Chapter 103: The Veteran Clearer
Chapter 103: The Veteran Clearer
Li Si looked around, but besides that building, he couldn’t make out anything else. The only thing he could confirm was that this place was extremely magnificent and vast, unlike the mortal world.
“What could be inside?”
“What else could be in the Palace Ruins but the Palace Harmonics? Are you coming in to take a look or not?”
The Phantom Bride urged him. Li Si hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the Idol of Fortune he was holding and followed her inside. Because the Idol of Fortune was his weak point, and since the Phantom Bride wouldn’t mess with it, she probably wouldn’t elsewhere either.
At the very least, he could instantly return to the Mortal Realm through the Idol of Fortune. This was his greatest advantage.
Li Si took a few steps and noticed that the Phantom Bride wasn’t moving at all. She just watched him from under her red veil. He could sense a teasing gaze, as if whether he went in or not had nothing to do with her. She only led people here.
So Li Si turned and walked in by himself.
The moment he stepped inside, the Phantom Bride was no longer visible behind him. Ahead, where it should have been dark, a sliver of light began to appear, and even the massive building was gone. Li Si could only walk toward the light.
As he walked, his heart skipped a beat—not from fear, but because a syllable suddenly arose within him. The feeling was marvelous; though he couldn’t hear it, it resonated clearly in his heart.
Li Si stopped and listened quietly, but the mysterious syllable had vanished.
So he continued on his way. After a few seconds, another syllable arose in his heart. Its tone was simple, but its lingering resonance was long, as if the entire world resonated with it. Yet, he truly couldn’t hear it with his ears.
This time, Li Si didn’t stop. He discovered that every three steps he took, a syllable would inevitably arise in his heart. It was as if his mind was a zither string, and the notes were plucked from it.
Each syllable was extremely simple, yet its lingering resonance was very long, making his mind feel extremely comfortable.
After three syllables, a line of information appeared before Li Si’s eyes.
“Soul Evolution Level +1%!”
Incredible!
He had only taken nine steps, with three syllables resonating in his heart, and then gained 1% Soul Evolution Level. This place was truly wondrous.
But when Li Si took his twelfth step and the fourth syllable arose, he felt his entire soul resonate violently with it. All that he saw, heard, felt, and smelled became empty.
Everything between heaven and earth ceased to exist. Even he himself was no longer there; only the rhythm of this syllable remained.
At this moment, he even forgot to take the next step. He forgot everything here.
If no one reminded him, he might have been immersed in this magical syllable for all eternity.
“Soul Evolution Level +10%!”
A line of information abruptly pulled Li Si back to reality. The lingering resonance in his mind was long, but he managed to break free. Looking around, he was still in the same spot, but the surroundings had become much clearer, no longer alternating between black and white light.
But the surroundings still seemed like ruins.
The only difference from the ruins outside was that some strange flowers and grass grew here. Without thinking, it was clear these plants were extraordinary. So Li Si walked toward a small blade of grass only three steps away from him.
But as soon as he took that step, the entire world changed. The Palace Ruins, the small grass—everything vanished. Only endless waves of sound surged toward him.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom!”
These sound waves were all killing notes, resounding in Li Si’s mind like countless war drums beating.
His eyes instantly turned blood-red…
Blood trickled from all seven orifices, and his skin bled all over. He felt as if he had become an invincible general on a battlefield, facing endless enemies. He didn’t need to think about anything; he only needed to swing his great sword, ceaselessly hacking and slashing, unable to stop.
“Soul Corruption +500%!”
“Due to your Crystal Clear Dao Heart and Bedrock Dao Heart, you have been exempted.”
“Soul Evolution Level +1%!”
“Your Fate decreased by 100 (Gray Fortune).”
Suddenly, information appeared, and Li Si jolted awake. He immediately felt that such gains were quite appealing. Trading 100 units of Gray Fortune for 1% Soul Evolution Level—he didn’t have such an opportunity outside.
So he immediately refined 10,000 units of Black Fortune fuel. Come on, he had been thirsty for this for a long time!
“Boom, boom, boom, boom!”
Another wave of killing notes assaulted him, and the illusion reappeared. But this time, it was completely different from the last. Although it was still a hellish battlefield, the invincible general on the battlefield wasn’t him—he was the one being tormented.
In just one second, the invincible general’s great sword arrived, and his own side lost the ball.
0:1!
He woke from the nightmare-like experience as information appeared.
“Soul Corruption +500%! (Exempted)”
“Your Fate decreased by 100 (Gray Fortune).”
Wait? What the hell! Did I just run into a blow-up event?
Before he could process this sudden change, the boom, boom, boom of killing notes sounded again. Li Si was forcibly dragged into the hellish battlefield. This time, he was still the one being tormented, and the invincible general’s great sword was already right in front of him.
Darn it!
“Armsmaster Control!”
In his panic, Li Si finally remembered he was a Cultivator. As soon as he unleashed this Divine Ability, the invincible general’s great sword shifted slightly. It was clear that either the opponent was too strong, or his own Divine Ability had been weakened. But at least it had some effect.
Seizing the moment of that slight shift, Li Si quickly dropped to the ground, rolled, and rolled again.
“Neigh!”
A warhorse’s front hoof came down, hitting him squarely on the head…
“Soul Corruption +500%! (Exempted)”
“Your Fate decreased by 100 (Gray Fortune).”
Damn!
