771: Play your role well

Lin Yang was both shocked and confused.

He did not understand why, even though Yu Qing had awakened him, he had not returned to reality and was still at the entrance of this small courtyard.

Yu Qing, however, was very calm and said slowly, "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, do not be anxious. Previously, we were affected by the power of the Ancient Ruins and were brought into the Ancient Ruins. To leave the Ancient Ruins, it requires some time and certain conditions."

"Ancient Ruins? What are they?" Lin Yang calmed his mood slightly, composed himself, and asked Yu Qing.

Clearly, Yu Qing knew the situation.

Yu Qing explained directly, "How should I put it... the Ancient Ruins can be roughly understood as an illusory dream world that is more real than an illusion."

"It is a projection world constructed by an unknown force. The projection worlds that different people, or even the same person at different times, enter might be different. To walk out of it, one needs to complete the events in the current projection world."

"For example, you have now become the Junior Martial Brother in the sect, so you must play the role of the Junior Martial Brother well and do what is expected of this identity. By doing so, you can stay safe. If you do not do it well, you might be trapped here forever, or in severe cases, die—death in reality."

Lin Yang was a bit confused and could not help but ask, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, how are you able to remain clear-headed in here? And how were you able to come find me? Furthermore, how does one escape?"

According to what Yu Qing said, after entering the Ancient Ruins, one must act according to one's current identity. So, how could Yu Qing come to wake him up at will, and even know he was here?

Yu Qing smiled faintly, "The power of the Ancient Ruins can appear at any time, but it is not impossible to resist. There are some strange artifacts that can resist the influence of the Ancient Ruins' power to maintain clarity, allowing one to possess a certain degree of freedom under the influence of the Ancient Ruins."

"As for how to leave, just follow the steps. As long as you complete the tasks and requirements given to you by other relevant characters in the Ancient Ruins, after a certain amount of time, provided you haven't made any mistakes, you will be able to successfully escape the influence of the Ancient Ruins' power."

Lin Yang frowned, "Is it that simple? Just follow the steps, play my role well, and once the time is up, I can escape?"

"It's about that," Yu Qing nodded. "But the premise is that you cannot make mistakes, nor can you fail to complete the task requirements from other characters. Otherwise, you will never be able to escape and might even be punished to death. If you are punished to death in here, you will truly die in reality."

As she spoke, Yu Qing's expression became serious. "And this is often not so easy to do. Without knowing more identity information, it is actually very difficult to get by steadily."

"..." Lin Yang was silent for a moment.

The amount of information was too large, and he did not know what to consider first for a moment.

After a pause, Lin Yang asked, "May I ask, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, how did you know I was here?"

He had many questions, but this one made him the most curious.

Since the projection worlds everyone encounters after entering the Ancient Ruins are different, how did Yu Qing find him so precisely?

Yu Qing maintained a faint smile and said, "This can only be said to be a coincidence. Although theoretically, everyone will be in different projection worlds after entering the Ancient Ruins, there is always that small probability of an event occurring, which is the possibility of being in the same projection world."

"And the two of us just happened to encounter it."

Speaking of this, Yu Qing smiled. "I also didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that we were pulled into the same projection world. My current identity is an external affairs deacon disciple of this sect. I saw you a few days ago, but I didn't dare to recognize you at first, and only confirmed it after observation."

Lin Yang was startled, then said, "I really have to thank you, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have met my end here. Come to think of it, I am lucky to have encountered you, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, and received your help."

He thanked Yu Qing solemnly.

Yu Qing waved her hand. "No need to be polite. If the two of us cooperate well, we can escape this place faster. So, me helping you, to a certain extent, is also helping myself."

Although that was the case, Lin Yang was still grateful. "In any case, I will remember this favor."

Yu Qing shook her head gently. "Now is not the time to talk about this. I see that you don't seem to understand the Ancient Ruins, Fellow Daoist Lin Yang?"

"Yes, I had not heard of it before this." Lin Yang answered truthfully.

"No wonder. If one knew the danger of the Ancient Ruins and remained vigilant, one would not have easily succumbed." Yu Qing sighed softly.

Listening to Yu Qing's words, Lin Yang knew that she understood this so-called Ancient Ruins very well, and immediately said, "Then, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, what should we do next?"

"For now, I don't have a very good way to escape quickly, because I am not yet familiar with the situation in this place. I can only play the current role well first. Wait for me to look around and inquire about the situation before making plans."

