Chapter 304 - 303: Mask Embryo

Wandering through the mask repository, Jiang Qiu gazed at the colorless mask blanks suspended in mid-air, arranged in neat rows and columns. The sensation of touching Bell Fish’s mask still lingered in his mind.

He looked down at the five fingers of his right hand. The strange, soft texture was more relaxing than cotton, yet it also felt like a quagmire, threatening to pull him in.

It was hard to imagine that a mask could fuse with a face to such a degree that it distorted one’s very features.

’If I put on a mask, will it eventually fuse with me like that?’

As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Qiu took a shallow breath, his gaze hardening.

’I’ve come to this Great Realm without the top-tier strength needed to ignore its World Laws.

’That means I have to follow this world’s laws, blend in first, and then slowly gather the information I need.

’This isn’t the time to reveal my Cultivation. First, I need to thoroughly understand all the constraints of this world. Only after I’ve grasped the rules can I reveal my own intentions and act.

’After all, rejecting outsiders is a common tendency almost everywhere. If my status as an "outsider" at the Dao Entry Realm is discovered by a mighty expert at the Fusion Realm or even the Harmonization Realm, death will be the only outcome.’

Sigh...

Sighing softly, Jiang Qiu casually plucked a colorless mask engraved with a dragon-shaped pattern from the air and studied it for a while.

It contained a unique Law Power, but it wasn’t evil. On the contrary, it was full of Life Force and possessed no offensive capabilities. It was truly just a mask with unique properties.

According to Elder Bell Fish, this mask was just an embryo. It required continuous Cultivation over time to fuse with its wearer.

’In other words, the mask can be taken off in the early stages.

’Before your accelerated lifespan runs out, you can take it off whenever you want. It doesn’t matter.

’As for the accelerated loss of lifespan...’

Jiang Qiu had indeed felt something, but at the time, he had chalked it up to discomfort from the different flow of time after crossing into a new Great Realm and hadn’t paid it much mind. Now, he realized it was very dangerous.

"Elder Bell Fish, in this world, how long can someone in the Peeping Dao Realm live without a mask?"

Looking at Jiang Qiu, who was holding a mask blank in his hands, Bell Fish answered without hesitation, "Regardless of their Realm, they can only live for twenty years."

Jiang Qiu asked again, "And if they wear a mask?"

"If someone wears a mask from birth and cultivates to the Peeping Dao Realm without ever taking it off, they should be able to live for over a thousand years.

If they advance to the Dao Entry Realm, they can live for three thousand years. Those with special Cultivation Techniques can live even longer.

As for the Fusion Realm, the next level up, one can live for ten thousand years."

Hearing this, a bright glint flashed in Jiang Qiu’s eyes. ’They can live for that long?’

’The same Realm will certainly grant a different lifespan under different World Laws. Back on Blue Star, the Grandmasters were all ancient and withered.

’Even top-tier Grandmasters like Luo Beixing and Zhu Weiyi showed signs of aging. Their true lifespan probably wouldn’t even reach five hundred years.

’But here in the Yin Yang Great Realm, someone at the Peeping Dao Realm can live for a thousand years!

’Who wouldn’t want a long life? It’s a pursuit rooted in the basic instinct for survival, for life to perpetuate itself endlessly.’

"Do experts from other Great Realms also gain longevity when they come here?"

Bell Fish chuckled and tapped Jiang Qiu on the forehead. "Why are you thinking so far ahead when you’ve just been ’born’? It took me over three hundred years of Cultivation to reach the Peeping Dao Realm. As for experts from other Great Realms, a small number of them do come here via Cross-Domain Teleportation Arrays to live out their twilight years.

Of course, they are in the minority. Those who can cross between Great Realms all have extremely powerful backgrounds in their home worlds, so they probably don’t lack methods to extend their lives.

