Chapter 137: Impregnable

Qin Ming selected more than ten pieces of rotting wood that had already grown illusory mushrooms.

Subsequently.

Drawing on past experience, he first used the 【Accelerate Growth】 attribute to fully mature all these Mist Illusory Mushrooms; upon maturation, they produced numerous Spirit Seeds of the Illusory Mushroom.

As Qin Ming accelerated their growth, endless plumes of pink mist began to permeate the rear mountain of Moon Gazing Island.

The pink mist gathered in greater quantities, shooting straight up toward the heavens.

Wu Jiang looked up at these eerie pink clouds, his brows knitting together into the shape of the character 'Chuan,' a vague worry stirring in his heart; he had no idea what fellow Daoist Qin was up to by creating such a celestial anomaly. Qin Ming worked day and night without pause, continuously consuming his 【Accelerate Growth】 attributes and those five 【Leaves of Space-Time】 attributes, urgently accelerating the maturation of the Mist Illusory Mushrooms.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming felt the timing was right and activated the 【Spirit Plant Symbiosis】 attribute.

In an instant.

He felt a mysterious connection form between himself and the pink mist released by the Mist Illusory Mushrooms.

Furthermore, he could now command and direct these pink mists at will.

In the time that followed.

The members of the Wu family were astonished to discover that atop the main peak's rear mountain on Moon Gazing Island, a massive column of pink smoke was erupting as if from a chimney, shooting straight into the sky.

After reaching the skies above Moon Gazing Island, this smoke spread open like a giant umbrella, diffusing outward to cover the entire ten-li radius of Moon Gazing Island.

One month later.

The density of the pink smoke had accumulated to a terrifying degree; merely glancing at it felt as though it would swallow one's soul.

Although Wu Jiang was inwardly terrified, he dared not disturb Qin Ming, so he could only wait for him to emerge from seclusion before asking what was going on.

As time passed, the pink smoke grew denser and denser, forming a spectacle that blocked out the sun and sky.

"A mist illusion realm comparable to a third-tier illusion array has finally been set up!" Qin Ming looked up at the sky above and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

Immediately, he raised his hand and pointed, sending countless black spirit seeds flying out to hide within these pink mists.

These were spirit seeds upon which Qin Ming had cast the Thorn Technique; once touched, they would trigger a thorn trap.

In this way, combined with the Mist Illusion Realm, it created an effect comparable to a third-tier composite great array.

If any short-sighted cultivator crashed into the mist, Qin Ming could go out and collect their blood pearls.

He then consumed his remaining 【Spirit Plant Symbiosis】 attributes to craft several wooden tokens.

This special token allowed one to freely control the opening and closing of the Mist Illusion Realm.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming summoned Wu Jiang over.

Upon seeing Qin Ming, Wu Jiang already had a belly full of questions to ask.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, this smoke hanging over the Lingdao, what is it?"

Qin Ming smiled slightly; even if the other party hadn't asked, he intended to instruct him anyway: "Fellow Daoist Wu, this mist enveloping the entire Moon Gazing Island is an illusion realm comparable to a third-tier great array."

"With this defense, even if the San Alliance of the Seventy-Two Islands and the Zhao family attack up to the heavens, they will no longer be able to affect our Moon Gazing Island."

"Remember, this pink smoke is no trivial matter; ensure your clansmen absolutely do not approach the vicinity of the mist."

"This token can control the Mist Illusion Realm; you may use it to enter and exit Moon Gazing Island freely."

After explaining, Qin Ming handed a token to Wu Jiang, giving him a meaningful look of implication.

Upon hearing this, turbulent waves surged within Wu Jiang's heart.

An illusion realm comparable to a third-tier great array? He then extended his trembling hands and shakily accepted the token.

For Fellow Daoist Qin to entrust such an important item to him indicated one thing: he absolutely trusted him.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, rest assured, this item will be used by me alone."

Qin Ming nodded; it was good that the other party understood the situation, as he still needed Wu Jiang to run errands and could not truly isolate himself completely.

It was merely to add some protective measures before he broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, avoiding disturbances from someone like Zhao Wuji.

