255: Chapter 255 The Law of Mirage and the Counterattack of Refining the Spirit

Shura City, underground stone chamber.

Embedded in the cold, rough rock walls were several Blood Radiance Stones emitting a faint red glow. Rather than providing any warmth, this light illuminated the small space, making it look as grim as a netherworld Hell. A thick scent of blood, mixed with lingering Evil Qi, continuously seeped in through the cracks of the stone door, incessantly testing the mind and Physical Body of the contestants.

Zhou Wannian sat quietly cross-legged on a black prayer mat in the center of the stone chamber. His breathing was long and steady; with every breath, an invisible current of Qi seemed to swirl around his body, easily crushing and assimilating the violent Evil Qi that attempted to invade his form.

“Tiezhu, report the current energy fluctuation status of the Shura Blood Battle Arena,” Zhou Wannian asked calmly within his Sea of Consciousness.

“Performing holographic scan and data aggregation...” Tiezhu’s emotionless mechanical voice quickly rang out with its characteristic precision. “Reporting to host: the large-scale boundary Formation above the Blood Battle Arena has completed its reconfiguration. According to the analysis of the energy circulation circuits, the second round will no longer be an unregulated hundred-person brawl, but will instead adopt a strictly enforced one-on-one arena deathmatch mode.”

“The boundary strength has been upgraded to the ‘Early Stage Taiyi’ defense standard. This means that inside the arena, even a self-detonation at the Golden Immortal Great Perfection level will not harm the external spectator stands. Simultaneously, a high-intensity Divine Sense shielding field has been detected in the VIP area where the Heavenly Court Envoy Gongshu Tian is located. The shielding level is extremely high; with the host’s current unmanifested true word treasure wheel state, there is a 98.7% probability of being detected by the opponent if you attempt to forcibly break through the shield.”

“No rush.” Zhou Wannian slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of golden light flashing in his deep pupils like stars settled in the long river of time. “Since he is the prey, he must have the self-awareness of prey. Gongshu Tian is currently the high-and-mighty fisherman; how could I startle him ahead of time?”

He raised his hand and gently stroked the [void-splitting ruler] resting across his knees. This peerless weapon of slaughter, which had just been promoted to a half-step Xuantian Treasure, was currently as quiet as an ordinary jade paperweight. However, Zhou Wannian knew very well that with a single thought, this ruler could instantly slice through the Void Realm locked by Evil Qi.

“Dong—!!!”

Just then, a desolate, heavy sound of an ancient war drum, seemingly capable of piercing the Soul, boomed over the entire underground rest area. Mixed within the drumbeat was the unique Law of Blood of the Shura Realm, causing the blood and Qi of many contestants who were already severely injured in the first round to churn; some even spat out a mouthful of blood directly inside their stone chambers.

“Second round, group duels, officially begin!”

The voice of the Gray Immortal Elder presiding over the blood battle rolled through every corner of the Shura Blood Battle Arena like thunder from the Nine Heavens.

“Will all one hundred advancing warriors please inject your Divine Sense into the ‘Blood Battle Bone Plate’ in your hands. The Blood Battle Altar will automatically match you with an opponent. The winner lives and advances to the next round; the loser dies and becomes nourishment for Shura City!”

With a calm expression, Zhou Wannian pulled out a white bone plate carved with a hideous ghost Face from his robes. This was the token automatically condensed and distributed by the Formation to every survivor at the end of the first round. Without the slightest hesitation, he split off a tiny wisp of Divine Sense and gently probed into the bone plate.

“Buzz—”

A blinding blood-red light suddenly lit up on the surface of the bone plate, followed by a twisted number emerging within the light: [Forty-Nine].

At the same time, the heavy black stone door of the chamber rumbled upward. A wave of sound, carrying the frantic shouts and roars of a million spectators, rushed toward him like a tsunami.

