He saw the black mist clawing ferociously to pierce the vine into Mu Cheng’s spine, but recoiling as if burned, hovering futilely on the surface.
Lian Yunzhi suddenly laughed.
He remembered the black mist purified in his Knowledge Sea, his Divine Soul Cultivation Technique, how Mu Cheng in his previous life could control this black mist to seal his spiritual power meridians. He thought—if Mu Cheng could, why couldn’t he, Lian Yunzhi?!
The vine shield on Mu Cheng’s back suddenly expanded several times, then like a giant net with an open maw, it swallowed all the black mist behind!
The black mist thrashed wildly inside the vine like captured fish, but the vine chewed and devoured them one by one, purifying and absorbing.
And all this happened in an instant.
To onlookers, the vine simply swelled suddenly. They saw Lian Yunzhi’s cultivation surge—Mid Golden Core, Golden Core Peak, on the verge of Nascent Soul!
Even near-Nascent Soul cultivation couldn’t manifest here, yet the vine ballooned hundreds of times in a blink. It became a terrifying underwater dragon, thicker, tougher. Countless vine thorns gleamed with chilling light. With a single lash in the water, it severed countless bodies at the waist. Even the lofty Feng Xi was split in two in an instant!
Screams, flight.
Countless people swam frantically away. The vine didn’t pursue to the last; it even stirred the water, aiding their escape from the Bihai Domain.
Lian Yunzhi’s vine seemed able to purify everything filthy in the world—the black mist, the thick blood.
The Bihai Domain returned to cleanliness and clarity.
Mu Cheng was knocked down by the underwater turmoil. He looked up dazedly at Lian Yunzhi.
Lian Yunzhi walked forward step by step and extended his hand to Mu Cheng.
Mu Cheng placed his hand in Lian Yunzhi’s palm and stood with its aid. But as soon as he rose, Lian Yunzhi’s face paled, and he collapsed.
Mu Cheng caught him, kneeling on one knee and cradling him.
Overexertion of Divine Soul Force left Lian Yunzhi ghastly pale, but when he smiled, his eyes still shone like pearls on the seabed.
“Wasn’t Master amazing?” he asked with a somewhat dazed smile.
“Yes.” Mu Cheng leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Master was amazing.”
Lian Yunzhi smiled again, eyes curving.
Mu Cheng suddenly heard his inner voice after so long.
[Yeah, I’m amazing. Last time with the Lian Family’s ambush was a mistake. I absolutely won’t let Mu Cheng be taken from me a second time.]
Mu Cheng slowly raised his head to look at Lian Yunzhi. Blurry images flashed in his mind.
But Lian Yunzhi suddenly tilted his head up, brushing Mu Cheng’s lips lightly. His water-reflecting eyes gazed at him with daze and guilt.
His lips moved without sound.
Yet Mu Cheng heard him say sadly in his heart, very softly.
[Sorry, Master didn’t protect you well last time.]
The water flow halted abruptly.
The world lost all sound.
Even the seagrass and bubbles froze in place.
Mu Cheng stared blankly at Lian Yunzhi before him, but countless Lian Yunzhis flashed in his mind.
He even heard a voice.
“Alright, don’t worry. Your master is now the Number One of Xiaoze State. No one can take you from me again!”
…
It was as if all the water of the Bihai Domain surged into Mu Cheng’s chest, numbing and swelling his heart, inch by inch submerged.
His thoughts grew utterly chaotic.
But his arms around Lian Yunzhi tightened inch by inch.
.
A Soul Scattering Needle piercing the water broke the silence.
“You dare kill my senior brother—”
A frenzied voice erupted from nearby. Feng Yuan flung the Soul Scattering Needle and thrust his sword at them!
Lian Yunzhi immediately lashed out with his vine.
“Bang!”
But what stopped Feng Yuan wasn’t the vine—it was a dagger from the ground.
The dagger floated in the water, blocked the Soul Scattering Needle, and stabbed straight into Feng Yuan’s heart!
Feng Yuan stared incredulously at the hilt in his chest, then dazedly at Mu Cheng’s slightly moving sleeve.
“No… impossible…” Feng Yuan spat blood and muttered, “…No spiritual power here… how can you… it really is… an Illusion Realm…”
“Illusion Realm?”
Mu Cheng turned very slowly toward Lian Yunzhi.
“Is this just an Illusion Realm?”
As he spoke, his figure grew larger, shoulders broadened, youthful face morphing into that of an adult man. Behind him, the earth quaked, mountains shook. The Bihai Domain’s water rapidly seeped into underground fissures. Boundless flames rained from the sky, incinerating everything. The five “Lin Xian Sect disciples” behind Feng Yuan didn’t even have time to dodge before burning to ash.
The air twisted, flames receded rapidly.
Bricks and tiles floated up, alleys formed, the Fang Mansion plaque materialized word by word. Bloodstains streaked Mu Cheng’s robes.
—They were back in the world before the reset, in that alley outside Fang Mansion.
Lian Yunzhi still held that unopened book in his hand—the one concerning the truth of the world.
Mu Cheng’s finger touched the book as he pondered: “…It seems like we fell into the Illusion Realm after opening this book. What exactly is written in this book?”
He had forgotten that passage?!
Lian Yunzhi’s heart pounded wildly. He abruptly pulled out the book and stored it in his Storage Bracelet. “Don’t flip it open again. Do you want to lose your memory and fall into the Illusion Realm again?!”
Mu Cheng did not stop him.
He merely lifted his head with a profound gaze, a smile of unclear meaning tugging at his lips. “Why don’t you tell me first? In my ‘previous life,’ how did I bully you? How did I treat you as a Human Cauldron and a slave?”
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Lian Yunzhi: “…………..”
Lian Yunzhi suddenly wanted to reopen the book and show it to Mu Cheng.
