Chapter 77

78. Chapter 78: The Strange Artifact Defends Itself (No Chapter Skipped)

“What’s happened to Li Yi? Did he successfully escape the illusion, or is he already dead?”

At this moment.

In the illusion, Zhang Lei, Daoist Pete, Zhang Zhixiong, and others were all frozen in place.

For just now, many terrifying changes had occurred on Li Yi, who sat before the bone mural: first, his flesh vanished at a visibly rapid rate, until he became nothing but a skeleton; then the skeleton collapsed on its own, utterly unable to maintain a human shape; finally, everything returned to stillness.

Under these circumstances, they couldn’t even determine whether Li Yi was alive or dead.

“Li Yi probably isn’t dead. If he were dead, it wouldn’t look like this. Previously, one of our colleagues lost all flesh, but his bones remained intact, standing upright where he was. Li Yi’s body didn’t do that, so it’s likely not a bad thing—it’s probably a good one.”

“The dissolving bones may mean he’s escaped the illusion and returned to reality.”

After a moment of thought, Daoist Pete reached a conclusion.

“If that’s true, then it’s perfect. Once Li Yi walks out and reports this situation to the Investigation Bureau, we’ll be rescued soon,” Zhang Zhixiong said.

Zhang Lei said grimly: “This is all speculation. What if Li Yi never escapes the illusion? We need a backup plan. I suggest those who can’t hold out any longer begin the Bone Contemplation. Li Yi said that if one has no desires and no fear, they can escape the illusion and leave this place. If we keep waiting, I fear the others will die here pointlessly.”

“Makes sense. At the last moment, we must take the risk,” Daoist Pete nodded.

With a clear direction now, the people in the illusion regained their confidence, and even the speed of their flesh dissolving slowed—this seemed to be the power of belief. They weren’t lacking courage to fight; they simply understood too little about this illusion. Even if they wanted to fight, they had no direction.

Meanwhile.

Li Yi, having escaped the illusion, had already begun preparing for rescue. After completing the Bone-to-Flesh Method, he could now avoid the illusion’s influence and move freely in and out of the building.

Being unaffected by the bone mural was crucial.

“Engineer Zheng, give me some time. I’ll break this illusion and wake everyone up. Your job now is to stay alert and keep others from interfering with my actions,” Li Yi said seriously.

“Alright, no problem. My teammate Liu Yue and I will handle security,” Zheng Gong nodded, then asked: “But what exactly are you planning to do next?”

“I’ll find the source of the illusion and destroy it directly.”

Li Yi scanned the area, then walked straight to Chen Hao, who was trapped in the illusion, and took the sniper rifle from his grasp. He checked it skillfully.

“Not enough special rounds. Give me a few more.”

Zheng Gong immediately handed Li Yi the remaining nine red rounds and a standard magazine: “That’s all we have left. If it’s not enough, I’ll have to request more from headquarters.”

“Wait, if you need more rounds, I’ve got some,” said a cultivator who quickly approached, carrying a sniper rifle.

He was Fan Feng, one of Liu Yue’s external operations personnel, who had been on guard duty in a nearby building until he saw Li Yi awaken and rushed over.

As soon as Fan Feng arrived, he handed Li Yi most of his ammunition: both the red special rounds and standard sniper rounds.

“Good, thank you. I think this will be enough. Keep some for yourself, just in case,” Li Yi said, took the rounds, slung the sniper rifle onto his back, and set off immediately.

“I’ll keep five special rounds—hope your mission goes smoothly. If you need sniper support, just call out. I’m nearby,” Fan Feng said.

“Alright,” Li Yi nodded.

“Li Yi, be careful,” Zheng Gong warned.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

Li Yi smiled, fully prepared, then walked straight into the depths of the building without looking back.

He moved quickly—he already knew the building’s layout perfectly from within the illusion. So, barring accidents, the bone mural should be on the ninth floor.

Passing through the corridor, Li Yi swiftly climbed the stairs upward.

Along the way, he saw several living people standing motionless. Their eyes were open but lifeless, as if their souls had been stolen—they were still trapped in the illusion, unable to break free.

Moreover, besides living humans, when passing the third floor, Li Yi saw a ferocious beast.

