Chapter 754: A Hundred Years in the Cave, One Year in the World—Luo Chen’s Unwitting Loss
"Is it still not enough?"
Luo Chen uncharacteristically showed a hint of impatience.
Fu Qinglan expressed her apologies, "I'm sorry, my talent is dull, and even with two Illusion Cores, I can't make any further progress."
Dull talent?
Luo Chen shook his head. How could someone who achieves Nascent Soul Formation at the age of three hundred be called dull?
Ultimately, the amount of Spirit Mechanism contained in the Illusion Core is too little, unable to sustain a cultivator to the point of comprehending the Law's True Intent.
What he's truly unsatisfied with is "time!"
With a wave of his hand, while Fu Qinglan was puzzled, Luo Chen said, "Let me have a look at your Illusionary Chess."
Fu Qinglan was puzzled, but she didn't resist and handed over her Illusionary Chess piece.
Looking down, Luo Chen saw that the white Illusionary Chess was tainted with Black Chess, roughly around two to three percent.
The Power of the Mirage Dragon would erode the Black Chess of those who enter this Cave Heaven, and the deeper the corrosion, the shorter the stay in the Cave Heaven.
And now!
"Two Illusion Cores, a year of time, and only this much erosion. In other words, if the Law's True Intent remains elusive, does that mean we'd have to stay in this Cave Heaven for decades, even hundreds of years?"
This is the main reason why Luo Chen truly couldn't accept it!
He couldn't afford to spend nearly a hundred years on someone else's cultivation trial.
Moreover, this is vastly different from what Fu Chaosheng previously mentioned, that the Tianyuan competition would at most take one or two years.
Where did it go wrong?
In his doubts, he noticed the look on the woman's face, which seemed like she wanted to speak but hesitated.
Luo Chen tentatively asked, "After absorbing two Illusion Cores consecutively, have you gained anything?"
Fu Qinglan hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "I have gained something, but I'm not sure if those things are true or false. If Brother Dao wants to hear, I can tell you."
...
The same plain surrounded by the three mountains.
The same array and bait as before.
Only this time, Luo Chen did not let Fu Qinglan come along but left her to recuperate in the Cave Mansion, coming alone to wait for the enemy.
Standing atop a mountain, Luo Chen's gaze did not linger on the Tianji Pill bait in the plain, as it was protected by an array and his Natal Magic Item, ensuring no accidents.
He couldn't help but gaze around as if searching for something.
But no matter how carefully he looked, he couldn't detect any peculiarities differing from the Outer World.
Fu Qinglan's words from days ago kept echoing in his mind.
"Illusion Beasts are products of Mirage Dragon's residual consciousness, instinctively attempting to rekindle and regenerate the Mirage Dragon Spirit within. The opening of Mirage Dragon Cave Heaven every five hundred years is both our opportunity and a method to clear out High-Order Illusion Beasts, preventing the resurrection of the Mirage Dragon. During cultivation with the Illusion Core, we must exclude the influence of Mirage Dragon's soulless consciousness to utilize its Spirit Mechanism..."
"From the Illusion Beasts' consciousness within the Illusion Core, I discovered one major difference between this Cave Heaven and the Outer World. That is the disparity in the flow of time, the specific ratio is roughly..."
A ratio of one to a hundred!
Yes, it's this figure that has kept Luo Chen restless for several days.
He never imagined entering a Secret Realm that only existed in legends!
In countless myths of the Immortal Clans, there is no shortage of descriptions of destined ones entering a Secret Realm.
And these Secret Realms vary greatly: some are laden with opportunities, some are extremely perilous, and some impose various restrictions.
Throughout his life, Luo Chen had not encountered many Secret Realms, and entered even fewer.
Yet, he gained significant understanding of these Secret Realms.
For instance, the Secret Realm left behind by a Divine Transformation Great Power is unsuitable for most Nascent Soul True Masters, because the Law's True Intent left behind by the Divine Transformation Great Power may influence the Great Dao Path of future entrants; only those with similar paths can enter.
This represents a restriction on the Great Dao Path.
Meanwhile, the Land of Fallen Demons, which appears perilously dangerous, doesn't actually impose overly harsh entry conditions.
Not only Nascent Soul True Masters but even Golden Core Cultivators can venture in.
Even some bold Foundation Establishment True Cultivators could completely try their luck.
If there's any restriction, it might be that Divine Transformation Great Powers who have comprehended the Laws can't enter, lest they meet a fate similar to the Blood Sea Elder Ancestor's calamity.
This time, however, the Mirage Dragon Cave Heaven Secret Realm unexpectedly belongs to the legendary type with a time restriction: "A day in the cave, a thousand years in the world."
However, the time flow is reversed.
One hundred years inside the cave equate to just one year in the world!
The time flow disparity between the Mirage Dragon Cave Heaven and the Mountain Sea Realm reaches a ratio of one hundred to one.
Moreover, while in the Cave Heaven, the cultivator's lifespan flows normally, and will remain so even after leaving.
A cultivator wouldn't suddenly age to five hundred and one years after entering at five hundred, spending a hundred years inside, and returning to find only a year passed in the Outer World. Instead, when the end truly comes, they would indeed have one hundred years less lifespan than others in the same realm without those experiences in Cave Heaven!
Luo Chen didn't know why this happens, it might be related to the Laws and Great Dao of the Mirage Dragon, a Savage Beast.
What Luo Chen finally understood was why the Tianyuan Daoist Sect reserved this opportunity solely for newly advanced Nascent Souls!
Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators possess a lifespan of merely a thousand years.
Subtracting the hundreds of years spent in cultivation before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, they are left with only a few hundred years; who would bear to lose a hundred years without cause?
Only newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivators with exceptional talent, breaking into the Nascent Soul Realm at a young age, possess sufficient lifespan to withstand the Mirage Dragon Cave Heaven's consumption.