Chapter 467: The Illusory Realm Formation

Deep within the fantastical forest, Niu Youdao's group stopped once more. One after another, they released their grips on the lower legs of the Butterfly Rakshasas and dropped to the ground.

Guan Fangyi took out her handkerchief and wiped her hands again. The Butterfly Rakshasas' bodies were not exactly pleasant to look at, and touching them skin to skin left her feeling faintly disgusted.

But there was no helping it. If they relied on their own cultivation to keep flying through this forest, the drain on their spiritual power would be far too great. If something happened afterward and their strength was depleted, they would be in trouble. They could only borrow the Butterfly Rakshasas' ability to fly.

Even this was possible only because Yuan Gang was with them. Otherwise, the Butterfly Rakshasas would never willingly submit to such labor. Fortunately, when one batch grew tired, they could simply replace it with another.

Strictly speaking, it was not that everyone had chosen to stop. Yun Ji had stopped again, forcing the others to stop with her.

Niu Youdao and the others raised their heads. Yun Ji had once more flown to the top of the forest canopy to study the terrain carefully.

After a while, she floated back down and pointed in one direction. "Let's continue that way and have a look."

Niu Youdao raised a hand to stop her. "Senior, can you settle on a direction? This forest covers an enormous area. If we keep searching aimlessly like this, how long will it take? We're willing to accompany you, but at least spare the Butterfly Rakshasas from being worked to death."

Yun Ji said, "I have to find the place where Zhu Chicheng and I separated back then. Otherwise, as you said, searching aimlessly through such an enormous area would be no different from fishing for a needle in the sea. Only after finding the place where we parted will there be any chance of locating traces from Zhu Chicheng's battle with the Butterfly Rakshasas and searching with a clear target."

Niu Youdao asked, "More than a hundred years have passed. Are you certain you can still remember the terrain where you parted?"

"There was a mountain at the place where we separated. I remember it clearly and won't forget it. The mountain wasn't tall. One side was high and the other low. Everyone should keep an eye out as we travel. If you see something similar, remind me."

"The mountain wasn't tall?" Niu Youdao repeated. Then he raised a hand to his forehead and shook his head with a bitter smile.

Yun Ji looked at him, puzzled.

Yuan Gang, however, understood why Niu Youdao was smiling bitterly. Back in those days, Master Dao had been an expert at reading mountains and waters, dividing the gold and fixing the acupoint. He naturally understood the problem with Yun Ji's description. Yuan Gang therefore reminded her, "If the mountain wasn't tall, saying one side was high and one side low is basically useless. From the side, a ridge; from the end, a peak. A mountain looks different depending on where you're standing. We might already have passed right beside it without recognizing it. Do you remember from which direction you were looking at the mountain?"

Had he not mentioned it, no one would have thought along those lines. Once he did, Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang both nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

"This..." Yun Ji hesitated. "We fled in too much of a hurry back then. I didn't pay attention to the direction I was facing. But judging from some terrain we passed earlier that looked vaguely familiar, I can be certain we've already reached the general area. The place should not be far from here."

Niu Youdao found that strange. "We should already be very far from the entrance to the illusory realm. Back then Zhu Chicheng brought only you. Just the two of you managed to penetrate this deeply while being attacked by so many Butterfly Rakshasas?"

"The Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl!" Seeing that the others did not understand, Yun Ji explained, "The Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl has some influence over the Butterfly Rakshasas, especially the lower-ranked ones. We relied on the pearl to reach this far. Later, for some reason, more and more high-ranked Blood Rakshasas appeared, and only then did we run into danger."

So that was it. The others fell into thought, though they still could not be certain whether everything this woman said was true.

Standing there with both hands on his planted sword, Niu Youdao sighed repeatedly. "We've already spent this long accompanying you. Turning back now would only waste everyone's effort, so we'll continue searching. But Senior, don't say I didn't warn you. It's been almost a full day since we entered the illusory realm. Even if we convert all the twists and turns we've traveled into a straight route back, we still need to reserve at least one day for the return journey, yes?"

"In other words, we can accompany you for one more day at most. Once that time is up, we return immediately. When the moment comes, don't say we didn't help you. We cannot stay sealed inside here with you for ten years."

Yun Ji looked toward him. "Naturally. If we can't find it this time, we'll return when the illusory realm opens again."

Her gaze flicked toward Yuan Gang with obvious meaning, as though saying that the next time she came, she would still need to borrow Yuan Gang's ability for the search.

Niu Youdao gave no outward response, but inwardly he sneered. Who could say what matters would look like ten years from now? The affairs of the world changed constantly. When that time came, things might no longer proceed according to her wishes.

Yuan Gang looked over. Niu Youdao gave a slight shake of the head, indicating there was no need to fall out with this woman now, then waved a hand. "Then let's seize the time and keep searching."

The group set out again, hanging beneath the Butterfly Rakshasas as they continued the search. Yuan Fang found the whole thing boring. Searching for something this way truly was like fishing for a needle in the sea.

Guan Fangyi was cursing inwardly. She had already hinted to Niu Youdao that they could use a Heavenly Sword Talisman for a surprise attack and perhaps kill Yun Ji in a single strike.

Niu Youdao had refused.

For one thing, Yun Ji was plainly on guard as well. If the attack failed and the woman escaped underground, that alone would be troublesome. More importantly, whatever degree of sincerity there was in his sworn brotherhood with Yun Huan, unless he had absolutely no other choice, Niu Youdao found it difficult to strike viciously at Yun Huan's mother. There were still certain moral lines he refused to cross.

Even setting aside what he personally wanted, abandoning all sense of righteousness was not necessarily advantageous. The people beside him were human too. Whether or not they were trusted confidants, human hearts were made of flesh. Once he did certain things, the people around him would see them and remember them.