From now on, with the protection of the Mist Illusion Realm, saying Moon Gazing Island was impregnable would not be an exaggeration.

Let alone Zhao Wuji; even if a Fake Dan Yunxi Laozu from his Zhao family came and broke into this pink mist illusion realm, they would go but never return.

Normally, Qin Ming stored all the mist hidden within the illusory mushrooms; as soon as any cultivator above the Foundation Establishment stage approached, the illusion effect would automatically trigger.

With this barrier in place, Qin Ming could now farm and cultivate in peace of mind.

Half a month later.

Just as Qin Ming had expected.

Zhao Wuji indeed remained undeterred regarding him, appearing once again near Moon Gazing Lake; this time, he had not come alone but brought a large group of Lingdao families subordinate to the Zhao family.

They projected an air of forcing a surrender through intimidation.

Mo Lingwei of Qingxia Island was also among these people, likely coerced into coming by Zhao Wuji.

But when they arrived near Moon Gazing Island, they were instantly dumbfounded.

All they saw was a sun-blocking, sky-obscuring pink mist barring their path.

"What is this thing?"

"What trick is the Master of Moon Gazing Island playing?"

Everyone began discussing amongst themselves, with only Mo Lingwei spotting the crux of the matter.

'Isn't this a Mist Illusion Realm formed by the smoke released after the second-tier top-grade spirit plant, the Mist Illusory Mushroom, matures?'

'A special illusion realm comparable to a third-tier illusion array!'

Mo Lingwei's eyes filled with horror, her heart churning like turbulent waves, yet she did not intend to speak aloud, instead silently retreating to the very back.

Zhao Wuji also gazed at this mist, his brows tightly locked, having just released his divine sense into the mist to test it.

Yet he was astonished to discover.

His released divine sense was like mud entering a sea of clouds, swallowed by a black hole-like suction, revealing absolutely nothing of its nature.

For a moment, everyone halted, unable to advance, at a loss for what to do.

"Playing tricks with ghosts and gods!"

"Let this old man investigate the matter."

At this moment.

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Lingdao families, seemingly unable to wait any longer, voluntarily stepped forward.

One of the Foundation Establishment cultivators first released a flying crane spirit pet, sending it into the mist; after circling a few times, it discovered nothing amiss.

Thus, the two immediately activated their magic power shields and flew toward that patch of pink mist.

At the beginning.

The two entered the outer perimeter of the mist and came into contact with a wisp of the pink fog, yet nothing happened.

And so.

They steeled their courage and continued to delve deeper into the mist.

Zhao Wuji watched those two island lords enter the mist, and a very bad premonition surged in his heart.

Nevertheless, he still calmly instructed the crowd: "Do not rush in yet; let us wait for the two island lords to emerge and see what the situation is."

Subsequently.

Everyone remained right where they were, waiting quietly.

A moment later.

Zhao Wuji also sent a voice transmission to the two, asking what the situation was inside.

However.

Half an incense stick's worth of time passed, yet still no message came back.

Zhao Wuji began to sense that something was wrong, and his expression started to shift constantly.

One hour passed.

Those two cultivators still had not emerged.

At this, the people present began to panic, whispering anxiously among themselves.

Could this pink mist before their eyes be so terrifying? Two Foundation Establishment cultivators entered, and not even a single message could be sent back? Zhao Wuji refused to believe in such evil; he was quite confident in his own strength and possessed life-saving trump cards, so he moved slightly closer to that patch of mist, maintaining a certain distance.

At first, some of the pink mist from the outer perimeter drifted out, and when he encountered it, indeed nothing happened.

But after a while, the scene before his eyes suddenly changed, and he instantly fell into an illusion realm of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Within the illusion realm, those cultivators he had killed in the past now possessed cultivation levels several times higher than his own, and one by one they rushed at him to claim his life; Zhao Wuji's eyes filled with terror, and he began to struggle and resist desperately. Crack!

At this moment, a milky-white jade pendant at Zhao Wuji's waist shattered in response.

Zhao Wuji abruptly woke from the illusion realm; disheveled and haunted by lingering fear, his back soaked in cold sweat, he immediately took flight and fled the place.

(End of Chapter)