Chapter 118: Integrating Illusion

After understanding the soul master's rankings, Ye Liuyun continued to study the Illusion True Secret.

This illusion technique is indeed marvelous; it is like using Divine Sense to communicate with the opponent's Divine Sense, provoking his various emotions, and then letting his Divine Sense autonomously evolve into the subsequent changes.

Next comes grasping and understanding the changes. A person's Divine Sense can identify and remember various transformations; the key to wielding an illusion technique is to comprehend this interplay of reality and illusion and variables, and to deduce.

It is as if the one casting the illusion provides guidance, while the one subjected to the illusion cooperates, and the two together complete this transformation process.

"This is truly strange! The illusion technique is actually generated by the combined effort of two people!" Ye Liuyun murmured.

After skimming it a few times, he did not overreach; instead he began with the most basic fear emotion, attempting to create a scene of thunder and fire that could annihilate the world.

He was fairly familiar with the powers of lightning and flame, so starting there was simpler. And the Bald Vulture naturally became his training partner.

With the aid of Illusion Pupil, creating an Illusion Realm became much easier. Soon he could draw the Bald Vulture's Soul over, allowing their Divine Senses to communicate.

For an entire night, Ye Liuyun kept researching this illusion technique.

Then he grew increasingly proficient with practice. Yet now initiating an attack was still too slow, unless he used a stationary Bald Vulture to attack, he could succeed.

Later Ye Liuyun felt strained, his Soul also weary, so he stopped to rest and took a Spirit-Settling Pill.

While digesting and absorbing the Spirit-Settling Pill, Ye Liuyun suddenly experienced a flash of insight.

This illusion technique can be fully integrated into his cultivation method!

His current cultivation method's weakness is insufficient variability. If these insights are merged into it, his attacks, footwork, and all movements will be full of variables, with reality and illusion indistinguishable, even confusing opponents and causing them to hallucinate.

"Impressive!"

Ye Liuyun slapped the ground and leapt up, immediately beginning to fuse these insights into his cultivation method.

All his techniques instantly brimmed with spiritual variations, as if endowed with living vitality, endless variables, surpassing the original limits of the moves.

This finally resolved the problem of Ye Liuyun being constrained by his cultivation method.

That day, he began merging various cultivation methods and insights. He even used his hand as a blade, lightning as a blade, and his finger as a blade.

A single True Essence strike unfolded into nine strands, separating and recombining, then merging into one. Sometimes even his Illusion Pupil could not discern the reality of these True Essences.

His figure was the same; standing still, he could become like a phantom, ethereal and indeterminate.

Moreover, he trained his techniques to the point of deceiving the opponent's senses and Divine Sense. This owed to his own powerful Divine Sense and his comprehension of illusion technique variations.

That night's training, although the Illusion True Secret didn't even reach Minor Achievement, all his cultivation methods advanced a level.

At daybreak, Ye Liuyun ceased training, slept soundly for a while, and alleviated his fatigue.

Two days later, a Steward from Zongwu Hall came to deliver a message, interrupting his training.

"Ye Liuyun, candidate inner sect disciple, the 26th-ranked candidate inner sect disciple Long Yue has challenged you. In three days, arrange a duel. If you fail to appear, it will be considered a surrender."

After the Steward conveyed the information to him, he left immediately.

"Oh? This Long Yue actually came to challenge me?"

Ye Liuyun snorted, paid it no further heed, and continued researching the illusion technique.

But not long after, Qi Tianyue rushed over and interrupted him again.

"Junior Brother Ye, you must be careful of Long Yue. His current realm has reached the True Essence Ninth Layer Summit, nearly comparable to the top ten of the outer sect. He practices the Dragon Clan's Dragon Yang Fist, a simplified version of the Saint Martial Academy's Heaven Tier intermediate cultivation method Dragon Yang Manual, which is immensely powerful. He rushes to become the outer sect's number one also to claim the reward and obtain the full version of this Heaven Tier cultivation method."

