As soon as Xiao Jietian touched the distorted space, he felt a suction force surge out from within it, attempting to pull him in.
Xiao Jietian chose not to resist, allowing himself to be dragged into the space.
The scenery before him blurred, and when he reappeared, Xiao Jietian found himself in a strange, dark gray space.
This space was filled with thick, dark gray gas, limiting visibility to less than half a meter, and in some areas within sight, there was even a faint sense of distortion.
Although he was standing on dark gray gas, Xiao Jietian felt as if he was on solid ground. He stood quietly, eyes slightly closed, and his vast soul power slowly spread out like ripples.
The dark gray gas clearly had a suppressive effect on the soul, but for Xiao Jietian's current soul power, it had no significant impact.
Xiao Jietian's soul power directly captured a wisp of the dark gray gas. This gas could suppress soul power and contained a special substance capable of confusing and disorienting the souls of others, a force that soul power could not resist.
"It's quite an interesting space, with a hint of a formation, but unfortunately, it's far too crude, merely a semblance of the real thing," Xiao Jietian mused. He recalled Xuan Yi mentioning that this illusionary space was formed by a Pill Tower expert using powerful forces to distort space. The space here was already chaotic, like a labyrinth, and most importantly, these passages were not static.
In the surrounding space, Xiao Jietian also sensed the movements of many other contestants. He chose not to engage with or observe them, but instead walked slowly along the path revealed by his soul detection.
As he walked, Xiao Jietian also 'saw' many people scurrying around like headless flies.
Suddenly, the space in front of Xiao Jietian began to ripple, and then a familiar figure appeared before him.
She wore a light blue dress, her slender waist gently cinched by a purple sash. Her smooth, dark hair was casually tied with a hairband, with a few strands gently fluttering in the wind. Her entire being was as transcendent and ethereal as a green lotus imbued with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
On her flawless, peerless face, there was a faint, gentle smile, and her eyes, as they moved, held an unyielding depth of affection and longing.
It was Xun'er, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
The moment Xun'er appeared, Xiao Jietian's heart instinctively stirred.
Her figure, her aura, even the subtle nuances of her soul fluctuation, were all perfectly imitated.
Although he knew it was an illusion, looking at that familiar face, etched into his soul, Xiao Jietian's usually placid mind still rippled slightly.
He didn't immediately dispel the illusion but stood quietly, his gaze soft as he observed the 'Xun'er' before him. Although they often communicated using message stones, a message stone could only convey sound and not allow them to see each other.
The 'Xun'er' before him did not speak, but simply gazed at him with eyes as clear as glass, identical to the Immortal Master's, a gentle, shallow smile gracing her lips.
Looking at Xun'er before him, Xiao Jietian secretly thought to himself, this space truly has something to it; he hadn't even realized that his deepest affection had been captured.
After a few moments of silent contemplation, Xiao Jietian sighed softly and no longer lingered.
His eyes moved slightly, and an invisible soul power transformed into a gust of wind, directly shattering the figure of 'Xun'er'. As 'Xun'er' dissipated, a somewhat eerie black Qi subtly permeated the spot where she had stood.
Xiao Jietian took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and then continued to move towards the correct passage he had discovered.
Along the subsequent path, the figures of Yun Yun, Little Fairy Doctor, Medusa, and others all appeared before Xiao Jietian. However, they were shattered by Xiao Jietian as soon as they appeared and before they could even fully form. Illusions were, after all, illusions; no matter how realistic, there was still a slight difference compared to their true selves.
Xiao Jietian walked along, observing the other contestants with interest. He even saw many people, after being infiltrated by black Qi, acting wildly and shamelessly in the space, a true display of human folly.
He also saw Cao Ying's location. When Xiao Jietian clearly saw the person in front of Cao Ying, his face was filled with helplessness, because it was his own phantom in front of Cao Ying.
But Cao Ying was indeed the Demoness of the Cao family; she was not affected by these things. She quickly reacted and shattered the phantom, and her eyes gradually changed from excitement to confusion to final determination, as if at this moment she truly understood her own heart.
In less than twenty minutes, Xiao Jietian passed through the exit and arrived in a rather spacious clearing. The surrounding space was heavily distorted, clearly a spatial resting point forcefully constructed by a Pill Tower expert using their methods.
Xiao Jietian looked towards the spatial passage not far away. Before the passage stood an Elder dressed in ordinary clothes.
Beneath the Elder was a colossal turtle, entirely black like cast iron, lying prostrate, and the Elder was sitting cross-legged on the back of this giant turtle.
He wore a golden badge on his chest, clearly indicating he was a powerful Elder of the Pill Tower (this was a powerful Elder of the outer tower, not the Little Pill Tower).
"Greetings, Elder Xiao. Here is your mission medicinal pill list, the Pill World map, and a space stone. The collection period is ten days," said the Elder, who had witnessed Xiao Jietian's assessment in the past.
"The space stone is for contestants to save their lives. If you encounter a life-threatening situation, you can crush the space stone, and you will automatically be sent out of the Pill World. However, with your strength, Elder Xiao, you certainly won't need this space stone."
"Thank you, Elder Mu," Xiao Jietian nodded, taking the three items.
Xiao Jietian glanced at the medicinal pill list, which had three medicinal ingredients written on it. He immediately turned his head to look at Elder Mu, simply because the three medicinal ingredients were a bit too simple. They clearly listed Ice Snow Bamboo, Jade Stone Flower, and Scythe Moon Vine—all ingredients for five or six-grade medicinal pills, and not even rare ones.
"These medicinal formulas are all 'random'; what medicinal ingredients you get entirely depends on one's 'luck'," Elder Mu said with a 'righteous and impartial' demeanor.
He then hurriedly opened the passage. Normally, it wasn't time to open the passage, but rules are dead, people are alive, and boundaries also need to be a little flexible.
He was understanding.
Xiao Jietian glanced at him, nodded gently, and walked into the passage, entering the Pill World.
As Xiao Jietian's figure slowly disappeared, a thin man in black tight-fitting clothes appeared in the clearing.