Mortal: Traveling Between Two Realms with Mei Ning to Pick Up Trash

Zhou Yu stood in front of the door for a while, then reached out and pushed the door open.

The stone door was heavy, but it wasn't locked. He used about 70% of his strength to slowly open it inwards, making a dull thud.

Behind the door was a small stone chamber, only a few feet in diameter, with a low dome.

There were no luminous pearls or lights in the stone chamber, only a perpetual lamp burning on the stone platform in the very center of the chamber.

The firelight illuminated the stone platform, the skeleton sitting cross-legged on it, and the stone table in front of it.

Zhou Yu stood at the door, not in a hurry to go in. His gaze swept over the entire stone chamber. The walls were smooth, without any decorations or array patterns. Only on the wall directly opposite the door was a line of words carved.

The words are small but clearly visible: "All I have ever sought in my life is the word 'illusion,' but when illusion reaches its extreme, one realizes that reality and illusion are indistinguishable. If those who come after me have the opportunity to reach this point, they need not lament for me, for I have already found my purpose."

Zhou Yu stared at the words for a moment, then stepped inside.

The stone chamber was small; a few steps led to the stone platform where the skeleton sat cross-legged, its posture upright, head slightly lowered, as if asleep in meditation. The skeleton was remarkably well-preserved, each bone gleaming with a faint jade-like hue.

Nascent Soul cultivator.

Zhou Yu confirmed it in his mind.

On the stone table were several items, including a jade slip, which was bluish-white and smooth as jade.

A small flag, light gray in color, with some blurry embroidery on it, the pattern of which was indistinguishable. The flagpole was made of wood, about the thickness of a finger, and jet black.

Three jade vases, one white, one green, and one blue.

There was also a storage bag, bulging and full.

He reached out and picked up the jade slip.

The jade slip felt warm and smooth to the touch. He probed it with his divine sense, and a vast amount of information flooded his mind. It wasn't words or sounds, but an intuition, as if someone was standing in front of him, telling him, one by one, the insights he had gained throughout his life in the simplest language.

"The True Explanation of Illusion Arrays" is the culmination of Xuanmingzi's lifelong research into illusion arrays. It covers everything from the most basic principles of illusion arrays to the most complex arrays within arrays. The content is extensive, complex, and profound, yet it is well-organized and progresses step by step.

Zhou Yu only glanced through it briefly, but he could already sense the weight of this jade slip. This was no ordinary manual on formation techniques; it was something written by a person over a lifetime, a culmination of his enlightenment.

He flipped through the contents of the jade slip again. "Phantom Technique," Xuan Mingzi's unique skill, was not for attacking or defending, but for deceiving people.

Deceptive eyes, deceptive consciousness, deceptive mind—when mastered to a high level, one can transform the illusory into the real, and the false into the true, making it impossible for the enemy to distinguish between illusion and reality.

Zhou Yu glanced through it and a thought struck him: this thing is interesting.

But Xuanmingzi? He's someone who's never appeared.

At the end of the jade slip were several pages of pill formulas and weapon crafting techniques. Among the pill formulas, there were several that he recognized, such as the Qi-Nourishing Pill, the Spirit-Gathering Pill, and the Foundation-Building Pill, as well as several that he did not recognize. One of them was called the "Barrier-Breaking Pill," which was said to be able to break through certain inner demons.

The art of weapon crafting contains detailed records of how to craft puppets.

Zhou Yu carefully put the jade slip into his storage bag and picked up the small flag.

The flag felt incredibly light in his hand. He channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into it, and the patterns on the flag suddenly lit up. The pale gray flag turned milky white, and the blurry patterns became clear. It was a painting, depicting a sunrise over the sea. The sun had just peeked halfway over the horizon, and golden light blanketed the entire sea.

Zhou Yu stared at the painting for a few moments, then suddenly felt a little dizzy, as if something was pulling his mind into the painting. He quickly withdrew his spiritual power, and the flag returned to its pale gray color, and the patterns became blurred.

