Chapter 1300: Illusions
Yi Tianyunâs speed was undeniably first-class. While he didnât blow his pursuers away by a huge margin, he was still faster than they were and managed to keep up with the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead.
Meanwhile, the surrounding golden sand kept sweeping toward them in waves, each more intense than the last. At this point, Domain Lord Liuli flicked her blue ribbon, forming a thick barrier around them. The blasts of sand that rushed forward were all forcefully bounced back. Though it consumed a great deal of energy, trying to save strength at a time like this would be suicidal.
Others looked on with envy. They were working together, one focusing on speed and the other defending against the sand; this was far better than trying to handle both tasks alone.
It was an extremely unpleasant endeavor to both run and ward off the swirling sands. But they had no other choice, who would have guessed that the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead would suddenly bolt away, leaving them with no protection at all?
Luckily, they werenât weak. Had their cultivation been any lower, they would have been swept away by the sand in no time. Even those with higher cultivation but no half-step Heavenly Venerable strength found the harsh environment intolerable after a while.
Some of the God Monarchs gradually fell behind, eventually lost amid the swirling sands. Half-step Heavenly Venerables couldnât slow down to carry anyone, or theyâd risk being trapped here. With no way to find the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead, theyâd all perish.
No one had the inclination to spare a companion; if they lagged behind, they were sacrificed. And none of them could imitate Yi Tianyunâs feat of carrying someone without losing speed. Besides, no one they carried would be as capable as Domain Lord Liuli, who could actually help protect against attacks.
This was the harsh reality. Those left behind were gradually swallowed by the sands, disappearing without a trace.
âGood thing I didnât bring more Elders here. We couldnât possibly bring them all along,â Domain Lord Liuli remarked upon seeing those who had been abandoned. Her voice carried no pity, she only thought of her own Elders, who certainly couldnât keep pace.
âIf the other Elders had come, the best approach would have been for me to rush ahead and then come back for them,â Yi Tianyun said with a faint smile. âThereâs always a way. Only a heartless person wouldnât consider that possibility.â
Domain Lord Liuli paused, giving him a slight smile but saying nothing. She believed he truly would have done it, but it would have been cumbersome.
He continued racing forward, with Domain Lord Liuli in his arms. Wave after wave of Illusory Metal Power assaulted them, but they warded it off in tandem, pushing through.
This trial clearly tested them with storms of Illusory Metal Power. Without the protection of the beads, the difficulty had multiplied several times. Worse still, the end point was unknown, they just had to keep following that Ten Lives Heavenly Bead.
Said bead offered no sense of cooperation, simply maintaining its steady high speed. Though it wasnât accelerating, it was still fast enough to give them all a hard time.
âThat speed is insane. Anyone weaker would never keep up,â Yi Tianyun muttered. âIn fact, without half-step Heavenly Venerable power or amazing speed, youâd be dead meat.â
âYes. This is probably yet another elimination. Having a bead qualifies you to enter, but keeping it is a separate question,â Domain Lord Liuli said, shaking her head. âAnd there will likely be more and more dangers ahead. No wonder weâve never heard of anyone acquiring a Heavenly Venerableâs inheritance from this place. These tests alone are enough to defeat nearly everyone.â
Yi Tianyun nodded, feet never slowing.
Behind them, Lu Yuan and the others kept up as well, not lagging too far behind, maybe a hundred meters. Though Yi Tianyun was faster, it wasnât by such a massive margin that he could leave them in the dust. If he ascended in cultivation, perhaps then his advantage would be crushing.
Just imagine: at the First Level God Monarchs with a three-to-four-hundredfold speed boost, heâd be the fastest below the Heavenly Venerable realm, hands down!
In this fashion, they chased for several days until at last the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead dove into a space distortion. Yi Tianyun, still holding Domain Lord Liuli, jumped in without the slightest hesitation.
