Bamboo Chest Chapter 46: False Illusion, True Ascension
The scribe clutched his chest, staring down at the blood seeping between his fingers, gritting his teeth.
Damn it…
He had been ambushed by that guy!
“You’re afraid.”
Lu Yun slowly emerged from the darkness, clad entirely in black. Though he held no sword, his presence was sharp and piercing.
“Your realm is fake! In the world of the Nine Lanterns Board, whatever I believe is the truth. There’s no way you’re Ascension Realm!”
“The Nine Lanterns Board... so this place is actually the world of the Nine Lanterns Board?”
Lu Yun’s gaze settled calmly on the scribe. “Then you, Nameless Scribe, do you really think I’m not Ascension Realm?”
The scribe gripped the freshly forged Immortal Weapon King’s Sword, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He never expected to be intimidated by a junior.
More importantly, his heart was actually wavering.
Could it really be… Ascension Realm?
No, it must not be. But the aura Lu Yun exuded was unlike anything a mere demon youth could possess!
Why?
The scribe was baffled. This was clearly his illusion, yet why was he being threatened by a boy?
Lu Yun advanced step by step, and the scribe retreated.
At that moment, the hesitant scribe suddenly struck, hurling the King’s Sword forward.
The sword flew against the wind, slicing through countless specks of dust, rushing toward Lu Yun.
Lu Yun stood still, motionless.
With a grand gesture, the scribe appeared instantly behind the flying sword, clutching the hilt tightly and slashing with all his might.
This was the first strike since the sword’s forging, a testament to its worth.
Sometimes even the scribe would be bewildered; after absorbing four souls, the Nine Lanterns Board seemed to have undergone unexpected changes.
In the scribe’s mind, the power of the Immortal Weapon and the force behind his slash should not have been the same.
Lu Yun turned his body slightly; his right sleeve fluttered and gradually fragmented into pieces in the wind.
Just barely—Lu Yun could feel it—his right hand was almost crippled.
“Nameless Scribe, do you recognize me?”
Lu Yun asked.
The scribe gripped the King’s Sword, smiling, “Guess.”
“Boring.”
Lu Yun slowly retracted his hand. “Then let me show you the might of the Ascension Realm…”
The scribe’s face changed slightly, but this time, since he did not retreat, it meant he did not believe Lu Yun could slay him within his illusion.
In a fleeting moment, the scribe seemed to appear midair, before the bright full moon.
The moonlight was pure and sharp like a blade.
He would die…
Panicked, the scribe swung his sword again, using a secret technique that drained his life force to forcibly break through the vision, then immediately retreated and vanished.
---
Are you kidding me? He really is Ascension Realm?!
He had crafted a genuine Ascension Realm figure within his own illusion?!
Lu Yun took a step forward, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
“I’m beginning to like it here.”
…
The scribe treaded the air, arriving above a lake’s surface. Glancing down casually, he saw the full moon reflected on the shimmering water.
A figure in black met his gaze from the reflection, smiling faintly.
“As long as I kill you, I should be able to leave here, right?”
“Impossible!”
The scribe roared, “This is my illusion!”
The reflection blurred gradually, but the scribe knew the sword had already been struck.
Indeed, he had been frightened by Lu Yun!
Lu Yun’s Ascension Realm had already been affected.
But facing that moonlit slash, the scribe still didn’t know how to evade.
The sword strike had been made and still carried the strength of an Ascension Realm swordsman.
Resolute, the scribe threw the King’s Sword away.
The Immortal Weapon sliced through the air, its destination unknown.
“As long as you can’t break the illusion, I still win!”
The scribe laughed heartily. “Lu Yun, you should feel honored—I rarely gamble!”
The moonlight bathed the scribe’s delicate face. In the next moment, he was cut down by the sword. His form did not turn into blood mist but slowly faded away.
With the scribe’s exit, the black-clad figure in the reflection began to solidify.
Ripples stirred the lake surface as Lu Yun stepped out of the water, looking up at the sky, frowning.
“Tough to kill, indeed. But he must have paid a great price to leave here. How do I get out?”
Suddenly, Lu Yun recalled the woman named Ci Ling and the tiger demon.
After pondering briefly, the sleeve on Lu Yun’s right hand slowly restored, and he took a step, vanishing from sight.
…
“Sigh, what on earth is going on…”
Song Lian held his head, troubled.
“Why is it that I never seem to be of any help? Hey, why did I say ‘never’?”
“Don’t overthink it.”
Lu Yun appeared behind Song Lian, patting the now grown youth’s shoulder, feeling strangely unfamiliar.
This kid, even grown up, was still so foolish?
Song Lian stood, brushing dust off his clothes, somewhat dissatisfied.
“Master, you have to give me a chance to prove myself. As your disciple, I can’t always be hiding in the corner.”
Lu Yun glanced at Song Lian. “Do you think you could defeat that Nameless Scribe?”
Song Lian touched his face and chuckled.
---
“I said ‘in the future’—yes, in the future, when I get stronger, I’ll definitely honor Master properly and share your burdens…”
Lu Yun paid no attention. “Enough chatter; let’s go back. I have some ideas now. Maybe I can leave this place.”
“All right!”
Song Lian agreed immediately.
…
On the chessboard, five black pieces had become four, and one white piece was gradually becoming indistinct.
The Old Blind Man glanced at the disheveled Nameless Scribe standing before him, chuckling.
“Having a hard time inside?”
“Do you seriously plan to take me as your disciple?!” the scribe angrily retorted. “You never wanted to give me a chance! You just wanted to use my Nine Lanterns Board to train Lu Yun!”
The Old Blind Man ignored the scribe, calmly saying, “Be quiet.”
“I have traveled through most of the wilds, painstakingly collecting these four souls. I won’t allow them to be mere whetstones for Lu Yun!”
The scribe turned to leave but was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of pressure.
“I said be quiet,” the Old Blind Man repeated.
The scribe froze on the spot.
This—this was the true Ascension Realm…
Far stronger than the pressure from Lu Yun in the illusion.
He couldn’t move, not even entertain thoughts of resistance, or he would truly die!
The Old Blind Man did not look at the scribe again.
To him, the moment the scribe was frightened by Lu Yun, he had already lost.
As for whether he would really take him as a disciple?
The Old Blind Man had already said it when he first saw the scribe:
“As long as you can defeat Lu Yun, I will take you as my disciple.”
Since Lu Yun hadn’t completely won, the scribe hadn’t lost.
The Old Blind Man just disliked talking to fools and was too lazy to explain further.
“That one is rather interesting.”
A voice sounded, and the scribe’s mind went blank. In his peripheral vision, a man near the chessboard bent over to observe the game.
When?
When had he arrived? Or had he been there all along?!
The scribe deeply regretted coming to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
These ancient cultivators were beyond mere danger!
The Old Blind Man nodded in agreement. “Indeed interesting. It also happens to help with your formation.”
The man, Bai Ze, smiled. “But now is not the time.”