148: Chapter 148 Reencounter with an Old Friend

However, during the journey, Chen Yuan also noticed a few things.

The Upper Realm in the simulation roughly matched his memories, but there were indeed discrepancies in some details.

For instance, he remembered that in the simulation, the East Sea frontline base was on an island three hundred miles east of the coastline.

But when he passed through that area this time, the island's location was quite a bit off.

Furthermore, there was no base on the island, only a few scattered cultivators hunting sea beasts.

"The simulation is, after all, not the same as reality."

Chen Yuan reminded himself internally.

The general direction was correct, but the details could not be copied entirely.

This was one of the costs of not choosing the simulation memory.

If he had chosen the memory, he would at least be able to clearly distinguish what was certain and what was vague.

As for now... he would just have to rely on his own judgment.

[Three days later, you enter the depths of the East Sea.]

[The concentration of spiritual power beneath the sea surface rises sharply, and the color of the seawater changes from azure blue to deep black.]

[You can sense a faint, almost imperceptible repulsive force.]

[This does not come from any person or demon beast, but from the Laws of Heaven and Earth themselves.]

[The outer Laws of the Guixu Seal Forbidden Zone have already begun to affect this region.]

[Your Spiritual Sense Induction talent tells you that if you continue forward for three thousand miles, you will reach the outermost layer of the Guixu Seal.]

[You slow down and begin to cautiously advance forward.]

Chen Yuan's heart rate accelerated slightly.

He hadn't reached this step in the previous two simulations.

This time, he was finally going to see the Guixu with his own eyes.

Even if it was only in the simulation.

[Another day passes, and you stop above a desolate island.]

[The seawater below the island displays an unnatural, pitch-black color.]

[And in your Spiritual Sense Induction, approximately two thousand miles directly ahead of the island, there is a massive barrier that spans across heaven and earth.]

[Invisible and intangible.]

[But it is right there.]

[Like an invisible wall, separating the Guixu from the outside world.]

[That is the Guixu Seal.]

"Found it."

Chen Yuan murmured to himself, his gaze cast toward that pitch-black sea surface.

Guixu.

He had arrived.

[You land on the island and begin to investigate the Guixu Seal using the dual methods of the Pupil of Supreme Knowledge and Spiritual Sense Induction.]

[The scale of the seal far exceeds your imagination.]

[It is not an array formation set up by any single person.]

[It is a part of the Laws of Heaven and Earth.]

[Or rather, someone utilized the Laws of Heaven and Earth themselves to construct this seal. Whoever could achieve this must be at least an Immortal Emperor-level existence.]

Seeing this, Chen Yuan gasped.

Immortal Emperor.

That was an existence standing at the very pinnacle of the entire cultivation world.

"Who has such a grand masterstroke, using the Laws of Heaven and Earth to seal an entire forbidden zone?"

[You circulate the Pupil of Supreme Knowledge to forcibly analyze the outer structure of the seal.]

[Golden light surges from your pupils, slowly sweeping across the surface of the seal.]

[You see it.]

[The seal is divided into nine layers.]

[The outer three layers are restrictions used to isolate the spiritual energy and laws inside and outside.]

[The middle three layers are an array maze; any intruder attempting to pass through the restrictions will be trapped within.]

[The inner three layers... cannot be seen clearly. They are obscured by some kind of higher-dimensional power.]

Chen Yuan frowned, committing the observed information to memory one by one.

Nine layers of seals. The structure was despairingly rigorous.

But he still noticed one key detail.

[The underlying array patterns of the outer three layers of restrictions have a logic of operation that highly aligns with the basic array system of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art.]

"As expected."

Chen Yuan took a deep breath.

It was the same as what he had seen on Guan Qingqing. The array system of the seal and the Yaojiu Mysterious Art were of the same origin.

What did this mean?

The creator of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art was very likely the person who had set up the Guixu Seal back then.

Or at least participated in the construction of the seal.

