Chapter 223: The Waxen Sea
Tang Jie was like a gust of wind as he sprinted through the wilderness of Wind Devil Island, the trees flying past him.
Tang Jie had already pushed his speed to the maximum with the Violet Lightning Lunge, and with the Violet Lightning Boots, Tang Jie was like an arrow.
If he kept up this pace, it wouldn’t be long before he reached the boundary.
But things clearly weren’t that simple.
After running for a moment, Tang Jie saw a valley appear in front of him. This valley diverted his original course, but there were three other paths that led off into the distance.
Tang Jie knew that he had encountered the Paths of Reincarnation.
The Paths of Reincarnation was one of the most basic structures of the Nine Palace Illusion Formation, a choice that everyone who entered the formation had to deal with. It could be said that it was only from here that one truly began to overcome the formation. Selecting the direction was merely a small test.
The Paths of Reincarnation offered three paths, indicating close, medium, and far. The right side was the farthest, but there was no danger. Upon entering it, one would have a long run ahead of them, but someone who ran fast enough would get through eventually. The left gave a medium distance, but there were many fiend beasts blocking the path, so it would be a path forged through blood.
The middle path was the shortest, but it was the true path of illusion. Upon entering it, one would feel as if their world had been flipped upside down, and there were countless lethal threats. Only the strong could survive, and only those proficient in formations could walk out.
Although they differed in length, that didn’t mean that one would arrive the soonest by taking the short path.
The middle path was unpredictable, and once chosen, there was no going back. If one couldn’t break through the formation as quickly as possible, one would end up being the slowest, or perhaps fail to break it at all and even die.
The left path was difficult, and choosing this road meant a bloody battle. Those lacking in strength would also make no progress.
The right path was smooth and open, but it was long. While one would make steady progress, there was basically no hope of ranking highly.
Three paths and three choices, like three fates, presented themselves before each person.
It was up to the person to choose what difficulties they faced.
As for Tang Jie, fate had already chosen his path. Without even needing to think, he strode into the middle path.
At the same time, across Wind Devil Island, countless students were choosing their own path of reincarnation.
On the eastern end of Wind Devil Island, Wei Tianchong looked somewhat absentmindedly at the paths before him.
In the past, he would have chosen the right path without hesitation, but today and now, Tang Jie was fighting for his sake. Wei Tianchong could not make this choice.
Taking in a deep breath, Wei Tianchong stroked the little fox on the head and said, “While there are three paths, there is only one choice for me. I don’t dare to walk the middle path—not because I fear death, but for fear that I’ll be trapped inside and let Tang Jie down. While the left path is dangerous, I promised Tang Jie that I would be in the first one hundred to reach the Devil Crushing Path, so I can’t disappoint him. Little fox, I know that you look down on me, but I can promise you that no matter what dangers I encounter this time, I won’t back down! Not only will I take the left path, I’ll kill my way through as quickly as I can to meet up with Tang Jie!”
The little fox looked at Wei Tianchong, its green eyes flashing, but there was no telling what it was thinking.
Wei Tianchong laughed as he strode into the path.
On the southwest corner of Wind Devil Island, Long Dao stood in front of the Paths of Reincarnation, muttering, “Thankfully, I came prepared this time. Since I’m capable of breaking formations, what formation can stop me? Tang Jie, just you wait! This time, I’ll be the first to reach the formation heart. True Inheritor… With me around, don’t even think about succeeding!”
He strode into the middle path.
To the northwest, Peng Yaolong looked at the three paths, a fiery light in his eyes. Without hesitation, he walked into the middle path. He didn’t understand formations, but that didn’t hamper his self-confidence. He was sure that his fists could knock down all obstructions, crash through all dangers, and force his way through.
Meanwhile, after carefully weighing his options, Ye Tianshang chose the left path. He was famed for his speed, and he wasn’t as good at forcibly breaking formations as his peers. Thus, choosing the left path and killing his way through might be just as fast as taking the middle path.
