Chapter Fifteen: A Dream of Golden Millet—The Divine Path Realized (Combined Part)

The Illusionary Formation, as its name suggests, is a formation that bewilders the mind and traps one in hallucinations. However, it is actually a general term for a category of formations, under which there are dozens of varieties, each with distinct functions.

When Gu Fangchen stepped into this courtyard, he had already discerned that it was laid with a fifth-grade formation called “A Dream of Millet.” Though the name sounded elegant, its effect was quite vile.

Those trapped in its illusion would experience the passage of countless years, witnessing the world’s changes as if they had truly lived through endless lifetimes. If the formation’s owner did not lift the spell, the trapped individual would age physically according to the time spent in the illusion, calculated by the formula: (Time spent in the illusion * 0.16754) minus (Magical Resistance * 0.21765), with the final result never dropping below zero.

In the cosmology of “Mirror Among Dust,” the soul and body are interconnected and affect each other in reality. If one spends too long in the illusion and lacks sufficient magical resistance, the soul will wither like a candle burnt to ash, resulting in death.

For players, this is the most insidious kind of debuff. Many methods can reduce lifespan in this world, but few can increase it. If the controlled character’s lifespan is insufficient, they will die of old age. Many quests require years to yield results; if one dies before the NPC issues the next mission, it would be laughable.

“Damn it, now I’m the joke,” Gu Fangchen muttered, staring blankly at the blazing sun above.

His battered body had less than five years of life left, and his magical resistance might even be negative. Others were like candles; he was at best a wick. If trapped in this formation, he might burn out instantly.

Yet, to him, the difference between five years and five months was negligible. The real problem was that he had no idea what nonsense his illusion-controlled self would spout during this time.

“No, I must break the formation immediately,” Gu Fangchen resolved, looking around at the boundless yellow sands stretching endlessly, with a faint patch of green visible in the distance, like an oasis just within reach.

But he knew all this was a trap. Within this illusion, no matter which way one went, there was no exit. Everything visible to the naked eye was bait designed to lead one astray. The only true way out was one.

“Alright, let me recall the strategy,” he said, sitting down and adopting a thoughtful pose, resting his chin on his hand.

“Firstly, to break this fifth-grade illusionary formation, the requirement isn’t high—it only needs the most basic ninth-rank attainment in the Divine Path…”

Ah, ninth rank Divine Path, the stage of entering meditation.

Compared to the fifth-grade formation, this requirement was indeed low; it basically meant that as long as one had begun cultivation, they qualified.

Gu Fangchen’s expression darkened. Damn it, he didn’t have that!

Expressionless, he thought, “Damn it, the first condition isn’t met. Just wait to die then.”

Cultivators usually followed two main paths: the Martial Way, focusing on the body, and the Divine Path, focusing on the soul.

Ninth rank Divine Path was the lowest possible rank, meaning that any player who started cultivation on the Divine Path would be considered ninth rank.

But the problem was, Gu Fangchen was no longer a player.

Players’ constitutions were mediocre in the game, able to choose any path, but in this world view, that meant a “Primordial Saint Body,” one of the top cultivation talents.

And Gu Fangchen now? He was probably the worst among the useless bodies.

Everyone knew that regardless of path, cultivating required a dantian and meridians. Without a dantian, one cannot store spiritual energy; without meridians, one cannot circulate techniques. Without both, even an immortal would be hard to save.

Gu Fangchen’s dantian had been shattered by a palm strike, and his meridians were completely entangled and blocked by three types of deadly poisons, especially the “Seed Heart Poison,” which sealed his most critical heart meridian.

If not for the intervention of a high monk from the Jialan Temple using the “Flower-Grasping Seal,” he would have long succumbed to the poison.

Under these circumstances, cultivation was nearly impossible.

“No…” Gu Fangchen suddenly paused, then jumped up and looked at the illusion before him.

“There’s another way.”

The dantian and meridians might not be absolutely necessary!

He had once seen a little-known post on a forum where the author developed an extremely niche cultivation method.

Because in “Mirror Among Dust,” there was a hidden mechanism—

“When a cultivator lives through a certain span of years, there is a tiny chance they can trigger a sudden breakthrough in realm.”

