Wayfarer

Chapter 76: Divine Capital of Great Wei

The copper doors slowly slid open under the toad spirits' implacable advance.

Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight held their hands over their weapons in preparation for any danger that might be lying in wait.

With a huge clang, the copper doors were pushed open. Surprisingly, the draconic aether that had been seeping out from the cracks of the doors had vanished. The revealed interior was pitch-black, like the wide maw of a beast.

Just then, a blue flash of light was emitted from that darkness, shooting straight through the open doors.

"Be careful!" The Lady Arclight pulled on Xiao Nanfeng as she attempted to retreat,

but the light moved too quickly and was so bright that both cultivators had to avert their eyes. It even carried a tangible air current with it.

With a huge crash, the two cultivators were sent flying.

Xiao Nanfeng held on tightly to the Lady Arclight. Only after a considerable amount of time did they land on some sort of terrain.

The two cultivators stumbled before steadying themselves. The blue light surrounding them had vanished. They gaped at their surroundings in shock. They weren't in the frozen cavern any longer!

Before them was an imposing set of city walls, hundreds of meters tall. In the distance were mountains without end, and above them, a blue sky with white clouds and a midday sun. They had arrived in a brand-new location.

"It's an illusory realm!" Xiao Nanfeng realized immediately.

"What a powerful illusion..." The Lady Arclight had noticed that her divine sword had vanished. She frowned as she looked at her surroundings. "And the two toad spirits have vanished too."

"They might have been sent to a different location. Our physical selves are still in that cavern, defenseless. It's exceptionally dangerous. We have to leave this illusion at once," Xiao Nanfeng informed her.

"Apparently, yin frost can break out of illusory realms. You were able to absorb yin frost back in the cavern. Are you able to expel it now?"

"Let me try." Xiao Nanfeng invoked his superior yin pearl and triggered a release of yin frost,

forming a blizzard before him that struck the realm. Unlike before, however, the space didn't shatter.

"You can't break out of it?"

"I can't. This illusion seems to be a bit different," Xiao Nanfeng replied gravely. He attempted the same procedure a few more times, but the illusory realm didn't seem to budge at all.

"Something's wrong with this illusory realm. There must be some sort of artifact reinforcing this realm," the Lady Arclight analyzed.

Xiao Nanfeng looked all around the illusory realm, as though trying to guard against something.

"Don't worry. The frozen cavern our physical bodies are in is difficult to find, and we shouldn't be in danger in the short term. This illusion might be dangerous, but it could also present plenty of opportunities. We might be able to get out if we find one such." The Lady Arclight glanced expectantly around her.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about, Elder. If you see a skeleton around, you have to stay far away."

Xiao Nanfeng was worried about another encounter with Madam Rouge. He had gained a rather significant amount of spiritual power over the last month, and he felt that he had a fighting chance against Madam Rouge, but the Lady Arclight was still weak! If she encountered Madam Rouge in her weakened state...

"A skeleton?" the Lady Arclight asked curiously.

"It's a cursed effigy whose attention I've roused. When I became a disciple of the Taiqing sect..." Xiao Nanfeng explained what had happened as they walked.

Upon hearing Xiao Nanfeng's description, the Lady Arclight turned serious. She had clearly heard about this cursed effigy before.

"Don't worry, I'll be paying careful attention to what's going on. There's a gateway over there. Shall we have a look?" The Lady Arclight pointed at a distant location.

"Let's!"

The two cultivators rushed toward the gateway, which was crowded with people. Some flew into the city with storks, while others left on basilisks. Several guards patrolled the vicinity riding tiger spirits.

However, none of these figures could see Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight, who walked up to the city gates without provoking any sort of response whatsoever.

"These figures are all illusory. As long as we don't activate the illusion's mechanisms, they won't be able to notice us," the Lady Arclight explained.

"The divine capital of Great Wei...?" Xiao Nanfeng seemed very surprised by the five words inscribed on a stone pillar nearby.

"The Empire of Great Wei? The Emperor Wei?" The Lady Arclight pondered this revelation.

"You're aware of Emperor Wei?" Xiao Nanfeng seemed surprised.

The Lady Arclight rolled her eyes at him. "Who do you think you're talking to? How could I not know Emperor Wei? Your Hegemon's Fist was developed and spread by Emperor Wei himself. The year he devised that technique, all knew its might. He was one of the strongest cultivators in the world, and the empire he founded, the Empire of Great Wei, was as a beacon of light, a pillar of the world. A thousand years ago, as a result of some unknown occurrence, the empire was suddenly destroyed, and Emperor Wei has been missing since. Some suggested that he had been assassinated, and others that he had grown tired of mortal affairs and gone into seclusion."

