NABC Chapter 2152 I Am a God
Chapter 2152 I Am a God
Any item placed within the spatial grid will be in a state of absolute stillness, isolated from all external stimuli.
Based on Chen Fei's past experience, any illusion, once it is collected into the spatial grid, will reveal its true nature and directly disintegrate into the most primitive energy because it loses its connection with the external source of illusion.
Within the spatial compartment, there was a void of stillness.
The crystal-clear spiritual material, as pure as ice crystal, was quietly suspended there, its internal illusory images of swirling stars and rising and falling sun and moon now still.
However, it did not disintegrate into the primordial energy of heaven and earth, or reveal some kind of ferocious and bizarre original form, as Chen Fei had anticipated in the worst-case scenario.
It remains exactly as it was before it was taken in; it has neither changed nor disappeared.
Chen Fei looked at the nervous Cao Feiyu beside him, and then at the remaining spiritual material in the jade box on the ground. Although his doubts were not completely dispelled, the verification of the spatial grid undoubtedly gave him great confidence.
Chen Fei reached out and put another piece of spiritual material into his spatial storage. Just like the first piece of spiritual material, it remained unchanged.
"Senior sister,"
Chen Fei's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible relaxation, "With my current methods, I haven't detected anything unusual about this Ge Lingcai."
Upon hearing this, Cao Feiyu's beautiful eyes did not completely calm down, but the extreme suspicion and vigilance she felt eventually dissipated.
"Then let's leave here first," Cao Feiyu said.
The acquisition of spiritual materials of high rank was too easy, and the appearance of this high platform was somewhat strange. To be on the safe side, even if one wanted to break through, one should not choose to do so in this hall.
"it is good!"
Chen Fei had no objections. The puppet beside him stepped towards the array puppet and dragged it a zhang away from the platform. The array puppet immediately restored its connection with Chen Fei.
Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu arrived in front of the stone tablet and mural in the main hall. Cao Feiyu stood to the side, waiting for Chen Fei to open the teleportation portal, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
She had been stuck at the peak of the mid-stage of the Tai Cang Realm for many years, seemingly just one step away, but in reality, it was like an insurmountable chasm. At this level of cultivation, the only thing blocking her was the quality of spiritual materials.
Now that she has obtained two sets of sixteenth-grade high-quality spiritual materials, she and Chen Fei can both break through their bottlenecks and enter the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm.
By then, not only will their strength increase dramatically, but their ability to protect themselves in the perilous ancient Heavenly Court ruins will also be greatly enhanced.
Just as Chen Fei's fingertips touched the surface of the stone tablet.
Without warning, a ring of transparent ripples, seemingly containing the secrets of the origin of time and space, suddenly spread out from the point where Chen Fei's fingertips touched the mural.
The ripples spread incredibly fast, instantly sweeping over Chen Fei's fingertips, palms, arms, and even his entire body.
Immediately afterwards, like ripples spreading rapidly in all directions from Chen Fei, the ripples spread outwards from the center of the lake, instantly enveloping the entire hall.
A warning screamed in Cao Feiyu's heart, and an unprecedented sense of palpitation gripped her heart, as if a great terror was about to befall her.
As if an invisible switch had been triggered, the distant high platform suddenly burst forth with unprecedented brilliance, and at the same time, a gentle yet overwhelming power instantly spread throughout Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu's bodies.
It was as if they were trapped in an invisible swamp, and both their movements and their minds became extremely sluggish.
Chen Fei looked up and glanced around.
The bluestone ground rippled and disappeared like water, replaced by blurry, mottled patches of color.
The surrounding walls, dome, and murals, like melting wax figures, twisted and stretched, transforming into blurry bands of light. The entire space seemed to have become an infinitely extending, bizarre tunnel.
The outlines of mountains and rivers, the silhouettes of streams, the shadows of forests, the points of starlight...
Countless fragmented yet mysterious scenes, like a revolving lantern, rapidly stretched and shifted around Cao Feiyu and Chen Fei.
The speed was so fast that it was impossible to distinguish up from down, left from right, or past from future, as if one had fallen into an out-of-control temporal turbulence.
"Junior brother."
Cao Feiyu instinctively reached out and grabbed at Chen Fei's wrist. She grasped something solid – Chen Fei's wrist. She held on tightly, as if grasping a piece of driftwood in a raging storm.
