[Vol. 6] Chapter 232: The Final Bond
Streams of dark, unknown substance, resembling both gas and slime, continuously flowed out of the crystal and into a container attached to the tubular device. The rogue, who was operating it, wore an increasingly uneasy expression.
“Ugh… this is so gross. Why would something that looks like a mirror have stuff like this inside it?”
“This is probably some kind of energy that’s been compressed into a physical form. It seems to be the reason the crystals in [Mirror Valley] mutated. But this stuff…”
Violet cast another glance at her companion.
Le Qiaoqiao now looked like a janitor scrubbing down a massive machine. Using the device provided by Immortal Island, which oddly resembled a vacuum cleaner, she carefully swept every corner of the large crystal, sucking up the black mist into the container at the end of the device.
It was hard not to feel that Immortal Island’s image was becoming more and more peculiar. Weren’t they supposed to be an immortal sect with flying swords, mystical talismans, magical artifacts, and elixirs? What kind of logic led them to create tools that felt so… high-tech?
Even though her thoughts were running wild, Violet kept a close eye on Le Qiaoqiao’s work.
While Violet wasn’t participating directly, it wasn’t because she was lazy. It was because these polluted [False Mirrors] were extremely dangerous. Physical contact with them could lead to unexplained abnormalities. By letting Le Qiaoqiao, who had the weakest physical constitution, handle the task, Violet could gauge the crystal’s overall threat level.
No ulterior motive, just curiosity.
The contaminated silver crystal stood as tall as an average adult, but the “vacuum cleaner” nozzle was only about the size of two or three palms. Cleaning every inch of the [False Mirror] was naturally a time-consuming task.
In fact, Le Qiaoqiao had been working on it for half an hour by now.
“Phew, finally done!”
At last, the device’s beeping slowed to a steady rhythm, and no more black mist was being drawn into the container. Exhausted, the rogue dropped the device’s handle and collapsed to the ground, panting like a dog with her tongue sticking out.
“Good job. How are you feeling?” Violet asked casually.
The group observing from a distance walked over, and the priestess casually cast a low-level healing spell on Le Qiaoqiao. Only then did she manage to stop panting and, with Hongyan’s support, struggled to her feet.
“Nothing special, really… just tired. Dead tired. It’s like the time I trained endurance by hanging upside down on a rack all night. My whole body feels drained. And all I was doing was sweeping this thing over a rock! So weird.”
“Completely drained, huh…”
Violet was well aware of Le Qiaoqiao’s capabilities. While her [Peak Ascension] cultivation level wasn’t particularly impressive here. In fact, it was practically at the bottom, her level-30 strength was enough for her to leap across rooftops, lift several hundred pounds, or run 10 to 20 miles without breaking a sweat. So how could a task like this leave her utterly exhausted?
“It’s because of this little thing,” Xiao Kong remarked, bending down to pick up the “vacuum cleaner” rod that Le Qiaoqiao had casually dropped. She prodded it with her paw.
The [Destruction] particles were highly corruptive. In this world, ordinary spiritual energy quickly decayed upon contact with them. The device likely worked by converting the user’s physical stamina into energy, barely managing to clean the outer layers of contamination.
Hearing this, Violet quickly understood.
“So that’s it. No wonder only strong enough individuals were chosen for this job…”
Not only did the participants have to resist the corruption of the polluted [False Mirrors], but they also had to contribute their physical stamina to power the device. This wasn’t something just anyone could handle.
Judging by Le Qiaoqiao’s utterly exhausted state, it seemed she barely met the minimum standard for the task.
Glancing again at the now pristine silver crystal, which reflected the clear images of everyone present, including herself, Violet nodded slightly.
“Alright, let’s take a short break and then move on. This is just the beginning.”
……………………………
The participants were given only three days to clean the mutated crystals on the outskirts of [Mirror Valley]. According to the Immortal Island envoy, at noon on the third day, the "competition" would enter its next phase.
The first day of the event was July 22, 1000 of the Four Saints Calendar, only five days remained until the scheduled arrival of Immortal Island.
Even Violet didn’t fully understand what the so-called next phase entailed, nor how many contingency plans Immortal Island had prepared in the background. However, based on the information Ming Lianyun had hinted at earlier, she could make a reasonable guess.
Judging by the armies from the four nations stationed around [Mirror Valley], the next phase was likely to involve a defensive battle centered on the valley. The top-tier experts from the Ancient Spirit Realm would venture into the valley to carry out their tasks, while the armies were tasked with ensuring no external forces disrupted them.
The task of cleaning the [False Mirrors] seemed to be a way of preemptively removing unstable elements that could cause problems later.
Without much of a competitive atmosphere, the three days passed quickly.
As Violet and her team continued searching for and repairing the mutated crystals, essentially the foundation points of the [Seal of Heaven and Earth], they gradually advanced toward the deeper parts of [Mirror Valley], following their plan.
Along the way, they encountered several other teams, though these meetings were brief, with the groups parting ways shortly after. Occasionally, they came across participants who were utterly exhausted and had completely lost the will to continue. Such individuals were escorted by others back to the outskirts, clearly having been eliminated.
There was no doubt that anyone who couldn’t endure even the first phase was effectively out of the competition.
It’s worth noting that although [Mirror Valley] was filled with crystal pillars and was considered one of the ten most dangerous places in the Ancient Spirit Realm, it wasn’t entirely devoid of life. Flowers, grass, trees, and small animals like birds, pheasants, rabbits, and badgers could still be found throughout the valley.
However, despite the sparse human presence, there was no trace of demonic energy or signs of evil spirits anywhere in [Mirror Valley]. It seemed as though the spiritual energy of the land was tightly confined deep underground, with very little reaching the surface. The reason for this remained a mystery.
Although they had brought ample supplies into the valley, maintaining their physical and mental states while performing such grueling work in the wilderness required eating well, drinking enough, and resting properly. In this context, the survival skills learned during the preliminary selection rounds proved invaluable.
In hindsight, it seemed likely that Immortal Island had intentionally designed the preliminary rounds this way. Not just in the Eastern Kingdom, but probably across all four regions.
By the third day, near noon on July 24, 1000, Violet and her team successfully reached the area near the inner valley, which comprised less than a tenth of the entirety of [Mirror Valley], as per their plan.
The scene before them was even more surreal and indescribable.
This was a “valley within a valley”.
Enormous silver crystals, far more towering and grand than those outside, rose from the ground like massive walls. These crystals connected in a circular pattern, forming what could only be described as a [Mirror Valley].
To put it simply, it resembled a gigantic wooden barrel.
The inner valley had no visible exits. Its walls were nearly 100 meters high, smooth as mirrors, and made of the unique crystal material that was nearly impossible to climb. Without the ability to fly, entering this area seemed utterly impossible.
Yet even if someone could fly high above [Mirror Valley] and look down from the sky, they would discover that the entire valley, both the outer and inner sections, was covered by an invisible barrier. Though it appeared illusory, this barrier completely sealed off the sky.
In other words, creatures within [Mirror Valley], particularly in the inner valley, couldn’t fly into the sky at all.
In many ways, this place was less a valley and more a heavily fortified, multi-layered “prison”.