The Stars Beyond

Chapter 431: Self-Verification Has Failed

"Youth is truly wonderful!" Chen Yongjie exclaimed sincerely, then added, "Can you handle both?"

Wang Xuan had originally wanted to teach him a lesson, but now he was even more unable to resist.

What was this old man with a young man’s short hair thinking about?　

Chen Yongjie kindly reminded him not to play with fire, saying, "Youth is great, but moderation is key."

Wang Xuan's palm glowed as he pressed down. Although he really wanted to punch him, he hesitated.

"A rare treasure, a divine garment of unparalleled quality? No wonder it feels familiar. Isn't this the clothing of Maiden Fang and Demon Lord? What did you do?!" Chen Yongjie widened his eyes.

"I've just come out of seclusion and haven't gone far. What are you thinking? Or should I take a look at you first, to see if you’re real or fake?" Wang Xuan felt that he had been through a lot and returned with suspicions.

Soon, he was certain that he had come back to the real world, not the Ethereal Realm. But he became absent-minded again while holding the two burnt edges of the garment. This time... he had really brought something back.

The physical objects were right in front of him. It triggered various thoughts in his mind and made him more and more confused and overwhelmed. After a moment, he looked up and saw Chen Yongjie staring at him with an odd expression, glancing at the torn piece of skirt in his hand.

"I need some time to think things through," Wang Xuan said. He felt the need to seriously consider this matter.

Were there really other people in the Meteorite Passage?

"I also need some quiet time." said Chen Yongjie and went to sit on the other side. The quiet room was spacious enough.

"Do we have surveillance? Can we check my condition during seclusion?" Wang Xuan asked. He did not expect Old Chen to remember anything, given that he had actually fallen asleep!

Chen Yongjie felt embarrassed. He had never been so unprofessional. He had actually become sleepy while acting as a guardian. He replied succinctly, "Yes."

The two quickly accessed the surveillance footage, but it seemed to have been affected by some transcendent material, causing the sophisticated equipment to malfunction. After calling Qing Mu for help, they attempted to restore it and eventually discovered that some of the previously recorded footage was still intact.

"Wow!" exclaimed Chen Yongjie with astonishment.

Was there really something going on here?

In the surveillance footage, it hadn't been long before Wang Xuan's physical body emitted light. Ripples then spread out and enveloped him, creating a hazy aura. Later, Chen Yongjie's eyelids drooped rapidly, and he fell asleep with his head tilted back, as if he was hypnotized.

What was even more bizarre was that Wang Xuan who was within the halo became blurred, and then, it seemed like he was about to disappear. His body became barely visible. Moreover, during this process, Chen Yongjie who was also in the quiet room became unreal. He gradually became more and more elusive, as if he was about to vanish.

Until the end, it seemed like the surveillance equipment had malfunctioned. At the last moment before the screen went black, they both......had almost completely disappeared.

Was this some kind of ghostly phenomenon? Chen Yongjie could hardly believe it. He replayed the eerie footage over and over again. In the end, he vanished from the screen.

"I mean, Little Wang, Lord Wang, Master Wang, what on earth did you do? I was just guarding you, and I almost got wiped out?" asked Old Chen as he felt a sense of horror.

In the footage, he transitioned from real to nothingness and watched himself gradually blur away as if he had been swallowed by an endless void.

He could sense a great danger just by watching the surveillance footage. It was sending shivers down his spine.

What kind of terrifying situation was this?　

"You guys that were sitting in the quiet room were gone!" Qing Mu chimed in, feeling it was surreal. At first, he wanted to laugh but he found it terrifying upon further thought.

Wang Xuan's expression didn't look good. He was furrowing his brows. He was just in his seclusion, and now he had disappeared along with the people around him. He shuddered just by thinking about it. Reflecting on it, he hadn't done anything out of line this time. So why did this happen?

"The Meteorite Passage is even more terrifying than I thought. Could it be that I severely underestimated the Demonic Flower?" He glanced at Old Chen and Qing Mu, who seemed perfectly real and had nothing to do with the illusion.

But still, he took out the furnace lid and muttered to himself, "This seclusion is simply... driving me crazy. Could my so-called return to the real world still be in the illusion?"

