Chapter 1013 The Mirror Maze
After Mengmeng ran for 15 minutes, the view ahead suddenly lit up.
She saw a lake surrounded by mountains. To the north of the lake was precisely the entrance to the relic.
There were more than 20 people at the entrance. About a hundred people were standing in a distance. Their auras were relatively weak. Clearly, they were onlookers who came here to watch the scene of bustle.
Every time a relic was opened, some idle people would come just to see those masters they had only heard of but never seen before with their own eyes.
That was what was happening at the moment.
When Mengmeng approached the crowd from the side, she heard the murmurs of discussion.
“The last ones who went in there were An He the King of Storms and Tang Qingshan from the Tang family, right?”
“Ma Di from the Heavenly Talisman Sect also went there with them. They are relatively powerful among those who entered this time.”
“It’s a pity that Miao Fei was badly injured. On his way here, he flew past a group of people from above. Because of that, that boy around 17 ordered his men to beat him. He was simply too overbearing. Miao Fei merely flew over from the gap between their members. It’s not like he flew right over their heads. But that boy started a fight just for that. He thought he could be unscrupulous with his elders backing him up.”
“That silly boy is so bad-tempered. How on earth has he managed to navigate the martial arts world for so long?”
“…”
While listening to the discussion, Mengmeng approached the relic.
Lei Tiannan was standing at the entrance.
“Mengmeng, you’re here. It’s already 12 o’clock. You should have arrived half an hour ago. What happened?” Lei Tiannan asked with curiosity.
“Huh?”
Mengmeng instantly wore a blank expression on her face.
“I, I just got lost,” the little girl answered in a much lower voice, as though she was revealing a secret.
“Hahaha.”
Lei Tiannan instantly burst into laughter. And he laughed for a good 10 seconds.
Seeing him laughing at her, Mengmeng puffed up her cheeks with annoyance. “What’s so funny about that? How could you laugh!”
“I can’t believe that your parents have let you go out by yourself without getting worried. You actually got lost on your way here. Mengmeng, you’d better not go in. The world is not safe these days,” Lei Tiannan advised at the interval of his laughter.
“Humph, Grandpa Lei, you look almost the same as my Great-Grandpa. I mean, you look older than you really are,” Mengmeng said abruptly.
“Eh?” Lei Tiannan was taken aback. He subconsciously stroked his stubble and remarked, “It’s not that I look old. It’s just that your Great-Grandpa is too young for his age.”
“Then do you know why my Great-Grandpa looks so young?” Mengmeng asked.
“It’s because of his strength.”
“No.”
“Then what is it?” Lei Tiannan asked, intrigued.
“Because my Great-Grandpa never meddled in other people’s business,” Mengmeng whispered.
Lei Tiannan did not know what to say to that.
“Little Hei, let’s go.”
Mengmeng fished out a colorful ribbon and tied one end to her right wrist and the other to Little Hei’s neck.
As rays of light swirled, Little Hei and Mengmeng jumped into the relic.
“This naughty girl.”
Lei Tiannan shook his head and suddenly turned to look at a woman beside him. “Do you have a mirror?”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
The female subordinate hurriedly took out a mirror from her bag.
Lei Tiannan studied his reflection in the mirror and remained silent for two seconds.
Then, he muttered, “I do look… as old as her Great-Grandpa.”
“Director, is that girl… Zhang Hanyang’s daughter?” someone beside him asked in a low voice.
“Yes.”
“So, her father is Zhang Hanyang. Her mother is Zi Yan. Her grandfather is Zhang Guangyou. And her grand-grandfather is Immortal King Zhang. Am I right?”