Meng Shixue took the middle path. It wasn’t because she was particularly formidable when it came to breaking formations. Rather, she was confident that her focus and perception would prevent her from being fooled by the illusions.
Shi Meng took the right path. He lacked combat power, but he was very proficient in the Rapid Step spell. The right path was long, but it was perfect for him.
Ping Jingyue, An Rumeng, Liu Hongyan, and Qi Shaoming all chose the middle path. This wasn’t because they were confident in their ability to break through the formation. Rather, none of them sought the True Inheritor positions and they were primarily here to temper themselves. The middle path was primarily about illusions, which was the heart of the Nine Palaces, so it was only natural that they experience it. Moreover, since they were here, they needed to get some Azulwind Jades so that they hadn’t come for no reason. While the middle path was the most difficult, it also had the most Azulwind Jades.
Cai Junyang chose the left path, his sword humming as it trembled in his hand. He smiled. “Today, I’ll see the results of my several months of cultivation!”
After obtaining an inheritance from the Divine Firmament Sword Classic, Cai Junyang, who had thrown away so much in the past, had finally gotten back his aura of heroism.
Shu Mingyang casually elected to take the middle path.
The students chose the path that matched their conditions. This choice was also a self-evaluation of their strength, an acknowledgment of who they were.
If their judgment was precise and correct, they would progress efficiently. If they were wrong about themselves and made the wrong choice, they would inevitably lose their chance.
In this aspect, the Nine Palace Illusion Formation was truly an ideal place for testing students. It not only tested their strength, but also their ability to judge themselves.
Many people would only understand who they truly were after this battle, how far away they were from what they imagined themselves to be…
With a single step, the surroundings became cloudy.
The valley disappeared, to be replaced with an azure sea. The shore could be faintly seen in the distance, yet it appeared high in the clouds.
Tang Jie stood on a rock, and behind him stood the little tiger. Yiyi stood on his shoulder and looked around at the silence.
The blue waves seemed endless, and the path they had come through was gone.
There was no going back on the middle path!
Drawing back his vision, Tang Jie tested the water with his feet. The water rippled, and the sole of his foot was soaked.
Illusion sublimated into reality!
This was an extremely high level of illusion formations, making illusory objects no different from the real thing. It was when the distinction between truth and fiction within the formation became indistinguishable, for such a distinction was no longer important. Everything in here, including the illusions, had the ability to kill you.
In this oceanic formation, there was no way to figure out the right direction. With no target to aim for, many people would despair.
It was a fantasy that surpassed reality that would cause those who entered the formation to be lost in memories and thoughts that were not their own.
When a cultivator lost sense of both themselves and their surroundings, they would find it hard to escape.
Fortunately, only two layers of the Nine Palace Illusion Formation had been activated, so it did not affect one’s mental state. Even the illusions it created only sought realism and not lethality. This was what allowed Tang Jie to focus on the situation at hand.
Tang Jie looked around and swept his right hand through the air, shooting out spiritual energy. The water in front of him parted as he shouted, “Divide earth into a cage!”
To break a formation, one first needed to steady oneself.
This act wasn’t to break the formation, but to first protect himself. Once he had a sturdy foundation, he could charge forward.
Tang Jie once more formed signs with his hands, firing off Energy Needles in all directions. These Energy Needles broke through the water’s surface like bullets, howling through the air and knocking up pillars of water.
Tang Jie inspected each of these water pillars, using the Eye of Heaven to observe them.
This was the spirit-trigger method.
What this meant was to use attacks to trigger a response from the illusion formation, observing these reactions to see how spiritual energy flowed and tracking them to their sources.
While these illusions seemed real, they were ultimately illusions made by men, and their essence was still fake. No matter how real the illusion was, it could only appear real when not in motion. In the middle of a strong reaction, it was bound to show a flow.