This mechanism was called by players “Sudden Enlightenment from the Mortal World” or “Refining the Heart in the Mundane World.”

The key point was that this breakthrough ignored the original cultivation level.

Even a mortal, if living long enough, could trigger this hidden mechanism and leap across realms.

Just like the woodcutter in the story “Watching Chess and Losing,” if he had such an opportunity, he could become a cultivator directly.

However, the premise was to “live long enough” and be “lucky enough.”

Coincidentally, right now, in front of Gu Fangchen, was a formation that used the passage of years as its illusionary barrier.

As mentioned earlier, the years spent inside the formation affected the physical body, which was first discovered by the player who posted that theory.

Because that hidden mechanism also applied equally within the illusionary formation!

Moreover, Gu Fangchen was now blessed with the [Mandate of Heaven]!

In this world, besides the Eternal Peace Emperor, no one was luckier than him.

“My remaining lifespan is about five years. According to the formula, I can stay in the illusion for about thirty years.”

“With [Mandate of Heaven] increasing the probability of events, that’s more than enough…”

Gu Fangchen muttered what to others would be an insane plan.

Voluntarily entering a time-illusion was something even great masters dared not attempt. Regardless of whether they lost themselves, cultivators treasured their lifespan most and would never gamble it away.

But Gu Fangchen had nothing to lose.

Starting from hell, already at rock bottom—it could only go up from here.

Besides, he was not worried about actually dying.

Because the Princess Prajna outside, no matter what, would not let him die at this moment.

With this assurance, all he needed to do was keep his wits about him and remember to break the formation.

“That shouldn’t be a worry either…”

Gu Fangchen’s eyes flickered.

People in this world got lost because the illusion inside and outside were indistinguishable, with no anchor points.

But Gu Fangchen was not from this world.

Besides, the information density received simultaneously between the two worlds was vastly different.

Spending one night scrolling through a smartphone in modern society exposed one to an enormous amount of information unattainable in a lifetime in ancient times.

The world he was familiar with was completely different from here; even if he were thrown here for a hundred years, he would never forget where he came from.

Once he broke through in cultivation, with a single thought, he could remember everything.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Fangchen stood and walked into the endless yellow sands.

...

In the courtyard, a young man with a hint of devilish arrogance sat by the pool, his eyes vacant as he stared blankly at his reflection.

A delicate jade hand lifted the veil, and from behind stepped a breathtaking woman clad in soft white robes, adorned with glittering jewels, her eyes veiled by sheer silk.

“Ding ling ding ling…”

Her slender, well-shaped bare feet lightly tapped the ground, sending ripples wherever she walked, as if stepping on lotus petals.

Princess Prajna’s expression was one of amusement as she circled Gu Fangchen. Though blindfolded, she seemed to be carefully observing every detail of him.

She extended a finger, touching his forehead from about an inch away, then slowly sliding down—across his brow bone, down his nose, and over his lips.

Finally, she reached a conclusion:

“He really doesn’t resemble him.”

He didn’t look like Ning Caiyong, nor like Gu Yuye.

But… he also didn’t resemble the captured lowly groom.

Princess Prajna lightly flicked her finger, hooked it, and drew out an illusory thread of blood-red silk from Gu Fangchen, as if congealed blood.

Pulling back further, she drew from the void a dense net woven from countless red threads.

Each thread was tightly bound to the single thread connected to Gu Fangchen, so strong that even she could not budge it.

She released her grip, and the red threads vanished into the void, but her curiosity deepened.

The Demon Cult had severed the bloodline connections of the true and false heirs using karmic fate techniques—this was confirmed in Huangtian City.

Otherwise, given Gu Yuye’s cultivation, he would never mistake his own bloodline.

But this was only the surface truth.

Gu Fangchen’s karmic links were falsified not only in bloodline but in everything else as well.

Moreover, the one who cast the spell was highly skilled, masking the true karmic connections so thoroughly that they were unbreakable.

So, was the abnormality in this false heir something no one in Huangtian City noticed, or did they deliberately conceal it?

Prajna's finger paused, then continued downward, touching Gu Fangchen’s chest.

