Since We're Here

Blissful Sky Curtain.

Eternal Illusion Realm?

A look of realization appeared on Wang Jixuan's face. He now roughly understood what this was.

Their Cultivation World had once suffered similar disasters. Some demonic figures, seeking to extend their lives yet too afraid to challenge the heavenly tribulation, had come up with all sorts of bizarre techniques.

Some used human blood, some used human souls, and some fellows were not even afraid of the stench, using boys' urine to refine pills.

For the sake of longevity, people really could do all kinds of extreme things.

Daoist Wang, on the other hand, was the opposite extreme.

Long life?

He had not even bothered enjoying his three thousand years of lifespan before directly throwing himself into a fierce battle with the heavenly tribulation!

After Listening to the woman's explanation, Number Five's lips twitched slightly, and she could not help complaining, "I suddenly feel like I used to be a White Lotus."

Still maintaining the form of Ghost Gate Pass, Wang Jixuan could not help laughing. "Why don't you reflect on why they never invited you to join them?"

Number Five's expression was difficult to describe.

Daoist Wang continued, "I'm not particularly Interested In this Blissful Sky Curtain. Right now, I only want to know where the soul of the Pillar-Class Blade Beast itself is."

"This is its soul."

The woman said softly:

"This city, this Eternal Illusion Realm that only souls can reach, is the soul of this colossal beast."

"You cannot control it through possession... your soul is too weak. The pressure brought by this enormous body would crush it into dust.

"If you wish to destroy it through its soul, you can only find a way to destroy this Blissful Sky Curtain. That would be a hundred times more difficult than directly destroying its body."

Wang Jixuan could tell that the woman was deliberately trying to Show Off.

It was a common flaw among senior figures in the Cultivation World.

Wang Jixuan asked humbly, "Do you have a method? If possible, I don't want to see humanity suffer any further."

"It's very difficult."

The woman fell Deep in Thought before answering simply:

"It is not hard to see that this Blissful Sky Curtain created by the Spiritual Practitioners is quite similar to the experimental product we created back then. Its principle is to use the souls of other Life Forms to maintain the operation of the entire system.

"They were simply more ingenious. They combined the Blissful Sky Curtain with a war machine, allowing the war machine to activate it and plunder souls everywhere, thereby continuously obtaining souls to sustain this eternal realm.

"Unless one uses overwhelming power to directly destroy the material foundation of this Blissful Sky Curtain—that is, destroy this colossal beast... they have also made some Very Good improvements, turning the Blissful Sky Curtain's power into one of the barriers protecting this colossal beast.

"However, nothing in this world is flawless. Neither is this place."

Number Five suddenly asked, "They created this Blissful Sky Curtain so their souls could live here?"

"You can understand it that way," the woman said softly. "The city Before One's Eyes is the soul of the colossal beast."

"The city is a soul?"

"A soul does not need to remain fixed. It is merely a peculiar structure."

Wang Jixuan had already Captured the crucial point.

Although the woman always instinctively Showed Off her knowledge—what people often called pedantic rambling—and took forever to get to the point;

she had actually already told them the solution.

Number Five asked, "Can it be understood this way? The Pillar-Class Blade Beast was designed by some dying Spiritual Practitioners as something to Extend Life, but it was designed too powerfully for them to control and turned on them?"

The woman asked in return, "Did it truly turn on them?"

"Huh?" Number Five froze. "You mean there may still be Spiritual Practitioners' souls here?"

The woman looked toward the city and lightly shook her head. "I cannot confirm that. I do not know whether the Blade Beasts' rebellion against you occurred before the Spiritual Practitioners' souls moved in or afterward."

Snap!

Ghost Gate Pass, formed from Wang Jixuan's strange soul, Flicked Out a grayish palm and snapped its fingers.

He said simply:

"Let me Summarize.

"The city in the illusion Before One's Eyes is the soul of the Pillar-Class Blade Beast.

"There may be Spiritual Practitioners' souls inside. If there are, they are most likely the rulers here.

"It would be difficult to destroy this city by attacking its soul, but a soul like this must have certain weaknesses. The flaw of the Pillar-Class Blade Beast is Hidden In this city."

A hint of appreciation appeared in the woman's eyes. "Yes, cultivator."

Wang Jixuan gazed below.

The Sea of Grievances had already been drained by Ghost Gate Pass by forty percent.

Because of the distance, the efficiency with which the resentful souls were Pouring Out had begun to slow. Ghost Gate Pass needed to start moving.

After converting so many "Light Spots," Wang Jixuan's strange soul had not advanced in realm, but its soul power had reached an almost bloated level.

By a pessimistic estimate, they only had two hours and twenty minutes left.

However, because of Wang Jixuan's efforts, the Pillar-Class Blade Beast's recovery ability had clearly been affected. Its wounds were now healing much more slowly, though the enormous amount of psionic energy within its body remained unaffected.