One after another, the other cultivators also dashed inside. As soon as they had all entered, the space and time portal didnât remain open for long, almost immediately, it vanished.
Upon emerging, Yi Tianyun sensed the environment shift abruptly. The endless golden sand was gone; in its place stood towering trees, Spirit flowers, and Spirit Grass everywhere.
But the most critical thing was that Domain Lord Liuli, who had been in his arms a moment ago, was gone! And there was no one else around either. Clearly, the space and time portal jump had separated them all.
âLooks like weâve been scatteredâŠâ
He started to wonder what had happened when suddenly a glow appeared overhead. Glancing upward, he saw the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead floating high in the air. In the next instant, boom!, it exploded in midair, transforming into ten rays of light that shot off in different directions.
âDamn⊠so it wants us to gather these blasted beads again?â Yi Tianyun said in frustration. Although the rules werenât explicitly stated, it was obvious that theyâd have to collect the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead all over. Unless it simply disappeared for good, scattering like that definitely meant searching for it.
âNo point worrying about that first. Letâs find Sister Liuli.â
He pulled out his Evil Spirit Roulette, inserted something belonging to Domain Lord Liuli, and it activated a guiding power to point the way toward her.
Spreading oneâs spiritual sense here was useless, he couldnât detect very far at all, but the roulette still worked, letting him locate her without wandering blind.
âThis placeâs design clearly aims to separate us, but that wonât matter.â
He followed the guidance without delay; two people working together was better than fighting alone. Though Yi Tianyun could handle himself solo, since Domain Lord Liuli was here, he preferred to move in tandem.
As he rushed ahead, finding no particular obstacles, he assumed all was calm. However, just then, a petite fox demon with blue fur appeared, looking quite graceful.
The moment it spotted Yi Tianyun, it attacked him without hesitation!
Yi Tianyun quickly darted aside to dodge. In response, the fox flung out a blue whip, thick and robust, with enough power to split mountains.
He hastened to evade with even greater speed, meanwhile checking for signs of Domain Lord Liuli. Yet the Evil Spirit Roulette pointed directly at the fox.
âCould it be⊠that this fox is Sister Liuli?â Yi Tianyun froze in surprise.
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Yi Tianyun refrained from striking back immediately, even though his opponent kept attacking fiercely. Every move felt so familiar. Despite wielding a whip instead of a ribbon, the fighting style was almost identical.
By observing closely, he inferred that the attacker likely was using a ribbon technique. Also, this blue-furred fox demon looked elegant, its coat pale blue in color. Wasnât Demon Lord Liuli aligned with the water attribute? Of course she might display a bluish hue, and the foxâs features resembled her usual style.
Most importantly, Yi Tianyunâs Evil Spirit Roulette still pointed straight at this fox. That indicated, beyond doubt, that it was Demon Lord Liuli! The Evil Spirit Roulette wouldnât lie, proving that the fox in front of him was indeed her.
âThis illusion is terrifying. Itâs obviously meant to make us kill each other. If youâre from a different group, thatâs one thing, but if youâre actually allies, it forces you to fight your own partner!â
Yi Tianyun was inwardly alarmed. This illusion was so strong even he couldnât dispel it. Demon Lord Liuli was already trapped. It was laid by an Upper Heavenly Venerable, so how could it possibly be undone with ease?
That meant he couldnât let her see his true form. To Demon Lord Liuliâs perception, he was likewise some kind of monster she had to destroy.
From her perspective, she saw a demon beast darting around, evading every blow, and it made her anxious. She had not expected that upon arriving here, her first battle would be against a monster this elusive. Its speed prevented her from landing any hits.
As she prepared another fierce onslaught, the âbeastâ suddenly drew a spear and began carving something into the ground.
She glanced over, noticing written characters:
âStop attacking! Iâm Yi Tianyun! You must be Sister Liuli, right? Itâs all an illusion designed to make us kill each other!â
He carved these words at lightning speed, producing a long message in the blink of an eye. For cultivators at their level, carving writing was effortless and swift.
