Chapter 452 - 442: This Person Must Not Stay!
"Master Qin, what... what on earth just happened to me?"
When Hua Xiaotian saw Qin Fan was still by his side, the panic on his face intensified rather than subsided. What in the world had he just experienced? Why had he just been trapped in that hopeless, deadly space? Hua Xiaotian needed to know, and he needed to know desperately.
"An illusion. Everything you experienced was an illusion," Qin Fan said gravely. "If I’m not mistaken, the Onmyoji have made their move again. Remember those blood-red butterflies that appeared after you kicked open the elevator door? Those butterflies were behind it."
If not for my Eyes of Golden Flame, if not for the mental fortitude I forged over centuries, would I have been able to withstand such an illusion? I have no answer, and in this world, there are no ’what ifs’. During all those years on the Cangqiong Continent, I always believed Earth to be the weakest existence, that the mortals there were utterly vulnerable. But through my recent experiences, I’ve realized I was wrong. It wasn’t that the mortals of Earth were vulnerable, but that my status and power in my previous life prevented me from ever seeing these extraordinary things. The Third Rank Crystal Core Jiao at Yanjing Ridge. The Training Spirit Clan’s Heaven and Earth Essence Mansion in Shennongjia. The Spiritual Medicine Garden in the Medicine Valley of Chuanshu’s Enchanting Abyss. To ordinary people, these things are straight out of fantasy novels and movies. And now, the methods of the Onmyoji can throw a person’s mind and spirit into chaos, to the point they might even die by their own hand. This series of encounters has forced me to seriously re-evaluate this world. Earth isn’t weak and vulnerable; my own understanding was just too limited. How could a world where, according to Demi Immortal Qilian, beings from the Vast World Realm could achieve Ascension and become Immortals, be simple? At this moment, I’m even beginning to wonder what the ultimate form of existence on Earth truly is. Immortals? Impossible. Independent Immortals? Perhaps... maybe... possibly... I’m starting to waver. But it’s definitely beyond mere Golden Core or even Nascent Soul cultivators. I once thought it would be a miracle if Earth’s resources could even sustain the Foundation Establishment Stage. Now I see how wrong I was. The fact that an Onmyoji from Japan could trap a Great Grandmaster on the verge of the Gang Realm in an illusion is proof enough that there are far too many unknowns on this planet waiting for me.
"An illusion? A move by the Onmyoji? Those butterflies were behind it? I was in an Illusion Realm? This—this—the Onmyoji of Japan are that powerful? I’m a Great Grandmaster, just one step from Gang Jin, and I fell for their tricks so easily and without even realizing it? This... this...!" By the end, Hua Xiaotian’s voice was trembling.
His knowledge of Japan’s Onmyoji had always been superficial. He’d even asked his master, Demi Immortal Qilian, about them, but his master always avoided the subject. Now, he finally understood why. To discuss them would be to face immense pressure—pressure that could even affect his Martial Arts Cultivation. With this realization, he panicked.
"If Onmyoji from Japan were to enter Huaxia’s territory, who could possibly stop them from running rampant? Even I was trapped in an instant. If not for you, Master Qin, I can’t even imagine what would have happened to me. Given their power, if Onmyoji manage to infiltrate Huaxia, it could be a cataclysmic disaster for the Martial Arts World!"
"If they were truly weak, do you think Huaxia’s iron fist would have spared them? Why else would Demi Immortal Qilian’s group not have pressed their advantage and pursued them into Japan back then?" Qin Fan shook his head. "The fact that your master, Demi Immortal Qilian, is wary of them means they can’t be simple. But no matter how complex it is, since we’re here, let’s shake things to their core! I, Qin Fan, may not be some angry youth who wears his patriotism on his sleeve, but I absolutely detest those bastards. I will not allow such scum to lurk right under Huaxia’s nose."
Hua Xiaotian’s horrified expression didn’t surprise him. It wasn’t just Hua Xiaotian; even he felt he had learned something new. Although he didn’t know the exact details of what Hua Xiaotian had experienced in the Illusion Realm, his vast experience on the Cangqiong Continent gave him a pretty good idea of what it entailed.
"Master Qin, if the butterflies were behind it, where are they now?" Hua Xiaotian asked, his brow still furrowed in shock.
"Look, on the ground," Qin Fan said, pointing casually.
SWISH!
Hua Xiaotian reflexively looked down. Scattered here and there were several small, withered leaves.
"Master Qin, are you saying those butterflies were just illusions made from these withered leaves?" Hua Xiaotian exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror.
"That’s right. The last time at the Hua Sheng Group, the butterflies were made of water and weren’t aggressive; if I’m not mistaken, they were for surveillance. This time, they used withered leaves to trigger an Illusion Realm. It seems the Onmyoji have plenty of tricks up their sleeves. I expect they have waves of powerful attacks waiting for us outside. Interesting. If they were too weak, there’d be no fun in this. Heh. Alright, enough talk. Let’s go. Next stop—the Jingguo Society!"
With that, Qin Fan summoned an Elixir from the storage space in his sea of consciousness, slipped it into his pocket, then took it out and handed it to Hua Xiaotian. "You must have exhausted a lot of your essence and spirit. Take this and recover. The main event is next."
Not caring whether Hua Xiaotian took the Elixir or not, Qin Fan strode out of the room.
「Meanwhile」
In a maple forest somewhere in Tokyo, a cluster of maple leaves suspended in midair suddenly burst apart, rustling as they all fell to the ground.
The middle-aged man who had previously used tea to form colorful butterflies to spy on Qin Fan and Hua Xiaotian gasped, his brow furrowing deeply.
"Sangui! It failed?" another middle-aged man in the same teahouse room asked, aghast.
"It failed! They broke the illusion!" Sangui growled, his face twisting with disbelief. "Damn it, with Hua Xiaotian’s Martial Arts Cultivation, he should have been utterly incapable of escaping the illusion! It must have been that Qin Fan. It had to be him. First, he broke the water butterflies, and now the leaf butterflies. Damn it! Damn it all! This man cannot be left alive, absolutely not! If we give him time, he will become a fatal threat to Japan! We must eliminate him in the shortest possible time. He must die here, in Japan!"
An unmistakable look of anxiety and shock appeared on the lead middle-aged man’s face as he gnashed his teeth.
"Tsuchibuta! Immediately report the situation to the higher-ups. We must have them dispatch High-Level Onmyoji, or even Divine-Level Onmyoji! We have to get rid of Qin Fan for good!" Sangui ordered.
"Sangui! Divine-Level Onmyoji?" Tsuchibuta Chizuru cried out, his eyes wide.
"Yes! My intuition tells me that the few of us alone won’t be able to handle him. We’ll need High-Level or even Divine-Level Onmyoji to succeed! The Yamamoto Group has already been destroyed by him. Every second he remains alive is another blow to Japan. We cannot allow him to run free for another moment!" Sangui said, his brow trembling.
"Yes, Sangui!" Seeing Sangui’s urgency, Tsuchibuta Chizuru turned and walked away.
After Tsuchibuta left, another man asked in a low voice, "Sangui, where do you think those damned Huaxianese will go next?"
"The Jingguo Society."
After he spoke those words, Sangui’s expression turned utterly grim. His entire presence exuded a frigid, severe aura.