Chapter 124

Before entering the secret realm, each sect communicated about where to meet up. After coming out, Ye Qiao picked up the map and headed to the meeting point, intending to rendezvous with the others first.

In the dead of night, black bats silently hung upside down in the trees, ready to attack at any moment. Ye Qiao sensed the movement with her spiritual sense and, along with Mu Chongxi, moved forward to eliminate them. After reaching the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, her spiritual sense had expanded, making it easier to detect her surroundings.

Since they were still on the outskirts, the level of the beasts wasn’t high. After killing the beasts in the trees, the numbers on their jade slips jumped slightly. Other sects’ numbers were also slowly rising, indicating that they had found ways out too.

“The other sects must have encountered the same looping trap,” Ye Qiao said, pursing her lips. “Let’s meet up first.”

Following the route on the map, they arrived at the inner area just before dawn. The surrounding fog made everything hazy. After confirming there was no danger, Ye Qiao lit a Wind Talisman with her fingers, dispersing the fog and clearing the view.

Mu Chongxi glanced over.

Indeed, having a talisman user around was handy.

In these weather-changing scenarios, following a talisman user made things much more comfortable.

With talismans in hand, the strange weather didn’t affect them much. Upon reaching the inner area, they found that the other senior brothers had been waiting.

“You got here faster than us?” Ye Qiao raised an eyebrow.

“You ran into an illusion too?” Xue Yu spoke simultaneously with her, clearly realizing the issue. It seemed everyone encountered the same illusion trap upon entering.

Ye Qiao nodded. “How did you get out?”

“Our illusion was cut through by Senior Brother’s sword,” Ming Xuan shrugged.

Zhou Xingyun had recklessly slashed his way in, not considering Ming Xuan and Xue Yu inside the illusion.

Since Senior Brother’s sword light penetrated, it indicated that everything they saw was false. The two of them then broke through, dispelling the illusion.

This time, the speed at which the Changming Sect regrouped was record-breaking.

Mu Chongxi, a bit dazed, asked, “Senior Brother, how did you get out and save the others?”

Zhou Xingyun innocently replied, “I walked out.”

Upon entering, he charged straight into a tree with the intent to destroy it, successfully breaking the illusion.

He was arguably the fastest to escape the trap.

“Why did this secret realm set up this trick as soon as we entered?” Xue Yu pondered, “Could the realm predict where we would land?”

“I find it odd too,” Ming Xuan said, leaning lazily on the ground with one hand. “Given the speed, did the Moonlight Sect not encounter an illusion?”

“Maybe they were just lucky,” Ye Qiao said, releasing her chicken. “After all, they are Heaven’s favored daughters.”

Yun Que has a new nickname.

If Ye Qiao is known for causing chaos wherever she goes, Yun Que is the exact opposite. Her luck is explosively good—she has an abundance of rare materials and treasures, and she casually acquires things like a Phoenix Bird and a Treasure-Seeking Beast, not to mention Origin Pearls. It’s like she’s Heaven’s favored daughter.

Mu Chongxi pursed his lips. “Forget about them.”

The outcome of the fifth round has nothing to do with the Changming Sect. The good or bad luck of the Moonlight Sect doesn’t concern them.

As dawn approached, the fog still gathered and obscured the view ahead. Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan used their Wind Talismans to clear the way, preparing to search the inner area for any special opportunities.

As they started moving, the other sects also emerged from the illusion. Unfortunately, they were a bit late; after a whole night, the Moonlight Sect had already gained a small lead.

At present, it seems the Moonlight Sect is in the lead, with the Questioning Sword Sect closely following.

The Changming Sect ranked at the bottom for the fifth round, but it wasn’t important to them since they were already firmly in first place. Therefore, the main focus of the fifth round was the other four sects.

Nevertheless, many cultivators still glanced in their direction out of habit.

Whether they are the main characters is irrelevant; what matters is that they are more interesting.

With all the direct disciples entering and stepping into the inner area, the atmosphere in the secret realm subtly changed.

Ye Qiao keenly sensed several unfamiliar auras and faint sounds. Just as she was about to warn them of incoming threats, the next moment, the aura suddenly condensed and rushed towards them.

She looked up in astonishment, only to see that the person was Ye Qinghan.

The young man’s eyes were cold, and without a word, he struck down at her with his sword.

With a powerful slash, the sword light was formidable.