Perhaps illusions could alter oneâs weapon or appearance, but the words etched into the ground would remain unaffected. Even the strongest illusions here only changed surface visuals like oneâs form or gear.
Reading what it said, Demon Lord Liuli froze and halted her assault.
âIllusion? All of this is an illusion?â
She replied by carving a line of her own:
âThen tell me where we come from and whatâs happened recently.â
She wouldnât believe right away; a few verification questions were necessary. As for speaking aloud, it would sound to the other as if an animal were roaring.
Yi Tianyun quickly inscribed what had occurred these past days:
âWeâre from the Heavenly Spring God Domain. Not long ago, you scolded me for cultivating lightning arts in a way you disliked and told me to stop.â
Upon seeing these words, Demon Lord Liuli immediately believed him, everything really was an illusion!
âIt looks like in addition to searching for the bead, we have to be wary of attacks from our own allies, or from anyone else, for that matter,â Demon Lord Liuli wrote.
Yi Tianyun nodded and carved:
âExactly. The moment you see a âmonster,â you just try to kill it, thereâs no room to talk. If I werenât fast enough, I really mightâve died at your hands.â
Feeling awkward, Demon Lord Liuli realized she had no idea how Yi Tianyun had figured it out. But indeed, on first sight of a strange beast, who wouldnât attack? This stage of the trial was truly insidious.
If Yi Tianyun hadnât been able to evade, he would have been slain by his own teammate. That would be the saddest thing of all, finally realizing, only too late, that it had been a tragic misunderstanding.
âNow that we know, letâs hurry and look for the beads. That is what really matters!â she wrote, eager to leave. As they couldnât break the illusion, they could only pass this stage to lift it.
Yi Tianyun agreed, and the two headed for one of the spots where a piece of the Ten Lives Heavenly Bead had fallen. They clearly recalled approximately where each piece had landed.
Originally, Demon Lord Liuli had been heading for one of those very places. Soon, they arrived and saw a small crater in the ground with a miniature bead lying there.
Yi Tianyun sped down, scooped it up, and discovered that claiming the bead didnât revert them to normal forms. Everything remained as it was.
Having obtained the first bead, they didnât linger. They set out immediately to grab the second. Along the way, Yi Tianyun couldnât help reflecting on how vicious this stage was. If all ten participants came in, itâd be absolute carnage.
No wonder so many had failed; this single trial alone could stop hordes of cultivators. If the entire group was originally allies, that would be even worse, friendly fire could be devastating.
After collecting that second bead without incident (no one else had gotten there yet, and there werenât many people to begin with), they pressed on to the next location. Here, flight was impossible, some invisible force prevented it, so they had to run everywhere.
Otherwise, it would have been far simpler.
Boom, boom, boomâŠ
Suddenly, the sounds of fierce combat echoed up ahead, along with repeated bursts of energy. Yi Tianyun instantly knew other contenders had crossed paths, sparking a fight.
They lacked something like his Evil Spirit Roulette to distinguish true identities. At first glance, they would just attack. Unless they all fled and refused to fight, battles like this were inevitable.
âThat area is where another bead landed. Theyâre probably fighting over it. Letâs look elsewhere,â Yi Tianyun wrote in the dirt.
Demon Lord Liuli nodded. With ten beads total, it was best to retrieve others first. If two half-step Heavenly Venerables were locked in battle, that left only one more searching for beads.
Which gave them better odds at finding the rest before anyone else did.
âKeep fighting, you two, donât stop any time soon.â
Yi Tianyun smirked, then led Demon Lord Liuli toward the next beadâs location. It looked like the greatest threat in this round was cultivators vs. cultivators vying for the beads, rather than anything else.
Even so, that was deadly enough, these mutual struggles would be brutal. Not that Yi Tianyun minded a brawl himself; after all, half-step Heavenly Venerables yielded quite a lot of experienceâŠ
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