HSSB419: The half mirror
The silhouetted snow crane flew across the horizon, transforming into a streak of light as it was far away in an instant.
Still within the silhouetted snow crane, his hands crossed before his chest, Yan Zhaoge curled his lips, “The entrance of the dimensional tunnel over on this side is even more unstable than the entrance over in our Eight Extremities World.”
“If I didn’t see wrongly, it seems to be shifting along the spiritual veins here. We will have to make quite a search for it. Thankfully, based on the time the Ten Character Heavenly Rainbow should persist over at our Eight Extremities World, it should still be very long before the passageway closes.”
Yan Zhaoge raised his head and looked at the sun hanging high overhead, “That is, if the flow of time in our two worlds are the same.”
Accompanying the flight of the snow crane, all of them were curiously observing their surroundings.
After a glance at Feng Yunsheng and Ying Longtu, Xu Fei secretly sent Yan Zhaoge a sound transmission, “Zhaoge, I remember that the snow crane used to be a signature of your mother, Senior Xue.”
The corners of Yan Zhaoge’s lips twitched slightly as he smiled bitterly, “I have let senior apprentice-brother Xu see something unsightly. In truth, having come here this time, it is precisely from the clues that my mother left behind that year.”
Xu Fei shook his head, “What is there to be sorry about? It’s just that I had not thought that your mother would actually have something to do with another world. I remember that back when I just entered the clan, I still met her once.”
Connecting this to the matter of Xue Chuqing suddenly vanishing without a trace in the Eight Extremities World, Xu Fei immediately thought that she must have come from this world, rather than having simply found this place through mere coincidence.
Yan Zhaoge said, “Anyway, let’s just see where this snow crane finally lands. Perhaps we will be able to gain from it some information related to this world.”
“We are complete strangers to this place. We must first gain an understanding of it before ascertaining our path of retreat back to the Eight Extremities World.”
Yan Zhaoge rubbed his temples somewhat fretfully, “The current situation in our Eight Extremities World is rather volatile, various conflicts set to erupt at a moment’s notice. It’s not the time to be exploring and unearthing a new world, especially when…”
Turning and glancing at Feng Yunsheng, Yan Zhaoge then knit his brows, “…Especially when, junior apprentice-sister Feng still has to participate in the Extreme Yin Bout.”
Her expression rather calm, Feng Yunsheng felt Yan Zhaoge’s gaze on her as she turned to meet it.
Seemingly understanding what he was thinking, she shook her head slightly, indicating that she was alright.
Xu Fei said, “We are entering this place completely blind, not knowing what experts there are here. We’d best exercise proper caution in what we do.”
“As the entrance of the dimensional passageway in this world is not fixed, even if others come quickly from over at the Ten Character Heavenly Rainbow and land within this world, they would not land in the same place as us, making it hard for us to assist each other.”
Yan Zhaoge nodded, “It’s also not anybody who can travel over; the chaotic space can rip one apart at any time. The reason that we were able to pass through so stably is this snow crane here.”
Xu Fei hesitated for a moment before saying, “Speaking of this snow crane, if the mechanism was left behind by your mother that year, it feels really a little inconceivable. While Senior Xue’s cultivation base back then was not low, it still seems insufficient for leaving behind such a powerful mechanism.”
Yan Zhaoge spread his hands apart, “Perhaps it was from some kind of treasure.”
Based on the words of his father Yan Di, while his mother had hid her origins back then, her cultivation base should have been authentic.
With Xue Chuqing’s cultivation base at the time, it was indeed insufficient for establishing such a powerful mechanism.
Amidst their conversation, the silhouetted snow crane gradually dimmed, descending downwards.
Yan Zhaoge’s spirits rose. Gazing carefully downwards, he saw that within a section of primordial forest, a white pillar of light shot up into the skies.
Descending within the pillar of light, the pure white snow crane gradually vanished, while the figures of Yan Zhaoge and the others descended onto the ground within the pillar of light.
Looking downwards, numerous spirit patterns were alit on the ground, complicated and profound.
Feng Yunsheng, Xu Fei, Ah Hu and the others involuntarily let of sighs of amazement.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhaoge’s pupils dilated abruptly, “This formation legacy indeed resembles those of before the Great Calamity somewhat.”
It had not been unearthed from legacy sites and then researched upon, having been re-developed on the foundation established by their ancestors.
Instead, it resembled a complete legacy of the martial civilisation before the time of the Great Calamity, not having been broken and lost due to the Great Calamity.
As they landed, the white pillar of light that shot into the skies gradually vanished, the numerous spirit patterns on the ground also beginning to disperse.
The white light congregated about the centre of the spirit formation. As Yan Zhaoge looked, there seemed to be a mirror there.
Or more precisely, half a mirror.
Yan Zhaoge came before the mirror, seeing that it was a rustic-looking round mirror which had somehow been split into two along its centre, only one half remaining while the whereabouts of the other were unknown.
Xu Fei and the others also appraised the mirror carefully. Yan Zhaoge raised it up, infusing his true essence within, feeling carefully for a time.
“This half mirror is the core of the mechanism,” After a long time, Yan Zhaoge exhaled, “There should be another half, and it should not have been lost. Instead, it should be hidden someplace in this world.”
He muttered inwardly to himself, “Mirror World Traversing Technique-it truly is an ancient technique of before the Great Calamity ah…”
Ah Hu looked curiously at the half mirror in Yan Zhaoge’s hands, “Young Master, can this thing help us get back to the Eight Extremities World?”
Yan Zhaoge lightly tapped the surface of the mirror twice with his finger, “Not in the short term. In order to complete the mechanism just now, the power accumulated within this half mirror has temporarily been used up, requiring time to recover. The time in which the Ten Character Heavenly Rainbow remains is, at the end of the day, limited. We might not be in time for it.”
Feng Yunsheng pondered aloud, “Perhaps we should look for the other half of that mirror?”
Yan Zhaoge snapped his fingers, “That’s right. If we find that half mirror, we should be able to find the dimensional passageway that shifts along the spiritual veins here more easily. Also, after the two halves of the mirror have been reinstated, they might still serve some other miraculous use.”
Scanning their surroundings, Xu Fei then asked Yan Zhaoge via sound transmission, “If this mechanism truly was established by Senior Xue, using it to help you or Chief come over to this side, there should also be some sort of message left behind?”
Keeping that half mirror, Yan Zhaoge now appraised their surroundings as well, “That’s also what I think…”
After searching for a long time yet not finding anything at all, Yan Zhaoge could not help but feel somewhat despondent.
Xu Fei also felt very helpless, “Looks like there isn’t anything, or perhaps it might have been discovered and taken away by someone before this.”
Yan Zhaoge stroked his lower chin, “Whatever the case, we should first think of a way to find the other half of the mirror, making sure that we will be able to return to the Eight Extremities World in time.”
Xu Fei said, “I’d originally hoped that Senior Xue had left behind a message here, allowing us to know the general situation of this world. Now, we can only slowly seek it out for ourselves.”
“We also don’t know anything specific about this world’s situation, what people it has.”
Yan Zhaoge looked at the ground, smiling, “People will very soon be coming to us on their own accord and answering our questions for us.”
“The white light that shot into the skies just now was also clearly visible from far away, and would definitely have drawn the attention of those nearby. As we were brought along by the silhouetted snow crane in its flight, I noticed that we passed by someplace with human presence along the way.”
Having said thus, just a moment later, their expressions all changed as they felt someone currently in the midst of approaching.