Mu Chongxi reacted swiftly, raising his sword to block the attack, his voice cold. “Are you crazy? With that attitude, you still want to cooperate with our Changming Sect? Dream on.”

The sword strike was ruthless, and if Mu Chongxi hadn’t also broken through a realm, he might not have been able to withstand it.

Ye Qinghan suddenly came to his senses, realizing that the scene before him was real. He frowned slightly. “Sorry.”

“I just encountered an illusion earlier.”

No wonder he was acting like a madman.

Illusions don’t appear frequently in secret realms, and when they do, they signify trouble. After entering the inner area, nearly all the direct disciples fell into it.

The Moonlight Sect, known for their expertise in illusions, was proficient in dealing with them. Yun Hen said in a deep voice, “Ye Qinghan was probably the fastest to get out.”

Illusions are easily broken by those with a strong will, while those with weaker wills struggle more.

Everyone has obsessions and malice, to varying degrees. Even righteous cultivators can’t avoid encountering heart demons or obsessions, which affect them to some extent in the illusion.

Yun Hen’s statement was accurate. Ye Qinghan was indeed the fastest among the direct disciples to break out. His immediate reaction was to slash through anything in his way, dispersing the illusion with his resolve. The illusion seemed to be encountering a hard challenge for the first time and tried to use seduction as a tactic.

However, as soon as it tried to embrace him, Ye Qinghan coldly pierced through it with his sword, showing no interest in emotional manipulation.

After killing several illusions, Ye Qinghan could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion.

Seeing the Changming Sect, Ye Qinghan almost thought it was another illusion trying to mislead him into thinking he was being lured by the Changming Sect.

But it wasn’t.

Ye Qinghan put away his sword, and after apologizing decisively, Xue Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, “Did you encounter an illusion?”

“Yes,” Ye Qinghan replied succinctly. “In the inner area.”

“Everyone is trapped in it. I advise you not to go in.”

He was merely offering a reminder. Other sects wanted to enter to compete for rankings, but the Changming Sect didn’t need to, so there was no need to take risks.

In illusions, one’s true self is revealed.

Heart demons, evil thoughts, and obsessions can all become useful weapons.

Conversely, cultivators with purer minds exit the illusions faster.

It’s evident that sword cultivators, who are the most focused, break through illusions the fastest. They have fewer distractions and are less likely to get lost.

Other sects are still struggling in different illusions.

Some cultivators exclaimed, “Ye Qinghan is heartless.”

“This shows that he’s now fully devoted to his path, which is quite good.”

“The purer the mind, the quicker the exit. We can see who comes out last.” No one could guarantee they had no malice, as illusions reveal one’s deepest self.

……

Hearing Ye Qinghan’s kind advice, Ye Qiao understood why he had attacked her with a sword earlier. Xue Yu lightly nodded to Ye Qinghan. “We’ll go in and take a look.”

Entering the inner area is necessary, as opportunities always come with risks. Seeing that they ignored the warning, Ye Qinghan didn’t bother to elaborate further. He asked calmly, “Ye Qiao, are you going in with them too?”

Ye Qiao smiled. “Why not?”

Ye Qinghan, still not giving up, tried to recruit her. “Why don’t you join us? When we exit the secret realm, I can teach you how to use a sword.”

Zhou Xingyun, observing from the side, responded indifferently, “Who do you think you are?”

“Let’s go, let’s go. We need to see what the illusion looks like.” Mu Chongxi, seeing them dawdling, grabbed one person and dragged them towards the inner area.

Once inside the inner area, they were more or less dragged into the illusions. It was clear that this illusion had a consciousness of its own, targeting those who seemed scheming, as these types generally have heavier obsessions.

As soon as they entered the inner area, the scene under their feet changed, the sounds around them gradually disappeared, and it felt like only they existed in the world.

For the Changming Sect, Xue Yu was the first to enter the illusion.

After stepping into the illusion, Xue Yu felt dizzy and disoriented. When he slightly opened his eyes, the scene had already changed. He had a mountain and river map, so he wouldn’t be trapped by the illusion. Additionally, being from a prominent family, his situation was different from Ming Xuan’s. As a rare pill cultivator, he faced some pressure, but it was manageable.

Other than being a bit poor, he had never encountered any setbacks.

The illusion swallowed him like swallowing loneliness itself, reluctantly spitting out this unnervingly rational disciple, and turned its focus on the remaining few.

