Chapter 500: Chapter 368: How Can the Dead Recover? An Illusion—This Must Be an Illusion!

Under the same starry sky, in the Southern War Zone.

"Old Jiang, tell me, I’m just saying, just in case, what if Miaomiao..."

"What nonsense are you talking about, Miaomiao is fine, she’s just sleeping... just sleeping a little longer than usual..." Jiang Cheng interrupted the words and then gently embraced his old companion in his arms.

"It’s okay, she’ll wake up, she will definitely wake up."

"You forgot, when Miaomiao was young, she also slept once, didn’t she wake up just fine then, it will be the same this time too..."

The old man gently patted his sobbing companion in front of the hospital bed.

The body of the grandmother Xiaoyue in his arms trembled slightly, and she wiped the corner of her eyes with her hand.

"That’s right, she will definitely wake up. If you hadn’t said it, I would have forgotten, Miaomiao also slept once when she was young, how did Miaomiao wake up that time, and what did we do later?"

"I remember that we seemed to have talked to Miaomiao at the bedside for several days, and then Xiurou you went to make a bowl of egg noodle soup..."

"Yes, it was like that, but I seem to remember old Jiang, you also brought a bowl of rice wine later?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Did I...? I don’t quite remember." The old man was a bit embarrassed.

The next second, Xiaoyue’s grandmother, Li Xiurou, suddenly stood up, "I’ll go make a bowl of egg noodle soup now..."

"Take your time, and Miaomiao loves scallions, add a little more."

"Okay, old Jiang, do you want a bowl too?"

"Sure."

The door closed, Jiang Cheng glanced back, then this old father trembled as he took his daughter’s hand and gently patted it, "Miaomiao, do you remember when you were two, I took you to the fields to catch loaches, you were not in good health then, and when I turned around, I found your head buried in the field, hahaha..."

"Later on, you started school, and your studies have always been good..."

"Your martial arts talent was actually not bad, just that you didn’t like cultivation, I have told you many times, but thinking about it now, maybe it was destiny’s arrangement, otherwise you might not have gone to Linjiang Ninth Middle School, and you might not have met that kid Su Mu..."

The old father spoke with tears flowing, tremblingly, not noticing that when he mentioned the name Su Mu, Miaomiao on the hospital bed showed a slight reaction on her brows and eyes.

Rumble------

The War Zone Command, a special plane from the Imperial Capital landed.

Just returning from a report at the Military Department, as soon as Yue Jun got off the special plane, he said, "Tell me, what’s the latest update on the Beast Cave side?"

"Sir, this is the report on the recent situation of the Beast Cave."

Under the moonlight, an elderly man with silver hair and a somewhat tired face took the report and felt a shock in his heart, realizing immediately that the situation was not favorable, otherwise, why submit a report instead of giving a direct briefing.

Yue Jun strode towards the Command, flipping through the report in his hand, his steps halted immediately, and his pupils contracted as this striking content appeared in the report:

Recently, a suspected half-step saint realm fierce beast has been active deep within...

Half-step Saint Realm?!

Yue Jun took a slight deep breath, then waved his hand, dismissing the deputy beside him, and walked alone into an office deep inside.

"Old Yue, you’re back."

"How’s the hospital side?"

"We’ve done everything to treat her, but Jiang Miaomiao hasn’t woken up yet, the situation is not very good." After saying this, Qian Xuemin shifted the topic, "How’s the Military Department?"

"The dawn plan has been reduced to half a month, and we must withdraw within half a month. The border has been unstable recently, and the Military Department has received information that there are foreign forces infiltrating, this matter may be related to the new Martial Saint Tower, so the Military Department requires our Southern War Zone to assist the South China Governor’s Mansion in related purges..."

Upon hearing this, the gentle eyes on Qian Xuemin’s face suddenly turned as sharp as eagles.

At this moment, the office’s internal line rang.

"Speak."

