Chapter 51: Why Would Someone Like You Come to the Mock Heaven Sect?

Chapter 51: Why Would Someone Like You Come to the Mock Heaven Sect?

Just as Chen Qiu was about to stand up—

The scene before him suddenly began to change, and he found himself back at the place where he first met Fat Dragon, outside Fufeng City, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

A familiar voice rang in his ear, and when he turned around, he saw Fat Dragon running towards him with a somewhat anxious expression, as if afraid that his face would be seen by others.

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu glanced around, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Was this an illusion too? Or was it a memory?

A cloud-shrouded panel appeared beside Fat Dragon once again.

"This is your beloved, your closest kin."

Before the panel could finish displaying, Chen Qiu's long saber pierced through it, stabbing into Fat Dragon's chest, who was standing right in front of him.

He looked into Fat Dragon's disbelieving eyes and said softly, "I almost forgot just now, how could you have died when you didn't even turn into a vengeful spirit?"

"It seems this illusion can only extract a person's partial memories?"

"What is it that I can't see in the entry?"

"It's really..."

"I almost shed tears."

"And this illusion of yours is too pathetic, as if afraid that people wouldn't realize it's an illusion."

As he finished speaking, the fat Fat Dragon in front of him suddenly laughed, his face no longer showing disbelief or pain. He looked at Chen Qiu with a meaningful gaze, "You're quite a promising sword cultivation talent."

At the same time—

A cloud-shrouded panel slowly appeared before Chen Qiu.

"First Gate, Sever Worldly Ties, Cleared."

"Congratulations on successfully becoming a Menial Disciple of the Mock Heaven Sect. This gate tests the disciple's ability to maintain their true self in an illusion. There are two ways to pass this gate."

"1: Verbally see through the illusion."

"2: Kill the target 99 times."

"Upon passing this gate, you will be rewarded with one Intermediate Foundation Establishment Rejuvenation Pill, which can effectively and quickly heal external injuries. Please do not turn back or communicate any information about this gate to others through any means. Continue forward for thirty zhang, and the Alchemy Hall you see will be the second gate."

As the Fat Dragon in front of him quickly dissipated into clouds, everything around him also vanished like passing clouds. When his vision returned, he found himself back within the Bronze Bell Barrier.

A force controlled his body, preventing him from turning back or speaking.

He had initially wanted to randomly kill someone to see if a vengeful spirit would appear, thus determining if he was still in an illusion, but he soon abandoned this idea. He walked past the bronze bell towards the Alchemy Hall thirty zhang away.

He would wait for Fat Dragon there first.

"Qiu Brother, Qiu Brother?!"

Fat Dragon looked at Chen Qiu with confusion as he gradually moved further away, leaving only his back. Just like the others, Qiu Brother had also frozen in place for a moment after entering the Bronze Bell Barrier, and then walked forward without looking back.

It seemed eerie, as if there might be a trap.

The cautious Fat Dragon looked around and decided not to approach the bronze bell for now. He would go find Qiu Brother first, but after taking a few steps, he realized that he could easily explore the ruins around the bronze bell.

However, if he wanted to pass through the bronze bell and explore the ruins behind it, an invisible wall of air blocked his path.

"Damn it."

Seeing his plan fail, Fat Dragon, unable to bypass the bell, gritted his teeth and walked into the Bronze Bell Barrier, determined to see what was going on.

He appeared in a white space enveloped in clouds.

Not far away, Ma Yinxue, wearing a pink dress and with tear stains on her face, sat on the ground with her legs together, looking up at him with a crying voice, "You're so heartless. Why did you have the heart to kill me just now?"

"Fortunately, the Mock Heaven Sect saved me, and a remnant of my soul remained. As long as you break through to the Golden Core, you can give me a new body."

Beside Ma Yinxue, a cloud-shrouded panel slowly appeared.

"This is your lifelong love, your ultimate pursuit."

"You have spent a lot of effort for her, and even in troubled times, you wanted to bring her stability."

"To become a sword cultivator, you must first sever this person."

"Can you bear to do it?"

"..."

Fat Dragon was shocked and looked at Ma Yinxue's familiar face and figure with disbelief. He scanned the surroundings and, after swallowing, muttered with a rolling throat, "Is this Sever Worldly Ties?"

He subconsciously reached for his pants and felt around.

"It works."

He couldn't help but grin with excitement, staring at Ma Yinxue's long and slender jade legs, his eyes filled with greed as he stepped closer, "There were too many people outside just now, and I felt embarrassed. I thought I'd never have a chance again, but I never expected such good fortune."

After a cup of tea.

Fat Dragon looked at Ma Yinxue, who was lying on the ground with a face full of shame and anger, and sighed with satisfaction, "That was exhilarating. It's a pity that this thing can't be used continuously. It's much more realistic than my intracranial fantasy, and it even has a sense of touch. It's really good."

"But I should go find Qiu Brother first, so he doesn't worry."

"Slash!"

Fat Dragon, who had just fastened his belt, drew the saber from his waist and stabbed it into Ma Yinxue's chest. At that moment, the surrounding clouds swirled, and the scene changed again.

Fat Dragon looked around and found himself in the dilapidated thatched cottage outside the city where he had just arrived with Ma Yinxue. Hearing the noise outside, Ma Yinxue, wearing only an underbust top, opened the door and glared at him with resentment.

"You earn only a few dozen wencai a day. When can we move into the city?"

