Chapter 436: What Are You Staring At?
In battles between cultivators, there was sometimes a concept known as a clash of auras.
Evenly matched opponents could still lose their edge if their hearts were shaken—once intimidated, they might only be able to display half of their true strength.
If a deep, instinctive fear took root within, that effect would grow even stronger, to the point of losing the will to fight altogether.
Right now, the black flood dragon—having vaguely guessed what was happening—was at the very beginning of that state.
Yet a sliver of hope still lingered in its heart.
Until a faint sound of a guqin followed the ancient sigh, echoing through the surrounding space.
The humanoid body of the black flood dragon froze abruptly. Its aura roiled uncontrollably, nearly forcing it back into its true form.
What caused such a reaction wasn't just the guqin music itself—though the melody was vast and profound, capable of disturbing the heart and soul, and even carried a strange sense of familiarity to the black flood dragon.
No—what truly shattered its composure was the scene reflected in its eyes.
Inside the formation that had sealed that sharp-mouthed human insect, a flaw had appeared where there should have been none.
A small hole had silently opened in the sealed space.
The sigh and the music both came from that hole.
And as this happened, the hole seemed to be forcibly widened, expanding in an instant into a human-sized rift in space.
From within that rift shone a wash of azure light.
At the same time, the formation the black flood dragon had activated—the one glowing blood-red and brimming with murderous intent—began to operate.
Scarlet light flared, blood-shadows formed like blades… yet there was no further movement.
Because the person inside the formation was gone.
Kirin's figure had already stepped into the spatial rift without anyone noticing, entering the realm bathed in azure light on the other side.
The black flood dragon didn't even have the chance to stop her.
Beneath its black robe, its scarlet eyes went blank, staring dazedly at the rift—staring past Kirin's figure, past even the azure world beyond, and falling upon a stretch of pale whiteness.
Inside that azure realm, nested like a matryoshka doll, was yet another spatial rift—this one leading to a pallid world.
A lone figure sat cross-legged there, back facing the rift, suspended in midair at the center of that white void.
In his hands was an unassuming jade fishing rod. Its line extended into a rippling patch of space, its destination and bait both unknown.
A wide white robe, seemingly woven from the very fabric of space itself, draped over his body. Though there was no wind, it moved on its own, perfectly concealing his form.
Beside him rested two objects.
One was a seven-stringed guqin, whose strings trembled and played of their own accord.
The other was a small fish basket, woven from some unknown material.
The guqin's faint tones filled the pale space, suffusing the air around the man with a sense of ancient vicissitudes—and faintly, an aura as ethereal as that of an immortal.
He made no movement from start to finish; simply sitting there, he seemed detached from the world, oblivious to both self and surroundings.
Facing away from all beings, he fished alone across eternity.
At this moment, the black flood dragon's mind was in utter chaos.
'That fish basket… it carries my primordial spirit's aura!'
'The space around that fishing line is in complete disorder—it's like the turbulence of a heavenly tribulation!'
'That aura… there's no mistaking it. It's the same one I felt from that man before, the one that made my soul tremble! Could it really be him?'
Every detail pointed toward one conclusion.
And yet, something still felt off… Was that really the same person from last time?
'No—this one feels even more terrifying, as if he's lived through endless ages… a being that has witnessed the rise and fall of eons!'
Then, a voice—calm, indifferent, like that of a god or demon—drifted through both spatial rifts and entered its ears.
"What are you staring at?"
What… Staring at…
The echo reverberated through the space.
In the scarlet pupils beneath the black robe, both madness and calm shattered, replaced by trembling panic.
The feeling was unmistakable.
—It was him!
...
Luo Wusheng knew full well that, at this moment, his aura—standing tall at a metaphorical two-point-eight meters—had absolutely suppressed the black flood dragon outside.
Ever since he had participated in the Netherkin race's secret council and learned certain details about how they planned to target the Empress's Mortal Alter Ego, he had already devised a plan for what he could do within his own capabilities.
First, he needed to free Miss Kirin from the formation that bound her.
Indeed, that formation, once activated, was not something he could break by force—but since he had already learned its inner workings, and by chance could borrow the power of the Demon Moon, this step was not too difficult for him.
All he needed to do was open a spatial passage connected to the crimson realm, then quietly shift the flaw in space toward the yet-unactivated part of the formation.
Judging from the result, it worked perfectly.
At first, Luo Wusheng had worried that the black flood dragon might notice the spatial rift he had created, but thankfully, the Netherkin weren't known for their complex thinking.
The flood dragon hadn't even considered such a possibility. It had been focused on repairing its injured primordial spirit, and though it had captured Miss Kirin, it treated her with casual disdain.
Of course, part of the reason for his success was that Luo Wusheng had taken great care—layering countless concealment measures over that space fracture.
Next came the part meant specifically for the flood dragon.
When he learned that the one overseeing this place was the same black flood dragon, Luo Wusheng immediately recalled the way that creature had behaved during the Netherkin race's secret meeting—its clear fear and reverence toward a certain "survivor of the Ancient Heavenly Gate."
In that instant, he already had a plan.
Sure, he wasn't actually as terrifying as the flood dragon imagined, but the flood dragon didn't know that!
As an experienced performer and the Demon Sect Holy Saint, Luo Wusheng swiftly began crafting the details of his act.