Chen Fei frowned deeply, never expecting that this treasure itself would hide such a strange hidden feature.
Even though the two portions of spiritual materials had already been stored in the spatial compartment, touching the stone tablet and mural caused a change.
Chen Fei suspected that the change might not only occur when they touched the stone tablet and murals, but also when they moved a certain distance from the platform. In other words, even if Chen Fei and his companions left through the palace gate, they would still encounter the same situation.
Chen Fei gripped Cao Feiyu's slightly cool hand tightly, offering her some support, while his gaze swept rapidly around the room like lightning.
The distorted scenery rushing past him made him feel uneasy. This kind of method could not be explained by ordinary spatial teleportation. It was more like a higher level of spacetime transfer, or a combination of some extremely terrifying illusion and spacetime power.
He immediately focused his attention on his surroundings, and his heart sank again. The puppet array was gone. Cao Feiyu's previously out-of-control avatar was also gone.
Chen Fei immediately looked up at the spatial grid.
Within the spatial grid, the two portions of spiritual materials remained unchanged and did not dissipate into primordial energy.
Seeing that the two sets of spiritual materials were unharmed, Chen Fei felt somewhat relieved. At least it proved that the treasure itself was most likely genuine, and his previous assessment of the spatial grid was correct.
But how can this strange turn of events be explained?
Chen Fei attempted to communicate with the spatial grid using his divine sense, hoping to retrieve the spiritual materials directly from the grid for refinement. If he could break through to the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm, his chances of successfully combating this strange spatial turbulence would be much greater.
However, the moment this thought arose in Chen Fei's mind, a strong warning that made his soul tremble suddenly surged into his heart.
This warning did not originate from the rapidly passing scenery outside, nor from any tangible threat, but rather from his own intuition.
"Don't take it out!"
A perfectly clear thought appeared in Chen Fei's mind.
It was as if a voice was silently shouting that taking out this material at this moment could trigger a chain reaction, leading to even worse and more unpredictable consequences.
Chen Fei suppressed the urge to take out the spiritual material, choosing instead to trust his intuition.
Just as Chen Fei was suppressing the warning signs and his mind was racing, the strange, rapidly shifting scenery around him slowed down almost imperceptibly.
However, this did not bring any sense of security. On the contrary, an even stranger force began to spread silently, filling the bizarre passage.
This force is invisible and intangible, yet it directly affects the soul.
It was neither an impact nor an oppression, but rather a silent immersion and assimilation. Following the rapidly passing scenery, it attempted to penetrate Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu's consciousness, blurring their perception and distorting their understanding of reality and illusion.
Chen Fei felt a moment of disorientation. The mountains and rivers rushing past him seemed to make sense, as if he was meant to be there, speeding along with the scenery.
Fragmented, unfamiliar pieces of memory seemed to be forcibly squeezing into his mind...
"It's the power of illusion, an illusion technique that directly targets the soul!"
Chen Fei's expression was solemn. This strange space-time passage was not only shifting their bodies, but also trying to erode their souls and drag them into a deeper level of illusion.
This is probably the real killing move after touching that spiritual material. Or rather, it's some kind of test or trap hidden behind that high platform and that treasure.
Almost the instant this power began to spread, the Undying True Light Mirror within Chen Fei's body spontaneously generated a strong reaction without any deliberate activation.
"Buzz!"
A clear, melodious sound, audible only to Chen Fei, rang out. Although the phantom of the Undying True Light Mirror did not manifest outside his body, its primordial power had been fully activated, shining brightly within Chen Fei's sea of consciousness.
A pure and clear light emanated from the depths of Chen Fei's sea of consciousness, instantly protecting it and blocking the all-pervasive corrosive power of the illusion.
At the same time, Chen Fei's thoughts stirred, and the power of the Undying True Light Mirror flowed through his hand clasped with Cao Feiyu's, like a warm current, into Cao Feiyu's body, surging towards her sea of consciousness, attempting to build a similar protection for her.
At this moment, Cao Feiyu's eyes were already slightly hazy. The scene rushing past her seemed to have taken on a dreamlike quality, and some distracting thoughts began to grow uncontrollably.
However, the moment the power of the Undying True Light Mirror touched her sea of consciousness, Cao Feiyu's delicate body trembled slightly, and the hazy look in her eyes was instantly washed away as if by a clear spring, restoring her clarity.