“Bu, you’re new here. Let me explain this to you.” An experienced man beside the young man pulled him to the side and lectured, “The girl who was here just now is Zhang Yumeng, the princess of Mount New Moon. You should know that her lineal relatives are not the only ones who are powerful. Immortal King Zhang’s Heavenly Knights Sect, Zhang Hanyang’s disciple named Mu Xue, the Luo Fu Sword Sect, and Sect Leader Mu are basically living on Mount New Moon. Zhang Hanyang’s other female disciple, Jiang Yanlan, the Shuiyun Sect, and Sect Leader Jiang stay there for months every time they come to visit. Besides, Zhang Hanyang’s very first disciple named Zhao Feng, the leader of the Mengmeng Security, and Emperor Qing, also known as Immortal King Chen, are all Zhang Hanyang’s underlings. Do you think that’s all? No, Zhang Hanyang is also on good terms with the Real Kings in the Ancient Mine. He can take people to the King’s Domain any time he wants. In the Kunlun Immortal World, Zhang Hanyang has destroyed several sects. The figure who is more terrifying is that Moon Empress. Do you know her? Zi Yan is Moon Empress in the Kunlun Immortal World. She is superior to all others and has the strongest strength! Do you know that…”
Hearing the long speech, the newcomer named Bu was more puzzled than enlightened. All he could think about was the “Do you know that” that senior member said repeatedly.
“No, I don’t.”
After entering the relic…
“Guardian of the Wind!”
“Bluewood Defense!”
“…”
Mengmeng performed about five defenses in an instant. Except for the breeze around her, the other layers of defense only glowed faintly in an instant. Then, the light dissipated, and the defensive force became invisible in the void.
“Eh?”
“What’s this place?”
Mengmeng was dumbstruck when she saw the scene in front of her.
“Woof?”
Little Hei also shook its head.
They saw that they were surrounded by towering mirrors. Each mirror was dozens of meters wide and stretched hundreds of meters into the sky. The tips of the mirrors were enveloped by clouds. And even the ground was covered with sparkling mirrors.
Standing there and looking around, Mengmeng saw numerous images of herself in the mirrors. She found it quite weird.
“Little Hei, who is the gorgeous little girl over there?”
Mengmeng suddenly called Little Hei and pointed at her reflection in the mirror in front of her.
“Woof?”
“Well, forget it. Your concept of beauty is different from mine. Humph.”
Mengmeng already understood what Little Hei wanted to say when she saw its reaction. Because Little Hei seemed to be troubled by whether it should lie or not. She snorted and said, “Can we fly to the top of the mirrors?”
“Oow-woof-woof.”
Little Hei shook its head, indicating that there was nothing special above.
“This place is so strange. What does this mean? Is this a world of mirrors? Those reflections make me dizzy.”
“Fireball Skill!”
Mengmeng suddenly threw out a fireball and flew forward. In the mirrors, she saw that countless reflections of hers shot out a fireball each. This scene was kind of bone-chilling.
“Wham!”
The fireball hit the mirror. In an instant, a certain kind of mysterious energy spiraled out, and the fireball disappeared into the mirror. The next second, the fireball reappeared, as if Mengmeng’s reflection in the mirror hurled the fireball back at her.
“Whoos.h.!.+”
Little Hei leaped up and crushed the fireball with a swat.
“Huh?”
Mengmeng was a little amazed. “It can bounce back? No, I gotta let Dahei try this.”
While speaking, she put down her schoolbag.
“Dahei, wake up. Get out of the bag.”
“Oow?”
Dahei opened its eyes, shook its head, and then stood up.
“Oow-woo!”
It jumped in fright when it saw so many gorillas looking exactly the same as itself on all sides.
“We’re surrounded by mirrors. Try and see if you can break them.”
“Oow? Oh-woo-woo.”
Dahei gesticulated with its palms. In the end, it transformed into a 10-meter-high gorilla. It went up to a mirror, touched its surface, and threw a punch at it.
“Bang!”
The mirror did not even crack. By contrast, Dahei was. .h.i.t by the rebound force. Its giant figure stumbled back five steps.
“Oow? Woo-woo-woo.”
It grunted, as though saying it couldn’t break this thing.
“Never mind. Let’s find a way out first. I feel like this is a maze. We can see what to do next after we get out.”
Mengmeng was a little deflated. She jumped forward, stepped on Dahei’s thigh, and leaped onto its shoulder. Little Hei also sat next to Mengmeng.
In this strange place, Little Hei was worried that it would stray from the group.
