As the old Taoist Mystic Cloud Master spoke, his body suddenly transformed into a wisp of green smoke, vanishing with a "poof."
Then, several Players suddenly saw several white spider silk threads appear within that green smoke, directly burrowing into their bodies.
Seagull was extremely horrified. "What?! Is this old Taoist trying to harm us? Is he also one of that spider's people? Has he been playing both sides all along?!"
"Calm down," Lin Yu said, waving his hand. "This should just be the method to send me into the 'past.'"
As Lin Yu spoke, Mystic Cloud Master's voice also rang out from the air.
"Indeed, this is this old Taoist's trump card technique, the top-tier 'esoteric arts technique' collected in the Taiqing Sect's scripture library—'Reversal of the Heavens.'"
Just from hearing the name, everyone could guess the general effect of this technique.
"This technique's function is to transfer the effects of any 'technique,' 'divine power,' or 'talisman' within the Great Way that hits this old Taoist onto others as well. When used against the 'Causality Silk,' it perfectly counters this divine power's effect!"
"Because with 'Reversal of the Heavens' transferring to you, that demon can no longer manipulate your 'past'; it can only modify this old Taoist's past... But you are indeed still connected to it via the 'Causality Silk.'"
"So it's like a one-way connection," Li Nian said, laughing. "Ah, old Taoist... no wonder you've been studying this spider for seventy or eighty years. You've really figured out every detail of its ability's mechanism!"
Lin Yu also nodded slightly. Looking at Xie Chong's remains in his arms, also affected by the "Causality Silk," he couldn't help but feel admiration.
"That demon will probably have to start immediately now... because even this part of Xie Chong's remains has been connected to the 'Causality Silk.'"
Mystic Cloud Master said proudly, "That's right. If that demon doesn't start now, these two parts of Xie Chong's remains... it will lose them forever!"
Flying Knife's expression shifted slightly. "Then, Daoist... do I need to go too?"
Before Mystic Cloud Master could speak, everyone felt a strange sensation wash over them.
A slight dizziness, a loss of gravity, and their consciousness involuntarily began to scatter.
For these few Players... this feeling was quite familiar.
It was just like the sensation right before entering a [dungeon] in the 'Death Game.'
But it wasn't as strong or irresistible, nor did it have that feeling of falling into a brand new world.
It was like... a downgraded version.
And for Lin Yu, he had one more sample to compare against.
"This feels completely different from going back to the past through the 'Rewind' means I obtained through Fraud in the first [dungeon]..."
Lin Yu muttered. Then, while his consciousness still remained, he did one last thing.
He took out the [Fear Lens] from his [Item Space] and used it from a distance against the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Silk Demon Lord.
"Let me see what exactly you're afraid of..."
Then, through the [Fear Lens], Lin Yu saw three figures.
Two blue-robed Taoists and one white-clothed martial artist.
"Hmm..." Lin Yu memorized these three figures.
Then, after completing his memory, his consciousness completely blurred.
It was like having a bizarre, kaleidoscopic dream...
When he opened his eyes again...
Lin Yu found himself standing in a bustling ancient town!
"Hey—move aside!"
A shout came from behind Lin Yu. A man walking briskly pushed a cart loaded with bricks past Lin Yu's side. The clamorous sounds, the smell of the crowd, and the sight before his eyes were all incredibly vivid. Everything declared that Lin Yu had now arrived in another world—
"Willow Town from over three hundred years ago?"
Lin Yu looked around and murmured softly.
In front of him was a massive stone landmark engraved with the characters "Willow Town."
Behind the stone monument, a straight and wide bluestone road, along with white-walled, black-tiled buildings, cut the town into square blocks of various sizes and alleys of different widths. Each block and alley was of varying ages, with old and new buildings and walls standing in stark contrast, as if old men, young adults, and children were all walking on that stone path together, creating a rhythmic sense of time.
This feeling was completely different from an ordinary rural town. It looked like a large, prosperous urban settlement with deep heritage and abundant prosperity.
A rosy glow lingered on the horizon above the town. One of the three suns had already sunk beneath the mountains, and most of the other two were also hidden.
It was dusk, and judging by the clothing of the pedestrians on the street and the bustling atmosphere, this wasn't the hottest season either.
Lanterns on both sides of the street lit up one after another, illuminating the entire long street brightly.
Unlike other places, in the Fire Hell, due to the climate, the night was actually more lively than the day.
Street vendors were setting up their stalls. An old man selling sugar figurines inserted the last fresh ones into a straw bundle and slowly pushed his cart into an alley.
The aroma of wine wafted from the porridge stalls and taverns in the alley. Several drunk men in silk robes, looking like wealthy young masters, staggered out, humming out-of-tune tunes. There were also men in short clothes, full of energy and walking briskly, as if they were laborers who had just eaten and were about to start their shifts.
Further away, a shop assistant from a silk fabric store sat at the entrance, eagerly looking out for customers. Bolts of brocade shimmered with a soft light in the twilight. In front of a money shop, several young men in sturdy outfits were unloading goods from a carriage. They seemed to be experts from some escort agency who had just safely delivered a shipment here.
Everything was incredibly real, and every person was incredibly vivid. But...
Having truly experienced "going back to the past" and also possessing the [Ancient Notebook], Lin Yu could very clearly sense that, although all of this was absolutely real from a sensory perspective, and even the people inside seemed truly alive...
"Without souls or vitality, and from a rules perspective, it doesn't feel like a completely real and independent world... This is, after all, only a 'false past' constructed by the 'Causality Silk' divine power," Lin Yu sighed. "The vividness of these people is only achieved through the lingering consciousness preserved in the 'Causality Silk'..."
This place wasn't truly "going back to the past." It was more like a large-scale dream or illusion.
"However, a large-scale illusion like this probably isn't something that spider demon can easily manipulate and do whatever it wants with," Lin Yu began to deduce based on his experience using the [Ancient Notebook]. "Otherwise, it would have already transformed into a god and directly found and killed me, this uninvited guest."
It really wasn't impossible that he could kill this Zhu Qiansi within this illusory past!
"But before that... I still need to regroup with the others first."
Lin Yu sighed.
After all, after looking around, besides learning about the local customs of Willow Town back then and confirming that this was an illusion, Lin Yu had also discovered one very important and obvious thing.
That was, he and the others were not all in the same place.
