Chapter 421: The Vast World

Just as Han Li was surveying the scene, Xiong Shan had already reached the entrance. He paused only for a brief glance before darting through the doorway and charging into the hall.

Han Li looked back at the stone staircase behind him and saw Xue Han and the others still making their way up, though they were not far from the summit.

He hesitated no longer and, together with Lu Yuqing and the others, rushed into the gate tower.

Once inside the gate, Han Li saw from afar three massive palace buildings, all with glazed tile roofs and vermilion lacquered walls, their ridges and eaves lined with statues of celestial beasts gazing skyward.

The three palaces were arranged in a triangular formation, their main gates all facing the gate tower. Their foundations rose several feet above the ground, as if built atop a high platform.

Between the gate tower and the palaces lay a broad white stone plaza, bare except for the square bricks paving the ground, with no other furnishings.

After sweeping his gaze across the entire plaza and the palaces, a hint of surprise flickered deep in Han Li's eyes, and his brow furrowed involuntarily. The scene before him seemed somewhat familiar.

"This layout, this feeling... where have I seen it before?" he mused silently.

Before he could figure it out, Xiong Shan, who was in the lead, leaped into the air and flew toward the direction of the palaces.

But the next moment, a startling scene unfolded!

The instant Xiong Shan soared into the void above the palaces, the surrounding space suddenly twisted, rippling with faint undulations.

Then, with a "poof," his body turned into a puff of green smoke and vanished.

Han Li's brow furrowed. Blue light surged in his eyes as he gazed toward the plaza.

Under the scrutiny of his Bright Spirit Eyes, the originally empty white stone plaza was now shrouded in a layer of white mist, within which faint, subtle flows of spiritual power could be detected. Seemingly chaotic, they were in fact highly structured, clearly indicating an extremely ingenious illusion array.

After withdrawing his gaze, Han Li couldn't help but turn back to look outside the gate tower.

After a moment of deliberation, his eyes suddenly lit up, and a long-lost name sprang to his mind:

"Guanghan Palace..."

The staircase imbued with restrictions, the illusion array on the plaza, the triangular arrangement of the palaces... This area within the Minghan Immortal Mansion bore a striking resemblance—seven or eight parts similar—to the scene he had encountered in the Guanghan Palace back then.

Could there be some connection between this secret realm in the Spirit Realm and one in the True Immortal Realm? Han Li couldn't help but make bold conjectures.

Just then, a heavy footstep sounded from the gate tower. Han Li and the other two turned to see Xue Han, who had caught up alone.

"Not good, let's go!"

Leng Yan Patriarch gritted his teeth and muttered a low command, then flew first toward the plaza. Han Li and Lu Yuqing quickly followed.

The three figures vanished into the void almost simultaneously.

Xue Han, who had pursued closely but was still a step too late, snorted coldly. However, he did not recklessly charge into the illusion array but stopped at the edge of the plaza, focusing his mind to probe it.

When Han Li entered the array, he had not retracted his Bright Spirit Eyes. He clearly saw himself fall from a height into the mist of the illusion array. In an instant, the world spun, and the surroundings shifted, as if he had entered another realm.

"Baozi, hot baozi..."

"Fine rouge and powder—apply it and you'll smell sweeter than flowers, taste sweeter than honey..."

...

The cries of street vendors, typical of a bustling market, arose all around.

Han Li was momentarily stunned. He glanced around and found himself standing on a crowded street, with people coming and going everywhere, the noise clamorous and extraordinarily lively.

Not far from him stood a tall, wide city gate. Near the base of the gate, a beautiful woman stood with a look of surprise, glancing left and right.

It was Lu Yuqing.

Just then, Cold Flame Ancestor, whose face was still somewhat pale, walked out from the city gate tunnel, stopped beside Lu Yuqing, turned around, and waved toward Han Li's direction.

Han Li was about to step forward when he heard a shout from behind: "Steamed cakes... make way, freshly baked steamed cakes..."

He instinctively stepped aside, only to see a short, stocky man, less than five feet tall, wobbling a carrying pole with two steaming bamboo baskets, hurrying past him.

After stepping aside, he realized the man wasn't speaking to him but was making way for a wealthy young man behind him, who wore a pink silk robe and had a crabapple flower pinned in his hair.

Soon Han Li discovered that to these people in the illusion, the three of them seemed nonexistent, as they could pass directly through their bodies.

However, what surprised him most was that the man's demeanor was no different from an ordinary person's, the smell of the steamed cakes in the baskets seemed genuine, and even the warmth emanating from the baskets as he passed by was exactly like in the real world.

