Chapter 327: Cause and Effect
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Time went on, day by day.
Xue Ying and Chen Jiu were filled with admiration toward the blade scar on the cliff, but they still chose to forge ahead along the Grand Canyon. They wished to see other marks left on the other cliffs. After all, it was quite possible that further along, there would be even more impressive blade scars; perhaps there would be ones better suited to themselves.
…
In the blink of an eye, the one-month deadline had already arrived.
“Hu.” A figure releasing golden light was fleeing along the Grand Canyon.
“Ah.”
The figure stopped abruptly, and it was now clear that the figure was the white-clothed Lord You Lan. He suddenly turned his head to gaze at a cliff to the side—the cliff covered in the blade scars which Xue Ying and the others had already seen! The blade scars…seemed to contain the entire world’s Profound Mysteries and Laws. It could greatly shake one’s heart and gave a feeling similar to the earlier Creation of Heaven and Earth.
There’s actually a cliff mark like this. Lord You Lan’s expression displayed an annoyed look. He gnashed his teeth. Damn it. Damn it! I was scared that Xue Ying and Chen Jiu might work together to defeat me, so I stuck behind them. I was so scared that I didn’t even dare to go forward too much! I didn’t think that there would be such an inconceivable blade technique further ahead.
Had I known earlier… If I had reached this place earlier, I would not even have minded staying here for close to a month. Perhaps I would have managed to break through and come up with a secret skill, or maybe I could have condensed a grade two Deity heart.
“Ai.”
I have some time left. I’ll stay here for a quarter of a day. Lord You Lan truly couldn’t resist and immediately entered a nearby grassy area which contained the fastest time flow. He then got straight to watching and pondering with incomparable effectiveness.
Time passed fifteen times faster there, but a quarter of a day in outside time was still only equivalent to seven quarter-days inside the grassy area; it was too short.
Just as he really started to become immersed in the feeling, he was compelled to stop. After all, if he delayed for any longer, he would not have enough time to rush out of the Grand Canyon. Failing to do that would mean being attacked by five mountain patrolling beasts!
Dong Bo Xue Ying and Chen Jiu really spoiled my luck. Lord You Lan was resentful and unreconciled. The blade-scarred cliff was such truly mysterious and profound, yet he was only able to focus for such a short chunk of time. Normally, he would have been able to remain there for a much longer time.
I let them slip that time, but next time… Just you wait until I get an opportunity. Lord You Lan loathed the two—Xue Ying and Chen Jiu—so much that the hatred he felt extended toward the Xia Clan. This Mortal world’s race ought to die. Only a bit longer… wait until I become a honorary disciple of Crimson Rock Mountain. Once I get out, I’ll let you know the meaning of regret!
Lord You Lan sent a last unsatisfied glance toward the blade-scarred cliff before quickly turning into a ray of light and hurrying along.
…
Hu hu hu.
He moved along rapidly, his speed at least five hundred kilometers per second. At the same time, every time he passed through a time-slowing domain, he would observe his surroundings; he was still scared of stumbling across Xue Ying’s group of two.
In a one-on-one fight, he had some confidence.
One-versus-two? That would just be asking for death.
******
Inside a vast canyon.
Xue Ying and Chen Jiu were unraveling a set of sword techniques left on a cliff. Truthfully, in the case of Transcendents and Deities, be it the blade, sword, or spear techniques left behind by the older generation, it made no difference. What they pondered were the Laws and Profound Mysteries contained within. After all, compared to the heaven’s revolving state and earth’s natural essence, the Profound Mysteries and Laws were more direct and distinct when seen in moves applied by experts.
“This Blood Creeping Flower…” Xue Ying shot a glance to his side, toward the plant with green leaves, green vines, and a red flower. By that point, the Blood Creeping Flower had already reached a height of about three meters. Other than the main green trunk, it also had a lot of finer, small vines, atop which were numerous green leaves and flower after flower. Swaying gently in the wind, the plant was extremely beautiful.
Although they had only entered the Grand Canyon for a month, the various time-speeding locations made it so that the Blood Creeping Flower had actually absorbed World Energy for more than a year.
“What?” Xue Ying suddenly turned his head toward the left. He was looking toward a barely-visible location in the distance, close to the end of the canyon.
“Chen Jiu, Chen Jiu,” Xue Ying yelled over and over.
“What is it?” Chen Jiu stopped pondering the Laws.
“I’ve discovered Lord You Lan.” The corners of Xue Ying’s mouth rose ever so slightly. “He’s rushing over at high speed. Right now, he’s about fifty thousand kilometers away from here.”
His Mirage covered an area of fifty thousand kilometers, so as soon as Lord You Lan entered that area, he was instantly discovered.
“You Lan? He’s finally come? Hahaha…” There was a cold look in Chen Jiu’s eyes. “It’s good that he’s come.”
