Path of Alchemy Mastery-Chapter 269 - 270: It Really Is an Illusion

"Is it because of my greed that you chose to come out and meet me?" Mu Can was filled with doubt. How could such a thing happen? Were not high-level seniors like this supposed to prefer honest and simple young people? Why did he manage to take two treasures at the same time, yet received the approval of such a senior? fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Hehe, if you were like those dullards, never using your brain, I simply wouldn’t have appeared. Tell me, lad, what is your desire? Even if you want to be the ruler of the Empire, I can grant that wish."

A figure slowly emerged in front of Mu Can; it was a strange-looking middle-aged man with a cunning appearance and his triangular eyes filled with weirdness and craftiness.

Mu Can was startled and became discreetly vigilant. Any normal person, upon seeing such a bizarre person appear, would probably not remain calm.

"Junior appreciates the senior’s kind intention, but I am not interested in becoming any king. However, I do have a request, I wonder if the senior could grant it."

Mu Can was about to bid farewell, but changed his mind on the spot. This strange figure might just be the opportunity he needed to escape from the illusion.

"Oh? What is your request?" The eerie figure was shrouded with a haze, only revealing a pair of triangular eyes that gleamed with a chilling light.

Looking at this figure, Mu Can was on his guard. As the saying goes, one’s appearance is a reflection of their heart, and the way a person looks is largely determined by what’s inside.

This figure, if set loose outside would undoubtedly frighten children. Harmful intentions should not be harbored, but one must guard against others.

Mu Can did not believe a single punctuation of what the figure had said.

"Wu wu wu wu!" The giant tortoise’s reaction surprised Mu Can. The usually calm creature became agitated upon seeing the figure, crying out towards it.

It felt as if a lost puppy had suddenly found its owner, making Mu Can question his beliefs. If this was truly a malicious person, why would it trigger such a response in a spiritual being like the giant tortoise?

"Junior has a question to ask the senior." Mu Can said respectfully, resolving to thoroughly probe this person.

"You young lad, I offer you the chance to rule the Empire, and you refuse; I offer you the chance to become a peerless fighter, and you refuse; you actually want to ask me questions. Alright, go ahead and ask, and I shall answer."

Mu Can pondered for a moment, as if making up his mind, before asking his question.

"May I ask the senior, is this space we’re in truly real?" Mu Can asked respectfully, looking expectantly at the blurred figure for his answer.

"What a joke, which family’s little lad are you to need to ask such a simple thing? If this world were not real, then what are you? And what am I? What, then, are your relatives out there?"

The figure paused when asked, as if it had never expected Mu Can to ask such a question and then burst into laughter in response.

"No, senior, I don’t believe that." Since the probing had begun, it had to be carried out to the end. What is the existence of this environment, and where is the chance to break through the Broken Mirror? Mu Can did not want to delay any longer. If he continued to wait, he feared that he might sink into this environment, believing that the space he was in was real and regarding his experience outside as a dream.

"Oh? What do you believe then?" The figure asked, seemingly never having encountered such a peculiar child.

"Junior believes that the space we are in is just a dream, and everything within it does not exist. You are illusory. I am illusory. This space is illusory, the pond is illusory, the sky is illusory, the earth is illusory, everything is non-existent."

Mu Can spoke slowly and emphatically, releasing everything he had been holding inside.

"Damn this illusion! If it takes me back to my childhood, then I will force you all out." Mu Can thought to himself. Since waking up inside this illusion, Mu Can had been carefully observing everything and everyone he encountered. His relatives and friends within this realm were all as he remembered them, with no discrepancies—Mu Xing and Mu Chen were exact copies of his memories.

But the figure before him was different. This figure didn’t exist in Mu Can’s memory. Even within an illusion, logic must prevail. Mu Can had studied illusions; everything that appears within should come from the memories of the person in the illusion. Therefore, when the figure appeared, Mu Can knew that his chance to break out of the Secret Realm was likely linked to this person.

If there was a flaw in this illusion, then undoubtedly, the blurred figure he had never seen before was the greatest flaw of it all.

"If everything in your eyes is merely illusory, what is the meaning and value of existence in this world? Look at this room, this pond, the world outside. Look at yourself, then look at me. If everything were illusory, who then am I, speaking to you now?" The blurred figure slowly became more distinct, and the face that appeared in front of Mu Can made him feel slightly uneasy.

That face, what a face it was—a long scar ran across its cheek from the left eyebrow, and in those triangular eyes shone a mad light, and beneath that madness, Mu Can discerned a hint of wisdom, like that of an old man who has seen through all of humanity.

"Since you’re not an illusion, who are you?" Mu Can certainly wouldn’t believe the words of the person before him, having already determined that he was in an illusion.

"Who am I? Does it matter who I am? Why don’t you open the book in your hands? Isn’t that the thing you’ve been longing for?" The figure didn’t answer Mu Can’s question directly, but responded with its own question.

"Indeed, it is an illusion." Mu Can concluded immediately upon hearing this question.