I am grinding experience in another world

Chapter 417 Thousand Lights

The luminescent white Escape Light retracted, and thick black clouds emerged around Chen Mu.

"Whether I can escape or not, I'll only know after I try!"

Five Ghosts Mysterious Shadow Escape Technique!

Your next read is at My Virtual Library Empire

Chen Mu's pace quickened by another fraction.

Lu Ku's voice still carried its usual calm, "We sought help at Jade Spring Mountain and were intercepted. Yet, when we come to the Lower Courtyard of Gan River, there are only pursuers."

"Is it because they lacked the ability to blockade us?"

"No, they are deliberately letting us meet."

"I guess, given your modus operandi, you never really left the Lower Courtyard of Gan River," Lu Ku said with a light chuckle.

"These people, although powerful, might not want to attack the Lower Courtyard for reasons of concealment."

"Then how could they catch you?"

"Of course, by making you aware of the danger and prompting you to leave the Lower Courtyard of Gan River of your own accord."

Chen Mu, soaring through the mid-air, suddenly halted his Escape Light.

So... have I been running in the wrong direction all this time?!

Lu Ku laughed heartily, "We should thank you for your caution, otherwise those people would never have allowed us to flee to your presence."

Chen Mu: "..."

I want to strangle this bastard more and more!

"You had already guessed? Yet you didn't say?"

"Whose side are you really on?!"

Chen Mu's Escape Light descended from the sky, plunging into the ground like diving into water, and he immediately began to return in the direction of the Lower Courtyard of Gan River.

Lu Ku chuckled, "Do you want to go back to the Lower Courtyard of Gan River now? Hmm... I'm afraid it's a bit too late."

Hearing this, Chen Mu did not even have time to react before he suddenly saw a bright light in front of him, and the earthen pressure around him lightened as if he had burrowed into an underground cavern.

Chen Mu couldn't help but look down towards the source of the light, and unexpectedly found a brightly lit, enormous city had appeared under his feet.

Streets crisscrossed within the city, and red-walled, green-tiled pavilions lined both sides, with out-of-place pavilions featuring flying eaves adorned with bronze bells.

Countless white paper lanterns hung throughout the streets and alleys, resembling a river of stars floating in the sky, illuminating the entire city with their glow.@@@@

But the vast city was silent as the grave.

Not a single person was seen inside the streets or pavilions!

A trap!

He abruptly turned around, only to find in shock that the subterranean rock layer he had traversed had vanished without a trace.

Behind him was an empty expanse, leaving only the pitch-black horizon devoid of any light.

Chen Mu immediately flew back the way he had come, the lights underfoot stretching into countless lines. No matter how much he accelerated, the distant black horizon seemed perpetually out of reach.

He suddenly stopped his Escape Light and spun around in mid-air to inspect his surroundings.

Above his head and in all directions, there was only darkness as far as the eye could see.

Yet, right below him lay the same luminous, immense city, as if Chen Mu had never actually left the spot.

Chen Mu's face instantly turned extremely grim.

...

Truthful Listening!

An invisible wave immediately enveloped the city below, but apart from the sound of flames burning within the lanterns, there was no sound of life in the entire city, just a deadening silence.

Chen Mu looked around once more, his brows furrowed tightly, "The most likely way to break the situation must be in the city."

He immediately descended, his Escape Light fading, and entered a tavern with a cloth sign reading 'Wine'.

Once inside, he saw wine jars, counters, abaci, and books; further in, seven or eight tables were neatly arranged, filling the hall.

The hall was empty, but on three of the tables were complete sets of dishes, chopsticks, delicacies, and fine wines.

Chen Mu frowned as he approached and found that the slightly reduced dishes still retained some warmth!

It was as if people were just eating and drinking here, and then the moment he arrived, they vanished instantly!

He quickly stepped out of the tavern and broke into several houses and pavilions along the street.

Eaten meals, rice boiling in pots, steaming, bubbling soups – except for the absence of people, all signs of a bustling city life were there.

Standing on the deserted street, Chen Mu felt a chill run down his scalp.

He returned to the tavern with the 'Wine' sign, reached behind the counter, and began to slowly flip through the ledger.

He was so engrossed in his reading that he failed to notice his elongated shadow behind him beginning to twist strangely.

A pair of hands emerged from the shadow, slowly reaching towards the neck of the shadow...

"Who's there!"

Chen Mu spun around suddenly.

Just now, he felt as if someone was blowing on the back of his neck.

But upon closer inspection, the surroundings were silent, with no one in sight.

"Something's not right..."

Chen Mu's brows furrowed tightly, and he began to flip through the ledger more quickly.

The detailed entries in the ledger convinced Chen Mu that the eerie city before him was most likely not an illusion.

"So this is a real city shrouded in a Qiankun Mystical Technique like Shrinking the Miles to a Foot."

"To leave, the best way would be to master the two-realm teleportation..."

Just as he was muttering to himself, transfixed, he suddenly turned around, his face fierce as he stared down at the long shadow at his feet.

"Die!"

Ding ding ding!

Three flashes of red light.

The Vermilion Feather Sword suddenly pinned the shadow beneath his feet.

"Nothing?" Chen Mu looked at the trembling Magic Sword on the ground, his brow furrowing deeper.

Through the perspective of the Flying Sword, he thought he had seen the shadow move.

"An illusion?" Just as this thought emerged in his mind, a chill breeze hit his neck again.

Boom!

The Body Protection Aura surged, and the Yang Cuo Bone Shield manifested.

The ledger on the counter instantly disintegrated into dust.

He stared intently at the shadow beneath his feet.

He was absolutely certain that his own shadow had just moved!