even stranger, a human silhouette appeared around the skeleton, overlapping and completely covering it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silhouette replaced the skeleton, seated cross-legged, hands forming the same seal. As time passed, its face and body grew clearer, gradually transforming into a flesh-and-blood human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person’s features were indistinct, unrecognizable, but from posture, it was a woman—barely draped in thin gauze, slender waist, long legs, voluptuous and alluring, smiling sweetly at Li Yi. Though silent, her eyes radiated boundless allure, stirring the deepest primal desires within a man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman’s body grew clearer and more enticing, yet her face remained blurred, as if veiled in thick fog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yi felt his heart pounding, his blood boiling. Though his body was a skeleton, a terrifying desire surged within him—hot as flame, threatening to burn his reason to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard. Every bone in his body hardened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the woman’s face on the lotus pedestal suddenly appeared—exquisite features, porcelain skin, delicate as if one touch would shatter it. Her face resembled Ning Wu, whom he’d met before, or Lin Yue, who guided his cultivation—or perhaps a fusion of both. Yet she surpassed them both in breathtaking beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yi couldn’t resist reaching for the woman, desperate to rush forward, seize her, and crush her onto the lotus pedestal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he tried to move, his body refused—frozen in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath his feet lay an unbreakable shadow, enveloping him entirely. Trapped within it, he could not move. Though the alluring woman stood mere inches away, he could only stare helplessly, unable to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman on the lotus pedestal smiled enchantingly, then rose, swaying her seductive form toward Li Yi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every glance, every smile, every tremble—captivating, soul-stealing. Even if you knew this was a demon or spirit, how could you resist such a sight? You’d gladly die in this tender embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yi sank into it, unable to break free. His eyes locked on her, his body struggling, yearning to step forward and welcome the approaching beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the unyielding shadow bound him too tightly—he remained rooted, motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman descending from the lotus grew more vivid. She laughed, her voice melodious. She swayed her supple form to Li Yi’s front, extending her pale arm, attempting to wrap it around his neck, to draw this unmoving man into her arms and drown him utterly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the instant she touched Li Yi—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unbreakable shadow beneath his feet erupted, spreading like ink, instantly staining the entire world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The once voluptuous, alluring woman shrieked in agony, like a wailing ghost. In moments, her flesh dissolved, revealing the white skeleton beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beauty turned to bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Desire and terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sudden reversal jolted Li Yi awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, everything vanished—no woman nearby, no skeleton before him. Only the wall standing amid the ruins remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Yi, Li Yi, can you hear me? Don’t keep staring at that bone mural—it’s malevolent. It’ll drag you deeper into the illusion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Lei’s voice finally reached his ears, shouting to awaken him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I—I’m fine.” Li Yi gasped like a drowning man breaking the surface, still trembling with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All flesh had vanished—only white bone remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant he was still inside the illusion. What he’d just experienced was an illusion within an illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it had felt so real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could still smell the woman’s perfume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that was false, then what was real?\u003C\u002Fp>",1140,"2026-06-20T01:26:56.586Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fde64e6e422e3f1cac9ce97708a605d77507ef3ebcde39eaf6fc0013cc97ec93","after-the-sky-fell-chapter-75","after-the-sky-fell-chapter-73",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-sky-fell-cover.jpg"]