Chapter 320: A Chaotic World
After leaving the large scene of drama, the tension in Lin Wan's heart eased slightly. She strolled leisurely on the bluestone street in the city, gently playing with a spirit fruit she had just swiped from a vendor.
As she walked, a sudden commotion came from ahead, drawing Lin Wan's attention once more. She curiously looked up and saw a crowd gathering in front of a mansion with carved beams and painted rafters, discussing animatedly.
Lin Wan looked closely and saw a woman in ragged clothes. Although her attire was worn out, it could hardly hide her beautiful features.
At that moment, the woman had red eyes and a face full of anger as she shouted loudly: "I can no longer stay in the Shen family! From today onwards, I cut off all ties with the Shen family!"
The woman's voice was crisp and decisive, causing a sensation in the crowd. However, the moment her words fell, she suddenly turned her head sharply, her gaze burning as she locked straight onto Lin Wan.
Lin Wan's heart tightened, and she couldn't help cursing silently: "Again?"
The corner of her eye twitched slightly, and her figure retreated several zhang like lightning, distancing herself from the woman.
Sure enough, the woman completely ignored the obstruction of those around her and charged towards Lin Wan like a madman. Seeing this, Lin Wan naturally would not give her the chance to get close.
With a light tap of her toes on the ground, her figure vanished from the spot instantly, like a ghost.
Now she finally reacted.
She stood on a distant eave, squinting to examine herself. Those pink threads had somehow become more numerous on her body; not only that, but their color was also several shades darker than before.
Heh, so it was these things making mischief.
She let out a cold snort, and the Immortal Origin within her suddenly erupted. An invisible airwave rippled out from her body.
The pink threads were instantly shattered into pieces, dissipating into the air as spots of fluorescence.
Only at this moment did that vague "pulling sensation" completely disappear.
Just at that moment, a deep, low voice sounded behind her: "It's very boring, isn't it?"
She slowly turned around and saw Ji Wuque standing with his hands behind his back, looking deeply at the farce below.
The Grand Emperor of Great Zhou was still wearing a black brocade robe with dragon patterns, only now the robe was stained with some pink light spots, glowing with an eerie luster under the sunlight.
"It really is you."
Lin Wan felt no surprise at all. When she crossed over from the Sky Stele, she never thought she could hide it from him.
"A dignified Immortal Venerable, actually hiding in the dark watching a little girl throw a tantrum?"
Hearing this, the corner of Ji Wuque's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
Then, as if remembering something, Lin Wan's gaze subconsciously glanced downward.
The next second, she heard the strong dissatisfaction of this Great Zhou First Emperor.
"Cough!"
Ji Wuque coughed very deliberately, flicked his robe sleeve, and a layer of golden halo rippled around his body. Those pink light spots immediately vanished without a trace.
Lin Wan quickly let out a dry laugh, turning her gaze to the distance as if nothing had happened.
"Where exactly is this place?"
"The Cloud Mist Place."
Ji Wuque said indifferently.
"One of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths of the Upper Realm. Its size is roughly equivalent to a State in the Lower Realm."
Lin Wan raised her eyebrows.
Since she rarely had the chance to confront this big boss, she decided to get straight to the point.
"Who exactly are you?"
She stared into Ji Wuque's eyes.
"And what is your true purpose?"
Ji Wuque did not answer immediately.
A breeze blew past, stirring the few strands of silver hair at his temples.
In the distance, the Shen family woman was led away by another man. As she was taken away, the man made a domineering declaration: "If the Shen family doesn't want this Eldest Miss, I do!"
Then, the street returned to calm.
"You are stained with Love Silk."
He suddenly said, his gaze falling on the pink light spots on Lin Wan's shoulder that had not yet completely dissipated.
"The most troublesome thing in the Cloud Mist Place."
"Oh? So this thing is called Love Silk?"
Lin Wan raised her brows with interest, her fingertips lightly twirling the faint pink light spots in the air.
Ji Wuque stood with his hands behind his back, his black robe with dragon patterns fluttering in the breeze.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, have you heard that when the Primordial Wilderness shattered, the last Kalpa was formed by the Seven Emotions and Six Desires of all living beings in the world."
Lin Wan thought for a moment, then nodded. She had heard about this from Ji Hongli.
Seeing that she understood immediately, Ji Wuque silently praised her in his heart, thinking her worthy of being an Immortal Venerable of the same realm.
Then, he turned his head, his gaze profound, as if piercing through time and space.
"After the Kalpa, the Upper Realm, as the former center of the Primordial Wilderness, was naturally stained with the most residual power of the Kalpa."
Hmm... seemed to have heard this too.
Lin Wan nodded thoughtfully, allowing a faint strand of Love Silk to wrap around her wrist.
Ji Wuque continued: "So... these pink threads are the remnants of the Love Kalpa from back then, also known as Love Silk."
He waved his sleeve lightly, and the surrounding Love Silk immediately retreated as if avoiding snakes and scorpions.
"The residual Kalpa power in various parts of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths is different—in some places, it is 'Karma Fire' embodied by greed, anger, and obsession; in others, it is 'Heart Demon Miasma' formed by paranoid thoughts. But as for this Cloud Mist Place..."
"It is the nest of Love Silk?"
Lin Wan interrupted.
Ji Wuque gave her a meaningful look.
"Love Silk is best at hooking the most hidden desires in the depths of living beings' hearts. You have just arrived and do not know how to avoid the entanglement of Love Silk. Your body is covered in karma. For those women trapped by love..."
"Like a hungry wolf seeing fresh meat?"
Lin Wan suddenly thought of something and sneered.
"So those women suddenly rushed towards me like crazy because of this?"
"Correct!"
Ji Wuque nodded.
"Moreover, Love Silk amplifies the deepest desires in the hearts of living beings, so naturally they will flock towards you."
"So that's how it is..."
Lin Wan narrowed her eyes.
"But you haven't answered my question yet."
Ji Wuque looked towards the horizon with his hands behind his back, his black dragon-pattern brocade robe remaining motionless amidst the lingering Love Silk.
He did not answer Lin Wan directly, but suddenly changed the subject.
"Do you know why the spiritual energy in the Upper Realm is far denser than in the Lower Realm, yet except for the Immortal Venerable realm, the strength of other cultivators is no different from the Lower Realm?"
Without waiting for Lin Wan to respond, he asked and answered himself.
"Because when Upper Realm cultivators cultivate, they are constantly eroded by the power of the Kalpa."
Golden light flowed within his sleeve, annihilating all the drifting Love Silk.
"The higher the cultivation base, the stronger the backlash of the Kalpa power—especially above the Longevity Realm."
Lin Wan's pupils shrank slightly. She saw that with a raise of Ji Wuque's hand, twisted illusions floated in the air: a cultivator breaking through was wrapped into a cocoon by pink Love Silk, and in the blink of an eye turned into light spots filling the sky.
"Do you see?"
Ji Wuque's voice was low.
"In the Upper Realm, breaking through a bottleneck is just the beginning; one must also pass the corresponding Heart Kalpa."
Several figures appeared in the illusion again; some wailing in Karma Fire, some torn apart by Heart Demons.
"If you cannot pass, your body perishes and your Dao is obliterated, and your cultivation returns to the Kalpa power."
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