Chapter 632: Luo River Seeking the Crossing (Part 2)

Seeing Pei Ye's train of thought turned here, and it opened up a lot. He supported his chin and pondered for a while before continuing slowly: "So, 'Boundary Markers' are the core of contact with the Spirit Realm, but in reality, although 'approval' and 'rewriting' can both enter the Spirit Realm, they have essential differences."

"Hmm?" Li Xizhou looked at him earnestly.

"'Approval' is the active behavior of the Boundary Marker, or rather, it is the natural inclusion of the Spirit Realm; while 'rewriting' does not go through the recognition of the Spirit Realm. It is humans modifying their own bodies to avoid the rejection of the Boundary Marker, entering it in the state of some Spirit Realm creature." Seeing Pei Ye said his inference, "That is to say, the Spirit Realm is essentially not for humans to enter actively. It is a strange scene seen occasionally in dreams, a strange world where a dead end suddenly turns. Those who haven't seen it will never see it, and those who have entered cannot enter again, the so-called... that... how does that fisherman story go?"

"Seeking the direction of his ambition, he became lost and could not find the way again."

"Right, right, right."

Li Xizhou clapped her hands, encouraging his attempt to quote classics, and then said: "Then, how can you see it?"

"I think I have experienced both states." Seeing Pei Ye said, "After taking the merfolk pearl powder, I obtained the qualification to enter the Spirit Realm temporarily, but I still only possessed the ability to move normally on the shore. Once entering the water world, the five senses, direction, and spiritual Xuan... were all stripped away, just like throwing a landlubber into the water. But I also took 'Luo Shen wood peach'. It wasn't me taking it, but it surged toward me actively. After that, I obtained the freedom to move like a shuttle in the water world."

Li Xizhou nodded slowly.

"And, under the water, besides merfolk, there were other humans who entered after taking merfolk pearl powder, but they didn't pick the Luo Shen wood peach." Seeing Pei Ye said, "Then perhaps it can be inferred that in their experience, that is not a help, but a poisonous plant that kills if taken—just like Chen Renzhong at the bottom of the Yang family ferry or those people who grew scales on their bodies who died in Guo You's memory."

"Not bad, you probably grasped the thread of the 'Mirage City' activities." Li Xizhou said, "Unlike the Guo family who pursued the Spirit Realm with yearning and respect, they chose active invasion, utilization, and even control of this world after taking over "Luo River Seeking the Crossing". They invested resources and scattered human lives, and indeed made progress that the Guo family had never touched in decades.

"Only the path of 'rewriting' can allow a force to complete a systematic invasion of the Spirit Realm, so they have always been moving forward against the resistance of the Spirit Realm. After so many years, they finally found something as precious and suitable as merfolk pearl powder, so they naturally dare not easily touch the things of the Spirit Realm."

"Then, having figured out this point, I think the predicament Yu Sicheng is facing is also clearly visible." Seeing Pei Ye said.

"You say."

"My inference is—the Luo Shen Palace and the Spirit Realm I entered are not the same Spirit Realm."

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye looked at her, and Li Xizhou's brows also gradually picked up.

"There are two direct proofs. First, merfolk enter and exit the Spirit Realm like birds flying in the sky, without any obstruction, so they should be creatures of the Spirit Realm. However, they stop outside the Twelve Hanging Streams. Once forcibly entering, their bodies become sluggish and their five senses are chaotic, just like when I entered the Spirit Realm water world." Seeing Pei Ye said, "Second, the 【Green Wind Envoy】 mentioned by Mirage City has green fans on their wrists and can distinguish directions and move freely in the Spirit Realm water, which is the same as my performance after taking Luo Shen wood peach... However, what was generated on my wrist was the shape of scale flowers."

"..."

"If the 【Green Wind Envoy】 implants the Boundary Marker of the Spirit Realm into the body to obtain the power to swim in the Spirit Realm deeper than taking merfolk pearl powder... then what we use is not the same kind of 'Boundary Marker'."

"Any side evidence?"

"There is side evidence too." Seeing Pei Ye continued, "First, 'Mirage City' has quite deep development of the Spirit Realm and can even mobilize demon spirits like water snakes. The Boundary Marker is the key to the Spirit Realm. The 【Green Wind Envoy】 and the Boundary Marker are integrated, so they should be able to enter and exit the Spirit Realm freely, but they are unable to enter the Luo Shen Palace. Second, except for the Hanging Streams, I have never seen Luo Shen wood peach."

"..."

"So I think, the Luo Shen Palace is a hidden, closed independent Spirit Realm. Not to mention entering, if it weren't for the bridge-building through the external Spirit Realm, perhaps no one would ever discover it." Seeing Pei Ye said his conclusion, "Yu Sicheng has been driving merfolk and deploying confidants for so many years, but he still can't make an inch of progress. It's not because the Luo Shen Palace is sealed with any profound secret arts or strange formations... It's just because that was originally another world."

