lovenovelstory #180 - The legendary era!
#180 - The legendary era!
Chapter 179: The Legendary Epoch!
Real or illusory?
Could it be that I've truly fallen victim to the Great自在Heavenly Demon's illusion?
Zhang Chen's heart was filled with disbelief, as his Soul-Snatching skill had actually glitched, which was absolutely impossible.
Just as a myriad of doubts churned within Zhang Chen's heart like a stormy sea, suddenly the glitched skill began to operate again, and the chain seemed to finally detect its target, exploring towards the distant void.
A full hundred breaths later, Zhang Chen's heart suddenly stirred, and the target at the other end of the chain appeared within his perception.
It was an extremely distant location, so far beyond Zhang Chen's imagination.
"Huh, it doesn't seem like an illusion created by the Great自在Heavenly Demon; it actually marked it successfully? I'm in the first level of the spiritual world, and I can actually mark the soul of the Great自在Heavenly Demon? But it's not foolproof; what if the Great自在Heavenly Demon deliberately created an illusion, making me think I activated the Soul-Snatching skill, when in reality my so-called activation was just an illusion created by the Great自在Heavenly Demon…?" A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind.
"Then can I pull souls from the outside world into the first level of the spiritual world?"
Zhang Chen's mind raced with ideas: "To further distinguish whether it's real or fake, I need to continue activating the skill and see if I can spot any flaws during the activation process."
Zhang Chen now had persecution fantasies; these old guys were really too cunning, each one more cunning than the last!
If he hadn't fallen into an illusion, then even pulling the Great自在Heavenly Demon into the spiritual world wouldn't matter; he could just pull the Great自在Heavenly Demon out after he got out.
If the Great自在Heavenly Demon had really used illusions to confuse his mind, then he might be able to see flaws during the skill activation process.
With a thought, Zhang Chen directly activated the skill, and the black and white light flowed before his eyes. His soul in the spiritual world also entered the black and white world, and several chains appeared beneath his feet.
One was Xie Lingyun's inner demon, and the others were connected to the demon seeds.
Zhang Chen grabbed the chain connected to Xie Lingyun's inner demon and gently pulled it, only to feel that the chain was incredibly heavy. The chain directly pierced into the depths of the mist, and Zhang Chen's will merged with the chain's perception. He saw the chain pass through an extremely distant, endless mist and plunge into a great river.
The great river surged, its origin unknown, its end unknown, its waves rugged and vast, its width unknown for tens of thousands of miles.
The chain followed the riverbed for countless miles, its end surpassing Zhang Chen's mental limits, beyond his perception.
"The distance in the first level of the spiritual world is so far from the real world? And what is that rugged, shimmering great river?" Zhang Chen perceived the chain and the great river, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"How strange; activating the skill this time feels so strange. I'm now highly likely to be under an illusion." Zhang Chen gripped the chain tightly and suddenly tugged, causing a creaking sound of colliding chains.
The chain was very heavy, heavier than ever before, but Zhang Chen could still barely pull it.
However, Zhang Chen pulled for quite a long time. Standing in the black and white world, Zhang Chen saw the stars shift and the world turn from night to day, with a ray of morning sun drifting out from the east.
"Still saying it's not an illusion? I've been tugging on the chain all night; how could I not have pulled it out?" Zhang Chen grumbled.
Just as he was certain that he was under an illusion and that the chain would never reach its end, suddenly the chain loosened, and a black lotus with a bewildered face appeared in the black and white world.
Then the lotus twisted for a while, transforming into a human form, its eyes staring blankly at Zhang Chen: "What are you doing, kid? Why did you drag me to this ghostly place again?"
"Acting! You're really good at acting!" Zhang Chen stared at the Great自在Heavenly Demon, his eyes full of caution, carefully observing every action of the Great自在Heavenly Demon before him.
"What am I acting? Why are you acting so strangely today? You dragged me here again; do you want to find another way to torment me?" the Great自在Heavenly Demon asked, his voice full of confusion.
"Stop acting. Why don't you tell me when you broke out of my seal and ambushed me, causing me to fall for it?" Zhang Chen asked.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon understood upon hearing this. This kid must have developed paranoia, actually suspecting that he had escaped from the seal and harmed him?
