After Lin Shi entered the room, she saw that there was only an old veteran there and no one else.
He looked like he was in his fifties, and he wore a green Daoist robe with his hair neatly combed. His hair was tied in a bun and held together with a black pin.
The girl in green turned around and left in a respectful manner, closing the door.
The old veteran was extremely thin, he had a long beard and looked very gentle.
But from the way that the girl in green acted in front of him, this was probably just a facade.
Lin Shi smiled and greeted him, "Greetings Elder.".
The old veteran looked at her and smiled, "Take a seat Miss Lin.".
Miss Lin? A feeling of fear overcame Lin Shi uncontrollably.
This was the exact same feeling she had whenever she felt that her fate was out of her control, and it was a terrible feeling to have.
She felt as if the man could see through her completely, but she had no idea who he was.
Lin Shi sat quietly opposite him.
The old veteran looked at Lin Shi and said, "I know that you are the disciple of the Butterfly Dance, but because you’re from Earth, she likely threatened you and ordered you to do something for her. Her personality is just like that, even if Chu Yu killed her as a result of this, she still has her ways to get back her life. Otherwise, she would not be so well known in this dimension.".
He continued, "Her real identity is of a much more terrifying and vicious profile. She’s currently scouring the entire land of trapped beasts for you. It won’t be long before she finds you here.".
Lin Shi sat that quietly as cold sweat trickled down her back.
Who was this man? Why did he know about everything?
Could he have been a man of big stature in the land of trapped beasts?
At the same time, she was shocked by what he had said, did Chu Yu really kill the Butterfly Dance of the School of Heavenly Day?
And… did she really have another body in the land of trapped beasts? Was she looking for Lin Shi throughout the dimension?
The old man looked at her and said, "Your lover Chu Yu has appeared at the land of trapped beasts, he’s probably looking for you. But he’s too young, he doesn’t know how dangerous this place is. He’s too naive, coming over like that thinking that he has great power.".
The old man’s tone was very factual, this was a simple truth.
Lin Shi stood up and bowed to the old man, "Elder, what do you want?".
The old man finally smiled as he asked, "Why do you phrase it as such and not request for me to save you?".
Lin Shi gave a wry smile and replied, "There’s no free meal in this world. We aren’t family or friends, you have no obligation to save me. Also, there’s probably another reason as to why you want to speak to me, I don’t think that it’s just to scare me.".
"Wise words!".
He looked at her and said, "Seat down.".
Lin Shi sat down accordingly.
The old man said, "I’m not afraid of telling you the truth. This land has always been a broken place, because there are many creatures here leftover from the previous era. Even though they aren’t strong, they can hurt the younger ones very easily, which was why this place was segregated from the rest of the Mirror Dimension when the Dimension was incepted. However, things here have been monopolized by a few ancient clans as the medicine, beasts, and manufacturing here are all very valuable.".
Lin Shi listened to him quietly.
"After that, a few disobedient creatures who had sinned but refused to admit their mistakes were thrown here to die. This place then became the training ground for those ancient clans. The outstanding youngsters o
f their generation would come here to train before heading to the Bastion of Stars.".
Lin Shi looked at him suspiciously and said, "If these things are true, you shouldn’t be telling me this.".
"Why shouldn’t I?" laughed the old man.
She replied, "I am from the Emperor Star, I’m the natural enemy of the people in this dimension.".
She did not need to hide anything anymore, she knew that she was powerless in front of this old man.
He laughed and shook his head, "Who told you that we’re natural enemies?".
With a serious expression she said, "I will never betray my home, my family, my friends, never!".
The old man nodded his head and said, "No one has asked you to.".
Lin Shi looked at him with a confused look.
The old man sighed softly and smiled, "This world isn’t as simple as you think. Maybe you’ll understand a little if I explain it like this.".
Lin Shi looked at him as he continued, "You’re from the Emperor Star, and you were born in the generation where the seal was already released. Naturally, you should have your own views on the world and the universe right?".
Lin Shi nodded her head and said, "The universe is huge, but the edges of it have already been observed since the year I was born.".
"Indeed, the universe is huge, but don’t you feel that the distance between the Emperor Star, the Mirror Dimension and the Bastion of Stars isn’t that great after all?".
"That phenomenon should be because of the way space folds right?" commented Lin Shi.
"You are right, but you are wrong as well. What you see from the Emperor Star is but a projection of the Immortal world. To be direct, our world is like an vast cage. Even though it is big, it is not as huge as we think it is.".
"Under observation, the universe is constantly expanding, the space between galaxies and stars are constantly increasing, am I right?" said the old man.
"Yes you are," replied Lin Shi as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"That is because all you see is a lie!" sighed the old man.
Silence ensued as the room became quiet.
After a brief pause, the old man said, "Actually, the universe that we inhabit only has places like the solar system that are scattered in the four corners of the world. In between them, there is no interaction at all, and there never has been. The Bastion of Stars that exists at the heavenly door, it does not seek to prevent other creatures from entering the village of Dao, but rather.... It is there to stop those creatures from entering another place, and that place is what we call the Immortal Realm!".
