Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Chaotic Intent Realm
The peak was about a hundred meters high, which is not outstanding from the perspective of Wanlin Mountain.
The only noteworthy thing is that the peak’s shape is like a cone, especially at the top, where a dragon-like tree stands alone.
The pond around the peak is only a little over three meters wide; not a big challenge for the Wu Family’s father and daughter. They quickly leapt over it.
"Dad, if my calculations are correct, the Mist Flower on the mountain will bloom at the latest by tomorrow night. As long as we obtain it, your injuries will definitely heal."
Wu Xiaoxian spoke with a look of anticipation.
"The blooming of the Mist Flower creates quite a commotion. I’m afraid it might attract other martial artists within the mountain."
Wu Taishan spoke in a serious and assured tone, "Xiaoxian, promise me, if a fight breaks out for the flower, we will immediately give up."
Compared to the wider Martial World, his daughter’s martial arts skills are too weak. He didn’t want her to risk her life for him.
Wu Xiaoxian nodded, however, her eyes were secretly looking for traces of Shi Xiaole.
A day passed quickly without any incidents.
By the next midnight, Shi Xiaole was abruptly awakened by a strong fragrance, awakening from his meditative state.
Before his eyes, the hundreds of meters tall mountain peak was gradually enveloped by a layer of pink smoke, which looked especially dreamy in the moonlight.
The source of the pink smoke was exactly the dragon-like tree at the top of the peak. To be precise, it was a flower blooming on the top of the tree.
Strangely enough, even though Shi Xiaole was hundreds of meters away from the peak, he could clearly see a red flower, the petals, veins, and even the stigma.
"Is it an illusion?"
Shi Xiaole closed his eyes tightly, and when he reopened them, he could only see a haze.
The smoke began to fade from dense to thin, and by the time the moon was high in the sky, only a thin layer remained which gave the mountain peak a veil-like appearance.
"Now is the time."
Wu Xiaoxian began to climb the mountain.
The reason they didn’t climb earlier was that the Mist Flower, when it blooms, releases a mist shrouded enough to cause people to lose their sanity and become fools. Only when it thins out can a person approach it.
Of course, that’s not to say there is no danger once the Mist Flower’s smoke has thinned. If one’s determination isn’t strong enough, they would still be affected.
However, for her father, Wu Xiaoxian could not care less at this moment.
Shi Xiaole silently watched from below the mountain, suddenly his expression changed as he looked at the eastern sky.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Sounds of breaking wind echoed in the air; someone was coming closer.
"Haha, Big Brother, we are really lucky. It’s our first time on Wanlin Mountain, yet we chanced upon the blooming of the Mist Flower."
Two dark shadows landed on the ground, and one of them, a man with a goatee, burst into laughter.
"The Mist Flower is a rare spiritual herb with many magical properties. We can use it in the future. Brother, we must get it."
A One-eyed man said.
The two men’s eyes glowed green as they rapidly climbed the mountain from the east.
"The Mist Flower, it’s the legendary Mist Flower."
"Damn it, we have to risk everything this time."
"If I get the Mist Flower and exchange it for silver tael, I won’t have to worry about money my entire life."
The commotion here was too big as the Red Mountain was completely visible even from hundreds of meters away. Almost within two hours, staggered groups of herb gatherers arrived from all directions to climb the mountain.
"Oh no, Xiaoxian, come back quickly, we don’t want it anymore."
Seeing this scenario, Wu Taishan, fearing that his daughter would suffer, quickly shouted loud.
Unfortunately, Wu Xiaoxian couldn’t hear him anymore. She was under the influence of the smoke which inevitably affected her senses and significantly impaired her perception.
Not just Wu Xiaoxian, almost every mountaineer’s movements had slowed down, their movements were becoming more cautious, as if there were wolves and tigers lurking ahead.
"What to do, what to do?"
Wu Taishan gritted his teeth ready to climb the mountain himself when suddenly someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and was surprised to see a figure in a green robe.
"Xiaole, it’s you?"
Wu Taishan was shocked.
"Uncle Wu, it’s too dangerous up there. Let me go and check it out."
Shi Xiaole quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and with one step, he dashed up the mountain like an arrow.
As Yu Fangge had understood, Shi Xiaole is a man of his word. Since he had promised Wu Xiaoxian to help Wu Taishan obtain the Mist Flower, he was determined to make every effort to fulfill his promise.
Before entering the mist, Shi Xiaole had already held his breath in advance. But even when he finally entered, he felt dizzy and almost fell.
Shi Xiaole didn’t know that the Mist Flower smoke dubbed as "able to enter every hole" could penetrate his body through pores, not just the nostrils, making it impossible to withstand.
That is to say, to resist the smoke and successfully pick the Mist Flower, he would have to rely on his strong and steady will.
Various illusions were formed in Shi Xiaole’s mind. In front of him sometimes there was a sea of fire, sometimes a tsunami, and sometimes venomous insects and ferocious beasts lunged at him, making him dodge subconsciously.
The power of an illusion is that it traps you, undetected.
However, Shi Xiaole’s strength lies in his solid and strong will after the fusion of the two generations. Even if he lost some of his mental energy, he is still far superior to ordinary people.
Therefore, when the illusion was about to appear, Shi Xiaole had already regained his senses and walked up the mountain without hesitation.
Two hundred meters.
One hundred and fifty meters.