He had not retracted his spiritual eye technique, yet what he saw was still an illusion.

"Fellow Daoist Cold Flame, this illusion array is almost indistinguishable from reality; even my spiritual eye technique cannot see through it at all." As he pondered, Han Li walked over to stand beside Cold Flame Ancestor and Lu Yuqing.

"You are right, Fellow Daoist Han. This array is called 'Great Thousand World,' the most incredible illusion array I have ever seen, bar none. As the name suggests, the illusion it constructs is no less than a world. If one wanders recklessly inside, they could easily become lost and never escape." Cold Flame Ancestor nodded and said.

"I see. By the way, has anyone seen Xiong Shan?" Han Li changed the subject and asked.

"Last time we entered, it wasn't this scene but a barbaric continent overrun by beasts. It seems that different batches entering this illusion array encounter different illusions. He entered before us; though the time difference is slight, he is likely trapped in another illusion world. We may only see him again after leaving the array." Cold Flame Ancestor said after a moment's thought.

"Such a troublesome illusion array—how did you get out last time?" Han Li glanced at him and asked curiously.

"There were eight of us traveling together, including several experts in array formations. They deduced the method to exit by observing the positions of the stars in the night sky, step by step... But even so, only four of us, including Xiong Shan and myself, survived to leave the illusion." Cold Flame Ancestor said with a bitter smile.

Hearing this, Han Li looked up at the sky. It was early morning, with blue sky, white clouds, and a bright sun. Nightfall was still far off, and there wasn't a single star.

"The method of observing stars you mentioned—is it only used to identify directions, thereby determining the arrangement of the array's nodes, and then deducing the location of the life gate from those nodes?" He glanced at Cold Flame Ancestor and asked.

"Exactly. It seems Fellow Daoist Han is also skilled in this?" Cold Flame Ancestor raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

Han Li paid no attention to his flattery. He first looked up at the plaque on the city gate, then glanced around, surveying all eight directions.

"The plaque on the city gate reads 'Dongzhimen,' indicating that the direction out of the city is east. Yet at this moment, it is early morning, and the sun's position in the sky is completely opposite. Clearly, one of these must be false. However, since you used the stars to discern direction last time, it is more likely that the sun's position is real, so that direction should be east." Han Li raised his hand, pointing toward the other end of the street, and spoke slowly.

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Cold Flame and Lu Yuqing suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.

"Now that we have determined the correct direction, we must next observe the array's footings. My spiritual eye technique cannot see through them. Miss Lu, what about yours? Can you see anything?" Han Li pondered for a moment and then asked Lu Yuqing.

"I have already tried. Whenever I use my spiritual eye, all the people and objects around me disappear, leaving only a gray mist. There is nothing else," Lu Yuqing shook her head and said.

"In that case, I will have to try using a treasure," Han Li sighed and said.

With that, he raised his hand and swept it over his head. A dazzling golden light flashed above, and a huge golden eyeball emerged from it.

This golden eye was not a treasure but rather the Eye of Truth from his True Word Wheel. He had merely used a concealment technique to obscure its full appearance.

Han Li did this not out of fear that others would know he cultivated time techniques, but because he did not want them to see the terrifying three hundred and sixty time patterns on the True Word Wheel. After all, this technique of the Candle Dragon Dao was famous in the Northern Cold Immortal Domain, and it was hard to guarantee that Patriarch Cold Flame had not seen it somewhere.

As soon as this object appeared, Lu Yuqing and Patriarch Cold Flame immediately sensed the law fluctuations emanating from it. The former remained calm, while the latter's expression changed slightly. Both merely glanced at it and then looked away, tacitly refraining from probing further.

Han Li was somewhat satisfied with this. He formed a hand seal, slowly closed his eyes, and activated the Eye of Truth to begin examining the surrounding space.

This time, the situation was indeed vastly different!

The surrounding city walls, taverns, flowers, trees, people, and animals all disappeared. In the void, only nearly transparent spiritual power fluctuations remained, and all their flow patterns were clearly presented before him.

It was as clear as looking at the lines on one's palm, every detail visible.

Han Li observed intently for a while. After committing all the observed patterns to memory, he waved his hand and retracted the Eye of Truth back into his body.

"Fellow Daoist Han, how is it? Any discoveries?" Patriarch Cold Flame saw this and quickly asked.

"I have basically seen the distribution of all the array's footings. However, some are real and some are false. I will need your guidance based on your memory of the directions to find the correct exit," Han Li said slowly.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I will fully cooperate." Patriarch Cold Flame's face lit up with joy, and he nodded.