219: Chapter 219 Breaking Through the Barrier

Qin Ce turned his head.

The one speaking to him was surprisingly his ex-girlfriend.

She stood beneath the palace walls of the Forbidden City, wearing a white dress, its hem gently fluttering in the wind.

Her face held that familiar, slightly coquettish smile, her eyes curved into crescents.

She looked exactly as she did in his memories, even the wisp of hair at her temple hadn't changed position.

Beside her stood another girl with a pretty face, her hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a light blue hoodie, holding two candied hawthorn skewers.

That was his junior. She was tilting her head, looking at Qin Ce, her eyes sparkling as if she had something joyful to tell him.

Just then, another figure entered through the palace gate not far away.

It was his best friend from his previous life, wearing a perpetually unwashed denim jacket, with messy hair and an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.

As he walked over, he called out, "What are you guys dawdling for over here? It's Crazy Thursday today, if we delay any longer, we'll have to queue again!"

With that, he immediately grabbed Qin Ce's arm and pulled him out.

Pulled by him, Qin Ce stumbled through the palace gate.

Outside the palace gate was a street, not a street near the Forbidden City, but a street he didn't recognize.

On the roadside were KFC's red-and-white signs, McDonald's golden arches, Starbucks' green mermaid, various signs crowded together like a patched-up cloth.

His best friend patted Qin Ce's shoulder, pointed at a huge motorcycle, and said, "Hurry up, let's go."

The motorcycle was parked in the middle of the street, completely black, its body three times larger than a normal Harley, its wheels as tall as Qin Ce's waist, its handlebars as high as his head, and its exhaust pipe as thick as a cannon barrel.

There were no markings on the body, but the paint gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.

Qin Ce walked towards the motorcycle in a daze.

He didn't know why he was walking over, why he didn't refuse, why his legs were moving automatically.

Everything was so illogical, yet in the dream, everything made perfect sense.

He put his hand on the motorcycle's handlebar.

The handlebar was thick; his fingers could barely wrap around it.

The sensation was wrong—not the coldness of metal, but a warmer, softer, skin-like texture.

And it was somewhat sharp and abrasive, as if something was protruding from the handlebar's surface, pressing against his palm.

But at the same time, a special sense of intimacy was conveyed through that touch.

It wasn't from the handlebar itself, but from something behind the handlebar.

It was as if something was transmitting an emotion to him through this handlebar—anxiety, unease, and a hint of grievance.

Qin Ce couldn't help but tighten his grip on the handlebar.

His ex-girlfriend sat behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

His junior sat behind his ex-girlfriend, hugging her.

His best friend sat at the very back, one arm clamping Qin Ce's back, the other hand waving in the air: "Let's go!"

Qin Ce twisted the throttle.

The motorcycle let out a deep roar.

The sound wasn't like an engine's roar, but more like a clear, metallic cry that he was very familiar with.

The sound came from inside the vehicle, from beneath him, from his palms.

Just then, a warm current surged through his chest.

Reborn.

That warm, life-filled energy surged from deep within his body, neither fast nor slow, like a tranquil river.

It flowed through his chest, through his arms, through his palms, and from his palms into the motorcycle's handlebars.

Then it flowed back from the handlebars, up his arms, back to his chest, and then to his limbs and bones.

The warm current circled around his body, like an invisible current, enveloping him from head to toe. Then, it surged from his spine into his mind.

Qin Ce shivered all over.

It was like having a basin of ice water poured over his head, like suddenly realizing he was dreaming in a nightmare, like a drowning person abruptly surfacing.

His mind became incredibly clear in that instant; all the illogicalities, all the contradictions, all the loopholes, like a punctured window paper, were completely exposed before his consciousness.

How could the Great Wall and the Forbidden City be together? One is in the northern suburbs of Beijing, the other in the center of Beijing. Could one see the palace walls of the Forbidden City from the Great Wall?

Impossible.

How could the Oriental Pearl Tower appear outside the Forbidden City? It's a landmark of Shanghai, over a thousand kilometers from Beijing. And next to it were squeezed the Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai Tower, and Shanghai World Financial Center—they couldn't possibly appear in the same frame simultaneously.

How could his ex-girlfriend and junior be eating together?

They used to fight over him like fire and water, clashing whenever they met, it was either him or me. How could they stand together peacefully and even come to find him together?

Riding a Harley Motorcycle, that feeling of being connected by blood—that was clearly the aura of Qingluan.

What he was sitting on wasn't a motorcycle, it was Qingluan.

