Chapter 54: Chapter 55: The Nonexistent Grand Square Pot

The deceased was laid on a straw mat. A few pieces of dried skin still clung to the skull, making it look particularly gruesome.

"The skeleton looks intact."

Nian Songyu jumped down as well. He stared intently, and his expression suddenly changed. "Intact, yes, but not everything is in its proper place."

He pointed to the deceased’s hands and feet, which were still covered in soil. "Dig it away."

At a time like this, Hee Lingchuan had no choice but to comply.

Once it was dug out, they all let out a long, drawn-out gasp.

"He was eaten, too?!"

Several bones clearly showed signs of charring and cut marks.

"Eaten first, then buried?" Now it was Nian Songyu’s turn to be puzzled. "Was there something special about this person?"

"Over here!" Fuzzy Peach, having just cleared away the dirt on the other side of the grave, discovered the deceased was clutching something in his hand.

He pulled it out. It was a small sheepskin parcel.

Despite Sunx Fuping’s vast experience, his heart couldn’t help but pound a little faster.

Finally, they were one step closer to unraveling the mystery.

He personally unwrapped the sheepskin. Lying inside was a handwritten journal.

The group watched with bated breath as he opened the handwritten journal. The writing inside was dense and became increasingly scrawled toward the end. The sheepskin wrapping had kept it well-preserved, though the paper had yellowed and grown brittle.

And then... they realized they couldn’t understand a word of it.

Everyone could only wait for the National Preceptor to translate. But Sunx Fuping read slowly, word by word, sentence by sentence, as if afraid of missing the slightest bit of useful information. He had to pause and think as he read.

Hee Lingchuan finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. He went outside for a good, long piss and returned just in time to see Sunx Fuping tilting his head back to take a drink of water.

"National Preceptor, what on earth does the journal say?" He pointed a thumb at the grave mound. "Did this dead guy write it?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"No. It is the final testament of the companion who buried him—the last survivor of this Baling Expedition Team," Sunx Fuping said slowly. "That man was Tao Bo, Zhugen’s grand-disciple."

"This handwritten journal chronicles his journey, from accepting the mission from Ancestor Master Zhugen to the point where his team was nearly wiped out. They found the entrance to the Illusion Realm before the Divine Temple in the Desert Ruins and triggered the Sandstorm Season prematurely. Afterward, they were attacked by Resentful Souls. The Great Wind Army was especially formidable, inflicting heavy losses on their team. Only five of them escaped into this place, and the Resentful Souls did not pursue."

"I won’t elaborate on the events before that, as we’ve experienced them ourselves. The key is what happened next: After entering the Illusion Realm, they failed to achieve their objective. They found neither the Grand Square Pot nor an exit. The food and water they’d brought with them dwindled, until finally, they ran out of everything."

Sunx Fuping spoke slowly and methodically, not just to enlighten the other three, but so he himself could slowly digest and mull over the contents.

"This place looks peaceful and idyllic, but it’s really no different from the desert. It just lacks the extreme cold and brutal heat, but it’s equally unsuited for sustaining life. For those who can’t get out, the only end is death." Sunx Fuping casually flipped a page. "These Baling People eventually ran out of food and water as well and were forced to eat their companions. They drew lots to determine the victims, of course. We’ve already seen their remains at the Chen Residence."

Nian Songyu asked curiously, "Then what’s the story with this grave?"

"The third person to draw the death lot was unwilling to be eaten and tried to fight back, so Tao Bo and Yul Qingyuan killed him together. The man was a tough opponent; Tao Bo couldn’t have handled him alone. After some more time passed, it came down to the last two to gamble for their lives. But Yul Qingyuan took his own life, giving the final chance of survival to Tao Bo."

The three fell silent. To survive for weeks in despair and terror, only to then give up the last shred of hope for your own life... it was something they knew they could never do.

"Tao Bo, moved by his noble sacrifice, built this tomb for him and left his own handwritten journal behind as a gift for those who came after."

Fuzzy Peach gave a wry smile. "Meaning us, the unlucky bastards."

"Watch your mouth," Nian Songyu said. He didn’t consider himself particularly unlucky. "Surely the journal has something useful in it?"

"By rationing food, water, and eventually, his companions, he survived in the Illusion Realm for over sixty days. He searched Panlong City inside and out several times and even made a few trips into the Wilderness. However, there’s a boundary about ten miles outside the city that he couldn’t pass." Tao Bo’s handwritten journal was essentially a diary, recording his daily observations and thoughts, so it was inevitably rambling. National Preceptor Sunx cut to the chase and summarized the key points. "Ancestor Master Zhugen had many theories about Panlong City and the Grand Square Pot. Tao Bo, as his grand-disciple, tried to verify them here, but failed every time. Toward the end, he even gave up searching for the Grand Square Pot and focused solely on finding a way to escape."

"Of course, he also understood that they were one and the same."

"The biggest problem with living in this illusory city was not knowing where to begin. Countless attempts ended in failure. After Yul Qingyuan died, leaving Tao Bo the only living person in the entire city, he wandered in a daze for days. Then, a thought suddenly struck him: ’Could the reason I can’t find the Grand Square Pot be... that it isn’t here at all?’"

The three of them froze. "What does that mean?"

’Without the Grand Square Pot, how could this Illusion Realm even exist?’

Nian Songyu’s expression turned grim. "Are you saying we’ve been looking in the wrong place?"

"The wheat fields outside the city, the buildings within... they all indicate that Panlong City was enjoying a period of peace, completely untouched by the flames of war," Sunx Fuping said slowly. "Without war, the people would have no reason to make offerings to the gods, and the Mitian God would certainly not have bestowed the Grand Square Pot—an artifact of war!"

War was the catalyst for all the tragedies that followed.

No war, no Grand Square Pot.

Ridiculous! ’Did we come here to die for nothing?’ Fuzzy Peach wanted to argue, but he opened his mouth and no words came out. Hee Lingchuan murmured, "That... actually seems to be the case, doesn’t it?"

’What else can we do here?’ "If we can’t find a way out of here, then this Illusion Realm is a dead end! A deathtrap!" A glint appeared in Nian Songyu’s eyes. "There can’t be an Array or Secret Realm like this in the world. It defies the laws of nature!"

Even in a man-made deathtrap, there must be a Life Gate, no matter how slim the chance. Otherwise, such a trap could not be constructed in the first place. This was a fundamental Law of their world, as indisputable as water flowing downhill or the sun rising the next day. Having studied Divine Techniques, Nian Songyu understood this principle deeply.

"So, why does this world of Panlong City exist?" Sunx Fuping waved the journal in his hand. "As Ancestor Master Zhugen’s direct grand-disciple, Tao Bo proposed a theory. In your opinion, who would like Panlong City from this period?"

’Like it?’

The three exchanged glances. Hee Lingchuan ventured a guess, "Everyone?"

A quiet, peaceful, and prosperous paradise beyond the borders, untroubled by war—who wouldn’t love a place like that?

"Correct. Everyone! For all the people who ever lived on this land, both the living and the dead, their ideal homeland would look exactly like this. That is why the Grand Square Pot, following the wishes the Resentful Souls had in life, crafted such a world for them!" Sunx Fuping continued, "Tao Bo even suspected that this Illusion Realm has been beautified and embellished, making it far better than Panlong City ever was at any point in history. That’s why the Resentful Souls are content to stay here."