Then, he released the blood of his physical body and the blood of his spirit as he intended to completely merge with the lid. He was unable to distinguish between reality and illusion anymore. The master and disciple did not laugh at him. Instead, their expressions became extremely solemn.

What kind of experience could push a confident young man to this extent?

"It's real, not an illusion. I've come back. But what happened to this world? Why do I feel uneasy and uncertain?" Wang Xuan muttered to himself. He stood up, then walked outside to gaze at the profound night sky and the distant mountain shadows.

He had a feeling that things seemed unfinished. Even though he had returned to reality and Chen Yongjie was safe, there was still something lingering. But deep down, he felt like a voice was reminding him, echoing, that everything was just beginning. It was far from over.

"I feel like this world is a bit different than before," said Wang Xuan. In the night breeze, a fragrance wafted from the flower garden and made Wang Xuan slightly relax his mind. He turned to look at the city lights in the distance.

His heart felt heavy. In the past, the worst thing about failing to breakthrough was just failing, but this time, there were various issues of reality and illusion. One misstep could make him and those around him disappear. He looked down at the pond in the flower garden. The moon’s and his reflection were both very lifelike.

Suddenly, the fountain erupted with a splash. The water splashed everywhere, and had obscured his reflection and the moon’s. At that moment, Wang Xuan gasped and his pupils contracted. Triggered by this scene, his heart pounded incessantly, and he had some unsettling thoughts in an instant.

"Is it like this pond and its reflection? I got closer to the truth when I went to the Ethereal Realm. Could there really be two worlds? Each at one end of the Meteorite Passage." Following this line of thought, various ideas emerged in his mind.

"That passage seems like a critical juncture. I'm like an observer there, who discovers and watches reality, and the other end of the passage corresponds to each other. Just like reality and reflection. Suddenly, an external force disrupts the tranquility and breaks the balance, which causes the reflections to disappear at that moment." Wang Xuan said to himself.

Chen Yongjie was a bit puzzled and uneasy. It was like he somewhat understood it, but not completely.

"According to this theory, is reality actually just an illusion? Like the moon in the water, the reflection in the pond?" said Wang Xuan. He couldn't accept this speculation.

He felt it was absurd, as if he had proved himself to be false by becoming a part of the illusion. This conclusion was too unreal.

"If I were a shadow, how could I contemplate?" he whispered while feeling slightly reassured.

"Powerful creatures with their mythical radiation and projections, seem to be capable of thought," Chen Yongjie remarked. Although he wasn't sure what exactly he was pondering, he said it anyway.

Wang Xuan immediately felt stiff and sighed, "You're just twisting the knife in the wound."

Looking grim, he gazed at the night sky and then at the brightly lit cityscape.

How did I come to doubting myself, questioning life, and feeling like the whole world was unreal in the end?

"I drew a circle for myself, then proved some things within that circle, which inherently created limitations. I should break out of it in order to broaden my perspective," Wang Xuan reasoned.

He believed that the factor of the Demonic Flower was a big problem. Furthermore, people like Fang Yuzhu, Zhang Daoling, and Yan Yan had the real presence of their spirit lights despite being absent, slightly contradicted with his earlier speculation within the circle.

"Is it because of the illusion last time, where we were frozen by the Demonic Flower? Was it recorded by it? And in this event of reality and illusion, were the false figures of those people manipulated by some mysterious force? But how strong must this inexplicable force be to attract part of the spirits' lights?" pondered Wang Xuan as he was overwhelmed.

If that power came from the Demonic Flower, then its energy far exceeded his imagination. But this could also be understood as it existed between the realm of reality and nothingness.

It had endured the impact of terrifying red substances for so many years without being affected. It became even more radiant and sacred, which in itself indicated a problem. It should be noted that even the divine lights of peerless experts couldn't withstand the violent impact of the red substances in the passage.

"I think there are other factors. I've been there before, but I've never encountered such a thing. What changed this time?" pondered Wang Xuan. He considered various possibilities and his expression was changing constantly.

If there really was a so-called origin of truth, then was reality false and just a reflection? And was there a real him in that origin of truth?

However, the origin of truth was gushing with terrifying red energy that was capable of burning even immortals.