“His True Meaning of Time-Deceleration can also spread a domain,” Xue Ying said. “I guess it might have a range of about ten kilometers. If we come too close, he’ll easily discover us, so I have to bring you into the Mirage. Since you haven’t grasped the True Meaning of Mirage, you can’t fight inside it and can only listen to my orders if I bring you there.”
“Haha. You’ve even saved my life before. You can take me into the Mirage,” Chen Jiu replied without a hint of hesitation.
Before Chen Jiu entered the Xia Clan world, he gathered information on the Xia Clan. The reports naturally contained some information on Xue Ying as well.
Having read about Xue Ying’s experiences during his growth, Chen Jiu decided to help him out by bringing him along inside Crimson Rock Mountain.
And it was during this period of contact that Chen Jiu became even more certain that Xue Ying was worth entrusting his life to and that he was not a crafty, evil, or treacherous person.
“Haha! Good.” Xue Ying was very happy to know that he was trusted. He reached out at once to grab Chen Jiu’s wrist while simultaneously beckoning with his other hand. “Blood Creeping Flower, come here.”
The Blood Creeping Flower, which was previously swaying carefreely and showing off, instantly became obedient, turning into a ray of light and flying toward Xue Ying’s wrist. It transformed into a viney bracelet.
Hu.
Xue Ying took hold of Chen Jiu and directly entered the Mirage to go for a stride.
Inside the Mirage.
After being dragged inside by Xue Ying, Chen Jiu found that this world and the real world were curiously similar down to the smallest details, the only difference being that this world gave him a feeling of rejection. Without Xue Ying pulling him, he was afraid that he would immediately be banished.
“It’s truly mystical,” Chen Jiu exclaimed. “I don’t have enough strength, so I can’t even actually enter the Mirage myself. You’ve brought me in, but I actually have no way of battling normally here.”
He could, at most, strike from the real world and guide the strike’s energy to forcibly penetrate into the Mirage.
“It might seem very mysterious now, but if you wait until you’ve become a Deity, or even stronger, maybe you’ll also be able to enter the Mirage one day,” Xue Ying said.
“Even if I become capable of entering,I still won’t be in any way like you guys who’ve grasped the True Meaning of Mirage—able to fight without a care. Not only is your combat power not affected at all, you can even use it better.” Chen Jiu sighed. The True Meaning of Mirage counted among the very neglected and rare grade two True Meanings. But if one grasped it, they could easily become a very fearsome killer.
“From what I’ve heard, once you reach the start condensing a Mirage Deity Heart, it’ll become even more formidable,” Chen Jiu said. “You won’t even have to act in person during battles.”
“Reality is a mirage. The miracle is also reality.” Xue Ying said. “Being at the stage three realm, I can be counted as having attained the stage of ‘Reality is a mirage.’ Only when I condense a Mirage Deity heart, I can be counted as having reached the level of ‘The mirage is also reality.’
‘Reality is a mirage’ meant that one’s body could transform into an Illusory Body!
At ‘the mirage is also reality’ level, a Mirage Avatar could become completely real—it would have the same strength as the original body! This was a very terrifying concept. At that level, the original body wouldn’t even have to join the battle and could instead just hide inside the Mirage. They could simply let the Mirage Avatar fight for them. Even if the Avatar was destroyed, the original body could instantly condense another one.
“Every single grade two True Meaning becomes very formidable once it reaches the Deity Heart level. Your True Meaning of Only Me or that of Eight Dragons, for example—if either of them reach the Deity Heart level, their strength will undergo a fundamental change.”
“It’s a pity that crossing that step is extremely difficult.” Chen Jiu lightly shook his head.
If the True Meaning of Only Me condensed into a Deity Heart, one could easily suppress an ordinary Deity just through relying on that inconceivable body.
“He’s coming,” Xue Ying suddenly said.
“En.” Chen Jiu instantly shifted his gaze toward that direction.
Xue Ying could detect everything in the Mirage in a range of fifty thousand kilometers and could also glimpse into the real world in that area. Meanwhile, Chen Jiu could only use his eyes to look within the Mirage.
…
Lord You Lan was flying along inside the Grand Canyon, the cliffs of which were heavily scarred on each side. The view made his heart ache heavily. But no matter how much it ached, he still had to carefully tread onward.
“En?” Lord You Lan felt a faint sensation which caused him to turn his head.
Two male figures left the Mirage to his side—one of them a somewhat sickly youth garbed in white and the other a green-robed middle-aged man emitting a tyrannical air. They were precisely Xue Ying and Chen Jiu, standing shoulder to shoulder. Their gazes landed upon Lord You Lan.
“How are the two of you…” Seeing Xue Ying and Chen Jiu simultaneously appear, Lord You Lan was terrified to the extent that his heart momentarily trembled.
He was terrified, for he knew what had arrived before him.
“There was cause, so there has to be an effect. Everything you’ve done in the Xia Clan World, the ambush you previously set up—these will be what brought about what will be the results of this day. You Lan, this Grand Canyon is where you shall die!” Xue Ying coldly said.
