Phantasmagoria

In the night, the realm behind Qin Ming was an unbroken sea of mushrooms, vibrant with motley hues and dreamlike. High above, where pitch-black clouds and mist surged, the corner of an oppressive city loomed faintly into view, like the shadow cast by a gargantuan beast threatening to swallow the entire earth. "Could that be... Yujing?" Qin Ming's mind wavered. It felt utterly absurd—he had come on an expedition into another world, so how had he wound up anywhere near this legendary city? Even Earth Immortals held it in immense awe. As for the ancestral masters of past generations, many lingered in the earthen city, unable to enter the true Yujing. Silence hung over the night sky. That colossal leviathan exuded an incomparable sense of oppression, suffocating anyone who laid eyes upon it until they felt as if they could hardly breathe. Qin Ming stared in a daze at the straw rope swaying in the night breeze. It led straight up to the city above the clouds—could one really use it to enter Yujing? Too many legends surrounded Yujing; it was practically one of the wellsprings of myth itself. Within it lay supreme true scriptures, peerless treasures, and more, inspiring yearning in countless powerful beings. For a fleeting moment, Qin Ming felt the impulse to leap into the night sky, follow that pale-gold straw rope, and sneak into the mythological source above the highest heavens to see for himself. Yet he quickly extinguished that desire, recalling something else: higher deities had once been willing to pay a grievous price just to escape Yujing. That was cause for deep dread; no one truly knew the conditions inside. "Could this be an escape route left behind by some higher deity back then?" Qin Ming pondered. Yujing was cut off from the world, standing within a domain untrodden by outsiders. For this straw rope to penetrate the chaotic void and link into the world of night mist, it had to be an extraordinary, wondrous treasure. With deep eyes, Qin Ming looked up into the firmament. A so-called path to heaven, a shortcut to immortality, lay right before his eyes—yet this was clearly not what he sought. "If word of this reached the outside world, some of those old fellows nearing the end of their lifespans would surely go mad." He knew well that while Heavenly Immortals inside Yujing wished to flee, countless beings on the outside yearned desperately to break in. Qin Ming did not even attempt spirit wandering. He made no contact with the straw rope and decisively withdrew his gaze; there were colossal karmic entanglements that he was in no position to bear right now. "Interesting. This tunnel actually pierced through layer upon layer of misty space. Am I this close to Yujing by the ancestral masters' design, or did they unearth this peculiar Purple Dawn Cave purely by chance?" he murmured. Afterward, Qin Ming searched the surrounding area. Before long, he traversed several massive mountains and ascended a towering peak that brushed the cloud layer, where he gazed upon a hazy, wondrous sight. "Could that be a blessed land connected to the earthen city?" He discovered a lush oasis where faint streaks of rosy dawn drifted across. Behind him, mushrooms stretched everywhere in multicolored splendour, veiled in steaming radiant mist with no other scenery in sight. But ahead, the landscape changed completely, making him suspect he had arrived at a blessed land behind the earthen city. Qin Ming was dazed. Had the path forged by the ancestral masters into another world accidentally tunneled into the original ancestors' old nest? By that logic, was this entire field of mushrooms also related to the earthen city? Though startled, Qin Ming could not resist. He took long strides, leaped over the sea of mushrooms, and rushed toward that verdant land with a series of whooshes. He approached cautiously, catching the scent of fruit from a great distance away. "The Immortal Peach Garden?" Qin Ming felt this was too fantastical. He slapped himself hard across both cheeks to confirm he was not dreaming. His mind felt clear; he truly had arrived near the earthen city's orchard. On the perimeter, a grove of purple bamboo formed a natural hedge. Inside, the ancient trunks of peach trees wound like coiled dragons, their bark resembling dragon scales, their leaves glistening green. Glowing peaches hung in clusters, filling the branches—some crimson and crystalline, others pale pink and translucent. A rich, refreshing fragrance seeped into the soul. Near the purple bamboo forest was a small gate leading to this realm of mushrooms. "I'll go check for them if the immortal peaches are ripe yet," Qin Ming thought, stepping inside. Soon, his expression changed. Looking through the peach grove toward the distant earthen city, he saw what appeared to be billowing firelight, accompanied by the faint rumble of battle cries. "Did something go wrong with this Immortal Peach Feast...?" Qin Ming's expression darkened. Sword lights repeatedly split the night sky over the earthen city amidst fierce clashes; a bloody war was unfolding. "Never mind. My realm is far too low; I can't get involved. I'll eat a few immortal peaches to steady my nerves, then get out of this trouble spot right away." As he reached to pluck a peach, he suddenly froze. He actually caught the scent of blood here. A blood-drenched man appeared nearby. He had a stocky build, naturally curly short hair, and eyes like golden lamps, appearing in his early thirties. "Little Rulai?" Qin Ming frowned, having never expected to cross paths with this person here. "It's you?" Half of Little Rulai's body was dyed in blood. He stumbled on his feet yet still charged over, clearly with hostile intent. Qin Ming held nothing back. Hunyuan heavenly light instantly erupted, and he charged forward to meet him. He knew that facing someone like this, avoidance was impossible; taking the initiative was