Zhou Wannian stood up, casually holding the already notched black heavy sword upside down in his hand. He once again suppressed his Aura to a subtle state of “possessing a powerful Physical Body but having heavily depleted immortal spiritual power, showing a hint of being strong on the outside but hollow on the inside.” His steps appeared somewhat heavy, and he even deliberately let his shoulders sway slightly as he stepped over the threshold of the stone door.

Passing through the dim corridor, blinding sunlight intertwined with blood-colored Evil Qi met his eyes.

The original massive arena, ten thousand zhang in diameter, had now been divided by the operation of the Formation into fifty small arenas, each two hundred zhang in diameter. Around every arena, a translucent blood-colored light curtain rose, completely isolating it from the outside world.

Following the guidance of the bone plate, Zhou Wannian walked straight toward the arena numbered forty-nine.

When he stepped onto the arena flagstones—which were already soaked in blood and presented a nauseating dark brown color—his opponent was already standing quietly at the other end.

It was a young man dressed in moon-white robes.

In this Shura City filled with blood, violence, filth, and ugliness, the existence of this white-robed youth seemed utterly out of place. His Face was extremely handsome, even carrying a hint of eerie paleness. He held a folding fan painted with landscapes, and his jet-black long hair was casually tied back with a white jade hairpin. He did not look like a desperate fugitive of the Shura Realm coming to participate in a blood battle, but rather like an elegant scholar traveling through the Middle Earth Immortal Lands.

However, the moment Zhou Wannian saw this white-robed youth, his pupils imperceptibly constricted.

“Tiezhu, target analysis.”

“Analyzing target data... Warning! The target has no Evil Qi fluctuations belonging to Gray Realm natives! The circulation path of the immortal spiritual power within his body has an extremely high similarity to the Heavenly Court’s orthodox ‘Lingxiao Art.’ Simultaneously, a high-grade artificial Divine Soul core has been detected deep within the target’s Sea of Consciousness. Conclusion: The target is not a living person, but a high-grade Puppet implanted with a special Law! Cultivation assessment: Late Golden Immortal Stage.”

“A Puppet of the Heavenly Court...”

Zhou Wannian sneered in his heart. He recalled that during the first round of the brawl, this white-robed youth had strolled through the beast tide as if in a garden, and all the Vicious Beasts that approached him would mysteriously slide away. At the time, Zhou Wannian had suspected this person was a hidden piece brought by Gongshu Tian; he hadn't expected to be “randomly” matched with this fellow right at the start of the second round.

“It seems that the high-and-mighty Envoy Gongshu has taken an interest in my ‘powerful Physical Body’ and wants to personally test my mettle.” Zhou Wannian thought to himself, while on the surface, he put on a look of facing a great enemy. He gripped the notched heavy sword tightly with both hands, his muscles bulging like a beast driven into a corner.

...

At this moment, in the highest VIP seats of the Shura Blood Battle Arena.

Heavenly Court Envoy Gongshu Tian was leaning back on a wide throne, gently swaying a folding fan in his hand. His gaze pierced through layers of boundaries, landing precisely on arena number forty-nine.

“Realm Lord Luo.” Gongshu Tian turned his head slightly and smiled at the Shura Realm Lord Luo Hou, who sat beside him. “This is the ‘White Night’ Puppet I mentioned to you before. It took our Heavenly Court’s ‘Tianji Pavilion’ a full hundred thousand years and the Inner Cores of ninety-nine rare Mirage Beasts to successfully refine this new test model.”

A cold light of disapproval flashed in Realm Lord Luo Hou’s ruby-like eyes, and his voice was as low as muffled thunder: “Envoy Gongshu, the Shura Blood Battle has always been about life and death, regardless of the means. Using a Puppet that feels no pain and knows no fatigue to compete, while not breaking the rules, is somewhat of an unsporting victory. Moreover, this seat saw this Puppet’s combat power in the first round; it was nothing more than some ethereal illusion techniques. In this kind of life-and-death struggle, how much use can that be?”

