Symphony of Myriad Phenomena

Inside the magistrate's mansion, the deathly silence was shattered by an eerie rustling sound.

Chen Jin looked up to see a creature of grotesque form suspended in mid-air.

She possessed eight spindly, pale limbs like those of an arthropod, hooked lightly onto nearly invisible threads of "Spider Cutter." She crawled across her web of death with the ease of a giant, human-shaped spider.

Her face resembled a poorly crafted mask; her features were rigid and lifeless, as if daubed on with cheap, hasty paint.

When she spoke, the voice was sharp and seemed to originate from nowhere, her lips remaining completely motionless:

"Little pawn, I spared your life—why haven't you scurried away yet? Just because you picked up some piece of Mohist junk, do you really think you're a wandering hero?"

Chen Jin couldn't be bothered to waste breath on her.

Whatever gibberish you're spouting, go tell it to my bullets!

With a snap of his arms, two cold-lined pistols leaped into his hands. A split second later, tongues of scorching fire erupted from the muzzles!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!"

The dense volley of gunfire tore through the mansion's silence, a torrential storm of anti-magic bullets pouring toward the bizarre figure in the air, all but engulfing her.

"Argh—!"

The strange woman let out a series of sharp, inhuman shrieks. Clouds of blood mist exploded from her body as she shuddered violently in the air, nearly plummeting from her threads.

Yet, chillingly, those seemingly horrific wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. As her flesh writhed, the bullets were squeezed out, and the gashes sealed shut as if they had never been.

Her lips remained still as her voice sounded once more, mocking him: "Your self-healing ability is strong... but mine isn't bad either!"

Chen Jin suddenly ceased fire.

He parted his arms, his muzzles aiming precisely at the Spider Woman in the air and the "old woman" still lying on the ground, gasping for her final breaths!

Chen Jin's tone was strange as he spoke: "Is this your attitude toward negotiation? It's truly quite rude."

The strange woman in the air paused, "What did you say?"

Chen Jin raised his pistols.

[Symphony of Myriad Phenomena]

Category: Weapon

Quality: Rare

Passive Attribute: Tuning (Capable of sensing the user's intent. By concentrating and "conceptualizing" the desired effect before pulling the trigger, the user automatically "tunes" the weapon, converting mental energy into corresponding special ammunition.)

This is merely a musical instrument, playing a tune for the enemy, interspersed with sudden, piercing sounds.

Note: Using this weapon directly consumes the wielder's mental energy. Overuse will lead to headaches, mental exhaustion, blurred consciousness, or even coma.

"This weapon of mine has decent power, but it has one significant drawback—every shot fired directly consumes my mental energy," Chen Jin's voice rang clearly through the silent courtyard. "I just fired fifty-six shots. By all logic, I should at least be feeling a splitting headache right now."

He paused, his gaze like a torch sweeping over the Spider Woman and the elder on the ground.

"But I don't feel the slightest bit of discomfort."

"This can only mean one thing—I never fired a single shot, nor did I consume any mental energy. Everything before me, including your injuries and recovery, including these corpses littering the floor... it's all fake."

"I am currently trapped in an illusion."

"And as for the one who dragged me into this illusion and called me a Mohist hero before I even pulled out my mechanical creations, I imagine there is no other candidate than the master of the Shark People."

As his words fell, silence reigned.

The "old woman" on the ground, who had been gasping and struggling in agony, suddenly ceased her moaning.

Following that, under Chen Jin's watchful gaze, an astonishing transformation took place:

Her gray hair turned raven-black at a speed visible to the naked eye, her hunched frame slowly straightened, her aged skin became smooth and taut, and every wrinkle vanished...

In the blink of an eye, the ragged old crone had transformed into a young woman dressed in a vibrant red gown, her eyes alluring and her temperament exquisite.

She stood up, brushed the non-existent dust from her red dress, and offered Chen Jin a charming smile. Her voice was no longer aged, but carried a bone-deep, seductive resonance:

"Brave, decisive, powerful, and even more meticulous... This Concubine is starting to believe you truly are a Mohist wandering hero."

The woman in red smiled, her slender fingers brushing through the air as if plucking invisible harp strings.

In an instant, the bloody, grim scene of the mansion peeled away like shattered glass and dissipated.

In its place was a deep, azure, shimmering fantasy world—the illusion had shifted into a magnificent, peerless deep-sea palace, far more befitting of a host.

Giant, multicolored corals of various shapes formed the main skeleton of the palace; their interlocking branches naturally created grand arches and corridors, with warm, rosy light flowing across their surfaces.

The walls of the palace were inlaid with countless massive, spherical night-luminescent pearls, illuminating the entire space like daylight, yet the light remained soft and gentle to the eyes.

Translucent jellyfish drifted slowly beneath the palace dome like living lanterns, trailing long tentacles that emitted faint blue or soft pink halos.

The floor was paved with mirror-smooth giant clam shells, scattered with colorful gemstones and grains of gold.

Soft seaweed swayed slowly like the finest silk curtains in the wake of invisible currents.

In the distance, one could even hear the ethereal, haunting songs of the Shark People, adding a sense of mystery and tranquility.

The woman in red elegantly led Chen Jin to sit at a table carved from a single piece of warm jade.

With a light lift of her fair hand, a set of tea ware, translucent and crystalline as if made of jade, appeared out of thin air.

She personally took up the teapot and poured a cup for Chen Jin.

The tea liquid displayed a strange, deep blue hue that seemed to contain a starry sky. The rising mist transformed into miniature oceanic wonders in the air—whales leaping and schools of fish swimming—a truly profound and extraordinary sight.

"This Concubine is Cen Qing, Princess of the Shark Person Kingdom. Please forgive my earlier offense; I offer this tea as an apology, Young Master." Her voice was soft and alluring, her gaze flickering with charm.

Chen Jin looked at the shimmering, iridescent cup of tea before him, but he did not reach for it immediately.

A playful smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as his gaze swept over the shifting tea mist. He teased, "Princess, your illusionary arts are truly vast and mighty, but I wonder what this tea in the illusion tastes like when consumed? Could it be that in reality, it is nothing more than a broth brewed from maggots and toads?"

Upon hearing this, the Shark Person Princess was not the least bit offended. Instead, she covered her lips and chuckled, turning the tables on him: "The illusory is real, and the real is illusory. As someone who has weathered great storms, could it be that you are afraid of a mere cup of tea? So, Young Master, will you drink it, or will you not?"

Deep, black ripples suddenly surged within Chen Jin's eyes.

Glance of the Startled Swan, activate!

[Mirage Illusion Tea]

[Category]: Consumable

[Quality]: Legendary

[Origin]: The essence of ten-thousand-year-old deep-sea mirage vapor, supplemented with Moonlight Water Soul, Millennial Coral Heart, Shark Person Tear, and dozens of other rare undersea spiritual materials, refined through the secret arts of the Shark Person royalty. It exists only in the Realm of Ultimate Illusionary Dreams and is rarely found in reality.

[Effect]: Consuming it cleanses the spiritual altar and significantly increases the awakening level of any inheritance (effects vary by individual).

The strange phenomenon in Chen Jin's eyes vanished in an instant, and the playful look on his face completely disappeared.

Anything capable of increasing inheritance awakening was a treasure that could not be sought after, regardless of the cost!

He no longer hesitated, lifted the cup of [Mirage Illusion Tea], felt the starry ocean within it, and drained it in one gulp.