Chapter 229: The Siming's Second Body

In the darkness of the unknown, it was as though a terrifying force powerful enough to crush everything was frantically squeezing inward from outside.

The pressure was so immense that the entire Fangcun space began to emit a series of bone-chilling creaks.

The disturbance was as though some indescribably terrifying existence had silently descended beyond the Fangcun space.

“What is this?!”

Li Shun abruptly rose to his feet. He looked around at the trembling void, his expression turning grave to the extreme.

An unprecedented sense of dread surged over him like a tidal wave, as though a great calamity was about to descend upon him in the very next instant, leaving him to perish and have his Dao destroyed.

That invisible and terrifying pressure spread throughout everything within the Fangcun space.

In the corner, the Lengshan Grass that had previously been brimming with vitality now drooped as though struck by frost, trembling incessantly.

Fine, web-like cracks once again spread across the two Sage stone statues, as though they were enduring some terrifying pressure that had already exceeded their limits.

Li Shun faintly sensed something else as well.

The crisis currently facing the Fangcun space was actually even more deadly than when he had directly confronted that Outer God, [Formless Suspended Skull].

The horrifying disturbance continued for the length of a tea break before finally retreating like a receding tide and gradually subsiding.

Although the danger of collapse and destruction had temporarily been averted, the radiance surrounding the Fangcun space had clearly dimmed compared to before.

It was as though a layer of deathly gloom had settled over it. No matter how the light circulated or transformed, it could no longer wash away that darkness and restore its original appearance.

Li Shun's expression became somewhat ugly.

He could not help looking toward the Ancient Net.

As if deliberately being helpful, the Ancient Net immediately revealed the cause and consequence behind this great terror in its emotionless voice.

“This Fangcun space is fundamentally a manifestation of your spiritual will and laws.”

“Just now, you investigated and learned the truth concerning Chaos. Once your understanding touched that forbidden level, your spiritual origin inevitably attracted Chaos's counterpressure and gaze. With your current meager strength, naturally, you are incapable of enduring it.”

“You are not suited to continue peering into deeper secrets. Otherwise…”

The meaning behind the Ancient Net's words was obvious.

“Why didn't you tell me sooner? Is there any way to resolve it?”

Li Shun's expression darkened slightly. His gaze passed through the void and fixed firmly upon the lingering shadows of darkness still drifting around the edges of Fangcun.

“First, I am now your puppet. When you ask a question, I cannot refuse to answer.”

“Second, even though I possess knowledge of events throughout the ages, I still failed to anticipate that your spirit would actually be this fragile. You are already unable to withstand a truth of this degree.”

The Ancient Net's tone seemed to carry a hint of helplessness.

Yet no matter how Li Shun listened to it, he felt that every word was dripping with veiled sarcasm.

However, after being tempered by countless years within the ruins of the Heavenly Court, Li Shun's ability to control his emotions had long since reached perfection.

He did not become angry in the slightest.

“The method of resolving it is also quite simple. The stronger your own level of existence, the more of Chaos's gaze you will naturally be able to withstand.”

“Right now, you possess merely the cultivation of upper-tier Spirit Resonance. Once you advance to the Grotto Mystic realm one day, the threat currently facing this Fangcun space will naturally be resolved.”

“Of course, if you wish to learn more secrets concerning Chaos and the Outer Gods, then you have no choice but to become stronger by whatever means necessary.”

After hearing the Ancient Net's assessment, the taut string in Li Shun's heart finally relaxed slightly.

Li Shun pondered for a moment before establishing a rule.

“From now on, before answering my questions, you must first deduce and assess my current mental state. Determine whether I am capable of bearing the backlash caused by learning the information.”

“If the truth would bring about an irreversible and catastrophic calamity, I permit you to refuse to answer.”

“Of course…”

“If one day I disregard everything and forcibly order you to reveal the truth, you are still forbidden from concealing even the slightest part of it.”

Li Shun spoke slowly, every word deliberate.

“As you wish.”

The Ancient Net's response was crisp and decisive.