As Yu Qing spoke, she asked another question:

"Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, do you have any tasks on hand? If you do, try to complete them as soon as possible."

Lin Yang frowned slightly and said uncertainly:

"I don't know if it counts as a task. In my current identity, apart from the Senior Brother asking me to master a Formation Array when I first arrived, so far, there has been no obvious task-oriented content given to me. He just told me to cultivate well and wait for Master to return. I don't know if waiting for Master to return counts as a task?"

Yu Qing also frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "It should count, right? I'm not sure either. Besides that, are there any other clues? For example, expectations for you or something like that? Sometimes some tasks are relatively obscure, hidden in some daily conversations."

"Expectations?" Lin Yang was lost in thought, then suddenly said, "That Senior Brother said that in the future, I must inherit Master's mantle and take on the responsibility of glorifying the sect. Does this count?"

"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Yu Qing gasped softly, looking a bit surprised. "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, are you saying that the Senior Brother who has been teaching you cultivation these days revealed that he wants you to inherit the mantle and pass on the sect?"

"Yes, that's about what he meant. He often says that, saying things like I have exceptional talent, Master has high hopes for me, but sometimes I am too stubborn, don't know how to use external forces, and like to be lazy, telling me to work harder. In any case, it sounds like this Junior Martial Brother role might have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the entire sect one day in the future."

Lin Yang recalled slightly and said seriously.

Yu Qing's face looked a bit bad, and after silence for a moment, she said, "This sounds a bit difficult. If that Senior Brother really said that, then it is very likely that this is the task of your role. You have to complete the heavy responsibility of glorifying the sect to be able to leave the Ancient Ruins."

"And this kind of heavy responsibility is often difficult to complete, or even impossible. I have observed for these past few days that this sect is not considered strong, but it is definitely not weak either. To continue to glorify the sect, I fear it will be very difficult..."

Lin Yang's heart sank slightly.

To lead a sect to rise, how easy is that?

Seeing his bad expression, Yu Qing added, "But don't be too discouraged. I will try to think of a way so that we can leave here sooner."

"Then... thank you, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing." Lin Yang cupped his hands in thanks and then asked, "What about you, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing? Does this deacon disciple identity have any tasks? Can I help?"

Yu Qing said, "Not for now, which is why I was able to find an opportunity to come to you. But there will definitely be some in the future. Currently, it seems that your identity as this Junior Martial Brother is not low in this sect. When the time comes, I might need your help. My identity as an external affairs deacon disciple is basically for odd jobs."

"No problem." Lin Yang agreed immediately.

"Let's leave it at that for now. I must go back quickly. We will find an opportunity to contact each other again." Yu Qing also dared not stay long, fearing that being away from her identity for too long would cause her to be affected by the power of the Ancient Ruins.

Watching Yu Qing's hurried back, Lin Yang fell into deep thought.

This so-called Ancient Ruins is quite interesting.

Of course, it is also very strange.

"Must I play my current role well?"

Lin Yang decided to take the initiative to contact that young Senior Brother.

Soon, he found the young Senior Brother in that spacious Formation Array room from that day.

Seeing him appear suddenly, the young Senior Brother was a bit surprised. "Junior Martial Brother, why are you here? Do you have something to ask me?"

Lin Yang nodded. "Senior Brother, you previously said that Master was about to return. It has been so long, why hasn't Master returned yet? I am too bored cultivating all day, and I want to ask if Master has any other tasks arranged for me."

This was him taking the initiative.

He wanted to see if he could get clear task instructions.

After all, the task of having him shoulder the responsibility of glorifying the sect was too heavy.

Perhaps he could escape the Ancient Ruins by completing other, more obvious directional tasks.

The young Senior Brother laughed upon hearing this. "Junior Martial Brother, Master might be delayed by some matters. If you really find it boring to cultivate all day, why not study the Formation Array some more?"

"Although you have mastered the Spirit Communication Array now, you still cannot utilize the power of the Spirit Communication Array freely."

"How about this, starting from today, apart from your necessary daily cultivation, come to the Formation Array room to study the Spirit Communication Array until you can thoroughly and freely utilize the power of the Spirit Communication Array. How about that?"

