Chapter 218: 211 Reality and Illusion

It's here!

A figure came running head-on; sure enough, they were making no attempt to hide, charging straight toward this side!

Tang Zhao swung his sword in indignation, and instantly, sunlight bloomed.

At the same time, the person opposite called out, "Tang Xiansheng, hold your hand!"

Tang Zhao was startled, his sword half-withdrawn, though his body was still wreathed in Qi. He said, "Wei—Se?"

Before he even had time to look at the person, he recognized the words "Tang Xiansheng." Only Wei Se would address him this way. He became increasingly certain, as the voice matched as well.

He saw a person walking toward him, thin and tall, with a plain, unremarkable appearance. It was someone he didn't recognize, and in their hand, they were carrying another person—a young woman.

Although he had never seen this face before, Tang Zhao still felt it was ten-to-one, because every time he met Wei Se, the other party looked different.

Sure enough, the person bowed slightly and said, "It is indeed I. Tang Xiansheng, this is the person you are looking for." Having said that, they let go, dropping the woman at Tang Zhao's feet.

Tang Zhao lowered his head, and his Glasses provided an arrow.

This was the very target he had been pursuing all along.

Even though it was confirmed, Tang Zhao did not relax his vigilance; instead, he became even more solemn. With his hand never leaving his sword, he slowly crouched down in a posture that allowed for easy movement. He looked at the woman first; she was indeed unconscious with a wound on the back of her head, as if she had been ambushed from behind. He reached out and removed an object from her body.

"Art Tool, Half-Body Prison."

This was it.

This cage, which looked like a cricket cage, was currently holding the lost Spirit Images of Jiang Shenyi and the others.

Tang Zhao felt a weight lift from his heart. He tucked the Art Tool into his robe but dared not put it into the Time Jar—the jar could not hold living things, and if the Spirits of his senior brothers were dispersed, it would be a disaster.

The worst-case scenario had not occurred, and he finally let out a breath. At this moment, the ground was shaking incessantly, sinking further. Wei Se asked from the side with concern, "Xiansheng, has the matter been settled?"

Tang Zhao stared at him and said slowly, "Who are you?"

Wei Se displayed a perfectly measured look of confusion and said, "This humble one is Wei Se."

Tang Zhao said calmly, "You know what I am going to ask."

Wei Se was silent. Tang Zhao said, "How did you know that this was the person I was looking for?"

Wei Se said, "This humble one was strolling in the forest when this person came running head-on. I saw from afar that you were chasing from behind, so I guessed..."

Tang Zhao laughed and said, "Nonsense! I wasn't chasing her at all."

Wei Se said, "If I have found the wrong person, I hope you will forgive my sin..."

Tang Zhao said, "You didn't find the wrong person, because you knew the culprit I was looking for was her. But I didn't know; I only knew I was chasing a disembodied Spirit Image that appeared to be a middle-aged man. You brought her physical body directly, which I wouldn't have recognized at all. And if you saw her running head-on, how could the wound be on the back of her head?"

Wei Se opened his mouth, but Tang Zhao did not wait for him to justify himself, saying directly, "Wei Se, since the first time you met me, has a single word you've said been true?"

"You previously tipped me off, implying that the Kun Yu Elder Zhang Shousong was an impostor, which is why he killed Li Qiongsheng of the Kun Yu Lower Court to silence him. You also said that Li Qiongsheng gave you the 'Kun Yu' identity plate as a death message, which inspired me to think of the word 'Kun Yu' and expose Zhang Shousong."

Wei Se calmed down and smiled, "Yes, but did I frame an innocent man?"

Tang Zhao said, "No, Zhang Shousong is an enemy, and he did indeed attack Wang Fei. But I just saw his Sword Image with my own eyes—it was a towering pine tree, which proves he is undoubtedly the real Elder Zhang of Kun Yu. All that talk of impostors, silencing witnesses, and death messages was nonsense; it doesn't hold up at all. Li Qiongsheng never left a death message for you. And all the later events—seeing someone framing others, borrowing my Space Bag to use as a coffin, and the later talk of a brute needing me to guess... the timeline, character relationships, and internal logic of this series of events are all fine. There is only one problem... it has absolutely nothing to do with the facts!"