Qi Tianyue knew Long Yue a bit and was aware of his strength, so she specifically came to warn Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun heard this, did not inquire about Long Yue, but asked, "Can the outer sect's number one be rewarded with a Heaven Tier cultivation method?"

"Yes, you can go to the inner sect to receive a Heaven Tier cultivation method. You didn't know?" Qi Tianyue retorted.

Ye Liuyun shook his head. No one had ever mentioned this to him.

If he had known, he would have challenged earlier. He is now worrying about needing to upgrade his cultivation method.

"Ah, the point I wanted to tell you isn't that! I'm warning you to be careful of Long Yue! The Dragon Yang Fist is a fire‑type cultivation method..." Qi Tianyue realized and steered the conversation back to the main point.

Ye Liuyun flashed a grin at her. "Don't worry, he's nowhere near my level, no need to be concerned!"

Ye Liuyun's demeanor, exuding strong confidence, never regarded Long Yue as an opponent.

Qi Tianyue looked at his smile, a bit surprised. Yet recalling Ye Liuyun's extraordinary performance these days, it seemed entirely normal. In her eyes, Ye Liuyun was no longer a normal person, but a prodigy!

"Alas! I worried for you in vain!"

Qi Tianyue sighed inwardly, then, as if recalling something, hesitated and said to Ye Liuyun, "There's one more thing..."

She hesitated briefly.

"But it's fine to speak!" Ye Liuyun smiled.

Qi Tianyue, seeing his confident smile, felt much relieved, and therefore said it.

"Here's the matter: your senior brother and senior sister have not been doing well lately; junior brother, do you know?" she asked cautiously.

"Senior brother, senior sister? What's wrong with them? I don't know!" Ye Liuyun's expression changed slightly, foreseeing trouble.

Ye Liuyun immediately went with Qi Tianyue to the outer sect disciples' quarters.

Ye Liuyun projected his Divine Sense from afar and saw Song Yi and Li Mengxi in the room. Both looked gaunt, and Song Yi was worse, bearing many obvious wounds, lying on the bed and moaning in pain.

Ye Liuyun entered Song Yi's room, opened the door and walked in. Li Mengxi, hearing the sound, followed.

Seeing Ye Liuyun, Song Yi struggled to rise but was held down by Ye Liuyun, who prevented him from standing, then produced several Healing Elixirs, gave him one to take, also gave Li Mengxi one, and kept the rest for Song Yi.

Song Yi and Li Mengxi both wore ashamed faces, yet did not refuse his elixir. From the circumstances, they truly were not doing well.

After Song Yi took the elixir, his condition improved slightly.

Ye Liuyun asked what had happened; they initially stayed silent, but eventually couldn't resist Ye Liuyun's pressure and told him.

Three days earlier, Yuan Meng, Chu Li, and Xu Lang each approached them, looking for any excuse to pick a fight.

They treated Li Mengxi relatively well, only assigning her some heavy chores, but for Song Yi, they found him slightly displeasing and beat him with fists and kicks.

In just a few days, they tormented the two of them to the point of losing the will to train, and Song Yi also suffered severe injuries.

The three who bullied Song Yi and Li Mengxi—Yuan Meng ranked third in the outer sect, Chu Li sixth, and Xu Lang ninth—were all far stronger than Huang Wenxuan.

"Seems my previous display of authority wasn't enough; Chang Hao's lackey has been upgraded!" Ye Liuyun thought, then understood what was happening.

He suppressed his anger and asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Song Yi and Li Mengxi also had bitter looks.

"We're also afraid of disturbing your cultivation. We originally wanted to endure it, get through this period and then be fine! Besides, we can't always rely on you!"

Li Mengxi lowered her head, not daring to meet Ye Liuyun's gaze.

It seems she didn't want to tell Ye Liuyun. She is strong-willed and doesn't want to keep bothering Ye Liuyun.

"We're fellow disciples; do we need to be so distant? If you don't tell me, you can work it out yourselves."

Ye Liuyun's anger flared, his aura uncontained, frightening the several people in the room so much their hearts jumped.