Furthermore, when Cultivators from an Exotic Realm arrive here through a Cross-Domain Teleportation Array, they still need to practice our local Cultivation Techniques to fuse the mask into a part of their body. Otherwise, not only will they not gain longevity, but they will also age rapidly or even perish outright.

And once the mask is fully fused, it becomes extremely difficult to remove, even if they return to their home world. Removing it would be equivalent to starting their Cultivation all over again.

If they don’t remove the mask, they can’t pass on their lineage, show their faces to others, and so on. For those from worlds where the concept of Yin Yang doesn’t exist, it would be a calamity that severs their entire bloodline."

Hearing this, Jiang Qiu gasped inwardly. He stared at the mask blank in his hand for a long time, still unable to make a decision.

’Even if I leave this place, the mask will be difficult to remove... Isn’t that just putting shackles on myself?’

"Is it really impossible to remove the mask easily?"

Jiang Qiu’s expression was grave. He glanced at Snow. Their mask hadn’t completely fused with their face yet; it seemed like it could be taken off with ease.

"There are only two ways to remove the mask easily. The first is to take it on and off as you please before it has fully fused with your body. However, each time you do, it will be perceived by the Celestial Secret, and your life will be shortened.

Almost no one does that. As I said before, it’s considered an act of war."

At these words, the light in Jiang Qiu’s eyes dimmed. But then, Bell Fish spoke again, her voice tinged with a distant yearning, "There is one other way. Ascend the Yin Yang Celestial Pride List and enter the Yang Realm. It is said that when a Cultivator completes their true form there, the mask will disintegrate on its own."

"The Yin Yang Celestial Pride List..."

Muttering the name to himself, the light in Jiang Qiu’s pupils gradually focused, and he stared intently at the mask blank in his hands.

’I crossed over from the Northern Boundary, and while I can still connect to that Teleportation Array, all I know are its coordinates. I have to find another Great Teleportation Array in this world to get back.

’And a Great Teleportation Array is certain to be controlled by a powerful faction. From what I’ve seen so far, the Hundred Ghosts Sect doesn’t have the power or the resources to control a Great Teleportation Array.

’The Yin Yang Summoned Life technique is miraculous, but it’s more of a summoning-attribute ability. It mainly utilizes the World Law; otherwise, with their level of understanding of Arrays, they couldn’t even manage a one-way teleportation.

’My situation now is that even if I want to return to the Northern Boundary or find the coordinates of a new Great Realm to cross into, I first need to contact a powerful faction in this world and borrow their Great Teleportation Array.

’And establishing contact with a powerful faction in this world isn’t something that can be done with mere words. I need to be qualified.

’What qualifications does a stowaway from an Exotic Realm who doesn’t even wear a mask have?’

’Besides, if all I wanted was to go back to the Northern Boundary, why did I even teleport here in the first place? Since I’ve come to this world, I must leave with useful information!

’Otherwise, even if I return to the Northern Boundary and enter the next Great Realm, what if it’s just as strange as this one?

’I might as well put on the mask and aim for the Yin Yang Celestial Pride List!’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu took a deep breath, his gaze filled with a resolve as sharp as a spear’s tip. His thoughts solidified. ’If I can’t even cultivate to the Harmonization Realm, how can I ever intercept Venerable Zuo Xuan and save Grandmaster Zhu, Liu Zili, Ice Lotus, and the others?

’Instead of wasting time and evading difficulties, I should face the risks head-on. I’ll cultivate here in the Yin Yang Great Realm until I’m powerful enough, and then I’ll fight my way directly to the Nine Venerable Great Realm!

’I’ve won all sorts of trials and battles to get this far. One day, I’ll make it onto the Yin Yang Celestial Pride List, too!’

As his final thought settled, the mask blank slowly lowered onto his face. The dragon-shaped pattern on it deepened, and a golden light burst forth as if from a cracking eggshell. The Dragon Scales at the edges began to merge with his skin.

BZZZT—

His Dragon Race bloodline was boiling.