High Martial World: I Gain Passive Skills Daily-Chapter 133 - 104: My Sacrifice Alone Is Enough (Double-Length)
Within the illusion.
Chen Kuang and Su Huaiying, whom he held in his arms, stared wide-eyed at the empty fishing boat before them.
The Little Princess suspiciously sized up the not-so-large fishing boat, its hull battered, a hole in the deck, a few fishing nets hung on oars that lay askew, and near the waterline, the hull was even covered with a thick layer of moss.
The boat was docked at a pier by the South Pier, unattended and even untied, evidently having been abandoned for many years.
"Are you sure that Tie Baiyuan used to fish here?"
The Little Princess couldn’t help but ask, "Could you have remembered the wrong location? Or perhaps it’s not this boat?"
Chen Kuang said gravely, "I wouldn’t make a mistake about something like this..."
He set Su Huaiying down and walked over to the boat, crouching down to lift up the fishing net.
"Splash!"
The fishing net was covered in aquatic plants, with many shells attached to it. It wouldn’t have grown so lush without several years’ effort. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Chen Kuang cleaned it up a bit and saw that the net did indeed have a patched hole.
He squinted.
The fishing net on the boat where Tie Baiyuan and Hong Xue Shao lived in reality had a hole like this too.
The fishing net was the same, so naturally, the boat was as well.
But within the illusion, there was no Old Ape Head or Xiaohong making a living fishing by the Dongting Lakefront.
"Xiaohong not existing is understandable... After all, she was just an illusory projection derived from this illusion, not someone who exists in reality, so it’s entirely possible for the illusion to produce another bug because of that."
"Just like how it cannot handle my identity as a transmigrator, other phenomena beyond the computational capacity of this Void Illusion Realm will also show anomalies."
Chen Kuang’s gaze was heavy: "But why doesn’t Tie Baiyuan exist in this illusion either?"
He turned his head to look at Qi Sibai, who had brought them here:
"Brother Qi, are you certain you saw Tie Baiyuan’s destiny?"
Within the illusion, Qi Sibai also seemed a bit confused. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then opened them again:
"I indeed saw it..."
"The beginning of destiny, the manifestation of destiny."
Qi Sibai muttered to himself, looking at the rickety old fishing boat: "Tie Baiyuan truly left the illusion, and he indeed still lives, residing here."
"But he isn’t here... How can he not be here?! How is it possible for him not to be here?! Impossible! That’s impossible!"
Qi Sibai shook his head vigorously, gradually becoming somewhat agitated.
Seeing his faint signs of madness, Chen Kuang remembered that as a member of the Observatory, he was often fanciful and might get himself tangled up, hurriedly trying to console him:
"Brother Qi, there may be another explanation for this matter. In fact..."
Qi Sibai raised his hand to interrupt Chen Kuang, calming himself: "No! Let me look again, Brother Chen, don’t be anxious!"
Chen Kuang: "..."
Who is really more anxious here?
After speaking, Qi Sibai looked up at the sky, concentrating his spirit, his fingers calculating, but soon, beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Chen Kuang did not stop him, as he was also curious about what Qi Sibai could deduce.
The destiny seen by the Observatory—is it truly an eternally unchanging predetermined fate?
They believe they are pursuing destiny, but if the destiny seen contradicts the scene before them, how should they handle it?
Or even... Could he potentially discern something else from this contradiction?
Even though this was merely Qi Sibai simulated by the illusion, given the realism of the Void Illusion Realm, the reaction would not differ much from the real Qi Sibai encountering a similar situation.
After a long time, Qi Sibai suddenly halted his actions, lowered his head, and looked at Chen Kuang directly:
"No matter how I calculate, it’s identical to the destiny I saw."
"Destiny would not deceive me.""So..."
"Tie Baiyuan must have left the illusion and should be living here, there is no second possibility."
This conclusion didn’t seem to offer anything special...
No, wait a moment.
Chen Kuang suddenly paused, speaking gravely: "But right now... he isn’t here."
Tie Baiyuan indeed left the illusion and lives in this place in reality, but the problem is... this place is not in reality, and is similarly within another illusion.
The illusion reflects reality; what cannot be reflected... naturally does not exist in reality.
So he isn’t here.
Because... just like Xiaohong, Tie Baiyuan is merely an illusion that shouldn’t exist!
Back then, he didn’t survive at all!
It must have been the Langhuan Fragment manifesting, using the last vestiges of consciousness of Tie Baiyuan within the illusion at the moment of his physical death, to materialize him into being much like Xiaohong!
And Tie Baiyuan remained completely unaware of this, still believing he had survived from within the illusion.
In a certain sense, it’s not entirely incorrect...
However, as a result, for Chen Kuang, this was a fatal error.
His original plan relied on another Langhuan Fragment within the illusion to open a pathway between illusion and reality, bringing both of their consciousnesses back from the illusion.
But now, with Tie Baiyuan absent, there’s no need to mention the Langhuan Sword fragment on him...
Meaning, the predetermined plan is completely ruined.
Now, he must conceive a new plan to escape from this illusion, otherwise, Chen Kuang would suffer no loss due to his "divided attention," but the Little Princess Su Huaiying would remain forever trapped within this illusion.
