“Don’t worry.”
Xuanmiao Zhenren raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
She pointed to the thick, grayish-white fog outside the window, which blocked everything.
“This is the True Lord’s Domain; His great power covers this place, and we are also wearing masks, concealing our identities.”
“As long as we don’t actively expose information about reality, and don’t take the secrets from here outside….”
“The authorities will never find out.”
Her expression was calm, her eyes unperturbed.
Everyone’s tense emotions relaxed slightly.
Only Qiao Ling’er’s gaze was fixed on Xuanmiao Zhenren.
That composure in her every move, that subtle pause and rhythm in her speech… it was too similar!
She was so much like her knowledgeable and rigorous teacher at the academy.
But how could this be?
Her teacher was an officially recognized scholar.
How could she… become the leader of this secret cults that worshipped an outer god?
And even personally name it the Corpse Immortal Path?
This overturned all of Qiao Ling’er’s understanding.
It was this incredible doubt, along with a strong desire for exploration, that made her choose to stay again and again, observing this mysterious Xuanmiao Zhenren.
Xuanmiao Zhenren did not notice Qiao Ling’er’s gaze.
She changed the subject, her voice suddenly rising, carrying an inciting power:
“Now, what we should truly be concerned about is not the rumors from the authorities! But how to serve the True Lord, and how to obtain even greater power!”
As soon as her voice fell, it instantly ignited the crowd’s desire.
“Right! Power!”
“Without power, we are nothing.”
“I’m really fed up with how things used to be.”
In the dark room, everyone let out suppressed roars.
Most of them were ordinary people who had struggled at the bottom of society, living hand-to-mouth.
They could die at any moment from a monster that crawled out of some corner, or a sudden storm.
It was this Domain, it was that high-hanging shadow, that gave them the opportunity to become Martial Artists.
And it also gave them the possibility of controlling their own destiny!
This power made them obsessed, and even more, it made them crave more.
A lean young man wearing a ghost mask squeezed to the front, “Immortal Master, we all understand the principle, but what should we do? How can we gain the True Lord’s favor and be granted even stronger power?”
Xuanmiao Zhenren fell silent, seemingly organizing her words.
She slowly spoke, speculating, “I have observed this Domain for a long time. If my guess is correct….”
She looked around at everyone, enunciating each word clearly:
“This is not reality.”
“But… the True Lord’s Mental World!”
“Mental World?”
“We’re inside the True Lord’s mind?”
The crowd was in an uproar, their masked faces filled with shock and disbelief.
“Exactly!” Xuanmiao Zhenren nodded, “Think back, when you first stumbled in here, how large was the area covered by this gray fog? And now?”
Everyone subconsciously looked out the window.
The gray fog churned, having long exceeded the boundaries of the original street, engulfing neighboring blocks as well.
“It’s expanding!”
Xuanmiao Zhenren’s voice carried a hint of excitement, “What does this prove? It proves that the True Lord’s power is recovering, and this Mental World is the most direct manifestation of His power.”
“So what?”
Everyone looked puzzled.
Someone impatiently pressed, “You’ve been talking and talking, but you still haven’t told us what to do!”
“Everyone, don’t rush.”
Xuanmiao Zhenren raised her hand, her voice steady, “Since it is a Mental World, then the True Lord’s authority, His most core source of power, must be intimately related to the mind itself.”
“What does He need now?”
“He needs to recover! He needs to strengthen His Mental Origin!”
Xuanmiao Zhenren paused, then continued:
“Why don’t we go look for some… ancient relics that can nourish and strengthen Mental Energy? To accelerate the True Lord’s recovery?”
“What a bunch of lunatics.”
Hearing this, Qiao Ling’er shook her head helplessly.
This aligned with her stereotype of the secret cults.
Reckless, fanatical, existing only to pursue power.
Xuanmiao Zhenren paid her no mind and continued:
“If we offer these tributes to the True Lord, helping Him accelerate His recovery, what do you think… how will the True Lord view our piety? And what powerful strength will He bestow upon us in return?”