"The Immortal Realm? Aren’t we the immortals?" gasped Lin Shi.
"We’re far from it. In the eyes of normal human beings we may seem like gods. But even unvanquishable Saints are not there yet. How many billion year old Saints have you seen?".
"Perhaps Saints could really live for that long, but once time passes, they will be swept along with the winds like leaves. The world will turn cold, but once autumn arrives, life will come again and the leaves will have a new life," said the old man with a smile.
Lin Shi looked at him with a blank expression, she could not understand any of it.
"There are no two leaves in the world that are the same, but we’re always the leaves," said the old man.
"Are you referring to reincarnation?" guessed Lin Shi wildly.
"Perhaps, perhaps it is reincarnation," said the old man.
"Does all of this have anything to do with you finding me?" asked Lin Shi.
"Don’t you wish to know the truth about this world? Why are we trapped in his cage? Why are the creatures in the Mirror Dimension and the Solar system always fighting and killing, even today?" questioned the old man as he looked at her.
"Do all of these things have to do with you finding me?" asked Lin Shi.
"Of course they do!".
He was very sure. He looked at her and said, "In the eyes of the Immortal Realm, our world is no different from the land of trapped beasts. If we don’t wish to remain trapped here, we should find a way to break out! Unless you are the direct descendant of an Immortal, otherwise, there is no way we can elevate ourselves without the proper technique.".
"No matter what, that technique can only be in the hands of a few people. By incorporating the Qi into our bodies, we can elevate ourselves eventually and return to that Realm. However, there is both fake and real Qi. Incorporating the false Qi will only result in one’s demise.".
"Over these years, there have been many who have attempted to cross into the Immortal Realm, but most of them have failed. Those who could get a fragment of their souls back were considered lucky.".
"This was how the secret of the Immortal Realm leaked out.".
"Through my countless years of research, I’ve discovered that only those who possess the true circulation of Qi in their bodies can elevate themselves.".
He looked at Lin Shi and said, "And you, based on what I see, you possess a tremendous Qi circulating in your body. But I can’t tell if its true or false.".
"What’s your point?" asked Lin Shi.
"My point is that I will nurture you, teach you and help you! If my bet is correct, and you possess the true circulation of Qi, my only hope is that you can remember us when you achieve greatness.".
He looked at her and continued, "When you ascend into the Immortal Realm, you can bring many people with you!".
"That works? But what if the Qi in my body is false?" asked Lin Shi, still a little surprised.
He laughed and replied, "That’s why it’s a bet!".
"What about the Bastion of Stars?" asked Lin Shi.
The old man laughed and said, "You still believe that the Bastion of Stars is the gateway for other creatures to the Emperor Star? You’re wrong! The battleground there is full of blood because everyone there is looking for that Qi! They all want to ascend into immortality! The fighting, the killing, everything is real, but it was never to protect their home!".
He looked at Lin Shi and said, "Do you feel a sudden disappointment?".
"Is that really how it is?" asked Lin Shi, she was at a loss for words.
"What else can it be? What’s so good about the village of Dao? Why would anyone want to go there? Perhaps one can obtain legacies and powerful artifacts from there, which is why many in this dimension want to cross over in the first place. But in the eyes of truly powerful people, only the Bastion of Stars is worthy of their time as they can elevate themselves!".
"I heard that there used to be an existence that superseded Saints," remarked Lin Shi.
"Just Saints?" smiled the old man, he did not continue.
In his heart he thought, "They even superseded Grand Saints!".
Lin Shi did not continue to participate in the activities in the ballroom, the girl in green had brought her to a quiet place.
After she returned to her room, Lin Shi sat there and stared into space, thinking about how much truth there was to the old man’s words.
There was definitely no free meal in this world!
Was he going out of his way to help her and nurture her just so that she would bring him with her?
There were so many incredible talents at the Bastion of Stars!
Why did he not just pick someone from over there?
Was what he said about the Bastion of Stars true?
This was something Lin Shi refused to believe in.
Some of his words had to be true, but how much of it was?
She thought about it hard and realised that it was hard to leave this place.
For now, she could only suppress her thoughts and suspicions and proceed slowly.
Back at the room where the old man was, there was a beautiful young lady seated in front of him.
If Lin Shi saw this girl, she would have been frightened.
It was the Butterfly Dance in her teenage body!
"Old man, are you sure that she will believe in your words?" mocked the teenage Butterfly Dance.
"She won’t buy all of it, but she will definitely believe in some of it!" replied the old man.
"Are you really going to nurture this little b*tch?" laughed the Butterfly Dance without any sense of hatred or malice.
The old man looked at her and said, "So what if I am? You have Chu Yu, and I have Lin Shi. The two of them possess great circulation of Qi in their bodies. Butterfly Dance, you in particular possess such great Qi, there’s really no need…".
"No! I want to achieve ascension," she interrupted.
With a prideful expression she said, "I want to see for myself what’s so good about that Immortal Realm? How will it compare to our world?".