Because it had noted that these mirrors could thoroughly suppress its sharp sense of smell. It knew this place should not be underestimated.
Like that, they headed forward. Dahei was still not skilled in weaving through the mirrors. As it made its way ahead, it abruptly slammed into a mirror.
“Oow?”
Dahei scratched its head, stretched out its arms, and groped its way forward.
Such a large-scale mirror maze was really hard to deal with.
When Dahei was walking, Mengmeng tried a lot of methods.
She also poured a gla.s.s of watermelon juice onto a mirror. However, the instant the pale red juice fell on the mirror, it was absorbed by the mirror and vanished.
The Fire Whip was also of little help in exploring the way. Eventually, Mengmeng only came to the conclusion that the mirrors were placed at intervals of about 20 meters, and they were fixed at different angles. At this time, Mengmeng could only see Dahei, Little Hei, and herself in the mirrors.
Just like that, they groped their way ahead, moving rather slowly.
In the Black White Palace.
Yue Wuwei, who was playing with his daughter in the garden, suddenly changed his expression.
“Eh?”
A pearl appeared in his palm. This pearl was exactly the miniature of Earth. Yue Wuwei’s eyes sparkled with green light as he muttered, “Interesting. Did that little girl go to the relic all by herself?
“This relic… is quite good. It doesn’t have many treasures, but it’s fun to be in. This three-story maze can entertain her for quite a long time.
“But this girl has carried a ton of treasures with her. She has even more treasures than my daughter.
“That cursed roc… With it accompanying her, she can surely go wherever she wants. Nevertheless, the other two spirit beasts have grown from ordinary beasts to what they are now. That’s really amazing. Well, I’ll give them some benefits and see how much progress they’ll make.”
The green light fleeted across Yue Wuwei’s eyes and vanished in an instant.
“Dad, come here.”
“Alas, you silly girl, don’t run so fast. Wait for me.”
Yue Wuwei put away the pearl, chortled, and quickly strode over to his daughter.
“This relic is kind of boring. When can we get out?”
Having ridden on Dahei’s shoulder for quite a while, Mengmeng started to feel bored. After all, all she could see in the surroundings were her own reflections, which started to make her giddy.
As Dahei marched forward, Mengmeng began to eat snacks and drink the smoothie that Zhang Han had made for her. Few had explored relics with such ease.
“Woof!”
Little Hei’s hair suddenly stood on end, and its cold eyes were fixed at somewhere in the front.
“What’s that?”
Mengmeng was startled. She put down the smoothie and stared ahead, only to see two cl.u.s.ters of cyan qi drifting in the mirrors, slowly coming her way.
In the mirror maze, things that looked quite close in the mirrors might be the reflections of things that were far away. Therefore, Mengmeng was not sure whether the two cl.u.s.ters of qi were really in front of her or not.
She could only sense that the two cl.u.s.ters of cyan qi were getting closer and closer.
“Pop!”
The sound of a bubble bursting was heard.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
Waves of pure energy swept at them.
“Oow? Oow-oow-oow?”
Dahei’s eyes widened. Watching the two cl.u.s.ters of cyan qi approaching it and Little Hei, Dahei actually blew on them.
“W-woof.”
Little Hei growled in a low voice.
It was telling Dahei that these were no threat but good things that could provide them with energy.
Little Hei and Dahei had both felt it.
“Oow? Oow-oow-oow?”
Dahei was saying, “Brother, there are only two of these, while there are four of us.”
“Woof, woof.”
Little Hei answered, “Give them to Little Master.”
“Oow.”
Dahei agreed.
It then gesticulated to Mengmeng.
“Eh? Do you want me to have these? Are these the kind of energy that can be absorbed?”
Mengmeng was taken aback. A moment later, she said with a chuckle, “I don’t want these. Daddy said that I don’t need to cultivate or absorb anything before I reach the Innateness Stage. You three can share these.”
“Oow? Oow-oow-oow.”
But how could they divide the two items among the three of them? Should they each take turns to take a bite?
“Oow-woof-woof…”
Little Hei clarified that it didn’t want any. After eating this kind of thing, it might fall asleep. Thus, it told Dahei and Tiny Tot to each take one.
