Chapter 71
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Chapter 71
"Another unlucky person has come."
"It seems the key to leaving is not in him."
"It’s a shame he was able to become emperor; what a waste."
The spirits chattered, saying many disapproving things. Hearing them, the new emperor, who had just felt despair and sadness a moment ago, could not feel sad anymore and was filled with resentment.
"I am just a small primordial stage of the Nascent Soul. You are all powerful, so why are you stuck here too?"
"This is not anyone’s fault," a gentle face appeared to comfort everyone. "I am Ruan Nianqing from Green Lotus Pavilion. I took real gold from the treasures in this illusion. I grew up in the borderlands, and I died due to the conflicts there. Unable to bear the humiliation, I killed a few of the enemy and then came here."
Someone chimed in, "Ruan Nianqing from Green Lotus Pavilion, ranked tenth on the Genius List, not yet three hundred years old, but has already broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul?"
Ruan Nianqing smiled softly, "There is nothing holy about being a Holy Maiden here. Everyone should have tried to use their skills in this illusion."
She did not deny that she had the cultivation of the tenth level of the Heavenly Pride and late Nascent Soul Stage.
"You have the true rich girl’s script; who is the fake rich girl?"
"I already said it’s a script. Does it really matter if she is a true or fake rich girl?" From a distance, a girl in red, fierce as fire, glared at them.
It was clear that she was the one who had the fake rich girl’s script, Guanshan Yue.
Both of them were quite famous among the two hundred people. To be precise, compared to the Holy Maiden Ruan Nianqing, the explosive personality of Guanshan Yue was more well-known. She was truly a fan of violence; almost no talented individuals ahead of her hadn’t battled with Guanshan Yue.
Seeing Guanshan Yue’s aggressive tone, someone couldn’t help but poke at her, "Guanshan Yue, aren’t you the daughter of a military general? With a father and brother who are both great generals, how did you end up here?"
When this was mentioned, Guanshan Yue became very angry, "What is there to say? I am not the only daughter of a general who died here."
Yes, whether she is a true rich girl or a fake rich girl, they all died here, becoming ghostly wisps floating above the capital city.
The Thousand Mile Landscape Map is very large, big enough to hold many countries, but no matter where they died, all souls slowly gathered together, floating above the palace that symbolizes the highest power.
Those who died in the Thousand Mile Landscape Map do not have souls; they are made from the spiritual power in the scroll, without any consciousness. They are spiritual power puppets created according to a script.
"Do we have to wait here until the final winner comes out before we can leave?"
The spirits were very resentful. As souls, they could do nothing—no eating, no drinking, no training, and no sending messages outside. The first person to die had it the worst, but luckily others came later, so they could still talk to each other.
Pairs of eyes stared at the cultivator who just entered, "But haven’t the rebels already broken in? What else needs to happen for it to be over?"
The newcomer hesitated to speak, "Maybe we have to wait until the rebel leader is crowned and secures the throne? Isn’t the script we’re participating in about the struggle for power in chaotic times?"
"Wait a moment!"
He looked left and right, "Aren’t there only two hundred participants? There seem to be almost four or five hundred souls floating around here!"
A cultivator explained, "We are not participants; we are the ones playing the roles in the story. However, we don’t know why something went wrong and we died but are still here in the illusion."
It was clear that everyone’s earlier thought—that someone being crowned would mean it was over and they could leave—was just a nice idea.
The actors who should have been sent out immediately were also forced to stay; clearly, there was a problem inside the illusion.
"Is there anyone who can contact the outside world? Don’t hold back now; we need to use any means necessary."
"This place is the treasure of True Lord Xuan Dao—Thousand Mile Landscape Map. We were only pulled in as thoughts. This time, the illusion set in the map is in a soulless state; everyone has already tried it."
The life-saving methods kept in reserve, no matter how reluctant they are to use them on ordinary days, cannot be hidden at this moment.
The cultivator, who had just become the new emperor and then died, wore a sorrowful face. He thought life was already hopeless enough, but he never expected it could be even more hopeless.
A few newcomers among the cultivators panicked, "What do we do now?!"
The rebels broke into the city and killed many people; the dead participants are not just the new emperor.
At least the new emperor chose his own way to die, but they are much worse off than him. Without leaving the illusion, everyone’s memories are firmly locked; everything that happened before death is hard to forget. In more serious cases, it could even lead to an internal demon.
Guanshan Yue said, "What can we do? Let’s just wait; at least everyone is here for now, and no one has run into trouble."
She spoke very firmly, "If something really happens, my master and my father will definitely rescue us."
Although she is a false rich girl in the script, in real life, Guanshan Yue’s father is the leader of the Tianheng Sect’s Refining Peak and also a powerful Soul Changing Stage expert.
Upon hearing her words, the other cultivators quickly responded, "Yes, my master will definitely save me too."
"My mother will too…"
This group of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, although not as strong as the Golden Core Stage in this world, are still the favorites of the leaders and elders of various departments.
Furthermore, Guanshan Yue’s father and master, along with the leader of the Green Lotus Pavilion, who is also the master of the Holy Maiden, are all Soul Changing Stage experts; they will not easily give up on their own.
The content of the illusion continued, and outside cultivators could see the unfolding events in the Thousand Mile Landscape Map, but could not see the spirits floating above the palace.
After a competing cultivator dies, the screens representing the cultivators all turn black and then merge with nearby screens.