“Hahahaha, Realm Lord Luo is mistaken.” Gongshu Tian laughed loudly, his eyes reflecting an arrogant confidence. “The mysteries of the Laws of the Middle Earth Immortal Lands are not something this remote Gray Realm can fully comprehend. The most terrifying thing about this ‘White Night’ Puppet is not its Physical Body or immortal spiritual power, but the trace of the ‘Law of Mirage’ solidified in its core.”

“That Body Cultivator named Li Feiyu is indeed impressive. His physical strength is enough to Rank among the top even among the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals of my Heavenly Court. But...” Gongshu Tian snapped his fan shut. “What is the greatest weakness of a Body Cultivator? It is their Divine Sense! Their Nascent Soul! Their Physical Bodies are indestructible, but their Souls are often not refined enough.”

“Today, I shall use this ‘Law of Mirage’ to directly destroy his mind. I want to see if a beast with nothing but brute force can still be as at ease as he was in the first round when he falls into an endless illusion and starts killing himself in despair.” A cruel arc curled at the corner of Gongshu Tian’s mouth as his gaze remained fixed on Zhou Wannian on the arena. “If he cannot even pass this trial, then he absolutely cannot be that wanted criminal who mastered the Great Five Elements Illusory World Art. If he passes...”

Gongshu Tian did not continue, but the killing intent in the depths of his eyes was no longer hidden.

...

On arena number forty-nine.

As the boundary light curtain completely closed, it announced the official start of the deathmatch.

Zhou Wannian let out a great roar, playing the role of a simple-minded, physically developed Body Cultivator to perfection. His legs suddenly exerted force, and with a “bang,” the hard stone slabs beneath his feet instantly cracked into a large web of fissures. He became like a cannonball fired from a barrel, accompanied by a violent whistling sound, raising the heavy sword high with both hands and hacking down toward the white-robed Puppet named “White Night” like Mount Tai pressing down!

This strike was heavy and powerful, the sword wind even tearing a visible white air wave in the space of the arena. If an ordinary Late Golden Immortal Stage were hit by this strike, they would be severely injured even if they didn't die.

However, facing this thunderous blow, White Night didn't even lift an eyelid.

On his handsome, almost wooden Face, there was not a trace of fear or disturbance. He merely slowly raised the folding fan in his hand, and then, with an extremely elegant and slow motion, “snap,” he unfolded the fan in front of his chest.

At the very moment the fan unfolded.

There was no world-shaking explosion, nor any brilliant or dazzling lights and shadows.

Zhou Wannian only felt a layer of faint white mist suddenly rise before his eyes. This mist seemed thin, yet it instantly obscured his five senses. His hearing, vision, smell, and even his proud, powerful physical sense of touch were seemingly forcibly stripped away by some invisible force at this moment.

“Buzz—”

A strange fluctuation of Law directly ignored Zhou Wannian’s powerful physical defense, like pervasive mercury, and forcibly drilled into his Sea of Consciousness through his brow.

【Law of Mirage · Thousand Illusions of Floating Life】.

The external arena instantly vanished from Zhou Wannian’s perception.

When he “opened” his eyes again, he found himself in the middle of a boundless sea of corpses and blood. Viscous blood rain fell from the sky, and beneath his feet were countless rotting corpses piled together. What made him even more “terrified” was that he found his powerful Physical Body, comparable to the Taiyi Realm, had disappeared; he had now become a weak Mortal who lacked even the strength to truss a chicken, so frail that even standing steadily was difficult.

In the center of the sea of blood, White Night’s high-and-mighty figure hovered in mid-air like a deity, gently swaying his folding fan and looking down at him coldly.

“In the Domain of the Law of Mirage, your Physical Body is meaningless.”

White Night’s voice seemed to come from all directions, carrying a deterrent force that acted directly on the Soul. “Here, your fear will be infinitely magnified, and your five senses will be completely taken over by me. Feel this endless despair; your Soul will completely collapse in ten thousand cycles of death, becoming nourishment for this illusion.”