Breaking a formation usually started with the Eight Gates, but illusion formations specialized in concealment, confusing the directions and hiding the Eight Gates. To break the Eight Gates required carefully observing one’s surroundings to find them first. The spirit-trigger method wasn’t meant to see through the illusion, but to expose all hidden existences and allow one to work from there.
The spirit-trigger method was one of the most common methods for breaking illusions, and even people who didn’t understand formations could use it. But while spirit triggering was simple, tracing spiritual energy through the formation’s reaction and discovering the formation’s secrets was a challenging test of one’s formation knowledge and observation ability.
Tang Jie had been cultivating the Dao of Formations longer than he had been cultivating Immortality, and he would often set up illusion formations in the Wei Estate when he was bored, so he was familiar with all the basics of illusion formations. Besides that, he cultivated the Eye of Heaven and had comprehended the Dao of Insight, so seeing through these illusions wasn’t hard.
He had fired off eighteen bolts, creating eighteen pillars of water. His eyes instantly saw countless threads of spiritual energy densely covering the world like motes of dust.
He stomped forward, his foot striking the surface of the sea but not sinking down. But a moment later, the earth turned, and Tang Jie was returned to the rock. Even moving a step was difficult.
Tang Jie was not at all discouraged, continuing to step onto the sea three more times. This time, he finally managed to get onto the surface of the water, but when he turned his head, he saw that he was only half a step from the rock.
Tang Jie barked and thrust out a palm, creating a wave that hurtled toward him. It turned into countless drops of water that passed through him but failed to wet him at all.
Tang Jie smiled. “Peaceful oceans all around, but even moving forward is difficult. Energy circulates in all directions, yet it continues to linger… This should be the Waxen Sea Illusion.”
The Nine Palace Illusion Formation had countless illusions, and the Waxen Sea Illusion was one of them. In this place, the surges of spiritual energy became a sea. Cultivators would encounter heavy resistance when trying to push forward, where even raising one’s foot was a challenge. Trying to break through by force was difficult.
But as Tang Jie had already identified it as the Waxen Sea Illusion, there was no way he would be affected by it.
“All spell arts in the world have their operating principle. Understanding this principle means that one can walk without fear!” Tang Jie laughed as he pulled out the Heartbreak Saber and sent out a wave of energy. “Unsheathe the blade and part the waters!”
As his saber slashed against the ocean, the waters instantly parted. He truly had managed to part the sea with his blade.
Tang Jie continued to send out wave after wave of spiritual energy, aiming at key points in the sea while muttering, “Kan (water) above and Kun (earth) below. Earth contains water! Fall!”
With this “fall”, the spiritual sea began to roil with waves.
A dam appeared in the center of the parted sea, extending into the distance.
Tang Jie had borrowed the power of the formation and the relationship between Earth and Water to create a sea-spanning dam, a broad path.
This method of breaking formations was called using an illusion to suppress an illusion. It did not seek to actually break the illusion, but to rely on the formation’s own shifts to undo the illusion. It was the perfect method for the weak to deal with the strong. But only those who understood the operating principles of formations and could see the lines through which spiritual energy flowed could do it.
As the dam appeared, Tang Jie heartily laughed. “Illusions were born out of nothing, so if you build a wall, I will make a ladder. You have your endless sea, so I’ll make an endless dam!”
He jumped onto the dam and began to sprint along it.
At the same time, in the Nine Palace complex.
A white-browed elder sat in the center of the Nine Simulations Palace, a heavenly formation simulation diagram carved into the floor in front of him. Around him were 81 lanterns.
Eighteen of these lanterns were lit while all the others were dark.
In the center of the palace was a crystalline object that spun in the air while radiating light.
The elder was seated beneath the crystal, his eyes closed in meditation. His right hand held a horsetail whisk while his left hand rested on his knee.
“Eh?” He raised his head. “Someone saw through the illusion so quickly? And using a dam to cross the sea? Truly incredible!”
He waved the horsetail whisk and looked up at the six-sided crystal above him.
The crystal erupted with light, and a fuzzy image began to form within it.
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