They both wanted the others to have these treasures. Like that, Dahei and Little Hei began to study how to divide the two treasures.
Little Hei didn’t want to have any, for it had to be alert and watch over Mengmeng. Seeing its reaction, Dahei didn’t want to eat either. But how could they take the two cl.u.s.ters of qi with them? They wondered if Tiny Tot would like to eat these up.
Therefore, they awakened Tiny Tot. However, Tiny Tot didn’t have any interest in the energy at all. In its eyes, these looked like two lumps of s.h.i.+t. It continuously shooked its head, and its face showed a look of disgust, as though saying, “These things can’t be tasty. I won’t eat them!”
“Woo-woo-woo!”
Dahei curled its lips.
It meant, “Let’s just leave these here.”
“Woof.”
Little Hei was echoing, “Okay, let’s go. It’s nothing special anyway. Master will give us all the good things.”
Then, Dahei really stepped forward and walked away.
They knew that these were two cl.u.s.ters of fine energy that could be absorbed, but they did not know what benefits this kind of energy could bring them. Dahei and Little Hei had both absorbed Source Energy before, but they had no idea what it was exactly.
Other than with experience, one could hardly recognize Source Energy according to its appearance and smell.
What they did not know was that when Yue Wuwei felt that the cl.u.s.ters of energy were still there, he took a look at the pearl. To his surprise, he saw that Dahei and the others were already hundreds of meters away from the cl.u.s.ters of energy. His face darkened at once.
“D*mn it, I gave you a great gift, but you didn’t take it?
“Hmph!”
Just as he was about to take the energy back, Yue Wuwei said softly, “Never mind. Since you haven’t seen much of the world and don’t know what Source Energy is, I’ll let this one pa.s.s.”
Murmuring, Yue Wuwei put away the pearl.
“Swoosh, swoos.h.!.+”
In the mirror maze, the two cl.u.s.ters of cyan Source Energy flew to catch up with them and entered Dahei’s and Little Hei’s bodies.
“Woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo-woo…”
Dahei jiggled its head and gestured to Mengmeng, as though saying, “Ah, I can’t hold on any longer. I’m about to fall asleep. Little Master, ask Tiny Tot to protect you.”
“Woof..”
Little Hei screamed and struggled for 10 seconds before it slowly fell asleep.
“Huh?”
Mengmeng’s expression froze in place.
“Dahei and Little Hei both lay down here and started to sleep?”
“What did Dahei’s gestures mean?”
Mengmeng rapidly blinked her eyes and said, “Did it say that it had absorbed the energy and was going to fall asleep? Then it told me to ask Tiny Tot to protect me. Can Tiny Tot do that? Besides, with Dahei and Little Hei sleeping here, I can’t go anywhere. Well, I can’t let Tiny Tot protect me. Instead, I gotta protect you two.
“No, this can’t work. Without Dahei and Little Hei, my defense is too weak. Let me think.”
Mengmeng pondered for a while and took out five formation flags, four gems with defensive power, and three cords from the s.p.a.ce Bracelet.
She set up the formation flags, activated the gems, and tied the cords to her wrist.
“It’s done.”
Mengmeng then sat on Dahei’s belly.
“Tiny Tot, we’ll wait here for them to wake up.”
“Coo, coo.”
“How long do you think we have to wait? I finally came out to play in the relic on my own. But they wouldn’t lie here sleeping until the relic closes, would they? Would I accomplish nothing again?” Mengmeng grinned. Her expression was awkward as if she just heard her Mummy ask whether her homework was done yet.
“Coo, coo.”
“Tiny Tot, aren’t you the ancient cursed roc? Then what are your skills?”
“Koo-chee?”
Tiny Tot was suddenly lost in thought.
“What are my skills?”
“Tiny Tot, you can become very big, right? How about you become a huge roc and carry us to the sky? Being trapped here with all those mirrors, I’m starting to feel lightheaded,” Mengmeng mumbled.
Tiny Tot was still deep in its reverie.
“Hey!”