The beast was massive, like a water buffalo, but with fangs lining its mouth and claws on its feet, appearing utterly vicious. He didn’t know its species, but its eyes were also vacant and dull, frozen in place—clearly, it too had been pulled into the illusion.

“Even ferocious beasts can enter the illusion? Do they have a thing for beauties?” Li Yi wondered.

But for safety’s sake, he raised his sniper rifle without hesitation.

He loaded a standard sniper round and pulled the trigger.

A deafening bang echoed—the bullet struck the beast’s eye with perfect accuracy and pierced straight through its brain. Yet the beast’s body didn’t fall; it remained frozen in place.

His purpose was to prevent the beast from awakening once the illusion was lifted, avoiding unnecessary complications.

“Done,” Li Yi didn’t waste time and pressed forward.

On the fourth floor, Li Yi saw two more unknown creatures. Their consciousnesses were also trapped in the illusion, unable to escape. As he passed, he fired two quick shots, shattering their skulls before moving on.

On the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors, Li Yi encountered more dangerous creatures.

But there were too many—he couldn’t eliminate them all. He only killed those that seemed most threatening, leaving the rest alone. If he meticulously cleared each floor, it would take over an hour.

Even so, Li Yi had personally eliminated over a dozen dangerous creatures.

If he took these corpses out and sold them, they’d be worth at least a hundred million.

“After I break the illusion, these beast corpses should count as my spoils—they’re mine, killed by my own hand. Even if the Investigation Bureau takes some, I’ll still get plenty,” Li Yi thought, and immediately felt cheerful.

The sniper rifle in his hands suddenly felt especially joyful.

Shooting these stationary targets was ridiculously easy—and every kill meant a pile of cash. Li Yi felt the same thrill as playing a game with a money cheat.

But he didn’t forget his rescue mission.

So after eliminating most of the beasts, he headed straight for the ninth floor.

Just as he had been inside the illusion.

As soon as Li Yi reached the ninth floor, he saw half a white marble wall standing amid the ruins, bearing a bone mural that glowed faintly, radiating mysterious power. One glance was enough—he confirmed it.

This mural was definitely a strange artifact.

And likely a complete one. But this artifact possessed a supernatural power to bewitch minds and trap people in illusions. Only someone like Li Yi, who had broken free, could remain unaffected. Others would sink into the illusion before even approaching, unable to escape, their consciousnesses dissolving until death.

“If this is a strange artifact, I don’t know if my sniper rifle will even work. And destroying a strange artifact—isn’t that a bit excessive?”

Li Yi hesitated for a moment.

“Forget it. I didn’t find this artifact. The Investigation Bureau’s agents all know it exists, and they’ll recover it eventually. Why should I care?”

His resolve hardened again. He raised his sniper rifle, swapped in a red round.

Just as he aimed at the skull mural on the wall.

Suddenly.

A human shadow flashed through his scope.

Intense danger surged—he instantly tensed, realizing something dangerous lurked here.

In an instant, the shadow appeared before Li Yi and struck, aiming to kill him.

“Die,” Li Yi roared. He reacted instantly—his sniper rifle fired.

“Boom!”

A deafening explosion reverberated through the building. The super-powered sniper rifle, paired with special rounds, unleashed terrifying force.

In a single instant.

The approaching shadow was pierced through, torn into several pieces. The bullet’s momentum didn’t fade—it tore through multiple walls before vanishing outside the building.

After killing the shadow, Li Yi steadied himself and saw clearly what had attacked him.

It was a desiccated corpse—skin clinging to bone, resembling a skeleton.

Though dead, he could still sense the terrifying explosive power and offensive strength radiating from the corpse.

This power level—it must be Spiritual Insight realm.

“So a Spiritual Insight cultivator’s corpse, controlled by some unknown force, can still move even after death?” Li Yi’s expression shifted. He quickly realized something.

He looked again at the skull mural.

Only this artifact could control the corpse, supplying it with energy to move. Otherwise, a corpse could never move on its own.

And the reason for this change.

Was because Li Yi had just raised his sniper rifle and aimed at the mural.

“So the desiccated corpse attacked me to protect the skull mural? Is that even possible? Does this mural have its own will?” Li Yi’s expression flickered as he pondered inwardly.