better. Little Rulai sneered. "Let me show you what orthodox Chaos force truly is. Even heavily injured with less than thirty percent of my peak strength, I can suppress you with a wave of my hand." Every inch of his flesh blazed with radiance like a scorching sun. He resembled a dazzling fireball, projecting a terrifying domain. With every gesture, the void groaned as though about to collapse. In an instant, he threw a punch. It was like an exploding sun, a violent tempest sweeping through. The nearby ancient immortal peach trees—millennia-old spiritual flora normally hard as divine iron—shattered and detonated in a horrifying display. Ripples expanded around Qin Ming in layers. Night and day alternated, and the Great Thunder Sound Temple manifested... Standing within his spirit field, solemn and majestic, he struck out to clash head-on with Little Rulai. With a deafening boom, the entire immortal peach grove seemed ready to disintegrate. Heavenly light rampaged in all directions. The moment their fists collided, the blessed land itself appeared to crack and cave in. Pfft! Little Rulai coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, his body swaying violently. Qin Ming bled from his nose and mouth as well, his face pale. Without pausing, both struck again, locked in a bloody struggle. With a wet thud, a fist-light pierced straight through Qin Ming's chest. Excruciating agony racked him, leaving him reeling. Meanwhile, Qin Ming tore off half of Little Rulai's torso with his bare hands, sending blood spraying into the air. With a sickening crack, Qin Ming endured the searing pain and threw one final punch, obliterating Little Rulai's head. The headless corpse collapsed to the ground an instant later. "Who dares kill a disciple of my lineage?" In the distance, a towering figure looked back across the night sky. His build was broader even than Xiang Yiwu's, his face and neck crisscrossed with centipede-like scars, as if his shattered flesh had been stitched back together with dragon sinew. That was... Past Rulai! From far away, he glanced over and simply tapped out a single finger. A majestic, terrifying blast of heavenly light plowed across the entire Immortal Peach Garden and slammed into Qin Ming with a sickening thud. Qin Ming could not evade it at all. It felt as if ten thousand blades were piercing through him, and his consciousness seemed on the verge of freezing. He watched helplessly as his body broke apart and his flesh detonated. "Impossible." It felt utterly absurd—how could he die like this? Yet reality dictated that his thoughts were congealing, darkness fell over his eyes, and everything was about to dissolve into nothingness. A single breath felt as long as a hundred lifetimes to Qin Ming. His last sliver of consciousness struggled, as though enduring the torments of purgatory. Past Rulai's heavenly light force churned like an immortal divine flame, obliterating every fragment of consciousness scattered by Qin Ming's exploding body and grinding them to dust. After intense agony, Qin Ming sank into darkness. "No!" With a loud cry, he broke free from the ruined Immortal Peach Garden. Shattered scenes flashed before his eyes and rapidly faded. He gasped for air, catching the pungent stench of blood. He discovered that he was still alive. His physical body was intact, but the scene around him was gruesome beyond belief: several corpses had exploded, shattered completely from head to toe. He was not in the Immortal Peach Garden; he was still in the sea of mushrooms. At this moment, Qin Ming was inside a pitch-black pool steaming with dark light—the very same terrifying heavenly light he had discovered earlier that could corrode his flesh. Nearby, some people had gone mad. Some giggled foolishly, others wailed in agony, and still others fell into this Heavenly Light Pool and detonated on the spot. What lay before his eyes was a hellish tableau. The massive crater—or rather, the pool—billowing dark light was thick with blood. Everywhere lay bone fragments clinging to shreds of flesh and strands of blood. A violent shiver ran through Qin Ming. He felt chilled from head to toe, every muscle taut. He realized what had happened: he had fallen victim earlier. There was no Yujing, no Immortal Peach Garden, no Little Rulai, and no Past Rulai. He was still in the otherworld's sea of mushrooms. After consuming the five-colored spirit mushrooms, he had experienced an illusion that felt indistinguishable from reality. Qin Ming's skin crawled. That "grand dream" moments ago had rendered him completely unable to discern reality from illusion, trapping him inside it the entire time. He had blended heavenly light into his consciousness, reflected upon himself, and even slapped himself twice across the face, yet had not noticed he was trapped in an illusion. In the mushroom forest, within the black pool, a lifeless corpse was completely corroded and detonated right before Qin Ming's eyes. Blood splattered all over his head and face; bone fragments and a severed arm landed on his shoulder. It was so bloody and gruesome that the place resembled an Asura killing ground. Qin Ming leaped out of the black pool, moving to stop other dazed and maddened people from falling in. Then, he swiftly subdued them, for some were actually mutilating and killing themselves. At last, silence settled over the mushroom forest. The place was radiant with five colors, enshrouded in glowing mist, with one brightly colored "cottage" after another. It was exceedingly beautiful; by scenery alone, it looked like a fairytale realm. Yet it was also so terribly drenched in blood. Qin Ming surveyed the surroundings. Roughly one hundred fifty people had made it here, and at least one hundred thirty had died. A small portion had committed suicide within their illusions or died brutally fighting those around them; the vast majority had leaped into the pool of