278: Chapter 278 Illusion

The moment Wang Chen stepped into the forbidden zone.

A strange power immediately enveloped him.

However.

Before he could even react.

His vision blurred, and then the surrounding scenery completely changed.

The black mist vanished, the ruins disappeared, and even the dead trees around him were gone.

In their place.

Was a bustling street.

On both sides of the street were skyscrapers, neon lights, and various shops.

Selling clothes, cell phones, snacks...

It could be said that everything was there!

People were coming and going on the street.

Some were riding electric scooters, some were driving cars, some were holding children's hands, and some were walking arm-in-arm with their partners.

The sounds of bargaining, children playing, and cars honking...

All sorts of sounds intertwined, forming a lively city symphony.

Wang Chen was stunned.

"Is this... the world of my past life?"

His eyes were filled with shock.

This was too real.

So real that one could not distinguish truth from falsehood.

Those skyscrapers, those billboards, those familiar Chinese characters, and those familiar snacks—Jianbing Guozi, Stinky Tofu, Grilled Cold Noodles...

Everything was exactly the same as the world of his past life.

He looked down at himself.

His clothes had somehow changed into casual wear, he was wearing sneakers on his feet, and he had a backpack on his back.

"This... this is how I looked before I transmigrated? How can it be so real?"

Wang Chen's pupils constricted sharply.

He reached out and touched his face, feeling the familiar contours and familiar skin.

It was a young face, in his early twenties, with a hint of greenness and childishness; it was the face he had before transmigrating, the face of his past life.

"What is the situation? Is this the real world, or an illusion?"

Wang Chen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"System? Are you there?"

[Ding... Replying to host, the System is here. Is there anything you need help with?]

"No! Dismissed!"

After hearing the System's voice.

He could be certain that this was not the real world.

This was an illusion manifested from the depths of his memories, an illusion capable of making one lose themselves.

If he indulged in it, he would be trapped here forever until death.

However.

This illusion was too real.

So real that even though he knew it was fake, he couldn't help but want to take another look.

"Even though I know it's an illusion, I still want to look a bit longer."

Wang Chen murmured to himself, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

He was a transmigrator.

He had transmigrated from Earth to the Xuantian Continent.

Everything from his past life was a precious memory buried deep within him.

Those were his roots.

No matter how great his achievements were, his roots were on Earth, and that could not be changed!

He had thought he would never return to that world again.

He didn't expect.

That in a strange plane, within a mysterious Forbidden Ground, he would see that world once more.

"Although it's an illusion, since I'm here, I might as well look around."

Wang Chen didn't break the formation immediately; instead, like an ordinary person, he began to stroll around slowly.

Walking down the street, watching the passersby, the skyscrapers on both sides, and those familiar billboards, his heart could not settle for a long time.

"One Jianbing Guozi, add two eggs, a ham sausage, and make it extra spicy."

He walked up to a stall and blurted it out without hesitation.

These words.

Felt as if they had been spoken countless times; he didn't need to think at all.

"Coming right up!"

The stall owner skillfully spread the batter, cracked the eggs, sprinkled green onions, flipped it, brushed on the sauce, and added the crispy cracker and ham sausage, all in one smooth motion.

After receiving the Jianbing Guozi, Wang Chen couldn't wait to take a large bite.

That familiar taste spread through his mouth.

"Delicious, it's still that same taste. This illusion is fucking incredible!"

Eating the Jianbing Guozi, Wang Chen continued walking forward.

He walked through street after street, passing shop after shop.

He saw an old man selling Tanghulu, middle-aged women doing square dancing, old men playing chess, and children chasing after kites.

Everything was so familiar, everything was so real.

"I remember, not far ahead is the university I attended. I spent four years there."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia.

He missed those carefree days, the brothers he used to drink with, play games with, and chase girls with.

I wonder how they are all doing now?

Soon.

He arrived in front of a school.

"Shanhe University."

Looking at the school before him, a complex expression flashed in his eyes; this was the university he had attended for four years in his past life.

He didn't hesitate.

He stepped forward and walked directly into the campus.

Teaching buildings, the library, the gymnasium, the dormitories...

Everything was exactly as it was in his memory.

Sunlight spilled over the campus, making everything look so peaceful and beautiful.

Walking along the campus paths, watching the students come and go, Wang Chen was filled with emotion.

"Back then, I was just like them."

"Skipping classes every day, playing games... Life back then was so simple and truly happy."

He walked to the front of the teaching building and stopped.

Looking up at the familiar building, scenes from the past surfaced in his mind...

But he knew.

He could never go back.

Even if he returned to Earth, those people would no longer be there.

So much time had passed; they would have grown old and died long ago.

And yet, he.

Still looked young, still had the face of someone in their early twenties.

"Forget it, I won't think about it anymore."

He shook his head and continued walking.

Eventually.

He arrived in front of the dormitory building.

He had lived here for four years; it was the place most familiar to him.

"Dormitory 316."

He read the room number and pushed the door open.

The dormitory was empty.

Four beds, four desks, four wardrobes—nothing had changed.

He walked to his own bed, touching the frame, the bedding, and the books.

"Back then, it was from here that I transmigrated to the Xuantian Continent."

A complex look flashed in his eyes.

That day.

He was sleeping, and when he woke up, he found himself in a strange world.

From then on, his life underwent a world-shaking transformation.

He went from an ordinary college student to the Emperor of the Tianxuan Dynasty, and now he was a powerhouse of the Immortal Realm.

He had conquered world after world and unified the entire plane; his life was more exciting than any novel.

"Sigh... an illusion is, after all, just an illusion."

He took a deep breath, turned around, and walked out of the dormitory building.

Standing below the dormitory, looking at the surrounding scenery, a flash of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Allowing me to see my hometown once more is already your greatest contribution."

"Now—"

"Break for me!"

As his voice fell, a golden phantom emerged behind him.

It was the Emperors Dharma Idol, hundreds of millions of feet tall, standing between heaven and earth, spanning the vault of heaven.

Once the Dharma Idol appeared, all laws submitted.

The surrounding scenery began to collapse continuously!

Everything was like a shattered mirror, instantly falling into pieces.

"Crack— Crack— Crack—"

The sound of shattering was continuous.

The surrounding scenes turned into countless fragments and dissipated into the air.

The sunlight vanished, the campus disappeared, and the students were gone.

In their place was the black mist, the ruins, and the dead trees...

[I originally wanted to let the protagonist show off in his original world, but on second thought, forget it...]