First, he selected an appropriately "high-class" scene from the xianxia novels he had read in his previous life, then adjusted it using his own abilities for a more distinctive flair.
Yao Ji's guqin melody was his personal BGM—not only could it elevate the mood and atmosphere, but it could also touch the listener's heart directly. In this case, it could amplify the tiny cracks already present in the flood dragon's psyche. That had to be included.
The aura of the flood dragon's primordial spirit within the fish basket came from a fragment he had stripped away while breaking the seal. By mixing it with celestial aura, he could instantly trigger the flood dragon's memories—forcing it to recall unbearable things from the past and fixate on his "identity." That, too, was essential.
As for the overwhelming, ancient aura the flood dragon had sensed—that came from Luo Wusheng channeling the sword intent he had inherited from the Sword Emperor, imitating the resonance of the Emperor's lingering words.
He couldn't perfectly reproduce it, but it was close enough to be indistinguishable.
To further disguise himself, he used multiple layers of space—opening two spatial rifts in sequence, letting the distance and distortion blur perception and prevent anyone from seeing through the illusion.
With all that in place, the plan worked flawlessly.
The flood dragon's composure crumbled.
The seed of fear that had already taken root began to sprout and grow.
Of course, this scheme would only work against this particular black flood dragon.
Even another Nascent Soul level demon might not react the same way.
If one of the other two Divine Transformation realm powerhouses had been stationed here instead…
Luo Wusheng, still holding his pose, didn't let himself imagine the outcome. Nor did he allow himself to relax.
According to his original plan, once he frightened the black flood dragon into submission, he was supposed to stall for time—long enough to finish removing the seals from the Demon Moon, which contained the flood dragon's primordial spirit. Then he would attempt to open a path leading back to the outside world.
If they managed to reach the outside, Miss Kirin—saved from this calamity—could rely on the Immortal Nation's foundation to survive.
Perhaps, then, she could escape the tragic fate written in the original story.
But that had been his previous plan.
Now, because of Miss Kirin, he had made a different choice.
'To fight this flood dragon head-on…'
...
As she stepped into the azure-lit space, Kirin's gaze beneath her mask was calm as still water.
Freed from the suppression of the formation, her spiritual energy began to recover bit by bit.
Her thoughts grew clearer as well.
While she had been sealed within that formation, she had secretly communicated with the Demon Sect Holy Saint—a man who, for reasons unknown, had appeared here of all places.
At first, she had been examining the formation, searching for flaws, for a chance to dismantle it with precision.
But unexpectedly, a tiny spatial rift had appeared before her on its own.
Through that small crack, she saw Luo Wusheng's figure.
That young man had used subtle lip movements and hand gestures to explain his plan to her in secret.
The words were vague, fragmented—yet with her intelligence, she had understood almost everything at a glance.
For instance—the mysterious presence that had appeared the other day really had been him.
But now was clearly not the time to dwell on that.
Kirin forcibly suppressed the surge of emotions in her heart—the joy, relief, and tangled feelings that had welled up upon seeing Luo Wusheng again.
Without hesitation, she activated one of the few techniques her current self could still use.
The Synthesized Dream Convergence Technique.
It was the very same art that had almost led her and a certain someone to complete a wedding night within a dream.
A formation could seal spiritual energy, but it could not seal the innate abilities that drew upon the "power of mortal life and emotions."
Through this technique, she could secretly enter a shared dreamscape—allowing her to hold a brief conversation with Luo Wusheng without being detected.
The only problem was that if that man connected this dream to that previous one, he might begin to suspect something.
But in the current situation, Kirin had no time to care.
She had to kill the black flood dragon.
'Because of the unique nature of the Mortal Dust—even though I left some safeguards—those in the outside world will be fine… but this flood dragon has definitely memorized my traits. If I don't kill it here, my Mortal Alter Ego identity will no longer remain a secret.'
If the Netherkin race had no particular designs on her Mortal Alter Ego, that would be one thing.
But from the looks of it now, that was obviously impossible.
Once she was targeted, her Mortal Alter Ego body would be in extreme danger.
Unless she completely abandoned her current Mortal Alter Ego identity.
But that choice would also come at a terrible price: her Mortal Alter Ego would suffer irreversible damage, and the harmony among her three Alter Ego might collapse.
Having made up her mind, Kirin narrowed her eyes and drifted through the azure-lit space, slowly approaching the pallid spatial rift ahead.
Her gaze locked on the flood dragon, which wanted to pursue her but hesitated, its mind thrown into chaos.
'Almost there… In its current state, it won't be able to resist the Prison Seed of Mortal Dust I planted earlier when I deliberately unsettled its mind with words.'
'I didn't expect that the Mortal Dust bait provided by the Netherkin race would actually let my Mortal Alter Ego reach near-perfection in this path… If it were before, I could never have condensed the Prison Seed technique.'
'But according to the Trinity of Pristine States technique, this will bring backlash from the Mortal Dust later… No matter. There's no turning back now!'
Beneath her mask, Kirin's eyes lost all traces of emotion.
Her cold, crystalline voice resounded through the space:
"The mortal world is a prison… and all beings are its prisoners."
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 571: To See or Not to See?[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664
[2] https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664