Chapter 554: Lost Mystery
“No…”
Shi Mu suddenly looked up to the sky and roared resentfully.
His body lit in dazzling flames as if he was wearing flaming armor.
When the flame emerged, the plasma around it immediately ignited and burned like a sea of fire.
His eyes were still as bloody as ever, and it was clear that he had yet to fully regain consciousness. He was only trying to get rid of the remaining blood of the plasma swamp.
“Kill…”
He flew high into the air and his entire body arched into a bow as he dragged his long staff behind him. As he squatted with the black staff shadow in the air, he launched at the huge man with great force.
The giant man did not expect Shi Mu to make such a move and was taken aback. He held on tight to the long knife in his hand, and with motion, he was able to block Shi Mu’s attack.
Ka-cha!
There was the sound of something breaking. Not surprisingly, the long knife held by the man had broken in half after being struck by the long black staff.
In addition, one of his shoulders was completely trapped and it seemed to be bent oddly as well.
Puff!
The giant man spat out some blood and then laughed heartily.
Shi Mu’s eyes buzzed as the helmet of the huge man fell off from his head. Underneath, he was a cheeky young man with absolutely no facial hair.
He looked quite decent. After having a better look, Shi Mu was shocked to discover that this man in front of him was Wang Tianhao.
“Haha… Shi Mu, you’re a waste of space. You will never achieve anything great no matter how hard you try…” Wang Tianhao used all the strength he had left in his body and lashed out at Shi Mu once more before slumping to the ground.
Hearing this, Shi Mu kept reassuring himself as he screamed at the sky fiercely, “I am not a waste of space… I’m not…”
“This is a well-known fact. There’s no way you can deny it. Haha…”
As soon as Wang Tianhao witnessed this, his eyes flashed a ghastly look and he pulled back into the black mist that had appeared behind him.
“You’re wrong!”
At that point, Shi Mu suddenly realized something and his once confused eyes flashed with a glimmer of clarity. After composing his thoughts, he swung the long staff in his hands downward.
Suddenly, a huge black staff shadow brought a powerful force down onto Wang Tianhao, smashing him into broken pieces of flesh.
The area abruptly became dead silent. Besides Shi Mu himself, it seemed that every sound had disappeared.
Shi Mu felt a sharp pain deep within his skull before it gradually subsided.
As he bowed his head, he noticed the battlefield, corpses and plasma were all gone.
He was standing alone on the black crystal path and he realized he was still on the first step.
He was stunned and groaned to himself.
It may have been a long time within the illusion, but it seemed that only a minute had passed by in the real world.
Shi Mu wiped off the sweat on his forehead and noticed his entire body was sweaty. His hands were all wet, and he felt slippery as the cyan robe he was wearing was completely soaked.
Shi Mu recalled the scene in his head over and over again. After a long silence, he finally took a deep breath and lifted his foot again to take the second step forward.
As the landscape changed, he found himself in a field of green grass.
Looking around, everywhere his eyes could see was grass. Some cattle and sheep could be seen grazing in the distance.
The warm sun shone on him as the breeze blew. The fragrance of mud and grass filled his nose. Such a feeling of peace and tranquility was potentially intoxicating.
Shi Mu looked around and muttered to himself, “Where am I anyway?”
He watched for a moment then shook his head as he thought about flying far away.
Just then, his expression changed drastically.
His vast spirit sea was entirely empty. The Real Qi he spent many years building up had all disappeared into thin air.
“How can this be? It’s all gone!” Shi Mu was shocked.
His face was grim and uncertain. After a while, he suddenly thought of something and got down on his knees as he tried to explore his inner body.
No matter how deep he explored, he was unable to find a trace of his inner qi.
It felt like he had never undergone internal training at all!
“Wait, could this be another part of the illusion?” Shi Mu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
It seemed that there was only one explanation, but could an illusion really do such a thing?
Back when he was in the first step of the illusion, he felt an extreme urge to kill. When he had awakened, his inner qi was still present.
Shi Mu held his head in disbelief for a few moments before slowly standing up and taking a look at his surroundings.
If this was really an illusion, then somewhere in this grassland, there had to be a key to break it.
He calmed his mind as he chose for a direction and began walking.
After an hour, he arrived at a hillside as the sun was about to set.
As he stood on the hillside and looked down, he saw a small village. It seemed that there were more than a dozen houses in it, with smoke coming out from the chimney of each one.
In the village, a group of children was chasing and playing among themselves as dogs were heard barking.
Shi Mu looked at everything below and there was a hint of confusion in his eyes.
This scene was somewhat similar to his childhood when he used to live by the seaside.
