Chapter 244: The Mirror World, Reflecting the Truth of Reality

This cave was extremely vast—at least dozens of zhang wide in width. As for its height, Liu Yi couldn’t estimate it, as he still hadn’t seen the ceiling. In the darkness, the only sensation was a gentle breeze, dry and devoid of any scent. Unknowing how long or how far they had walked, Yu Chenxing was the first to complain, “I’m so hungry. Is there anything to eat?”
It was then that Liu Yi remembered he didn’t need food, but Yu Chenxing did. However, the dry rations were carried by July and Ye Luobaihua—where could they find anything to eat now? Without waiting for Yu Chenxing’s reaction, Liu Yi replied, “We have to keep going even if we’re hungry. There’s nothing to eat here.” Then, ignoring Yu Chenxing’s response, he continued on his own.
Yet Liu Yi was puzzled. If judged by time, they must have been walking for at least three hours. Why hadn’t anything changed after such a long time? The only change was that the cave seemed to get higher as they went, as if they were climbing.
Behind him, Yu Chenxing continued to complain, “Why are you so stupid? Can’t you think of a solution? This cave is so deep—we’ve been walking for so long yet still haven’t found a way out. I think I’ll starve to death before we get out.”
Liu Yi kept walking while answering, “If even you can’t figure it out, what can I do? We have to keep going. There’s not a single plant in this cave—nothing to eat.”
Although Yu Chenxing kept complaining, he had no other choice. After all, they had been dragged into this hellish place with not even a blade of grass, let alone food. The two continued walking. After an unknown amount of time, Liu Yi suddenly stopped. Yu Chenxing, already walking dazedly, bumped into him when Liu Yi halted. “Ouch! You idiot! Why did you stop? You scared me!”
Liu Yi shook his head and said, “There’s a sound. Can you hear it?” Sure enough, after Liu Yi spoke, Yu Chenxing became quiet and focused, using his spiritual energy to listen. There was no sound in the entire cave, but then, faint noises like “whoosh, whoosh” came through before disappearing quickly.
Liu Yi continued, “It’s probably far away, but we don’t know what it is.”
Yu Chenxing replied, “Let’s go check.” Ignoring Liu Yi’s attempts to stop him, he headed in the direction of the sound. But just a few steps later, the sound came again. This time, Liu Yi said, “That’s not right. The sound is much closer now.”
Yu Chenxing added, “I think… we don’t need to go look. It will come to us. It must have noticed us already.” As soon as he finished speaking, both sides of the cave suddenly lit up. The two looked toward the glowing areas. On the walls on either side, purple lightning arced in straight lines, stretching forward without any sign of ending.

The purple light had already illuminated part of the cave. Liu Yi took this opportunity to look around and then up, only to find that he still couldn’t see the ceiling above. At that moment, Yu Chenxing said, “That electric light seems to be Brother Lei Jun’s magic martial art.” After saying that, he slowly stepped forward to touch it.

Just as Liu Yi was about to speak, he saw Yu Chenxing reaching out, so he quickly moved to pull him back and said, “What are you doing? This isn’t Lei Jun’s magic martial art at all—it’s very dangerous.” Then he glanced at the purple electric lights on either side.

Yu Chenxing, looking unconvinced, said, “What’s so dangerous? My cultivation isn’t that weak, is it? Can’t I even withstand a little electric light?” He then looked at Liu Yi.

Liu Yi followed the direction of the electric light and casually said, “What do you know? Things that are the same aren’t necessarily effective in the same way. People vary in strength. Although this electric light is of the same kind, it’s definitely stronger than Lei Jun’s magic martial art.”

Yu Chenxing stared at the electric light and asked, “So what? Even if it’s different in strength from Brother Lei Jun’s, how do you know that?”

Liu Yi replied, “Have you ever seen Lei Jun’s magic martial art last this long and extend continuously?” He glanced at Yu Chenxing and added, “I think we should follow the guidance of this electric light and keep moving forward. It seems the owner of the light has already invited us.” Without waiting for Yu Chenxing’s reaction, he got up and continued deeper into the cave.

Yu Chenxing pouted and said, “Coward.” Still, he followed. With the purple electric light illuminating the way, it was much easier to move forward. Meanwhile, Liu Yi observed the surroundings. This place indeed seemed like a natural cave, but how could there be such a huge cave? It was truly strange.

Guided by the electric light, Liu Yi didn’t know how long he had walked. Eventually, he stopped at the end of the cave. There was no way forward—only a smooth, mirror-like white jade wall. The electric lights on either side came from both sides of this wall. Liu Yi wondered, “How can there be no path? Could it be that the person who emitted those two electric lights is behind that wall?”

Yu Chenxing slowly walked toward the wall, saying to Liu Yi as he went, “It’s so strange. There’s wind blowing from inside this wall. Have you felt it?” He stopped in front of the wall.