"... So Yu Sicheng is acting wildly at the bottom of the palace water to find the location of this palace, and he sent people to collect Luo Shen wood peach to analyze and implant it, to create some kind of 'Green Flower Envoy'?"

"Not bad. It seems now that he hasn't succeeded." Seeing Pei Ye tapped the desk lightly, "On this basis, the Luo Shen Palace is also different from the Great Spirit Realm. Although the Great Spirit Realm is hidden and difficult to enter, it is generally not closed, as if it were a garden that has long been unmanaged. And the Luo Shen Palace probably tightly shrinks and wraps itself, rejecting the entry of outsiders. It probably looks more like a bedroom. Let me think, might as well call the Illusion Building and the water world Spirit Realm as 【Mirage Realm】 according to their saying, and call the Luo Shen Palace... hmm... just call it Luo Shen Palace."

Li Xizhou didn't speak.

"In short, Yu Sicheng hasn't succeeded yet... But perhaps he is about to succeed. Luo Shen wood peach is probably much more demanding than the Mirage Realm Boundary Marker, or Wei Qingju specifically designed it. But Yu Sicheng has after all put in many years of effort..." Seeing Pei Ye pondered.

"However, according to your statement, the Luo Shen Palace and the Mirage Realm are two different Spirit Realms, which contradicts the statement of "Luo River Seeking the Crossing"." Li Xizhou said.

"Hmm?"

"'The Mirage Realm derives from the only one. No matter how winding and deep, it should all be connected and regarded as one... Legend has it that the dragon's lair, Luo Shen's residence, and the mansions of the water country officials are all not easily entered... The connection of the Mirage Realm uses water as a marriage medium and scales as messengers. Only when there is contact will the water gate open...'"

Seeing Pei Ye remembered this paragraph. On Yu Sicheng's desk, that volume was just turned to this page.

"How should this text be explained?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

"I'll think about it. What are you in a hurry for?"

"..." Li Xizhou turned her head back and took a sip of tea.

"I think," after a while, Seeing Pei Ye straightened his sitting posture, supported his chin and frowned, "Although generally speaking, they are not one body, but essentially, they are indeed one body."

Li Xizhou squinted at him.

"Really, really. The so-called 'Mirage Realm derives from the only one' might be in terms of the essence of power. That is to say, the power required to open such a realm is the same." Seeing Pei Ye said, "But the ones opened by different people are naturally not the same Spirit Realm."

"... It also makes some sense."

"You don't even have cultivation, yet you say 'it also makes some sense', as if you understand very well." Seeing Pei Ye smiled, "I have the Immortal Power Edict Map Xiting Heart, and I have eaten more than ten Luo Shen wood peaches. I am not comparable to you—"

He stopped his mouth and paused, thinking that it was easy to confuse Li and Xu. He continued the previous topic as if nothing had happened: "And, although the 【Green Wind Envoy】 cannot act in the Hanging Streams, I have the freedom to act in the Mirage Realm after taking Luo Shen wood peach. That is to say, although merfolk cannot invade the Luo Shen Palace, the Luo Shen Palace clearly has free control over the Mirage Realm."

He turned his head and said earnestly: "In short, in my opinion, the Luo Shen Palace is such an independent Spirit Realm. Yu Sicheng couldn't find it, nor did he know where it was, so he introduced the Mirage Realm. It took many years to find the Hanging Streams through the Mirage Realm, which can be considered as determining its position in space. It has no gaps for entry, and even besides passing through the Mirage Realm, there is no other way to approach it..."

He raised his pen, dipped it in the very thin ink, and outlined a large circle enclosing a small circle on the paper: "If the Mirage Realm is the capital city, then the Luo Shen Palace is the Eastern Palace."

Li Xizhou clapped her hands again, encouraging him for knowing what "Eastern Palace" was, and said in a flat voice: "Then the problem now is, although the Eastern Palace Crown Prince favors you, you can't enter the capital city."

Seeing Pei Ye was silent for a moment and sighed lightly: "Yes."

Just like the Eastern Palace of the Great Tang, it cannot leave the capital city.

He had a brief encounter with the faint shadow in that Hanging Stream, but after leaving, he could no longer meet it.

The problem in front of him and Yu Sicheng was different. What he couldn't enter was the Mirage Realm. Although he had dealt with it several times, that world actually only opened its doors to him briefly each time and never truly accepted him.

Although Luo Shen wood peach could make him move freely in it, it probably didn't have the ability to let him enter and exit, because "Luo River Seeking the Crossing" said that Boundary Markers were the only bridge.