"Sir, the Blood Eagle Team has just successfully connected with Qin Heng General Star and Ye Wuhen at coordinates (1756, 1955) in the southeast direction of the fifth floor..."

"What about the other two, Su Mu?"

"Sir, there is no trace of Su Mu General Star and Ximen Gu for now."

"Alright, I understand."

Having said this, Yue Jun, who just sat down and hadn’t sipped his tea, stood up, straightened his uniform, "Old Qian, come with me to the Beast Cave, I have some things to discuss with you."

Fifth floor of the Giant Beast Cave.

Footsteps approached, the tent lifted, and Qin Heng visibly paused seeing the two figures leading, then solemnly stood up and saluted with utmost respect, "Marshal Yue, Marshal Qian!"

Ye Wuhen was also shocked when he heard this and immediately stood up.

"At ease, I want to know what happened after the mutation."

"Sir, allow me to report."

Qin Heng immediately began to report, and when it came to the illusion realm, everyone looked puzzled, an illusion realm in the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pool?

"Gentlemen, Qin Heng is right, I was also trapped in the illusion realm at that time." Ye Wuhen spoke up.

"Continue, Qin Heng."

Qin Heng continued to report, quickly mentioning the Great River around the Cave of Weightlessness and the earth-shattering battle of two half-step saint realm fierce beasts at night.

"After that battle, the fierce beasts on that floor became much quieter, allowing us to leave that floor smoothly..."

Once Qin Heng’s report was completed, Ye Wuhen also gave a detailed description.

At this time, Yue Jun and Qian Xuemin exchanged a glance, and finally, Qian Xuemin spoke, "Ye Wuhen, the situation is special right now, so we need you to stay in the War Zone for a few more days, though you can always contact the Ye Family, but anything related to the Beast Cave needs to be kept confidential."

"Alright, I understand."

"You’ve worked hard, go take a rest first." Qian Xuemin patted both of them on the shoulders.

Walking out of the tent, Yue Jun’s mind focused, spiritual power emanated from his body to envelop the two of them, isolating them from the outside world. Their expressions looked somewhat grim.

According to Qin Heng and Ye Wuhen, after being swallowed by that space rift at the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pool, they both fell into an illusion realm.

Qin Heng’s illusion involved internecine conflict within the war zone, while Ye Wuhen fell into an illusion of slaughter within the Ye Family. Both noticed Ye Wuhen’s expression was a bit unusual when mentioning the illusion.

However, Yue Jun understood that while the content of the illusion might vary, it wouldn’t be far off, and Ye Wuhen had no reason to deceive the war zone in such a situation.

In short, both mentioned that they remained entrapped in that terrifying illusion until the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pool disappeared.

"If that illusion was truly so terrifying, with Ye Wuhen and Qin Heng both lost in it, then Su Mu and Ximen Gu are likely also ensnared."

"But why did the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pool suddenly induce an illusion realm...?"

No one could answer at that moment.

"In any case, according to this explanation, Su Mu and Ximen Gu might have been transported to the Eighth Floor by the illusion, or further. The worst scenario is that they were separated during the transport..."

"The Giant Beast Cave has thirteen levels, based on previous war zone data, the deepest three levels usually yield half-step Saint Realm fierce beasts, and this time, two emerged directly on the Eighth Floor?"

"Perhaps it’s due to the upcoming emergence of that giant relic," Yue Jun’s eyes narrowed, recalling the recent meeting at the military department.

The two sank into silence, their hearts heavy. If a half-step Saint Realm level fierce beast appeared on the Eighth Floor, how perilous would Su Mu and Ximen Gu’s situation be.

Su Mu and Ximen Gu’s encounter must be similar to Ye Wuhen and Qin Heng’s. Qin Heng and Ye Wuhen had been delayed nearly a day by skirting the Great River, otherwise they would have left the depths earlier, yet there was no sign of Su Mu and Ximen Gu now.

A grim thought emerged in their minds.

Su Mu and Ximen Gu have likely met with misfortune...