Liu Yi also walked over. Yes, just as Yu Chenxing said, the wall was strange. As he got closer, he could feel wind seeping through it. But… that was impossible. How could wind penetrate a stone wall? Just as Liu Yi was puzzled, Yu Chenxing continued, “Idiot, look. This wall is like a mirror. I’m inside it!” He even made various facial expressions.

Liu Yi stared at the wall, feeling that something was wrong. Just as Yu Chenxing finished speaking, a flash of light appeared in Liu Yi’s mind, bringing about a terrifying thought. Yes, the wall was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting Yu Chenxing’s image. But why wasn’t he reflected in it? Liu Yi looked at Yu Chenxing again—sure enough, there was a shadow identical to hers across from her, while there was nothing in front of her.

Suddenly, Liu Yi noticed an unnoticed movement: while Yu Chenxing was smiling, the shadow in the mirror wasn’t smiling at all, and its gaze carried a murderous intent. Liu Yi thought to herself, “This is bad.” Without further hesitation, she instinctively used her inner energy, turned around, and wrapped her right arm around Yu Chenxing’s waist. With one move, she retreated ten feet away like a shadow.

At the same time Liu Yi stepped back, the figure in the mirror quickly raised its right hand, a black, curved short sword already in hand. But by the time the shadow tried to stab Yu Chenxing, it was too late—Liu Yi had already sensed something was wrong and pulled Yu Chenxing out of range of the mirror’s attack.

Yu Chenxing, still shaken, asked urgently, “What was that?” The reflection of Yu Chenxing in the wall slowly stepped out, expressionless, staring at her, with two short swords already in her hands.

Liu Yi shook her head and said, “I don’t know. But I have a bad feeling. That wall is related to that strange mirror from decades ago. Be careful.”

Yu Chenxing didn’t care about that. Pouting, she snapped, “That shameless wretch dares to provoke me and even imitate me! I must tear her to pieces!” With that, two short swords appeared in her hands. As soon as she held them, she launched both swords simultaneously, shooting toward Yu Chenxing in an X-shaped pattern as black and white lights intersected.

But the person across from her not only looked identical to Yu Chenxing but also used the same timing and style of attacks. With two clashing sounds, the four intersecting sword lights stirred up dust in the air. Liu Yi wanted to stop them but quickly realized the other person had used the same move at the exact same time as Yu Chenxing.

Liu Yi sensed something was odd but couldn’t explain why, so she didn’t intervene for now. After a few more exchanges, she saw that both sides were still using the same move at the same time—this would lead to nowhere. Meanwhile, Yu Chenxing’s black short sword had already been thrown, and she shouted at Liu Yi, “You fool! Why aren’t you helping me?”

That single sentence pulled Liu Yi back to reality. She saw two black short swords flying in the same path, about to collide. Without thinking further, she flipped her right hand, and a red sword light suddenly appeared in front of the incoming sword. With a clang, the sword was knocked to the ground by Liu Yi’s sword light. But Yu Chenxing’s sword didn’t stop—it swished through the other person’s left shoulder.

And something strange happened—Yu Chenxing beside Liu Yi suddenly let out an “ah” in pain. Liu Yi turned to look and saw that Yu Chenxing’s right shoulder had been cut by something. Although the wound wasn’t very deep, it was bleeding. Strange—Liu Yi hadn’t seen anyone attack Yu Chenxing just now. At that moment, Yu Chenxing caught the black short sword that flew back and sealed off the bleeding vein. Liu Yi stared at the motionless Yu Chenxing across from him when a voice came through: “The world in the mirror reflects her true self. If you kill the person in the mirror, she will die too.” Hearing this, Liu Yi quickly asked, “Who are you? Where are you?” While asking these questions, he focused on searching for the source of the voice, but after much effort, he found nothing. Enduring the pain, Yu Chenxing looked at her own reflection across from her and asked Liu Yi, “Who are you talking to?” Liu Yi replied, “Didn’t you hear it just now? Someone said that the world in the mirror reflects your true self. If you kill that person, you’ll die too.” After saying that, Liu Yi looked at the motionless Yu Chenxing across from him. But why would the person in the mirror want to kill her true self? At that moment, the voice continued, “If the person in the mirror can kill the person outside the mirror, then… she can survive in the real world. But if the person outside the mirror kills the one in the mirror, she will die.” Meanwhile, Yu Chenxing asked, “I didn’t hear any sound at all.” Liu Yi ignored her words and, looking at the still Yu Chenxing ahead, asked again, “So what should we do?” The voice came from all directions once more: “Enter the world in the mirror. Otherwise, she must die. Perhaps this is fate.” Liu Yi suddenly remembered the mirror mentioned by Lei Jun and quickly asked, “Are you that mirror?” The voice paused, as if sighing, before responding, “No, that’s not me. I’m your companion. I’ve been waiting for you to come—thousand years, two thousand years. I’ve forgotten how long it’s been. Then I entered this strange mirror. I can’t get out, so I can only wait inside for you to arrive.” Liu Yi pressed further, “Who are you? Is there really no way out?” He felt conflicted—if he entered, he might never get out again. If he didn’t enter, he wouldn’t be able to see the King of the Underworld, and Yu Chenxing before him couldn’t escape this life-and-death ordeal either. The voice continued, “I can’t get out because I never did anything in the first place. Perhaps it doesn’t matter where I am. As for whether you enter or not, I think you know very well. Otherwise, what do you truly believe in?” Hearing this, Liu Yi seemed to have made up his mind. Just then, Yu Chenxing across from him moved. A white long sword emitted a flash of light as it shot toward her. Before Yu Chenxing could react, Liu Yi drew his own sword. As the swords met, he quickly sheathed his sword, picked up Yu Chenxing, and in an instant, the two of them rushed toward the smooth wall.

