Chapter 1787: Crossing the Boundary

As soon as Dong Rui landed, he clutched his stomach and retched twice, his face pale. "This is much worse than crossing the Haoyuan Golden Mirror!"

In an instant, they were teleported here from Stone Dragon Peak. Dong Rui felt his body couldn't adapt; it was as if his internal organs had been violently punched, and he almost vomited blood onto the tree ahead. He didn't, but two teenage Illusion Sect disciples who had previously jumped into the sandbox actually vomited blood on the spot and couldn't straighten up for a long time. This supernatural ability, covering a thousand li in one step and appearing or disappearing instantly, was not something everyone could endure.

He Lingchuan patted Dong Rui's shoulder, then looked around.

The open space by the lake was temporarily designated as a camp, where the Illusion Sect prepared personnel and transferred supplies. The distribution point for the Silver Pearl Fruits was packed to the brim. Even though the instructors tried hard to maintain order, shouting not to fight over them, some sect disciples were still wildly pushing and shoving, even resorting to snatching. Several instructors leaped into the crowd, pulled out those causing trouble, and threw them directly into the water.

Dong Rui stood far off under a tree, watching, and couldn't help but sigh, "Are these still disciples of an immortal sect? They look more like the refugees we saw on Flash Gold Plain." When refugees went to relief shelters to receive aid food, it was generally this kind of scene.

"They are afraid the Heavenly Palace will arrive and want to cross the lake as soon as possible to reach a safe place."

In fact, more Illusion Sect disciples' eyes revealed confusion and unease. Before last night, they had all been prominent figures on Silver Pearl Island, living a peaceful life, their biggest worry merely the internal strife within the sect. Once the Heavenly Palace arrived and the Sky Demons attacked, their own elders fell one after another. Only then did they realize there were always those more capable, and demons beyond the heavens, and that they themselves were nothing. The common people of Silver Pearl Island were like ants before immortals, but weren't these immortal sect disciples the same before the Sky Demons and the Heavenly Palace?

There were also a few cultivators who couldn't get Silver Pearl Fruits and, breaking down, knelt by the lake, reciting Qianhuan's name while wiping their eyes.

Madam Zhu grew impatient. "Stop this useless talk. Have we gotten our Silver Pearl Fruits yet?"

Dong Rui gestured with his mouth, and the Ghost Ape jumped down from who knows which branch, holding two branches of Silver Pearl Fruits laden with many heavy fruits — quite enough for them.

There was still plenty of time, so He Lingchuan squatted on a large rock by the lake and lowered his head to observe the water. The large trees here obscured the sky and sun, their shade covering a large part of the lake. Even as the sunlight grew brighter, the water hidden deep in the tree shadows remained dark. Waist Lake was lucky; the space-time rift opened by Miaozhantian earlier wasn't aimed at it, so most of its vegetation was preserved.

"I heard that, apart from the light of the sun and moon and the Silver Pearl Fruits, this lake water cannot be illuminated by anything else," He Lingchuan said, pulling a shriveled spore from his pocket and dipping it in some water. It quickly lit up, emitting a brilliant white light. He brought the glowing spore closer to the water's surface.

The lake water shimmered and rippled endlessly, but both the person and the spider simultaneously let out a sound of surprise: "Indeed!"

When a light source approaches normal water, some light should penetrate below the surface, illuminating tiny planktonic organisms and various impurities. But this lake surface was as black as ink, purely inky black. The glowing spore in He Lingchuan's hand, even when brought closer to the surface, failed to illuminate it. He released his grip, and the glowing spore fell into the lake and sank. From the second it entered the water, it seemed to be swallowed by darkness; not a trace of light showed on the surface.

"Oh, how interesting, how interesting!" Dong Rui also grew interested. "Is this lake water completely opaque to light?"

He Lingchuan casually picked a Silver Pearl Fruit and brought it close to the water's surface. Then, things were normal: The silver pearl above the water glowed, and its pearly light was reflected below the surface. This fruit could indeed cast a shadow in the lake water!

He Lingchuan then ignited another glowing spore on the water's surface near the Silver Pearl Fruit. A strange scene appeared: Only the light from the silver pearl was reflected in the water; the glowing spore still left no trace of light or shadow.

Even Madam Zhu remarked, "Interesting," but He Lingchuan wondered how True Person Qianhuan had set up these things, how even the details could be so meticulously precise. Within the Upside-Down Sea, it seemed there truly were some self-contained laws.

Everyone and the demon puppets received Silver Pearl Fruits and immediately jumped into the lake. As soon as they entered the water, they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces, and the moonlight from above couldn't penetrate at all. This was no lake; it was clearly like a bottomless abyss. Then, the Silver Pearl Fruits in their palms emitted a faint glow, making them feel at ease. Correspondingly, a light spot also appeared at the bottom of the lake, not dazzling, but softly glowing.

He Lingchuan immediately swam towards it. After swimming just over ten feet, this light spot suddenly magnified before him, and he felt a pulling sensation. No, wait, calling it "buoyancy" might be more accurate. As soon as He Lingchuan relaxed, the force in the water yanked him sharply downwards—

With a splash, he emerged from the water!

He Lingchuan looked left and right. He was surprisingly floating on the water surface again? He heard water splashes around him as his companions also surfaced one by one. Dong Rui wiped the water from his face, looked around, and exclaimed, "Woah, isn't this still Waist Lake?" The shape of the lakeshore, the grass, rocks, and pebble beach by the lake—even the old elm tree with its distinctive canopy—were exactly the same as in the world they had come from!

There were still many Illusion Sect disciples in the lake, all swimming towards the shore. Sunlight hit the lake surface, creating a glittering golden spectacle, and everyone was bathed in these waters.