Mengmeng immediately showed an angry look. She grabbed Tiny Tot and plucked its features several times, asking, “Why do you often let your thoughts stray? You are like a fool.”
“Coo, coo.”
“Coo, coo.”
Tiny Tot’s eyes suddenly lit up. It remembered that it also knew some tricks.
“Frizzle!”
Tiny Tot began to transform. In no time, it became two meters long and resumed its original form. Its eyes were quite large and looked very intelligent. It now resembled a whale that had shrunk several times. However, its tail was streamlined and well-proportioned, glowing with faint blue light. Its wings alone made up a large part of its body.
“Coo.”
In its original form, Tiny Tot’s voice became kind of ethereal, which sounded very mysterious.
When it let out a cry, Mengmeng felt that a stream of energy lifted her up and carried her to Tiny Tot’s back. Its skin was very soft and smooth, but the surrounding energy had pinned her to its back. It was like sitting in a chair. Mengmeng felt very safe.
“Coo.”
Tiny Tot shouted again and slightly shook its body.
“Whiz, whiz, whiz…”
On Tiny Tot’s back and before Mengmeng, waves of suction force suddenly emerged. Dahei and Little Hei turned into two jets of light and were sucked into Tiny Tot’s body.
“Ah!”
Mengmeng was really scared this time. “Tiny Tot, you devoured Dahei and Little Hei?”
At Little Master’s question, Tiny Tot sank into its reverie again.
Finally, something occurred to it. Then, it released its mental power and let it wrap around Mengmeng’s head.
In that split second, Mengmeng saw that Dahei and Little Hei, who had become many times smaller, were lying on Tiny Tot’s back. There were stars and clouds swirling around them. The scene looked very enigmatic.
If Zhang Han saw this, he would definitely understand that it was the Seed s.p.a.ce.
It was a unique subsidiary s.p.a.ce of the cursed roc.
Ancient demonic beasts, such as the Golden Roc, also had this kind of s.p.a.ce. Their backs could accommodate many people, for they could shrink the riders to a much smaller size before carrying them on their backs. In the Cultivation World, there was a saying that exotic ancient rocs were excellent vehicles to travel across the universe because the Seed s.p.a.ce a roc had was concealed in the void. It was a world that belonged only to the roc. The Seed s.p.a.ce might not be very large, but it was definitely safe.
However, Mengmeng certainly didn’t understand these things. Seeing the Dahei and Little Hei, Mengmeng asked, “Why are they so small? Can you release them from that s.p.a.ce?”
“Whoos.h.!.+”
Tiny Tot controlled its power and threw Dahei and Little Hei out.
“Amazing!”
Mengmeng giggled and said, “Put them back in.”
With a whiz, Dahei and Little Hei were sucked back.
“Let them out again.”
“…”
After repeating this about five times, Mengmeng finally understood that they were placed on Tiny Tot’s body. “What a wonderful skill!”
“Set off!”
Mengmeng commanded Tiny Tot to fly forward.
“Bam!”
Tiny Tot crashed into a mirror headfirst.
It shook its head, stared at itself in the mirror, and was immersed in deep thought again.
Five seconds later.
“Tiny Tot, what are you waiting for?” Mengmeng clamped a hand over her forehead with embarra.s.sment and said, “Don’t stay in a trance!”
“Coo.”
Tiny Tot came to its senses and flapped its wings again.
“Bam!”
It b.u.mped into another mirror. It shook its head, and looked at its reflection in the mirror, and was lost in thought again.
“Oh, no.”
Mengmeng felt like having a headache.
“Tiny Tot!” Mengmeng snapped.
The next second…
“Whoos.h.!.+”
Around Tiny Tot, dozens of streaks of faint black smoke emerged out of the blue. In an instant, the surroundings became hazy as Tiny Tot once again advanced forward.
“Bang!”
Tiny Tot’s body directly smashed into a mirror.
“Huh?”
The power of Tiny Tot was an eye-opener to Mengmeng. She found it exceedingly wondrous.
“Tiny Tot, are you thinking of a way to tackle the mirrors?”
Mengmeng’s eyes lit up. “It turns out that you were dazed for a reason, hahaha.”
