Chapter 1692 Odd and Eccentric
Gerlane beamed: "They attacked, yes. Some who didn’t adore me charged at me, but they were blocked by the many more who are my admirers. It got intense, big brother, you wouldn't believe it! Those guys, one on one, wrapping arms around each other's necks, sucking each other’s blood, standing there frozen like statues on the Ice Plains... it was quite interesting, really..."
Germain again found her words profoundly mysterious and complex.
This was truly bizarre. The Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm felt incredibly strange.
Alright, skirting past that question, Germain continued asking: "So, in the end, did you see a massive, blue dragon? One radiating freezing cold and terrifying aura?"
Gerlane shook her head rapidly: "No, no, I didn’t see any dragon at all! Big brother, listen! When Xiaoshan and I climbed to the mountaintop, we didn't see any terrifying dragon you talked about. We saw a huge lizard! This big! And it was so lazy, just sprawled out on the ground, snoring away..."
Germain...
Gerlane continued: "This lizard was a bit bluish though, with a sort of grey glow. It was blocking my path. Seeing it annoyed me, so I had Xiaoshan take care of it in just a few moves. Smacked it dead on the iceberg."
'Smacked it dead on the iceberg.'
Germain felt that if his ears weren’t playing tricks on him, then surely his sanity was. Today, his sister's words kept sounding incomprehensibly deep.
Blinking, Germain was rendered speechless for a long time.
Thrilled by her first venture into the Mirror Descent, Gerlane gestured animatedly, describing her experiences in the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm to her brother. Wanting to prove her point, she exclaimed: "Da da da da! Big brother, look! Here's one of those big lizard’s horns! I dug them out and brought them back! If I didn’t give you some actual proof, you just wouldn’t believe me..."
Germain stared at the Dragon Horns. Feeling the lingering pressure and frost aura emanating from them, he became utterly bewildered. He looked at his sister, then at the sturdy Sun Hao (Xiaoshan) standing behind her with a simple, honest smile, feeling everything was surreal.
After a long while, Germain picked up the Dragon Horn, hesitantly asking: "So... objects from the Lower Realm in a Mirror Descent can be brought back? This is the first time I’ve heard of this."
Gerlane glanced at Sun Hao and said nonchalantly: "There’s tons you haven’t heard of! Could you possibly know that almost all the warriors in the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Realm admired my Sacred Witch Little Lan Brigade? That they were all clamoring to be accepted? Bringing back a pair of lizard horns is nothing strange!"
Germain was dumbstruck. After a long pause, he said: "Lan'er, let me correct you on one thing. That wasn’t a big lizard; that was a Frost Dragon."
Gerlane opened her eyes wide and turned to Sun Hao with a laugh: "Xiaoshan, is my brother ill? He actually says that big lizard you easily smacked to death was some Frost Dragon?"
Sun Hao shrugged and said: "I genuinely have no idea if it was supposed to be a Frost Dragon. Honestly never saw one before. But, big lizard or big dragon, how dare it be snoring away sleeping right in front of a Barbarian Warrior? And I even grabbed its tail! Hahaha! Doesn't it know I was an expert at catching snakes back in the day? One shake breaks the sinews, two shakes break the bones! Smack-smack-bam-bam! Took care of it easily..."
Gerlane giggled and clapped her hands: "Amazing! Xiaoshan is just amazing! That big lizard was exactly like that, giggles! Actually sleeping and snoring! Really asking for death, huh?"
Germain started to piece it together. When his younger sister and her Guardian Knight reached the Sacred Mountain of Ice and Snow, the Frost Dragon happened to be fast asleep. Unfortunately, this Frost Dragon ran into an incredibly strong Barbarian, an expert snake catcher, who literally shook and smacked the mighty creature to oblivion while it was unaware.
What could one even say about his sister and the barbarian?
Ignorant and fearless, perhaps? They hadn’t even sensed the Dragon’s Might, yet they grabbed the dragon itself! The Frost Dragon hadn’t even detected them! Truly the world's strangest occurrence.
Plus, how exactly had his sister brought back the Dragon Horns from the Lower Realm?
This really baffled him. Germain had experienced Mirror Descents not once or twice over the years. While it was always good cultivation for Spirit Separation, he usually returned empty-handed. In theory, a Mirror Image was just a shadow projection of one's divided spirit. How could physical objects be brought back?
