Chapter 83: Shadows Looming

Shadows Looming

A wave rolled over, and two figures appeared on the gloomy lakeside. Ruan Ci lifted her veil hat and looked around curiously for a moment before turning to smile at Qin Fengyu. "Feather Lady, I almost laughed when you came over just now."

Qin Fengyu was no longer cold and beautiful, covering her mouth and laughing. "I was already laughing hard in my heart—ouch!"

She suddenly straightened her face and pretended to be serious. "But don't provoke me to chat. Before I left, I set a law for myself: on this trip, I can say at most one thousand words a day. I've already used two."

As she spoke, she pursed her lips tightly, seemingly expressing her determination to use the remaining nine hundred and ninety-eight sentences only when necessary. Ruan Ci was so amused that she almost doubled over, but upon reflection, she felt that this law-cultivator's restriction suited Qin Fengyu's temperament perfectly. The path of law-cultivators and vow-cultivators had always been that the harder it was to achieve, the more generous the feedback. For Qin Fengyu, there was truly nothing more difficult than speaking less.

"Does sound transmission, without speaking out, count too?"

Qin Fengyu glanced at her, clearly enduring it with great difficulty. Ruan Ci couldn't help but laugh, and no longer teased her. She looked around and transmitted her voice, "Where are we at the entrance of the Hengze Heaven?"

At this moment, the lake surface was filled with shadows walking on it. The other cultivators swept in by the waves were not nearby, clearly showing that the space here was much larger than the Baoyun Sea. As the two women stayed longer, the shadows gradually became clearer. This place was a city, and the residents were walking and hawking in the market, almost no different from the scene at the Baoyun Ferry. Qin Fengyu squinted at the distant city gate and said, "This is the Various City Gates, quite a long way from the cities where Jade Dew usually appears."

She added, "Junior Uncle, we are not in a hurry. Why don't we tour this market first?"

At this time, the surrounding shadows were almost indistinguishable from real people, but there was silence between everyone's lips, which seemed a bit eerie. Ruan Ci said, "Okay, anyway, if we rush there now, it's just killing, or preventing being killed. Even if we get the Jade Dew, it's impossible to leave immediately."

During the opening period of the Hengze Heaven, it was not a matter of entering and leaving at will; it was like a tide. Now the tide was rising, and standing by the Baoyun Sea, one would be swept into the Hengze Heaven. When the spiritual energy eruption gradually faded and this overlap was about to end, the spiritual energy would be sucked back into the Baoyun Sea by the Langhuan Zhou Tian. At that time, the cultivators would have to catch those waves of returning tides. If they were delayed by something and didn't come out in time, shortly after the Hengze Heaven closed, the life lamps left in the sect would go out. Therefore, let alone that the Hengze Jade Dew hadn't appeared yet, even if it had, being the first to take it was not good news for the cultivators.

"Let's go, let's stroll around the market and see if we can get anything good." Ruan Ci said, but soon became curious again. "But in our situation, how should we get treasure materials from the shadows?"

She opened her hand and tried to pass through the pillar of a stable beside her, passing through without any obstruction. Qin Fengyu said, "I heard people say that it's best to let the residents here give it to you voluntarily. But this is very difficult. Usually, the residents here turn a blind eye to us. Even if they pay attention to you, it's very hard to move them, and even doing things for them is difficult."

She spoke very fast, as if she could count several sentences as one to save her quota. Ruan Ci nodded, recalling what she had seen and heard in the Qinghua Heaven, and said, "Indeed, these residents are actually born from the inner landscape..."

Before she could finish, Qin Fengyu covered her mouth, looking around in fear. Ruan Ci looked with her and saw that the figures of those residents were swaying again, not as solid as before. Qin Fengyu whispered, "Junior Uncle, who doesn't know this? But if you say it out loud, the virtual scenery here will cease to exist, and everyone will fall into an empty space, waiting for that drop of Jade Dew in the Jade Pool to manifest. There are more than ten thousand people; do you know how many want to gain something in this Hengze Heaven? Just say those of us who want to take the Jade Dew, one or two thousand people are staring at the Jade Dew in an empty space. When the time comes to fight, no one can control the scene. Even you might not be able to get out alive. So you must remember, here, you must never say the truth about this place. Just treat it as real, and that will do."

