Chapter 421: Infinite Worlds
While Han Li was inspecting the scene laid out before him, Xiong Shan had already arrived at the entrance, and he only stopped for a brief moment to inspect his surroundings before rushing into the palace.
Han Li turned back to take a glance at the stone staircase to find that Xue Han and the others were still on the way up, but he wasn't far away from reaching the top.
Hence, he also didn't hesitate any longer as he passed through the gate with Lu Yuqing and Patriarch Cold Flame.
Upon arriving on the other side, Han Li caught sight of three enormous palatial buildings in the distance, all with glazed roof tiles and red painted walls, while statues of mythical beasts sat in a row atop the ridge of the roof.
The three palaces were situated in a triangular formation, with all of their main entrances facing the gate that Han Li had just passed through. They were built upon foundations that were several feet tall, making it appear as if they had been constructed atop raised platforms.
Between the gate and the palaces was a large white stone plaza that was completely empty.
Han Li swept his gaze across the plaza and the palaces, and the sense of familiarity that he had been feeling grew even more pronounced.
Before he had a chance to pinpoint the source of this feeling, Xiong Shan had already flown ahead toward the palaces.
However, as soon as he leaped into the air above the plaza, the space around him suddenly began to warp and ripple, immediately following which he vanished into thin air without any warning.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he began to inspect the plaza with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.
Through his spirit eye ability, he was able to see a layer of white mist over the white stone plaza that he had previously been unable to see with his naked eye. There were faint spiritual power fluctuations surging throughout the white mist, and it was clear that there was an extremely profound illusory array inside.
Han Li withdrew his gaze as he turned to glance at the gate behind him once again, and all of a sudden, he was struck by a sense of realization.
This is the Vast Glacial Palace... [1]
The staircase with the gravitational restriction, the illusory array on the plaza, the triangular formation of the palaces... This place was very similar to the Vast Glacial Palace that he had once visited.
Could it be that there was some type of connection between the two secret areas?
Right at this moment, a heavy thud suddenly rang out from the gate behind them, and the three of them turned to discover that Xue Han had reached the top of the staircase.
"We have to go!" Patriarch Cold Flame said in an urgent voice, then immediately flew toward the plaza, while Han Li and Lu Yuqing hurriedly followed along.
The three of them instantly vanished into thin air right before Xue Han burst through the gate, and he gave a cold harrumph upon seeing this, but instead of charging blindly into the illusory array, he stopped at the edge of the plaza to inspect his surroundings.
While entering the illusory array, Han Li maintained his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, and he clearly saw himself fall into the misty array from above. In the next instant, the entire world spun around him, and he fell into another world.
"Steamed buns, warm and fluffy..."
"Top quality rouge, more fragrant than flowers and sweeter than honey..."
……
The sound of peddling rang out from the surrounding area, and Han Li found himself standing on a crowded street that was extremely lively and bustling.
Not far away from him stood a massive city gate, and near the foot of the gate was none other than Lu Yuqing, who was looking around with an uncertain expression.
Right at this moment, Patriarch Cold Flame emerged from the city gate, then hurriedly beckoned to Lu Yuqing and Han Li.
Han Li was just about to approach him when a loud voice rang out from behind him.
"Make way! Make way! I've got a batch of cakes fresh out of the steamer!"
Han Li reflexively stepped to the side upon hearing this, right as a short and stocky man quickly strode past him, carrying a pair of steamers and on either side of a carrying pole slung over his shoulder.
Only after the man had passed him by did Han Li realize that he wasn't the one being spoken to. Instead, the man had been speaking to a well-dressed young master.
It didn't take long before Han Li came to the realization that the three of them didn't seem to exist to the people in the illusion, and everyone was able to pass through their bodies like apparitions.
However, what was most striking to him was how realistic and lifelike this illusion was, even down to the fine details like the aroma of steamed cakes and the heat coming out of the steamers.
Even with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he was unable to see anything beyond the illusion presented to him.
Han Li made his way over to Patriarch Cold Flame and Lu Yuqing, then remarked, "This illusion is extremely convincing. Even my spirit eye ability is unable to see through it at all."