Mu Chongxi’s illusion was also quite bizarre. For some reason, the illusion initially tried to create a scenario where he ascended the throne and was crowned king, hoping to make Mu Chongxi indulge in hedonistic pleasures.

Mu Chongxi immediately snapped out of it.

He slashed at it with his sword, “Are you insane?”

Who wants to be crowned king and rule the world?

Wasting money is shameful, you know?

The illusion was dumbfounded, staring blankly at these outsiders.

It couldn’t understand why they were all so difficult to deal with.

The previous sword cultivator had also slashed through its illusion without a word.

Before that, another one, with a dispassionate and indifferent demeanor, had evidently reached a state of being free from desires.

Zhou Xingyun asked it, “What can you conjure?”

It was stumped.

Because this person had no heart demons, no obsessions, and no malice.

Those outside, watching the contents of the illusion, were also momentarily silent.

“Ha! Zhou Xingyun must be cultivating the Supreme Path of Forgetting Emotions, which is a bit different from the Path of Ruthlessness. They truly have no worldly desires. You want him to fall into the illusion?”

“Quick, look at the other direct disciples.”

Having been dispersed by Mu Chongxi’s sword, the illusion was dazed for a moment. Unwilling to give up, it read his memory. This sword cultivator was very simple-minded, with thoughts solely of his sword and a few of his fellow disciples.

The illusion pondered for a long time and, in a moment of brain freeze, conjured a scene where Ye Qiao threw herself into his arms.

After reading Mu Chongxi’s memory, it found that the girl he interacted with the most was his junior sister, Ye Qiao.

Having spent so much time together, there must be some feelings, right?

The illusion carefully crafted her image and prepared to make a grand entrance, determined to trap this group in the secret realm.

Mu Chongxi, about to boast about how easily he dispersed the illusion, turned around and his expression froze.

After the scene dissipated, Ye Qiao, dressed in deep blue, walked out gracefully.

If that wasn’t enough, Ye Qiao smiled. Mu Chongxi had seen many of her smiles—smiles, smirks, cold smiles—but never a bashful smile.

Damn.

“Are you crazy?” He screamed and ran, with the fake Ye Qiao madly chasing after him.

“Fourth Senior Brother,” the fake Ye Qiao called out pitifully, “I’ve admired you for a long time.”

“Will you consider becoming my Dao partner?”

The scene was too bizarre. Imagine a good buddy you’ve been hanging out with for over a year suddenly confessing to you. It’s beyond terrifying.

“Oh my god, don’t mess with me!” Mu Chongxi started running for his life.

Those outside were laughing hysterically.

“Hahaha, thank you for letting me see Qiao Qiao’s bashful expression.”

“The illusion must be frustrated. A bunch of tough nuts to crack.”

In his panic, Mu Chongxi slashed through the illusion and rushed out. “Holy crap, that was terrifying.”

Xue Yu, who was the first to come out, was waiting. He looked up. “Hmm? What did you see?”

Mu Chongxi: “Ye Qiao suddenly confessed to me. Scary, right?”

Xue Yu’s expression was indescribable. “…Indeed, quite scary.”

The illusion, trembling with anger, didn’t give up after three consecutive failures and continued trying to brainwash people. There were so many direct disciples; it had to find a weak spot eventually.

Its next target was Ming Xuan, who, from his memory, lacked confidence compared to the others. The illusion eagerly began weaving dreams, bringing forth the person he hated most from his memories to surround and brainwash him.

In the illusion, a person’s malice is magnified repeatedly. Just a little is enough to trap them and make them lose themselves.

With the illusion set, the scene from the past reappeared. Ming Xuan looked down in silence at a few familiar figures, his fingers twitching slightly.

Is he about to turn dark?

The illusion was excited.

The boy looked up with a blank expression and started pointing at everyone.

“You? You think you’re worthy of talking to me?”

“Mind your tone when speaking to a talisman prodigy.”

The illusion: “…” So he was actually a confident disciple.

The illusion couldn’t understand why his memory contained so many negative emotions initially.

Perplexed, the illusion silently moved on to the next target.

“Wow, the Changming Sect members are coming out faster than Ye Qinghan. The other four must have gone through it all. So, next up is Ye Qiao?”

With its last hope, the illusion targeted Ye Qiao, who had the lowest cultivation.

She shouldn’t be as problematic, right?