Chapter 28: The Second Layer of the Illusory Realm

  The seven-day deadline is approaching, and many figures have appeared in the Hall of Life and Death. The patriarch Nie Qing Song, the seventh elder Nie Xing Hai, the eighth elder Nie Long Shan, and the ninth elder Nie Xing Dong all appear, but no one speaks, and the surroundings are silent. As noon approaches, the dazzling light that seeps out from the Illusory Realm begins to slowly gather and gradually fade away.

  "There are still three people left."

  Looking at the three lonely cocoons, Jiu Lao Nie Xing Dong suddenly spoke up and broke the silence, laughing, "I hope that Nie Qing An and Nie Kong can hold on until the end. If we let that little girl from the Bai family take first place this time, our Nie family will be a bit embarrassed."

  Someone suddenly said: "Why don't we just marry Xiaoyao into the Nie family? As long as she becomes a daughter-in-law of the Nie family, she will also be considered a member of the Nie family."

  "Haha, this idea isn't bad."

  The hall erupted in thunderous laughter, and the slightly suppressed atmosphere instantly vanished without a trace. Everyone laughed and gazed at the three colorful eggs...

  ……

  "It's over."

  In the valley of the Phantom Realm, looking up at the sky filled with aurora, Nie Qing raised himself shakily, his body dripping with fresh blood.

  Nie Kong took out the golden needle from Du Jiao's eye socket and also sat up with some difficulty. Bai Yuqing lay on the ground, unable to move, but a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips, and the colorful light of the sky reflected in her eyes, making her eyes shine with an unusual brilliance.

  Nie Qing'an and Nie Kong were extremely close, a glance at each other, with a smile on their faces, and a hint of teasing in his tone: "Nie Kong, do you still have the strength to stand up?"

  As they spoke, footsteps floated towards Nie Kong.

  "Of course!"

  Nie Kong burst out laughing, his two legs trembling as he struggled to get up. Suddenly, Nie Qingyan, who had walked up to Nie Kong, tripped and fell forward onto Nie Kong's body.

  "Be careful."

  Nie Kong's hand reached out to support him, but suddenly accelerated and pinched his five fingers on Nie Qingyun's left chest. Spiritual power burst forth, and a bloody shadow spurted from his back. At this moment, Nie Qingyun's right palm was only half an inch away from Nie Kong's heart.

  Nie Qingyan looked down at the extra bullet hole in his chest with an unbelievable expression, a bitter smile that was uglier than crying spreading across his mouth as he said: "You...you were just a little faster than me...just a little..." His voice grew weaker and weaker until finally, his head and his suspended right arm both drooped down.

  "I told you to be careful."

  Nie Kong chuckled and gently pushed Nie Qing'an's corpse to the ground, then walked crookedly to Bai Yuqing's side, who was gazing up at the sky, and teased, "Sister Bai, do you still have the energy to commit suicide?" The first layer of the Mortal Realm is particularly abnormal; once the time limit is reached, even if one hasn't died, they must kill themselves to exit. Otherwise, when the colorful clouds in the sky disappear, their soul will be forever trapped in a deep sleep, unable to return to their physical body.

  “……”

  Bai Yuqing blinked her eyes.

  "Good."

  Nie Kong supported Bai Yuqing to sit up, smiled and said: "Then I'll leave first. If there's no one else in the Illusory Realm, the first place will be yours. Hmm... I need to find a more comfortable place to die, this outside is all corpses, thinking about lying with them for ten seconds after my death makes me feel a bit nauseous."

  As for letting Bai Yujing get the first place, Nie Kong didn't think there was anything wrong with it. In his heart, family honor and whatnot were all fleeting clouds. Moreover, this first place could also be considered as something Bai Yujing deserved. If she hadn't helped him, Nie Kong would have absolutely been unable to hold on for the last two days. Of course, if Nie Kong hadn't treated her, perhaps Bai Yujing would have died from severe injuries a few days ago. The two of them were mutually complementary.

  Nie Kong walked towards the stone cave. As for the white jade stone wall, Nie Kong still didn't give up and planned to try again before he died to see if there was any medicinal fragrance inside.

  With great effort, Nie Kong sat down cross-legged against the stone wall. He quietly circulated the "Five Stars Shift" for a moment, but still didn't sense even half a hint of medicinal fragrance emanating from it. As the outside light began to fade, Nie Kong had no choice but to give up. He mobilized the last wisp of spiritual power within his apertures and punched his right fist into his left chest.

