Yunze said, “the monster always came in through here. After I had my disciples watch this spot, it hasn’t showed up.”
Yuesong nodded, “have you tried to lure the bear monster out?”
Yunze thought for a while and shook his head, “this monster has become very smart and doesn’t take risks easily. But it likes to eat kids, so it’s probably craving human meat after being in the mountains for a long time. If we used kids as a lure, maybe it’ll be tempted.”
Yuesong smiled, “that’s easy then.” He patted Ye’s shoulder, “Ye, do you dare to lure the bear monster from the mountain with me?” Ye declared, “no big deal, it’s just a bear.”
Yunze shouted, “no! You have just this one student, if something... Let me go back to the clan and find some younger disciples...”
Ye stared at him, “I’m not his student!”
Yuesong was also unhappy. “His life is valuable, but so is others. I really doubt the bear monster can hurt him with me around.” He ignored Yunze and walked toward the mountains with Ye.
Ye was a little afraid at first, but Yuesong’s words energized him. Yunze looked on awkwardly as the two marched away in the snowy mist.
The more they walked, the colder it became. Ye could stand the brutal weather at first but began to shiver. Yuesong noticed but didn’t say anything. After they crossed the snowy plateau, they reached the glaciers. Yuesong raised his right hand, forming a silver spell with his energy, then told Ye, “I’m going to be invisible now, but still next to you. Just keep going and don’t be afraid, alright?” Yuesong disappeared after waving his hand, the spell becoming a shadow on Ye’s body.
Ye looked around in amazement, but Yuesong was gone, with no sight nor sound. He marveled at the incredible magic of spellwork and swore that one day, he’d learn everything Yuesong knew.
Ye kept walking by the glaciers, freezing more and more; his legs felt like sticks and out of his control. He started to stumble more and more, but he didn’t moan or complain.
When Ye felt as if he couldn’t walk anymore, he heard a bear shout. He was shocked but excited.
Not far from him, a black bear covered in snow stood on his hind legs and watched Ye, yelling and drooling. Ye saw its human-like form, different from the usual bear, and knew this was the bear monster. He turned to run, trying to lure the monster.
The bear monster didn’t move, however, after yelling some more, it slapped its paws together and spit out a ray of thunder at Ye. Ye, facing away from the bear, didn’t notice the attack.
When the thunder almost reached Ye, another ray of thunder came out mid-air and scattered the first one, and flew toward the bear’s abdomen. The thunder was so powerful that the bear monster was struck through. Then Yuesong appeared next to Ye, he grabbed Ye with his left hand, while tossing a spell with his right hand. As soon as the spell left his hand, it turned into a fiery tiger, melting the nearby snow into water, and exposing black soil.
Ye felt warmer instantly. He took a deep breath and remembered the bear monster. When he looked around, the bear monster was nowhere to be seen. Ye asked anxiously, “why did you let it get away?”
“It won’t get away.” Yuesong smiled. “As long as it can’t travel 1000 miles a second, it can’t escape. I already shot it with a tracing spell, and the spell would release a smoke only the spellmaker can see. The spell lasts 10 hours and no matter where it goes, I’ll know.” He then ascended into the air with Ye, with the fire following and keeping them warm on their travels.
Yuesong chased the bear monster with the help of the smoke trail and soon arrived in front of a glacier. The smoke went all the way into the ice. After Yuesong flew around the glacier, he saw the smoke went inside the mountain but there were no cave openings. As he considered what to do, a thick ray of thunder crawled out of the glacier and flew toward them, scaring Ye into closing his eyes.
Yuesong was also startled by the attack, he reached out and used his hand to block the thunder, which flew around them and then meekly flew past Yuesong, back into the glacier. Yuesong nodded at where the smoke disappeared, “this is the Illusion Realm indeed!” Then he took Ye to charge straight into the glacier.
Ye had to close his eyes again and only opened them when he felt himself stop.
The glacier was gone, instead, they were now on a white meadow in the middle of a short glacier. The meadow wasn’t very expansive, with about ten li across in diameter. In the skies above the glacier, countless icicles hung floating in the air, resembling islands or icy clouds. Not far from where they stood was a giant icy rock etched with the words, “Endless Sky.”
Ye looked back and saw nothing but more glaciers. He was confused and wanted to ask questions. He saw Yuesong staring at the icy rock, who mumbled, “I had no idea Illusion Realm’s entrance was in the middle of the glaciers!”
Ye asked, “Illusion Realm? What’s that?”
Yuesong replied, “supposedly, when the world was first made, pure air rose up and dirty air fell, and two worlds were created in between. One was a world for the mortals and one was for the monsters. The monsters’ realm was secret and hard to find, and known as the “Illusion Realms.” Many people have gone inside but few have come back. Anyone who did return from this realm either became wealthy or a legend. If I’m not mistaken, this is one of the Illusion Realms. The Moon Glow Mirror must be hidden here. When the bear monster found this entrance, it came inside to hide and recover, and the mirror helped it heal.”
Ye was naturally smart and understood. “What is the Moon Glow Mirror?”
Yuesong said, “it’s a legendary treasure passed on from ancient times. The last time it appeared was thousands of years ago. The story goes, the mirror could revive the dead, as long as the soul was there, even if only a finger was left, the mirror’s glow could make one alive again.”
Ye shouted, “wow, that’s incredible!” then he happily said, “so if I used it on my parents...”
Yuesong sighed, “that’s the story. No one knows if the mirror could really make the dead come back to life. Plus, your parents have already ascended to the heavenly realm, so even if the mirror worked, it...”
Ye looked despondent, then asked, “so if I got to the heavenly realm, I’d see my parents again?”
Yuesong nodded, making Ye smile and say, “then I’d work extra hard to try to become a god!”
Yuesong had to chuckle. The road to becoming a god was not easy. The Blue Cloud Clan had worked for generations, but only a handful of people had ascended to the heavenly realm. But he didn’t want to disappoint the kid. He grabbed Ye and they took off for the middle of the meadow, following the smoke.
The meadow was mostly flat, with some ups and downs. As the two traveled a little distance and got close to the heart of the meadow, they could see a spot of grey. It was the bear monster, who was already laying motionless on the ground due to its serious injury. Yuesong and Ye landed next to the bear monster, who looked at them with terror in its eyes.
Ye could see the hole in the bear’s abdomen slowly healing, and the organs inside were growing too. He yelled, “Yuesong, its wound is getting better! The Moon Glow Mirror must be under its body!”