"A place where you can undergo a transformation," said the Fire Phoenix.
Ember Yang glanced at Evan Yang and the others, then said, "Let them come with us too."
The Fire Phoenix shook her head helplessly and said, "Only the sacred beast clan can enter that place. Others can't go in."
Hearing this, Ember Yang looked a bit dejected and pondered for a moment. Evan Yang was already by her side, patting her shoulder. "Go on—we want you to grow stronger."
Ember Yang looked up at Evan Yang, Lynn Lin, and the others. In the end, she could only say, "Then I'll go. But how will I find you afterward?"
"Take this—the Heaven-Seeking Compass. I've left my qi on it. As long as you control it, you'll always know where I am," Evan Yang said, handing it to Ember Yang.
Ember Yang knew exactly how to use the Heaven-Seeking Compass, so she nodded. "Okay." Then she put it away.
Seeing Ember Yang's decision, the Fire Phoenix addressed everyone, "We'll be leaving now. Take care."
Evan Yang looked at the Fire Phoenix and said, "Take care, senior."
A dazzling flame from the Fire Phoenix wrapped around Ember Yang and herself. When the light faded, both had disappeared. Lynn Lin watched them vanish, then asked, "So what do we do now?"
"Lingku Cave," Evan Yang replied after a moment's thought.
"What kind of place is that?" Lynn Lin asked curiously, having never heard of it before.
"I don't really know either. We'll only find out when we get there," Evan Yang said.
"Alright, we'll go too. It's not like we have anything else to do," Lynn Lin said.
"Alright," Evan Yang agreed. He brought Lynn Lin and Melody Wood, mounted the Flame Behemoth, and left for the Chaos World, heading toward the distant Lingku Cave.
Secretly, Gavin White watched them from her flying artifact. Noticing one less youth, she muttered, "Where did that girl go?"
Little did she know, Ember Yang was already gone, and Evan Yang and the others on the Flame Behemoth had no idea Gavin White was following behind.
And so, one group in front and one behind, they flew off into the distance.
Meanwhile, the Nether Sky Realm sent people searching for Evan Yang all over the Chaos World. Evan had no idea how vast their reach was, nor did he pay it any mind—he just kept moving forward.
On the road, Evan Yang saw plenty of experts rushing through the Chaos World. Some, seeing him riding the Flame Behemoth, moved aside—they didn't want to mess with someone who treats a Flame Behemoth as a pet. Little did they know, Evan's Flame Behemoth was actually half-injured; he was just using it to scare people off.
"Evan Yang, what's in Lingku Cave anyway? Why are you going there?" Lynn Lin asked curiously.
"It might have the Divine Pill Chapter I'm looking for. It's from the same scripture as the alchemy art I practice," Evan Yang replied.
"It's the alchemy art," Evan Yang explained.
"It's the alchemy art," Evan Yang explained.
"I learned it years ago," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"I learned it years ago," Evan Yang said with a smile.
With nothing else to do, Evan Yang started telling Lynn Lin and Melody Wood about his past.
With nothing else to do, Evan Yang began telling Lynn Lin and Melody Wood about his past.
There was a river—strange, with no visible substance, entirely illusory.
Evan Yang said to Lynn Lin and Melody Wood, "You two go into the Strange Spiral Shell first. This river isn't as simple as it looks."
Lynn Lin and Melody Wood naturally listened to Evan Yang and entered the Strange Spiral Shell. Evan then said to the Flame Behemoth, "You go in too."
"No need—I'm not afraid," said the Flame Behemoth.
"You're not afraid? This river isn't simple," Evan Yang said, relying on his own perception.
"You're not afraid? This river isn't simple," Evan Yang said, eyeing it carefully.
"Oh? Is that so? Then I want to see for myself." Evan Yang said, then got off the Flame Behemoth's back and walked toward the river. Soon he reached the riverbank, lifted his leg to cross—but was bounced back.
"How could this be?" Evan Yang frowned, while the Flame Behemoth had already reached the other side with no problem.
Seeing the Flame Behemoth already on the opposite bank, Evan Yang told it to wait there while he stayed on the shore to think of a solution.
"The Flame Behemoth isn't human, so this must be related to being human. Brandon White crossed, so there must be a way for me too," Evan Yang muttered as he tried different methods. Just then, he heard a sound nearby. Evan called the Flame Behemoth over, mounted it, and headed toward the source. Soon, a strange scene appeared—a boat on the river, with an old man standing and rowing.