That kind of place must be real, with living beings, right?　

"Not necessarily. It might be desolate and lifeless instead!" Wang Xuan said to himself. He felt like he was really going crazy. He had too many thoughts and ideas.

He made various assumptions to speculate about the origin of truth, and amidst his wild thoughts, there was a pessimistic possibility.

Has the origin of truth been destroyed? Otherwise, why will it spew destructive substances?

"For example, there were living beings and real creatures there countless ages ago, but they all perished. Maybe they fled and their shadows radiated and reached over here." pondered Wang Xuan, he then continued, "No, I need to focus. Overthinking isn't good. It'll be endless, and all sorts of possibilities will arise."

But he couldn't control himself and couldn't help but think more. Suddenly, many more thoughts surfaced. "What is illusion, what is reality. Although I'm just an ordinary person, what my mother said last time makes some sense. Reality is right here, in this world, the most worthy of cherishing," Wang Xuan mumbled to himself.

Deep in the universe, within the ancient spaceship, Demon Lord Yan Yan looked at her tattered red dress. It was burnt beyond recognition, but finally, the burning stopped and it began to slowly regenerate. However, in the end, her dress still lacked a corner, which looked awkward no matter how you looked at it.

"Although it was burned badly just now, like it was decaying, it also looks like someone took advantage and tore it apart," Zhang Daoling spoke up.

Demon Lord Yan Yan's expression turned unfriendly at once. "Little Zhang, are you looking for trouble? You think you're strong and capable of subduing demons right? Come, let's have a duel!"

"The part of the spirit's light that spread out and disappeared has returned. But why does it not have any memory, not knowing where it went?" The Hades Blood Patriarch spoke.

Fang Yuzhu frowned slightly. "This matter isn't over yet. I feel like there will be some kind of factor. Our spirit's light might still penetrate into the distance, turning real into unreal. What's even more terrifying is, will our entire being be affected by this?"

"Hey, sister, why is a corner of your snow-white long dress missing?" asked Demon Lord Yan Yan. She had noticed the situation of the female practitioner.

"Don't worry about the details," replied Fang Yuzhu as she diverted her gaze, not wanting her to speculate further. She then continued, "The supreme treasures haven't gathered, and the Celestial Mirror has long been broken. Why are there signs of the great disaster reappearing?"

The Hades Blood Patriarch sighed. "In the past era, it was extremely glorious. Some individuals were so remarkable that I wanted to worship them after hearing about them. Before their transcendent was extinguished, they had discovered something that was close to the truth. They wanted to turn the mythical world into reality and fully manifest it on the other side, but unfortunately, it was too terrifying, and the Celestial Mirror exploded because of it!

"I have some suspicions and speculations personally, but I need to find certain elements first..." Zhang Daoling spoke while rubbing his broken mirror with his hand.

"Is there a small piece of Celestial Mirror hidden in your broken mirror?" asked Demon Lord Yan Yan while she glanced at him. She then lowered her head again, looking at the corner of the dress that seemed to have been torn by someone. Her eyes then flashed with anger and added, "Don't let me find out who did it!"

In the present world, Wang Xuan muttered to himself, "I have too many thoughts, but my understanding of mythological history is not detailed enough, and my knowledge of the lost civilization is limited. It would be great if Old Zhang, Demon Lord, and Fang Yuzhu were here. I could ask them." He looked at Chen Yongjie and asked, "Can we still contact them?

"We can occasionally get in touch, but the time span is an issue. Sometimes it's half a day, sometimes several days. The main thing is that they're flying farther and farther away. It's impossible to contact them all the time even though they're on a super mothership," said Chen Yongjie, shaking his head. However, he clicked his tongue twice and still took pictures of the two pieces of dress corners, saying, "Let Qing Mu send them and explain the situation here."

Wang Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Wait a minute, let's not send the dress corners. Just briefly mention it. My eyelids are twitching. I feel like something will happen if we send them..."

"I've already sent them out." Not far away, in the small spacecraft, Qing Mu quickly completed the operation and said, "I don't know when they'll be able to receive it."

"Old Qing!" shouted Wang Xuan. His eyelids really started twitching. He really wanted to ask him why he acted so fast.

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