"If I had that ability, I would have helped Zhong Xiang escape and refined you to death in that small space. Do you lack confidence in your own methods, or do you lack confidence in your own strength? You overestimate me. I have no power at all without a host body. Moreover, if I want to invade your mind, I need to take root and sprout, I need to absorb your negative emotions to grow. How could I have the ability to affect your energy and spirit in just a few months?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon protested, his voice full of grievance.
What could he do? He was also helpless! He had encountered such a suspicious person who suspected everyone of harming him all day long, and he was suffering along with him.
Zhang Chen felt that what the other party said made some sense. If the Great自在Heavenly Demon had really invaded him, he shouldn't have invaded him so quickly, right?
"Could it be that it's not an illusion?" Zhang Chen thought, directly exiting the skill's state, and the Great自在Heavenly Demon followed Zhang Chen into the yellow sand.
"But if this place isn't an illusion, then where is it?" Zhang Chen pondered to himself.
"This is…" The Great自在Heavenly Demon followed Zhang Chen out of the black and white space and saw the star in the sky as large as the moon, and the red sun rising above the horizon in the east. He was so shocked that he was dumbfounded, his eyes full of disbelief. Even his state of mind, tempered by countless hosts, couldn't help but exclaim in shock: "This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
Zhang Chen turned to look at the dumbfounded Great自在Heavenly Demon, thinking that the other party was shocked that he had come to the spiritual world. After all, when Fox Fairy Nannan first came to the spiritual world, she was even more exaggerated than the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
It was already rare for him to come to the spiritual world, and it was even more of a miracle that he could bring others in.
"How is it? Are you shocked by Grandpa's methods? But don't be surprised; it's just the first level of the spiritual world. It's just a trivial skill that I can bring you in." Zhang Chen said with a smile, his face full of smugness, acting as if it was a basic operation.
"Where did you say this is?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon was stunned again after hearing Zhang Chen's words, his whole person completely stunned, and he looked at Zhang Chen with a strange expression.
"The first level of the spiritual world? Haven't you been to the first level of the spiritual world before? That's impossible, right?" Zhang Chen asked curiously.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon really wanted to curse: 'Damn it, the first level of the spiritual world! If this is the first level of the spiritual world, I'll kneel down and call Zhang Chen grandpa directly.'
'This is clearly a real world! Not only a real world, but also a world that can never appear again. This is clearly a pre-epochal time! And a world that has been destroyed, a world with severed karma!' The Great自在Heavenly Demon shook his head, feeling a little dizzy, as if trying to shake himself awake:
"I think you really are under a spell, and a very powerful one at that. Even I, the ancestor of illusionists, am trapped!"
"You also think this is an illusion? Someone set me up? How can you be so sure this is an illusion?" Zhang Chen looked at the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
"No need for a reason, after all, I am the ancestor of illusionists, I can't be fooled. Hmm! It must be an illusion!" The Great自在Heavenly Demon said, he couldn't possibly say that this was a past time, a severed era, long buried in the previous epoch.
No one can travel through time, let alone the time barrier of the last epoch.
"Could it be that you set up the illusion and then cried 'stop thief' with me?" Zhang Chen's suspicion of the illusion had already disappeared, but now, after hearing the words of the Great自在Heavenly Demon, he became suspicious again, looking at the Great自在Heavenly Demon with a dubious expression.
"I don't have that kind of ability! And even if I invaded your mind, without three to five years of gestation, don't even think about taking root in your heart." The Great自在Heavenly Demon rolled his eyes, trust between people is too weak.
Zhang Chen glanced at the Great自在Heavenly Demon, believing only ten percent of what he said.
Who knows what other strange abilities this dog thing has? This guy is insidious, cunning, and despicable. Believing his nonsense would be foolish.
"Do you have any means to break this illusion?" Zhang Chen asked.
"It's difficult! This person's illusion techniques are too clever, even I am trapped. How easy is it to break?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon said, looking up at the sun in the sky, secretly thinking: "The epochal time before my eyes is too real! Even the essence of the great sun is as real as it can be."
The Great自在Heavenly Demon couldn't hold on any longer, the more he looked, the more flustered he became: "I say, little thief, who exactly did you offend to fall into such an illusion?"