The Phantom Flag, Xuanmingzi's natal magic weapon, is not an offensive magic weapon, but an auxiliary one. It can create a wide range of illusions in battle to disrupt the enemy's perception.

Moreover, it seems that this flag is the core of the control formation.

Zhou Yu picked up the three jade bottles. The white bottle contained Qi-Nourishing Pills, which were of superior quality and full of spiritual energy.

The green bottle contains three Haoyuan Pills, which are suitable for Core Formation cultivators to break through bottlenecks and improve their cultivation.

The blue bottle contained a type of elixir he didn't recognize. It was entirely azure blue with fine cloud patterns on its surface, and its spiritual energy was contained within, making its grade impossible to discern.

He carefully put away the three bottles of pills, picked up the storage bag, untied the red rope, and looked inside. The bag was full of spirit stones, enough for him to cultivate to the late stage of the Golden Core realm with some left over.

Finally, I looked at the skull.

Zhou Yu suddenly felt a faint divine sense probing out, slowly and silently extending towards his dantian.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he almost instinctively stepped back.

That divine consciousness was severed, vanishing without a trace.

The stone chamber fell silent.

The flame of the ever-burning lamp flickered, casting Zhou Yu's shadow on the wall.

Zhou Yu stared at the skeleton, his hand on his sword. His heart was pounding, but his mind was clear.

Possession.

Zhou Yu stood up, took a step back, drew his sword horizontally, and pointed the tip at the skeleton. He infused it with spiritual energy, and the sword shone brightly. A light blue blade of light shot out from the tip, illuminating the entire stone chamber.

The skull lit up and began to turn into specks of dust.

As the ash dissipated, a ball of pale blue light floated in mid-air.

Within the ball of light, one could vaguely make out the outline of a person: gray hair, a thin face, and deep-set eyes. The person was sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, as if meditating.

Then he opened his eyes.

Those eyes had no pupils, no whites, only two orbs of eerie blue light.

"So many years..." he began slowly, his voice carrying a hint of reminiscence, a touch of emotion, and an inexplicable excitement. "Finally, someone has come."

Zhou Yu gripped his horizontal sword, the tip pointing at the ball of dark blue light. He remained silent, his spiritual energy surging wildly through his meridians. The Binding Immortal Net was ready to be used at any moment.

The old man in the ball of light, the remnant soul of Xuan Mingzi, looked down at his hands. His hands were semi-transparent, allowing him to see the stone wall behind them. He clenched his fists and then relaxed them, as if he hadn't felt the sensation of clenching his fists in a long time.

"Young friend, there's no need to be nervous," his voice was much calmer, as if he were speaking to a junior. "If I wanted to possess you, I would have done so just now. Why wait until now? I have no strength left."

Zhou Yu remained silent, and did not lower the knife.

Xuan Mingzi's remnant soul looked at him and suddenly laughed, "What did you see in the illusion array just now?"

Zhou Yu did not answer.

"Let me guess—" Xuan Mingzi tilted his head, his gaze falling on Zhou Yu's face, "Did you see a relative? Did you see someone you can't let go of?"

Zhou Yu's fingers twitched slightly.

Xuanmingzi saw this and the corner of his mouth curved slightly. "Illusion arrays don't deceive the eyes, they deceive the heart. The eyes are easy to deceive, but the heart is not. The fact that you were able to walk out of my illusion array shows that your heart is harder than your eyes."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Yu. "Mid-Foundation Establishment stage, decent swordsmanship, decent movement skills, and you even know a little about formations. How old are you?"

"More than twenty," Zhou Yu said.

Xuan Mingzi nodded. "A mid-Foundation Establishment stage in your twenties, that's quite fast. You have the aura of the Dust-Reducing Pill and the remnant of the Void Heaven Map on you. You've come for the Void Heaven Palace?"

