36: Chapter 36 Purple Bamboo Illusion

Jiang Changge thought for a moment and nodded slightly, "Very well."

He turned and walked toward the interior of the spirit boat, with Ancestor Zhou Huaixu following closely behind.

Outside the spirit boat, the commotion on the plains continued.

Countless Cultivators flooded into the Purple Bamboo Forest, while many others lingered outside the light gate, hesitating whether to enter.

Meanwhile, those from the top-tier forces began to take action.

Medicine King Valley, the three great Sects, the three great Imperial Dynasties, and other top-tier forces from the four regions all dispatched their young Disciples, who darted toward the purple light gate.

For a moment, outside the light gate, streaks of light fell like rain, a truly bustling scene.

As for those mighty figures, they each returned to their spirit boats to wait patiently.

Three months is neither long nor short.

For experts like them, it was merely a snap of the fingers.

Jiang Changge sat in a quiet room inside the spirit boat, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

Purple Bamboo Forest, inside the light gate.

The moment Lu Jinghan and the other three passed through the purple light gate, the scene before them changed abruptly.

There was no bamboo forest, no spiritual mist, not even heaven or earth.

All that existed was an endless expanse of whiteness.

"Th-this... where is this?" Qin Muchuan's voice rang out beside his ear, tinged with a hint of confusion.

Lu Jinghan swept his gaze across the surroundings, his heart sinking slightly.

In his previous life, he had not encountered this situation when entering the Purple Bamboo Forest.

It seemed that in this lifetime, for some reason, the rules of the Purple Bamboo Forest had changed.

Lu Jinghan withdrew his thoughts and let his gaze fall upon the three people beside him.

Zhou Tianchen's expression was calm as he closed his eyes, sensing something.

Qin Muchuan and Su Fuguang were looking around, attempting to find a flaw in this space.

"Senior Brother, what is this place?" Qin Muchuan could not help but ask.

Lu Jinghan did not answer immediately; instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated his Qi into his pupils.

Anger-Startling Pupil—a secret technique he had obtained in an ancient Secret Realm in the Central Plains during his previous life, capable of piercing through falsehoods and severing illusions.

When he opened his eyes again, faint crimson-gold light flowed within his pupils.

The world before him, under the gaze of the Anger-Startling Pupil, finally revealed its true appearance.

It was a sea of purple bamboo, with every stalk reaching a hundred feet high, glowing with a faint, lustrous purple spiritual light.

Within the bamboo sea, spiritual springs gurgled, exotic flowers and herbs grew, and faint roars of beasts could be heard.

Yet, covering the bamboo sea was a thin layer of purple mist.

That mist appeared thin, yet it contained some indescribable power; it was precisely this that obscured everyone's vision, causing them to fall into an illusion.

"So that is how it is." Lu Jinghan murmured to himself and withdrew the Anger-Startling Pupil.

He turned to look at the three of them and said in a deep voice, "We are currently inside the illusion of the Purple Bamboo Forest. This is the first trial of the Secret Realm; only by breaking through the illusion can we enter the true Purple Bamboo Forest."

"An illusion?" Qin Muchuan was stunned, then immediately realized what was happening.

"No wonder I felt this place was strange."

Su Fuguang frowned and asked, "Senior Brother, how can we break through the illusion?"

Lu Jinghan pondered for a moment and said, "Illusions are born from the heart. The illusion each person sees is different, and the methods to break them are not the same."

"But there is one common point—guard your original heart and do not be deceived by the phantoms."

He paused, his gaze falling upon the three of them. "You must each find a way to break the realm; I will wait for you here."

Qin Muchuan and Su Fuguang exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously. Zhou Tianchen also opened his eyes and gave a slight nod.

The four of them each sat cross-legged and began to contend with the illusion.

Lu Jinghan was in no rush to break the realm; his Anger-Startling Pupil had already seen through the essence of this illusion, and breaking it would be a matter of a single thought.

But he did not do so. He needed to wait, to wait for Muchuan and the others to break the realm first.

In case they ran into any trouble, he would be able to intervene and help in time.

Zhou Tianchen closed his eyes and focused, his mind becoming clear and empty. What appeared before his eyes was a Pill Furnace.

The Pill Furnace was nine zhang high, entirely crimson-gold, with the furnace body covered in profound runes, flames roaring within, and heat waves rushing toward him.

In front of the Pill Furnace, a blurry figure was practicing Alchemy.

That figure's technique was skillful; adding ingredients, controlling the fire, and condensing the Medicinal Pill were all done in one smooth motion.

Before long, a Medicinal Pill flew out from the furnace, emitting a seven-colored glow.

"Is this an ancient Alchemy technique?" Zhou Tianchen's gaze sharpened, and an irrepressible desire surged in his heart.

He wanted to see that figure's technique clearly, wanted to learn that ancient Alchemy technique, and wanted to make that seven-colored Medicinal Pill his own.

The figure seemed to sense his thoughts and slowly turned around.

The moment Zhou Tianchen saw that face, his whole body trembled. That face was exactly the same as his own.

"Do you want to learn Alchemy?" The figure spoke, its voice exactly the same as his own.

Zhou Tianchen was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Then come." The figure reached out and pointed to the Pill Furnace.

"Enter my Pill Furnace, endure the tempering of the Nine Heavens divine fire, and you shall obtain the Legacy of the ancient Alchemy technique."

Zhou Tianchen looked at the roaring Pill Furnace, and an inexplicable impulse surged in his heart.

As long as he jumped in, he would be able to obtain the ancient Alchemy technique. This was the thing he dreamed of.

He took a step forward, then stopped. No.

The Dao of Alchemy lies in insight, in accumulation, and in taking it one step at a time.

In this world, there is no such thing as an overnight Legacy, nor is there any logic where one can succeed in Alchemy just by jumping into a Pill Furnace.

This is an illusion, a Heart Demon.

Zhou Tianchen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his gaze had returned to clarity.

He murmured to himself, raised his hand, and waved it gently toward the Pill Furnace. "Break!"

The Pill Furnace shattered with a boom, and the figure that looked just like him dissipated along with it.

Zhou Tianchen's figure stepped out from the crack and landed in the real Purple Bamboo Forest.

He let out a long breath, looked back at the crack, and felt a lingering fear in his heart.

If not for Revered Master's previous guidance regarding the Dao of Alchemy, which had given him a deeper understanding, he feared he truly would have been deceived by that illusion.

"Thank you, Revered Master." Zhou Tianchen said softly, then immediately sat cross-legged and began to regulate his breath.

He had used quite a lot of mental effort to break the realm and needed to recover before waiting for the others to come out.

Meanwhile, Qin Muchuan and Su Fuguang were also contending with their own respective illusions.

Qin Muchuan's illusion was a battlefield. On the battlefield, corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

He stood in the center of the battlefield, holding a sword in his hand, the blade dripping with blood.

Opposite him, a "Qin Muchuan" with the same appearance as him stood holding a sword, his eyes full of killing intent.

"Kill!" That "Qin Muchuan" shouted sharply and swung his sword to attack.

Qin Muchuan instinctively raised his sword to parry; the two swords clashed, erupting with a harsh sound of clashing metal.

"Who are you?" Qin Muchuan asked sternly.

"I am you." That "Qin Muchuan" sneered, his sword momentum becoming increasingly fierce.