A Night of Desperation-Chapter 557: fusion 3

After breaking through to the late Golden Core Stage and entering the Perfect State, this good news gave Yu Xuezi and his disciples a strong boost of morale.

After the breakthrough, Yu Xuezi repaired the leaking Array points all over, and everything quickly returned to tranquility.

Yu Hong also resumed his daily routine of greeting and cultivating.

However, the Corrupt Traveler elder who said he would come to reclaim the Beast Fire has not appeared since he mysteriously disappeared that day.

He wandered several times in the underground tunnel but could not find the inexplicably appearing black hole.

The Black Mark started repairing the heavy Defense Belt and could not be used for anything else. Yu Hong could only focus on his cultivation.

He went to the Life Well every day, absorbing a large amount of vitality.

Thus, more than a month slowly passed.

Knock, knock.

"Come in," Bai Sheng’s voice came from a side hall of the Wanxue Palace.

Yu Hong pushed the door and entered, looking inside.

The side hall was all white, with thick White Jade Bricks laid on the ground, each carved with intricate Sealing Talisman Arrays.

A sculpture resembling a winged dolphin stood in the center. Under the sculpture was a large black square table with good wine and dishes set up.

Bai Sheng sat at the table.

"Junior Brother, have a seat," he pointed to the seat opposite him.

"Is there no one else?" Yu Hong asked.

"Just the two of us," Bai Sheng nodded, "I invited you here because I received some news a few days ago."

"What news?" Yu Hong sat down, picked up a cup of wine on the table, and drank it lightly.

"The Absolute Balance Floating City you visited before has a problem," Bai Sheng said in a deep voice, "It is said that a war broke out, a large-scale battle."

....

Yu Hong’s hand, which was about to pour a second cup of wine, trembled slightly.

"Of course, the Absolute Balance Floating City is far away, and it will take quite some time to get there, but the situation is true. I told you early so you have extra time to prepare. I heard you have friends there?"

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother." Yu Hong poured wine and toasted Bai Sheng.

"Speaking of which, you’ve been on the Mining Star for quite some time. How do you feel? Is it boring?" Bai Sheng sighed.

"Actually, it’s not bad," Yu Hong shook his head. Secretly, Senior Uncle Feng Xuezi and the Corrupt Traveler elder were still holding back the Black Tide. How could he find it boring? He only felt a sense of crisis.

"The Black Tide has been held back for now, blocked outside the Array. Now all external passages are blocked. Even if you want to leave through Source Disaster or Wind Disaster, you might need to wait for the right time. But typically, the Black Tide’s invasion lasts over a year and then recedes, so you don’t need to worry," Bai Sheng comforted, "It’s just a bit strange that the interval between this Black Tide and the last seems off."

Yu Hong didn’t speak;of course, it didn’t match. His Repairing of the Red Sky Fruit prematurely triggered the Black Tide’s counterattack.

This time the intensity would certainly be greater than before.

"My Senior Sister and I have long lost our parents and family. They did not attain immortality and have long turned to dust. So now our Master is our family, and now you are part of it too. We see you and Quan He as new siblings. So if you have any troubles or anything, don’t worry, don’t hide it;just tell us directly. We will not refuse any help if we can provide it," Bai Sheng said.

It was evident that Bai Sheng had recently noticed Yu Hong’s concerns.

Since learning that Feng Xuezi was secretly supporting the overall situation, Yu Hong’s sense of urgency had subtly manifested in his daily cultivation and interactions.

After the daily greetings in Wanxue Palace, everyone would slightly discuss their recent cultivation state. Any doubts could be directly and quickly resolved.

Bai Sheng had clearly noticed something.

"Senior Brother, I understand," Yu Hong nodded, "Actually, it’s not a big issue. It’s just..." He hesitated. If Yu Xuezi’s consciousness was sealed and unable to know any truth about Wanxue Palace, what about Bai Sheng and Hei Ying?

He pondered for a moment and decided to try.

"It’s just that recently, I discovered something."

"What is it? Tell me. You are now Wanxue Palace’s greatest hope. Any trouble must be swiftly resolved to avoid affecting your progress," Bai Sheng joked.

Their cultivation often spanned several years, decades, or even centuries. After reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, some even cultivated for tens of thousands of years to reach the Nascent Soul Late Stage Perfection, stuck at that stage without progress.

And Yu Hong, in such a short time, was about to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.... Such speed was simply terrifying.

And Quan He also was about to reach the Golden Core stage. Although his speed was slightly slower than Yu Hong’s, it far exceeded that of Bai Sheng and Hei Ying.

In the past, Bai Sheng and Hei Ying hadn’t deeply understood why their master always sighed when mentioning the Immortal Seed or Master Uncle.

But now, he had some feelings about it.

"Senior Brother, have you noticed any changes around Qinghe Mountain outside Wanxue Palace?" Yu Hong tentatively spoke out.

"Changes?" Bai Sheng showed a puzzled expression, "Qinghe Mountain’s main sect is extremely far away from our star system. Without a Space Gate or long-distance Star Gate jump, we can’t contact them. It’s a distance measured in light-years, crossing star array formations."

"I understand what you mean, Senior Brother, but doesn’t it make you wonder why no one from Qinghe Mountain has come to handover duties for such a long time?" Yu Hong asked.

