A night passed.
Although it was unclear what exactly Chen An had discussed with Hong Xueshao, the outcome of his probing yielded two key pieces of information, one good and one bad.
The good news was: Tie Baiyuan indeed had a way for someone to re-enter the Great Void Illusion Realm.
Before that Jie Kun forged the Demon Sword Wujian, he had once consulted Tie Baiyuan and under the latter's guidance, Jie Kun had crafted a prototype sword as his final test piece before graduation.
This prototype also possessed the ability to open an illusory realm indistinguishable from reality. It was named Langhuan, and it had gained Tie Baiyuan's approval. However, Jie Kun ultimately deemed it a failure and shattered it with the intent of melting it down.
Tie Baiyuan, thinking it a pity, retrieved the fragments of Langhuan from Jie Kun.
He had intended to carry the pieces with him and use the flame of one of the Eight Hundred Sword Furnaces to temper the shards, nurture their Spiritual Energy, and eventually reforge the sword.
But before he could accomplish this, his prized disciple Jie Kun cast himself into the sword furnace to become one with the Demon Sword.
Tie Baiyuan was able to bring the originally nonexistent Hong Xueshao out of the illusion realm precisely because of these fragments of Langhuan.
When he entered the illusion, the sword's residual power activated, creating a second illusion layered atop the Great Void Illusion.
When illusion overlaps illusion, truth becomes indistinguishable from falsehood. It was through this process that a person who should never have existed, Hong Xueshao, was manifested out of thin air!
Tie Baiyuan accepted her as his adopted daughter, using her presence as proof to convince himself that the illusion was the true reality.
And since this smaller illusion realm could connect the Great Void Illusion and reality, and could even extract people from it, it naturally followed that someone from reality could also be sent in.
For years, Tie Baiyuan never allowed the Langhuan fragments to stray far from him.
Because he knew, deep down, that Hong Xueshao's existence was likely tied to those fragments. If they were taken too far away, she might disappear.
Thus, the bad news: Tie Baiyuan was unwilling to lend out all the fragments, and could only spare a small shard of the blade.
...
"Brother Qi, can you work with this?" Chen Kuang asked helplessly, opening his palm.
Resting there was a shard no longer than a hand, razor-sharp, like a dagger blade.
Qi Sibai took it and studied it carefully. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded. "It'll work."
Chen Kuang raised a brow. "Seriously?"
Qi Sibai explained, "Brother Chen, you may not know this, but the sword-forging methods of the Sword Furnace Pavilion involve imbuing a sword with three attributes: Intention, Heart, and Realm. Whether a sword has one, two, or all three depends on the forger's skill."
"Thus, swords forged in the Pavilion that possess all three are called San Cai Swords, Swords of the Three Talents, and are considered priceless treasures."
He pressed two fingers together and ran them across the Langhuan shard.
Suddenly, light shimmered on the surface.
Countless indistinct visions flickered into view, blurred, chaotic images, swirling and merging into a sea of phenomena. These images began to flow from the fragment like liquid, expanding rapidly and nearly reaching the floor.
Chen Kuang's heart skipped a beat.
His Blood Premonition passive activated instantly.
"Brother Qi, stop!"
It was just a fragment of a prototype sword, and yet it triggered a warning of danger!
Qi Sibai realized the threat as well and quickly withdrew his hand. The illusion vanished and he said gravely:
"This Jie Kun... was truly a sword-forging genius."
"This sword possessed all three qualities, Intention, Heart, and Realm, perfectly integrated. Even as a mere shard, it resonates with the wielder and awakens the illusion it holds within."
"It's practically a massive array of Qiankun Arts embedded into a sword!"
He sighed in admiration and handed the fragment back to Chen Kuang.
"I've already used it as a core to transmute the illusion into a formation array. Once you're ready, Brother Chen, all you need to do is activate it near the princess, and you should be able to enter the Great Void Illusion Realm."
He added a warning, "When the time comes, just remember, you'll need to find the shard's location inside the illusion to get back out."
Chen Kuang gripped the Langhuan fragment tightly and nodded, taking a deep breath.
Shen Meinan beside him bit her lip. "You have to come back! Pinky promise!"
The girl stuck out her little finger, her expression full of sorrow.
It was like she was sending him off on a life-or-death mission.
Chen Kuang smiled as he leaned in and said softly, "Don't worry too much. I've got my ways. Even if I can't get out, it's fine."
Shen Meinan was stunned. She watched as the young man slightly lifted his blindfold and winked at her.
"Do I look like the kind of fool who'd walk into death?"
Shen Meinan wasn't sure what trick he had up his sleeve, but Chen Kuang wasn't an idiot.
Still, she stubbornly hooked her little finger with his and shook it hard. "Pinky promise! You've already lied to me twice!"
"It was once."
"Fine. Once."
...
Chen Kuang entered the room and Qingcuo immediately stood up. "Did you find a way?"
Chen Kuang nodded. Chu Wenruo instantly became overwhelmed and threw herself into his arms, weeping softly. "Mister Chen... if, if you can bring Ying'er back, then I... I'll do anything for you..."
Chen Kuang patted her back, inwardly marveling, this woman seemed made of water..
No matter how much she cried, her tears never seemed to dry up.
Still, she was a pampered noblewoman of the former Liang royal court. After everything she'd been through these past weeks, it was understandable.
She would adjust eventually.
He turned to meet Qingcuo's clear gaze and awkwardly coughed twice. "Could you step out for a moment?"
Qingcuo hesitated. Chen Kuang nudged Chu Wenruo. "Madam, please step outside for now as well."
She froze, then suddenly heard him murmur quietly, "Anything?"
Chu Wenruo didn't dare meet his eyes and whispered like a mosquito, "...Yes."
Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow. "Then I guess I have no choice but to risk my life to bring the princess back."
After ushering both women out, he whispered further instructions to Qingcuo regarding what might happen in the next few days.
If anything happened to the Chen family, she was not to panic. She should wait for Lin Eryou and Zhou Yanwei to arrive, then follow his exact instructions.
As for Chen Kuang himself, he closed the door, sat by the princess's bedside, and gripped the Langhuan fragment in his hand.
He dismissed everyone not only because the illusion formation might be dangerous, he didn't want innocent bystanders caught in its effects.
But also because he wasn't certain what effect his passive One Split Mind would have.
What if it was like full-dive VR, and his thoughts became out of sync with his body? That would be very awkward.
Chen Kuang closed his eyes and activated the formation.
Radiant light burst forth as countless phantasms shimmered and danced, slowly enveloping his entire body like a dream.
According to Tie Baiyuan's description, the flow of time inside the illusion realm was vastly different from the real world. One day outside could equal decades inside.
Truthfully, Chen Kuang was quite curious, if half of his consciousness existed in the illusion, would his status screen update in real-time according to that passage of time?