The human world.
In the distance lay the azure sea, and beneath his feet, the golden sand.
It was winter, yet the beach was surprisingly crowded.
Adults and children alike, holding phones, stood on the sand or on the observation deck, all gazing eagerly at the sky.
Above the azure sea, towering buildings flickered in and out of existence amidst the clouds. Da Feng Novel Network.
Vaguely, one could see figures moving within.
It was like a city in the sky.
"Mom, Mom, look, there are houses in the sky!"
"Yes, there are houses in the sky."
"Mom, can we go up and see?"
"Silly child, that's just a light refraction phenomenon called a mirage; they aren't real houses."
"Light? This snake?"
Hearing his mother's words, the child was utterly bewildered.
What light, what snake?
I'm not well-read, Mom, don't lie to me.
The child looked up at the sky again; there was clearly a city there.
Why weren't they real houses?
Similar conversations were happening in many families who had come to witness the spectacle.
This mirage had persisted for nearly a day, which was quite rare.
Many people, after seeing short videos online, had flocked here.
Some came as families, some as couples, and some specifically to stream live.
On the beach, conversations mingled, interspersed with chatter directed at phones.
It was quite lively.
Unseen by them, an underworld passage opened in the sky and then closed.
Jiang Lin, clad in the attire of a Wuchang, emerged and glanced at the crowd below.
He walked directly towards the mirage they spoke of.
As he entered, the aerial buildings rippled, then quickly returned to calm.
The changes were so swift that the crowd below did not notice anything unusual.
Even if they had, they would have dismissed it as mere light fluctuations, never considering anything else.
Who could have known that within the mirage, there truly was a city?
Jiang Lin looked up, his gaze falling upon a blue signpost tangled with octopus tentacles.
The four characters 'Mirage' were written crookedly.
Jiang Lin had heard of this place before.
But this was his first time entering.
The Mirage, a trading market said to be managed by dragons.
Its appearance time and location were random.
Sometimes it appeared once every few decades, other times one had to wait centuries.
It might have last appeared in a desert, and the next time could be on an iceberg in the Arctic.
Its trading partners were unlimited: outstanding humans, ghosts, spirits...
As long as one could enter and offer something of equivalent value for trade.
Legend had it that
countless rare treasures could be found within, even items exclusive to dragons.
Therefore, all races, no matter where they were,
as long as they encountered the Mirage, they would want to come in and take a look.
Even if they didn't trade, it was good to broaden their horizons.
...
As Jiang Lin walked further inside, various sounds reached his ears.
Although they were different racial languages, and not direct telepathic communication,
he could understand them.
This city seemed to be a natural, giant translator.
Qicai Dan, who had followed to see the world, peeked its head out from its owner's sleeve.
It curiously surveyed its surroundings.
The streets were paved with cobblestones, flanked by various tall buildings.
One could vaguely see figures coming and going within, and the aroma of food wafted from the floors.
'Master, Master, it's so lively here!'
This was the first time Qicai Dan had seen so many different races at once.
There were crabs with eight legs, crawling about with packages on their backs, as hurried as a market-going auntie.
There were creatures with human bodies but shrimp heads, dressed in simple cloth.
Like Jiang Lin, they seemed to have just entered and were looking around.
Its movements were small, as if it were somewhat nervous.
There were also those who were completely wrapped up, wearing conical hats and black robes, cautiously entering a building.
That building was like a human department store.
There were food stalls, stalls selling various goods, and creatures coming and going.
Qicai Dan also saw a giant starfish perched on a building, doing something unknown.
These scenes dazzled Qicai Dan.
Jiang Lin raised his hand and patted Qicai Dan, which was constantly moving in his sleeve, "Be quiet."
He was here on a mission this time.
A reincarnated deity, who had cooperated well in the early stages, suddenly ran away two days before being sent to the Black Abyss.
There was no warning whatsoever.
The ghost messenger responsible discovered this and chased them all the way here, losing the trail and being unable to find them.
As the matter was urgent, and the ghost messenger had other tasks,
he informed his superiors, asking any available ghost messengers to assist in the pursuit.
'Okay, Master!'
Qicai Dan in the sleeve obediently hid, but the constantly changing colors on its body vividly displayed its current joyful mood.
Jiang Lin's gaze swept across the surroundings, his brow furrowing slightly.
The aura within was very mixed, as if some neutralizer had been added, making it impossible to distinguish who was who.
He had tried to sense it with his perception but could detect nothing.
Clearly, the magnetic field here had been interfered with.
"No wonder the trail went cold when they reached here..."
Jiang Lin murmured.
As he wandered, he reached the end of the street.
At the end, an invisible barrier separated this street.
Jiang Lin stepped through.
The next moment, he found himself in a blue sea.
Sunlight shone down from above, and coral and shells lay below.
Colorful fish swam around.
It was as if he had suddenly entered an underwater world.
Jiang Lin, immersed within, had a thin layer of bubbles covering his body.
This allowed him to move freely, regardless of his race.
Jiang Lin was not surprised by the sudden change in scenery.
This Mirage was, after all, a labyrinth divided into various zones.
Periodically, the positions of these zones would change randomly.
For example, if Jiang Lin tried to return the way he came, he might not find the same street.
The arrangements here were all designed to conceal the transactions between different races.
Those with rare treasures, or those with unusual identities, could disappear into the labyrinth, and no one could find them.
'Master, be careful!'
Qicai Dan in his sleeve warned.
Jiang Lin turned his head and saw a black fish, the size of a small boat and with a lit yellow lamp on its head, swimming towards him.
Then, it swallowed him whole in one gulp.
Qicai Dan was stunned (｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!
Master, are you okay?
...