Chapter 1673: Blue-Eyed Distant Visitor
Xu Huo needed to avoid the space entities, and only managed to catch a glimpse of this simple fragment before leaving the area.
He didn't know whether the "Nine Divine Paths" referred to nine actual roads or was just a figurative term. After nearly two hours of desperately dodging through the torrent of space entities, he still hadn't left the temple grounds. Just as he began to suspect he might be trapped in an illusion, a residential area built from the same blue stone finally appeared ahead.
Unlike the towering temple, the residential buildings were very low. Apart from a watchtower that stood two or three stories high, about ten meters tall, all the other houses were single-story and not particularly tall either.
However, what surprised him was that once he reached the residential area, the number of floating space entities sharply decreased, with most concentrated at higher altitudes. The ground was completely unobstructed.
From this point, Xu Huo could roughly determine the direction. It was clear that these space entities were spreading outward from the "Nine Divine Paths," so the entrance crack should be right at the core of this city. The residential area, far from the "Nine Divine Paths" and the temple, was on the city's edge and had been less affected.
Manipulating space rays in a chaotic space was extremely difficult. After nearly three hours of back-and-forth effort, Xu Huo was exhausted. He stopped to find a place to rest and check if there were any messages in the game backend.
There was no direct contact from Nie Xuan. The messages came from the super evolvers he had left outside. The recent upheaval had indeed been caused by Nie Xuan's group. They had fallen into an illusion, mistaking the intercepted fragments of time power for reality—time power was a more subtle rule-based force than space power. Compared to space power, which could be used directly as a weapon, time power was gentler. Moreover, based on Xu Huo's several experiences, time power didn't seem to have coercive force.
In other words, although time power covered this space, it couldn't have a real impact on reality. The recorded images were just images—they weren't real, and there was no traveling back in time to the past. Even if someone was trapped in a closed time-space, seeing images of the past didn't prevent them from freely entering or leaving.
Besides, as long as one wore a time-space item, it could partially nullify the time power acting on them. Since Nie Xuan was traveling with them, Xu Huo didn't think they were truly panicked enough to mistake fake things for real. The only explanation was that the further they went, the stronger the mental interference became, making it impossible for them to distinguish reality from illusion.
Of course, this was just his speculation, because the Special Defense Department had only informed him of the basic situation without detailing Nie Xuan's progress.
However, Yu Qingqing soon secretly reported to him. Tian Zhengjiang, who was following Nie Xuan, had died. Sha Chuan, like Wei Xiaoyi, had escaped into the game and had already returned.
Nie Xuan hadn't come out yet; he was still going deeper.
The situation inside was so chaotic that the Special Defense Department had no plans to send more people in for now. They would wait for Nie Xuan's next contact before deciding the next step. Meanwhile, the elite forces of the Special Defense Department had already sealed off this primeval forest and were clearing out all the surrounding players—if it weren't for her persistent pestering, the "Unpredictable Mood" team definitely wouldn't have been allowed to stay.
Xu Huo finished reading the messages and closed the game interface, ignoring the Special Defense Department's cautious probing and Yu Qingqing's follow-up questions.
The fatigue from over two hours of high-intensity consumption couldn't be relieved immediately. After sitting in place for a while, he had to drink several bottles of stamina potion. After resting for another ten-plus minutes, he finally felt a bit better.
Another beam of sunlight broke through the gray mist, illuminating the entire residential area. The once-bustling street scene reappeared. A little boy ran over from across the street, stopped in front of him, and held up a flower basket toward the spot beside him. "Distant visitor, buy a flower!"
From the appearance and clothing of the people in the earlier time fragments, it was clear they belonged to a single race. The residents didn't usually use terms like "distant visitor" when soliciting customers. The child's use of this term meant time had moved forward significantly. Had this city, built for religious purposes, started to attract tourists from outside?
Xu Huo turned his head. Sitting next to him, polishing his shoes, was a young man with a handsome face. When he heard the boy's greeting, he looked up, his blue eyes full of smiles. "Sure, how much are your flowers?"
"Ten bucks a piece." The little boy showed him some local paper currency.
The man smiled apologetically. "I just arrived from out of town. I don't have your local money. Would this work?"
The young man pulled out a white note.
The little boy recognized the white note and nodded vigorously. "The distant visitor's money can buy all my flowers and still have change left."
"Use the extra to buy yourself some juice." The young man paid and took the flower basket.
The little boy excitedly ran to a juice stall with the white note and came back with two cups of juice, handing one to the young man. "Uncle, I'll buy you juice too."
"Haha!" The young man took it cheerfully. "I was just getting thirsty."
Having sold all his flowers, the little boy was free to play. He was very curious about the young man and asked him what he was doing here.
The man bit into the fruit pulp in his juice and mumbled vaguely, "I heard there's a pair of magical divine eyes here..."
The little boy pointed toward the "Nine Divine Paths." "The great temple is over there. Lots of people go to worship there every day."
"Have you seen the divine eyes?" The young man actually started chatting with him.
The little boy shook his head. "They only show them to believers. I wasn't chosen."
The smile in the young man's eyes faded a bit. "They recruit children too?"
"The adults say children have more spiritual insight. If you're chosen, you not only get new clothes but also endless delicious food every day." The little boy was practically drooling.
"Uncle, do you want to eat delicious food too?"
The young man finished the last drop of juice, his blue eyes curving. "Good things—who doesn't want them?"
Handing the cup back to the little boy, the man picked up the flower basket and ruffled his hair. "These flowers are very pretty. Perfect for a gift."
The young man turned and walked away, heading toward the "Nine Divine Paths." But before he had gone a hundred meters, the light and shadows on the street dispersed, and the gray mist covered everything once more.
Not much could be gleaned from a single fragment, but judging by the conversations of the surrounding residents when the young man spoke, this time point wasn't far from when the earlier cleaning believers had mentioned the "divine eyes."
Considering the still-unfinished temples, perhaps the "divine eyes" had successfully built up hype, attracting players from other zones who brought disaster to this place.
Given the state of this space, maybe that pair of "divine eyes" really was some kind of powerful item.
Xu Huo stood up and continued moving away from the "Nine Divine Paths." There weren't many space entities in the residential area. Here, he might be able to use the "Cube Space."
(Chapter End)