Chapter 184: Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele

Putting this together with their team’s earlier analysis, they realized that both the Stone Thorn Flowers and this massive sinkhole were “roadblocks” set up by Meteor University.

After all, an ordinary person would only need half of the allotted fifteen days for a three-hundred-li round trip. If the journey was completely smooth with no setbacks, the time limit would be pointless. Even the “military training” itself would lose all meaning.

They might as well be on a leisurely picnic.

A university that could start its semester early and be built directly inside a mystic realm would never have its new students come just for a picnic.

Since Li Heng knew the university was doing this intentionally, he was no longer worried. He had gotten his Soul Energy points, and he would deal with whatever came next as it happened.

As for filling the pit, that was simple. With a flap of its wings, the Ice Simurgh Bird first packed it with the Stone Thorn Flower carcasses, then froze it solid with a flurry of snow. The problem was solved with barely any effort.

After they crossed the sinkhole, the terrain and climate changed once more. The hills gave way to plains, and the light drizzle that had been falling from the sky disappeared.

However, the sky didn’t clear up after the rain stopped. Instead, a thick fog rolled in.

As soon as the fog appeared, Li Heng thought of the Ice Simurgh Bird. It flapped its wings, using the wind to blow the dense fog away.

Once the fog had cleared, the four of them began to walk forward slowly. But they had only gotten so far when the fog that had just dissipated began to roll back in.

None of them wanted to travel through the thick fog, so they had the Ice Simurgh Bird try again. However, after the Ice Simurgh Bird spread its wings this time and the fog cleared, a village appeared before their eyes!

When Jiang Hongtao asked about the village, Li Heng’s mind immediately jumped to the map Hongyu and Mo Ya had acquired, which mentioned a place called “Xiaoshi Village.”

But he couldn’t just come out and say what he knew about Xiaoshi Village, so he gave a vague answer.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with this village, but we should probably go take a look. See the smoke? Maybe the university is just up to some new trick.”

Li Heng’s tone was casual. Just as he’d said, the smoke suggested people, so it was probably fine. This was a good chance to see what sort of stunt Meteor University had prepared for them in the village.

But just as he was about to step forward, he felt a sudden tug on his right sleeve and turned his head.

The flat-chested loli was holding a scimitar in her right hand and tugging his sleeve with her left, her expression grave.

“Li Heng! Bao Yaoyao and Jiang Hongtao are gone.”

!!!

Li Heng had been wondering why the flat-chested loli had suddenly grabbed him, but after hearing Bai Shasha speak, the shocking realization hit him.

Their other two teammates had vanished!

‘Are they pulling a “The Mist” on me or something?’

‘They were talking just a few seconds ago! My mind wandered for a second, I gave an answer, and when I looked back, they were gone?!’

Li Heng had suspected Meteor University was pulling another stunt, but for people to vanish without a trace was something else entirely.

“We need to be careful!”

Li Heng drew his Empty Cicada Longsword in a flash. He told the flat-chested loli to be on her guard as his left hand went to his throwing knives.

They were on relatively flat ground, with a village sending up plumes of cooking smoke in the distance. It should have been the most “civilized” scene they had encountered in days.

But now, with the bizarre disappearance of their two teammates, the atmosphere had become incredibly eerie.

“Li Heng, should we go check it out?”

After alerting Li Heng, Bai Shasha immediately let go of his sleeve. She gripped her scimitar with both hands and scanned their surroundings, though her focus remained mostly on the village ahead.

Li Heng also stared at the village and its curling plumes of smoke, not answering for a long moment.

After all, Bao Yaoyao and Jiang Hongtao had vanished in an instant. There was no smell of blood, nor had there been any cries for help.

Li Heng guessed the two of them hadn’t suffered any physical harm, but their sudden disappearance was still deeply unsettling.

Unsure whether this was another “obstacle” set by Meteor University or a genuine danger, Li Heng could only decide to proceed cautiously and investigate.

In any case, his left hand was already on his two throwing knives, ready to use Flying Thunder God at a moment’s notice. And just in case, as an absolute last resort, he had one final “line of defense.”

He could enter either the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain or the Ancient Dust Continent dungeon to escape a crisis he was otherwise unable to solve!

Of course, he wouldn’t risk entering a dungeon while out in the open unless it was an absolute last resort.

Safety first!

“Alright, let’s go see. Keep yourself safe. If we run into trouble, just run. Don’t worry about me!”

Neither of them knew what was going on, but just as the flat-chested loli had suggested, their only option was to cautiously explore the village ahead.

With weapons in hand and nerves stretched taut, the two of them advanced cautiously toward the village.

The scene was strikingly similar to when they first explored the Wild Wolf Valley mystic realm together, watching each other’s backs and staying within sight at all times.

‘This is…’

Name: Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele (Fragment)

Category: Soul Energy Item

Value: Epic

Effects:

1. Generates a smoke-and-rain illusion.

2. Within the smoke-and-rain illusion, the line between falsehood and reality blurs. Effects vary based on an individual’s cultivation realm. Soul Venerables are unaffected.

3. A boundary stele forged from smoke-and-rain and Illusory Mountain Stone. It automatically restores itself after the illusion is dispelled.

4. The illusion can be actively dispelled by one who has mastered one of the following three arts: the Demonic Sound Heart Sutra, the Cold Mountain Heart Sutra, or the Buddha Lotus Heart Sutra.

5. The complete Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele is said to have originally belonged to the Cold Mountain Palace. For unknown reasons, it later passed to Mountain Lord Zhou Hua of Demon Sect Mountain, one of the Thirty-Six Mountain Lords. It was eventually erected in Xiaoshi Village, again for unknown reasons.

Li Heng and Bai Shasha had only taken a few steps when Li Heng spotted a stone stele sticking out of the ground not far away. There were characters carved on it, but part of the stele was buried, obscuring some of the text.

However, on the exposed section, Li Heng could make out the single word “Qingyu.”

Although he wasn’t sure what the name “Qingyu” meant, the names that followed in the description—Demon Sect Mountain, Cold Mountain Palace, the Demonic Sound Heart Sutra, Zhou Hua—were all somewhat familiar to him.

Seeing these familiar names, Li Heng froze. His mind flashed with memories of everything that had happened during the four days he’d spent in the Ancient Dust Continent dungeon.

The more Li Heng thought about it, the more he felt the connection between the Ancient Dust Continent dungeon and this current mystic realm was incredibly complex.

There were many details he hadn’t delved into, because the deeper he thought, the more he felt that something was wrong. The connections were just too strong and too convoluted!

“Li Heng! Li Heng! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

While Li Heng was staring at the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele, lost in thought, Bai Shasha saw him suddenly freeze. She grew anxious and gently nudged the back of his hand with the hilt of her scimitar, her face etched with worry.

“I’m fine! Let’s go check out the village first!”

It was too difficult for Li Heng to explain everything to Bai Shasha, so he brushed it off without going into detail.

Bai Shasha had been worried about Li Heng’s condition, and only after seeing him snap out of it and respond to her did the flat-chested loli’s expression finally relax.

She didn’t know what had just happened, but since Li Heng didn’t elaborate, Bai Shasha didn’t press him. She just glanced around and, in doing so, also noticed the boundary stele.

“Li Heng! Look, there’s a stone stele over there!”

Bai Shasha informed Li Heng the moment she discovered the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele. Li Heng nodded, pretending he had only just noticed it, and walked over with the flat-chested loli.

Li Heng already knew what it was, so he wasn’t particularly curious about the stele itself. However, his thoughts raced as he considered its implications. ‘Looks like I’ll have to find a chance… to visit the Ancient Dust Continent again!’