Chapter 414: Tai Sui 2

And her arrival only intensified the Black Tai Sui’s manifestation.

In the void, a great scarlet sun plummeted, transforming into the image of the Tai Sui. The very space of the dreamscape warped and buckled, forming a terrifying maw that lunged at Yu Yunlan.

CRASH!

An illusion of endless mountains and rivers materialized, condensing into a spinning lunar wheel that instantly shattered the great maw. The scattered shadows then re-formed into a dim, phantom image of the Tai Sui.

‘The Map of Mountains and Rivers?! Is that the true body of an Innate Supreme Treasure in her hands?! And she wields it so effortlessly… This is different from the connection between the Four Symbols Order and the Chaos Four Symbols Banner. She must have truly branded the Innate Supreme Treasure with her Divine Soul Seal.’

‘Could she be the True Monarch from the Purple Cloud Pavilion?!’

‘Of course. This isn’t some cheap novel with its “feeding-frenzy” tactics, sending people to die wave after wave… Once they found a possible trace of the Great Black Heaven, the Great Yu Court would naturally treat it with the utmost priority. It’s not at all an overreaction to dispatch a True Monarch immediately.’

Fang Rui thought to himself, sensing that this manifested image of the Black Tai Sui had reached his kill threshold. He instantly activated his Divine Technique, Godslaying Spirit Shattering, and struck first. “Slay!”

SWISH!

With a single slash, the stubborn phantom of the Black Tai Sui shattered in an instant. Faintly, a cry of extreme agony seemed to echo.

“Hm?”

A flicker of surprise crossed Yu Yunlan’s cold eyes.

That last slash… She couldn’t comprehend it.

“Thank you for the rescue, Fairy. Apologies, my hand slipped. I couldn’t resist.”

Fang Rui secretly glanced at the Tribulation Points rapidly climbing on his panel as he cupped his hands in a salute.

“It’s nothing. My name is Yu Yunlan. And you are, Fellow Daoist?”

Her voice was melodious, each word seeming to strike a chord in one’s heart, yet it carried a natural, cold detachment.

She gave the impression of a snow lotus on a high mountain peak during a blizzard—as if she were born to float amongst the clouds, untouched by the mortal world, free from all emotions like anger, obsession, joy, and rage.

‘But why do I get the feeling she’s paying special attention to me? Am I just being conceited, or did I reveal too much when I made my move?’

‘I perform a divination for good and ill fortune on myself every day. I should be fine, right?’

As Fang Rui mulled this over, he spoke. “My surname is Fang.”

“Fellow Daoist Fang, would you be willing to join me in dealing with the Array of Heaven and Earth and severing the interference from the Great Black Heaven’s Rule?” Yu Yunlan asked.

Had anyone of sufficient status from the Central Hub of the Great Yu Divine Capital, anyone who could actually interact with her, witnessed this, their jaws would have hit the floor. Since when did the otherworldly Yunlan True Monarch ever take the initiative to invite someone anywhere?

Forget actively inviting someone; she probably hadn’t spoken this many words all year.

“The Array of Heaven and Earth? An array, you say? Where is it located?”

Fang Rui had wandered through Pinghu County in reality and toured it in the dreamscape, but he had never sensed the slightest trace of any array.

“In the interlayer between reality and the dreamscape.”

“So that’s how it is. Not in the Mortal World, not in the dreamscape, but in the interlayer…” Fang Rui murmured to himself.

He knew of the interlayer between reality and the dreamscape; he even had a Secret Technique to enter it.

Now that he knew this, he also understood why the mushrooms could only be grown within Pinghu County’s borders. It was because the area was under the influence of this so-called Array of Heaven and Earth.

At the same time, a realization dawned on Fang Rui. ‘No wonder my Divine Technique, Emperor’s Gaze, was useless. It was never a matter of observing ‘qi’ at all, but an interference of the Great Black Heaven’s Rule.’

“Fellow Daoist Yu, this wisp of my Divine Soul Will is nearly exhausted, so I won’t be going. I wish you a safe journey.”

With that, he transformed into a stream of light and departed.

Yu Yunlan watched the wisp of Fang Rui’s Divine Soul Will depart without trying to stop it. Then, with a flick of her cloud-patterned sleeve, a hazy mist billowed up.

She and the Phoenix Bird vanished into it.

After the two of them left, the shared dreamscape of everyone in Pinghu County began to collapse, shattering into vast swathes of chaos.

…

「At the inn.」

“So, you’re back?”

Fang Rui raised his hand to catch a stream of light, reabsorbing the wisp of his Divine Soul Will. Everything he had witnessed in the dreamscape flooded his mind.

“The problem really was in the dreamscape… Peaceful on the outside, madness within. Two extremes… Black Tai Sui… Yu Yunlan… Is that what’s really going on?!”

Still uneasy, he performed another divination on himself. ‘No danger… Yu Yunlan is friendly toward me? Or at least not hostile?’

‘That makes sense. Yu Yunlan represents the Purple Cloud Pavilion, not the Great Yu Royal Family. The former represents the interests of the world, while the latter is more self-serving. There’s a subtle but important distinction.’

‘So, even if she figured something out, she won’t necessarily make trouble for me.’

‘But even so, I have no desire to get involved with a True Monarch wielding an Innate Supreme Treasure right now. I hate feeling like things are out of my control. Best to get out of here, fast!’

He woke up Xin Xue’Er, preparing to flee with the little girl under the cover of night.

He had barely stepped out the door.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

Suddenly, a dense wave of footsteps echoed from all directions.

It was…

From the inn, from every house, countless figures emerged and converged. Their eyes drooped, half-lidded, as if they were neither awake nor asleep. Their movements were mechanical, like puppets on a string.

Their state was utterly bizarre. They seemed to despise the aura of normal people—that is, anyone who hadn’t eaten a ‘Black Mushroom’—and showed intense aggression.

‘Right. That dreamscape may have shattered, but the Array of Heaven and Earth that Yu Yunlan mentioned is still active. That ‘Black Tai Sui’ can still influence these people; its control over them hasn’t been broken.’

Fang Rui murmured, and with a wave of his sleeve, a brilliant Spiritual Light radiated out from him, intending to immobilize the surging crowd. But the Magic had no effect.

He tried to take to the sky to evade them, but the gathered crowd, in their bizarre state, seemed to generate some kind of field that suppressed his Spiritual Power, preventing it from manifesting. He had no choice but to land on a nearby roof.