"Could this illusory array be related to his disappearance?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.

"Let's head into the city and have a look for ourselves," the Lady Arclight suggested.

The moment the two cultivators stepped into the city, they noticed a huge golden cloud floating above it, with what seemed like golden dragons flying in its midst.

Hanging low in the air were giant floating islands, separated by waterfalls. A translucent rainbow fog shrouded the islands, and countless avian lifeforms darted among them. A few immortals, draped with rainbow light, were flying to and fro.

The city itself harbored mountains and rivers. The tallest mountain in the north was shaped like a dragon's head. Above that mountain were mist and clouds obscuring a group of buildings shining with golden light.

"What a large city... Where would we start searching?"

"Everyone in the city seems to be gathering toward that dragon's head mountain. Let's go take a look there." The Lady Arclight pointed before them.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. The two cultivators headed straight for the mountain.

The bottom of the mountain was filled with people. The two cultivators followed the crowd up the mountain, toward a large plaza that was heavily guarded. Officials stood in attendance, along with immortals dressed in all manner of attire.

To the north was a huge palace, with the name "Great Wei Hall of Immortals" written on a huge plaque by the entrance.

Before the hall were standing a man and a woman, the man garbed in a golden robe with draconic motifs, a crown on his head and a stern, majestic expression on his face. The woman's robe had phoenix motifs. She was beautiful in her serenity, and she was looking at the man with infatuation.

"Long live His Majesty!"

"Long live Her Majesty!"

The court officials and the gathered immortals all lauded the pair who stood before them.

Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight hid behind the group of figures.

"Rise, my court!" commanded the man in a golden robe.

"As you will, Your Majesty!" The courtly officials bowed.

"This must be the Emperor Wei and his consort!" the Lady Arclight exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng was just about to nod when he suddenly felt a prick of danger, as though someone had just caught sight of him. He quickly looked around. There were too many people in sight, but as he activated his spiritual power, he locked in on a target.

Among the courtly officials was a black-robed man, his face obscured in darkness. The man was facing Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight, as though intending to take action. Coincidentally, however, Emperor Wei and the empress were looking toward him and making an inquiry. He had no choice but to turn back, bow, and reply.

"Let's go!" Xiao Nanfeng pulled the Lady Arclight away. They ran toward a secluded hall and into a corridor within, where they peeked at the outside through a window.

"What have you discovered?" the Lady Arclight asked. At the moment, her spiritual power was weaker than Xiao Nanfeng's, and she hadn't noticed the black-robed man's glance.

"Have you seen that black-robed man? He's not like the others. He can see us!" Xiao Nanfeng pointed at the mysterious figure.

The man had just finished responding to the emperor and empress' questions, and then returned to his original position. He quickly looked toward where Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight had been, only to find that they had vanished. He quickly looked around in search of them.

The two cultivators ducked down and hid, but the black-robed man's gaze seemed to be able to penetrate walls. He quickly identified where they were.

"Have we been discovered?" The Lady Arclight blanched.

The black-robed man made a gesture at their hall, causing its doors to suddenly slam shut.

"This isn't good! He's targeting us!" the Lady Arclight cried.

Just then, all the windows in the hall suddenly vanished, as did its doors. The two cultivators were trapped in an isolated chamber. The tiles on the ground began to shake and reverberate, a character appearing on each one.

"What sort of mechanism is this? The tiles are engraved with characters. Elder, do you recognize these characters?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"No, I'm not familiar with this. It might be diabolical in origin..." The Lady Arclight shook her head, frowning.

Just then, twelve tiles on the ground formed a ring. The characters engraved on them glowed with golden light.

"The twelve earthly branches!" The Lady Arclight grew even more wary. [1]

The twelve golden characters trembled violently, as if something were trying to tear its way out of them.

The first of the earthly branches broke apart. From a burst of golden light came a giant pitch-black serpent, ten meters tall and unbelievably wide.

The serpent reared up and glanced down at the two cultivators with a fierce expression on its face.

"How did you enter this illusion?" it asked in human speech, glaring coldly at Xiao Nanfeng and the Lady Arclight.

1. The twelve earthly branches refers to a set of twelve characters used to label each of a set of twelve objects. For example, they might correspond both to the English 'one' through 'twelve' and 'January' through 'December'. ?