Chapter 1306: Mirror World
There was no mirror in front of him, but another "self" appeared as if looking into one, perfectly replicating every movement he made.
There was no water underfoot, yet walking produced the sound of splashing. As Xu Huo moved forward, the white light he had seen outside the door vanished completely, and the spiritual realm returned to pitch darkness. Only the mirror self seemed to carry its own light, visible clearly with a tilt of the head.
After walking for two minutes, he released his spiritual realm, intending to find the edge of this space as quickly as possible—if he could find one at all.
However, unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his spiritual gate, he slammed headfirst into an invisible wall. Looking around, the gate was barely a step away, meaning his spiritual gate had failed—it hadn't achieved the effect of crossing distances. And this invisible wall in front of him, he hadn't sensed it at all; he simply couldn't pass through.
He reached out and knocked on the wall, producing a very low, muffled sound.
Standing in a straight line with him, no more than twenty meters away, the "Mirror Xu Huo" also raised its hand, but no sound came from its side.
Xu Huo turned and walked toward the mirror self, who also walked toward him. Soon, the two faced each other but hit another wall. Xu Huo quickly turned back, only to hit another wall after a few meters. Turning to another side, the same thing happened.
The "Mirror Xu Huo" followed him through the circuit and returned to its original position.
Their eyes met, but Xu Huo sensed a subtle discrepancy in the mirror self's behavior. The other's movements had unconsciously slowed by a beat.
He tried turning his body, and sure enough, the other's actions lagged. Though it still replicated his movements, it now felt like "another person."
"Is there another mirror world on the other side?" Xu Huo said, looking at the mirror self.
The "Mirror Xu Huo" also opened its mouth, but couldn't form complete words—only a faint breath of air came out.
Then Xu Huo knocked on the invisible wall again. The mirror self followed suit, and this time, though still silent, he could feel the vibration of the knock against the object.
Understanding what this spiritual realm was trying to do, he released the Library Tower, forcibly expanding the mirror-like sealed space that trapped him. Then, he condensed a small black hammer from his spiritual power and struck the invisible wall:
The moment the black hammer touched the wall, it turned into a liquid-like flowing substance that spread upward, quickly covering the area in front of him. Within two seconds, the liquid-like spiritual power materialized into dozens of spikes, all sinking into the wall. After a faint cracking sound, the black liquid automatically parted, revealing the shattered wall.
Xu Huo crushed the wall with his bare hands. As the wall peeled away, the "Mirror Xu Huo" on the other side vanished, and the spiritual realm rapidly transformed. The surrounding scenery instantly reverted to the underground passage.
Out?
Xu Huo frowned and took a step forward, but his foot sank as if stepping into snow and sand. He withdrew his spiritual power, and when he lifted his leg again, the ground of the underground passage turned solid once more.
Raising an eyebrow, he brushed his hand across the wall, but his fingers passed through the wall's coating without resistance, touching the metal layer beneath. The special metal layer couldn't be penetrated.
He then walked along the underground passage toward the exit. Passing through the station, someone walked toward him. The person acted as if they didn't see him, heading straight for him, and at the same moment, passed through his body—no, it wasn't that the other person passed through him, but that he passed through the other person!
Xu Huo raised his hand as another person walking toward him passed through his palm like air. He found it astonishing:
"Can Mental Super Evolution reach this level?"
From an outsider's perspective, it looked like people in the same place overlapped in some form without touching each other—similar to spatial overlap.
Of course, this wasn't ordinary spatial overlap. Although the spiritual realm's space could affect the real world, it wasn't a truly stable world. In Xu Huo's understanding, it was more like passing through a sealed wall through the spiritual gate earlier. And now, he had become that wall in the spiritual realm—or rather, most objects in the real world had become walls he could pass through, including people.
However, the spiritual realm formed by this instance site was stronger than his own. Even if he collided head-on with a player, the other couldn't sense his existence. It was as if he were an air particle existing in the city but imperceptible.
From a certain perspective, it was a bit like invisibility.
Xu Huo didn't wander the streets like he owned the place. Instead, he walked like an ordinary passerby, passing through the bustling city center and arriving at the Directly Administered District.
He held a small ball in his hand and began tossing it as he entered the district. Moving objects were easier to catch people's attention, but even after crossing two streets, no one saw him. Not only that, but the sensors and aircraft scattered everywhere showed no reaction to him—he could even pass straight through them!
At this point, Xu Huo confirmed that he had truly entered the spiritual realm arranged outside the mine entrance. He hadn't entered the mine, but he was indeed in one of its layers or spaces. However, with his own spiritual power, he couldn't freely enter or exit this layer. He would have to wait for the "Gate of the Mind" to cool down for twenty-four hours before opening it a second time.
There was still plenty of time. He didn't linger in the Directly Administered District for long and returned to the city center. He didn't go anywhere else but stayed near the Game Government Base.
There were many Advanced Players in Fresh Flower City, so staying here was the safest option, and it also helped avoid being discovered early.
The space within the instance site left by Old Master Zhuang had created a spatial gap, avoiding the highest-risk areas and reducing some of the difficulty. As long as Han Yi walked out of the Directly Administered District in twenty-three hours, everything would be fine.
However, this spiritual realm wasn't absolutely safe either. After sitting in a drink shop outside the base for half an hour, an identical shop appeared across the street. Not only the shop and customers, but the "Mirror Xu Huo" reappeared. And this time, it clearly had autonomy. Sitting in the same position, maintaining the same posture, it turned its head and smiled at him.
Xu Huo stood up and walked out of the drink shop. The "Mirror Xu Huo" also stood up and seemed to predict his actions, stepping toward one side of the street first. As it moved, the remaining street scenery automatically filled in, gradually replacing the original buildings and pedestrians, completely transforming into a mirror world.
Xu Huo stood still, watching it walk. It walked to the end of the street and disappeared, then reappeared from the other end, approached him again, passed by in front of him, and once more vanished at the street's end.
(End of Chapter)