This cascade of questions gave Germain a major headache. Unable to figure it out, he decided to stop thinking about it for now. It was too profound. Taking a cue from his sister, he set the dilemma aside. Handing the Dragon Horn back to Gerlane, Germain said in a low voice: "Sister, after a Mirror Descent, you need intensive cultivation for about a month. Don't break concentration until the insights from the descent fade completely, and the Nascent Soul’s power stops increasing from it. Remember, don’t go wandering around during this time. Alright, we’ll discuss everything else later. Our gains from this descent are significant, and digesting them will take time. Right now, the priority is to return and immediately start digesting what we gained..."
Gerlane exclaimed: "Bother! Almost forgot that part! Alright, Xiaoshan, time to go back and cultivate. You accompanied me down there this time; your gains shouldn’t be small either. Let’s cultivate together."
Sun Hao smiled and replied: "Naturally. Off we go then, time to cultivate."
Carrying his sack full of doubts, Germain departed; Gerlane bubbled with excitement; Sun Hao felt quietly amused. Each headed back to cultivate and digest the gains from their Mirror Descent.
Following a Mirror Descent to the Lower Realm, a Cultivator undergoes a merging process based on the day's experiences – particularly the outcomes of battles, the understanding gained of various Lower Realm races, and all that was witnessed and learned. This merger strengthens the Cultivator's Soul and Spirit, reflecting upon the Nascent Soul, causing it to gradually grow and mature into a Primordial Spirit.
Sun Hao and Gerlane's journey to the Half-Dead Frost Dragon Lower Realm yielded exceptionally rich rewards. They not only encountered warriors from different Lower Realm races and learned their combat styles, but also recruited a large number of warriors, participated in numerous battles, and ultimately even slew the Frost Dragon.
Within the assessment of the Mirror Descent, such an experience constituted the complete conquest of the Lower Realm, equivalent to breaking through a barrier. The reason Sun Hao and Gerlane were able to bring back the Dragon Horns was precisely because the Frost Dragon was the apex existence of that realm. Given a physical anchor, such a treasure could legitimately be brought into the Middle Void, as described in some Witch Clan classics Sun Hao had read.
Although unaware of the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt’s wondrous function at the time, Sun Hao, drawing on his accumulated knowledge recalled from reading those texts, had nonetheless found a way to bring out a supreme treasure.
Sitting cross-legged, Sun Hao calmly contemplated the gains from the Lower Realm. The Middle Void Passage, facilitated by the Witch Clan’s secret art, proved remarkably effective. The sights and experiences of the Lower Realm seemed to transform into tiny streams of insight, flowing into Sun Hao’s Divine Sense. Within the vastness of his Sea of Consciousness, the Nascent Soul seated upon the Isle of Consciousness became increasingly distinct and imposing during this comprehension. Subtle features became clearer, and innate abilities bound to the soul, like innate Divine Abilities, grew steadily stronger.
Sun Hao and Gerlane’s gains far surpassed Germain’s.
A month later, Germain emerged from seclusion.
After waiting four or five days with no sign of Sun Hao or Gerlane, Germain sought out his mother, hoping to resolve the persistent questions occupying his mind.
Her Majesty, Witch Queen Wei Niya, was equally perplexed and clueless by his bizarre narrative. She could only refer him to the far more worldly-wise Nvli for counsel.
Nvli, the woman with fine gauze shielding her features, listened somewhat incredulously. "Admiring a great reputation?" "All Lower Realm warriors joining Gerlane's 'Sacred Witch Little Lan Brigade'?" It all sounded utterly bizarre and nonsensical.
The effects of the First-grade Purple-Gold Belt were never recorded in history. Nvli would never have imagined such an artifact appearing within a Witch Clan Mirror Descent. Such a treasure, held by any other clan, would have been revered almost like a sacred relic! How could it possibly have fallen into the Witch Clan's lap so fortuitously?
Therefore, after listening to Germain’s tale, Nvli remained silent for a long while before murmuring: "Could little Lan be fabricating this story?"
Wei Niya shook her head: "Little Lan never lies."
Germain added: "Grandmother, to be perfectly honest, regarding those Bloodsucking Warriors... if they hadn’t been tearing each other apart, infighting so fiercely, I truly cannot fathom how my sister could have fought her way through. And then, bringing back Frost Dragon Horns? Grandmother, can objects truly be brought back from the Lower Realm in Mirror Images?"
Nvli responded in a low voice: "Who said objects can't be brought back from a Mirror Descent? Of course they can! But the prerequisite is conquering that Lower Realm. Only then does the Law permit bringing back a harvest. Naturally, the harvest also has to meet certain conditions: its rank must be sufficiently high, you must personally possess it, you can't bring back too much, etc..."
Germain was momentarily speechless, then touched his head. "So... Jiang Xiaoshan really did smack a Frost Dragon to death..."