The relationship between the neighborhoods was simple. Although life was hard and they were poor, there was no such thing as taking someone’s life for their own benefit. There was no need to commit brutal killings for one’s own gain.
At that moment, a gentle female voice came from behind him, trembling a little.
Shi Mu was shocked and turned back to look. Upon seeing her, his body became stiff.
Two or three feet behind him stood a young girl in a white linen dress with a wooden bucket filled with clear water.
She looked graceful, like a hibiscus. Although she was wearing rough clothing, it was still hard to hide her elegance.
This woman was none other than Zhong Xiu.
“Zhong Xiu!!” Shi Mu instantly screamed in surprise.
“Brother Shi Mu, it really is you!” Zhong Xiu’s eyes burst with tears out of joy.
She let go of the bucket and it fell to the ground. Though the water had splashed on the floor, Zhong Xiu was unfazed as she threw herself into Shi Mu’s arms.
“Brother Shi Mu, where have you been all these years? I’ve missed you…” Zhong Xiu hugged Shi Mu as she whimpered.
Shi Mu’s face changed greatly and was dumbfounded. Something seemed off and he stopped in his tracks.
He kept telling himself that this was nothing but a fantasy. Who knew what had appeared in front of him was just another mirage?
“Brother Shi Mu, what’s wrong with you?”
Zhong Xiu buried her head in Shi Mu as if she had sensed something wrong. She looked up at Shi Mu and saw the doubt and hesitation in his eyes.
Zhong Xiu trembled as she slowly distanced herself from Shi Mu with desperation in her eyes.
Zhong Xiu ‘s face was pale and her eyes gradually turned red.
“Brother Shi Mu, we’ve been separated in the West He continent for decades. Please don’t tell me you’ve met someone else and no longer want me around…?” she asked.
Seeing Zhong Xiu this way was enough to tear his heart apart. He immediately wanted to throw away all suspicions and just hold Zhong Xiu tightly in his arms.
“Absolutely not! Ever since you vanished, I have been looking for you all these years. How could I make time for another woman?!” Shi Mu quickly explained.
“Really?” Zhong Xiu’s eyes lit up with a hint of joy.
“Well, I swore to God that if I ever had a change of heart, I would…” Shi Mu raised his palm and pointed to the sky to swear but a white palm suddenly covered his mouth.
Zhong Xiu’s face was filled with love as she said softly, “Brother Shi Mu, I believe you.”
“Zhong Xiu…” Shi Mu sighed and looked at Zhong Xiu. His eyes were full of love as he reached out to hold on to the small hand that was covering his mouth a moment ago.
“Why did brother Shi Mu look at me like that just now?” Zhong Xiu asked with some hurt in her voice.
Shi Mu hesitated before finally giving in and telling her the whole story.
Zhong Xiu was surprised and asked. “Enchanted Road? Brother Shi Mu, have you joined the Holy Land of Qinglan?”
“You know of the Enchanted Road?” Shi Mu asked in amazement.
“It’s natural that I know about it as this lost mystery was created by the founders of the three great holy lands. They say it was used to exile disciples of the various factions. Since I am here, of course, I know a little about it.”
“Lost mystery? Isn’t this the fantasy world of Enchanted Road?” Shi Mu was shocked.
“Brother Shi Mu, although I don’t know what you experienced in the Enchanted Road before, have you not realized that you do not possess any inner qi, like any other mortal?”
“This… Could it be…” Shi Mu heard the words and was caught off guard.
“This is definitely not a fantasy, brother Shi Mu. I was the same back when I was left here. Every ounce of inner qi stored in my body was drained. I’ve been exiled here ever since and it’s been several years already.” Zhong Xiu smiled bitterly.
Shi Mu was shocked to hear this.
“What?!”
“Brother Shi Mu, I understand what you’re feeling, as I was like you back then. I couldn’t believe this was the reality for me. Nevertheless, we have all been abandoned by our sects, so it’s only normal for us to spend the rest of our lives here.”
Shi Mu’s face changed dramatically and he shook his head desperately as he could not believe what he was hearing.
Seeing this, Zhong Xiu did not say much but held onto Shi Mu’s hand and sat silently next to him till he calmed down.
The sun had almost set. Only a trace of pale gold had yet to go and take the last of its glory from the world.
Shi Mu slowly looked up toward Zhong Xiu.
“Zhong Xiu, you said you were abandoned here? What happened? Did you also join Qinglan back then?” Shi Mu asked.
Zhong Xiu replied, “No, I joined the other great sanctuary of the Magnum Solis. However, something serious happened. After that accident, I was then exiled here.”
“What changed? Can you talk to me about it?” Shi Mu asked.
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