140: The Mirror Image of Murder and "I Killed Myself"

Reverse Star Pagoda, Third Floor, Mirror Flower, Water Moon.

In the deathly silent Void Realm, countless mirrors floated like ice crystals, refracting bizarre and kaleidoscopic sights.

"Wake up!"

Zhou Wannian (Old Man Han) gave a low shout, and the "Heart-Clearing Incantation" he had prepared earlier was slammed hard against the back of Ling Yunxiao and Li Feiyu's heads.

It was useless.

The eyes of both men remained vacant, and eerie smiles even hung on the corners of their mouths, as if they were immersed in some kind of ultimate bliss. Their bodies, however, were gradually becoming transparent, as if they were about to merge into the world within the mirrors.

"Assimilation..."

Zhou Wannian's heart tightened.

The Restriction on this floor was not a simple illusion, but "Law Assimilation." Once someone became obsessed with it, their Physical Body would dissipate, and their Soul would become part of the mirror, never to be reincarnated for all eternity.

"Since the soft approach doesn't work, we'll use force."

Zhou Wannian turned to look at Tie Zhu, who had remained in a state of invisibility and was completely unresponsive.

A Puppet had no Soul and no desires; naturally, it would not be deceived by the mirrors. Here, it was the only one immune.

"Tie Zhu, attack those mirrors!"

"No, not all of them."

Zhou Wannian activated his Spiritual Sight Technique, and Cloud Seal runes flowed within his eyes. In his vision, extremely thin threads of spiritual energy connected these mirrors, and the convergence point of all the threads was on the mirrors directly in front of those two.

"Shatter those two mirrors!"

Buzz!

Tie Zhu's figure flickered within the Void Realm.

That sharp claw, which had been confined on the second floor just now, finally showed its power.

Crack! Crack!

Two crisp sounds rang out.

The mirrors in front of Ling Yunxiao and Li Feiyu shattered instantly, turning into a sky full of crystal shards.

"Ah!!!"

The two of them screamed simultaneously, as if waking from a nightmare, and collapsed onto the ground drenched in sweat.

"I won't be the city lord anymore... I won't..." Ling Yunxiao covered his face, babbling incoherently.

"Stop killing... the blood won't stop flowing..." Li Feiyu was also trembling.

"It's good that you're alive."

Zhou Wannian grabbed them both and pulled them up. "There's no time for psychological counseling here. Those three old ghosts are about to arrive."

He took out the Heavenly Secret Dao Disk.

In this mirror maze, the needle of the dao disk spun wildly, unable to point in any direction at all.

"Damn it, both light and Divine Sense are being refracted."

Zhou Wannian's brow furrowed.

Without guidance, wandering aimlessly in this maze would only lead to being trapped until death.

"Since I can't find the way..."

Zhou Wannian suddenly looked at a broken mirror shard at his feet. The shard reflected his face—that aged, worldly, yet fiercely determined face.

"Then I'll ask 'it'."

Zhou Wannian took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and slammed his palms onto the largest main mirror surface.

"Reverse Star Tactics · Formation Chapter · All Phenomena Return to One!"

Buzz—

As the spiritual energy of the Cloud Seal Heavenly Scripture was injected, all the surrounding mirrors suddenly began to vibrate.

The countless "Zhou Wannians" within the mirrors spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping like the tolling of a great bell:

"What do you seek?"

"I also want to know where the 'back door' of this floor is."

Zhou Wannian stared coldly at himself in the mirror.

The "Zhou Wannian" in the mirror revealed an eerie smile and raised a hand, pointing toward an inconspicuous corner deep within the maze.

"There."

"But the price is... you must leave behind a 'shadow'."

"Deal."

Zhou Wannian did not hesitate for a second.

Following his agreement, the "Zhou Wannian" in the mirror suddenly stepped out of the glass and stood in the position he had just occupied, maintaining an eerie smile and remaining motionless.

"Old Man Han... what is that?" Ling Yunxiao looked at the figure that was identical to Old Man Han, his scalp tingling.

"That is my 'Mirror Image Clone'."

Zhou Wannian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "The core of this floor's Formation is 'replication'. It has replicated my appearance, cultivation, and even a portion of my memories."

"However..."

Zhou Wannian gave a sinister smile.

"When I was instilling memories into it just now, I specifically added a little something extra."

"Added what?"

"I carved the activation command for a 'Self-Destruction Formation' into its core."

Zhou Wannian pointed at the Clone.

"It is now a super bomb that possesses all of my combat experience, but the moment it makes a move, it will blow itself to high heaven."

"Go! To the exit!"

The three people and one Puppet sprinted in the direction indicated by the mirror... just ten breaths later.

Boom!

At the entrance of the third floor, space shattered.

The Grand Elder rushed in with two other Nascent Soul Cultivators.

"This place is... mirrors?"

The moment the Grand Elder entered, his eyes were dazzled by the sight before him. However, his Divine Sense was powerful, and he instantly locked onto the backs of Zhou Wannian and the others who were fleeing in the distance.

"Trying to run? It won't be that easy!"

The Grand Elder sneered, "Split up and chase! Watch out for traps!"

The three of them turned into streaks of light, weaving through the maze.

The Red-Haired Ancestor was the fastest; his grudge over his severed arm had yet to be avenged, and his hatred was sky-high. In a few flashes, he reached a corner.

"Old Man Han! Die!"