Zhou Yu remained silent for a moment. Was it discovered when the other party probed his body just now?

Xuanmingzi sighed, "The Void Heaven Palace... I also went there back then for the Void Heaven Palace, but unfortunately, I didn't have enough opportunity or enough lifespan."

He looked down at his translucent hands, his voice lowering, "In the end, I'm still trapped on this island, trapped in this stone chamber."

"That jade slip you just took," Xuanmingzi raised his head and looked at Zhou Yu, "contains my life's wisdom. That Phantom Flag is my natal magic weapon, which has been with me all my life. And those three bottles of pills, Peiyuan Pill, Haoyuan Pill, and Yiyun Pill."

Zhou Yu's heart skipped a beat. Yi Yun Dan? Isn't that a pill for the Nascent Soul stage?

He paused, his gaze falling on Zhou Yu's face. "I can give it to you, but I only have two requests."

Zhou Yu tightened his grip on the long sword. "What are your requirements?"

Xuanmingzi smiled, seemingly unconcerned about Zhou Yu's actions.

"I have spent my whole life studying illusion arrays, but in the end, no one knows about them," he said. "Since you have taken my things, you must let the world know that there once was a Xuanmingzi in this world, whose skill in illusion arrays was second to none."

He conjured a jade slip from the void and floated it in front of Zhou Yu.

"Here is a location that I marked when I traveled back then. It's on an island three hundred miles outside Tianxing City. After you reach the Core Formation stage, go there and use my Illusion Flag to set up an illusion array. It doesn't need to be too big or too strong. Just enough to let passersby know who set up this array."

Zhou Yu took the jade slip and remained silent for a moment.

"Anything else?"

Xuan Mingzi revealed a strange smile, "Since you're going to the Void Heaven Palace, are you familiar with the Extremely Wonderful Illusion?"

Zhou Yu frowned. He certainly knew about the wondrous illusion, one of the core challenges of the Void Heaven Palace in the original story, but he couldn't say he knew it.

"I've never heard of it," he said.

Xuanmingzi didn't pay attention and condensed another jade slip.

"I have spent my life studying illusions and believe I have seen through seven or eight parts of their mysteries. If you can enter the Void Heaven Palace, you can verify one thing for me: Is the core of the exquisite illusion a formation within a formation? If so, then my deduction is correct."

Zhou Yu looked at Xuan Mingzi without saying a word.

Xuanmingzi continued, "The so-called wondrous illusion is nothing more than an illusion array. I am confident that I am second to none in the art of illusion arrays. It is just a pity that I only caught a glimpse of it back then and could not break the illusion myself."

Zhou Yu could sense the confidence in Xuan Mingzi's words.

"If so, then my deduction is correct," Xuanmingzi's voice lowered. "If not... that's alright. I just want to confirm whether the direction I've taken in my life is right or wrong."

He looked at the Phantom Flag. "If you agree, I will infuse this last bit of soul power into it, making its power even greater."

Zhou Yu's mind raced. Should he agree? Could a Nascent Soul cultivator be so easy to cooperate with? He was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, far too weak compared to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

But if we don't agree, they might take action.

Let's play along for now.

Zhou Yu looked at Xuan Mingzi and said, "Alright, I promise you, senior."

Upon hearing this, Xuanmingzi seemed to smile, but Zhou Yu didn't see it clearly before he vanished, a wisp of his aura drifting into the Illusion Array Flag.

Zhou Yu carefully examined the Illusion Flag, trying to sense it, but he didn't detect anything.

really dead?

No.

If he leaves the flag here, there's a risk that he might have some trick up his sleeve to prevent me from not taking it.

Moreover, you need to carry this flag to break the illusion array.

Take it for now, but it's best to use it sparingly; there are probably ways to deal with it.

Zhou Yu carefully walked out of the secret room, and then let out a long breath.

We need to hurry and meet up with Mei Feng and the others.