Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The space above the Ying Sea started to shatter, just like the sea underneath. Even the white clouds around them were in the midst of being destroyed.
Wang Lin, who was by her side, turned emotionless. He too turned illusory, like a dream-like bubble. Slowly, he started to split open.
Looking at this scene, Ning Wan’ge took in a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened them once more, everything before her had changed.
She was still in the Ying Sea, but it was not where she formerly was with the gray-robed girl. Instead, she returned where she was at the very beginning.
The illusory realm in which she lived in had started to change, causing her to be unable to differentiate as everything had turned blurry.
Ning Wan’ge could clearly feel her sight, hearing, and other senses weakening as if something was squashing them.
She felt as if she was immersed in water. Everything before her was black and white and completely colorless and silent. She felt as if she was cut off from the space that surrounded her.
Ning Wan’ge stayed hidden in the Ying Sea for many years. She rarely came out, not even for the appearance of the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea. However, she knew much about what happened within the Ying Sea.
“This is from the power of a nameless, ancient formation in the Ying Sea…” At this moment, her heart missed a beat. She turned over and saw a youth clad in purple robes sitting cross-legged next to her. He was looking at her calmly. It was Wang Lin.
Wang Lin sat cross-legged, and he placed his hands on his lap. His long white hair hung loosely as he stared at Ning Wan’ge, who was clad in white, palatial robes elegantly, before him.
Ning Wan’ge did not appear angry. Instead, she emitted class and elegance. Her expression was calm, but her face betrayed a look of shock. She looked at Wang Lin and asked, “Was that your spell just now?”
Wang Lin nodded his head and said, “Yes.”
Ning Wan’ge frowned slightly and said, “How did you bring me to the Celestial Mountain Yingzhou, or did you bring Yingzhou over?”
The moment she felt the ancient formation around Yingzhou, Ning Wan’ge started to understand why she was unable to break through what was clearly an illusion.
In terms of their understanding of illusions, Wang Lin and she were of the same level. Strictly speaking, she could even be better than him. Just now, she was able to subconsciously form an illusory realm, combined with the inherent, illusory power of the Ying Sea, which maximized her geographical advantage and trap Wang Lin in it for a long time.
However, Wang Lin’s illusion just now was not just cast by his own powers, but also with the power of the ancient spell formation around Yingzhou. It was able to confuse her Immortal Soul, preventing her from coming into contact with the illusion around her. Doing so stripped her of her advantage and purely in terms of spells and mana, she was the weaker one.
More importantly, when Wang Lin broke her spell, he was able to combine the Illusory Dream Fantasy World with the power of his ancient spell formation and then use it on her. Ning Wan’ge was so clueless that it was almost as if she had let a thief into her house. However, she was fine with all these. She was mainly curious about how Wang Lin brought Yingzhou over.
“Is Yingzhou close by?” Ning Wan’ge asked.
Wang Lin’s expression was calm as he shook his head patiently and said, “No. We have never once moved from where we are right now. Instead, I borrowed my master’s magic treasure to direct the ancient spell formation here.”
He opened his hands and in it, there were some shattered stones that looked like shattered pieces of crystal.
Ning Wan’ge nodded and said, “Ever since I first saw you, I was trapped by your spell?”
Wang Lin said calmly, “That’s right.”
“It’s not that you managed to reverse the spell and wake me up. Instead, I implanted myself in your dream.”
Wang Lin, who had been sitting, suddenly stood up. He placed his hands behind his back and said to her, “After I woke up from your dream, you appeared to be waking up too. At that moment, I used my spell.”
Ning Wan’ge looked up slightly and said, “Your illusion merged perfectly with my Illusory Dream Fantasy World, allowing what I was thinking to manifest into dreams…”
The illusion was able to reflect what she craved the most: her lost memories, her background, and her forgotten past.
After he knew that the Tuo Kong Grand Sage and Yang Qing and the rest were in Ning Wan’ge’s dreams, he knew that she would surely realize it upon waking up.
Wang Lin then said, “However, I did not expect the final result.”
Upon breaking through Ning Wan’ge’s Illusory Dream Fantasy World and then combining his own powers with the power of the ancient spell formation around Yingzhou, he reflected it back onto her. But he did not expect what he saw.
Yet, he did not stop. He wanted to confirm Ning Wan’ge’s background and identity. When he broke through her illusion and saw her for real, Wang Lin realized that Ning Wan’ge did not mean to deliberately lead him into the illusion.
Wang Lin may be cruel and violent, as he had never left an enemy alive. However, before he could differentiate friend and foe, he would not kill indiscriminately. Of course, he would still guard against them the best he could.
