Chapter 72

Standing at the center of the magic circle, Aoba looked up at the large vortex, about seven or eight meters above her, which was constantly spinning and had a diameter of over ten meters.

If one were to judge by size alone, this vortex already occupied nearly half of the entire rooftop, hovering directly above the magic circle. An uninformed person might even think it was a portal to another world.

But Aoba knew very well that it didn't lead to another world, at most it could be considered an alternate space.

An alternate space that coexisted with the main world, dependent on it, and of limited size.

This kind of alternate space usually remained hidden in the shadows of the main world. If you couldn't find the correct entrance, there was no way to enter it.

It was like the Daoist "cave heavens and blessed lands," which was another term for this kind of alternate space. The Greek pantheon called it the "courtyards of the gods" or the "divine realm," and the Christian pantheon called it "heaven" and "hell." Essentially, they were all the same thing.

In her previous life, Aoba had even occupied a cave heaven and blessed land as her own training ground, so she was very familiar with this kind of place.

However, the alternate space connected before her was clearly not a pleasant place. It was more like the Netherworld Cave Heaven of the Rakshasa Ghost Emperor, a place dominated by the dead.

Infusing her legs with Pure Yang True Qi, Aoba leaped up, her figure rising from the ground and disappearing into the vortex.

Not far away, Sanzai Reika looked at the vortex with a mix of hope and anxiety, waiting.

Upon passing through the vortex, the first thing Aoba felt was the surging ghostly aura that hit her.

A place filled with ghostly aura like this was the most suitable for ghostly cultivation. Aoba had only seen such a place once before, when she suppressed the Rakshasa Ghost Emperor in her previous life. At that time, the Netherworld Cave Heaven possessed by the Rakshasa Ghost Emperor was filled with ghostly aura suitable for ghostly cultivation. Normal people would likely lose their souls and die within a few days of entering, but for ghostly cultivation, this environment was truly a holy land.

Even the ghostly aura that leaked into the school grounds was enough to make Aoba specially call Bai Gui, hoping that the rich ghostly aura would accelerate the condensation of Bai Gui's spirit body.

In addition to the ghostly aura, the most common thing in this alternate space was the black mist that spread throughout the entire school.

Or rather, the black mist that influenced people's five senses and prevented them from leaving the school was transmitted from here through the entrance to the alternate space opened by Natsuki Yamada! Just like the ghostly aura that spread from here.

Standing on the ground of the alternate space, Aoba looked around and realized that she was standing next to a huge stone pillar.

This stone pillar stood on the ground, looking like a skyscraper dozens of stories high, with countless seals carved in a script Aoba didn't recognize. There was also a large demon carving on the stone pillar.

Directly below the demon carving, a large black crystal, about the size of a small villa, was placed there, emitting a continuous stream of black mist that spread throughout the entire alternate space.

It turned out that the black mist in the alternate space was actually emitted from this black crystal.

As Aoba continued to look into the distance, she could see similar stone pillars standing throughout the entire alternate space.

At the locations of these stone pillars, black mist was also continuously emitted, clearly indicating that there were similar black crystals at those locations.

So, this black crystal was likely a standard feature under each stone pillar.

Aoba only glanced at the distant stone pillars briefly before she refocused her attention, as she had already found Natsuki Yamada.

At this moment, Natsuki Yamada was inside the black crystal before her. Through the surface of the crystal, Aoba could see Natsuki Yamada inside.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a Lost Crystal! No wonder the black mist seemed familiar!" Aoba muttered to herself.

Living for over three hundred years in her previous life, Aoba had not only stayed in Central China but had also traveled to the farthest reaches of the sea, covering the entire European continent. She had fought with various strong figures in Europe more than once, so it was not surprising that she had seen a Lost Crystal before, though not one of this size!

Confirming that Natsuki Yamada was trapped in the Lost Crystal, Aoba walked towards it.

As if passing through a thin film, Aoba effortlessly entered the Lost Crystal.

The moment Aoba entered the Lost Crystal, her surroundings changed dramatically, like a fragmented movie or a TV with a lost signal.

Aoba found herself in a bizarre world, standing in the sky one moment, in the sea the next, and even on a grassland with a falling meteor above her.

Even as the meteor was about to hit her, Aoba didn't even flinch.

In an instant, everything dissipated, and the scene changed again.

Aoba knew very well why this was happening. The Lost Crystal, as its name suggests, was designed to make people lose their way.

Even the black mist emitted by the Lost Crystal could seal a person's five senses, let alone the actual Lost Crystal.

Once inside the Lost Crystal, it would automatically read your memories and construct the most unforgettable scenes from your memory, trapping you in a world of your memories.

The reason Aoba was experiencing this was that her soul had long evolved into a Primordial Spirit. While the Lost Crystal could read memories, it clearly had no effect on a Primordial Spirit, which transcended the soul.

Unable to read Aoba's memories, the Lost Crystal malfunctioned like a TV with poor reception, trying to trap Aoba by constantly changing the scenes.

But Aoba was not so easily trapped.

Her divine consciousness spread out, and she tried to break through the illusion created by the Lost Crystal.

Although the illusion created by the Lost Crystal was almost indistinguishable from reality, and an ordinary person might live their entire life inside it without realizing it was an illusion, for Aoba, even the slightest imperfection was enough for her to break through it.

Thus, Aoba's figure continued to change between different illusions, sometimes even going back to ancient times or the Jurassic era, watching a few dinosaurs fight bloody battles in front of her.

But Aoba remained unmoved, letting the dinosaurs circle around her, baring their fangs.

Finally, Aoba's usually calm expression changed slightly. Her eyes narrowed, and her brows furrowed. In an instant, everything around her shattered like broken glass mirrors, with a loud crack.

Aoba looked around and found herself back at the spot where she had entered the Lost Crystal, standing quietly. Not far away, Natsuki Yamada was also standing quietly.

******

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