He immediately saw "Zhou Wannian" standing at the corner ahead with his back turned.

The Red-Haired Ancestor was overjoyed and didn't think twice. His only remaining hand condensed into a massive Flaming Ghost Claw and lunged forward fiercely.

"Die!"

That "Zhou Wannian" slowly turned around.

A mocking smile was on his face.

"Goodbye."

BOOM——————!!!!!

Without any warning.

The moment the Flaming Ghost Claw touched him, that "Zhou Wannian" exploded directly.

This was no ordinary self-destruction.

It was equivalent to compressing Zhou Wannian's Late Foundation Establishment Stage spiritual energy tenfold, and combined with the reflections of the surrounding mirrors, the power was instantly magnified several times over!

"No!!!"

The Red-Haired Ancestor let out a scream of despair.

At such close range, he didn't even have time to sacrifice a protective Magic Treasure.

The terrifying shockwave, mixed with countless sharp mirror shards, instantly swallowed him.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The screams echoed through the maze.

When the dust settled.

The Red-Haired Ancestor lay on the ground covered in blood. His only remaining arm had also been blown off, half his body was mangled, and his aura was faint.

If not for the tenacious vitality of the Nascent Soul Stage, he would have perished right then and there.

"Junior Brother!"

The Grand Elder, who arrived later, saw this scene and felt his eyes nearly split with rage.

He looked at the surrounding mirrors, which were perfectly intact, and suddenly understood.

"Mirror images... these are Mirror Image Clones!"

"That old thief used the Formation here to create self-destructing Clones to ambush us!"

The Grand Elder trembled with fury, but at the same time, a chill rose in his heart.

The mirrors here were endless.

If every mirror contained an "Old Man Han" that would self-destruct... "Watch out!"

Just then, the other Nascent Soul Cultivator cried out in alarm.

Countless versions of the "Grand Elder," "Red-Haired Ancestor," and the other Nascent Soul Cultivator suddenly stepped out of the surrounding mirrors.

They were expressionless, their eyes cold, and they held Magic Treasures identical to the originals.

"Since you attacked the mirrors, the mirrors will strike back."

Zhou Wannian's ethereal and mocking voice drifted through the Void Realm (it was a recording he had left behind).

"Seniors, enjoy yourselves."

“This stage is called—'I Killed Myself'."

"Kill!"

Although those Mirror Image Clones had no intelligence, they possessed one hundred percent of the original's combat power and were utterly fearless of death.

Dozens of "Nascent Soul Stage" Clones instantly pounced on the three true bodies in the field.

"Scoundrel! You absolute scoundrel!!!"

The Grand Elder was besieged by three of "himself" and was so enraged he spat blood, forced to fight back.

A chaotic battle, like a fight between true and false Monkey Kings, erupted completely within this mirror maze... Meanwhile.

Zhou Wannian and the other two were already standing at the end of the maze.

There was a pool of crystal-clear water there—the Water Moon Pool.

"Jump down, and we'll be on the fourth floor."

Zhou Wannian listened to the sounds of intense fighting and explosions coming from behind him and nodded in satisfaction.

"This wave should stall them for at least half an hour."

"And that Red-Haired Ancestor is basically finished."

"Old Man Han, this move of yours... is too wicked," Ling Yunxiao remarked with sincere admiration.

"This is called wisdom."

Zhou Wannian straightened his robes and was about to jump down.

Suddenly.

The Heavenly Secret Dao Disk in his arms vibrated violently.

[Warning! Warning!]

[Fourth Floor: Star Core Furnace.]

[Status: Out of Control.]

[Danger Rank: Great Misfortune (Ten Die, None Live).]

[Note: Due to external forced entry, the Reverse Star Pagoda's energy core has overloaded. The fourth floor is now covered in 'Star True Fire'. Without a Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, you will be vaporized instantly upon entry.]

Zhou Wannian abruptly pulled back the foot he had stepped out with.

"What?!"

"It's a fire pit down there?!"

A fire pit ahead and pursuers behind.

This time, things had truly gone off the rails.

"What do we do?" Li Feiyu also panicked, seeing Old Man Han's grim expression.

Zhou Wannian stared at the pool, his mind racing.

"We can't go down directly."

"We must find something for protection."

His gaze fell upon Tie Zhu nearby.

Although Tie Zhu had been upgraded, its Materials were primarily Star Iron. While its heat resistance was good, it still couldn't withstand Star True Fire.

Unless... Zhou Wannian suddenly remembered something.

The "Red Hou Skin" he had conveniently scavenged from the first-floor colosseum.

And the "Fourth-Rank Poison Flood Dragon" skin he had obtained in the Black Wind Abyss.

"Quick!"

"Take out all the Fire-Avoidance Talismans and Ice Talismans!"

"And Ling Yunxiao, take out your 'water cloud gauze'!"

"We're going to make a... 'spacesuit' for Tie Zhu!"

"And then..."

Zhou Wannian glanced at the small pool entrance.

"The three of us will crawl into Tie Zhu's stomach!"

"Let it carry us and force our way through the sea of fire!"

It was a crazy idea.

But in the face of desperation, madness was often the only way out.

"Do it!"

The three of them immediately began the final modifications at that narrow exit.

And behind them.

The Grand Elder's roars were drawing closer. Clearly, those Mirror Image Clones couldn't hold back the enraged Nascent Soul Old Monsters for much longer.

The race against life and death had begun once again.