"Do you mean something happened to Qinghe Mountain?" Bai Sheng laughed, "I too thought that way before, but have you considered, if something happened to Qinghe Mountain, could any of us here be spared from disaster?"

"...." Yu Hong frowned and was silent for a moment, "That’s because someone behind the scenes is helping us resist the Star Disaster."

"Behind the scenes?" Bai Sheng’s expression slightly changed as he spoke. "You...Junior Brother, have you come into contact with something?"

"Senior Brother... recently I came across someone called Feng Xuezi…." Yu Hong directly said.

"It’s him!" Unexpectedly, Bai Sheng didn’t miss a beat and even slapped the table, "Wasn’t he with a guy called Corrupt as well, telling you they are the true protectors of Wanxue Palace?"

"Uh...." Yu Hong blinked. What was going on here? Could it be that Bai Sheng already knew the truth?

"Let me tell you... sigh...." Bai Sheng sighed deeply. "Master Uncle Feng Xuezi was indeed a top genius in our Wanxue Palace lineage, once appreciated by the Heavenly Venerate and taken as a disciple, successfully reaching the Golden Immortal cultivation. At that time, our Wanxue Palace was incredibly prestigious and powerful. But good times never last...."

He shook his head slightly, poured a drink, and took a sip, unconsciously tapping his fingers on the table.

"In one battle against the Star Disaster, Master Uncle Feng Xuezi had an accident. It was said that he was eroded by the Black Disaster, but in truth, he was tragically eroded by the most mysterious Heart Disaster, which drastically changed his personality. To the outside world, he claimed that Wanxue Palace had long been destroyed, and he had been secretly combating everything to protect everything."

"Sigh.... At that time, the Heavenly Venerate hadn’t disappeared and had tried many times to save him, but unfortunately, wasn’t able to pull him out of those absurd illusions. In the end, Feng Xuezi’s teacher, Heavenly Rainbow Long Light Venerable, had no choice but to seal him in the dark side of Wanxue Palace, watched over by Master Yu Xuezi. But even so, he frequently appeared on the Mining Star with his friend Golden Immortal Fu Bai...."

Bai Sheng’s words left Yu Hong stunned.

"Wait a minute, Senior Brother, may I ask, what is the Heart Disaster?" This was the first time he had heard of it.

"It’s the source of the Heart Demon, endless illusions, the most terrifying and powerful of all Star Disasters." Bai Sheng sighed.

"Why do you say that? From what I know, Light Disaster, Spirit Disaster, Wind Disaster, Black Disaster, and Cold Disaster all seem to be on par. So why is the Heart Disaster the strongest?" Yu Hong asked out of curiosity.

He was growing more curious, wondering whether Bai Sheng or Master Uncle Feng Xuezi held the real truth.

He still leaned towards Master Uncle Feng Xuezi for now.

"Do you know that in this world, to reach a goal, one must distinguish between the right and wrong paths?" Bai Sheng explained.

"The correct paths are few, while the wrong ones are numerous. Whether it’s a living error or a non-living error, as long as there’s change, there will be errors. The stronger the correct path, the countless errors combined will certainly be far stronger. These endless mighty errors accumulate into the conceptual Heart Disaster."

Bai Sheng took another sip of wine.

"You usually can’t feel the Heart Disaster, but once it appears, it silently guides you towards the wrong direction. Every time you face choices and crossroad moments, once the Heart Disaster shows up, the incorrect options would greatly increase. And... if you choose incorrectly three times in a row, you’d gradually fall into an unknown illusion. This illusion is naturally derived from within you and not even the Heavenly Venerate can reverse it."

"This.... wouldn’t this fundamentally change a person!?" Yu Hong was shocked.

"Exactly. Once trapped in the Heart Disaster illusion, a person is essentially ruined. They will see right as wrong and see everything they do as what they hope to see." Bai Sheng nodded, "That’s exactly what happened to Master Uncle Feng Xuezi. Furthermore, the Heart Disaster has another characteristic — the more people believe in it, the stronger it becomes, eventually replacing reality. So, if you encounter Master Uncle Feng Xuezi, don’t believe a single word!"

Yu Hong was speechless....

He fell into silence for a moment. Suddenly, he thought of a key point.

"Then, if Qinghe Mountain is fine, why aren’t they coming to rescue us from this siege? Is there no way to send an alert to the main sect?"

"Of course, there is. Some time ago, Master already reported the situation. The response was that someone will come to relieve us soon, and that we should hold out for a bit. This unexpected change in the Black Tide surely startled them as well, so they plan to send someone to investigate. Previously, they barely responded to our reports, but this time they quickly stated they’ll come."

Bai Sheng stroked his chin.

This left Yu Hong truly at a loss for words;whether it was true or false would be clear when the people from the main sect arrived.

"But don’t worry about Master Uncle. Although he may be insane, his heart has always been good and he would never harm us." Bai Sheng added.

"I understand...."

Yu Hong was bewildered when he left Wanxue Palace, his head filled with thoughts of Heart Disaster, warnings, illusions, errors.

But when he returned to the Black Black Spirit, closed the door, and felt the cold, real sensation of the Recovery Necklace on his neck, he instantly sobered up.

’Forget it, it doesn’t matter if it’s true or false. Strengthening the defense belt and acquiring treasures is the real deal. The benefits at hand are practical. As for the truth, when the people from the main sect arrive, everything will be clear.’