Chapter 698 381: 6th Floor

It had been a long time since he had seen Pan Yu, and scenes of their first meeting suddenly flashed through Yang An's mind.

He had just arrived in this world and was trapped in Jiunan Town, where cultivators from White Buddha Temple were secretly transforming into Demon Fiends and causing chaos. It was then that he met the martial siblings Pan Yu and Pan Shi. Together, they traveled out of Jiunan Town, heading to Golden Egg Jade Island on the Xiyue River for a grand feast.

After becoming a disciple of the Life Crane Sect, he parted ways with them. The last time he saw her was at her sect on Sansong Mountain. Pan Yu's breakthrough had failed, and she was trapped by the resulting backlash. Yang An, who had arrived at Sansong Mountain by chance while on a mission with Wen Yin, managed to rescue her from an Illusion Realm.

After that, he never saw Pan Yu or her senior brother again.

However, Yang An had previously received news from the Workshop Master that the Outer Continent was being consumed by a cataclysm, and that a strange transformation was taking place on Sansong Mountain.

Back when the cataclysm had not yet completely consumed the Outer Continent, Yang An had left Great Virtue Temple. After breaking the Rule Seal that Elder Zhuan Yu had placed on him, he had traveled to the Outer Continent, but unfortunately, he had been unable to enter Sansong Mountain.

At the time, however, he had used the Eye of the World to glimpse a secret. The strange transformation on Sansong Mountain seemed to be independent of the cataclysm, creating a connection between this crumbling world and another one.

The Eye of the World was an item he had obtained on Ding Chong Daoist's Wuwei Peak. He later learned its name by using his own appraisal abilities on it within the Deep World of the Xian Origin Land. It was an incredibly mysterious object.

This item seemed to allow him to see into farther, more hidden depths, which had led Yang An to wonder if the illusionary world Pan Yu entered due to her Cultivation Technique was, in fact, real.

But setting that aside, a new problem now confronted Yang An.

One of the Command Tokens needed to enter the Central Continent was formed by fusing the Left Ear and the Right Ear. Why did it look exactly like Pan Yu?

Searching his memories, he was certain it was not just a similarity—it was a perfect match, as if it had been perfectly replicated from Pan Yu's face.

'What is the connection between the Central Continent, Pan Yu, and Sansong Mountain?'

Yang An was lost in thought.

"You've seen her?"

He Tou suddenly craned his neck to get right in front of Yang An, asking with a sly look on his face.

"No, I haven't."

Yang An replied instinctively, without thinking. 'If I admit I've seen her and expose our connection,' he thought, 'this old monster will probably force me to do something awful.'

But He Tou just let out a dry laugh.

"Oh, my disciple. You can treat that old man as a fool, but you can't treat me like one.

If I recall correctly, when you and I first met, that woman was on the island belonging to that wench, Mother Divination."

He Tou had seen right through him. He even took a jab at Life Crane as his gaze bored into Yang An.

"Oh! I remember now," Yang An said, his expression one of sudden realization. "I did meet her once on Mother Divination's island. Thank you for the reminder, Master."

'This old monster knows even that? I can't hide this. This is bad!'

The Command Token in his hand now felt like a hot potato. 'And what was that old man thinking,' he wondered, 'giving me the Golden Thread Pavilion's Command Token too?'

"She is in the Outer Continent, within the cataclysm!"

Life Crane suddenly cut in, completely ignoring He Tou's taunt.

"I need you to make a trip for me and deliver a message."

"What message?"

"Give her the Command Token. My message is within it."

"…"

Old Life Crane was being mysterious, but Yang An looked troubled.

'The cataclysm could devour worlds, a terrifying prospect for most, but for me, it might not be so difficult.'

'I once walked out of the cataclysm unscathed while in the Deep World of the Xian Origin Land.'

'The light I command seems to be the bane of the cataclysm, preventing it from touching my body.'

'Perhaps this is why Life Crane wants me to be the one to find Pan Yu.'

'But the difficulty lies in the fact that the Outer Continent has already been consumed by the cataclysm. Even if Pan Yu is still in there, how could I possibly pinpoint her exact location?'

'The difficulty of this task is comparable to finding a space that may or may not exist within an endless void. It's like Schrödinger's cat, and it's fraught with danger.'

"Enter the Land of Shattered Armor and travel to its deepest point. At the very end, you will find her."

Life Crane spoke as if he had read Yang An's mind.

'That completely shuts down any excuse I could come up with,' Yang An thought. 'He's even figured out for me how to find her.'

Yang An sighed inwardly. It seemed he had no choice but to go. He was puzzled, though. 'Life Crane is an Immortal Platform. Surely the cataclysm can't stop him.'

'It's just like the Workshop Master, who can still travel to the Outer Continent even though it has been swallowed by the cataclysm.'

'There's no reason that old man can't do what the Workshop Master can.'

"My Cultivation Level is low," Yang An said, feigning consideration for his master. "I'm afraid this plan isn't foolproof, and I worry I might fail. Master, your Mana is profound. Why not make the trip yourself?"

He was not confident he could actually complete this task.

At this, He Tou let out a sneer.

"That's fine," he said. "But if I'm not here when the people from the Dao of Celestial Being and Qiangui Mountain come knocking, you'll have to be the one to stop them."

"…"

Yang An knew he was truly out of excuses.

"You have the Command Token and my Earth Spirit Stele," Life Crane added, surprisingly revealing the truth. "Only you can find her."