Upon reaching one of the exits of the Mintian Academy, Xu Yuan was greeted by a group of splendidly dressed young masters and ladies.
Four men and three women.
Their garments were completely distinct from those of ordinary disciples, all wearing luxurious brocade robes and cloud-stepping boots, exuding strong auras, likely all geniuses from the Qionghua Sect.
This group clearly recognized "Xu Yuan," and upon seeing him, they immediately approached him with beaming smiles.
"Jing He, we’ve finally found you, I heard from my father that Brother Li has returned from his travels today, and he’s currently in the Qionghua Hall."
"Heh heh, it’s been more than a year since we’ve seen him, and a few of us are planning to host a welcoming banquet for him tonight at Haiwei Residence down the mountain, Bai Fan, this lad, is footing the bill."
"You avoided us last time during Tang Jiuqing’s birthday, you can’t skip out again today, my good friend, every time it’s only you who’s absent."
The several people gathered around him, each taking turns to speak, nearly carried Xu Yuan away with them.
Xu Yuan thought to himself this could be a good place to gather information, but he hesitated.
After all, he didn’t know the surnames of the people in front of him, and speaking about the past could give him away.
one of the girls dressed in light blue gauze, exposing her midriff, suddenly said with a laugh:
"Right, Big Brother Jing He, why don’t you bring Tianyan with you?"
Xu Yuan’s gaze faltered.
It seemed the girl in blue had mentioned something astonishing.
He turned his wooden expression to glance at Tianyan, who had been keeping silent beside him.
Tianyan’s beautiful eyes blinked, she cleared her throat and immediately said with a smile:
"I have no objections."
"Did you hear that? Tianyan has agreed, you can’t use her as an excuse to decline anymore."
"It’s settled then, we’ll meet here at mintian Academy at the fourth watch tonight, don’t be absent."
With that, the group, as if fearing Xu Yuan might refuse, quickly dispersed.
Watching these fair-weather friends walk away,
Xu Yuan remained silent, not rushing to ask questions, and continued on his way.
Passing through the entrance of the academy, what met his eyes were several winding, twisting mountain paths.
Up the mountain, down the mountain, three paths lay ahead.
Stone steps vanished into the lush forest, sunlight filtered through the canopy casting patches of light, with the sound of cicadas and birds resounding incessantly and the distinct scent of earth permeating the forest air, a secluded path leading into the depths.
Xu Yuan chose one path and proceeded, with Tianyan silently following behind.
A silent and oppressive atmosphere spread between the two.
Eventually, the two stopped by a mountain stream laden with bird songs and floral fragrances.
On either side of the stream, green grass spread out, and a quiet pavilion stood solemnly surrounded by trees in a clearing.
Xu Yuan paused, pointing to the pavilion to suggest they rest there.
Inside the pavilion with stone tables and chairs, the mountain breeze passed through, causing their hair to flutter gently.
Xu Yuan took a seat on the stone bench, not speaking, just fixing his gaze on Tianyan.
Tianyan took the initiative to speak softly:
"The disciples calling me by my name must be because part of my Celestial Fates Divine Soul was torn when I was forcibly dragged into this Illusionary Realm, causing some of my will-spirit to mix with it."
"You don’t even know that?"
Tianyan pursed her lips and, without hiding anything, continued softly:
"Simply put, because of the Yantian Art, my will-spirit can resist most of the soul-bewitching illusions in the world."
Xu Yuan, upon hearing this, showed a trace of contemplation in his eyes.
He recalled the scene where Tianyan had effortlessly found the exit in that soul-bewitching corridor.
Guessing his thoughts, Tianyan bent her eyes into a smile and said to him:
"The process of being ensnared by the Illusionary Realm has steps, Forget-Me Illusionary Realm we’re currently in."
"The first step of dragging someone into the illusion is to temporarily erase their independent will, because only in this way can they be thrust into an identity within the illusion without being aware, endlessly sinking into it."
"My will-spirit allows me to stay conscious, so from the very first step of being drawn in, I have been trying to break free. Even though I ultimately failed, I still managed to damage part of the illusion."
"My current identity and state are probably a consequence of that red-clothed woman patching up this portion of the damaged illusion."
Xu Yuan listened carefully and suppressed the surging thoughts in his heart.
The efficacy of the Yantian Art was terrifying, capable of resisting even the illusions of the Enchantress Divine Sakura Tree?
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan asked softly:
"This illusion... what did you damage?"
Tianyan looked up and pressed her lips together, smiling playfully:
"It’s probably this identity of mine now, seems to be called ’Wang Yuchu.’ I initially thought that by damaging this identity, I could regain my original strength in this illusionary world, but unfortunately, I failed..."
Xu Yuan listened in silence, then asked the question he was most concerned about:
"Alright, then why do characters in this illusionary realm react to our actions?"
Tianyan shook her little head and spoke softly:
"I don’t know; this illusionary realm is beyond my understanding.
"It’s as if it has become a world of its own, and logically, no one’s Soul Power could sustain such an immense expenditure."
In this world, everything had its own mechanisms; it wasn’t something you could conjure just by clapping your hands and calling for it.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan reminded her:
"This is an illusion created by the Enchantress Sakura Spirit."
Tianyan was obviously stunned: "The Enchantress Divine Sakura Tree cannot have a spirit."
Such divine trees were always under strict surveillance by the Sects, and even if they were used to refine spirits, they would never be allowed to have their own consciousness.