Ruan Ci said in horror, "More than ten thousand cultivators, what if one of them lets it slip?"

Qin Fengyu said, "They won't. Many cultivators, in order to collect treasure materials, will even buy a kind of spiritual medicine at the Baoyun Ferry, which can bewitch themselves, making them believe without doubt that this is the present world, only setting a hint to return when they encounter a spiritual tide."

Ruan Ci had indeed seen this kind of spiritual medicine for sale at the Baoyun Ferry. At that time, she didn't know what it was for and thought about asking Qu Qu Tan Yue, but forgot. Now she knew that those Ping Sect cultivators had such an idea. No wonder they weren't afraid of being affected by the fighting of the Sheng Sect. To them, after taking the medicine, this place was the present world. It might be very difficult for cultivators who hadn't taken the medicine to find them among the shadows.

"Now that I've told you the taboo, it doesn't matter. And what you said just now doesn't count as breaking the illusion, it will only slightly affect the effect. It is rumored that the Hengze True Person was a powerhouse only one step away from the Dao Ancestor level. Even if the inner landscape is shattered to this extent, it's not something we little Foundation Establishment cultivators can break with a few words."

In order to dissuade Ruan Ci, Qin Fengyu said a lot in one breath. At this moment, she felt a bit reluctant, like a miser. She counted on her fingers, "I've already said more than fifty sentences."

Ruan Ci said, "You wasted another sentence just now—but what if I discover something and really want to tell you? What should I do then?"

Qin Fengyu hesitated for a moment and held out her hand, signaling Ruan Ci to write on her palm. Ruan Ci could see that she wasn't entirely sure about this workaround either. Both of them were coming to the Hengze Heaven for the first time, and this kind of illusion formed by an inner landscape had always been varied. Even if one had been here once, one couldn't say one had fully grasped the laws of change here.

Ruan Ci was also a bold person, doing whatever she thought of, not caring about the worst outcome. She wrote a few words on Qin Fengyu's palm with her fingertip. Qin Fengyu couldn't help but be shocked, staring at Ruan Ci with wide eyes for a long time, then hurriedly looking around, seeing that there seemed to be no change in the surroundings. Only then did she dare to whisper, "Really?"

Seeing that the surrounding residents were still busy and didn't even spare them a glance, Ruan Ci's courage grew. She transmitted her voice, "Look at their clothes, they are all left-lapel. Maybe others thought it was reflected through a mirror, so it was reversed, but the spiritual energy here is also very different from the outside. When I refined some Donghua Sword Intent in the Huangshou Mountain, I once saw a scene of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor holding a sword to slash a phoenix. The spiritual energy at that time was very similar to this place, and the Dao Ancestor at that time was also left-lapel..."

The Five Elements Dao Ancestor naturally never needed to take action in this universe. Before the Qing Lord had spiritual consciousness and fell, he would never let anyone hold him to fight. This scene could only have happened before the creation of this universe. In other words, this Hengze True Person was also a cultivator who followed the Five Elements Dao Ancestor from the old universe to here, or rather, he had fallen long before the opening of this universe, and only the inner landscape was brought here along with the Langhuan Zhou Tian.

Qin Fengyu was older than Ruan Ci, but only by about a thousand years. How could she not be dazzled by this secret realm that could be traced back to the opening of the universe? After listening to Ruan Ci, she just looked at the shadow residents left and right. After a long time, she slowly let out a cold breath and whispered, "This... I'm afraid no one discovered this before you."

