267: Chapter 267 Illusory Mist, Manipulation

Cao Yong asked coldly, "Having killed so many people from my Cabinet, and now actively showing yourself, do you really think this servant can do nothing against you?"

The bamboo-hatted man stood quietly in place, without uttering a single word.

The night wind blew against his robes, making a fluttering sound.

His face was still hidden in the shadows, making his joy or anger impossible to discern.

This indifferent attitude made the anger in Cao Yong's heart burn even more fiercely.

Cao Yong held power over the imperial court, and even first-rank officials in the court had to yield to him by three points when they saw him. When had he ever been looked down upon like this?

"Playing ghosts and acting as gods."

Cao Yong snorted coldly, a cruel smile appearing on his pale face.

"Fine. Since you are unwilling to speak, then stay shut forever."

"Anyway, you are destined to die here today, and dead people do not need names."

Cao Yong slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly curved like an eagle's claw.

Above his fingertips, faint dark-red True Qi coiled, emitting a nauseating smell of blood.

This strand of True Qi was extremely cold, as if it could freeze a person's Soul.

"Once this servant captures you, abolishes your cultivation, severs the tendons in your hands and feet, and drags you back to the Cabinet's imperial prison."

"The instruments of torture there have not tasted the blood of experts for a long time."

"This servant will definitely make you wish you were dead and unable to die, and spit out the mastermind behind you one by one!"

Cao Yong's voice echoed in the night sky, resembling the roaring of an evil ghost from Ninefold Hell, making one's hair stand on end.

Facing Cao Yong's threat, that person remained completely unmoved.

He seemed not to have heard Cao Yong's words, just standing quietly there like an insurmountable high mountain.

The clear, cold moonlight shone on his shoulders, plating him with a layer of silver-white halo.

A cold and lonely Aura slowly emanated from his body.

Gradually, the surroundings seemed as though silver radiance had been sprinkled over them, with a faint mist emerging.

Chen Ran pressed down on his bamboo hat with one hand, raised his eyes to look forward, overlooking the crowd in front of him, and finally spoke the only sentence since the beginning.

"Eunuch Cao, it seems you have misunderstood something."

"I deliberately lured you out not to tell you anything, but simply to look for you."

As the voice fell, the thick fog around seemed to have received some instruction, beginning to boil.

Cao Yong's gaze became increasingly gloomy and sinister.

He could feel that although the other party's Aura was plain, it was as unfathomable as an abyss.

His True Qi pressure, upon touching three feet around the opponent, was like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace.

This feeling caused a trace of inexplicable irritation to rise in his heart.

Although the elite guards in black in the distance had retreated dozens of zhang, they could still feel that suffocating sense of oppression.

They were all battle-hardened death warriors, and their Heart-Nature resilience far exceeded ordinary people.

However, at this moment, facing these two completely different yet equally terrifying Auras, they only felt that they were like a lonely boat in violent winds and huge waves, about to capsize at any moment.

The black-robed commander stared fixedly at the two people in the arena, fine cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

He finally understood why Cao Yong had asked them to step back.

This level of combat had already surpassed the scope of what they could comprehend.

Even a trace of leaked True Qi was enough to shatter them to pieces.

Chen Ran's gaze seemed to pause for a moment in that patch of thick fog, but actually, within a scene invisible to outsiders,

at the end of Chen Ran's line of sight, the [ Mirage Dream ] talent on the panel lit up high, continuously vibrating.

"Exactly, let's see what use this new talent really has..."

Chen Ran's lips curved up as he urged his talent with all his might. The next moment, the True Essence in his body flowed away like water.

At the same time, the scene in the arena suddenly changed abruptly.

With a loud bang, a large amount of white smoke-like thick fog erupted from the center, enveloping a radius of several hundred zhang.

Then, the sound of sharp weapons came from the fog, and the next moment—

*Puchi.*

An elite guard shrouded in the thick fog clutched his chest and knelt halfway on the ground, turning his head back in disbelief.

Only to find that the one who harmed him was none other than a tall and stalwart black shadow, who happened to be his day-and-night companion.

Seeing this scene, everyone in the arena was stunned, their gazes turning in unison toward the person who made the move.

But soon they discovered something different. After killing his companion before him, that stalwart figure's body trembled, and finally he laughed wildly.

"Hahaha, my lord, I did it! I killed that person."

"Conferment of titles and promotion, ten thousand taels of gold... I saw it all!"

When that person spoke, his expression was excited, not acting at all, but rather looking like he had been struck by some evil sorcery.

Before everyone could react, several more sounds rang out.

*Puchi.*

Several companions fell to the ground heavily injured, and the perpetrators all wore excited expressions, as if they had performed a great service.

Gradually, they also came to their senses.

"Careful, this fog contains illusions, do not fall for it!"

"Stay away from the fog, do not approach... Ah!"

Within a short period of time, the scene descended into chaos.

The elite death warriors, who had originally been fearless of death and strictly obedient to orders, suddenly turned on each other in civil strife, instantly fighting into a melee.

Within a few breaths, more than half of them were dead or injured.

However, some people had agile minds and closed their nose and mouth in advance to hold their breath, focusing their minds to escape the attack of the illusion.

"That person is causing this!"

This group of death warriors cast their gazes into the distance. All of this was caused by that suddenly appearing mysterious figure.

"It seems illusions are not omnipotent either."

Chen Ran looked at the remaining few figures in front of him with great interest, letting out a chuckle and saying:

"Since you are all very smart, then simply be used by me."

The moment his voice fell, streams of bizarre sound waves rippled from his mouth, as the Demon Sound True Art was automatically executed.

At the same time, Chen Ran crossed his hands and spread his five fingers, shooting out hundreds of nearly invisible transparent silk threads.

[ Heavenly Silk Puppet Technique ]!

*Hum.*

After those death warriors stood blankly in place for a moment, their bodies finally twitched stiffly, and they simultaneously drew their weapons, pointing them at the red-robed official, transforming into several streaks of light as they lunged forward.

In an instant, the situation in the arena reversed.

The elite subordinates he brought had all been turned against him.

After witnessing all this, Cao Yong gritted his teeth and low-roared:

"A bunch of trash!"

Cao Yong gave an angry shout and stopped talking nonsense.

The dark-red True Qi around his body erupted roaringly, resembling a sea of blood that dyed the surrounding night into an eerie red.

A violent wind suddenly rose, sending sand and rocks flying.

Dead grass was uprooted and ground into powder by the violent True Qi in the air. Under the impact of the violent True Qi, dead trees emitted unbearable cracking sounds.

The thick tree trunks cracked inch by inch, with wood chips flying everywhere.

The originally clear and cold moonlight was now obscured by that sky-filling blood-colored True Qi, turning dim and devoid of light.

Cao Yong raised his hand and waved it, and a blood-colored sharp claw flew out with a roar.

*Clatter.*

Seeing those black shadows attacking him, their figures paused for a moment in mid-air before simultaneously bursting apart into mists of blood.

Cao Yong no longer concealed his Aura, and the killing intent in his eyes toward Chen Ran had already condensed into substance.

"Heretical sorcery and crooked paths."

"Today, this servant will let you witness what an insurmountable chasm is!"