Chapter 258: The Beginning of Shattering Delusion

Chapter 258: Chapter 258: The Beginning of Shattering Delusion

The petals of the Pure World Snow Lotus withered one by one, and as the sixth petal fell, Zhongshan's voice suddenly echoed from within.

"In my Niwan Palace, do you still think you can seize control of my consciousness?"

...

"You have already lost. You've been refined by the Pure World Snow Lotus. No matter how strong or terrifying you once were, now you're just a defeated foe. You possess great power, a formidable mind, but your intelligence is incomplete. Ultimately, you are destined to serve me."

...

"Resist? You can't resist. The Niwan World is my domain. Here, you can only be gradually refined by me."

...

"Want to be my pet, to submit to me? Ha! But I prefer you to become my root spiritual consciousness. Submission is not enough; you must belong to me."

...

"Retain your consciousness as my root spiritual consciousness? Haha, how could my body house two minds? Don't even think about it."

...

"Fish die and the net breaks? You know that phrase? If you destroy your consciousness, you'll revert to your weakest form, your original form. And what then? Break if you must. All I desire are your attributes, those heaven-defying attributes. Even if your power becomes weak, it doesn't matter. Given time, I will restore it."

...

"Boom!"

A muffled explosion sounded from within the Pure World Snow Lotus.

"Pfft!" A gush of blood was heard spurting out.

"You'd rather die than let me have your power? Heh!" Zhongshan's voice, slightly tinged with excitement, came from inside.

At the last moment, the Pure World Snow Lotus withered madly. In an instant, it shriveled into a dry husk, even the once lush lotus platform shrinking and revealing Zhongshan at its center.

Zhongshan sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, a hint of a triumphant smile playing on his lips. That was close. He had almost lost, but in the end, he had driven the eight-tailed Tianwei to utter desperation, leading to its final, desperate "fish die and the net breaks" act. Had the Tianwei held on a little longer, the current occupant of Zhongshan's body might have been someone else entirely.

Zhongshan continued to regulate his breathing, immersing his mind in his Niwan Palace, located at the back of his head—a place akin to a Purple Mansion.

The Purple Mansion stored mana; the Niwan Palace stored spiritual consciousness.

This place seemed like an enclosed space, connected to Zhongshan's essence only by a mysterious link. Below, the eight-tailed Tianwei had transformed into something like a blossoming flower.

The Tianwei had become very small, devoid of consciousness, its eight differently colored fox tails swaying gently. Surrounding the Tianwei was a hazy, almost transparent substance, both ethereal and real. This was Zhongshan's spiritual consciousness, which he had concentrated into a root spiritual consciousness.

Root Spiritual Consciousness: The eight-tailed Tianwei. As the root of his spiritual consciousness, it maintained this form, but Zhongshan's spiritual consciousness was still very weak. It could only extend outside his body to explore within a one-zhang radius.

For Zhongshan, however, this was sufficient. Within one zhang of his body, he could perceive everything clearly without the need for his eyes.

More importantly, he had now reached the sixth level of the Golden Core stage.

He was one step closer to the Nascent Soul stage and much nearer to the day he could retrieve Ling'er.

The thick fog had dissipated, and all the Tianwei in the city had once again turned into harmless plants. But those who had been unsealed still panicked and fled at the sight of the flower-like Tianwei.

"The city gates are open! The city gates are open!" A distant voice rang out with excitement.

"Whoosh..."

Hearing the shouts, countless people sprinted towards the city gates, filled with terror, not wanting to stay for another moment, not wanting to linger in this nightmare city any longer.

Outside the city, as the white fog slowly dispersed, the first person flew out in a panic from within. Seeing this hastily escaping figure, those waiting outside were stunned because many recognized him as a powerful Yuan Ying stage cultivator. But what was going on with him now? What expression was that? Tears?

No, not just him. Behind him, a large number of cultivators surged out of the Sealed Spirit City like a swarm of locusts, many of them shedding tears of excitement as if they had been reborn.

Tearful escape. It was indeed a sight to behold as tens of thousands of people wept together.

Zhongshan and his group followed the tide and exited the city gates.

"Zhongshan, what about the eight-tailed Tianwei?" Nian Youyou asked urgently.

All eyes turned to Zhongshan.

"I don't know. Let's go!" Zhongshan replied.

Hearing Zhongshan's words, everyone fell silent. Go? But how?

Knowing Zhongshan didn't want to discuss it further, no one pressed him for more answers.

But Nian Youyou couldn't shake off her unease. Her eyes turned and she said, "Zhongshan, why don't you come with me? I'll take you to the Eternal Life Realm!"

"Go with you? I might end up being sold by you and not even realize it." Zhongshan shook his head and chuckled.

"Hmph, suit yourself. But don't forget your promise. I'll be back next time, and then I'll claim what's mine!" With a stomp, Nian Youyou soared into the sky. Her tone suddenly changed, sounding like a stubborn young wife as she turned to fly away.

Seeing Nian Youyou leave, Zhongshan shook his head with a smile. Nian Youyou's temperament was too unpredictable.

"Take care!" Zhongshan replied.

Seeing Zhongshan didn't try to stop her, Nian Youyou shot him a glare before flying away for real.

"Sir, where are we going now?" Ada asked.

"Back to the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty!" Zhongshan replied solemnly.

"Yes, sir," Ada immediately responded, continuing to urge the white clouds forward.

Meanwhile, Princess Qianyou stared in the direction Nian Youyou had flown off to, her brows furrowed. What was she thinking?

Everyone had escaped from the Sealed Spirit City, presumably all the living ones had made it out. But no one dared to enter again, not even the Cold Extremity Prince. Just the thought of the Sealed Spirit City sent shivers down his spine.

Only those who hadn't been inside the city beforehand dared to enter, but upon doing so, they found that all the Tianwei flowers inside had withered and died. This was no man-eating demon flower; it was just an ordinary Tianwei. But the people who came out were all terrified, and there was no choice but to believe them. Furthermore, the disappearance of numerous mines, the drying up of the big lake, the disappearance of floating islands—all these continuously proved that what those people said was true.

Where was the eight-tailed Tianwei? Perhaps it would remain a mystery, known to none.

Only the Cold Extremity Prince returned, deeply frustrated. And the Sealed Spirit City remained abandoned, its previous bustling atmosphere gone. Because inside, there circulated a terrifying legend: the City of Nightmares!