[You attempt to touch the outer seal with the spiritual resonance of the fourth layer of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art.]

[The seal produces a faint response.]

[But that is all. The fourth layer of cultivation is not enough.]

[You need at least the fifth layer of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art to generate a strong enough resonance with the seal to open a passage.]

[And the fifth layer requires True Immortal cultivation.]

"Another hurdle."

Chen Yuan felt somewhat helpless.

True Immortal cultivation, fifth layer of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art, Array Master-level array attainment. He hadn't met a single one of the three conditions for entering the Guixu.

But at least, the path was clear.

[You step back a few paces, preparing to change angles to continue your investigation.]

[Just at this moment, your Spiritual Sense Induction captures an unusual fluctuation.]

[It does not come from inside the seal.]

[But from behind you.]

[You turn around abruptly.]

[On the other end of the island, a figure is standing on the reef, watching you quietly.]

[Exuding an aura that is incredibly familiar to you—it is Zhang Xiaobai.]

[Your eyes widen instantly.]

"Zhang Xiaobai?"

How could this kid be in a place like this Guixu?

He hadn't been able to find a trace of him for twenty-three years in the last simulation, and now that he wasn't looking, he had popped up on his own.

And specifically, right on the territory of the Guixu.

[Zhang Xiaobai walks over. His face is refined, and his demeanor is calm.]

[The first moment he sees you, there is no surprise at all.]

["Master."]

[Still those two words. No pleasantries, no preamble.]

Chen Yuan's mouth twitched slightly.

Cross-simulation memory. No matter how many simulations had passed, this kid could recognize him at a glance.

What kind of principle was this, anyway?

[You ask him why he is here.]

[Zhang Xiaobai answers very seriously: "I don't know. There's a feeling in my body that has been pulling me in this direction. The closer I get to here, the stronger the pull."]

[He points in the direction of the Guixu Seal.]

["Behind that wall, something is calling to me."]

Chen Yuan's brows furrowed.

[You ask him if he has tried to approach the seal.]

[Zhang Xiaobai nods: "I approached it. Then I was repelled. The seal won't let me pass."]

["But the moment I was repelled, I saw something."]

Chen Yuan's heart rate accelerated.

[Zhang Xiaobai is silent for a few breaths, then begins to describe.]

["A very large space. Much larger than the Void Spirit Abyss. Inside, there are many buildings, like a city."]

["In the center of the city, there is a tree. A very large tree. The tree is covered in golden fruits."]

["Inside every fruit, there is a trace of aura. Those auras... I think I recognize them."]

Chen Yuan's brain raced.

A city. A tree. Golden fruits. The auras within the fruits.

He could not yet piece these fragments of information into a complete picture.

But one thing could be confirmed: the interior of the Guixu was not a desolate wasteland. There were traces of civilization there.

Perhaps it was not just the forbidden zone where his mother, Yan Qingwei, was located.

Perhaps the Guixu itself was an ancient city that had been sealed.

[Zhang Xiaobai did not see anything more. After being repelled, he had been wandering nearby, wanting to find an opportunity to go back in.]

[Zhang Xiaobai's primordial qi can interact with the seal, and even allow him to "see" the scene inside at the moment of being repelled.]

[This indicates that primordial qi is some kind of "key"; although it is not of a high enough level to open the seal, it can at least generate resonance. It is the same principle as the resonance with the Yaojiu Mysterious Art.]

[You ask Zhang Xiaobai if he noticed any suspicious faction activity on the way here.]

[Zhang Xiaobai's answer is very direct: "Yes."]

["In a valley in the northern part of the Central Province, I felt a similar fluctuation of primordial qi. But that fluctuation was artificially created."]

["It was like someone was collecting and refining primordial qi. The place was heavily guarded, and I wasn't able to get close."]

[You ask what the background of the guards was.]

[Zhang Xiaobai thinks for a moment: "The aura is similar to that academy you told me to hide in before."]