"The entire army will wait another three days. Within these three days, increase the search range. If there is still no trace of them after three days... leave only three Blood Eagle Teams, and have other teams gradually withdraw to the Fifth Floor. In half a month, the last three Blood Eagle Teams will also withdraw immediately."

"Old Yue, there’s one more thing. The deadline for submitting the list for the military competition is this week. The lists from the other four war zones have already been submitted."

"Then we’ll submit it after this week ends."

Yue Jun gazed deep into the Beast Cave, his eyes growing ever more profound, his hands clenched tightly behind his back, creaking.

...

Beneath the same starry sky, the pitch-black night trembled slightly.

A gentle glow akin to dawn appeared, followed by an increasingly intense white light, dispersing the night as the morning sun slowly rose.

A ray of sunlight poured into the dense forest.

In a large pit, a figure slowly opened its eyes.

Buzz-------

Immortal radiance flickered at Su Mu’s liver, resonating throughout the six viscera. A moment later, his brow, heart, lungs, and spleen also shimmered brightly, like a Great Sun descending upon the earth.

"Time flies, in the blink of an eye, another half month has passed."

"The sixth immortal cell has formed, and the other six immortal cells within the six viscera are in the process of metamorphosing."

"The transformation of the Crystal Human Form is approaching forty percent."

"In this half month, I’ve improved my strength by about ten percent. When the remaining six immortal cells are born, it will present a significant boost."

Su Mu exhaled softly, drawing in the immortal radiance, stood up, and bathed in the morning sun. As he stretched out his hand, tangible purple thunder flickered at his fingertips.

"This time misfortune turned into fortune. The deep-seated thunder power from that beast’s strike unexpectedly deepened my understanding of the Rule of Thunder significantly. After this cultivation, it directly increased by ten percent, reaching twenty-five percent. A few more experiences like this, and it might surpass the Wind Rule."

"After these two encounters, the Wind Rule also increased by nearly half a percent."

Su Mu smiled with satisfaction at the results of this cultivation.

For grandmasters, rule mastery typically hovered around ten percent.

Normally, a great grandmaster’s rule mastery would be approximately thirty percent.

In terms of a titled grandmaster’s rule mastery, Su Mu speculated it to be twice that of a great grandmaster, thus over sixty percent. Currently, Su Mu’s mastery of the Rule of Fire is the highest, reaching seventy percent.

Sixty percent is a threshold. When Su Mu advanced to grandmaster, his mastery of the Rule of Fire was sixty percent. Only upon reaching sixty percent can one condense a corresponding Martial Arts Gate, and after Su Mu condensed the Fire Gate, his mastery of the Rule of Fire abruptly increased by ten percent, reaching seventy percent.

Besides the seventy percent mastery of the Rule of Fire, Su Mu has fifty-five percent in the Rule of Water, thirty-five percent in the Rule of Wind, twenty-five percent in the Rule of Thunder, and just slightly over ten percent in the Rule of Force.

"The Rule of Force differs from the powers of other rules; perhaps there will be a breakthrough once the Fourth Layer of the Secret of Power is unsealed."

After murmuring to himself, Su Mu swiftly transformed into a wild wind, eagerly sweeping towards the Great River.

The wild wind hadn’t arrived yet, but monstrous waves had already appeared.

Seeing this, an excitement gleamed in Su Mu’s eyes, "That big guy seems to be a battle fanatic as well, is it waiting for me?"

Interesting. In that case...

Just as Su Mu approached, ready to unleash a punch, he observed the Thunder Flood Dragon’s face displaying a ghost-spotting appearance. Its large eyes were filled with incredulity.

The Thunder Flood Dragon’s mind went blank; within just one day, the human kid who had suffered from Origin Rule injuries appeared vibrant and lively again?!

The next moment, a voice filled with deep shock, anger, and helplessness echoed.

"This, this is impossible... How can a dead person recover?!"

"An illusion, it must be this grandpa’s hallucination, it must be."