Chapter 576: Illusion

"Don't panic, keep moving forward," Chen Yu said.

Suddenly, a flower abruptly elongated its stem, its pistil transforming into a human head; a pair of pupil-less, white-rolled eyes stared fixedly at Ye Qingning, and it opened a blood-red maw.

Ye Qingning opened her mouth to scream, but Chen Yu covered her mouth in time.

One could see that the Other Shore Flowers on both sides had all grown heads, their white pupils gleaming, and they opened their blood-red maws toward the two of them.

"This thing feeds on human fear; the moment you show any sign of being afraid, they will devour you," Chen Yu barked.

"I understand." A trace of clarity flashed through Ye Qingning's eyes; she forcibly dispelled the fear in her heart, and Chen Yu grabbed Ye Qingning's hand and ran all the way out.

Suddenly, Ye Qingning, who was rushing forward, stopped in her tracks; she clearly heard a gentle voice calling her from behind.

"Qing Ning, is that you?"

"Qing Ning, it's Mom."

"Turn around and look at me, it's Mom."

Chen Yu also stopped; he glanced at Ye Qingning and saw her delicate body trembling, two lines of clear tears falling from the corners of her eyes; she was clearly very agitated inside.

Chen Yu sighed to himself; he knew Ye Qingning was being deceived by the illusion, and he could only watch helplessly, unable to wake her up.

In fact, the various illusions that appeared in this place could awaken the most vulnerable parts of a person's inner heart.

Chen Yu's strength was already that of a Martial Ancestor Realm expert, and his Dao Heart was stable, so naturally, he would not be disturbed by these illusions, but Ye Qingning was different; she did not have such strong Mental Power.

Chen Yu stared at Ye Qingning, his right hand already gripping Lichen; if Ye Qingning were to turn around, she would inevitably have her mind lost to the Demon behind her, and at that point, he would have to risk severing her longing for her deceased relatives in her heart to be able to bring her out of the predicament.

"Mom, is it really you, Mom?" Ye Qingning's tears fell like rain; her parents had sacrificed themselves for the country when she was very young, and this voice was the only one in her memory.

That was a call from familial love, the most vulnerable part of her heart; she could not help but want to turn around and see the mother behind her.

But she resisted, because Chen Yu had said that no matter what happened behind her, she must not turn around to look.

"Let's go." Ye Qingning gritted her teeth, her lips bitten into bloody marks, and she hardened her heart to pull Chen Yu away.

"Why won't you turn around and look at me? I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you; are you unwilling to even look at me once?" The voice behind her suddenly became shrill.

Ye Qingning's tears fell like rain; she ran forward desperately, hardening her heart not to let herself turn around.

"This is already the road to the Yellow Springs; your father and I are already on the other side. Shouldn't our family be reunited?" The voice suddenly closed in, and clusters of Qi suddenly pressed in.

Black Qi surged, transforming into the figure of a woman, and she said sharply, "Come over here, let our family meet, and later... live happily together, never to be separated again. Turn around."

Chen Yu stopped abruptly; he looked back and saw that the black Qi was becoming thicker and thicker; this illusion actually stemmed from the obsession in Ye Qingning's heart—the heavier the obsession, the stronger the illusion; if it were not resolved, he feared Ye Qingning would not be able to hold on for long.

He lifted Lichen in his hand, and a red radiance suddenly lit up.

That cluster of black Qi encountered the Sword Radiance of Lichen and immediately fled in all directions in a panic.

"Get out!" Chen Yu gave a violent shout, grabbed Lichen, and swung a sword backward.

Whoosh—a sharp Sword Qi was slashed out backward, and the black Qi transformed from that obsession suddenly dissipated; at the same time, a shrill voice rang in Ye Qingning's ear: "Are you really so heartless? Ye Qingning, turn around and look, just one glance."

Chen Yu grabbed Ye Qingning's hand and rushed forward; with a thud, everything went black before their eyes, and they entered the real world.

Ye Qingning knelt on the ground, kowtowing several times toward the back, and she sobbed uncontrollably: "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

Watching her cry so sadly, Chen Yu could not help but look dejected; he helped Ye Qingning up and said, "Don't be sad, that was just an illusion; she is not your mother."

"I know it's an illusion, but that call is the only memory I have left of her; I can't forget it, I'll never be able to forget it for the rest of my life." Ye Qingning leaned into Chen Yu's arms, crying very sadly.

Chen Yu held her to comfort her; having rushed out all the way just now, Ye Qingning was likely exhausted, and she cried for who knows how long before her sobbing gradually stopped.

It was just a pity that Chen Yu's shoulder was already soaked with her tears; Chen Yu checked the time, and it was already early morning; it seemed like not much time had passed in the illusion, but in fact, time had flown by, and they had to go back now.

"Miss Ye, shall we go back?" Chen Yu gently shook Ye Qingning in his arms.

But upon touching her, he was startled; Ye Qingning's body was burning hot, and it looked like she had a fever.

Chen Yu hurriedly laid her flat on the ground, then took out the Silver Needle and began Acupuncture on her.

This was not a pathological fever; she had truly come into contact with those evil spirits just now, and it was likely a fever caused by evil wind entering her body.

The Silver Needle dispelled the evil Qi, and then he fed her some medicine to dispel evil and calm her shock; half an hour later, Ye Qingning's body temperature finally returned to normal.

It was just that she had been quite frightened throughout the night, and the final hallucination had left her physically and mentally exhausted, so she could not wake up for a while.

Chen Yu hesitated for a moment, then picked her up horizontally and walked toward the camp.

"Chen Yu, what happened to my sister?" Upon returning to the camp, Ye Qinglong was the first to rush over.

His sister had gone missing just now, and Chen Yu had also gone and not returned; if it hadn't been for Wei Hongye and the others holding him back, he would have likely rushed out to find Chen Yu long ago.

"She was a bit frightened, it's nothing." Chen Yu carried her horizontally into the tent and laid Ye Qingning down.

"Chen Yu, what exactly happened to my sister?" Ye Qinglong asked anxiously from the side.

"I said I encountered a ghost, do you believe me?" Chen Yu asked.

"Ghost, ghost?" Ye Qinglong shivered; the dream-eating demon marrow he encountered during the day still left him with lingering fears; if plants could run around and open their mouths to eat people, then it wouldn't be strange for his sister to have encountered a ghost, right?

"Alright, let her rest for a while, let's go out first." Chen Yu saw that Ye Qingning was fine and prepared to get up.

But Ye Qingning, who was in a deep sleep, suddenly grabbed Chen Yu's hand and murmured: "Chen Yu... you, don't go."

Ye Qinglong on the side widened his eyes, looking at Chen Yu with a ferocious expression.

In his view, something must have happened between Chen Yu and his sister; otherwise, how could his sister, a person like an iceberg, take the initiative to grab a man's hand?

Chen Yu was very embarrassed; Ye Qingning acting like this was very prone to misunderstanding; he gently pulled away Ye Qingning's hand and brushed his right hand across her face, letting her sleep peacefully.