36: Jiang Yan, who was tricked, realized this was not an illusion.

In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed while Jiang Yan spent his days hunting Spirit Beasts and drawing Talismans.

Just as he thought life would continue this way, Li Yi brought him to Tongtian Peak.

“Revered Master, this is the main peak. Why did you bring me here?” Jiang Yan asked, looking at the surrounding vegetation.

“To take you to see someone. Next, you need to survive in his hands for three days.” Li Yi said the harshest words in an extremely flat tone.

Huh?

Jiang Yan was completely dazed, standing rooted to the spot in a stupor.

He felt like he was hallucinating, or perhaps his Revered Master was definitely joking with him.

Li Yi turned around and looked at Jiang Yan: “Scared?”

Jiang Yan nodded. How could he not be scared?

Those who could live on Tongtian Peak were all big shots. Asking him to survive in such a person's hands for three days was no different from killing him directly.

Li Yi seemed to see through Jiang Yan's thoughts and said directly: “Don't worry, he won't act personally. Instead, he'll throw you into a Secret Realm. As long as you can survive there for three days, I will teach you the final high-grade Talismans.”

Hearing this, he was somewhat tempted, but... could he really survive for three days?

Although he had learned a lot these past few days, whether he could actually handle real combat was a huge question mark.

“Revered Master, can you give your Disciple a hint?” Jiang Yan asked.

“Don't ask me. I don't know where that Secret Realm leads, but it's true that it's very dangerous,” Li Yi said truthfully.

“Then I'll go back and prepare a bit more.”

After Jiang Yan spoke, he turned around to slip away, but before he could even take a step, Li Yi grabbed him by the back of his collar.

“Remember, battles in the Immortal Realm won't give you time to prepare, nor will they give you a chance to talk back or call a truce. They only want you dead sooner. So when you encounter danger, you shouldn't consider whether you are fully prepared, but how to survive in the current situation. Only by staying alive do you have a chance to counterattack,” Li Yi taught.

Jiang Yan nodded. He actually understood these words well, but what the hell did they have to do with his current self?

He really wanted to complain, but Li Yi clearly wouldn't buy it.

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something:

“Revered Master, tell me honestly, are you one of those particularly incredible Geniuses?”

“An incredible Genius?” Li Yi gave a self-deprecating smile, but quickly adjusted his state. “There are no incredible Geniuses; only those who survive are worthy of being called Geniuses.”

“But I heard others say that you were the Sect wanderer over fifty years ago.”

Initially, Jiang Yan just heard it as a joke, but since Murong Xue took the role of wanderer these past few days, he had heard some inside information from back then.

Li Yi smiled and didn't explain anything, instead saying jokingly: “Just a wanderer. Once you Breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm, Revered Master will let you be the wanderer.”

Hearing that he would be the wanderer, he hurriedly shook his head. He didn't want to be struck by lightning.

“We're here!”

As Li Yi's voice fell, Jiang Yan looked up at the plaque above: 'Mirror Realm Small Courtyard'.

Before Jiang Yan could react, Li Yi pressed his head down.

“Disciple Li Yi, requests an audience with Junior Martial Uncle.”

Just as Li Yi's voice carried inside, an old woman's voice rang out:

“Come in.”

Li Yi didn't move, but instead gestured for Jiang Yan to address her.

Jiang Yan thought about the hierarchy and indeed spoke up: “Grand-Disciple Jiang Yan, requests an audience with Grand Martial Uncle.”

“No need to be so polite with me. I already know. Everyone, come in,” the old woman spoke again.

With the old woman's permission, Li Yi led Jiang Yan into the small courtyard.

The moment the two stepped into the courtyard, the entire scene changed.

“Eh? Where's Revered Master?” Jiang Yan looked completely bewildered.

But in the next moment, he realized he must have fallen into an illusion.

Seeing such a realistic illusion, he was still somewhat shocked in his heart.

This illusion was like a bamboo forest in the mountains. From time to time, the chirping of birds could be heard in the distance. Beyond the bamboo forest was a mountain range, with a waterfall cascading from its heights.

The waterfall was like a bolt of white silk hanging down from the mountain, creating a crystal-clear water curtain.

It was truly beautiful. Jiang Yan was almost reluctant to leave.

‘Oh, what a pity. If only this were real, that would be wonderful.’

Jiang Yan felt that spending the rest of his life in such a beautiful mountain forest one day would be a wonderful thing.

Drinking a little wine, eating some... Just as his imagination was running wild, a beast's roar echoed through the bamboo forest.

‘Holy crap, is it this realistic?’

‘Could this be Grand Martial Uncle's test?’

But just as he was thinking this, a Cloud-Piercing Leopard over ten meters tall appeared before him.

