Undying Life

Chapter 258: The Beginning of Shattering Delusion

The petals of the Pure World Snow Lotus withered one by one, and as the sixth petal fell, Zhongshan's voice suddenly echoed from within.

"In my Niwan Palace, do you still think you can seize control of my consciousness?"

...

"You have already lost. You've been refined by the Pure World Snow Lotus. No matter how strong or terrifying you once were, now you're just a defeated foe. You possess great power, a formidable mind, but your intelligence is incomplete. Ultimately, you are destined to serve me."

...

"Resist? You can't resist. The Niwan World is my domain. Here, you can only be gradually refined by me."

...

"Want to be my pet, to submit to me? Ha! But I prefer you to become my root spiritual consciousness. Submission is not enough; you must belong to me."

...

"Retain your consciousness as my root spiritual consciousness? Haha, how could my body house two minds? Don't even think about it."

...

"Fish die and the net breaks? You know that phrase? If you destroy your consciousness, you'll revert to your weakest form, your original form. And what then? Break if you must. All I desire are your attributes, those heaven-defying attributes. Even if your power becomes weak, it doesn't matter. Given time, I will restore it."

...

"Boom!"

A muffled explosion sounded from within the Pure World Snow Lotus.

"Pfft!" A gush of blood was heard spurting out.

"You'd rather die than let me have your power? Heh!" Zhongshan's voice, slightly tinged with excitement, came from inside.

At the last moment, the Pure World Snow Lotus withered madly. In an instant, it shriveled into a dry husk, even the once lush lotus platform shrinking and revealing Zhongshan at its center.

Zhongshan sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, a hint of a triumphant smile playing on his lips. That was close. He had almost lost, but in the end, he had driven the eight-tailed Tianwei to utter desperation, leading to its final, desperate "fish die and the net breaks" act. Had the Tianwei held on a little longer, the current occupant of Zhongshan's body might have been someone else entirely.

Zhongshan continued to regulate his breathing, immersing his mind in his Niwan Palace, located at the back of his head—a place akin to a Purple Mansion.

The Purple Mansion stored mana; the Niwan Palace stored spiritual consciousness.

This place seemed like an enclosed space, connected to Zhongshan's essence only by a mysterious link. Below, the eight-tailed Tianwei had transformed into something like a blossoming flower.

The Tianwei had become very small, devoid of consciousness, its eight differently colored fox tails swaying gently. Surrounding the Tianwei was a hazy, almost transparent substance, both ethereal and real. This was Zhongshan's spiritual consciousness, which he had concentrated into a root spiritual consciousness.

Root Spiritual Consciousness: The eight-tailed Tianwei. As the root of his spiritual consciousness, it maintained this form, but Zhongshan's spiritual consciousness was still very weak. It could only extend outside his body to explore within a one-zhang radius.

For Zhongshan, however, this was sufficient. Within one zhang of his body, he could perceive everything clearly without the need for his eyes.

More importantly, he had now reached the sixth level of the Golden Core stage.

He was one step closer to the Nascent Soul stage and much nearer to the day he could retrieve Ling'er.

Zhongshan opened his eyes slightly, a fleeting gleam of light passing through them before fading away.

He stood up gently, and the Pure World Snow Lotus beneath him had withered into a pile of dust, which he blew away with a wave of his hand.

The Pure World Snow Lotus? It no longer existed. But now he had gained an eight-tailed Tianwei root spiritual consciousness.

In its final moments, the Tianwei, consumed by spite, had extinguished all consciousness, destroyed all its power, reverting to its most primal state. Even in death, it left no memory for humans to claim.

As the eight-tailed Tianwei was about to extinguish itself, Zhongshan gleaned a bit of insight.

This eight-tailed Tianwei was a tragic figure as well. It seemed as though it didn't belong in this world. Just as it descended, it was sealed away, and after thousands of years of confinement, it emerged only to encounter Zhongshan, a monstrous being. It had spent millennia without experiencing any good days.

But Zhongshan didn't concern himself with the details. There was no need to dwell on distant matters beyond his reach. Instead, he focused on the present, striving to cultivate his current stage. That was the most fundamental thing.

However, as the last surge of pure energy infused his body from the Pure World Snow Lotus, it seemed to ignite the Red Phoenix Pink Lotus at his brow.

Both were lotuses, and as a result, the Red Phoenix Pink Lotus doubled in size. The Red Phoenix Scripture, sixth stage!

The Red Phoenix Scripture, fifth stage, showed both fortune and misfortune.

The Red Phoenix Scripture, sixth stage, marked the beginning of illusion breaking.

The sixth stage, the beginning of illusion breaking? Zhongshan didn't check now; instead, he quickly rose to his feet. The most important thing now was to leave the city. Big changes were coming.

As the eight-tailed Tianwei perished, countless thunderbolts in the sky began to recede slowly. They diminished more and more until there were hardly any left.

Seeing this, Zhongshan swiftly flew up to the terrace halfway up the mountain, where Princess Qianyou and the others stood.