As White Night’s words fell, countless pale arms suddenly reached out from the sea of blood, deathly gripping Zhou Wannian’s ankles. Immediately following, the rotting corpses on the ground scrambled up one after another, opening their bloody maws filled with fangs and pouncing to bite him frantically. Intense sensations of tearing and the pain of bones being chewed were transmitted with absolute realism to the depths of his nerves.

To an outsider, the scene on the arena at this moment was extremely bizarre.

The green-robed Body Cultivator (Zhou Wannian), who had been aggressively striking down with his sword, suddenly froze as if hit by a Body-Fixing Curse when he was still three zhang away from the white-robed youth. His heavy sword fell to the ground with a loud 'Clang,' and he clutched his head with both hands, his eyes wide and bloodshot. A painful roar escaped his throat, the muscles on his Face twisted violently, and his body even began to spasm and tremble uncontrollably, with traces of blood seeping from his nostrils and the corners of his eyes.

"Hahahaha!"

In the VIP seats, Gongshu Tian watched this scene and laughed with satisfaction. He turned to Lord Luohou and said, "Lord Luo, what do you think? Even if an Early Stage Taiyi Realm Cultivator were to fall into my Puppet's Law of Mirage without preparation, they would lose a layer of skin. This fool who only Cultivates his Physical Body doesn't even have the room to resist; his Nascent Soul will soon be completely crushed within the illusion. It seems I overestimated him; he couldn't possibly be the person we're looking for."

Lord Luohou frowned slightly as he looked at the struggling figure below, feeling a bit disappointed. Was that clean and efficient slaughter in the first round really just based on brute force?

However...

Whether it was the high-and-mighty Gongshu Tian or the White Night Puppet that thought it had everything under control, they both remained unaware of one thing.

They did not know what the scene was like deep within Zhou Wannian's Sea of Consciousness, inside that shell that seemingly teetered on the brink of collapse and roared in pain.

...

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Zhou Wannian's Nascent Soul sat quietly in the center of his Sea of Consciousness. This was not the fragile, illusory Nascent Soul of an ordinary Golden Immortal, but a solid little golden man radiating dazzling golden light, its surface covered in countless profound Divine Soul runes!

On the periphery of the Nascent Soul, layers of Mental Energy barriers, as thick as city walls, were firmly blocking those wisps of white mist (the Law of Mirage) that were attempting to invade.

This was the power of the Immortal Realm's number one forbidden technique—the Spirit Refining Art!

Having cultivated the high-grade Spirit Refining Art, Zhou Wannian's Divine Sense was so vast and his Divine Soul so condensed that it was beyond the imagination of an ordinary Golden Immortal. Even if Gongshu Tian were to personally launch a Divine Sense attack, Zhou Wannian could withstand a few blows, let alone a mere inanimate Puppet refined using a Mirage Beast's Inner Core.

"This illusion is woven quite exquisitely."

Zhou Wannian's Nascent Soul opened its eyes and looked at the white mist blocked at the edge of his Sea of Consciousness, a playful and cold smile curling at the corners of its mouth.

"It can directly simulate pain, deprive the five senses, and even manipulate the flow of time within the illusion. For those Body Cultivators with weak Divine Souls, it's indeed a crushing blow. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong opponent."

"To play with mental illusions in front of someone who treats the Spirit Refining Art like his daily bread is simply like wielding a broadsword in front of Guan Gong—showing off slight skill before a master."

"Tie Zhu, analyze the structural weak points of this Law," Zhou Wannian's Nascent Soul commanded within the Sea of Consciousness.

"Analyzing... The target Law of Mirage is not a complete Law, but is simulated through an array of thirty-six Mirage Beast Inner Cores. Its core node is located at the very center of the 'firmament' of the Sea of Consciousness illusion, which is where the floating figure (White Night) is located. By using absolute Divine Sense power for a point-to-point explosion, the entire illusion Domain can be shattered instantly. Estimated Divine Sense strength required: one-tenth of the host's current total," Tie Zhu quickly provided the optimal solution.