One hundred meters.
Half an hour later, Shi Xiaole caught up with Wu Xiaoxian. "You stay here," he said. "I’ll get the Mist Flower for you." Then, he proceeded upwards.
"Shi Xiaole, thank you."
Wu Xiaoxian had already reached her limit. Her struggle till now was merely for the sake of persistence. As she watched Shi Xiaole’s retreating figure, she was momentarily stunned.
The higher the altitude, the stronger the power of the mist became. When Shi Xiaole had climbed approximately seventy meters from the peak, he too began to slow due to the effects of the illusions.
But of course, when compared with the others, he was still relatively quick.
An hour later, Shi Xiaole sat in meditation on the spot.
He realized the threat of getting engulfed in chaos if he continued, and he must first harmonize his mind with the illusions before making progress.
The mist did not necessarily create illusions at all times.
At one moment, the man with goat beard above him turned around. Catching sight of Shi Xiaole meditating behind him, he launched an attack with his blade.
Shi Xiaole’s eyes snapped open, and he unsheathed the Hundred Battles Blade in response.
The man with the goat beard was a tier-one Qi Absorption expert, and his blade technique was cunning. He aimed for Shi Xiaole’s vulnerable points.
Shi Xiaole’s reaction, on the other hand, was simple yet overwhelming, rendering the man with the goat beard helpless.
Before long, the mist started creating illusions again.
"Humph, lucky you."
Due to the power of the mist, the man with the goat beard had no choice but to cease his attack.
By now, seven or eight people had almost reached the peak. Owing to the conical shape of the peak, the circumference had decreased to just a few tens of meters, so everyone was actually very close.
The man with the goat beard attacking Shi Xiaole was not an isolated case — everyone else took their chances to engage in combat too.
After all, there was only one Mist Flower. Every single participant was inherently a competitor, and it was beneficial to eliminate them as early as possible.
Following this, every once in a while, combat would break out. The opponents were rarely the same.
Shi Xiaole successively faced off against the man with the goat beard, an old woman with a cane, and a swordsman.
The latter two were strong tier-two Qi Absorption practitioners. The swordsman, in particular, had a fierce sword technique and had even managed to injure Shi Xiaole’s shoulder.
Fortunately, Shi Xiaole’s mental strength was formidable. He could use the illusions to extend the gap between his competitors. Unconsciously, he had taken an lead of several tens of meters.
"This youngster, his willpower is so strong?"
The swordsman raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and then suddenly sat down, as if he wasn’t going to move any more.
"This old woman can’t catch up with that youngster."
The elderly woman with the cane also stopped. Her muddy eyes were sparkling, and no one knew what she was thinking.
"Brother, what should we do now?"
The man with the goat beard was anxious, afraid that Shi Xiaole would be the first to reach the flower.
"What’s the rush? Once this youngster picks the Mist Flower, that’s when we make our move!"
The one-eyed man sneered and fell into silence as well.
The man with the goat beard paused for a moment before he understood his leader’s intent and silently applauded the brilliance of this idea.
The hallucinogenic effect of the Mist Flower would naturally disappear once plucked. At that point, all they had to do was block the youngster in the green robe and the Mist Flower would be theirs for the taking.
The only ones they had to be careful about were the others.
Looking around, the man with the goat beard looked menacing.
Of course, Shi Xiaole knew full well what the seven people behind him were up to. If things followed their intended course, the moment he picked the Mist Flower could be when he would lose his life.
But those seven people wouldn’t anticipate that their coercion would cause Shi Xiaole to make a daring decision.
"Even though the mist can confuse the mind, it indirectly toughens the mind’s strength. Moreover, within the illusion, some long-held inspirations seem ready to burst forth."
This sudden discovery made Shi Xiaole very calm. Even his plans had changed.
If initially, he had regarded tonight’s climb as a mere task, now he treated it as a challenge, a test of grinding and boosting his own power.
With no one else to bother him, Shi Xiaole was able to immerse himself and carefully perceive the changes. The ten-meter distance took him half an hour to traverse.
In the end, based on some idea, he began to openly welcome the mist, immersing himself moderately in the illusion to experience the sense of chaos.
If other climbers knew of his approach, they would certainly call him mad. If not insane, why would someone willingly put their lives at risk for an immature idea?
The chaotic feeling grew stronger, and there were several times when Shi Xiaole almost completely lost himself in the illusion.
However, the comprehension in his mind also deepened. It seemed that only a trigger was needed for it to completely break free.
If he had to describe it, Shi Xiaole’s current behavior was like walking a tightrope. The slightest carelessness would lead to a deep abyss. But if successful, he would shorten his journey by many times and reach a new realm in advance.
"Just a little more."
Shi Xiaole gritted his teeth and persisted, close to not being able to differentiate between reality and illusion.
"What is real is not false, what is false is not real. How can one discern the truth from the false if everything is in the heart? If the heart is clear, why fear the distinction between the real and the false?"
Just as he was about to lose himself, a clear voice from within his mind suddenly rang out.
In an instant, a surge of comprehension washed over Shi Xiaole.
A light spot appeared before him from nowhere, exploding into a chaotic scene. Yet, it could not make his mind stagger for a moment.
Shi Xiaole extended a punch forward, the punch refracted off the red mist, creating a chaotic impression.
This was a realm, the Chaotic Intent Realm!