Cao Feiyu broke out in a cold sweat. If Chen Fei hadn't helped her in time with his spiritual insight, she probably would have unknowingly fallen into depravity.
"Thank you, junior brother."
Cao Feiyu, still shaken, gripped Chen Fei's hand tightly and transmitted her voice.
Her own cultivation techniques were effective in calming the mind and spirit, but under the silent and imperceptible erosion of the illusionary power just now, they seemed so powerless.
"Are we trapped in an illusion?" Cao Feiyu asked in a low voice, trying to calm herself down.
"Yes. And it's by no means an ordinary illusion; it's a soul illusion technique that incorporates the power of spacetime distortion, directly affecting our perception and the origin of our consciousness," Chen Fei replied in a deep voice.
He activated the Undying True Light Mirror with all his might, and the dark golden protective light flowed between their seas of consciousness, like a lone boat supporting a raging storm, resisting the ever-growing and ever-increasing erosion of the illusory power.
The surrounding scenery, the rapidly stretching and sweeping shadows of mountains, rivers, forests, and stars, began to slow down noticeably, gradually becoming clear and stable from the previous blurry light bands, and even beginning to show specific details.
Ancient pines seem to stand atop the majestic mountain peaks, fish seem to leap in the rushing river, and the glittering stars move slowly along mysterious trajectories...
All of this makes the illusion seem even more real.
However, the invisible illusory power also rose accordingly, becoming increasingly powerful and viscous. It no longer seeped in silently, but began to surge like a tide, wave after wave, against the protective aura supported by the Immortal True Light Mirror.
"Chichi..."
Chen Fei could almost hear the surging illusory energy washing over the dark golden spiritual light, making a sound like cold water dripping into boiling oil.
The light began to flicker erratically, its range compressed, and Chen Fei felt waves of stinging pain and dizziness emanating from his soul, as if countless voices were whispering in his ear.
Cao Feiyu's situation was even worse. Even with the full protection of the Undying True Light Mirror, which shared most of the pressure, her own cultivation technique was far less profound than the Mirror's in terms of guarding the mind and breaking through illusions.
At this moment, Cao Feiyu's face was pale, her forehead was covered in sweat, and she was biting her lower lip tightly, clearly doing her best to preserve the last bit of clarity in her mind.
Just as Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu were struggling to hold on in the increasingly turbulent tide of illusionary power, relying on the power of the Undying True Light Mirror, like candles flickering in a storm, they were in danger of being completely submerged at any moment.
"Boom!"
A muffled, indescribable explosion, without warning, resounded in the deepest part of Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu's consciousness.
The sound wasn't as violent as thunder, but it was much deeper. Like the first sound at the beginning of chaos, it carried a terrifying power that could crush everything.
Under the impact of this loud noise, Chen Fei's whole body trembled violently. The dark golden protective aura of the Undying True Light Mirror that he had been maintaining with all his might was like glass that had been hit hard by an invisible giant hammer. It let out a mournful cry of being unable to bear the burden and was instantly covered with fine cracks. Then...
"Crack!"
The aura shattered with a deafening roar, quickly engulfed and swallowed by the surging tide of illusory power surrounding it.
Chen Fei felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, as if his consciousness had been plunged into the cold, deep sea and was rapidly sinking.
The surrounding mountains and rivers, which had become clear, instantly became distorted and blurred, turning into countless bizarre blocks of color and lines that surged wildly into his senses, trying to rewrite his memories, distort his cognition, and drag him into endless depravity.
However, just as Chen Fei's consciousness was about to be completely swallowed up by this endless illusionary power, a dark golden star point, which condensed all the origins and mysteries of the Undying True Light Mirror, lit up in the boundless darkness of the illusionary power at the deepest part of his sea of consciousness.
This tiny glimmer of starlight is like an unsinkable ark in a boundless sea of suffering.
Although it is faint, it contains the core essence of the undying light of the spirit and the true nature of reality. No matter how the illusory forces wash away and erode it, it still reflects the true heart and protects the true spirit from being obscured.
This tiny glimmer of starlight floated in the boundless darkness of illusion, struggling to slowly expand a small area of the viscous, dark illusionary power around it.
As this tiny area expanded, Chen Fei's almost completely lost senses suddenly returned.