The countless resentful souls were only one part of the Pillar-Class Blade Beast's immense scale.

"What about the Sleeping Circuit?" Wang Jixuan asked.

"It is inside the Pillar-Class Blade Beast," Number Five said. "I can sense that this is the region where the Pillar-Class Blade Beast's soul is located. I am only a strand of consciousness now, and our bodies cannot Arrive At this place. The Sleeping Circuit is not here."

The woman reminded them, "The colossal beast they created has already approached perfection. Its body contains numerous anti-intrusion devices, and the vast amount of psionic energy will kill all intruders... Is there not a single fully capable Spiritual Practitioner on this planet?"

Number Five was somewhat embarrassed. "In the widespread war across this Star Domain, we achieved... widespread failure."

The woman Nodded slightly. "You need not be ashamed. You are merely a Young man."

Wang Jixuan could not help mocking her, "A seventeen-thousand-year-old Young man..."

"The Core Circuit granted us long lives to begin with," Number Five said, the corners of her lips rising slightly. "Cultivator, when it comes to lifespan, it seems you are not as good as us."

The woman said softly:

"Please do not be rude to cultivators.

"They are a branch of civilization that High-Tier Civilization extended into lower worlds. They possess the ability to enter higher worlds. This is already far more advanced than my original civilization.

"Back then, my civilization suffered a massive disaster. A cultivator named San Jie Lang Lang Zi happened to pass through my civilization. After several bitter battles, he killed the monsters invading from the void, then broke through space and went to a higher world."

Wang Jixuan's brow jumped sharply.

Ascension!

Good Guy, a Mahayana Stage Cultivator had once traveled here, then broken through the void and ascended to the immortal realm!

Wang Jixuan desperately wanted to ask the woman why San Jie Lang Lang Zi's... no, why that ridiculous Daoist Name was so uninhibited;

but he had once been a Mahayana Cultivator himself. He had merely failed while challenging the heavenly tribulation.

Better not mention it.

Number Five suddenly pointed at the bronze gate Wang Jixuan had become. "I saw a little of his memories. He also once tried to resist a powerful will of rules and go to a High-Tier Civilization, but he failed and then appeared here."

Wang Jixuan: ...

This Daoist has had even his underwear sold out!

The woman smiled. "Perhaps this is the manifestation of a will from a higher world. In any case, every seemingly coincidental event contains the conditions that caused it."

Wang Jixuan said, "Let's think about how to solve this trouble... either trigger the Sleeping Circuit and let the Sixth Pillar continue sleeping, or find a way to kill it."

"I am returning now. I have already shared all the information I can share with you."

The woman said seriously:

"As one of the creators of the Core Circuit, I can clearly sense that this colossal beast contains over 3600 Psionic Energy Circuits. The Sleeping Circuit is merely one of them. In roughly two Sunrise and Sunset cycles, it will begin operating again.

"Before you have sufficient strength, do not kill a colossal beast like this. When one such colossal beast dies, it may attract even more colossal beasts.

"And one more thing: this colossal beast has no Self-Awareness. It is more like a collective will, and that collective will does not originate from here."

A look of realization appeared on Wang Jixuan's face. "That Galinno..."

Their previous intelligence had also mentioned several keywords:

Blade Beast Mind Network;

Galinno had prompted the Blade Beasts to rebel;

The woman said nothing more. She Bowed Slightly to Wang Jixuan with elegance, transformed into a Light Spot, and drifted away.

A strand of her voice entered Wang Jixuan's ears:

"Perhaps you can enter the Blissful Sky Curtain and seek a solution, but I cannot be certain whether Spiritual Practitioners' souls exist here... If they do, they must be extremely powerful cowards."

Inside the aircraft above, Gao Huating yawned and opened her eyes, her face full of exhaustion.

Wang Jixuan had already ordered the Mechanical Maid to take Gao Huating to a safe area.

He glanced at Number Five, who was Deep in Thought beside Ghost Gate Pass, and quickly said, "Think of something first. Tell me immediately if you discover anything. I'll move all the resentful souls outside and first dismantle this part of the Pillar-Class Blade Beast's power."

Number Five nodded.

Although she was more Interested In the bronze gate, where patterns were constantly appearing;

she also had to help as much as possible.

This concerned her Life and Death.

"That is what happened, more or less."

Inside the cockpit of the Super Large Mecha, Wang Jixuan had already explained the situation below in detail.

After Listening to Wang Jixuan's account, Fu Jian stood there in silence for two minutes, seemingly digesting the information.

"Blissful Sky Curtain... the eternal illusion realm of the Spiritual Practitioners..."

Fu Jian Swore:

"Even slightly more advanced civilizations really know how to fucking cause trouble."

Wang Jixuan said, "Gao Huating's Past Life Body reminded me that if we want to solve the Pillar-Class Blade Beast at low cost, we may need to enter the Blissful Sky Curtain and investigate."

