Chapter 66: Luo Yu Breaks the Illusion

991248!
Hearing this set of numbers, Mieying looked quite puzzled. This number was Huasheng's identification number during the Tianshan Trial.
Huasheng quickly spoke up again, "Not only that, but before I came to Saint Panning, it was also the formation pattern of the spiritual talismans that Lan Caihe gave to Xu's two younger sisters!"
"Ridiculous! How come it sounds like these numbers always revolve around you?"
"When I pierced through Weiyu's Jupiter Veil, I once had a hallucination and ended up in a hospital. The case number I had while trapped in that hospital was also this number!"
Mieying replied, "But this forest is a magical labyrinth, so it's not strange for numbers you personally know to appear, right? And the hospital you mentioned after destroying the Jupiter Veil should also be... should also be a hallucination of yours? I suppose it must be some kind of punishment by the Jupiter Veil to trap the destroyer, so there's no need to take it seriously."
With that, she clutched her shoulder, muttering, "All this mystical nonsense made my wound hurt again. Annoying!"
Seeing Mieying's painful expression, Jane turned her head and said, "Let me see that! I'll heal you with white magic."
Mieying couldn't help shrinking back: "No! Don't! Your white magic is rather terrifying."
Jane comforted her, "White magic itself is a healing spell. Professor Beavis seemed to be manipulated by someone just now, but magic itself is a skill, neither good nor bad."
Only then did Mieying lower her hand covering the wound.
Jane gently placed her hand on Mieying's shoulder, chanting incantations that Huasheng and the others could not understand, and soon a pale yellow light appeared in her palm.
This posture was maintained for quite a while before Jane finally released her hand.
"Take a look at the wound."
After removing the gauze from her shoulder, Mieying cried out in astonishment, "The wound has actually healed! My body is of immortal constitution and even I couldn't heal it quickly by myself. Your white magic is quite impressive! No wonder people say Western medicine works fast!"
Jane smiled and asked, "How does it feel?"
Mieying cast a hesitant look again. "But... I'm just afraid your Western medicine treats the symptoms rather than the root cause!"
Jane smiled and said, "Whether it treats the root cause or not, you'll know once you move around a bit later."
Then she turned around, took Huasheng's hand as well, and began chanting a magic incantation. Since Huasheng was a mortal of flesh and bone, within just a second or two, the wound on his hand from the dagger was completely healed.
Immediately afterward, Jane also healed the wound on Huasheng's thigh and said, "The numbers you mentioned might be due to the magic array in that wooden house bringing some of your fictional memories into reality. There are many unknown powers that originally exist within the magic arrays we study, which even we as casters may not fully understand."

Mieying asked, "Since you can cast magic, how can you not understand it?"
"It's like the effect of a medicine; some potential functions might only manifest ten or twenty years after the drug is produced, and even the developers may not fully explore them."
Upon hearing this, Huasheng said, "I... can't be entirely certain either. But perhaps just as you said, certain illusory things in the mind are brought into reality."
"Dreams are the projection of memories, but the brain randomly processes the information in dreams, and what is presented may not be a complete memory. The magic array then transforms these things into visible forms, creating the objects you described. For example, that cabinet might not have originally existed in the wooden house at all."
"You mean illusions are materialized?"
Jane nodded, as if suddenly thinking of something.
"Speaking of illusions, Mieying, what exactly was going on with that younger sister of yours named 'Illusion' just now?"
The conversation returned to the inexplicable scene in the forest wooden house a moment ago.
By this time, it was past midnight. Traffic on the highway was sparse, and on some stretches, not a single car could be seen either ahead or behind.
"Eighth Sister, she calls herself Illusion."
Inside the sports car speeding along the highway, Mieying began to recount the story of her mysterious sister.
"She almost never shows herself. Ever since I can remember, my sisters and I have rarely seen her. Even when she occasionally appears, it only lasts for the duration of a luoyu—that is, two minutes and twenty-four seconds. That is the limit of the duration every time she manifests."
Jane asked, "You mentioned she appeared before as well. What was the reason for each appearance?"
"She only appears when we encounter a genuine threat to our lives."
"It sounds like a guardian spirit behind the lot of you, sort of like a patron deity? But if so, she should be protecting you from harm. How is it that you got injured again?"
"No, it's not that simple," Mieying replied. "If the several of us sisters shared a bodily protector, that would be Eldest Sister and Fourth Sister."
Eldest Sister was the Immortal Master Qingmiao, while Fourth Sister was the one with white hair wielding the purple-flame snake-spear and fiery tip spear, whom Little Seven called the strongest.
She continued, "Eighth Sister does not protect us from harm. It's more like... she is some kind of force meant to ensure that Mieying can continue to exist."
Jane was somewhat confused. "What does it mean 'to continue to exist'?"
"I can't explain it clearly. Sometimes we don't understand what Eighth Sister says. But many years ago, when I was very young, Eighth Sister appeared and said that we are connected to some complex and volatile scene. This scene has characters, plots, dialogue, ups and downs, and those things are intimately connected to us. Just like bloodlines, the moment we die would cause the entire scene to collapse and disintegrate."

Mieying's words left Jane and Huasheng exchanging glances.
Jane pursued the questioning, "A scene? Is what your Eighth Sister mentioned something like a theatrical stage scene?"
Mieying shook her head. "I cannot be certain."
"Yet listening to this, it's as if there is something surrounding us, and what nourishes these things is you, Mieying? If you die, that thing seems to die as well?"
"I was young back then, so I don't remember the exact details of what was said."
Huasheng asked, "If, as you say, your departure triggers the collapse of the scene, what would the consequences be? Would many people die?"
Mieying didn't seem entirely certain, only saying, "I don't know the specifics. But Eighth Sister refers to it as 'the inevitable end'."
The inevitable end. Huasheng found this phrase very difficult to comprehend. Literally speaking, all things in the world do indeed have a moment of termination. But why would the mysterious "Illusion" say that when Mieying is threatened, "the end" appears?
Since this end is inevitable, what is the reason for Illusion protecting Mieying? If it cannot be prevented, is she merely dragging out the end?
Huasheng asked, "What your Eighth Sister called inevitable—does it refer to some kind of mandate of heaven or destiny?"
Mieying seemed unaware of the reason and only shook her head in bewilderment.
"Was everything that happened in the house just now Eighth Sister's magic?"
"No, on the contrary, it cannot be called magic power. It's hard to describe," Mieying said. "The two of you saw her just now, so you should be able to sense her power."
Huasheng recalled the scene just moments ago and replied, "It was hard to describe at the time. It felt as if the entire world had stopped operating, yet time was still flowing. Not only that, but immortal techniques and magic seemed to fail. I couldn't even pick up the Ruyi Jingu Bang. No, the Jingu Bang vanished again afterwards."
Mieying took a deep breath and slowly said,
"Yes, that's it. The Fire Wheel Heavenly King once told my father and mother. This power is called Mind-Breaker."