Seeing this, Evan Yang frowned. Why could the old man stand on the water while he couldn't? He looked closer. The old man, noticing Evan, smiled and said, "Want a ride on the boat?"
"A ride?" Evan Yang looked suspiciously at the strange old man before him. The man wore a rain hat, a waterproof coat, and held a paddle, smiling at Evan.
"That's right, a ride. Otherwise, how will you get across?" the old man said with a smile.
Evan Yang was curious. In such a vast place, how could this man be here, and how was his boat not blocked? But unable to cross the river himself, Evan said, "Alright."
"A condition? What kind of condition?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled. The old man smiled, "Something you have on you—something I want. You must give it to me, or you can't cross."
"Something on me? Everything I have is precious. That might not work," Evan Yang frowned.
"Something on me? Everything I have is precious. That might not work," Evan Yang frowned.
"Is there any other way?" Evan Yang asked.
The old man looked Evan Yang over, then smiled. "There's another way: I can give you a task. If you complete it, I'll take you across, no conditions attached."
"That sounds more practical. Go ahead, senior—but don't make it something impossible for me to do," Evan said.
The old man chuckled. "Relax, it won't be anything too difficult. You can definitely do it."
"That sounds more practical. Go ahead, senior—but don't make it something impossible for me to do," Evan replied.
The old man smiled, and suddenly an illusion appeared before Evan's eyes. The phantoms looked real, and he heard the old man's voice: "This is an illusion world. If you can't defeat the inner fantasy here, you won't be able to leave."
"Inner fantasy?" Evan Yang wasn't sure what that meant, but since he'd come this far, he had to see it through. He spread his Divine Sense, searching the area for this so-called inner fantasy.
The old man smiled, and suddenly a vision appeared before Evan's eyes. The phantoms looked real, and he heard the old man's voice: "This is an illusion world. If you can't defeat the inner fantasy here, you won't be able to leave."
After a while, he sensed nothing unusual—just a figure: Gavin White. Surprised, Evan called out, "Why are you here?"
After a while, he didn't find any fantasy—just a figure: Gavin White. Evan exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you here?"
The figure said nothing, just kept attacking. Evan was forced to retreat step by step, unwilling to strike back at Gavin and dodging carefully instead.
But soon Evan realized something was off. This wasn't Gavin—if it were, her attacks wouldn't be this weak.
But soon Evan realized something was wrong. This wasn't Gavin—if it were, her attacks wouldn't be so weak.
Evan furrowed his brow. "Who are you?"
"Don't lie to yourself. This is your innermost heart—no one knows it, not even you. Admit it: when you saw me, you felt excited. Didn't you want to rush over?" the fake Gavin smiled.
"Inner fantasy? Impossible. I wasn't thinking about you," Evan muttered to himself.
Evan was shaken by her words, but quickly calmed down. "So you're just an inner fantasy. You won't confuse me. Senior, watch how I break this illusion."
Evan was shaken by her words, but quickly calmed down. "So you're just an inner fantasy. You won't confuse me. Senior, watch how I break this illusion."
"Very well, I'll be watching," the old man's laughter echoed. Evan began to fight back against the fake Gavin. Since the inner fantasy was only his projection, its strength was far below the real person.
But the real challenge was escaping his own heart. Most people, confronted with the image of someone they care about, forget it's fake. Evan noticed so quickly only thanks to his keen perception and self-awareness.
After a few exchanges, Gavin was defeated—gravely injured. She collapsed to the ground, gazing at Evan with deep affection. "How can you be so heartless?"
"You're not real," Evan replied coldly.
"Even if I'm not real, don't you feel a bit of pity?" Gavin asked.
"If I pity you, I'll die the next moment," Evan replied.
"Is that so? But your heart doesn't think that way. You wish I were real, and you wish I could follow you," Gavin said with a smile.
"Nonsense! You're not me, you don't know what I'm thinking," Evan retorted.
"Is that so? Then kill me," Gavin smiled.
"Fine, I'll kill you." Evan raised his palm, stepping toward Gavin. But when he saw her pitiful gaze, something made him hesitate. In that instant, Gavin suddenly sprang up and struck at Evan's chest.
Evan was sent flying. Regaining his footing, he looked at Gavin and said, "Looks like I was careless."
"I told you, you wouldn't kill me so easily," the fake Gavin said with a strange smile.