This was where the poisons gathered; with a mere thought, she could instantly trigger the three deadly toxins, turning Gu Fangchen into a corpse.

But obviously, she had no desire to kill him.

A dangerous smile curved her lips:

“Your Highness, let’s play a game: I ask, you answer—only truth. If not, I’ll rip out your heart—”

“Did you know I would come to Baima Temple tonight?”

Gu Fangchen lifted his head, gaze still vacant, and nodded stiffly.

“I knew.”

“Pfft!”

Princess Prajna’s delicate finger instantly pierced the skin of Gu Fangchen’s chest.

Gu Fangchen, oblivious, shook his head.

“Not exactly. I knew you’d come to Huangtian City during this time to find the lost relic of the Dumu Cult, but I didn’t know the exact time.”

Prajna’s movement froze for a moment, her smile deepening.

“The relic?”

Gu Fangchen seemed eager to explain:

“Yes, the top-tier point-resetting artifact, the [Lotus Hidden in the Womb].”

Prajna’s smile remained, but her tone turned icy.

“How do you know about the Lotus?”

Her fingers tightened simultaneously, plunging deeper into Gu Fangchen’s chest, forming a grasp around his heart.

The “Flower-Grasping Seal” on his chest radiated golden light, flickering slightly as if trying to resist.

But behind Prajna, an image of the Buddha Mother seated on a lotus pedestal appeared.

The Buddha Mother’s compassionate expression reached out a hand, touching the Flower-Grasping Seal, instantly calming its unrest.

“Forum,” Gu Fangchen said after a pause.

“Forum?” Prajna echoed, puzzled.

It sounded like a religion, but she had never heard of it.

Could it be that in the Great Wei there was an organization unknown to her?

Gu Fangchen, gaining momentum, continued:

“If I remember correctly, you wanted Xu Fu to locate the relic, but Xu Fu was currently assigned by the emperor to assist with the investigation into the true and false heirs.”

—Indeed, it was he who had triggered the whole series of events.

“You could only return empty-handed, missing the best chance for the relic’s return.”

He stopped there, leaving the rest unsaid.

Prajna was engrossed, then abruptly silent, poking Gu Fangchen’s beating heart.

“And then?”

Gu Fangchen continued:

“Actually, no need to make it so complicated. The relic is actually right…”

Prajna’s heart skipped a beat. He knew where the relic was?!

Her expression darkened as she asked, “Where?”

Gu Fangchen opened his mouth to speak but suddenly his expression changed.

Prajna sensed something amiss.

She looked up and saw a light flare suddenly ignite in Gu Fangchen’s brow.

The light blossomed, solidifying like a seed suspended in his forehead.

The lanterns around immediately extinguished.

Centered on Gu Fangchen, countless pale golden spiritual runes spread like waves, then with a crack, shattered all at once!

The “A Dream of Millet” illusionary formation was broken!

Gu Fangchen’s eyes instantly regained their brilliance; the light in his forehead retracted, and a faint aura of a cultivator radiated from him.

Though insignificant to Princess Prajna, it was real—

Ninth rank Divine Path, entering meditation!

“?”

The worldly-wise and all-seeing Prajna, saintess of the Dumu Cult who governed the ten directions of Buddha lands and viewed all six realms equally, slowly formed a question mark.

In all these years, she had seen people lost in time formations, seen madness and steadfastness in their hearts.

Such things were common and unsurprising.

But someone cultivating and breaking through inside a time formation?

She had never seen that before.

Moreover, this guy was supposed to be a useless cripple incapable of cultivation!

Prajna was struck with doubt, confusion, and shock, staring blankly at Gu Fangchen.

Gu Fangchen awoke feeling wrong.

Why did his chest hurt so much?

He looked down groggily and saw a pair of jade-like hands plunged into the heart area of his chest.

Looking up, he met a stunningly beautiful, somewhat familiar face.

“?”

Gu Fangchen also formed a question mark.

Wait, lady, what are you doing to me?

His barely conscious mind sharpened fully, and despite the pain twisting his pale face, he forced a smile.

“So… Princess Prajna, can you pull them out now?”

——————

P.S.: There was a small duplication error when copying from the writing software earlier; it has been corrected.