Did I unknowingly enter the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm with my consciousness? No, that can't be right! Su Junyu wouldn't enter such a thing without any protection on his body!
Wang Qi closed his eyes, carefully feeling around. Most illusions weaken after the person affected by them calms their mind. Meditating and checking is the best way to test if one is under an illusion.
Soon, Wang Qi confirmed that he was still in the real world.
The others noticed Wang Qi's strange behavior and looked at him. Mao Zhimiao asked, "Xiao Qi, what happen ah, meow?"
Wang Qi shook his head. "I'm just curious about how these light screens work. Though there are similar effects from water screens or light magic, those spells don't allow communication between cultivators and the light like here."
Su Junyu explained, "Oh, you're talking about this. It's just an illusion technique."
"The highest level of illusions can allow the person affected to interact with the illusion itself, but what's the point here?" Wu Shiqin, who usually didn't speak much, unexpectedly asked.
Su Junyu replied, "The highest level of illusions can be based on the affected person's memories and state of mind, or the illusion can be constructed by the caster. It's a form of interaction between the technique itself, the caster, and the person under the illusion. These light screens are controlled by the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror, and they are part of the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm. The illusion is hosted by the Immortal Tool-level Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror, and it can connect to the minds of many cultivators at once. Any cultivator who comes here can use these illusions once they open their soul to the Ten Thousand Immortal Illusion Realm with their techniques. This light screen is used to publish various tasks of the Immortal Alliance."
Saying that, Su Junyu pointed up. "Above us, there is a large sub-mirror of the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror, which exists in all nine branches. In this building, many things can be done just by thinking."
"Wait, this is... augmented reality?"
On Earth, augmented reality tech is still only in its infancy, like Google Glass, and Wang Qi never even thought of that possibility here.
He didn't expect Shenzhou, a place where they hadn't even developed "personal computers" or any similar tech, to already have such mature augmented reality technology. This made Wang Qi realize once again, despite the similar surface-level development of both worlds, their foundations were still vastly different.
Seeing Wang Qi lost in thought, Su Junyu said, "I remember you have the book list for 'Theory of Calculating Devices and Divine Souls,' right? If you're interested, you could focus on this. Master Ji Lao Turing and Feng Luoyi of the Cangsheng Kingdom are both masters in this field."
After the introduction, Su Junyu stepped in front of the light screen and placed his hand on it. The words on the light screen quickly refreshed... or rather, changed. Then, Su Junyu moved his other hand several times, pulling out dozens of light spheres from the screen. He threw most of them at Wang Qi and the others, keeping only one in his own hand. "These are the tasks you can take on during the trial. You can consider them."
Wang Qi hurriedly took them all, "No need to look, just take everything."
Su Junyu shook his head. "Give it back to me." Then he took back the light spheres from Wang Qi, pressed several back into the light screen, and pulled out a few more. "If you're in a rush, I recommend this combination; failure won't deduct your merit points."
Wu Shiqin curiously picked up a light sphere. After sensing the information inside, her expression immediately darkened. "This... is a trial?"
Su Junyu nodded, "Exactly. A trial of seeking."
Inside Wu Shiqin's light sphere was the task of "Recording the whereabouts of the Thunderstorm Great Horned Deer herd in the Trial Zone."
Wu Shiqin shook her head. "I'll pass."
Su Junyu rejected her decision. "Too late."
Wu Shiqin nodded. "This is not my thing."
Su Junyu's expression became serious. "Do you wish to seek the Tao? Do you want to seek the Tao?"
"Naturally, I wish."
Su Junyu stared at Wu Shiqin, then slowly asked, "If one day you realize that the Tao you seek is not the one you desire, what will you do?"
Wu Shiqin furrowed her brows. Such questions weren't uncommon in the immortal way. It would be easy to dodge these questions, but they often dealt with the concept of "holding the heart." When elders ask such questions, it's usually to give hints.
Su Junyu continued, "You know the joy of seeking the Tao, but do you know the true joy of seeking the Tao? Many predecessors have sought the Tao and found that it was not the path they had hoped for."
"Pu Langke, the founder of the Miao Temple, was once a disciple of the Unification Alliance. To perfect the 'Heaven's Song' martial art passed down by Ma Siwei, he sought to resolve the 'Obscured Light of the Eye' theory put forward by Kaerwen. After much thought, he summarized his understanding into a change of heaven's path. However, this method was not able to be incorporated into the 'Heaven's Song' system for a long time. In the end, Pu Langke left the Unification Alliance and founded the Miao Temple, but the path of uncertainty was not one he enjoyed."
"If you were in this situation, what would you think?"
"The Tao is not what I desire. What will you think then?"
Every word Su Junyu said hit Wu Shiqin's heart. The normally combative Wu Shiqin frowned. "How should I think according to Senior Brother?"
"I don't know. This is your 'heart holding.' I can give some advice, but in the end, you must understand it yourself." Su Junyu shook his head. "But I will give you a suggestion."
"What?"
"Follow me." Su Junyu gestured for the others to walk toward the center of the hall. While walking, he said to Wu Shiqin, "The trials of seeking are taken from the most painful part of the Tao-seeking journey. Cultivation in the present law ultimately leads to seeking the Tao. If you can't endure this trial, then don't cultivate."
He continued walking toward the counter.
Mao Zhimiao secretly whispered to Wang Qi, "I didn't expect Senior Brother Su to be like this, meow! Such a senior cultivator's demeanor!"
"I see him every day and I didn't realize he's like this!" Wang Qi rolled his eyes and muttered to himself.
For the sake of a collectible, he maxed out his verbal skills, and all that for a girl... Senior Brother Su, destined to be lonely for life!