Chapter 1268 Illusion Arts
"You've encountered an anomaly before, so you should know how they are produced, right?"
In response to the innkeeper of Fuling Inn's question, Chen Yang nodded slowly and explained what he knew.
These were things the Lord of the Underworld had told him.
Logically, there shouldn't be any problems. However, when the innkeeper of Fuling Inn heard his answer, he paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Partially right, partially wrong. Anomalies are indeed produced by the combination of certain powers, as you thought."
"But it's not just the Nascent Soul realm, or something like Nascent Soul spirit marrow, that materializes."
"It's a power of comprehension. Jiang Jiantao called this power 'Dao'."
Chen Yang stared blankly at the innkeeper of Fuling Inn.
By this time, Chen Yang's three ancient coins had returned, but the string of ancient coins in the innkeeper of Fuling Inn's hand floated around her. In the next second, before Chen Yang could react, a mysterious power enveloped him.
"It's an anomaly!"
By the time Chen Yang realized what was happening, he was no longer in Fuling Inn. He was inside a wondrous anomaly.
Within this anomaly, over a hundred strange eyes stared at him.
These eyes were the size of palms, and each blink was filled with mysterious rhythm.
Eerie divine light seeped from these eyes, scrutinizing Chen Yang from all directions.
However, Chen Yang was not intimidated by these eyes.
He noticed that behind the eyes, there were structures resembling red blood vessels connected.
All the red blood vessels converged, their extended direction leading into a misty void.
"Huh? Innkeeper?"
Chen Yang asked in confusion.
As soon as Chen Yang spoke, the surrounding anomaly vanished.
The scene before his eyes returned to the interior of Fuling Inn.
The innkeeper of Fuling Inn looked at Chen Yang with great shock.
"You! You saw through it just now?"
"You can see me?"
The innkeeper of Fuling Inn controlled the anomaly; she herself had materialized from it.
She had only intended to show Chen Yang her anomaly, but unexpectedly, Chen Yang had seen through everything.
Could a cultivator at the fifth level of Core Formation achieve this?
Even cultivators in the Nascent Soul realm would not necessarily be able to see through her.
Chen Yang vaguely guessed the reason. His spiritual power might not be as great as that of a peak Core Formation cultivator, but its resilience was certainly stronger than theirs.
After all, the ten thousand years of experience Chen Yang had in the bronze cauldron was an opportunity not easily obtained by ordinary people.
Seeing Chen Yang remain silent, the innkeeper of Fuling Inn glanced at him curiously before continuing, "Whether you could see through it or not, that is its Dao."
The innkeeper of Fuling Inn shook her ancient coins.
Chen Yang finally reacted.
Were those eyes just now the ancient coins?
Chen Yang involuntarily looked at his own three ancient coins.
When the anomaly appeared, his ancient coins seemed to have shown no reaction.
Could it be, as the innkeeper of Fuling Inn said, that they had been refined?
"This kind of power is not something a Nascent Soul cultivator can awaken. It's like the divine abilities of humans; they are not determined by realm."
As the innkeeper of Fuling Inn said this, a strange light flashed in her eyes.
Her anomaly had seen some peculiar things just now.
They were somewhat like human divine abilities.
However, they seemed incomplete.
"Divine abilities... Dao."
Chen Yang scratched his head helplessly.
Although he had gained some insights, for Chen Yang, all of this was still just a hint.
Moreover, neither Shi Xin Chou nor Wu Min would likely be able to help him.
...
After the two emerged from the room, the Lord of the Underworld hurried over, beckoning them.
The table was already laden with food.
"Chen Yang, sit down and have some too."
At any other time, Chen Yang would not have refused.
But now, he had to return and research divine abilities.
Seeing Chen Yang leave, the Lord of the Underworld couldn't help but look at the innkeeper of Fuling Inn.
"Why did you tell Chen Yang everything? Do you trust him that much?"
Faced with the Lord of the Underworld's questioning, the innkeeper of Fuling Inn retorted, "If you can trust him, why can't I?"
"Since I've revealed my foundation to him, whether he can help me or not, he certainly won't hinder me."
After speaking, the innkeeper of Fuling Inn reached out and poured some Immortal Wine for the Lord of the Underworld.
Although they had never communicated much, they possessed an extraordinary tacit understanding.
In the Spiritual Domain, the Lord of the Underworld had been suppressing various anomalies, unable to divide his attention.
Only during the opening of the Spiritual Domain could he spare a little spiritual power for a brief rest.
The innkeeper of Fuling Inn was even more so. After waking up, she left the Spiritual Domain directly.
And before she awoke, there had even been some minor skirmishes between them.
Later, when the Spiritual Domain opened, the innkeeper of Fuling Inn needed to go to the Spiritual Domain to protect herself, which led to more interaction.
But it was only interaction.
Both of them, in their tacit understanding, never disturbed each other, nor did they try to expose each other's existence.
"But your needs and Chen Yang's intentions seem to conflict?"
"What Chen Yang wants is not the stability of the Underworld."
"Or rather, not this kind of stability."
"I heard Jiang Jiantao say something similar a long time ago."
"If I recall correctly, when Jiang Jiantao enlightened you, didn't he also say something similar?"
The innkeeper of Fuling Inn froze, her expression instantly hardening.
She stared intently at the Lord of the Underworld. After a long pause, she muttered, "It's been so long, and you remember it so clearly."
"Eat your fill. I'm leaving!"
Watching the retreating back of the innkeeper of Fuling Inn, the Lord of the Underworld sighed helplessly.
Indeed, this girl still harbored resentment towards Jiang Jiantao in her heart.
Chen Yang was unaware of their conversation. At this moment, he was re-experiencing the bronze cauldron from the Spiritual Domain.
Each bronze cauldron could strengthen one's power.
The bronze cauldron Chen Yang obtained in Yaodu Prefecture allowed him to endure ten thousand years of tree growth, resulting in his spiritual power's resilience surpassing all peak Core Formation cultivators.
The bronze cauldron he obtained in the Spiritual Domain made Chen Yang's "illusion arts" exceptionally powerful.
The essence of illusion arts lay in the strength of one's spiritual power, but powerful illusion arts required very precise control.
Chen Yang's spiritual power was indeed powerful, but controlling it to influence peak Core Formation cultivators was entirely impossible before.
Similarly, it was absolutely impossible for peak Core Formation cultivators to control Chen Yang with their spiritual power.
However, after accepting the enhancement from the bronze cauldron, Chen Yang could now influence peak Core Formation cultivators.
The reason why Yi Shen saw Jiang Jiantao when facing Chen Yang was a result of this ability.
Chen Yang had never seen Jiang Jiantao before, so he couldn't have genuinely transformed into Jiang Jiantao's appearance. He had simply become powerful enough to exploit Yi Shen's spiritual power weaknesses and thereby influence him.