black heavenly light and exploded one after another. Qin Ming belonged to the latter "death." Yet he had not died in the end. Although that heavenly light initially corroded his body and spirit, he had ultimately endured it. In the end, that heavenly light lost its effect on him, fully absorbed and refined by his cultivation. In the third realm, perhaps only he could gradually adapt to such heavenly light's corrosion. Ever since practicing the Hunyuan force, he had integrated an untold number of overbearing heavenly lights along his journey. Today, he had passively fused yet another. Qin Ming finally understood why this realm had no beasts or raptors: entering meant certain death. Without passing through a trial of death, no one could break free from an illusion so lifelike. "Out of one hundred fifty people, only a dozen or so survived in the end!" And that was only because he intervened. Otherwise, everyone besides him would have perished in this mushroom forest—an almost total annihilation. Qin Ming bound the dozen-odd survivors together, hoisted them up, and moved quickly away. He climbed up the cliff, returning deep into the pitch-black plateau. That sea of mushrooms was too eerie. He wanted to pause his exploration and return to catch his breath, letting great grandmasters inspect these people to see if they were still sound of mind and could recover. Along the way, he warned people, telling other explorers of the horrors within the sea of mushrooms. Some stopped in their tracks immediately, while others grew suspicious. Whether they took his words to heart or not, Qin Ming had spoken the truth, fulfilling his duty of benevolence. Qin Ming did not linger. Returning to the land of Night Province through Purple Dawn Cave, he quickly reported the situation to the experts stationed there. "What? Five-colored spirit mushrooms? Even in Night Province, they are an uncultivable, rare precious medicine that scarcely survives in the mortal world, seen only on rare occasions—and you found dozens of them in that world?" Even a great grandmaster was astonished. A whole sea of mushrooms on the other side, containing rare wondrous medicine like five-colored spirit mushrooms, genuinely thrilled him. "Senior, it causes hallucinations—and it is deadly!" Qin Ming warned. A great grandmaster frowned. "It is most likely a mutated five-colored spirit mushroom—perhaps a degenerate variant of the Great Dream Divine Mushroom." He knew well that there was a terrifying nine-colored divine mushroom of formidable power, capable of pulling ancestral masters into dreams to endure cycles of rebirth and death, killing without a trace. The two five-colored spirit mushrooms in Qin Ming's hands were immediately requisitioned by the great grandmaster. After examining them closely, the latter said, "The problem is manageable." Soon after, two great grandmasters intervened, treating the dozen-odd unconscious survivors. After a brief period of stupor, they largely returned to normal. What was more, all of them had broken through! "Report this to the ancestral masters. There may be higher-grade spiritual medicines over there—or perhaps even immortal herbs!" one great grandmaster said with a grave expression. Inevitably, word leaked out. Just as people were wondering whether this was another grand trap, an ancestral master personally arrived, reinforced Purple Dawn Cave, and led a group across that very day. In the earthen city close at hand, many caught wind of the news and could no longer sit still, gathering near Purple Dawn Cave. This "gate" lay in Night Province proper, right near Kunling where Yujing had faded from view. Earth Immortals from outside the region were extremely wary of Yujing and dared not approach this special area carelessly. Soon, experts from various paths entered Purple Dawn Cave one after another, and seeds such as Jiang Ran, Cui Chonghe, and Cheng Sheng headed into the otherworld. Outsiders with ties to Night Province, such as Little Rulai, Jian Huaidao, and Xie Lin, also crossed the boundary alongside them. Blazing suns from beyond the region—Xiao Jinye, Lu Chenxiao, Mu Xingyao, and others—likewise gained entry into the foreign realm after securing permission. Night Province was far from tranquil. People realized this was truly no trap; a remarkable, high-grade spiritual medicine garden might have been discovered in the otherworld. Yet whether the ancestral masters of the various paths or the original ancestors of the earthen city, all maintained grim expressions, on guard against something. "Ahhh..." Suddenly, among the dozen-odd people Qin Ming had rescued, someone let out an agonized scream. His flesh glowed and then detonated with a wet pop. Dense swarms of glittering specks of light drifted out from his body, rising with the wind into the night mist. "Hiss... could these be spores from a degenerate Great Dream Divine Mushroom?!" An ancestral master's face changed drastically at the sight. Yet another ancestral master's eyes shone like divine rainbows, showing clear excitement. "If there are nine-colored divine mushrooms, the great medicine brewed from them would be a tonic even for the likes of us, bearing extraordinary efficacy!" Half a day later, Purple Dawn Cave roared. A massive deluge of luminous specks surged out, instantly scattering into the night sky like countless minute fireflies hovering in the dark. "A conscious ten-colored divine mushroom!" From inside Purple Dawn Cave, a great grandmaster cried in a feeble voice as blood splashed out from the tunnel. Boom! Even more glowing motes surged out. A vast sea of spores flooded the night sky, blanketing everything and engulfing the earthen city not far away. At this sight, countless people felt their scalps prickle with numbness. Had they provoked a monumental catastrophe? Qin Ming watched in a daze. Was this real? Or was he still in the otherworld, trapped in a dream?