"One-tenth? That's giving him too much Face."

Zhou Wannian sneered inwardly. He knew very well that he could not appear too relaxed right now. If he instantly broke this high-grade illusion, Gongshu Tian would immediately discover his exceptionally powerful Divine Sense and link him to the 'wanted criminal with the Great Five Elements Illusory World Art who is extremely difficult to deal with.'

Since he was going to act, he had to perform the full set.

"Since you think I'm just a brute-force Body Cultivator, I'll show you a hot-blooded scene of a 'Body Cultivator burning his life force and counter-killing through sheer willpower while on the brink of death'!"

Having made up his mind, Zhou Wannian's true body outside continued to maintain that state of agonizing struggle. He even actively relaxed his control over his Physical Body slightly, allowing his Qi and blood to flow in reverse, causing several small bloody gashes to burst open on his skin, making it look as if he were on the verge of Qi Deviation and self-detonation.

"Aaaaaaah—!!!!"

On the arena, Zhou Wannian let out a series of heart-wrenching, beast-like roars. He knelt on both knees and pounded his head frantically with his fists, as if trying to forcibly smash the hallucinations inside.

"A deathbed struggle."

The White Night Puppet stood in place, lightly waving its folding fan with cold eyes. In its logical calculations, the target's Divine Soul defense had already dropped to the freezing point; in ten breaths at most, the opponent's Nascent Soul would completely dissipate under the agonizing torture of the illusion.

However, at the very moment of the ninth breath...

A sudden change occurred!

Deep within Zhou Wannian's Sea of Consciousness illusion, the 'Mortal Zhou Wannian' who was being bitten by countless ghouls and seemed to have no power to resist suddenly stopped screaming.

He slowly raised his head, and those eyes that were previously filled with fear suddenly erupted with two golden beams of divine light more dazzling than the sun!

"Have you had enough?"

A voice like a great bell, carrying supreme majesty, boomed throughout the entire sea-of-blood illusion!

Immediately after, Zhou Wannian's incredibly vast Divine Sense power no longer hid itself but transformed into a monumental golden hammer. The surface of this Divine Sense hammer was flowing with the forbidden runes of the Spirit Refining Art, carrying an overbearing will that crushed all falsehoods as it smashed down fiercely toward the high-and-mighty figure of White Night in the illusion's sky!

"Rumble—!!!"

To the outside world...

The green-robed Body Cultivator (Zhou Wannian), who was on the verge of collapse, suddenly stopped spasming. He snapped his head up, bright red blood flowing from his seven orifices, his entire Face twisted beyond recognition by 'extreme pain and a frenzied will.'

"Break... for me!!!"

Zhou Wannian let out a roar that seemed to tear his vocal cords. He forcibly grabbed the heavy sword from the ground, his entire Aura becoming violent to the extreme in an instant, as if he had burned all his life potential and essence blood in exchange for this fatal, final radiance before the end.

At the same instant, the golden Divine Sense hammer in his Sea of Consciousness also smashed heavily onto the core node of the White Night Puppet's Law of Mirage.

"Crack—"

A crisp sound, like glass shattering, rang out from within White Night's body.

Those thirty-six Mirage Beast Inner Cores used to construct the Law of Mirage were instantly covered in cracks and then shattered under that pure, overbearing, and utterly domineering Divine Sense heavy strike of the Spirit Refining Art!

"Puff—!"

The White Night Puppet's handsome Face instantly stiffened. Its eyes bulged outward, and it spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with organ fragments. Because the core Law array was forcibly destroyed by Divine Sense, the immortal spiritual power within its body instantly went haywire, and its entire Aura plummeted to the bottom like a deflated balloon, falling directly from Late Golden Immortal Stage.

The illusion collapsed instantly!

At the very moment the illusion collapsed, Zhou Wannian's 'life-burning' full-force sword strike had also arrived with an unstoppable, violent momentum, slamming heavily into White Night's chest.

"Bang!!!"

A loud explosion.