Furthermore, he had to consider the possibility that he may have even misjudged the extent of her powers. If she did not so deliberately and was able to hide it from him, then her powers were truly dangerous.
Numerous experiences proved that Ning Wan’ge had no intention of making him her enemy. It was at best an accident.
The woman before him cared for nothing other than the search for her identity. She was extremely carefree and relaxed.
Furthermore, she was warm and treated everyone kindly.
The manifestation of her thoughts in the illusion showed that Wang Lin was able to safely rescue Yang Qing and the rest without hurting a single one of them.
As for the gray-robed person, she planned on finding out more than him/her and not kill him/her outright.
The gray-robed person was not designed by Wang Lin, but instead, like the white-robed man in his illusion, the gray-robed person was the manifestation of Ning Wan’ge’s opponent.
The final scene exceeded his expectations.
It appeared to be from the bottommost crevice of Ning Wan’ge’s heart. She herself did not realize it and instead, might even be trying to suppress it. Yet, it was manifested in the illusion.
It was because it was too sudden, clashing with Ning Wan’ge’s normal state of mind. The illusion was unable to respond to her sudden change in emotions and hence, jolting her awake.
The existence of the gray-robed person was a hint to Ning Wan’ge’s search for her lost memories.
It’s not like a case of twins. Instead, the gray-robed person hinted that the source of her problems was Ning Wan’ge herself!
Her biggest opponent was herself and the solution to her missing memories was herself as well.
Ning Wan’ge looked with complex emotions into the distance and muttered, “I have searched so many times and my Immortal Soul had not been sealed by myself or anyone else. However, why would my illusion reflect such a hint?”
She turned to look at Wang Lin and said, “I tried to enter my Illusory Dream Fantasy World once to awaken my deepest subconscious. However, I was unsuccessful. Comparing purely the powers of our dream projection abilities, mine should be more powerful than yours.”
Wang Lin nodded his head honestly and said, “That’s right. Yours is more powerful as it targets the inner-most thoughts of one’s heart and mind. On the other hand, mine makes it harder for others to wake up.”
He looked at Ning Wan’ge, fell silent for awhile and said, “My spell incorporated elements of reincarnation. I can destroy one’s memories of a past life, or awaken them.”
Earlier, when Wang Lin first studied the many spells of the River Styx, the first he learned was the Road to River Styx. From this, he was able to come up with the Biliang Slope, which had this function. However, its impact depended on the mastery level of him and his opponent.
Today, as Wang Lin’s mastery increased, his understanding of this spell deepened and he started to incorporate similar spells into this as well.
That was why his illusion just now was so powerful.
Wang Lin could sense that no one had sealed away Ning Wan’ge’s memories. Instead, her Immortal Soul appeared fragmented.
Ning Wan’ge said, “4000 years ago, ever since I could remember, I was already in the Immortal Soul Third Level and not some newly-reincarnated infant.”
Her expression betrayed panic. “Even if it’s linked to my previous life, I have no memory of my birth, my cultivation, and my ascension to the Immortal Soul Stage.”
“I remember day-to-day knowledge and cultivation-related skills. However, nothing else remains. I even have to come up with my name myself.”
When Wang Lin heard that, he frowned too. It appeared as if she reached the Immortal Soul Third Level upon reincarnation.
However, there was no sect this powerful in history that could achieve this. It did not even seem congruent with her own abilities.
If she were a Mahayana level magic treasure’s original soul that decided to reincarnate, then she would have to start from the very start. It was impossible for a Mahayana magic treasure to start off as an Immortal Soul Third Level cultivator straightaway.
Ning Wan’ge looked at Wang Lin and asked, “Where are your juniors and the rest?”
Wang Lin said, “They have woken up and are being kept in a tiny world I have created.”
Ning Wan’ge looked at him quietly and asked, “Do you believe that everything before you is real? Just now, when you woke up from the Illusory Dream Fantasy World and then entered my dream, coupled with my subsequent escape, and our mutual interaction, do you think that all these are real? Or are they another round of illusion?”
“How can we be sure that everything just now was false?”
Wang Lin said calmly, “It’s hard to tell reality and illusion apart. When one can achieve everything one is asking for, then who cares if the world is real or fake? Perhaps the entire Grand Celestial World is an illusion and man-made. We may all be living in someone else’s dreams.”
“However, this thought can be an illusion by us too. I can imagine that the Grand Celestial World is formed by someone else, but that creator may be in our dreams too.”
Ning Wan’ge looked at him and said, “You seem to be lying to yourself and others.”
At this moment, Wang Lin lost the customary sharpness in his eyes. His expression was calm and neutral. With the hint of a smile, he said, “Perhaps the creator of our world is living in someone else’s made-up world too?”