Chapter 1805: Scouts and Disguise

This time, they didn't need him to urge them; the group strode forward with long, swift strides.

A few words drifted over from not far away, and Elder Liu happened to catch them in his ears:

"When the false is taken for the true, the false is also true."

He turned his head and discovered that He Xiao had said these words to his companions.

Since entering this world, Elder Liu had been in constant communication with Qian Huan, and the Immortal Venerable's instructions often rang in his ears, so he knew what to do next.

Did this Island Master He have some sort of epiphany?

In fact, Dong Rui had just patted He Lingchuan on the arm and gestured to him with sign language: "This old codger is putting on airs. Have we actually returned to the real world or not?"

Then, He Lingchuan had spoken the advice from the little Mirage Demon beside Zhu Xiuer. When he accepted the Spirit Mountain mission and went to consult the little Mirage Demon, the other party had solemnly given him this piece of true wisdom.

Illusion arts were not simple parlor tricks, and the little Mirage Demon couldn't possibly know the true level of the ancient Mirage Immortals, but when Mirage arts were cultivated to a profound level, they could not escape the essence of those few words.

Dong Rui rolled his eyes: "Don't try to fool me."

"I'm not fooling you," He Lingchuan smiled. "Immortal Qian Huan was so sincere; he already gave you the answer back at the Wenhui Pavilion."

"Huh?" Had he been hallucinating at the time? "What answer? Why don't I have any impression of it?"

"Have you forgotten? He said at the time that the boundary between truth and illusion, or rather the standard of judgment, lies in—"

Dong Rui racked his brains and finally remembered the word: "Rules?"

"Correct." He Lingchuan looked back in the direction of Yaozi Lake. "As long as the rules are in the hands of Immortal Qian Huan, just as Elder Liu said, 'This realm is entirely under his control; whatever the old man says is true, is true, and whatever he says is illusion, is illusion.'"

After hearing He Lingchuan's explanation, Zhu Xiuer and Dong Rui pondered Elder Liu's words again and felt even more that they were not simple.

"In the end, the one here who has the qualifications, the ability, and the necessity to get to the bottom of the difference between truth and illusion is not us, but Miao Zhantian." He Lingchuan was persuading his companions not to worry needlessly. "Only by cracking and counter-controlling the rules here can Miao Zhantian compete with Immortal Qian Huan."

He Lingchuan turned his head and happened to meet Elder Liu's gaze; the latter was somewhat moved.

The cultivators in their fifties or sixties under his own command only had a half-understanding, yet this young man in his early twenties had actually understood it—he truly understood! Naturally, he did not know that because of the Great Fanghu, He Lingchuan, besides plotting for the Flash Gold Plain, thought most about the mysteries between truth and illusion, the virtual and the real.

Moreover, if he dared to come to Immortal Qian Huan's territory to explore, he had to make some preparations beforehand, right? Dong Rui frowned: "But this realm and the previous illusion realm should be somewhat different, right?"

"Of course." He Lingchuan nodded. "The rules of this realm clearly submit more to Immortal Qian Huan; otherwise, He would not be trying every possible way to lure the Tiangong in."

The one who suddenly transformed the ghost people into ghost soldiers was, of course, Immortal Qian Huan! With just a few blasts of the soul-summoning horn, He had erased the consciousness of all the ghost people and armed them, turning them into tools to counter the invaders.

He could even distort the image of living people in the eyes of the ghost people.

What a powerful control this was!

Heaven knows what other means Qian Huan could use in this world; He Lingchuan only knew that He must fight Miao Zhantian here.

"Fine." Dong Rui knew this topic couldn't be probed any deeper, so he changed direction and gestured with sign language again: "Hey, why do you think Qian Huan kept the dead souls in this world?"

"Perhaps it is for deduction. Do you remember that before He went into seclusion, He obtained a treasure that helped Him comprehend the ultimate principles of heaven and earth?" That was the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead. "Life and death are, by nature, a cycle."

He Lingchuan did not know what image the Tiangong team had in the eyes of the ghost people; otherwise, he would have had further inferences.

Wan Qiufeng behind him suddenly said: "These people are truly pathetic; whether dead or alive, they cannot escape this cycle."

From birth to death, they could not jump out of Qian Huan's control.

Zhu Xiuer, however, had a different view: "There is also this cycle between heaven and earth; I haven't seen you find us pathetic."

Wan Qiufeng said: "At least after I die, I return to decay; my soul will not be detained."

"That's not necessarily true." Dong Rui nudged his chin toward He Lingchuan. "You forgot what he does."

Wan Qiufeng remembered and subconsciously shivered.

Wan Qiuliang asked again: "By the way, why can these ghost people walk in the sunlight so openly?"

Ghost souls fear sunlight most; usually, they die after being exposed for a few breaths. Only ghost immortals with profound cultivation can resist the overbearing damage of the sun's true fire. But in this world, ghost people and living people alike bathed in the sunlight without any taboos.

"Perhaps, this is the rule of this realm." Dong Rui casually abused the word 'rule'.

Zhu Xiuer also pondered: "Although they are called 'ghosts', they do indeed have bodies that can resist the damage of sunlight."

In the human world, people possessed by evil ghosts can also travel during the day; they just don't like being directly exposed to sunlight. "Qian Huan still had to give them a shell."