At that moment, as the thunderbolts vanished from the sky, the spectral talisman that had sealed them suddenly trembled and then vanished.

As if in a chain reaction, at the moment one talisman disappeared, all the spectral talisman images in the city trembled and disappeared together.

In the sky, the Cold Extremity Prince's body sank slightly, but he quickly stabilized himself and, with a hint of confusion, hastily turned and flew away.

Before Zhongshan, Ada, A'er, and Nian Youyou all wore expressions of utter astonishment, preparing to confront the eight-tailed Tianwei. But then...

Ada, A'er, and Nian Youyou widened their eyes, mouths hanging open in disbelief. The eight-tailed Tianwei was gone?

In the blink of an eye—no, not even that, it had simply vanished? Where was the eight-tailed Tianwei?

The three of them were incredulous. They searched around, but before Princess Qianyou, the eight-tailed Tianwei had suddenly been replaced by Zhongshan. Its memory of lunging at him still fresh, yet now, before them stood their master. Perhaps, perhaps dying alongside their master wasn't a bad ending after all.

"Princess, let's leave the city quickly!" Zhongshan smiled.

"Huh?" Princess Qianyou was momentarily stunned, snapping out of her sorrowful reverie. She only now realized that the eight-tailed Tianwei was gone. Disappeared?

Nian Youyou searched for a moment then immediately stared at Zhongshan.

The eight-tailed Tianwei was gone? But Zhongshan appeared unharmed. Did he know what happened?

"What's going on? What just happened?" Nian Youyou immediately asked Zhongshan.

"Let's go!" Zhongshan said.

Ada quickly regained his senses and immediately flew up, carrying everyone with him. Following Zhongshan's lead, they flew toward the eastern gate.

The thick fog had dissipated, and all the Tianwei in the city had once again turned into harmless plants. But those who had been unsealed still panicked and fled at the sight of the flower-like Tianwei.

"The city gates are open! The city gates are open!" A distant voice rang out with excitement.

"Whoosh..."

Hearing the shouts, countless people sprinted towards the city gates, filled with terror, not wanting to stay for another moment, not wanting to linger in this nightmare city any longer.

Outside the city, as the white fog slowly dispersed, the first person flew out in a panic from within. Seeing this hastily escaping figure, those waiting outside were stunned because many recognized him as a powerful Yuan Ying stage cultivator. But what was going on with him now? What expression was that? Tears?

No, not just him. Behind him, a large number of cultivators surged out of the Sealed Spirit City like a swarm of locusts, many of them shedding tears of excitement as if they had been reborn.

Tearful escape. It was indeed a sight to behold as tens of thousands of people wept together.

Zhongshan and his group followed the tide and exited the city gates.

"Zhongshan, what about the eight-tailed Tianwei?" Nian Youyou asked urgently.

All eyes turned to Zhongshan.

"I don't know. Let's go!" Zhongshan replied.

Hearing Zhongshan's words, everyone fell silent. Go? But how?

Knowing Zhongshan didn't want to discuss it further, no one pressed him for more answers.

But Nian Youyou couldn't shake off her unease. Her eyes turned and she said, "Zhongshan, why don't you come with me? I'll take you to the Eternal Life Realm!"

"Go with you? I might end up being sold by you and not even realize it." Zhongshan shook his head and chuckled.

"Hmph, suit yourself. But don't forget your promise. I'll be back next time, and then I'll claim what's mine!" With a stomp, Nian Youyou soared into the sky. Her tone suddenly changed, sounding like a stubborn young wife as she turned to fly away.

Seeing Nian Youyou leave, Zhongshan shook his head with a smile. Nian Youyou's temperament was too unpredictable.

"Take care!" Zhongshan replied.

Seeing Zhongshan didn't try to stop her, Nian Youyou shot him a glare before flying away for real.

"Sir, where are we going now?" Ada asked.

"Back to the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty!" Zhongshan replied solemnly.

"Yes, sir," Ada immediately responded, continuing to urge the white clouds forward.

Meanwhile, Princess Qianyou stared in the direction Nian Youyou had flown off to, her brows furrowed. What was she thinking?

Everyone had escaped from the Sealed Spirit City, presumably all the living ones had made it out. But no one dared to enter again, not even the Cold Extremity Prince. Just the thought of the Sealed Spirit City sent shivers down his spine.

Only those who hadn't been inside the city beforehand dared to enter, but upon doing so, they found that all the Tianwei flowers inside had withered and died. This was no man-eating demon flower; it was just an ordinary Tianwei. But the people who came out were all terrified, and there was no choice but to believe them. Furthermore, the disappearance of numerous mines, the drying up of the big lake, the disappearance of floating islands—all these continuously proved that what those people said was true.

Where was the eight-tailed Tianwei? Perhaps it would remain a mystery, known to none.

Only the Cold Extremity Prince returned, deeply frustrated. And the Sealed Spirit City remained abandoned, its previous bustling atmosphere gone. Because inside, there circulated a terrifying legend: the City of Nightmares!