“The Embryonic Membrane of Heaven and Earth…”

After this life-and-death ordeal, Li Shun had finally and completely sorted out the relationship between Great Qian and the world of martial cultivation.

“Brother Li, your complexion…”

“Are you perhaps somewhat unsettled?”

At that moment, a warm and gentle voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, abruptly pulling Li Shun's wandering thoughts back to reality.

Li Shun followed the voice with his gaze.

The successor of the Jun Clan had somehow appeared silently in front of him. He was looking at Li Shun with concern in his eyes.

“Hmm?”

The alarm bells in Li Shun's heart rang loudly, and he immediately raised his guard to the highest level.

He and Sun Lang had never known each other before, nor had they ever interacted in any way. For him to suddenly approach and strike up such a familiar conversation was exceedingly suspicious.

“Thank you for your concern, Brother Sun. I merely became lost in thought for a moment and suddenly remembered some old matters.”

Li Shun's expression remained as calm as an ancient well as he replied indifferently.

Sun Lang gave Li Shun a meaningful glance but did not expose anything.

Instead, he changed the subject and sighed softly, his words carrying a hidden implication.

“After all, everything that happened deep within that illusion was indeed far too brutal and difficult for ordinary cultivators to accept. I heard that among the three outstanding disciples the Confucian School sent into the formation this time, you alone emerged unscathed and survived safely.”

“Brother Li's will is truly unbreakable. It is genuinely admirable.”

“If we have the opportunity in the future, perhaps you and I should interact more and keep in touch.”

As he spoke, Sun Lang actually took a strange token from within his sleeve.

It was shaped somewhat like a miniature millstone.

He extended it toward Li Shun.

To an outsider, this merely looked like an entirely ordinary attempt by the Jun Clan's successor to establish a connection with the successor of the Confucian School.

But Li Shun thought much deeper than that.

One had to understand that Sun Lang had previously been extremely cold and wary, showing absolutely no intention of befriending anyone.

Yet immediately after Li Shun's soul, within Fangcun, had touched the truth of Chaos and attracted that indescribable and terrifying gaze from the depths of the unknown, Sun Lang's attitude had undergone a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal.

And then there were those words of his, which clearly carried another meaning…

“Could it be that he noticed something?”

A chill ran through Li Shun's heart.

On the surface, however, he could only pretend to be ignorant while understanding perfectly well what was going on. Without revealing anything, he quietly slipped the token into his sleeve.

He said nothing more about the matter.

The group did not remain trapped in the estate beneath Mount Dai for long.

On the third day after the illusion ended, the Great Siming arrived from the Sacred Capital and once again conducted an investigation of all the disciples of the Hundred Schools who had participated in the event.

The Great Siming had always been an elusive figure, appearing and disappearing without a trace. For her to personally make the journey this time was enough to demonstrate just how serious the situation was.

Under the gazes of awe and anticipation from the gathered disciples of the Hundred Schools, the Great Siming slowly entered the main hall.

“Hmm?”

Li Shun lowered his eyes and casually glanced at the newcomer from the corner of his eye.

His pupils involuntarily contracted slightly.

His entire body froze on the spot.

The first time he had encountered the Great Siming in Lihuo County, Jiuyi Commandery, she had clearly appeared as a petite, delicate child, resembling a porcelain doll.

But the figure now walking step by step into his field of vision, carrying an oppressive might that made it difficult to breathe…

Was an extraordinarily beautiful woman with a tall, slender figure and an imposing presence as steady as an abyss and towering mountain.

She wore an elaborate and profound black imperial robe of luxurious design. Her ink-black hair was swept into a lofty flying immortal coiffure, elegant and untouchable.

Her fair, jade-like face possessed a mature beauty and cold elegance that even the passage of time could never erase.

Her deep-black phoenix eyes swept across the hall, radiating an icy severity and majesty that kept everyone at a distance of a thousand miles.

This mature grace, reminiscent of an icy mountain goddess, was worlds apart from the petite figure she had possessed in the past.

It was as though they were two completely different people.

“What is going on?”

Li Shun's heart trembled.