What he was holding wasn't handlebars, it was Qingluan's wing bones. That warmth, sharpness, intimacy, anxiety, unease, and grievance he felt—they were all Qingluan's emotions.

A golden light flashed in Qin Ce's eyes.

Nine-Star Insight, activate.

Then, in the vision of his Nine-Star Insight, the translucent world before him became like a layer of Xuan paper soaked in water, thin, soft, and easily pierced.

Through it, he saw various red figures.

Not blurry outlines, not faint light spots, but clear, concrete red images with complete life information.

That was the unique perspective of Nine-Star Insight—in his perception, every living being would appear in a red form.

Fifteen meters away, an Earth-Splitting Bear. It had seven or eight wounds on its body, the deepest one on its ribs, where the flesh around the wound was torn open, and the blood was half-dry. Its breathing was slow and heavy, with very little chest movement.

Thirty meters diagonally opposite, a Saber-toothed Frost Tiger. Half of its fangs were broken, and there was a bone-deep wound on its leg, still oozing blood.

Beneath the giant rock behind him, a Two-headed Monster. One of its heads was already severed, and the other head was covered in wounds, its left eye gouged out, its right eye half-open, half-closed, pupils dilated, muttering something in delirium. Its wolf-tooth club lay at its feet, unpicked up.

A hundred meters to the left front, a Violet Lightning Demonic Leopard. It was rolling wildly, as if something was crawling on its body. One of its hind legs was broken, bent at an unnatural angle.

And more red images were scattered throughout this area of several li. Every Vicious Beast was injured, every Vicious Beast was trapped in an illusion, and every Vicious Beast was defenseless.

Qin Ce's gaze quickly swept over these red images, calculating rapidly in his mind.

The number of Gold Rank Vicious Beasts he needed—four left.

As long as he harvested the energy of four more Gold Rank Vicious Beasts, his Divine Rank Ruins key would be fully charged, making him the first to complete the charging.

Just as he was about to plan his actions, a new red image appeared in his vision.

Not a Vicious Beast.

But a human figure riding a large bird.

His red image was brighter, denser, and more dazzling than those of the other Vicious Beasts.

Not because he was stronger, but because the energy fluctuations on his body were more intense than those of the other Vicious Beasts.

Three different energies intertwined, collided, and circulated within him: the scorching heat of fire, the sharpness of lightning, the chilling cold of shadow. These three attributes coexisted harmoniously in his Meridians, forming a strange yet stable balance.

Three Absolute Swords.

That was Wang Zhuo!

His red image was moving rapidly, straight and without hesitation.

He was coming straight for him.

Qin Ce's pupils slightly contracted.

Wang Zhuo hadn't fallen into the illusion!

No, that Armadillo was blown up by him, and those colorful gases were released by him.

This illusion was actually his doing!

Everyone else was caught in the illusion, but Wang Zhuo wasn't.

Everyone else couldn't see the real world, only Wang Zhuo could.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Ce's eyes.

This was an unfair fight.

However, the current Wang Zhuo didn't know that he had seen through the illusion.

In Wang Zhuo's perception, Qin Ce should be like everyone else, trapped in the dream, unable to extricate himself.

He thought Qin Ce was the prey.

What he didn't know was that the prey's eyes had already opened.

Qin Ce took a deep breath. With this information asymmetry, he might be able to counter-kill Wang Zhuo!

However, when Qin Ce placed his hand on Qingluan, preparing to give a command.

It was then that he noticed Qingluan standing motionless, neither flying nor walking, just standing quietly. Its head was slightly tilted, as if listening to something.

Its eyes were tightly closed, not in sleep, but its perception was obscured by the illusion.

Qingluan was still caught in the illusion at this moment!

Qin Ce directly placed his hand on Qingluan's back, and the Reborn energy flowed into Qingluan's body through his palm.

That warm energy seeped in from Qingluan's back, slowly flowing along its Meridians.

It flowed through Qingluan's chest, through Qingluan's neck, through Qingluan's head, and surged into Qingluan's mind.

Qingluan's body trembled violently, and its eyes opened. Clearly, it had awakened.

However, just as Qin Ce was about to give a command, Qingluan let out a sharp, panicked cry.

"Chirp—!"

A strong emotion was conveyed from the Soul Talisman.

It was actually looking for Qin Ce.

Qin Ce was clearly on its back, but it couldn't see or sense him.

This meant that Qingluan's consciousness was awake, but what it saw in its vision was still the illusion!

It desperately shook its head, trying to break free from this hallucinatory vision. However, it was useless!

Qin Ce could feel Qingluan's anxiety and grievance. It knew it was under an illusion, but it couldn't break free.