"If you can fully control the power of the Spirit Communication Array within a thousand years, then I will allow you to leave the mountain once to go to a mortal city to have some fun."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yang secretly thought that this might be an opportunity to escape the Ancient Ruins, and immediately nodded and agreed:

"Okay, Senior Brother, then it's a deal. I will master the power of the Spirit Communication Array as soon as possible. Once I have mastered it, you must not go back on your word!"

"Haha, Junior Martial Brother, I know you love excitement and playing. Don't worry, as long as you can do it, I will never go back on your word." The young Senior Brother said with a smile.

Thus, Lin Yang directly set up the Spirit Communication Array in the Formation Array room.

"Senior Brother, I'm starting now!"

Lin Yang didn't care about the trace of surprise that appeared on the young Senior Brother's face and immediately began to try to master the cold power generated after the Spirit Communication Array was set up.

The cold power was transmitted through the Spirit Communication Array, lingering around Lin Yang, and gathering more and more as time passed.

At the same time, a scalp-numbing, cold aura also radiated through the Spirit Communication Array, and a sinister force tried to invade Lin Yang's soul.

"It is the power of a Yin Soul. This Spirit Communication Array can gather the power of Yin Souls, creating a connection to communicate with dead Yin Souls. However, in most cases, Yin Souls have no consciousness, only the instinct to invade and the desire to kill."

Lin Yang whispered.

Although he had been confused these past few days, he had also figured out some situations regarding the Spirit Communication Array.

This thing is a bit eerie to talk about.

It can communicate with Yin Souls.

The so-called Yin Soul refers to the remnant soul left behind by a dead person.

The remnant soul has no consciousness and cannot be perceived normally. It can only be sensed and then summoned through a medium like the Spirit Communication Array.

The Yin Soul summoned by the Spirit Communication Array will also carry some of the power from when it was alive.

These powers are incredibly cold and difficult to control.

Moreover, the power carried by a single Yin Soul is not much, but there are too many of them.

Between heaven and earth, who knows how many people die every moment.

The Spirit Communication Array can summon many Yin Souls in a large range and in large quantities at the same time.

As power accumulates, it becomes increasingly difficult to control.

Therefore, a Formation Master who sets up the Spirit Communication Array must be able to control these powers freely.

Otherwise, if the power of the Yin Souls accumulates to a certain extent and becomes uncontrolled, in addition to backlashing against the Formation Master himself, it will also kill indiscriminately.

It will attack every living being within the range of the Yin Soul's power.

What Lin Yang needs to do now is to master the maximum limit of power that this primary Spirit Communication Array can summon at one time.

That's right.

The Spirit Communication Array he has set up now is a primary Spirit Communication Array.

There are higher-level Spirit Communication Arrays above it.

The Yin Souls that can be summoned will also be more powerful.

According to the intelligence he obtained from the young Senior Brother, top-level Spirit Communication Arrays can even summon the Yin Souls of some dead ancient mighty figures!

This is outrageous.

Although he hasn't figured out the cultivation system of the Ancient Ruins projection world where this sect is located.

But currently, his identity as this Junior Martial Brother has a cultivation level roughly at the first or second level of the Dao Above.

The young Senior Brother has a cultivation level roughly equivalent to the Nie Kong Realm.

This means that the Ancient Ruins projection world where this sect is located is not just any ordinary place; at the very least, it is an existence equivalent to the Primal Ancient Continent, not some low-level cultivation world.

And the Spirit Communication Array can actually summon the Yin Souls of more powerful beings for one's own use.

This is naturally exaggerated.

But this is not the point.

The point Lin Yang is focusing on is that this thing communicates with Yin Souls!

Yin Souls are equivalent to dead souls!

After a cultivator dies, they generally perish and their Dao disappears.

Lin Yang knows that some powerful beings can have some obsessions remain undying after death.

But there are quite a few differences between obsessions and souls.

Yet the Spirit Communication Array can summon the souls of the dead; although they are incomplete, it is still very mysterious.

"Could it be that after death, there is another place that exists, specifically confining the power of dead souls, preventing them from killing wantonly by instinct?"

It is difficult for Lin Yang not to think this way.

After all, if there were no such place, and these remnant souls only had the instinct to kill, they would surely stir up some trouble, right?

But he seems to have never heard of such a thing.

"No, this is the projection world of the Ancient Ruins, not reality. Why did I bring reality into this?"

Suddenly, Lin Yang slapped his forehead, feeling that he seemed to be thinking a bit too much.

This is the Ancient Ruins projection world, not reality, so some incredible things seem quite normal.

(End of chapter)