  A few seconds later, the movement of Bai Yuqing outside the cave became much smaller. Her slender index finger lightly poked at the towering jade peak on the left, and a faint "crack" sound of her heart shattering echoed from within her chest...

  ……

  The Hall of Life and Death.

  "That young Qing'an is really disappointing, but he's actually come out first."

  Looking at the last two remaining colored silkworms, Nie Xingdong shook his head in disappointment and sighed, "Now, it can only be seen by Nie Kong."

  Bang!

  Another loud explosion, and everyone's heart skipped a beat. When they saw Bai Yuke's exposed fiery figure, almost everyone let out a breath at the same time, secretly calling out in admiration. Bai Yuke took the lead, and the first place still fell to the Nie family.

  Immediately, a middle-aged woman rushed out of the crowd, intending to send the unconscious Bai Yuke away. However, when she arrived at Bai Yuke's side, she withdrew her stretched-out arms with some surprise because Bai Yuke was wide awake and showed no signs of being unconscious.

  Seeing this scene, Nie Qing Song and several elders all nodded secretly. This little girl was able to hold on until now before coming out, and just her determination alone was much stronger than the previous little guys. Moreover, among the hundreds of people who entered the Life and Death Illusionary Realm, those who could still remain clear-headed after coming out did not exceed five in total.

  "Huh?"

  Bai Yujing's eyes flashed with uncontrollable surprise, and as soon as she woke up, she found that her cultivation had already risen to the ninth rank of Tongling. After the joy passed, Bai Yujing subconsciously turned her head to look back, seeing the still-existing cocoon, and couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

  Bai Yuqing was perplexed in his heart. If he remembered incorrectly, then that position should be Nie Kong's. But he had clearly seen Nie Kong's heart being blown up with blood and flesh splashing everywhere, which was absolutely not fake. Logically speaking, Nie Kong should have come out before him!

  "Hmm, isn't it?"

  Nie Qing Song gazed at the Phantom Domain, his face revealing a hint of astonishment.

  As soon as the words came out, the weak seven-colored flowing light in the central hall of the Hall of Life and Death suddenly roared violently, and the seven-colored rainbow quickly transformed into a red glow. In an instant, billions of brilliant red lights burst forth like a sunset, and every corner of the Hall of Life and Death was shrouded in a dismal bloody color.

  "Someone has broken into the second layer of the Phantom Realm!"

  Nie Xingdong exclaimed in surprise, and a look of astonishment that could not be concealed appeared on his doll-like face. Nie QingSong, Nie XingHai, and Nie LongShan also changed their expressions.

  "The second layer of the Phantom Realm?"

  In the midst of astonished gasps, the gazes of over a dozen tribesmen fell upon the only colorful cocoon in the Mortal Pavilion... No, it should be called a blood cocoon now. The seven-colored glow that had emanated from the cocoon was gradually replaced by a crimson hue until no other colors remained on its surface.

  Nie Qing Song furrowed his brow and muttered: "Nie Kong has only just reached the first rank of spiritual awareness, how could he possibly have the ability to enter the second layer of the Mortal Life Realm?"

  The clan leader's one sentence expressed the doubts in everyone's heart.

  Looking around at the crowd with different expressions, Bai Yujing's delicate face was filled with a hint of confusion, and she muttered: "The second layer of the Illusory Realm? He clearly already killed himself!"

  Nie Xingdong's eyes lit up, and he appeared beside Bai Yujing like a ghost. He asked urgently, "Lass, did you see Nie Kong commit suicide with your own eyes? Was there anything special about the place where he killed himself?"

  To the place where he had stayed for seven days, Bai Yujing was more familiar than anyone else. Without hesitation, he said: "It's a very beautiful stone cave, with a white jade stone wall in the shape of an archway. In the first few days, Nie Kong almost spent day and night sticking to that white jade stone wall to cultivate."

  "White jade stone wall? Arch-shaped?"

  Others were confused, but Nie Qing Song, Nie Xing Dong, Nie Xing Hai and Nie Long Shan fell into deep thought. The crowd looked at the blood-red illusion and cocoon, then at Nie Qing Song and the others, subconsciously holding their breath, afraid of making a sound that would disturb the patriarch's thoughts...

  ……