The White Night Puppet's moon-white robe, engraved with many defensive Formations, instantly exploded. The Puppet itself was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, as if hit by a meteorite. It traced a sharp parabolic arc in mid-air and, accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering bones, crashed heavily into the Blood-colored Defensive Barrier at the edge of the arena.

The massive impact caused ripples to spread violently across the barrier's light screen. White Night slid down the light screen like a pile of mud, a terrifying crater sunken into its chest and its limbs twisted unnaturally; after two twitches, it went completely still.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

The million-strong audience of Shura City even stopped breathing.

What had they just seen?

A Body Cultivator who was about to be tortured to death by an illusion had actually broken free from the constraints of a high-grade illusion at the last moment through a demonic, unyielding will, and completed a desperate counter-kill at the risk of exploding his own body?!

"Roar—!!!"

After a brief silence, the entire Shura Blood Arena erupted into a storm of wild cheers that nearly blew the roof off. The Gray Immortals of the Shura Realm most admired this kind of tough guy who erupted in a desperate situation and tore the enemy apart with pure will and power!

In the center of arena number forty-nine...

Zhou Wannian dropped the completely shattered heavy sword with a 'Clang.' His knees buckled, and he knelt on one knee in the pool of blood, gasping for air as his entire body trembled violently. Blood was still slowly flowing from his seven orifices, and he looked so miserable that it seemed a gust of wind could blow him over.

"I finally... won..." he muttered in an extremely weak, hoarse voice, playing the role of a Body Cultivator who had overextended his life force to the life.

...

"This... how is this possible?!"

In the VIP seats, the smile on Gongshu Tian's Face completely froze. He stood up abruptly, his hands gripping the white jade railing in front of him so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His cold eyes stared fixedly at the swaying, green-robed figure on the arena, his eyes filled with disbelief and deep suspicion.

"That was the Law of Mirage core that Tianji Pavilion spent countless efforts to refine! Even an Early Stage Daluo Realm would be briefly hindered if caught off guard. How could a crude Body Cultivator who doesn't even have a Divine Sense defense Magic Treasure forcibly break through with just willpower?!"

"Snap."

The folding fan in Gongshu Tian's hand was snapped in half by his grip.

"Something's wrong... this is absolutely not right!"

Gongshu Tian's brows were tightly knit. He was naturally suspicious, and although Zhou Wannian's performance just now could be called a perfect 'desperate counter-kill,' in his view, all of this was simply too coincidental.

"To be able to instantly shatter an array of thirty-six Mirage Beast Inner Cores... that is definitely not something that can be done just by an explosion of willpower. In that instant, an extremely hidden and powerful Divine Sense impact must have erupted from within him!"

"How could a Body Cultivator possess such powerful Divine Sense?"

Gongshu Tian's eyes narrowed into a dangerous slit, and a chilling killing intent slowly spread around him.

"Could it be... he's been hiding his true abilities? He's not a pure Body Cultivator at all?"

"If his Divine Sense is truly this powerful... then his previous low profile in the first round of the chaotic battle was definitely not because of insufficient strength, but because he was deliberately hiding something!"

"Li Feiyu... proficient in the Time Law, strong Divine Sense, strong Physical Body..."

The more Gongshu Tian thought about it, the heavier the cloud of suspicion in his heart became. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Lord Luohou beside him, who also wore a strange expression.

"Lord Luo." Gongshu Tian's voice had returned to calmness, but beneath that calmness were hidden even more deadly venomous fangs. "This person is very interesting."

"In the next round, if he's still alive..."

A flash of golden cold light crossed Gongshu Tian's eyes.

"I will personally arrange a 'special' opponent to test him."

"I'd like to see exactly what kind of monster is hidden beneath this skin!"

In the pool of blood on the arena below, Zhou Wannian was bowing his head and gasping for air. From an angle no one could see, a look of deep mockery flashed through his blood-stained eyes.

"Suspicious now?"

"Then it's working."

"The stage is set, and the good show... has only just begun."