Exposed to his face, Wei Se was stunned for a moment, then said, "But the result was fine, wasn't it?"

Tang Zhao stared at him and said, "Yes. It's fine for now; I'll assume you knew the inside story early on and just made up some reason to leak the bottom line to me. I just want to ask you: who are you, and what is your purpose?"

Wei Se sighed and said, "Xiansheng already had a guess, didn't you? Didn't you specifically mention the Yama Shop earlier?"

Tang Zhao said coldly, "The Yama Shop kills people, but they don't do business in treason."

Wei Se said seriously, "Exactly, and I don't want to either. I just boarded a pirate ship and couldn't get off. Just as you guessed, I am employed by the Kun Yu Sword Sect; I am one of their moles planted in Jianzhou. The various chaotic phenomena before, the killing and pinning of notes—my power was involved in those too."

He paused and added, "However, although I am not a good person, I know right from wrong, and I want to walk toward the light. These people are acting perversely and committing treason; naturally, it cannot last. How could I sink with them? While mingling with those people, I inadvertently heard of Xiansheng's great name and learned that you are learned, have a boundless future, and are far from Kungang. I am looking to take shelter under your banner, first to seek safety, and second to seek a future. I wonder if you would permit it?"

Tang Zhao chuckled. This Wei Se climbed the pole quite quickly; he admitted to whatever Tang Zhao said, and said nothing about what Tang Zhao hadn't guessed. How many true words were there this time? "Yearning for the light," "right from wrong"—Tang Zhao had to put dozens of big question marks on such grand words.

The only thing certain now was that Wei Se, as a mole for the Kun Yu Sword Sect, had already committed a backstab. This young Spirit Official had clearly been ambushed from behind, and it was Wei Se who had done it. He had provided a "letter of intent" by switching sides, but whether he was truly defecting or playing a scheme within a scheme, Tang Zhao could not guess, nor did he want to take the risk.

Because this was a critical moment and this place was a battlefield, he was in a hurry to return and had no mood or time to play mind games with Wei Se. He said directly, "I don't have time to distinguish the truth of your words, but you are a great contributor to Longyuan, that is beyond doubt. If you want to be a Sword Guest, I will introduce you to the Head of Longyuan so your efforts won't be in vain. For now, let's get out of this dangerous place first." He turned and left immediately, running toward the back. Wei Se smiled slightly and followed behind.

At this moment, the earthquake gradually stopped. Tang Zhao had things on his mind and did not notice, but Wei Se, following behind, noticed it keenly—

The ground sinking had stopped!

In the sky.

Just as Qiao Nanshan was holding the Kun Sword, twisting the hilt bit by bit to disperse the Jianzhou, a mass of frost suddenly exploded in the sky, and a person descended from above to grab the sword.

It was Xiaolin, who had previously been controlling the Cloud Dragon!

The previous Cloud Dragon had been sealed by the frost of the Kun Sword, and Xiaolin had naturally been affected, but he was a person after all, with agile thinking. He instantly used his Sword Technique to create a small space for himself and was not sealed. At this moment, breaking free from the outer layer of ice, he didn't need to use force, just gravity, reaching the top of Qiao Nanshan's head, and was instead unaffected by the power of the Kun Sword.

Qiao Nanshan was caught off guard and was immediately locked by his arms, twisting together like wrestlers. At such a distance, ordinary Sword Techniques were useless; it was just a contest of strength.

However, although Xiaolin had the advantage of being high above, he could not touch the Kun Sword. His talent was diametrically opposed to the Kun Sword; even with Sword Control, he would suffer a backlash if he touched it rashly, so he could only force himself to twist Qiao Nanshan's fingers, and he couldn't even use much force.

Qiao Nanshan was startled at first, but then he discovered this key point. He immediately moved the hilt with difficulty, using the sword body to touch Xiaolin at every opportunity, attempting to suppress his opponent and reverse the disadvantage bit by bit.

The two were suspended in mid-air, competing only between their palms and fingers. Most people outside could only worry in vain. Because the power of the Kun Sword remained, for a while, even General Yulong, who was close at hand, could not rush up.