Of course, more importantly, Luo Weiyou didn't grant him the ability to always have scale flowers on his wrists, because the Luo Shen Palace was distant and ethereal. It didn't let Yu Sicheng in, and naturally, it didn't let him in either.

It sometimes has brief encounters with mortals, but the traces left must be traces that dry up in an instant.

Seeing Pei Ye realized this point long ago. When sneaking into Yu Sicheng's mansion, he stole some merfolk pearl powder, but was forced to take it after a few breaths. Besides that, he had no other way to enter it.

The Immortal Platform had a corpse of a 【Green Wind Envoy】, and the trace of a Boundary Marker was also branded on its wrist, but the only clue provided on it was that small fan shape.

Luo Shen Palace's Boundary Marker is Luo Shen wood peach. What is the Mirage Realm's Boundary Marker?

Without relying on the means of Mirage City, he couldn't contact this realm?

Chatting about the book for a whole afternoon, analyzing this legendary world clearly, but after coming back to his senses, it was still distant and untouchable. Unknown and pathless, no regrets; known but pathless, it is inevitably melancholy.

"It is indeed not written in "Luo River Seeking the Crossing". I read it twice." Li Xizhou closed the last page. "I think there is probably a reason. "Luo River" itself is not keen on invading the Spirit Realm. What they pursue is being accepted by the Spirit Realm and chasing the back of Luo Shen—as you said earlier, this is completely different. And the Guo family believes that seeking Boundary Markers by following the map with a purpose is precisely the most impossible way to find them."

"Oh?"

"The "Luo River" has piety toward the Spirit Realm. They believe that not everyone can see the Spirit Realm. People who are not suitable seeking it eagerly can only end up 'lost and unable to find the way again'." Li Xizhou said slowly, "'The road is exhausted, the dream is far, and then the spirit is seen', roughly like this."

This was the thing that made Pei Shaoxia frown the most. He sighed lightly: "Is it that mysterious... Is there another possibility that it was originally in "Luo River Seeking the Crossing", but Guo You's memory was tampered with?"

"It's possible. After all, I don't have cultivation, and I don't dare to make any judgment." Li Xizhou said in a flat voice.

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye raised his sword and stood up, intending to go out for a stroll to search for possible traces. The corpse of the 【Green Wind Envoy】 had once completed a major event that shook the capital in this palace city. As someone who had once moved freely in the Mirage Realm, pursuing his past might provide some inspiration.

"However, you don't have to be too distressed about this." Li Xizhou said, "We are to stop Yu Sicheng. Obtaining the method to defeat him is the most important thing. Other things have room for delay."

"Hmm."

"The "Luo River Seeking the Crossing" has been chasing Luo Shen, but only its writers have never truly approached this name. I cannot confirm the answer from here about what is in the Luo Shen Palace, and that is exactly what Yu Sicheng and the others are determined to obtain." After being quiet for a while, Li Xizhou whispered, "But no matter what it is, that is something I must obtain. I am also trying my method to obtain it. I am not sure if it is correct, but at least before that, it must not be allowed to be taken by the Yong and Yu surnames."

This was something that hadn't been said before. Seeing Pei Ye glanced at her: "Okay."

Turning to leave, he was called back: "No, wait a moment."

"Hmm?" Seeing Pei Ye turned his head back, and the woman was looking at his shoulders and neck with a slight frown.

"There is a private banquet tomorrow. How long has it been since you trimmed your face and cut your hair?"

"... Ah?"

"Not once since entering the capital. Find a place to trim your head and face, and make it clean and tidy."

Seeing Pei Ye was slightly stunned and hadn't spoken yet, when Qu Xin, who was like sleeping beside, suddenly raised her head and said plainly: "I'll do it."

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye was quite embarrassed, but it was indeed convenient not to leave the palace. And the young girl's technique was really good, probably the precision trained by cutting tendons and meat. When her cool fingers pressed the thin blade and slid across the back of his neck, it always made his spine tremble.

It was just that Seeing Pei Ye inexplicably felt that she seemed to treasure the cut hair more than the hair still on his head.

However, no matter what, the haircut and grooming by the Little Physician Qu who didn't charge was quite enjoyable for the young man. He thanked her sincerely. The few days of getting along in Zhu Jingdian made him quite change his view of the young girl.

Seeing Pei Ye walked out of Zhu Jingdian. The sky was not so bright, but there was still a distance before the sun fell. He first pressed his sword and lay on the railing of Zhu Pool for a while.

The weather was cold, and there were no bird traces on the pool. He stared at the ice surface for a while, his brows frowned slightly, and after a while, he sighed lightly.

Then he straightened up and carried his sword toward the west. ===== CHAPTER 633 =====