"This is an array known as Infinite Worlds, and it's the most astonishing illusory array I've ever seen, bar none. The array is able to create entire illusory worlds, and if you don't know what you're doing, you could easily get lost in here and find yourself eternally trapped," Patriarch Cold Flame said.
"I see. By the way, have any of you seen Xiong Shan?" Han Li asked.
"The last time we came in here, we found ourselves on a primordial continent that was overrun by demon beasts, so that tells me that people who enter the array at different times are presented with different illusions. He came in ahead of us, and even though it was only by a slight margin, it's very likely that he's in another illusory world. Perhaps we'll only be able to see him again after we leave this array," Patriarch Cold Flame replied.
"How did you two manage to get out of this array the first time?" Han Li asked.
"At the time, there were a total of eight people in our group, and some of them were extremely proficient in the art of the array. Through observing the stars at night, they were able to slowly piece together the way to exit the array, but even so, only four of us, including myself and Xiong Shan, were able to leave the array alive," Patriarch Cold Flame explained with a wry smile.
Han Li took a glance up at the sky to find that it was still early in the morning, so they were far from nighttime.
"Does the star observation method involve using the stars to determine the location of the bases of the array, then using the bases of the array to extrapolate the location of the array's exit?" Han Li asked.
"That's right," Patriarch Cold Flame replied with a slightly surprised expression. "It sounds like you're also a master in this art, Fellow Daoist Han."
Han Li paid no heed to his attempt at flattery as he took a glance up at the plaque above the city gate, then carefully inspected his surroundings.
"The plaque here says that this is the eastern city gate, but right now, it's still early in the morning, yet the sun is in the complete opposite direction of where it should be, so one of them has to be lying. Having said that, seeing as you were able to find your way out of the array last time thanks to the stars, it's more likely that the position of the sun is the more accurate point of reference. Hence, this should actually be the western city gate," Han Li said.
An enlightened look instantly appeared in the eyes of Patriarch Cold Flame and Lu Yuqing upon hearing this.
"Now that we've determined our orientation, the next step is to observe the bases of the array. My spirit eye ability is unable to see through the array. How about yours, Fellow Daoist Lu? Can you see anything?" Han Li asked.
"I already gave it a try earlier, and as soon as I use my spirit eye ability, everything around me disappears, and all I can see is a boundless expanse of gray mist," Lu Yuqing replied with a shake of her head.
"In that case, I only have one treasure that could possibly get us out of this bind," Han Li said, then swept a sleeve through the air overhead, and a giant golden eyeball instantly appeared up above amid a flash of golden light.
This golden eye wasn't actually a treasure. Instead, it was the Eye of Truth from his Mantra Treasured Axis, except he had concealed its full appearance.
He hadn't done this in order to conceal the fact that he was cultivating the laws of time. Instead, he simply didn't want them to see the 360 Time Dao Runes on his Mantra Treasured Axis. After all, this cultivation art was extremely renowned in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, and there was a chance that Patriarch Cold Flame could've seen it before from somewhere else.
As soon as the golden eye emerged, Lu Yuqing and Patriarch Cold Flame immediately detected the law fluctuations emanating from it, and the latter's expression instantly changed slightly, but out of respect, both of them refrained from using their spiritual sense to examine the so-called treasure.
Han Li was naturally quite pleased to see this, and he made a hand seal while closing his eyes so that he could see this space through the perspective of the Eye of Truth.
As soon as he did this, the entire world around him instantly vanished, and all that remained were near-transparent spiritual power fluctuations flowing through the air.
Everything was laid bare to him like the back of his hand, and after he had memorized everything that he had observed, he swept a hand through the air to withdraw the Eye of Truth.
"Did you find anything, Fellow Daoist Han?" Patriarch Cold Flame hurriedly asked as soon as Han Li opened his eyes.
"I've managed to find all of the bases of the array, but there could be some fake ones among them, so we'll have to rely on your memory of the direction that you took last time to find the right exit," Han Li replied.
Patriarch Cold Flame was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately replied, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han, I'll do everything in my power to help."
1. For more information on the Vast Glacial Palace, please refer to https://a-record-of-a-mortal-is-journey-to-immortality.fandom.com/wiki/Vast_Glacial_Realm ☜
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