Chapter 086: Deadly

In the cave lay a heap of white bones, proof that others had come here before, and that this place was terribly dangerous.

A place capable of harboring so many top-grade rose quartz could never be as simple as it looked. If it were, those crystals would have long since been mined clean; how could any still remain here?

This discovery left the three of them on guard, none daring to relax for even a moment.

The dazzling rose quartz cast off silver radiance, so lovely it was almost painful to look at. Within it, pale red currents of light drifted and shimmered, further revealing how rare this variety of rose quartz was. In the cave air lingered a faint, nearly imperceptible floral fragrance, pleasantly sweet, making everything feel intoxicating and unreal.

Suddenly, a white magical beast with a huge fluffy tail burst out before them. It looked like an ordinary white fox, but in an instant it sprang toward the three of them and split into three identical forms!

When it closed to within a few meters, the little white fox suddenly opened a maw of bloody ferocity. Its cyan fangs gleamed coldly; its eyes turned red, cruel and savage; even its fluffy white paws transformed into steel claws. Its aggression was in no way inferior to that of a sacred phantom beast.

The three of them all tensed. The cave walls were bare, and aside from the rose quartz growing at the far end, there was no other opening. How could such a strange magical beast suddenly appear out of nowhere?

Whatever the case, they could not let down their guard. They braced themselves for battle. Fortunately, none of them lacked strength. Feng Jun unleashed a sky-grade phantom art, and the transformed white fox instantly turned to dust.

Shen Duo likewise drew her long sword. Green sword energy blazed along its blade, and with a slash of Wind-Rending Technique, the white fox vanished without a trace. Wei Dong was somewhat weaker than the other two, but even so, with all his strength brought to bear, he escaped unharmed.

The three stood back to back in a triangle, watching their surroundings warily. The floral scent in the air grew richer, faintly drowsy and almost enough to dull the mind, but they were all people of strong will. They forced through the heaviness in their bodies and confronted the danger before them with all their strength.

Then an unbelievable scene unfolded before them.

Shen Duo, sword in hand, saw Feng Jun, clad head to toe in silver armor, turn around and sneer at her. His handsome face wore a ruthless expression as he stared at her, as though she were his sworn enemy.

Her heart jolted, and she could hardly believe her eyes. In panic, she cried out, “Feng Jun, what’s wrong with you? I’m Shen Duo! Wake up!”

Feng Jun, walking toward her, suddenly burst into laughter. His long silver hair whipped wildly around him, and beneath his feet a blue pentagram array flashed and flickered, making him look like a demon escaped from the underworld.

He said bitterly to Shen Duo, “Shen Duo, you’re nothing but a swordsman, yet you possess the ability to tame phantom beasts. Who would believe that? You must be carrying some priceless treasure. Hand it over now, or don’t blame my spirit-light spheres for not having eyes.”

“Feng Jun, what are you talking about? I don’t understand!” Shen Duo stared hard into his venomous eyes, her small face cold as frost. She did not believe Feng Jun would become like this, much less suspect her. Something must be amiss!

Heh. Shen Duo, direct descendant of the Shen family. Do you take me for a fool? If it weren’t for what you carry on your person, why would I, a sky-ranked phantom master, follow you all this way? If you’re sensible, hand it over at once. Perhaps I’ll even spare your miserable life!”

Shen Duo’s brows drew together. Suddenly, the corners of her mouth lifted in a faint curve. Raising her sword, she flooded it with dense green sword energy and slashed toward Feng Jun, shouting with a note of release in her voice, “You are not Feng Jun. Stop pretending. Not even close!”

Feng Jun did not know her true identity. She had never told him that she was a direct descendant of the Shen family. The only ones who knew were herself, her contract beast, and the people of Windfall City.

And here, her contract beast was heart-bound to her; it could never betray its master. That left only one possibility: the person before her was none other than the false enemy her own imagination had conjured.

At last, she understood what was strange about this stone cave. The cavern behind the waterfall could induce hallucinations—hallucinations so real they seemed tangible. Perhaps from the moment they entered, they had already fallen under its influence. The cave might not even be as long as it seemed; all this time they may have simply been circling in place.

The moment her sword cleaved through Feng Jun, his figure dissolved like smoke. The blinding silver light before Shen Duo vanished at once, and the roar of the waterfall suddenly filled her ears. Turning around, she saw only the thick curtain of water behind her. Before her were clusters of rose quartz; there was no silver-lit wall, no stone cave stretching to the end of the world.

It was as though she had stepped out of a dream. In an instant she woke and returned to reality.

Night still shrouded the earth. Dawn had not yet come.

That swarm of fish that had desperately swum toward the waterfall now made sense as well. They too must have been affected by the hallucination, which was why they threw themselves forward so recklessly, like moths to a flame.

Shen Duo immediately searched for Feng Jun and Wei Dong. They were only three or four meters away from her, both wearing ferocious expressions. Feng Jun’s armor-like transformation had long since vanished; now he merely held up his right hand as if gathering a spirit-light sphere, yet there was no spirit-light sphere in his palm. When he waved his hand, it was no different from an ordinary man striking someone—there was no force behind it at all.

Wei Dong was the same. His greatsword still rested on his back, but his entire body had taken on the posture of wielding a sword, as if he were continuously swinging a massive blade that was not really there.

The two of them were still trapped in the hallucination, and clearly in the midst of a bloody struggle.

Shen Duo frowned. She had just experienced this kind of scene herself. If one failed to notice the flaw in time, what lay before the eyes would be no different from reality—no, it would be utterly indistinguishable from reality.

This illusion realm was extended from one’s own memories, which made it difficult to escape. If they were injured or killed within it, that could very likely become a true and irreversible reality.

Shen Duo did not dare think further.

She drew her long sword from her storage pouch, keeping a close eye on Feng Jun’s condition while sending Benyi to watch over Wei Dong.

Suddenly, Feng Jun coughed up a mouthful of blood. Despair filled his face. He struggled to force out the word “teacher,” then doubled over in pain and coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Within the illusion, he was fighting the enemy with his bare flesh and blood. In such a realm, if one had not seen through it, the opponent’s true strength still existed, yet the one trapped in the illusion could not draw upon any of his own power. It was no different from trying to smash a stone with an egg.

Shen Duo grew anxious. If Feng Jun were left to remain trapped in the illusion, he might truly be beaten to death by his opponent.

She rushed to his side, shook him hard, and cried out his name, but Feng Jun’s gaze remained vacant and unfocused. He was like a puppet with empty eyes.

To her terror, Shen Duo discovered that she could not wake him.

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Hehe, a recommendation vote, please! Otherwise I’ll have to keep tormenting Feng Jun! Boo-hoo!