She couldn't help but tremble again. "Before, I heard that I was to come to the Hengze Heaven, and I was actually very happy. Usually in the sect, every move is under the care of the Grand Ancestor, or is seen by other great True Persons. Even outside the mountain gate, there is no sense of freedom. The Central Continent looks vast, but in fact, we are all moving in the palms of great cultivators. It's hard to come here, and everything I do is completely autonomous, and great cultivators cannot intervene... But for some reason, after hearing you say this, realizing that here even the power of the Dao Ancestor might not be able to penetrate, I feel a bit guilty and a bit afraid."

Ruan Ci smiled slightly and said, "Is that so? Why do I feel that if even the power of the Dao Ancestor cannot penetrate here, I feel more at ease?"

Qin Fengyu forgot the thousand-sentence ban for a moment and sighed, "If I were you, I would probably have the same feeling. Foundation Establishment twelve... no, from the moment you obtained the Donghua Sword, you were already in the sight of the Dao Ancestor. This feeling of every move, even every thought in your heart, being seen through, must be very uncomfortable."

Ruan Ci usually didn't let herself think about these problems at all. For one, thinking was useless, and for another, she was indeed not sure if her thoughts would fall into the Dao Ancestor's mind. Although the Qing Lord couldn't read them, that was meeting in the past life. In the present world, there were still seventy-two living Dao Ancestors. Who knew to what extent their power had reached? Even at this moment, she didn't dare to indulge her thoughts, fearing it was just her misunderstanding. Although she was willful, in one aspect, she had surprising self-control.

"Let's not talk about this for now." She no longer talked about these dangerous topics. "I see that we have said so much, and they are still fine. Why don't we stroll around and see first. If we see something we like, even if we can't get it, we can see if there are other Ping Sect disciples who have come in, and ask them to find a way to exchange for it, and then buy it from them after we go out."

Ruan Ci guessed this, and Qin Fengyu immediately paid much more attention to this place. She pulled Ruan Ci to walk toward the lively part of the city, and was also very careful about etiquette, refusing to pass directly through the shadows, and seemed full of awe and curiosity toward them, even looking at the sundries in the residents' hands very carefully, as if distinguishing the differences between the two universes. She watched for a long time and said to Ruan Ci with some frustration, "It is indeed a bit different from the utensils we usually use... but I can't tell whether this is the difference between the two universes, or a little difference that every country in our Zhou Tian will have. I have cultivated for a thousand years, but in fact, I know very little, and I know nothing about the life of mortals... Actually, I can be considered a bumpkin."

Although she spoke a lot, it was not boring. Ruan Ci said, "When you cultivate to the Grotto-Heaven, you will have plenty of time to travel around the Zhou Tian."

Qin Fengyu shook her head and sighed, "It's not that simple. Who knows, after I cultivate to the Grotto-Heaven, there will be many things that must be done in the Grotto-Heaven, busy and busy, never having a moment of leisure."

"Then wait until you have no hope of the Great Dao, and you will always have plenty of time to do what you want."

The two shuttled through the crowd, looking at everything they saw, and kept chatting. Ruan Ci intended to lead Qin Fengyu to say a few more words, so as not to let Qin Fengyu save all the quotas for the last hour, making that hour very difficult to endure. Qin Fengyu was still immersed in the shock, didn't think of the thousand-sentence agreement, and pulled Ruan Ci again. "Look, look, that refining technique, that spiritual power, that talisman seal, it is indeed very different from our Zhou Tian."

She squeezed into the spiritual tool shop on the street, staring intently at the refiner processing spiritual materials on the edge of the crowd. "It's not refined by the five elements, nor is it Yin and Yang. It's wonderful, it's wonderful, this technique..."