If he could casually throw away his own bottom line, sooner or later the people beside him would casually throw away theirs when dealing with him. Those who lived by licking blood from the blade were the ones most likely to encounter the karmic turns of fortune and disaster...

"I found it! That's the mountain!"

Roughly two hours later, just as Yun Ji had judged, they truly were not far from the general location. Hanging beneath a Butterfly Rakshasa above the forest, she pointed toward a mountain on the left and cried out in delight, excited enough to lose some of her composure.

Everyone looked.

Among the rolling mountains, one peak indeed had a slope noticeably higher on one side and lower on the other. The Butterfly Rakshasas carrying them immediately changed direction. Yun Ji led the way. They moved toward the right flank following the mountain's rise and fall before finally descending.

A stream ran there, with a waterfall spilling from a cliff. The waterfall itself was not even as tall as the great trees beside it, yet Yun Ji stood at the stream and stared at it excitedly.

"That's right. It's here. This is the place!"

The others looked around. Quite a few glowing Greater Moons drifted through the area, and Yun Ji's words became somewhat more credible in their minds.

Just as she had said, there seemed to be quite a few Blood Rakshasas here. The Blood Rakshasa traveling with them spent some time crying "yaa, yaa" back and forth with the Blood Rakshasas that gathered around.

Only after the surrounding Blood Rakshasas withdrew did everyone relax. If a whole swarm of Blood Rakshasas truly attacked them together, none of them might leave alive.

Now that the place had been found, nothing more needed to be said. Yun Ji immediately began searching along the direction Zhu Chicheng had taken when the two of them separated, looking for anything he might have left behind. Sure enough, not far away she found a rock split by sword qi, its scar now covered in moss.

But trouble soon appeared.

More than a hundred years had passed. Thick moss and heavy vines covered everything. Finding traces from a century ago was extremely difficult. Large amounts of vegetation first had to be cleared away. Even for cultivators, that was exhausting work, because the area was simply too large.

At Niu Youdao's signal, everyone still did their best to help search, beginning along the general direction Zhu Chicheng had gone. Unexpectedly, after searching for some time, they ran into an even greater problem.

A lake!

They had returned to the shore of the same lake again. This was the third time they had reached it. The second time, they had assumed it was merely another similar-looking lake. But because they had paid closer attention after that, on the third return they discovered even the distinctive features along the lakeshore were exactly the same. Only then did everyone realize that something was truly wrong.

They all stopped.

Yuan Fang said in surprise, "Don't tell me we're lost?"

Niu Youdao slowly looked around. "We're not lost. Someone set up a formation here. We've been trapped inside it."

Who could possibly have laid a formation in a place like this? Everyone looked at one another, startled and uncertain. Almost all of them arrived at the same guess.

Guan Fangyi slowly turned in a circle as she surveyed the area. "Could Shang Song's imperial retreat be somewhere around here?"

Yun Ji immediately flew up and down, searching for clues to the formation so she could find a way to break it. Niu Youdao silently studied their surroundings as well.

After a long while, Yun Ji finally stopped and returned to the others, grief and frustration on her face. "How could this happen?"

Clearly, she had failed to find a method of breaking the formation. She had finally managed to locate this place after so much effort, only to be obstructed by a formation. The Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm remained open for only a limited time!

Seeing Yun Ji reduced to this state, Yuan Fang grew nervous. "Master Dao, can we still get out?"

Niu Youdao was comparing the surrounding terrain while calculating on his fingers. He had thought of the ancient bronze mirror they had obtained from the tomb—the Shang Mirror. According to legend, the Shang Mirror had been made by Shang Song. If this formation truly had something to do with Shang Song, perhaps the mirror would be worth trying.

At Yuan Fang's question, Niu Youdao returned to himself. After a moment of thought, he said slowly, "There's no need to panic. We might as well search for the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl first."

Guan Fangyi said irritably, "We're trapped here and can't keep going. How are we supposed to search?"

From her expression, it seemed she had again decided Niu Youdao was up to no good.

Niu Youdao remained calm. "Think about it the other way around. Judging from the traces of Zhu Chicheng's flight, if this truly is some formation that is difficult to break, then nine times out of ten Zhu Chicheng ended up trapped here too."

"Even if Zhu Chicheng was an expert at breaking formations, he would still have needed time to examine and understand it, unless he could recognize the grand formation without even looking closely. With a group of Blood Rakshasas chasing and harassing him, he probably had no time to study it in detail."

"If he really was trapped here, then this place may very well have been where he died. Everyone should search this area carefully."

At those words, Yun Ji's stunned eyes suddenly lit up. She was the first to begin searching the area. The others basically helped as well. Only Niu Youdao remained where he was, counting on his fingers again and muttering calculations under his breath like some mysterious charlatan.

Before long, Yuan Fang suddenly shouted, "There's a piece of clothing here! Mountain Lord Yun, come take a look and see whether you recognize it."

Everyone turned.

Yuan Fang, searching along the lakeshore, had pulled a tattered garment from vines and grass reaching to his knees. The garment gave off a faint glimmer. Niu Youdao remained where he stood and looked back, while the others flashed over and gathered around.

The ruined garment shone because something resembling silver thread had been woven inside it, allowing it to retain the basic shape of a robe even after so many years.

Yun Ji snatched it into her hands and held it in both palms, her voice trembling. "The Myriad Beasts Silver-Thread Robe. It offers some protection against blades and swords. Only the Sect Leader of Myriad Beasts Sect was entitled to wear one made to this standard. This should be his robe."

Yuan Gang, Yuan Fang, and Guan Fangyi exchanged a glance, then immediately resumed searching the surrounding area. They had really found a clue? Niu Youdao's brows moved slightly. Unable to resist, he walked over to see for himself.

[End of Chapter 467]