Speaking of this, it whispered: "That kid who led the way for us in the Ban Shan mine is also in this team."

"Luo Xie?"

He Lingchuan looked in the direction Zhu Xiuer pointed and indeed saw that familiar face mixed in at the end of the team.

For Luo Xie's age and experience, his cultivation was not bad, but he was still an outer sect disciple and not qualified to walk in the front.

He was bruised and swollen, covered in wounds, with a bump on his forehead that had yet to subside. There were dried bloodstains on his cheeks and his clothes were splattered with blood; one could only imagine what he had been through.

At this moment, he was walking forward with his head half-lowered, his expression solemn, not engaging in conversation with anyone.

Speaking of sunlight, they happened to walk across a small open space, and the bright sunlight shone on everyone without obstruction. He Lingchuan took another look at Elder Liu and still did not see the golden thread on him, feeling a little relieved.

Zhu Xiuer and Elder Liu had both been planted with the "God's Gaze" in the illusion realm, but it had not manifested in this realm. He Lingchuan was worried, so he specifically took Zhu Xiuer back to the illusion realm to sever the golden thread, but he could not easily remove the God's Gaze on Elder Liu.

From various signs, He Lingchuan judged that the golden thread on Elder Liu was probably shielded by Qian Huan's spell, or it was not tolerated by the rules of this realm, thus making it impossible to locate.

Elder Liu and the other immortals did not know they had been hit by the opponent's tracking spell, but Qian Huan might not necessarily be deceived.

In other words, their side was temporarily safe.

Just at this moment, Elder Liu suddenly turned around quickly, raised his hand, and gave a heavy "shush": "Everyone be quiet, the pursuers' scouts are here!"

The group had been chatting and laughing, but they were startled upon hearing this and quickly shut their mouths.

"Lower your heads and hold your breath; no talking, no expanding spiritual sense!"

The order was passed down layer by layer, and before long, everyone in the Illusion Sect lowered their eyes and hurried along.

The forest returned to its usual tranquility, with only the rustling sound of the group marching through the grass.

After about half a cup of tea's time, a buzzing sound suddenly came from behind.

Some Illusion Sect disciples were nervous and subconsciously grabbed their weapons. Elder Liu, however, turned back and made a few gestures at them, meaning:

Do not move!

Soon, the buzzing sound became louder and louder, making people's chests feel a bit numb.

Everyone continued to walk forward without looking back; only Zhu Xiuer transmitted a voice to the other companions: "Oh, so it's these things; I see them!"

It had twelve eyes, almost circling its head, which could be called a 360-degree field of vision without blind spots. So many great cultivators present dared not expand their spiritual sense; only Zhu Xiuer could easily look behind.

Then say it! Dong Rui complained in his heart; Big Sister really didn't learn the good, but insisted on learning from He Lingchuan to keep people in suspense.

Wan Qiufeng and the others on the side exchanged glances, clearly thinking the same thing.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiuer didn't keep people in suspense for too long, because the buzzing sound was immediately close, loud enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"It's ball bees! We also call them 'steamed bun bees'."

Ball bees? He Lingchuan searched his memory and finally remembered a book he had borrowed from the Shu Min Academy in Panlong City, "Records of Strange Beasts of the Desolate Sea," which recorded this strange bee.

In the blink of an eye, he saw a living ball bee.

It was no wonder people gave them that name; these bees had round heads, round brains, and round bellies, with a body size as large as a coconut, black heads and white bodies; at first glance, they indeed looked like steamed white flour buns that had risen.

But being stung by such a large bee was no fun. Zhu Xiuer's words also confirmed what He Lingchuan had seen in the book: "Stung by this bee, the whole body swells within thirty breaths, and one dies of suffocation within fifty breaths; if one doesn't suffocate, the toxin will also flow into the heart, causing spasms and death. The deceased will tremble all over and foam at the mouth before dying, suffering every torment."

Everyone: "..."

It sounded on par with Big Sister's toxin.

And these poisonous bees were in groups of three, separated by one or two zhang, flying left and right, and occasionally circling slowly for no reason. Everyone knew that these were scouts sent out by the Tiangong, tracking the whereabouts of the Illusion Sect while searching for the hiding place of Immortal Qian Huan.

The eyeball spiders on He Lingchuan and Dong Rui's bodies shrank into their collars with a chirp, restraining their living Qi so as not to be discovered by them.

"Go your way, don't move around." Zhu Xiuer's advice was the same as Elder Liu's, and then the poisonous bees flew past the group.

In the eyes of the ball bees, these were just indigenous ghost people wearing masks, no different from those seen in other villages and towns earlier. For the sake of duty, they still cautiously approached and sniffed the scent.

Ball bees don't collect nectar, but their sense of smell is still sharper than a dog's.

It smelled a bit of sweat and the sour, foul odor of clothes that hadn't been washed for a long time.

Ordinary farmers should have this scent, even though they had suddenly transformed into ghost people.

The bees flew away regretfully; they didn't dare to get too close to the ghost people, lest they be swatted down.

The group didn't dare to make a sound and continued to advance.

Within a quarter of an hour, two batches of bees flew past, but none discovered anything unusual about the Illusion Sect team.

After He Lingchuan and the Illusion Sect cultivators put on their masks, they seemed to have truly become local natives, not only in dress and appearance but even in scent.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1806 =====