Chapter 2300 Indistinguishable Reality and Fantasy
The Heavenly Dao Molt Ball had spared Zither Master Fengyi and the others.
Its simple-minded way of thinking was now fixated on Song Shuhang. Song Shuhang was the only thing worth its attention in the world. Nothing else could pique its interest unless it got rid of Song Shuhang.
Even though Zither Master Fengyi, the bald Tribulation Transcender, and the others were stuck in a 'Time Freeze' state, it could easily dispose of several of them with just one flick of its finger. It didn't care.
After the spatial gateway to the mortal world, Earth, opened, the Heavenly Dao Molt Ball wasted no time and leaped into it.
In its hand, it still clutched the black substance and the sports shoe it had taken from the mist-like demon.
With a leap, the Heavenly Dao Molt Ball was gone, and the spatial gate vanished.
Zither Master Fengyi's phoenix claw, the bald Tribulation Transcender, and the others slowly regained consciousness.
"Am I still alive?" The bald Tribulation Transcender touched his body in disbelief. Not only was he alive, but he was also completely unharmed!
How was this possible? Just a moment ago, that liquid metal sphere had used a 'time-type' spell to freeze them in place. In that frozen state, they were as helpless as fish on a cutting board while waiting to be slaughtered.
But the liquid metal sphere had chosen to spare them?
"A space tunnel!" Phoenix Claw stared at the spot where the liquid metal sphere had disappeared.
It was gone. The spatial passageway had vanished. She hadn't taken the opportunity to leave.
At that moment, the fog demon finally regained consciousness.
As soon as its body recovered, it let out a miserable cry.
Its hands clutched its waist, where there was a massive, unfillable hole. Even its undying body couldn't repair this hole. It had lost something crucial.
"Are you alright?" the bald Tribulation Transcender asked.
The only one injured was the fog demon.
"Do you need healing?" the female Profound Sage asked.
Wincing in pain, the mist demon waved away their offers. Its constitution was highly unique and made ordinary cultivator healing techniques ineffective. After losing the black substance, its body began to shrink.
"What did that sphere take from your body?" Zither Master Fengyi inquired.
The fog demon had shrunk by more than half. In pain, it explained, "That was the most crucial part of my body. It was my core. Without it, I won't last long in the mortal world."
"Why would that 'ball' take your core?" the bald Tribulation Transcender asked in confusion.
"I don't know," the fog demon shook its head, then asked, "Where did the ball ultimately go?"
Zither Master Fengyi's paw gestured. "This world."
"Perhaps it intends to borrow my core to enter the mortal world," the fog demon said while gritting its teeth.
Its core was unique and carried its memories. Moreover, the core possessed characteristics similar to a pseudo-eternity bone and allowed certain special entities to move about briefly in the mortal world.
However, using its core wasn't that simple. Even if someone took the core, it would require some time to understand and harness its capabilities. The fog demon hoped that the Ruler could sense the core and retrieve it during this period and allow the Ruler to extract valuable information from it.
***
On the other side, at Jiangnan University.
After lunch, Qing Wu took advantage of a trip to the restroom to complete the exchange with Song Shuhang's main body.
"You've been a great help, Qing Wu," Song Shuhang expressed his gratitude.
"You're welcome, Sage Monarch Tyrannical Song. It was my pleasure," Qing Wu said with a smile. "But next time, when Sage Monarch Tyrannical Song is about to 'disappear,' please inform me in advance so I can be ready to take over."
After the exchange, Song Shuhang and his three roommates returned to their dormitory.
The spiritual qi in the dormitory felt denser than usual. Song Shuhang had secretly activated the mirage dragon's hallucination power.
Now, he had to await his good friend's entry into the game.
As usual, the three roommates either switched on their computers or perused books and magazines.
Gao Moumou, upon starting his computer, logged into his chat account and opened a document to begin writing.
On the adjacent bed, Song Shuhang likewise powered up his computer and logged into his White Blade Swordsman account.
Everything was set.
Gao Moumou wrote for a while in his document before a thought struck him.
He adjusted the chat software settings while glancing at his 'friend verification' template. A faint voice echoed in his mind that was much like his girlfriend Mai's voice.
Out of the blue, Gao Moumou reached out and disabled the 'friend verification' function.
While deactivating the verification, he continued to work on his manuscript.
Ten minutes later after finishing a section of his story, Gao Moumou was suddenly interrupted by a thought.
He accessed the chat software settings again while focusing on his 'friend verification' template.
A gentle voice reminiscent of Mai seemed to be urging him to act.
Gao Moumou hesitated but then decided to turn off the 'friend verification' function.
Just as he was about to hit 'reject' for a friend request, a dusty memory was triggered in his mind.
His memories were fragmented and vague. They consisted of only a few images.
He was seized by an enormous divine eagle and soared into the sky. Below lay an ancient city wall where Mai, amidst a group of indistinct figures, was crying.
The next image was of Song Shuhang rushing toward them from a distance with a long black saber in hand. His face bore a fierce expression, and he seemed to defy gravity as he scaled the sheer city wall. Despite its towering height, he raced up without pause.
Gao Moumou released his mouse and rubbed his temples as confusion clouded his mind.
What was happening with these memories?
To call them 'real' would be an exaggeration. Yet, there was an undeniable sense of presence in them.
'Have I become so engrossed in my writing that I can't distinguish reality from illusion?
Am I losing my mind?'
'The Martial Arts Expert Who Shares My Room' seemed like an intriguing premise.
Not bad at all. He'd jot down some notes for it and consider it for his next book.
With that in mind, he glanced at White Blade Swordsman's ID and suddenly found it rather cool.
Gao Moumou changed his mind.
He maneuvered the mouse and clicked on the 'Accept' option.
Just as he confirmed the friend request, another system notification popped up.
[System Notification: White Blade Swordsman (******) invites you to join the group 'Martial Arts World Chronicles.' Do you accept?]
Gao Moumou pondered for a moment, then clicked 'Accept.'
Since they were already friends, joining a group seemed reasonable. Plus, he could always leave the group later and delete the contact if needed.