The crowd fell into a brief silence.
Beneath their masks, eyes flickered with excitement and greed.
But also mixed with doubts and hesitation.
“This is just your guess, right?” A person wearing a bird-beak mask hesitated, “None of us have truly communicated with the True Lord, what if….”
“I don’t have 100% certainty, indeed.”
Xuanmiao Zhenren admitted frankly, but her voice carried strong confidence, “But I have over 60% certainty. To believe or not, the choice is in your own hands.”
After speaking, she said no more.
As everyone hesitated, Xuanmiao Zhenren turned and left.
After leaving the apartment, she walked into the thick gray fog.
Passing through the silent, deserted streets, like a pilgrim, Xuanmiao Zhenren walked towards the depths of the sea of fog, towards that towering, magnificent shadow.
Just like countless previous attempts.
No matter how much she quickened her pace, the enormous shadow always floated in the unreachable sky; the Law of space was ineffective before Him.
Finally, she stopped.
Xuanmiao Zhenren took a deep breath, slowly raised her hand, and removed the expressionless white ceramic mask from her face.
What was revealed beneath the mask was, surprisingly, Qu Huaiwei.
Her face was filled with complex emotions.
Qu Huaiwei looked up at the shadow that covered half the sky, her voice not loud, but carrying the desperation of an all-or-nothing gamble:
“Great Existence, I know you possess unimaginable great power.”
“I think… you are at a critical moment of recovery. I have gathered these people for your use. This meager strength, perhaps it can bring you a little help?”
The moment her voice fell.
“Buzz—!”
An invisible, indescribable terrifying pressure suddenly descended.
It was as if the entire gray fog was pressing down on her.
Qu Huaiwei groaned, her body trembled violently, and her Mental projection instantly became blurry and unstable.
She was on the verge of collapsing on the spot.
She looked up, only to see one of the three colossal heads in the high sky of the fog sea slowly, with a crushing weight that seemed to shatter space, turn towards her direction!
At the same time, the distance of the ground was instantly shortened.
The magnificent shadow, which was originally out of reach, appeared above him as if by teleportation.
The enormous shadow, blotting out the sky and sun.
Seemed to want to swallow her tiny figure.
Terrifying!
Suffocating!
As small as dust!
Qu Huaiwei felt like a small boat in a storm, about to be crushed into pieces by that pure, hierarchical power!
She struggled with all her might, barely managing to maintain her Mental integrity.
She couldn’t even look up directly at Him!
Looking at the ant before him, Xuan Hao’s eyes flickered with cold light.
That was… the power of Divine Sense.
Given Xuan Hao’s current state, he naturally wouldn’t collapse just by looking at her.
But to prevent outsiders from noticing his state, he used Divine Sense to directly oppress the minds of these people.
At the same time, in the apartment.
“What’s happening?”
Qiao Ling’er and the others’ bodies trembled.
A terrifying great power swept through the gray fog world, making their mental bodies shake, threatening to dissipate at any moment.
“It’s Xuanmiao Zhenren!”
Everyone quickly realized what was happening.
They looked out the window, only to see Xuanmiao Zhenren struggling under that terrifying great power beneath the True Lord’s massive shadow.
Although they couldn’t clearly see her face, the figure from behind was undoubtedly Xuanmiao Zhenren.
“What is she trying to do?”
Everyone looked at each other, confused.
But a hint of joy still arose within them.
A month had passed, and this was the first time Xuanmiao Zhenren had made contact with that great existence.
“Will she die?”
Everyone was uneasy and very frightened.
The so-called Corpse Immortal Path, the so-called Five Prison Corpse Disassembly Immortal, were, in the end, just Xuanmiao Zhenren and their own self-indulgence.
That great existence had not cast down any will!
For a moment, everyone became curious.
Would Xuanmiao Zhenren die?
Or… would that great existence descend His will and acknowledge them?