Yu Chenxing snapped out of her panic and looked at Liu Yi, saying, “Are we going to crash into the wall?” Indeed, in Yu Chenxing’s eyes, Liu Yi’s action seemed like heading straight for that wall. But soon, she sensed something was wrong—after a moment of seemingly weightless movement, gentle breezes swept through her body.

At that moment, Liu Yi didn’t reply to Yu Chenxing. If what that voice said was correct, this should be the entrance to that mirror. Everything was so extraordinary; clearly, the suddenly appearing mist must be related to that mirror. Their arrival wasn’t accidental either—it seemed to have been planned by someone long ago, and the appearance of the mist wasn’t random either.

Sure enough, the moment Liu Yi and the other person touched the wall, a sense of weightlessness enveloped them. Everything before their eyes rippled, as if they were in water, but it was orange-yellow, with nothing visible. As the ripples spread, a cool breeze blew from the unseen distance. Then, Liu Yi felt solid ground beneath his feet, and his vision gradually cleared. He slowly released his grip on Yu Chenxing, stunned by the scene before him.

Was this really the legendary Mirror World? It was completely the opposite of the darkness outside—there wasn’t even a trace of the desolation of the netherworld. Everything here was so beautiful, as if it truly were a fairyland. Warm sunlight bathed the land, with not a single cloud in the sky. The deep blue sky brought a sense of comfort, and occasionally, beautiful birds flew by with cheerful chirps. The land was green, covered with tall, sturdy trees bearing small purple-red flowers. In the gentle breeze, petals drifted everywhere, creating a colorful world. Occasionally, small animals played in the woods, and the stones on the ground were smooth and shiny, as beautiful as crystal and as smooth as mirrors.

What was even stranger was that everything here was something Liu Yi had never seen before. All sorts of mirrors floated in the air—round, square, diamond-shaped, and irregular, shapeless ones that resembled mirrors, of various sizes and forms. Under the sunlight, Liu Yi realized these mirrors resembled crystal more.

At this moment, Yu Chenxing was also captivated by everything around her and blurted out, “Are we in the sky? Have we become immortals? It’s so beautiful here!”

Liu Yi brought his attention back and looked at Yu Chenxing, saying, “If I told you this is the lost Mirror World, would you believe it?” After saying that, he glanced around again—the fresh air, the cool breeze, the warm sunlight—there wasn’t a trace of the evil presence of that mirror. It seemed even the troubles in Liu Yi’s heart had been forgotten in this world.

Yu Chenxing suddenly snapped back to reality and asked urgently, “What did you say? Did you just say… this is the Mirror World? How do you know?” Her anxious expression had replaced curiosity. It seemed she knew the true answer here sooner than Liu Yi.

Liu Yi looked at Yu Chenxing and asked strangely, “You seem very happy. Could it be we’ll never be able to leave?”

Yu Chenxing casually caught the purple flower drifting in the sky and replied, “I’m not exactly happy, but it’s really beautiful here. If I had to choose, I’d rather live here forever than return to that desolate Netherworld. Look, isn’t this flower pretty?” Saying that, she naively inserted the purple flower into her long black hair and looked at Liu Yi, waiting for his reply.
Liu Yi wasn’t interested in answering Yu Chenxing’s question. He was more curious about that voice earlier—who exactly was this person claiming to be his companion? He casually said, “Pretty.”
Yu Chenxing seemed very serious about the flower. She hurried over to a floating circular mirror nearby, looked at herself, and said happily, “Wow, so pretty! I’ve never realized I’m this beautiful. Hehe, this place is really nice.” It seemed Yu Chenxing had forgotten the terrifying experience outside the cave. If the person in the mirror tried to assassinate her again, she might not even have a chance to fight back while indulging in her own satisfaction.
Liu Yi accidentally saw Yu Chenxing looking at the floating mirror. Although Yu Chenxing tended to act impulsively, Liu Yi remained calm. He immediately remembered what had happened in the cave, stepped forward quickly, pulled Yu Chenxing behind him, and said, “Be careful.”
Although Liu Yi used to hate Yu Chenxing, after going through so much, he realized this girl was far stronger than Lan Ren. With her by his side now, even if he didn’t like her, he had to ensure she wasn’t hurt.