Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms

Although Jiang Xuan had considered relying on the Qi Refiner class change to solve the difficulty of locating acupoints,

the Qi Refiner's class level was ultimately still 3/4, not the complete 4/4. That made Jiang Xuan set the matter aside for now.

As Jiang Xuan pondered, they arrived at the sect's martial arena.

As a major northern sect, the Divine Firmament Sect naturally had more than one martial arena.

The one Jiang Xuan had come to was not far from Four Seasons Valley.

Yet upon arriving, Jiang Xuan abruptly halted.

He stared in astonishment as he realized this place was nothing like he had imagined—an enormous open space divided into hundreds of platforms,

with thousands of disciples crossing swords in combat.

What entered Jiang Xuan's sight was a lake.

A lake as smooth as a mirror lay before him, its waters suffused with dreamy, rainbow-hued mist.

Along the lakeshore stood hundreds upon hundreds of pavilions in scattered rows. Within every pavilion stood an ancient mirror, and countless cultivators sat cross-legged before them with their eyes closed.

"What is this?"

Just as Jiang Xuan was filled with confusion, a gentle voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. "Junior Brother, please come over here to register."

Following the voice, he saw a young woman dressed in a simple skirt.

Seeing his bewildered expression, the young woman smiled softly. Then, while handling Jiang Xuan's registration, she patiently explained, "Young master is a newcomer who joined this term, correct? You haven't come to the wrong place. This is indeed the Divine Firmament Sect's martial arena."

As the young woman registered him and explained, Jiang Xuan gradually learned why the sect's martial arena had taken this form.

"Martial arenas where one simply found an open space and divided it into hundreds of territories did exist a thousand years ago."

"But such arenas had far too many drawbacks. Blades and swords have no eyes. Without anyone watching over them, the slightest carelessness could leave those fighting gravely wounded, or even dead."

"The Divine Firmament Sect is a righteous and renowned sect, not one of those wicked devils from the demonic sects who disregard life and death. Besides, this is a martial arena, not a life-and-death platform. The sect naturally cannot permit so many pointless deaths."

"Yet abolishing martial arenas outright would not do either. Practical combat experience is indispensable to the sect's disciples."

"For this reason, the sect tried all sorts of methods. They stationed senior cultivators to serve as judges, and they tried refining talismans that would activate when disciples suffered fatal wounds, but the expense was simply too staggering."

"In the end, the sect master of Divine Firmament Hall from a thousand years ago took the lead. Numerous spell lineages worked together with all their strength to create a super illusion formation, the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms. It is said that, in order to fully complete this formation, the sect even cooperated with the Sea-Heaven Merchant Alliance... That lake is one of the Mirage Mirror's subsidiary mirrors, as well as the core of this martial arena. The mirrors in the lakeside pavilions are nodes connected to the illusion formation."

"As long as you sit inside a pavilion and gaze directly into the mirror, your mind will sink into the Mirage Mirror. There are countless illusory worlds within it. You can fight and kill others without restraint; even if you 'die in battle,' you will merely lose a little mental energy."

After hearing Mo Yu's explanation, Jiang Xuan immediately understood why Granny Blue had said that being in the martial arena would temper his killing intent—within an illusion, those who opposed him would not truly die, allowing Jiang Xuan to let loose and slaughter as he pleased.

"The foundations of a great sect truly are extraordinary."

As he sighed inwardly, Jiang Xuan also casually swept his gaze over the young woman.

From the way she addressed him as young master, as well as her unconscious praise for the Sea-Heaven Merchant Alliance just now, Jiang Xuan formed a few guesses. This maid named Mo Yu was very likely not a disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect, but someone from the Sea-Heaven Merchant Alliance.

He merely glanced at her and did not grow overly vigilant.

Unlike the Immortal Dynasty, the great sects, and the holy clans, the Sea-Heaven Merchant Alliance was a commercial alliance spanning multiple provinces. Since it primarily conducted trade across provincial borders and did not involve itself in struggles for supremacy, it had always maintained cooperative relationships with the major sects.

It was perfectly normal for them to have participated in the creation of the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms. Whether they had people in the Divine Firmament Sect had nothing to do with him.

"Those are matters for the sect's higher-ups to consider. What I need to do now is raise my strength as much as possible."

With that thought, Jiang Xuan decided not to dwell on it any longer.

Yet several breaths later, he could not help but think of one more thing. "Surely the sect didn't only provide the design, while making the Sea-Heaven Merchant Alliance pay for all the materials and labor?"

It was no wonder Jiang Xuan thought so. After his registration was complete, the maid Mo Yu suddenly said that the formation's construction, activation, and maintenance all required resources. Moreover, the sect had to station people here to maintain order and handle registration.

For that reason, entering the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms to fight others required payment in Spirit Stones.

"..."

The reasoning was too sound to refute. Jiang Xuan could only take out Spirit Stones and purchase three chances to use it.

That was all he could afford. Most of the Spirit Stones he had earned had been used to buy Dao scriptures, leaving him with little to spare.

The only thing that relieved him was that geniuses enjoyed privileges wherever they went. Here, there were two ways to use the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms. One was to pay by time—one incense stick's worth of time cost three Spirit Stones.

The other method was to pay according to the number of deaths.

If he chose the latter, he could use it indefinitely as long as he did not die in battle.

Upon hearing this rule, Jiang Xuan's eyes immediately lit up.

"I'll choose this one."

Seeing Jiang Xuan choose the latter payment method without the slightest hesitation, Mo Yu hesitated for a moment before she could not help but offer him a word of advice.

"Junior Brother, I still recommend choosing the first option. Although the Mirage Mirror matches opponents according to cultivation level, and newcomers like you will only fight disciples from the same intake, your current condition... truly isn't very good."

Jiang Xuan's condition was far worse than merely not good. His face was pale, his frame thin, and he occasionally coughed.

With his sickly appearance, it seemed as though a gust of wind could blow Jiang Xuan over.

—He had rushed to the martial arena before the chill within his body had even faded.

But Jiang Xuan knew his own condition well. Since he had dared to come in this state, he naturally had something to rely on.

Thus, upon hearing Mo Yu's advice, Jiang Xuan merely said calmly, "Thank you for the reminder, but my current condition is not a weakening to me. It is an enhancement."

Those words were not empty boasting.

The Winter chill within his body did indeed stiffen his limbs and slow his movements somewhat, but that boundless cold could also be wielded by Jiang Xuan, increasing the power of his Winter-aligned spells.

In gaming terms, his current state was:

[You are being eroded by Winter chill]

[Reaction speed -42%, maximum vitality -33%, strength -50%, movement speed -42%]

[Winter-aligned spell power +300%]

"..." Jiang Xuan's insistence made Mo Yu open her mouth, but in the end, she did not try to persuade him further.

They had only just met, after all. Having fulfilled her duty to warn him was enough.

After leading Jiang Xuan to an empty pavilion and telling him how to activate the formation, she turned and left.

Once she had left, Jiang Xuan immediately activated the formation and sat before the subsidiary mirror.

At that moment, his heart was filled with excitement and anticipation. Let me see just how far I can go in the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms with my current strength!