"I met a young lady in the city today. Her husband earns several hundred wencai a day. Do you know how embarrassed I feel because of you?"

"..."

Fat Dragon was bewildered as he scanned his surroundings, then it dawned on him that this was the fourth day since his transmigration. He recalled how he had given all his daily earnings to Ma Yinxue to keep, intending to use it to purchase breakthrough Qi Condensation elixirs. But today, Ma Yinxue had spent all the money in the city, leaving nothing.

He had bought a lot of pork and wine, intending to treat himself to a good meal, but he didn't get a bite. By the time he returned, Ma Yinxue had eaten it all. This, he could have tolerated, but when he learned that Ma Yinxue had given away the last few coins he had to beggars outside the city gates, his emotions erupted.

If he remembered correctly, they had a big fight that day.

Of course.

That was then, and this is now.

Fat Dragon sighed helplessly, his hands, which were about to tie his pants, suddenly stopped. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? If I had known, I wouldn't have bothered tying my pants."

He looked up at Ma Yinxue, who was standing at the door, chattering away. Ma Yinxue grinned again.

"It's about to begin."

After another cup of tea, the scene shifted once more.

"Hey."

The scene shifted again.

"I like this part."

"Change."

"I might as well throw away this belt; there's no chance I'll get to tie it."

On the ninety-ninth time, as Fat Dragon and Ma Yinxue were about to engage in a public display of intimacy on the stage, surrounded by onlookers, the usually furious Ma Yinxue suddenly went expressionless and stood silently in place. He then looked up at Fat Dragon and said, word by word, "Don't you know this is an illusion?"

"I know."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Say what?"

"That this is an illusion."

"In a bit, I haven't had enough yet."

"Huh?" Fat Dragon suddenly realized that Ma Yinxue was talking to him, and he looked at Ma Yinxue beneath him in disbelief, then excitedly smacked his buttock.

"Call me Daddy!"

"Get lost!"

Ma Yinxue swung his cold sleeve, and with a burst of spirit energy, he flung Fat Dragon off the stage. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and said emotionlessly, "This is absurd. Why would someone like you come to the Mock Heaven Sect? If you went to the Flower Offering Sect, you would at least be a direct disciple."

"You passed the first gate with an exemption, but I must tell you, I look down on people like you..."

Before he could finish.

"Hey."

Fat Dragon, who had been thrown off the stage, shook his head and rose to his feet with a sinister smile. "So, it's time to fight?"

"Then bring it on!"

Fat Dragon rubbed his fingers together, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of talismans appeared on his fingertips, each equivalent to a full-power strike of a Foundation Establishment first layer cultivator. He threw them all at Ma Yinxue on the stage and then drew out his "Dragon Slayer" great saber, grinning maliciously as he charged up.

After a few breaths.

Ma Yinxue lay on the ground, his face filled with despair and pain, his eyes tightly shut, and tears streaming down his cheeks.

After another cup of tea.

"Huff."

This time, Fat Dragon finally stood up, satisfied. He drew his saber and killed Ma Yinxue on the ground. Just as he was about to face the next scenario, he suddenly realized he had returned to the Brass Bell.

Before him, a panel slowly emerged, enveloped in clouds.

"First Gate, Sever Worldly Ties, Cleared."

"Congratulations on becoming a menial disciple of the Mock Heaven Sect. This gate tests the disciple's ability to maintain their true self within an illusion. There are two ways to pass this trial."

"1. Verbally see through the illusion."

"2. Kill the target 99 times."

"So, I only needed to kill 99 times to pass the gate."

Fat Dragon calculated with his fingers, "That's just enough. I could have passed with my strength, but they gave me an early exemption. If this gets out, it'll be so embarrassing, like I cheated my way through."

He shook his head and ignored these thoughts, walking past the Brass Bell without a second glance. He needed to catch up with Qiu, to ease his worries. Thankfully, no matter how long one stayed inside, only a breath of time passed outside, or he wouldn't have wasted time in there. He had figured this out by noticing that everyone regained consciousness after a breath. The talismans in his Spirit Ring were also intact, indicating that the illusion didn't use real ones.

But what Fat Dragon didn't notice was that after he left, the Brass Bell, which had been emitting a faint creamy white light, suddenly went completely dark. Those who passed the gate after him also looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Why was I informed of my success as soon as I entered the Brass Bell's range, without anything happening?"

"Me too. Weren't we supposed to face Sever Worldly Ties? I was mentally prepared, but nothing happened."

"Weren't there supposed to be fixed rewards for each gate cleared? Why didn't I get any rewards? Did you get any?"

"Everyone who entered the Brass Bell's range before us would lose consciousness for a breath, why didn't that happen to us?"

"Here?"

Chen Qiu, standing outside the Alchemy Hall, looked at Fat Dragon running towards him and said softly, "Are you okay? Did the first gate leave any psychological scars?"

Like Fat Dragon, Chen Qiu had no parents, so Fat Dragon's target for severing worldly ties was most likely him.

Killing him with his own hands would probably leave some psychological scars on Fat Dragon, especially after discovering that he was truly dead by his hand. It might cause some pain.

"Erm..."

Fat Dragon, feeling embarrassed, averted his eyes and said softly, "I'm fine. It felt great."

"..."

Chen Qiu's face darkened, and after a long silence, he said softly, "Let's spar when we get out."

"To increase your combat experience."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end