Hu Xiao Bai watched as the screen belonging to his family master kept growing larger and larger, eventually taking up more than half of the Nascent Soul Stage competition screen.
He clenched the fox’s paw and said, "Truly a master!"
Zhong Wei’s voice came over, "Little Bai, why are you here alone? Where is the master?"
The Nascent Soul Stage competition was so lengthy that the matches for the Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage had already finished while this one was still ongoing.
Just like in the original story, the first place in the second round went to the main character, Song Mingzhu, while Ye Xuanye came in just a little behind her, achieving a commendable result.
Meng He and Yu Jiu also did well, both making it into the top ten, successfully keeping their promise to Yun Chuxiu and bringing honor to the Qingxu Sect.
Zhong Wei was still the underperformer among her peers; her results in the second round were not particularly impressive, placing her in the lower-middle range of the two hundred contestants.
After all, at this time, she had not yet reclaimed what belonged to her, and her current cultivation was still far behind her two senior brothers.
However, in this competition, she successfully defeated her internal demon and came to terms with some things, which was a kind of achievement.
Among the disciples of Qingxu Sect, in the original story, Zhong Wei, despite being in the early stage of the Golden Core Stage, had a very unstable Golden Core. Her first round was quite disastrous and nowhere near as easy as now.
If Yun Chuxiu were here to see Zhong Wei now, they would surely feel very happy. After all, Zhong Wei, who has finished the second round of the competition, is nothing like the twisted character described in the original story.
"The master is still in the competition, and the honored one has also gone in."
Hu Xiao Bai pointed a paw at the big screen in front of them, "Look, the Nascent Soul Stage competition still seems to have a long way to go."
Zhong Wei looked at the screen with frustration, "How come our master can go in too? This won’t affect Elder Martial Sister’s score, will it?"
In the past, Elder Martial Sister spent much more time with them than now. It wasn’t because Elder Martial Sister didn’t like them anymore; it was purely because the master took up Elder Martial Sister’s time.
Since the moment Zhong Wei joined the sect, she knew she was certainly not as important as the master. After all, that was a bond that raised Elder Martial Sister since childhood, and her Elder Martial Sister has always been a loving and nostalgic person.
Hu Xiao Bai shook his head in confusion, "I don’t know either."
He is just a simple and innocent little fox demon, how could he know such inside information?
"The magic weapon used in the Nascent Soul Stage competition is the Thousand Mile Landscape Map. Since he could go in, it must be with the permission of the owner of the River and Mountain Map, so it shouldn’t affect Senior Martial Sister’s score."
Zhong Wei looked up in surprise, "Martial Brother Yu Jiu!"
After all these years together, the bond between the three of them has grown much stronger than it was at the beginning.
However, compared to Meng He, Zhong Wei felt closer to Yu Jiu; it’s not that Martial Brother Meng He is not good.
Someone like her, who is delicate and likes to think deeply, actually admires and envies Meng He’s carefree nature, but Yu Jiu is smarter and can be said to be the second most reliable person in her heart from the Qingxu Sect.
The most reliable person, of course, is Elder Martial Sister Yun Chuxiu. As for their master, Xie Fuzhi, he often swings between being reliable and unreliable; sometimes he seems less reliable than Meng He, who loves to cause trouble.
"Our Elder Martial Sister is surely the best."
Meng He took a sip of spiritual tea, "What kind of script is this Nascent Soul Stage competition? Why has it been so long and nothing is happening?"
Their Golden Core Stage competition had actually ended long ago, but once the participants left the arena, they were not allowed to leave and were each taken for checks, which delayed the time.
Hu Xiao Bai explained, drawing as he spoke about the script he had seen, "Don’t worry, the master is definitely the strongest. She has done so many things; those rebels are just a disorganized bunch, and they can’t possibly win against the master!"
With the grand master present, Yun Chuxiu was certainly not involved in the Yun family conspiracy. At the time of her wedding, she specially spent money to buy a lot of grain.
They stored the grain and raised soldiers before the chaos arrived.
Although due to natural disasters the world was in turmoil and the common people could not afford food, there was actually not such a serious lack of grain. Many wealthy families had grain that was piled high and spoiling, yet they would not give any away.
Yun Chuxiu found a way to collect grain from a wealthy household and used the grand master’s influence to gather soldiers.
At this time, she had no plans to claim the throne; her original goal was only to protect herself during the chaos, hoping to save as many as she could.
Zhong Wei, upon hearing about Yun Chuxiu’s actions, thought of her own past and couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia, "Elder Martial Sister is always so kind-hearted."
Although kind-hearted, Yun Chuxiu was not a fool; her kindness had its sharp edges and limits. She would only help others if it didn’t harm her own interests.
She primarily supported the elderly and the weak. She would not help bullies who took advantage of their strength, even if they were also suffering in the chaos. Not only would she not help them, but she would also arrange for someone to give them a good beating if they caused trouble.
She couldn’t protect everyone, but she would do her best to create a somewhat peaceful environment within her ability to care for.
As a few people in the Qingxu Sect listened to Hu Xiao Bai speak, Yu Jiu suddenly received news about a ghost cultivator who had sneaked into the large sect and successfully risen to a high position, and his expression suddenly changed.
Zhong Wei also had a strange feeling of unease, "Martial Brother Yu Jiu, what happened?"
"There was an accident during the Nascent Soul Stage competition. Elder Martial Sister and the other cultivators are trapped in the scroll and can’t get out."