If it were in the Langhuan Zhou Tian, such public stealing of techniques would be the most serious provocation. If Qin Fengyu didn't pay a sufficient price, it would be difficult to leave. But here, the shadows didn't care about them, and the refiner even changed several techniques. Qin Fengyu watched intently, no longer thinking about other treasure materials and spiritual tools. Ruan Ci knew nothing about refining techniques, and after watching for a few times, she turned her eyes away to carefully examine the spiritual tools. Several spiritual tools had very beautiful shapes, and one mask was exquisitely made. Although it was as thin as a cicada's wing, it emitted a warm precious light, and was like jade. Ruan Ci couldn't help but reach out to touch it, but her fingertips passed straight through it, and she still couldn't touch it.

No matter when the Hengze True Person fell, he was a visitor from the old universe, this point was beyond doubt. Ruan Ci had a strong interest in these magic tools that had not been stained with the Dongyang Dao rhyme. She couldn't help but sigh, withdrew her hand and was about to walk away, but saw a shadow clerk walk over and bow in her direction. The salute he performed was also very different from the Langhuan Zhou Tian, with his hands crossed and buckled into a flying swallow shape in front of his chest, bowing slightly.

Ruan Ci was surprised, but when she looked back, she saw someone behind her also bowing, so she was relieved and stepped aside, letting the two of them talk business. The guest also took a fancy to the mask, so the clerk put it on, chanting words, pinching the formula to pour in magic power, and with a shake of his body, turned into a graceful young girl, wearing strong clothes, taking off her veil hat, pulling out a silver hairpin from her hair, and smiling slightly at Ruan Ci. It was exactly Ruan Ci's appearance.

Ruan Ci stood there, silent and motionless, listening carefully, but still didn't hear the clerk's voice, which meant she hadn't fully invested in the illusion, taking the fake for real. Theoretically, these shadows should also turn a blind eye to her—

The clerk shook his body and returned to his original appearance, took off the mask, and gestured a number to the guest. The guest took out a deer-skin package from his arms, took out a dozen green stones, seemingly not enough, so he shook his head and walked away. The clerk didn't keep him, put down the mask, and turned to greet other guests.

Ruan Ci stood for a long time before turning to look for Qin Fengyu. Qin Fengyu was still stealing techniques by the smelting furnace. When Ruan Ci pulled her, she was extremely unwilling. "Oh, let me finish watching! I want to see how many techniques this master knows. From just now to now, there hasn't been a repeat. Is the old universe so extravagant that a refiner in any city has to use so many fancy techniques when refining?"

Ruan Ci pulled her out of the shop and said, "When you come back, you can see it the same way. Now follow me to the city for a trip."

Qin Fengyu wondered, "What are you doing outside the city?"

Ruan Ci said, "Looking for stones—my guess shouldn't be wrong. Although we haven't been able to communicate, they are already willing to exchange things for me."

"Really?" Qin Fengyu was still a bit confused, but she didn't need Ruan Ci to pull her, chasing her forward. "What do they want? Stones?"

"Actually, what they want most is not stones." Ruan Ci reached into her arms and squeezed the Qiankun bag. "But I'm not willing to give it, so they retreated and asked for the blue stones in the mountains... They seem to want to give us things very much, just like that refiner, who wants to teach you everything he knows."

She glanced at Qin Fengyu. "But do you still dare to keep watching?"

Unknowingly, cold sweat was already flowing down Qin Fengyu's forehead. "This... this..."

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but sigh. "In this cultivation world, one really can't take a wrong step—ah! Terrible! I've said hundreds of sentences again!"

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Updated, sorry for the wait, everyone. I'll send you red packets for the next chapter in a while.

Fengyu is really too good at padding the word count, I have to add some restrictions to her, otherwise the whole place will be filled with her voice.

Having braised pork, shredded potatoes, and mushroom soup for lunch! I didn't read the text yesterday, played a few rounds of King of Glory ranking. To be honest, I'm usually quite elegant, but sometimes the teammates in ranking are really... the kind that can make the best-tempered person curse out loud...

Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-09-06 12:01:02 and 2020-09-07 12:10:52~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Banmu Fangtang (3); Yu Yu Wan Yao, Scenery, Long Qian, ch Today Did You Die, Time's Delusion (1 each);

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Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!