Madam Zhu was the quickest to regain her composure. "Where do we go now?" With He Lingchuan, she only needed to ask this question.

He Lingchuan looked up towards her head: "Madam, follow me and dive back down."

"Oh," Madam Zhu responded readily, without a second word, while Dong Rui didn't bother asking why. Anyway, He Lingchuan must have a reason.

"The others wait here; we'll be right back."

Wanqifeng and the others replied, "Yes," slowly swimming in the water, not rushing to shore. Most Bailong people were originally poor swimmers, but after becoming residents of Yangshan Island, swimming became one of their compulsory lessons. Those who could be brought along by He Lingchuan were all expert swimmers, able to cope with complex and changing environments.

He Lingchuan and Madam Zhu, holding their Silver Pearl Fruits, dived down again and indeed returned to the surface of the original world. The sun shone directly on the lake surface and also on Madam Zhu's head, illuminating the golden thread on her head. As expected, the God's Gaze reappeared. He Lingchuan drew his blade, cut the golden thread that others couldn't see to eliminate future troubles, and then said to Madam Zhu, "Dive again."

This dive was still smooth. He Lingchuan quickly rejoined the Black Armored Army, and together they swam towards the pebble beach on the shore. This path was one He Lingchuan had also walked in the Illusion Realm.

The pebble beach was quiet, with two weasels roaming along wheel tracks, as if searching for crushed snails and insects. When they saw people approaching, they scurried away, disappearing instantly. Other than that, the pebble beach was very quiet: no recently mended fishing nets, no dried fish being cured. At the edge of the forest, there were no houses, no fences, nor the laughter of children—no signs of any human presence whatsoever. The small lakeside village they had seen in the other world did not exist here. The beach and forest were still in their original state; no battles had taken place.

Hidden among the pebbles was a large clam. The Ghost Ape, with sharp eyes, dug it out in one go, casually smashed its shell, and began to suck the juice from it. "Ugh, bleh bleh bleh!" It tasted just one mouthful and spat out the clam meat. It was so bitter and acrid, completely lacking the fresh sweetness of shellfish. Not tasty!

They then walked up a low hill, from which they could see a corner of the ocean. They saw sparkling waves, and the sound of the surging tide remained. The calm, uninhabited ocean also stretched endlessly.

Was this the real world where True Person Qianhuan resided?

Wanqiliang murmured, "It doesn't seem much different from the Illusion Realm we came from."

The Ghost Ape chattered on the treetop. The Illusion Sect group was ahead. Soon, they caught up with the main group.

The Illusion Sect group rested briefly behind the low hill, then Elder Liu led the team north. "Hurry, hurry!" Everyone knew there were pursuers behind them. Everything around them was no different from the original world; even the positions of the large trees were identical. But along the way, there were flowers and fragrances, without a single trace of battle. Everything was as it had been before the Heavenly Palace's invasion.

This peacefulness, however, made people feel uneasy. He Lingchuan ran to Elder Liu's side, matching his pace: "Is this the real world?"

"Yes," Elder Liu strode forward. "For a long time, we have all been living in the Illusion Realm constructed by the Immortal Venerable."

He Lingchuan looked at the Silver Pearl Fruit in his hand. After more than a quarter of an hour, it no longer glowed; now it was just a large, golden-yellow pear in his hand and smelled fragrant.

Elder Liu said, "You can eat it."

He Lingchuan took a bite; pear juice flowed out, very refreshing. Indeed, these "Silver Lamp Fruits" were just pears infused with magical abilities.

"What about the mortals in the Illusion Realm?"

Elder Liu glanced at him, a little surprised he would ask this question. "They are not the Heavenly Palace's target, so naturally they remain in the Illusion Realm, just as they have for so many years." Mortals have lived in the Illusion Realm for so many years; what's the problem with that?

He Lingchuan was curious. "How long has the Illusion Realm existed? How was the Immortal Venerable able to move all these mortals to the Illusion Realm back then without them ever realizing it?"

Elder Liu gave a light cough. "That's hard to say." The Immortal Venerable's secrets, and the sect's secrets, are not to be revealed to outsiders.

He Lingchuan uttered an "oh" and no longer inquired. Was it that Elder Liu couldn't say, or that he simply didn't know? After He Lingchuan had personally seen True Person Qianhuan, he had a feeling that this mirage immortal acted with exceptional secrecy, and might be hiding many secrets that even the Illusion Sect elders were unaware of. Just looking at the relationship between Qianhuan and Xiao Wencheng, He Lingchuan felt this was very likely.

After crossing a high ridge, a village appeared ahead. To everyone's great surprise: There were still residents in the village! Their current location was the Companion Mound, which had been blasted into a deep pit in the Illusion Realm, but here, the hill was high and the vegetation dense, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard from the village. This village was in the original location of Yu Village, but at least the buildings were different.

Not to mention He Lingchuan and the others, even Illusion Sect disciples walking here felt as if they were lost in a fog, their faces showing confusion and disorientation. If the real world had residents, had living people, then what about the living people in the Illusion Realm? They were also Silver Pearl Island residents from the Illusion Realm, so were they real or illusory?

The villagers heard the commotion and came out to watch, with curiosity written in the eyes of both adults and children, but no malice. A cultivator walking to He Lingchuan's left suddenly pointed into the village and exclaimed, "There, there, that's my childhood neighbor!" His voice was filled with terror, his eyes bulging out as if he had seen a ghost. He Lingchuan looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a six or seven-year-old boy peeking from behind a fence, looking inquisitively towards the Illusion Sect group, and missing a front tooth when he smiled.