The chaotic thoughts began to regroup, the vague cognition gradually became clear, and the self-awareness that had been submerged by the illusion began to awaken little by little.
Chen Fei had not completely escaped the illusion, but at least he regained a sliver of clarity and preserved a part of his true spirit.
It felt like a fleeting moment, yet also like an eternity. Between the boundless darkness of illusion and the unwavering steadfastness of that single, undying starlight, Chen Fei's consciousness struggled and sank between delusion and reality.
Finally, that glimmer of starlight suddenly shone brightly, like the first ray of sunlight piercing through the dark clouds.
Chen Fei's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.
The scene before me was no longer the bizarre, rapidly shifting turbulent flow of time and space, nor was it filled with the viscous, dark illusionary power. Instead, a completely different reality unfolded.
The biting wind carried the rough, dusty smell unique to the frontier, stinging my face.
The deafening roar of war drums, the clanging of weapons and armor, and the heavy breathing of countless people suppressing their killing intent filled the air. The pungent stench of blood, sweat, and rusty leather mingled together, filling the nostrils.
Chen Fei found himself standing on the edge of a steep cliff, with a bottomless, dark abyss not far behind him. A cold wind howled up from the bottom of the cliff, whipping his heavy, icy black iron armor around his neck.
He held a twelve-foot steel spear in his hand. The spear was cold, and the tip was stained with dried blood, exuding a strong murderous aura.
The gun, and the heavy armor he wore that clearly showed signs of fierce fighting, gave Chen Fei a strange sense of familiarity, as if it had accompanied him in battle for many years.
Chen Fei looked up and gazed ahead.
Ahead lay an endless expanse of enemy soldiers. They stood in a disciplined and imposing formation, their swords and spears forming a forest, their banners obscuring the sun, the cold metallic gleam creating a chilling sea of light.
Countless ferocious, numb faces, gleaming with an eerie light beneath the helmet brims, stared intently at Chen Fei. The overwhelming aura of killing intent, a tangible tide of bloodthirstiness, surged towards him.
Behind Chen Fei, a lavishly decorated but dilapidated carriage was parked crookedly on the edge of the cliff, only a few feet away from the edge.
Inside the carriage, a woman dressed in a pale yellow palace dress sat slumped over, the dress torn in several places and stained with dust and dark red bloodstains.
Her hair was disheveled, and a few strands of her black hair were stuck to her pale, paper-white face with sweat. Her once bright and beautiful eyes were now filled with endless despair and sorrow.
She gripped the edge of the carriage tightly with one hand, her knuckles white. Her gaze first fell in terror as she looked at the thousands of armored soldiers surging forward like a tide, then, with a heartbreaking sorrow, it settled on the back of the heavily armored figure.
That face was none other than Cao Feiyu's.
At this moment, however, she had shed the ethereal and otherworldly aura of a cultivator, and gained a touch of the fragility and sorrow of an ordinary woman.
"Chen Fei, let's... let's surrender, I don't want you to die..." Cao Feiyu's voice, choked with sobs and filled with pain and despair, came from behind.
The voice trembled, filled with a heart-wrenching plea.
She seemed to want to climb down from the carriage and rush towards Chen Fei, but her injuries and extreme fear left her only able to sit helplessly, reaching out in vain as if trying to grasp the back of that figure that was destined to leave her.
"General Chen!"
Ahead, at the very front of thousands of armored soldiers, sat a middle-aged general clad in chainmail, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, on a jet-black warhorse.
He carried a heavy halberd in his hand, its blade gleaming coldly.
He looked down at Chen Fei, his gaze like a cold blade, and his voice came clearly through the war drums and the sound of the wind:
"The tide has turned; resistance is futile. If you lay down your weapons and surrender now, I can plead with His Majesty to spare your life and grant you a sinecure so you can live out your days in peace. Otherwise..."
He pointed his halberd forward sharply, the tip aimed at Chen Fei, his killing intent palpable. "Today, this Broken Dragon Cliff will be your burial ground, Chen Fei."
As he moved, thousands of armored soldiers took a step forward in unison.
"boom!"
His footsteps pounded the ground, his murderous aura soaring to the heavens, and an invisible pressure, like a mountain, crushed down on the lone figure at the edge of the cliff. (End of Chapter)