The Lu Family residence. Lu Qing sat quietly in a meditation chamber.
Outside, the sounds of Xiao Yan and Xiao Li playing echoed in the distance.
He listened for a moment, a faint smile appearing on his face, then closed his eyes, focusing his mind as his consciousness entered the Li Huo Cauldron.
"Young Master," a respectful voice greeted him as Yan approached.
"Mm," Lu Qing acknowledged, noting the change in Yan's demeanor.
Though he noticed the shift, he didn’t address it, instead turning his gaze toward the central area of the artifact’s internal space.
There, a figure was trapped within a spatial cage, their eyes vacant, their face periodically twitching with pain as though enduring something horrifying.
"Young Master," Yan began, "this gray-robed man hasn’t woken up since being confined here.
I’ve utilized most of my power to construct this spatial prison; there’s no way he can cause trouble here."
He could tell the gray-robed man was caught in an illusion, but for someone at the Golden Core Realm, their mental strength and willpower should be extraordinarily resilient.
What kind of illusion could be so terrifying, so powerful, that it could keep a mid-level Golden Core cultivator perpetually trapped?
And where had the Young Master learned such a technique?
The Phantasm technique’s application was utterly silent and without warning. Lu Qing had never revealed this hidden card before.
Even during his previous battles, such as with the white-robed youth, he’d only used it sparingly, and it had been quickly dispelled each time. Yan had yet to realize that Lu Qing, besides his Body Cultivation Path, also possessed profound Divine Soul techniques.
"Not bad," Lu Qing commended.
With a wave of his hand, a wisp of spiritual force dissipated the energy lingering on the gray-robed man’s brow acupoint.
After a while, the man’s dull eyes regained clarity, and he slowly regained consciousness.
As he woke and assessed his surroundings, he initially panicked, attempting to unleash his power to break free.
However, the moment his gaze fell upon the two figures before him, his body stiffened.
The Golden Core power he had been about to activate abruptly stopped, and he dared not move.
"You’re sensible, at least," Lu Qing remarked with a faint smile. "Otherwise, I’d have to leave you in that illusion for a few more days."
At these words, the gray-robed man involuntarily shivered.
The memory of the illusion he’d just escaped sent a flash of terror through his eyes.
That illusion was like a living hell. No matter how he resisted with his mental strength, he couldn’t escape it and could only sink deeper into its grip.
If it had gone on much longer, he feared he’d have been entirely assimilated by the illusion, his Divine Soul erased beyond salvation.
"Senior, your cultivation is profound, and your techniques are extraordinary. I am thoroughly impressed and submit myself to your mercy.
Please, just tell me how you wish to deal with me so I can be mentally prepared," the gray-robed man said, now fully aware of his predicament.
He realized he was within a Spiritual Artifact, and the figure of Lu Qing before him was merely a projection of his Divine Soul.
The man with horns standing beside him was likely the artifact spirit.
As he assessed the situation, he grew calmer. He was the fish on the chopping block; any resistance would be futile.
"Senior?" Lu Qing repeated with a slight shake of his head. "I’m not concerned with how to deal with you for now. I spared your life because I want to ask you a few questions.
Answer honestly, and all will be well. If you refuse, I’ll simply extract the information through the illusion. The only question is, how long do you think you can endure under its effects?"
The gray-robed man twitched at the corners of his eyes, immediately understanding that he had no choice.
Having experienced the sheer terror of Lu Qing’s illusions firsthand, he knew he couldn’t endure them again.
He let out a deep sigh. "What does Senior wish to know? I will answer truthfully and without reservation."
Lu Qing’s lips curled into a smile. "Start with an introduction. Where do you and your brother hail from? How did you come to our world, and for what purpose?"
The gray-robed man froze. He had caught a detail: Lu Qing had referred to this as our world.
Could it be that this mysterious figure before him was a native of this world and not an outsider like himself?
His mind raced with thoughts, but he masked them with a bitter smile. "If I were to say that my brother and I arrived here purely by accident, I wonder if Senior would believe me?"
"Oh?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow. "Tell me the full story."
"We are brothers from a distant Great World," the gray-robed man began.
"One day, during an exploration of a secret realm, we encountered hostile forces from a rival sect…
"…While fleeing from their pursuit, we accidentally triggered an ancient teleportation array. Somehow, we ended up on the outskirts of your world.
"This place is so far from our homeland that even traveling at the speed of the Golden Core Realm, it would take centuries to cross the vast void of space and locate another world.
"With no way to return to our sect, we had no choice but to explore this world, hoping to find a cross-world teleportation array to take us back.
"Had we known this was your domain, we wouldn’t have dared to intrude."
He explained their situation in detail, carefully omitting certain facts.
For instance, he avoided mentioning the Lotus of Tranquility and pinned all the blame for the conflict on the disciples of the Heaven Dao Alliance.
He also concealed the role of their Void Flying Boat, attributing their arrival solely to the teleportation array.
Finally, he adopted a pitiful tone, hoping to evoke Lu Qing’s sympathy.
When the gray-robed man finished, Lu Qing’s expression remained unchanged, leaving his thoughts unreadable.
Yan, on the other hand, was visibly shaken.
Although they had speculated that these two brothers might be outsiders, hearing the truth confirmed was shocking.
Especially the revelation of the Great World, an existence far grander and more expansive than this remote Small World.
"Our world," Yan muttered to himself, "is merely a small, desolate world on the fringes…"
"So, you claim your arrival here was unintentional?" Lu Qing asked.
"I wouldn’t dare lie to you, Senior. My brother and I truly stumbled upon this place by accident. I swear it upon my Divine Soul!" the gray-robed man replied earnestly.