The surrounding area was completely silent.

Once Chu Xinghui confirmed that these three uninvited guests had no more to say, he sheathed his sword and turned to activate the correct mechanism.

The stone door let out a grinding, bone-chilling “click” as the internal mechanisms shifted, and the door groaned open with a thunderous rumble.

Though their expressions darkened, the three still managed to support each other as they stood up, preparing to follow Chu Xinghui into the door.

Chu Xinghui, however, paid them no mind. Once he passed through the door, he first surveyed the walls inside.

There was a lever on the wall, clearly controlling the stone door’s opening and closing mechanism.

Without hesitation, he walked over and pulled the lever down.

Qin Yuwen, who had just stepped into the doorway, almost got his leg caught by the suddenly closing door and had to hastily retreat.

His eyes darkened as he stared at the now-closed door, an icy murderous intent rising within him.

Mu Lingxuan was fuming, her fist pounding the door as she vented her frustration: “What does he mean by this?”

Mu Zeqing frowned in disgust: “The cultivation world should be united, but to be this petty over something so trivial… It’s not like the proper path at all.”

Qin Yuwen cursed the two fools in his heart, but maintained a soft yet slightly bitter smile on his face: “Cultivator Xie doesn’t seem to like me… Maybe I haven’t done enough.”

The two siblings immediately rushed to comfort him.

…

Chu Xinghui stood inside, dusting his hands off with a sense of satisfaction.

He was a person who valued subtlety and precision, and he couldn’t stand the idea of someone who had just clashed with him trying to gain an advantage by following behind.

Furthermore, Qin Yuwen was inherently suspicious. While Chu Xinghui wasn’t going to kill him immediately unless he did something substantial, he certainly wasn’t going to allow Qin Yuwen to interfere with Xie Liufeng’s plans.

With the three of them temporarily stuck outside, Chu Xinghui turned his attention to the interior of the door.

The architecture inside resembled that of the exterior, but it wasn’t exactly ordinary construction.

Before him stood a towering wall, with two narrow paths on either side. At the end of each path, there were three more branching corridors, and beyond those were countless more branches… It looked like a massive maze.

The high walls and narrow passages blocked most of the light, leaving the area dim and eerie, lit only by the candles mounted on the walls.

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and tried flying with his sword, hoping to get an aerial view of the entire maze.

As expected, the area was blocked from flight.

Standing still for a moment, he realized that he had no experience navigating mazes, so he simply chose a direction at random and began walking.

The maze was eerily silent.

His footsteps echoed off the stone floor, giving the illusion that no one else would ever walk through here.

As he continued, he suddenly felt something was off with his legs.

Chu Xinghui looked down and noticed a child, around five or six years old, hanging from his leg, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

The child, sensing Chu Xinghui’s gaze, looked up and met his eyes with a cheerful smile, radiating an innocent charm. His features… were strikingly similar to Xie Liufeng’s.

If not for being in such a strange place, Chu Xinghui might have mistaken this child for Xie Liufeng’s younger relative.

Chu Xinghui casually flicked the child off his leg, then grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him up.

The child was so light, it felt like holding a puff of air. It was clear that this was an illusion.

Chu Xinghui paused, deep in thought.

He couldn’t quite determine if this illusion had been conjured by the maze from his own thoughts or if the maze was connected to Xie Liufeng in some way, causing the illusions to be based on him.

The child, undeterred, gazed up at him with wide, innocent eyes. Then, while Chu Xinghui was deep in thought, the child suddenly headbutted him and jumped out of his grasp, dashing away with surprising speed.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

So, this illusion really was based on Xie Liufeng, no doubt about it.

After watching the strange child vanish, Chu Xinghui continued down the path.

This new route seemed longer than the first one he had encountered.

He walked for a whole quarter of an hour, yet still hadn’t come to any intersection. The path seemed strangely devoid of anything other than its eerie atmosphere and strange illusions, which allowed Chu Xinghui to relax his tense nerves just slightly.

But no sooner had he let his guard down than a flash of white appeared in his peripheral vision. He looked again, but saw nothing.

Chu Xinghui instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, thinking he had merely imagined it.

He proceeded cautiously down the path until he approached a fork.

Once again, the white figure appeared, this time much closer to him.

He stopped in his tracks.

When the hidden creature saw that he had halted, it ceased trying to scare him. Instead, it revealed itself, creeping out from the wall.

Chu Xinghui watched as a “person” suddenly appeared on the wall and took a seat, nonchalantly staring at him. The figure resembled the classic ghosts found in many human legends, sitting with an unsettling stillness.

The ghost had the same face as Xie Liufeng.

This illusion was similar to the one he’d seen in the wooden building, though the figure looked healthier and more vibrant this time.

Chu Xinghui felt an unexpected pang of softness. His hand hovered near his sword but did not draw it.

But the illusion didn’t seem to care about his hesitation. The boy somehow produced a twig from nowhere and whacked him on the head.

Before he could react, the illusion darted away, leaving only the twig behind, lying innocently at the fork in the path.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He walked around the twig, deciding to take a different route.

To his surprise, the twig somehow followed him, lying at his feet and tripping him up. Then, it hopped back to its original position.

Chu Xinghui observed this curious behavior, and a thought slowly formed in his mind.

Was the twig… trying to guide him?

He cautiously stepped down the path where the twig had been lying.

Sure enough, this time, it didn’t trip him. Instead, the twig vanished as soon as he moved.

As Chu Xinghui reached the next fork, the twig appeared again, continuing its strange guidance.

…

Following the “ghostly” guidance, Chu Xinghui eventually reached an open space.

The open area was surrounded by several sealed stone doors, the paths behind them unclear.

On the ground, there appeared to be some intricate formations drawn, and, being cautious, Chu Xinghui stayed at the edge of the area, not daring to step onto the formation.

And once again, he encountered the familiar illusion of Xie Liufeng.

This time, the illusion had aged with time, resembling the real Xie Liufeng more closely than before.

At least in terms of appearance, it was nearly identical.

However, this illusion radiated a sharper, more intense aura—like a blade freshly drawn from its sheath.

The two locked eyes.

The illusion, which now looked almost exactly like Xie Liufeng, carefully studied Chu Xinghui for a moment before mischievously reaching out and pinching his cheek.

Chu Xinghui stared back, his expression unchanging. Finally, he couldn’t resist and drew his spiritual sword.

He distinctly heard the illusion laugh softly.

And just like that, the figure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He had always trusted his instincts, but now, he was starting to question his judgment.

After so many encounters with these illusions, he began to wonder if they were all truly just illusions—or if, in fact, they were Xie Liufeng himself.

After all, aside from Xie Liufeng, he had never met anyone quite so idle and troublesome.

Just as Chu Xinghui was lost in thought, another stone door in the distance suddenly cracked open with a burst of spiritual energy.

He looked toward the familiar figure emerging from the dust, his heart stirring. He narrowed his eyes.

More illusions, one after another. It seemed they were never going to end.

 

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