It tried to flap its wings, attempting to launch an attack according to Qin Ce's command, but it didn't know the exact location.

Qin Ce gritted his teeth.

In this state, Qingluan couldn't fight at all. It couldn't see the enemy, so it couldn't perform precise attacks.

The plan to ambush Wang Zhuo was temporarily unfeasible.

Qin Ce closed his eyes and opened them again. In the vision of Nine-Star Insight, the red images were still in place. The Vicious Beasts were still struggling in the illusion, and Wang Zhuo was still approaching him.

He didn't have much time, but there was still an Opportunity. Not an Opportunity to counter-kill Wang Zhuo, but an Opportunity to complete the key's charging.

He lowered his head and glanced at the rhomboid crystal in his hand.

The golden liquid was almost full, more than ninety-five percent.

Only four Gold Rank Vicious Beasts remained.

As long as he harvested four more, he could reach full charge and enter the God-level Ruins.

So the optimal choice now was not to entangle with Wang Zhuo, not to risk a counter-kill, but to quickly harvest the Gold Rank Vicious Beasts and fully charge the key.

First, get first place, first enter the ruins, first seize the Opportunity. The rest can be dealt with once inside the ruins.

Qin Ce took a deep breath, preparing to give Qingluan a command through the soul contract.

Just then, an extremely mournful roar came from afar.

The sound came from a great distance, piercing through the thick mist, the pervasive colorful gases, and tens of li, still clearly reaching Qin Ce's ears.

The oppressive power contained in the sound, even from such a distance, still sent chills down Qin Ce's spine, made Qingluan's body instinctively tremble, and caused Tianlu to shake uneasily within the tattoo.

This is... Star-Glow Rank!

Qin Ce's pupils sharply contracted. That wasn't a Gold Rank roar, it was Star-Glow Rank.

A Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast! This illusion actually affected a Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast. If this Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast were to launch indiscriminate attacks because of it, the entire surrounding area would become extremely dangerous.

But at this moment, Tianlu suddenly appeared from the tattoo on its own accord.

It leaped from Qin Ce's chest, landing on Qingluan's back.

The nine-colored light on its antlers shone brightly, not the faint, occasional flicker from before, but a bright, steady glow, like a lit lamp.

Its golden eyes emitted a solemn, serious light that Qin Ce had never seen before.

It stood up, walked to Qingluan's neck, and pressed its antlers against Qin Ce's chest.

A strong consciousness was transmitted through the soul contract.

"Fortune rises in the northern domain, opportunities abound for the future, act swiftly, do not hesitate."

Northern domain. Fortune. Future. Opportunity. Act swiftly. Do not hesitate.

Northern domain?

That's north.

Qin Ce looked up, towards the north.

But that direction was precisely where the roar of the Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast or higher had just come from.

Tianlu said there was fortune and Opportunity there, and told him to act swiftly, not to hesitate.

Opportunity?

Could it be that the Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast was the Opportunity?

But that was a Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast, and a Star-Glow Rank Vicious Beast whose mind was confused by the illusion!

But Tianlu's premonition of fortune and misfortune had never been wrong.

It said northwest was auspicious, and Qin Ce went, resulting in him gaining territory in the Vicious Beast world, integrating into the rules of this world, and avoiding countless dangers. It said disaster would come from the southeast, and Qin Ce believed it, and indeed Wang Zhuo came.

Tianlu was never wrong.

Qin Ce gritted his teeth.

No matter what was in that direction, no matter what that Opportunity was, if Tianlu said to go, he would go.

Behind him, Wang Zhuo's red image was getting closer.

Three-colored light condensed on his sword tip, fire, lightning, and shadow energies intertwined, appearing like a moving mini-sun in the vision of Nine-Star Insight.

His hatred was unrestrainedly poured out through his flying posture, the direction of his sword tip, and his pursuit speed.

He wanted to catch up, he wanted to kill Qin Ce, he wanted to stop Qin Ce from being the first to complete the key's charging at all costs.

Qin Ce withdrew his gaze, picked up Tianlu, and tucked it into his embrace.

"Xiao Qing, let's go."

His consciousness, like a bolt of lightning, directly poured into Qingluan's spiritual sea through the soul contract.

This didn't require Qingluan to aim at specific attack targets, only to strictly follow Qin Ce's instructions to fly.

And before that, looking at the increasingly approaching Wang Zhuo, in order to mislead Wang Zhuo.

Qin Ce deliberately shouted loudly as Qingluan took off.

"Yanzi, don't go, don't leave me!"

...