There was no time to curse before the boom, boom, boom of killing notes sounded again. It was still the hellish battlefield, he was still the one being tormented, and the invincible general was still there. Li Si used Armsmaster Control to make the great sword shift slightly, then dropped, rolled, and rolled again. He used Artifact-Control Incantation to dodge the warhorse’s trampling, then tried Palm Thunder and Demon Slaying Thorn…
“Thud!”
A blood-red spear tip pierced through his neck. Damn it, why couldn’t Palm Thunder and Demon Slaying Thorn be activated on this battlefield?
Damn!
Boom, boom, boom!
Hellish battlefield, still the tormented side. After dodging the invincible general’s great sword and avoiding the warhorse’s trampling, he counterattacked with Armsmaster Control and sent the sneaky spearman to his death. Li Si finally returned to his own army’s formation.
“Deserter! Execute!”
A gleaming long sword swept down. Oh, crap!
Boom, boom, boom!
Hellish battlefield, Li Si was still the tormented side. First, he dodged the invincible general’s great sword, avoided the warhorse’s trampling, and killed the sneaky spearman. Then, he picked up a shield and searched for the source of the boom, boom, boom drumming amid the endless cries of battle.
It was difficult. He didn’t know how big the battlefield was, how many people were there, screaming, wailing, horses neighing, weapons clashing.
Li Si simply closed his eyes. His Crystal Clear Dao Heart and Bedrock Dao Heart allowed him to quickly empty his mind and focus on capturing that elusive drumming sound.
The next second, he indeed managed to capture it. But before he could do anything, the ball was lost again.
This illusionary battlefield only gave him one second. This was the key to breaking the illusion and also the last chance for survival.
Taking advantage of the moment when information appeared and the illusion was forcibly interrupted, Li Si tried his best to maintain his mental state. Then, the instant he entered the illusionary battlefield, he both fought for survival and tried to capture the drumming sound.
This time, he succeeded. In that moment, he suddenly understood what Crystal Clear Dao Heart and Bedrock Dao Heart truly meant.
Yes, previously, he had only obtained these two Dao Hearts through cheating. So, he could only gain the most basic passive advantages. But what about the active advantages of Crystal Clear and Bedrock Dao Hearts?
First, in this battlefield illusion, he shouldn’t be afraid or panicked at all. Under the Bedrock Dao Heart, everything should be empty.
Second, in this chaotic battlefield, no matter how many distractions there were, he should be able to instantly identify all weaknesses. This was the true use of the Crystal Clear Dao Heart.
Sorry, I’ve disgraced Cultivators.
At this moment, he knew that the drumming sound was the key to ending the battlefield illusion. But what he wanted even more was to kill that invincible general.
“Whoosh!”
The great sword swept horizontally with a terrifying sonic boom, but Li Si dodged it by a hair’s breadth. His whole body moved like a shadow as he lunged forward. Without knowing when, a rusty flying sword appeared in his hand.
Though covered in dust, the flying sword was still exceptionally sharp!
He thrust the sword down, and the invincible general turned into black smoke. The entire hellish battlefield instantly disappeared, but the illusion hadn’t ended. The boom, boom, boom of the drumming continued.
Li Si watched quietly. Suddenly, earth-shaking thunder roared. From the end of the darkness, tens of thousands of iron cavalry came thundering, as if they were going to trample the Milky Way!
And he was alone.
In an instant, the sound of thundering hooves merged with the war drums. Between heaven and earth, only the boom, boom, boom of the war drums remained. The drumming was formless, yet it pierced through his soul, his mind, his will, his Dao Heart.
True death was within reach! The Fate Forge didn’t come to rescue him.
Was he going to die?
I wonder if I’ll get a chance to become a Phantom Bridegroom…
Boom!
Li Si exploded.
Shattered into pieces, soul scattered to the winds.
Then, he woke up. He was still standing in front of the Phantom Bride. He had only taken one step.
“You failed? It’s alright, you can come often in the future.”
The Phantom Bride comforted him, seemingly not surprised.
Li Si looked ahead in disbelief at the magnificent building, then at the Idol of Fortune he was holding, and then at his own Soul Evolution Level, which had reached 31%, and the full 1,200 units of Gray Fortune he had lost. He found it quite appealing.
“Do you know what’s inside?”
“I know. I used to come here often.”
“Did you clear it?” Li Si regarded her with newfound respect. So she was a veteran clearer.
“No, I only took thirty-two more steps than you.” The Phantom Bride was very modest.
Li Si immediately lost the desire to speak with her. But, “Has my Master or anyone else been here? I mean, do you know them?”
The Phantom Bride glanced at him, as if guessing what Li Si was thinking. “This place isn’t hidden; anyone can come. Your Master took twenty-seven more steps than you. That guy named Tianjizi took thirty-five more steps than you. The one called Jiuxuanzi was the best—he took forty more steps than you. The others were all about the same as your Master.”
“As for whether I know them? I’m just a lonely wild ghost. Why would they know me? I’m afraid they might capture me.”
“Then aren’t you afraid I’ll capture you?” Li Si laughed.
The Phantom Bride gave him a look and shook her head.
“You can’t beat me.”
Li Si felt a sharp sting in his heart.
“Still, I must thank you. I benefited greatly this time.”
“What’s there to thank? I’m atoning for my own sins, though it’s useless.”
The Phantom Bride turned and gazed in a certain direction, remaining motionless for a long time.
For some reason, Li Si felt she seemed a bit sorrowful.