Chapter 83: Illusory City Mausoleum Part 1

The Talisman Plaque that Huang Qi wore on her chest, which Wang Ya had given her, emitted a red glow. She could clearly feel strands of red light carrying Demonic Aura seeping out from the plaque, sprinkling over her body and enveloping her entirely. Surprisingly, she—who was usually the most prone to attracting ghosts and evils—was completely ignored by the Yin Spirits and ghosts here. Or perhaps it wasn’t ignorance; rather, their attacks simply bypassed her.

Huang Qi recalled Wang Ya’s words that this Talisman Plaque might save her life one day, and a strange surge of emotion welled up in her heart. But the situation was urgent. As the one leading the group forward, she had no time to dwell on it. She merely glanced at the plaque on her chest before refocusing on identifying the path and guiding everyone ahead.

Wang Ya had been walking at the back of the group the whole time. The deeper they ventured into the Illusory City Labyrinth, the more dazed she felt, as if she had fallen into a half-dreaming, half-awake state, or like she was drunk and muddled. Emotions that didn’t belong to her surged up again, enveloping her heart. Endless loss and sorrow gripped her tightly. The sensation of some precious item left behind in the depths of the Illusory City grew stronger and stronger. Several times, she nearly left the group and headed straight into the depths.

She didn’t know if this was an illusion imposed by the Illusory City Labyrinth, or if she truly had something lost in its depths. Wang Ya understood that, as a human—as Wang Ya herself—she wouldn’t have anything left here. Even if something was lost here, it wouldn’t be hers, but the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower Demon’s.

This wasn’t the first time she had felt this. The first time was when she opened the Yin Spirit Scroll and saw the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower sealed within it. She had felt it again on the Yellow Springs Road when she opened the Yin Spirit Scroll and fused with the flower demon’s power. And in the Myriad Coffins Azure Dragon Palace, she had been shrouded in this sensation and these emotions the entire time.

Wang Ya felt like she had lost herself. She needed to find herself bit by bit; she wanted to find herself. She told herself again that she was Wang Ya, not the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower Demon. Yet inexplicably, she wanted to cry. The thick sadness and loss in her heart made her want to cry, but there were no tears to shed.

She tightly followed behind Huang Qi, sprinting, vaulting over walls, and dodging large numbers of Yin Souls and undead. Her movements were agile but merely instinctive, mechanical actions as she trailed them. Her thoughts had long been drawn away by that familiar aura from the Illusory City Labyrinth. She knew that if not for the excessively dangerous array here preventing her from acting rashly alone, she would have already left the group to search for that precious item lost in the Illusory City Labyrinth by herself. She had a feeling that once they broke through this grand array, she would reunite with that precious item she had left behind.

Wang Ya was a little afraid, yet she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it. She wanted to reclaim that lost sense of loss, yet she feared this heavy sorrow would continue to envelop her, and even more, she feared turning into the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower Demon instead of herself. However, she knew even more clearly that she couldn’t stop and couldn’t retreat. There was no way back anymore. If Old Tang hadn’t cut down those dozen or so Ghost Soldiers at the city gate, if the gate hadn’t closed, they might have retreated, crossed the Bridge of Life and Death again, returned to the cavern, and found a way to climb out through the hole above. But with the gate closed, even that slim chance of escape was gone. She could only move forward—forward was the only path left.

Originally, when a person died and reincarnated into a new life, the matters of the previous life had nothing to do with this one. Wang Ya had once thought that way too. But now, she felt more like the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower Demon had seized the body of that child in the Wang Family at birth, replacing her in this world. Her reincarnation wasn’t like true reincarnation through the wheel of life; she hadn’t severed the karma of her past life like a proper reincarnation would. Her birth, her current life, was still tied to the karma of her previous one—a continuation of the past.

With this realization, Wang Ya severed the last bit of hesitation to retreat. What was meant to come couldn’t be dodged or escaped. Avoidance solved nothing; it only made things more troublesome.

Huang Qi had once told her, “Wang Ya, you can only decide for yourself whether to live this life or the previous one, whether to be human or demon.” Back then, she could only remain silent, because she didn’t know what to do.

At this moment, Wang Ya had an answer in her heart. She couldn’t choose to be purely human, nor could she choose to be purely demon.

With the Array-Breaking Formula, and Huang Qi and Zhang Qingshui leading the way, they chose the relatively safest route. With Wang Cheng’an and Old Tang as the “heavy firepower” clearing the path ahead, Wang Ya—the Millennium Great Demon—deterring threats, and Zhang Qingshui’s Azure Dragon Vine protecting the entire group, they finally passed through the Nine Palaces Grid before them without major incident.

A black, oppressive, and heavy pressure weighed on everyone’s hearts. The Yin Spirits and ghosts that had been relentlessly attacking and pouncing from behind stopped their pursuit. They roared unwillingly in the rear but seemed gripped by great fear, not daring to advance.

The Yin Qi in the air seemed to thin, and visibility improved noticeably.

A grand and majestic palace, brimming with imperial dignity yet darkly oppressive like a crouching giant beast, appeared before them. High steps lay ahead, flanked by two coiling giant dragons, with a dragon-relief carpet in the center.