Zhang Chen didn't speak, his mind racing: "Could it be the means of that Southern Qilin, Zhong Xiang? Am I under Zhong Xiang's illusion? But that's not right, if I were under Zhong Xiang's illusion, the Light of the Righteous God would definitely activate my Dharma Eye, making me feel something."
"It seems I've offended quite a few people..." Zhang Chen thought for a long time but couldn't find a clue, replying to the Great自在Heavenly Demon before diving into the yellow sand, avoiding the sun's scorching heat.
Although the illusion is fake, the damage it inflicts is real.
"Quickly help me think of a way to break the illusion," Zhang Chen urged the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
"Illusions are the most troublesome. There are two ways to break an illusion. The first is to use absolute strength. The second is to find the flaws in the illusion. As long as you find the flaws, you can counterattack the opponent," said the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
Zhang Chen fell silent, he now had a doubt, did he really activate his skills? For example, when he supposedly hooked the Great自在Heavenly Demon over, did he really activate the skill to hook him over? Is the Great自在Heavenly Demon before him the real Great自在Heavenly Demon?
Zhang Chen was now doubting himself, feeling that he might be trapped in a mental illusion, his mind being deceived. This was the most terrifying and troublesome thing, because once trapped, he wouldn't even know how he died.
However, the Great自在Heavenly Demon said one thing correctly, that is, as long as he found the flaws in the illusion, he could see through it and walk out.
"To be honest, the world before me is too real. Reason tells me that this doesn't seem to be an illusion," Zhang Chen said to the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
"Based on my experience, this doesn't seem like an illusion either, but I'm telling you, this is definitely an illusion." The Great自在Heavenly Demon looked up at the sky again, a scene from a distant past epoch, absolutely impossible to appear in this present era.
Looking at the lizard running in the yellow sand, Zhang Chen said, "If this is an illusion, isn't this illusion too real?"
This illusion is not just generally real, even the small animals are lifelike.
"Actually, there is another key point, as long as we argue its truth or falsehood, we can prove the truth or falsehood of the illusion before us. If the illusion acts on my mind, then you are fake, you are the master of the illusion, transforming into the Great自在Heavenly Demon to deceive and guide me. If the illusion acts externally, constructing a false external environment, it shouldn't be able to hide from my Dharma Eye. After all, even the illusion of the Imperial Daughter's Tomb couldn't do anything to me, after all, that was a twelfth-order illusion."
"So are you real or fake?"
Zhang Chen looked at the Great自在Heavenly Demon, this was the conclusion he had come to after thinking for a day, so as long as he verified whether the Great自在Heavenly Demon before him was real, he could argue the truth or falsehood.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon was silent upon hearing this, then said after a moment: "I am definitely real! You say that external illusions can't hide from you, then I'll tell you, because no one in the world dares to drag me into a mental illusion. What is the essence of illusion? It is the illusory projection constructed by a person's essence, Qi, and spirit. If you drag me into an illusion, that is automatically accepting me to invade your body."
Zhang Chen believed what the other party said, the Great自在Heavenly Demon before him was real.
Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this, if it wasn't an illusion acting on his heart, then the illusion of the great array couldn't hide from his Dharma Eye.
So that is to say, what is before him is not an illusion, but he has really come to the first level of the spiritual world, only the scenery has changed.
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen relaxed his mind, even his footsteps became lighter.
"Why did your mood suddenly improve?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon looked at Zhang Chen.
"Because I'm sure that what's before me is not an illusion, but the real first level of the spiritual world! The worries in my heart are gone, so naturally I'm happy," Zhang Chen said.
However, upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, the Great自在Heavenly Demon's heart skipped a beat: "How can you be so sure?"
If the world before him was not an illusion, then the trouble would be big!
And this was simply impossible!
How could the two of them have come to before the Primordial Epoch?
Even mastering time abilities was impossible!
"So, this must be an illusion!" The Great自在Heavenly Demon said to himself, not believing that he could travel through ancient times.
"Even the God of Time could never do it!" The Great自在Heavenly Demon said.
However, seeing Zhang Chen's expression, he didn't remind him, but instead harbored malicious intentions, saying: "I wonder if I'll have a chance to plant a demon seed..."