Watching as Qiao Nanshan squeezed Xiaolin down inch by inch, the hearts of the people from Longyuan and the Snow Mountain Wangfu tightened. Suddenly, a figure appeared between the two.

The two who were competing in strength were both stunned and momentarily relaxed their force. Immediately after, the other party hugged the sword in their arms and ran toward the sea.

At this time, everyone saw clearly: the one who snatched the sword was no person at all, but a snowman!

The snowman was pure white and flawless, looking naive and cute, yet its movements were agile. It was made of snow, so it was naturally unaffected by the Solid Ice. With a few leaps, it left the sea, running in the air while stepping on the gale, as light as a drifting snowflake, completely unaffected by the turbulence in the air.

General Yulong was secretly happy and couldn't help but say, "The Prince has done well!"

How could she not recognize that the snowman was the means of the Snow Mountain Prince? Although the Prince was only a Sword Student, he had long chosen the most suitable sword and had treasures gifted by the Snow Mountain King on his person, so he could exert powerful strength.

Sure enough, Qiao Nanshan saw the snowman escape in mid-air and hurriedly reached out to grab it. The snowman's positioning was erratic with the wind. With the sword no longer suppressing him, Xiaolin immediately stalemated with him again, and he also lost the chance to grab the snowman and retake the treasure sword.

Seeing the situation improve, General Yulong was even happier. She stood out and waved, signaling the snowman to come this way. Not only was she here, but General Mei, who had been confronting Qiao Nanshan earlier, also pulled away and came to the seaside. The two generals stood side by side here, confident that they could withstand even that Immortal Sword for a moment.

The snowman indeed saw their signal and changed direction, running all the way over. It even looked back and mocked, "The turtle bandits have such a big secret, thinking others are fools? Who would have thought your goal was the Immortal Sword? Among the guests, there are also heroines who thought of digging for this Immortal Sword. Your goal isn't that special, is it? How could we not be prepared?"

General Yulong's face flushed slightly, as if the plan they had formulated really hadn't accounted for them shaking the Jianzhou to seize it. It was the Prince himself who had thought of it; he was worthy of being the King's son. How could she know that Wang Fei had also had a flash of inspiration when he heard Yun Xiyan talking about searching for the Immortal Sword, so he had long ago buried many Pure Snow snowmen scattered on the island, just waiting for the chance to seize the sword. His Pure Snow was a special treasure, not covered by Sword Art or Sword Technique; it was pure, unblemished by impurities, and like a Strange Stone, it could contain all things, so it wrapped around the sword without being repelled, running all the way here.

Seeing the snowman getting closer and closer to the shore, a figure under a shadow not far away sighed, spat out a Bead, and stepped on it, crushing it.

Countless black smoke spread from the coastline, dissolving into the wind in wisps and strands.

The snowman suddenly froze in mid-air, as if struck by an immobilization spell.

General Yulong said, "Young Prince?"

The snowman's shallow eye sockets suddenly turned reddish, and black liquid seeped out from half of its face.

"Yin energy erosion?" Someone from Longyuan on the shore recognized it and roared in fury, "Who did this? Who brought a Fierce Trace into Jianzhou?"

Seeing half its face turn completely black, the snow on the snowman's face suddenly began to melt, and the black water flowed down its body; it immediately returned to being pure white and regained its senses, running forward, yet before it had run many steps, the black energy attacked again, polluting its consciousness once more and revealing its fierce nature.

It melted away another portion of black water and gained a moment of clarity, followed by another attack of yin energy, forcing it to melt again; seeing the situation become like drinking poison to quench thirst, unable to break free even if it melted into water, it suddenly raised its sword high!

Could it be that it wants to...

General Yulong reached out his hand, intending to catch the sword thrown by the snowman, but the snowman's arm reached halfway before wisps of black energy seeped out again, and it was actually unable to move, locked in a stalemate with itself.

Finally, it let out a roar and used its last bit of strength to throw the Kun Sword away!

In an instant, the snowman turned into snow water and scattered into nothingness.

Tang Zhao was running on the road and felt something coming over.