In this way, they jostled their way forward for half an hour.
“Wait, wait a sec!”
Mengmeng suddenly dropped her voice. “I heard someone!”
The mirrors no longer reflected her and Tiny Tot. Instead, a man in a green robe carrying a sword appeared in the mirrors. He seemed to be in his 30s. And he was not particularly handsome.
“Huh?”
The man on the other side seemed to be stunned as well. The two parties looked at each other with numerous mirrors standing between them.
“Hi!”
The man waved at Mengmeng with a cool expression. Then, as if a hero in the legend, he cupped his hands before his chest and marched to the side.
“Eh?
“Has he heard me?”
Mengmeng was slightly dazed.
“h.e.l.lo?”
“Hiss!”
The other party immediately stopped in his track and turned to look at her. “I heard you talking. Hi, is that you? Pretty girl?”
“Who are you?” Mengmeng asked.
“I’m Ma Di from the Heavenly Talisman Sect. Pretty girl, I think you look familiar. Are… are you Zhang Hanyang’s daughter?”
“How do you know?” Mengmeng asked skeptically. “I don’t think I’ve met you before.”
“But I saw you once a few years ago.”
Ma Di smiled and said, “Hero Zhang has once helped our Heavenly Talisman Sect out. Several years ago, I and our Sect Leader went to visit him. I saw you then. At that time, you were still a little… little girl. How come you entered the relic by yourself? Where is Hero Zhang?”
“Why do you call my dad Hero Zhang?”
“Because your father is a strong cultivator. He is the kind of man I want to chase after.”
Mengmeng was rendered speechless.
If it weren’t for Ma Di’s unperturbed face, she would seriously doubt if he was gay.
“I came out to play by myself this time,” Mengmeng explained. Then, she asked, “How can we hear each other talking?”
“Come out to play by yourself…”
“She talks about the adventure in a B-grade relic as if it were a game.
“I’m kind of upset.”
Ma Di beamed and said, “Because we should not be far away from each other. I’ve come across five groups of people. When the distance was too far, we couldn’t hear each other’s voices. But we could when there were about 10 mirrors or less between us. Since you and I can hear each other, it means that we’re quite close to each other. I guess this is the periphery of the mirror maze. We will soon get out of this maze.”
“Oh, okay, I’m leaving. Wish you a good time.” Mengmeng bade farewell to him. After that, she patted Tiny Tot on the back, and the two of them continued to fly forward.
Mengmeng knew that when she was in the outside world, she shall never trust strangers, nor could she believe everything they said.
Zhang Han had taught Mengmeng about the dangers in the outside world. The little girl had learned his words by heart.
Tiny Tot continued with the flight. However, what it did not see coming was…
“Ouch!”
With a cry of pain, Ma Di was directly knocked over.
Next, he was momentarily stunned. Without thinking, he conjured up some talismans in his right hand.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…”
As if sensing the danger on the talismans, layers of defensive energy surged up around Mengmeng.
“Huh?”
Ma Di quickly put away his talismans. With an awkward look on his face, he said, “We were talking face to face just now, weren’t we?”
“It seems so,” Mengmeng responded, and two more gems appeared in her hands.
Seeing this, Ma Di’s face stiffened. He hastily took two paces back, raised a hand, and said, “We are on the same side. Don’t attack. Any single one of the treasures your father gave you can kill me.”
“I’m not going to attack,” Mengmeng answered.
“Then what’s in your hand?”
“It’s used for self-defense.”
“All right then.”
Ma Di laughed bitterly and said, “I don’t dare to be near you anymore. Don’t worry. I’m not your enemy. Our Heavenly Talisman Sect has always had a good relations.h.i.+p with your father. I once gave your mother a stack of talismans in a relic. Later, I and my fellows were in danger, and your father came and saved us. Maybe it was all because of that kind deed of mine.”
“Did you just say that my parents once went to a relic together?”
“That’s right.”
“Humph, they didn’t take me! They went to have fun by themselves!” Mengmeng suddenly pouted and snorted.
Ma Di immediately broke out in a cold sweat. “Did I say something wrong?”