Fu Jian said, "The way to kill a Pillar-Class Blade Beast is still to Shatter it."

"That's true," Wang Jixuan said, spreading his hands, "but we cannot Shatter it at this stage, can we? If humanity uses all its resources to kill one Pillar-Class Blade Beast and another one wakes up, then what awaits us will be total destruction."

Fu Jian Sighed Lightly.

Back when humanity possessed the resources of an entire planet, the development of military technology had not been sufficient. Humanity's internal conflicts had also been commonplace, and the Blade Beast Tide had beaten humanity into total collapse.

Now they had the technology, and the internal strife remained, but they had very few resources left.

Fu Jian said slowly, "Recruit Death Warriors."

"Death Warriors?"

"Yes," Fu Jian explained. "Have their souls enter the Blissful Sky Curtain to investigate."

"Can't I go? I have a strange soul."

"Have you ever seen a scientist use himself as the experimental sample?"

"Shen Qionglin did, and she succeeded."

Fu Jian was left speechless.

Wang Jixuan continued, "Human Experimentation does not align with my Values. Pushing the risk onto others is also a Cowardly Act."

"This is a Required Course for a commander."

"But I am not a commander."

"You should learn to become a commander."

"That is merely your own expectation. I am only a cultivator. Once I help you solve the Blade Beast problem, I will leave on my own."

Wang Jixuan Closed His Eyes, his voice calm yet carrying an insistence that would not yield:

"Use a Two-pronged Approach.

"You continue with your plan and use firepower to suppress this Blade Beast for three days. I will think of a way to Start With its soul.

"If you discover any trace of Galinno nearby, notify me immediately. The Core Issue still lies with it."

"Agreed."

Fu Jian answered in a Deep Voice.

Wang Jixuan's Main Body was still here.

He was merely using his strange soul to cause trouble, so his basic safety could still be guaranteed.

About forty minutes passed.

On the Pillar-Class Blade Beast's back, that Gray Cloud had accumulated into a thick layer, while the gray energy pouring upward from beneath it had become extremely sparse.

Fu Jian silently watched everything as he continued using firepower to maintain the Pillar-Class Blade Beast's wounds.

A new batch of Mechs had entered the battlefield. Although the Blade Beast Tide was endless, under the Fire Support of the Nine Major War Zones, the battle lines remained stable.

There was naturally no need to say more about the casualties of this war. They were bound to be devastating.

However, the Pillar-Class Blade Beast and the Blade Beast Tide had temporarily been pinned here. Even if they could not hold them off later, they could still buy time, save several million civilians, and kill enough Blade Beasts.

Humanity truly had No Way Back.

Figures occasionally began appearing above the Gray Cloud. Those figures looked around curiously, seeing the battle in the distance and the colossal beast below.

Many of those figures wore military uniforms, but they had already left the stage and could do nothing.

They could only watch.

Blissful Sky Curtain.

Wang Jixuan looked down as his strange soul gradually stopped using the Ghost Gate Pass Technique.

A pitch-black Black Dragon over thirty meters long appeared beside Number Five's consciousness body. Wings grew from its ribs, and it already possessed Dragon Form. The Horns on its dragon head, Long Snout, and Dragon Whiskers had all fully grown, while three Golden Scales rested on its forehead.

A closer look revealed faint golden patterns within the Black Dragon's body.

Unfortunately, although his soul power had increased, his realm remained the same.

Daoist Wang did not spend much time studying the changes in his Dragon Python Strange Soul. He could deal with that after the battle. His strange soul's power had multiplied several times, his strength had risen, and he had temporarily resolved the Sea of Grievances here. That was enough.

The dragon python circled twice, its Black Energy Converged, and it transformed into Wang Jixuan's appearance, dressed in a black trench coat.

—Actually, he wanted to wear a Long Robe more, but that would have been too embarrassing, like a Young man wearing a Cosplay Costume and wandering around a modern plaza.

"Thought of anything?" Wang Jixuan asked.

"Let's go down and take a look," Number Five said. "Since We're Here, if we don't try, I'll probably despise myself. I also want to know what they did behind our backs."

"Since we're here, we might as well settle in."

Wang Jixuan looked at the figures below, who had stopped kowtowing and were fleeing everywhere, trembling in fear.

They were all souls.

Unlike the grievances outside, these figures were all fairly strong. They seemed a little like... spirit slaves?

That was it. Spirit slaves.

If the spirit slaves were here, could the Spiritual Practitioners be far away?

If the Pillar-Class Blade Beast truly contained the soul of a Spiritual Practitioner pursuing eternity, then the problem became simple: just grant him a mouthful of pure demonic qi.

Without the Sea of Grievances, Wang Jixuan's demonic methods would no longer cause much trouble.

Mm, if it can be solved with orthodox methods, then use orthodox methods.

For the sect's glory.

The Daoist's otherworldly soul maintained its human form as it plunged straight toward the illusory city below.