‘Good heavens, this big fellow is almost at the high-grade level, right?’

Watching the slowly approaching Cloud-Piercing Leopard, Jiang Yan brandished his longsword.

In his mind, this was a test for him, wanting to know if he had the ability to survive in that whatever Secret Realm.

“Little leopard, watch your Grandpa's sword!”

The Cloud-Piercing Leopard seemed to understand Jiang Yan's meaning. Its body instantly accelerated, lunging at Jiang Yan to bite him.

Seeing the Cloud-Piercing Leopard pounce, Jiang Yan's footsteps quickened. His longsword, like a shooting star, unleashed a set of Sword Rain Art toward the leopard's head.

“Puff, puff, puff...”

Blood sprayed from the Cloud-Piercing Leopard's head, but the moment Jiang Yan landed, that massive leopard paw immediately swiped at him.

Sensing the coming danger, Jiang Yan's body twisted, narrowly avoiding the leopard paw's strike.

“Roar!”

The Cloud-Piercing Leopard grew furious and let out a beastly roar at Jiang Yan.

Feeling the ear-splitting sound waves, Jiang Yan's body staggered slightly, but what he couldn't stand most was the smell of the leopard's breath.

“Holy shit, it's so damn stinky! It's too overpowering!”

“This crappy illusion is way too realistic. Is there really a need to go this far?”

As Jiang Yan complained, the Cloud-Piercing Leopard immediately pounced at him again.

“Again?!”

Jiang Yan wasn't going to indulge it this time. Originally, he thought using half his strength would be enough, since people were watching from outside after all.

But if it insisted on making him fight, was he the type of person to spoil a child?

The longsword's afterimages fluttered, and one shadow after another materialized before him.

The moment the Cloud-Piercing Leopard was about to pounce on him, his figure moved instantly.

With every step he took, an afterimage remained on the ground. When Jiang Yan was less than a meter from the leopard, all the shadows instantly attacked the Cloud-Piercing Leopard.

The sword light was like moonlight in the dark night. Every sword strike that landed on the Cloud-Piercing Leopard's body inflicted massive damage.

“Slash!”

As Jiang Yan's figure landed, countless blood blossoms instantly burst from the Cloud-Piercing Leopard's body.

“Bang!”

The Cloud-Piercing Leopard crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

Jiang Yan turned around showily, his face full of profound mystery.

‘How's that? I should be considered to have passed by now, right?’

Just as he was thinking this, the Cloud-Piercing Leopard's aura gradually withered away.

【Killed Cloud-Piercing Leopard. Gained Experience: 1100. Gained life span: 52 years. life span: 315 years.】

【Current Experience: 89.37%】

【Plundered Cloud-Piercing Leopard essence: 0.2】

【Sword-type Weapons LV5 (47975/100000)】

Silence. A deathly silence.

Jiang Yan froze on the spot, looking at the Cloud-Piercing Leopard's corpse before him in disbelief.

‘Where am I? Who am I? I...’

“Li Yi, you bastard, you lied to me...”

As Jiang Yan roared in anger, the nearby birds were instantly startled into flight.

“What 'illusion test'? This is all motherfucking real!”

At this moment, Jiang Yan's heart was collapsing.

He couldn't understand no matter how he thought about it. It was clearly agreed that he would enter a Secret Realm, but no one told him that stepping into the small courtyard meant he had entered the Secret Realm!

Jiang Yan felt very wronged—a sense of grievance from being deceived.

But before this grievance could pass, the sound of messy footsteps and low growls echoed from afar.

“Holy shit, you XXXX! This is trying to get me killed!”

At this point, Jiang Yan didn't care about his image at all. He turned and sprinted wildly into the bamboo forest.

He finally understood why so many Sects in the rumors wanted to kill Li Yi.

If it were him, if he didn't dig up Li Yi's ancestral graves, he would take Li Yi's surname.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yan ran out of the bamboo forest panting. He was certain that the things chasing him just now were a pack of Fire-Fearing Black Wolves.

This kind of beast wasn't scary individually; what was scary was that they were pack-dwelling Spirit Beasts, and the smallest pack exceeded fifty wolves.

If a Cloud-Piercing Leopard encountered Fire-Fearing Black Wolves, it wouldn't take more than a few breaths before the leopard was hunted down by the pack.

Glancing at his current environment, Jiang Yan sensed something was not quite right because this part of the forest was too quiet—quiet to the point of being eerie.

Just as he was cautiously scanning the distant darkness, something seemed to blink for a split second.

Immediately after, Jiang Yan wanted to curse Li Yi's entire family tree.

“Ugh!”

A massive body like a heavy truck appeared. Eerily, this big fellow made almost no sound while walking!